Carrot Pineapple Muffins

You know what's not been good out of this entire working from home more thing? Baking on my lunch hour. Fatassery like nobody's business.

I had a can of crushed pineapple in the pantry and needed to use it. I used half for this and half as a chicken marinade the next week. Boom.

Original recipe here.

Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup apple sauce
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup drained crushed pineapple

Directions
Preheat oven to 375.

Sitr together sugar, apple sauce, eggs, vanilla until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

Stir dry ingredients into wet until just combined.

Add carrots and pineapple, stir well.

Place paper in muffin tin or grease muffin tin. Spoon mixture in, filling to top.

Bake in a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes or until done. I got 15 muffins out of this.

Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove to rack to finish cooling. I let them sit in the pan then flash froze them. I take them out in the morning and they're thawed by the time I get to work.

Baker's One Bowl Brownies from Scratch

A ways back my friend Nancy from high school was talking about the best brownies - made using the Baker's recipe. I recently happened across it again, and I figured I'd give it a go this weekend. I've never made brownies from scratch. I've always used the box. I will not be using the box any more because these brownies are tops. They're also super easy and require one bowl just like if you were using a brownie mix. MFD is on board. After eating one of these he said, "Steph? Duncan Hines can suck it." Did you hear that Duncan Hines? He's serious.

Ingredients

4 oz bar (or four 1 oz each pieces) Baker's unsweetened chocolate, chopped

3/4 c. (1.5 sticks) butter

2 c. sugar

3 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. flour

1 c. chopped nuts, optional, or peanut butter, cream cheese, nutella to swirl through - all optional

FYI, the ingredients in the mix of a box of Duncan Hines chewy fudge brownies before you add anything:
Sugar, Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour [Enriched With Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Malted Barley Flour), Powdered Sugar (Sugar, Corn Starch), Cocoa Powder Processed With Alkali, Vegetable Oil Shortening (Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil). Contains 2% Or Less Of: Wheat Starch, Dextrose, Salt, Cornstarch, Artificial Flavor, Carrageenan, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate).

For not much more work, I might as well go with the straightforward six ingredients that I recognize.

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwave-safe bowl on high for two minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Stir sugar into chocolate. Mix in eggs and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flour and nuts if using. Spread in greased 13 x 9-inch pan. If you're adding a swirl, now's the time.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Cool in pan; cut into squares. Makes 24 fudgy brownies. 

Note: When using glass baking dish, bake at 325°F. For cake-like brownies, stir in 1/2 cup milk with eggs; use 1 1/2 cups flour.

Go ahead, lick the bowl. Maybe take a photo of yourself doing it with dirty hair and no makeup while you're at it so you can share it with the world at large. No? Just me?

Try them from scratch. You won't be sorry. Thanks again to Nancy for the recipe!

***********************

Haikuesday

Brownies from Heaven.
Fudgy chocolate goodness.
Fat Albert nods, sighs.

**********************

Tomorrow is October 1. I'll be damned. September's nothing more than a fart in the wind.

Choose Your Own Adventure: Food Theme starts tomorrow. What's your goal? Are you trying new recipes? Trying to eat more or less of something? Bringing your lunch to work? Tasting a new to you food? You choose your goal around the food theme, then share your results the first Thursday in November.

October Wallet Watch starts tomorrow too! Batten down the hatches. 

Linking up for

Berry Cobbler

Sunday is a day that calls for dessert, am I right?

I'm a huge fan of fruit-based desserts. Last weekend I had some fresh blackberries I needed to use so I decided to do a cobbler after rooting around in the freezer and unearthing some frozen strawberries. This was so easy.

Ingredients
4 tbs butter (cut up into tbs increments)
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups berries - any kind, fresh or frozen. I used a mix and didn't thaw the frozen ones
1 TBS sugar
a bit of brown sugar crumbled between fingers

Directions
Heat oven to 350. Put the pieces of butter in the bottom of the dish you're using (I used a  dish) and let melt in the oven with the rack in the middle.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and 1 teaspoon brown sugar. Add milk and vanilla and whisk until smooth. When butter is melted, remove dish from oven and pour batter in. Stir a bit.

Throw fruit on the top of the batter and sprinkle with 1 TBS sugar and then crumble a bit of brown sugar over top.

Bake until the batter gets brown and the fruit bubbles. It was about 47 minutes for me.

Serve warm (if you need to microwave individual plates, zap them at 20 seconds per) with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.

Oops I did it again banana chocolate chip muffins

Saturday morning I was faced with four spotty bananas. I couldn't find my banana bread recipe, so I called on The Dalai Momma because she is The Baking Queen. I secured her new recipe and decided to make muffins instead of bread because I do what I want.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins:

1/2 cup butter- melted
1 cup sugar
4 smashed medium bananas
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs at room temp
1.5 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon 
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tbs mayo
Mini chocolate chips (optional)
Brown sugar mixed with cinnamon for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with liners - I got 23 muffins out of this recipe.

