Stew and Muffins

 

It sometimes gets cold here.  When it does, I want to cook using my crock pot.  I made old fashioned beef stew using this very simple recipe.  I did not do any searing or cooking outside of the crock pot.  I followed the recipe other than leaving out the celery (my family does not believe in celery in stew) and I used 32 ounces of beef stock.  Start off with the amount of beef stock as called for in the recipe and then add more to get the amount of "soupyness" that you want to achieve.  I did need to thicken at the end using a corn starch slurry and add quite a bit of salt.  This was delicious, comforting and just like my parents would make and with the ease of a crock pot.

I had some fresh cranberries and oranges so I decided to whip up some muffins.  These were superb.  The muffin is almost like pound cake and it would make a great base for any combination of fruit and nuts.   I recommend cutting the cranberries in half but otherwise, this recipe is perfect.

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

I had left over diced apples in the freezer and I wanted to make a "healthy" muffin, using whole wheat.  This recipe for Whole Wheat Apple Muffins uses equal parts whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour.  That is a good ratio as more whole wheat flour would have pushed these muffins from tasty to saw-dusty.  The brown sugar on the top makes for a nice crust and the cinnamon flavor makes it taste like apple pie.  I found the muffins were best when served warm, so put in the microwave for 30 seconds.  Next time I make these, I will add walnuts for heartiness and white raisins as a nice complimenting flavor.

Lemon Blueberry Crunch Muffins

Recently, I picked blueberries with my parents at the Moorehead Blueberry Farm.  You have to get there early (7:00 am) to not only beat the heat but beat the hordes of people.  When we left around 8:30 it was packed.  The farm is big enough that once you are picking the crowds are not an issue, but parking is.

I made this blueberry muffin recipe because I was intrigued by the topping of butter, lemon juice and sugar.  How simple yet ingenious!  I also learned something new from this recipe:  you can make cake flour by combining cornstarch and all-purpose flour!  Directions to do so are on the cornstarch box.  Since I also know how to make buttermilk by combining milk with vinegar or lemon juice, I do not think I will ever buy buttermilk or cake flour again!

Snickerdoodle Muffins

I made this recipe for Snickerdoodle Muffins, from Tasty Kitchen, last night. It is a VERY simple recipe. And despite a pretty thick batter, the muffins are light, airy and delicious. I made 24 mini-muffins and 6 full size.

I made the following modifications:

1. Used 1.5 sticks of butter. As noted in the reviews, people who used 2 sticks had melted butter in the bottom of the cupcake liners. I did not have that problem.

2. I did not roll the dough in the sugar, though my dough was a good consistency for doing so. Instead I filled my cupcake liners, then spooned the sugar mixture on top. I used the spoon to press it down and made sure there was no batter showing through.

3. I do recommend using the liners as the muffins are delicate.

Healthy, delicious muffins

Every week it seems I have bananas ready to be put to use in a new recipe. I also have whole wheat flour that is taking up space, occasionally used as an under-study to supplement all-purpose flour. I googled "whole wheat banana" and found this wonderful recipe for Whole Wheat Honey Banana Muffins. They are delicious!! So very moist and tasty. I added a generous amount of cinnamon and walnuts and used three bananas to make 12 muffins.

I have been eating two a day, one for breakfast and one for an afternoon snack. In the morning I heat it up for 20 seconds and put on a dab of butter. In the afternoon I eat it at room temperature on the ride home to ward off the I AM STARVING feeling I normally have when I walk in the door after work.

This is now my go-to muffin recipe. I think the cinnamon and nuts are a must (pecans or walnuts). I also think these could be made with apples, shredded carrot or zucchini and with golden raisins. The batter IS a little bland and "healthy" so the nuts and fruits are what makes it delicious.

The recipe creator, A Messy Cook, states that:

"These muffins are delicious and have a great texture, and they are 100% healthy! No refined flour or sweeteners....To make the muffins lower in fat, replace half of the oil with unsweetened applesauce. I also use "white whole-wheat" flour, which is softer than that made with red wheat (but has the exact same nutritional value)."

Muffins!

This weekend I wanted to use up 2 very ripe bananas and some fresh strawberries. I found this recipe for Morning Glory Muffins and made a few tweaks. It is a VERY forgiving recipe and I think you can add just about anything you want. Read the reviews for some ideas. This made 15 muffins.

My changes were:

Two bananas and fresh strawberries (about a cup) and also about 4 shredded carrots, about 4 tbs of flax seeds (I had some on hand from when I made granola) and a cup or so of walnuts. I also didn't have any apple butter, so I used apple jelly and I used 2 whole eggs rather than what the recipe called for.