MommaCooks

posted by Nina on Jun 9

This recipe has been floating all over the internet recently and since it IS my duty to try out new recipes for you all, I sacrificed for all of you and made these. Really. It was torture having to sample these so I could tell you whether or not they were any good. Oh, the sacrifices I make.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1/3 cup Nutella
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling on top of muffins

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease well. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

In a small bowl, combine canola oil, egg, buttermilk, and vanilla together. Use a fork or whisk and mix until well combined.

Incorporate the wet ingredients into flour mixture. Add slowly and gently stir, you don’t want to over mix. The batter will be thick. Carefully fold in the strawberries.

Fill each muffin cup half way with batter. Next, add a small spoonful of Nutella to each muffin cup. Cover the Nutella filling with the remaining batter. Sprinkle each muffin with turbinado sugar.

Bake muffins for 17-20 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.

Did I change anything? I left off the turbinado sugar and I baked them for a little bit longer.

What did the family think? Everyone is at work and school right now, but really, it’s chocolate and strawberries. Who’s going to turn that down?

Where did this recipe come from? Two Peas and their Pod

photo from Two Peas & Their Pod

posted by Nina on Jun 6

I have mentioned before that I am not a big fan of using yeast…all the waiting and kneading. I know, I know, it’s not really all that bad, but if I can find a recipe that gives me the same result without the yeast, then I am all over it. So when I was looking for recipes to make homemade breadsticks I chose this one as opposed to the gazillion others that are out there that require yeast. I am also not a big fan of breaking out the rolling pin either, but there wasn’t really any way to get around that.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 tablespoon oil
3 cups flour (I use part whole wheat, part unbleached)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1-1 1/2 cups milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place butter and oil in 9×13 pan and put in oven so butter melts as the oven heats up. Be careful not to let it burn!

Stir dry ingredients together, and gradually add milk, stirring until dough forms and leaves sides of bowl.

Knead 5-6 times in bowl; place on floured countertop and roll out into 9×13-inch rectangle.

Lay dough in pre-heated 9×13-inch pan, atop the melted butter/oil. Cut into 1/2″ strips.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Did I change anything? I didn’t use quite as much butter as this recipe calls for. It just seemed like a lot.
I changed the amount of milk in this recipe. I used a little bit more than the original recipe called for. Just add it a little at a time until the dough comes together.

What did the family think? We don’t usually say no to carbs, especially ones that taste really good slathered in butter and honey.

Where did this recipe come from? Tammy’s Recipes

Photo from Tammy’s Recipes

posted by Nina on May 29

The boys went on a campout last night in our neighbor’s backyard. I made these muffins for them to take along since I knew they would be eating breakfast there. Little did I know (or maybe I DID have an inkling of an idea) that these would end up being a peace offering. Apparently the birds woke the boys up at 4:15 and my dear sweet neighbor got up with them and made them breakfast. Perhaps I should have sent along a little cash, too. (Did I mention that the kids didn’t even go to sleep until midnight?)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour-my ABSOLUTE favorite.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola)
3/4 cup orange juice
About 1 cup of total filling (berries, fruit, nuts, etc. – see below for details)
Muffin/Cupcake liners
Cooking Spray

Instructions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl with a fork or whisk mix the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Make a well (hole) in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the eggs, honey, vanilla, oil and orange juice. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together – do not overmix.

Line a muffin pan with liners, lightly spray with cooking spray and fill 2/3 to 3/4 of the way full with batter. Sprinkle 1 – 2 teaspoons of whatever you would like (from the list below or from your own creation) onto the top of each raw muffin in the pan. Then gently mix each one with a fork or spoon. Here are some options to consider for the fillings:

blueberries-this is what I used
diced strawberries
peeled and diced pears
applesauce
either diced or mashed up bananas and chopped walnuts
raisins and chopped pecans (I add an extra pinch of cinnamon to the muffins with this filling)
grated carrot and chopped walnuts
orange or lemon zest (only add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of zest per individual muffin)
a mix of dried fruit bits
jelly

After the filling has been mixed into each muffin slide the tray into the warm oven and bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature and freeze some for a later date. Enjoy!

This recipe made 9 muffins.

What did the family think? Everyone loved them except for our one family member who only likes fresh blueberries.

Where did the recipe come from? 100 Days of Real Food

Photo from 100 Days of Real Food

posted by Nina on May 15

I picked up this recipe recently at our grocery store knowing that eventually I would need it. This weekend both sets of grandparents were in town for our oldest child’s First Communion, so before church we had a Mother’s Day/First Communion brunch and this recipe was a huge hit.

Ingredients:
12 (1 inch) slices of day old French bread
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup brown sugar, divided
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup-2 cups blueberries, frozen or fresh

Instructions:
Arrange bread in a greased pan (about 13×9).

In a bowl mix eggs and milk. Then add 3/4 cup brown sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. Pour mixture over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove bread from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Combine melted butter and remaining sugar and drizzle over top. Sprinkle with blueberries.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until set.

