Cranberry Orange Muffins

I try to always have muffins in the house. They are the perfect quick breakfast when my little one won't let me make anything. Plus I can eat it with one hand. Anybody else have a baby who demands your full attention in the morning? I must be holding her, singing, smiling, cuddling etc. or my ears will be ringing with cries of frustration. Thankfully, she takes a nap pretty soon after her first meal.

I found this recipe on Pinterest. I made a few changes since I didn't have all the ingredients and they turned out really yummy.

Cranberry - Orange Muffins  Homemade by Holman
Recipe adapted from The Pastry Queen cookbook

3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sour cream (I used low fat vanilla yogurt)
2 eggs
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange (I used to oranges. I like lots of orangey flavor)
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (omitted the cinnamon)
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 cup fresh/frozen cranberries, roughly chopped (I used dried cranberries)
Demerara sugar (about a tsp per muffin)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray muffin tins with baking spray or line with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine milk, orange juice, sour cream, eggs, and butter and whisk until well combined.  In another mixing bowl, add sugar and orange zest.  Use your fingers to rub orange zest into the sugar until distributed and fragrant.  Add in flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.  Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until incorporated.  Fold in the cranberries.

Spoon batter into prepared pans (I use an ice cream scoop to make it easier) and fill each muffin cup about 2/3 of the way full.  Sprinkle about one teaspoon of demerara sugar over the top of each muffin.  Bake about 20 - 25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and spring back lightly to the touch.  Cool in pans about 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.   

I can't decide whether I want to share too much info about my daughter but I had to post at least one pic to give you a peek...

Learning to love greens

I'm not a fan of green veggies. Not at all. In fact there are a few, spinach I'm talking to you, that actually make me gag. As a nursing mom, I know how important a balanced diet is, so I'm trying to love them. I find if I mix them into dishes and mask the flavor I have an easier time convincing myself that it tastes good; or convincing myself there isn't actually any green lurking in my food.
Smoothies are a lifesaver for me. I can toss all kinds of yucky veggies in the blender and so long as there is fruit, I'm good. I like frozen strawberries, kale, bananas, a little honey, yogurt and some orange juice.
What do you put in your smoothie?

Szechuan Chicken with Noodles

I must admit, I'm intimidated by my wok. It cooks everything so fast and at such a high heat that I'm always seconds from burning everything. But I suck it up and use it anyway, especially now since quick meals are a mom's best friend.
Szechuan Chicken with Noodles is another successful dish I found on Pinterest. The chicken crisps up nicely and it includes pine nuts (which we all know from my last post that I love). I didn't use whole wheat noodles since my husband swears they don't taste good. I can't tell the difference, can you?
Do you have a wok? Any great woky recipes?

Italian Braised Pork

Ugh, I know the photo is blurry but I had to share this dish because it was so yummy and for those of you always looking for something new to make in your slow cooker, you must try this. Oh and ignore the overabundance of pine nuts. The recipe doesn't call for them but I love their taste and I wanted a little crunch so I added them at the last minute.

I find that prepping as many ingredients the night before makes it so much easier to get everything into the slow cooker in the morning. For this recipe, I diced all the veggies and stored in the fridge. I also put all the other ingredients (except for the pork of course) on my kitchen counter next to my slow cooker. Then all I had to do in the morning was sear the pork, saute the veggies and dump it all into the cooker.

You can find a proper photo of the dish here http://www.marthastewart.com/965070/italian-braised-pork

Italian Braised Pork
-Everyday Food

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
• Coarse salt and pepper
• 1 large yellow onion, diced small
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 stalk celery, diced small
• 3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/2 cup dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 4 cups prepared couscous, for serving

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season pork with salt and pepper and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer pork to a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, garlic, celery, and fennel seeds to pan; cook until onion is softened, about 4 minutes.
2. Add wine and cook, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add to slow cooker along with tomatoes. Cover and cook on high until pork is very tender, 4 hours (or 8 hours on low).
3. Transfer pork to a cutting board. With two forks, shred meat into bite-size pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Skim fat off sauce and discard. Return shredded pork to slow cooker and stir to combine. (To store: Cool, cover, and refrigerate up to 3 days.) Serve over couscous.
   
   

Pioneer Woman's The Best Lasagna Ever

Does anyone else love the Pioneer Woman as much as I do? It's one of the few cooking shows my hubby will watch with me. There's something about her life on the ranch that makes me want to pack it all up and raise my daughter in the country. But.... then I remember I don't like to get up early, I don't really care for the outdoors and I really need to have a grocery store within walking distance. I'm much more suited to city life. Last weekend she made lasagna and now that I've made it I must agree it is The Best Lasagna Ever. I've made many lasagnas in my life since it's great to feed a crowd and this one by far has the best flavor. I was a little wary of the cottage cheese but I have to say I prefer it to ricotta.

The.Best.Lasagna.Ever

by Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pound Ground Beef
• 1 pound Hot Breakfast Sausage
• 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 cans (14.5 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
• 2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Basil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 3 cups Lowfat Cottage Cheese
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1/2 cup Grated (not Shredded) Parmesan Cheese
• 2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 pound Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles
• (add 1/2 Teaspoon Salt And 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil To Pasta Water)

Preparation Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat; less if you’re feeling naughty. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes while you are working on the other steps.

In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, grated Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).

To assemble:
Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half the meat/sauce mixture over the top.

Repeat, ending with meat/sauce mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan.

Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.

Strawberry Lemonade

Since having a baby, I spend tons of time on Pinterest. It's a great site that keeps me from falling asleep during those early 2am feedings. I set myself up in the rocking chair with my little girl nursing in one arm and my other hand scrolling through recipes on my phone. I now have a full board of dishes that I've tried and loved. Thank you Pinterest.
It's been cold the last few months and I'm getting really tired of winter so when I saw a photo of a beautiful pitcher of ruby red lemonade it instantly reminded me of summer and I had to have some. Fresh strawberries are available at my grocery store but they're not in season and don't taste all that great so I used frozen for this recipe that I thawed in the fridge.

You can find the recipe at Laylita's Recipes.

Are you on Pinterest?

Gourmet Madeleine Cookies

For Christmas I received a madeleine cookie pan and so far I've made these cookies 3 times...they are that good. With or without powdered sugar, I've made them both ways, they are light, lemony, sweet and so much better than the packaged ones at Starbucks. Normally I wouldn't recommended buying a pan that you only use for one recipe but this is worth it. A friend suggested I dip them in chocolate so that's next on the list. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Gourmet Madeleine Cookies

from Food.com

2 large eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 pinch salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly

powdered sugar Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 375°F Generously butter and flour pan for large madeleines (about 3x1 1/4 inches).

2 Using electric mixer, beat eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in large bowl just to blend. Beat in vanilla, lemon peel and salt. Add flour; beat just until blended. Gradually add cooled melted butter in steady stream, beating just until blended.

3 Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into each indentation in pan. Bake until puffed and brown, about 10-16 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Gently remove from pan. Repeat process, buttering and flouring pan before each batch. (Can be made 1 day ahead.).

4 Dust cookies with powdered sugar.

 Also, just to leave you with some cuteness...my kitty all cuddled up since it's been so cold.