M is for Muffin!

This week our preschool theme was the letter M. We talked about manatees, milk, mailboxes, motorcycles, mermaids, magnolia trees, mice, & monsters (they are our friends after all!) And we made various crafts, worked on using scissors, adding & counting monster eyeballs, and memorized the bible verse: My soul rests in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. Psalm 62:1

On Fridays I like to do a kitchen project with them. So today we made snicker doodle muffins. Oh my they are good!

Here's the recipe we used: 

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup AP flour + 1Tbsp

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup non fat plain yogurt

For the Topping:

1/2 cup sugar

4 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Put 12 liners in your muffin tin

2) In a small bowl, mix the topping: sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

3) In the bowl of a heavy duty mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and vanilla until combined. Add the yogurt and mix until combined.

4) Add in the dry ingredients in 2 batches. Mix, scraping sides of the bowl as needed until a smooth batter is achieved. 

5) Using a large cookie dough scoop, drop a scoop of batter into the bowl with the cinnamon sugar topping. Gently roll the batter in the mixture. Place the ball into the muffin liner. Repeat until all liners are full. 

6) Sprinkle any leftover cinnamon sugar mix on top of the muffins.

7) Bake the muffins for about 15 to 20 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test.

They came out super tasty! Soft and fluffy on the inside, tangy from the yogurt, and lovely little cinnamon sugar crunchies clinging to the whole muffin. The littlest in our family loved these muffins & kept asking for more - she even attempted to steal mine. My oldest licked the wrapper & wanted to know if she could eat it too. They are THAT good. I hope you will try them and let me know what you think. 

Beer!

For his birthday my husband was given one of those boxes with all different kinds of beers. Through the adventure of trying the various small batch craft brews, I discovered one I really enjoyed. I'm not usually a big fan of dark beers. This one is called a "Brunette Beer" and comes from The Original Firemans Brew company out of Ukiah, CA. I decided to try using it to make a beer bread, and oh my goodness did it turn out great! 

Now, I love me a good quick bread recipe, but many are overly sweet. I combined a few recipes and reduced the amount of sweetener to come up with the recipe below. This bread is hearty and has just the right amount of barely there sweetness. It would be PERFECT served warm & slathered with butter along side a stew or cream soup.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups AP flour

3/4 cup old fashioned oats - ground up in a food processor 

1 Tbsp flax meal

2 Tbsp quick grits (corn meal would make a good subsitute)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup honey

12 ounces of your favorite amber or dark beer

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

DIRECTIONS

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter. Set aside.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, flax meal, grits, baking powder and salt. 

3) Add in the honey and beer and mix until just combined. 

4) Spread the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Evenly pour the melted butter over the top of the batter. DO NOT skip this step. This is crucial to both the flavor and crunchy crust of this bread. Reduce the fat somewhere else! I mean it!

5) Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test and the top is golden brown. 

6) Transfer immediately to a cooling rack. Allow to sit for at least 20 minutes and then slice & enjoy!

Easy peasy tortilla soup

Wow! Time sure does fly! It's hard for me to believe it has been 2 months since my last post! CRAZY! 

With the beginning of a new year, most of us are looking for ways to eat healthier. My easy peasy tortilla soup has been a great way for us to get in more veggies and eat something that feels like comfort food.

INGREDIENTS:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

6 cups low sodium chicken or veggie stock

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp dried oregano

2 cloves minced fresh garlic

1 tsp Mrs Dash Fiesta Lime seasoning

2 carrots pealed and sliced into thin coins

1 15oz can no salt added petite diced tomatoes, drained

4 corn tortillas chopped into 1 inch strips

GARNISH OPTIONS

chopped bell pepper

diced avocado

sliced jalapeño

cilantro 

crushed tortilla chips

shredded Mexican cheese

hot sauce 

DIRECTIONS

1) Place chicken, stock, & spices into a large stock pot and simmer until chicken is cooked through.

2) Remove chicken, chop into bite sized pieces, and set asside.

3) Add carrots, tomatoes, and tortillas and continue to simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.

4) Meanwhile, chop and prepare the garnishes you are choosing to use. We like all of them! I usually put everything in desperate bowls on a lazy Susan so that everyone can add their own favorites.

5) Just before serving, add the chopped chicken back to the pot, and allow to simmer for 5 minutes- just until heated through. 

6) Ladle into soup bowls, top with your favorite garnishes & enjoy!