Did I change anything? The recipe called for 1 cup chopped pecans which I left out.

What did the family think? It was so tasty and the blueberries on it made it look pretty too. It was a great addition to our special feast.

Photo by Me

posted by Nina on May 4

I love homemade bread, but I don’t like baking anything that has yeast in it…all the waiting and kneading…I don’t have time for all that. I haven’t had beer bread in years, but it is so good and you don’t need any yeast…the yeast’s in the beer. When I came across this recipe I just had to make it.

Ingredients:
3 c. self-rising flour
3 tbsp. sugar
1 (12 oz.) bottle beer (or can)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Mix together until blended. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake 45 minutes or until top is lightly browned.

Did I change anything? Just make sure your beer isn’t too “hoppy” unless you want your bread to taste like hops.

What did the family think? They haven’t made it home yet to eat any, but I ate some and it was deeelish. I slathered some butter and honey on it while it was still warm. Yum!

from cooks.com

posted by Nina on Apr 17

Yes, I named these myself. It may not be a very creative name, but it certainly describes them. This recipe is actually just the topping to the pot pie recipe I posted about a week or so ago. I was eating the leftovers that didn’t make it onto the pot pie and realized these would make super yummy biscuits just by themselves.

Ingredients:
2 c. flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
6 Tbsp unsalted butter , cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
3/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 c. heavy cream

Instructions:
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne in large bowl.

Sprinkle butter pieces over top of flour. Using fingers, rub butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in Parmesan.

Add cream and stir until just combined.

Using a tablespoon, drop biscuit mixture onto baking sheet, making sure biscuits are spaced about an inch or two apart so they don’t run together.

Bake at 450-degrees until fragrant and starting to brown (8-10 minutes).

What did the family think? They were ticked that I ate all the leftovers before they got a chance to eat some, too.

posted by Nina on Apr 12

Very little effort and you get a dessert that everyone loves and it looks like you’ve been in the kitchen all afternoon preparing it. (It only takes about three minutes.)

Ingredients:
6 oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate
1 stick butter, cut up
1 T honey
1 pound cake (we found one already made in our grocer’s bakery)

Instructions:
Microwave chopped bittersweet chocolate with butter and honey on 75 percent power until melted, about 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Place a loaf of pound cake on a rack and drizzle with the glaze.

What did the family think? I am not sure which they enjoyed more…the finished product or the pool of chocolatey goodness that collected underneath the cake…lots of little fingers scooping up the extra chocolate.

from Food Network

posted by Nina on Feb 28

These would be great for breakfast or just for a snack.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups unbleached flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 (6 ounce) jars pureed carrots (use baby food)
1/2 cup egg substitute (equal to 2 eggs)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, oat bran, baking soda, allspice, salt, and baking powder) in a medium bowl.

Combine wet ingredients (carrots, egg substitute, applesauce, raisins, and vanilla) in a large bowl.

Combine wet and dry mixtures just until flour is moistened.

Spoon batter into muffin tins, and bake for 25 minutes (or until muffins pass the”toothpick test”).

Did I change anything? I only used half as much oatmeal as the recipe calls for and I added 1/4 cup of wheat germ. My mom used to sneak wheat germ into everything from muffins to spaghetti sauce when we were growing up.

What did the family think? Hubby is at work and the boys are at school, but I ate one and I thought it was very good. The raisins are a definite must though. I don’t think I would like it without the raisins.

from food.com

posted by Nina on Jan 15

These are so good. The secret? You have to shake the buttermilk first.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups buttermilk (shake it first)
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs and buttermilk. Whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.

Heat oven to 175 degrees. Test griddle/pan by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If water bounces and spatters off griddle, it is hot enough.

Spray pan/griddle with cooking spray.

Using a 4-ounce ladle, about 1/2 cup, pour pancake batter, in pools 2 inches away from one other.

When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.

Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heatproof plate in oven. Serve warm.

Did I change anything? The recipe called for butter in the batter, but I left it out (not on purpose), but they stilled turned out scrumptious!

What did the family think? Thumbs up all around! This recipe also made enough for leftovers, so we will be warming these up for breakfast again tomorrow!

from marthastewart.com

posted by Nina on Jan 1

I usually steer clear of any recipe that requires yeast and/or a rolling pin, but a gal from our church in Kansas said these were easy, and you know what…she was right! Thanks, LeeAnn!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Instructions:
Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in butter; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.

Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened butter.

Roll out dough into a 12×9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with butter/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal.

Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 12 lightly greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. Remove from muffin cups to cool. Serve warm.

Did I change anything? I added some icing to them after they had cooled a little. (recipe below) I think next time I will bake them in a greased glass pie dish instead of the muffin tin. The muffin tin was fine, but it’s going to be a bear to clean.

What did the family think? These were an awesome addition to our New Year’s morning brunch.

Icing
Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk (add more milk if it’s too thick)

Instructions:
Pour both ingredients into a bowl and stir. Add more milk if needed. Drizzle icing over cinnamon rolls with a spoon.