Melt the butter in the microwave. Add bananas and smoosh them with a fork. Add vanilla and two eggs. Mix well with a fork. Add dry ingredients, mix with fork until just mixed. Add mayo and mix well.

I added about 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips and stirred again. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Top with a dab of brown sugar cinnamon mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes up clean. Viola. You now have

And now for Haikuesday:

Britney Spears hates you.

"You" being Tuesday, of course.

She likes bananas. 

Come back and see me tomorrow for the second group of 18 of 36 Life Realizations.

 
Linking up with Blissfully Miller and Let's Get Bananas for

"A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou." --Omar Khayyam

Once upon a time, I really wanted to be the person who made her own bread but I was afraid I'd F up the rising times, etc.

Then I got a bread maker and my friend Mimi passed along her family's go to bread recipe, and we all lived happily ever after.

Seriously, this is better than bread at many restaurants. Give it a go.

Put in bread machine in this order...

1 cup of water, no specific temperature.
3 cups of bread flour
1 heaping teaspoon of salt
2,5 teaspoons or 1 package of yeast
1 tablespoon of Crisco
olive oil

Set the machine on dough and help it along until everything is mixed and it forms a ball.  If it doesn't look like it will form a ball, drizzle more water in (I normally do).

Remove the dough from the bread machine at 1 hour 15 minutes.  Generously grease the bottom of a glass dish with olive oil. I do mine in a glass or ceramic 8x8 square dish.

Add olive oil to the top of the dough and push it down with your fingers to make the dough about an inch thick.  I add salt, pepper, rosemary and whatever else I feel like to the top.

Cover with plastic wrap and put it in the microwave to rise (do not turn the microwave on).  Once it rises so the top of the dough is at the top of the dish,  bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until the top is golden.

This is also Mimi's (and now my) pizza dough recipe too.

In closing, for Haikuesday (I'm going to make that a thing):

Bread from the oven

I hate sharing food. Hands off!

But pass the butter. 

Linking up for The Petite Blog Hop at Smile and Write and

Old Mother Hubbard went to the cupboard

Anyone who knows me knows I like to be well stocked in the kitchen. I rarely run out of things and my cabinets are always full, for which I'm very thankful. With this stuff on hand, I feel confident I can throw together a meal on the fly without having to go to the store. Things that can always be found in my pantry:

Condiments
Oils - olive, vegetable, grape
Vinegars - I am a vinegar ho.
Worcestershire sauce
Hot sauce - MFD's. I don't touch the stuff, although I may add some to a recipe if I'm feeling saucy.
Soy Sauce
Heinz Ketchup
Mustards - yellow, spicy brown, dijon.
Hellman's mayo
Ranch and italian dressings. I also use creamy caesar for marinades.

Spices
Salts: coarse kosher salt, sea salt, regular salt.
Beyond that, I have a robust collection of spices. The ones I use most often and find necessary on a weekly or daily basis: chili powder, dill, cumin, garlic salt, garlic powder, ground dry mustard, onion powder, paprika, oregano, thyme.

Dry Goods
Pasta - spaghetti, elbows, rigatoni, bowtie, orzo. I like Barilla Plus or Healthy Harvest, but I keep regular on hand so MFD doesn't have a shit fit.
Quinoa
Brown Rice
White rice
Quaker Oats - I love the Quaker Oat man.
Barley
Lentils
Ramen
Bread - I prefer Sara Lee. I'm also a sucker for rye.
Panko breadcrumbs. If I need regular, I'll make my own.
MFD's requirements: Lipton noodle soup, Kraft Mac & Cheese

Cans and Jars
Beans - pinto, black, and kidney. I make my own black beans from dry and freeze them.
Tomatoes - diced, crushed, and whole peeled plum. I prefer Tuttoroso.
Tomato paste - I use what I need from the can and then freeze the rest in ice cube trays
Peanut Butter - Peter Pan mostly.
Jams and jellies - I love a variety. My least favorite is grape.
Peppers - roasted red, banana, jalapeno, chipotle in adobo sauce
Capers
Pickles - always dill, never sweet or bread & butter
Olives - green and black. Sometimes kalamata. Opa!
Chicken broth - I make my own whenever I can and freeze it, but I always have some on hand in the pantry as well.
Tuna

Baking things
Flour - all purpose and whole wheat
Sugar - white, brown, confectioner's
Cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder
Vanilla extract
Chocolate chips and Baker's chocolate
Pudding - vanilla and chocolate, instant

Beverages
Dunkin Donuts coffee, green tea bags and black tea bags.
CranGrape juice
Assorted sodas

Fridge
Milk - skim for me, 2% for MFD
FF half & half
Greek yogurt - I substitue it for sour cream often.
Sour cream
Cheese - feta, blue, parmesan, extra sharp cheddar, some type of jack. Block over pre-shedded. Nine times out of 10, I grate my own.

Freezer
Homemade marinara sauce, frozen flat in ziploc bags
Veggies: I always have chopped onions, chopped spinach, broccoli crows
Shredded cheese
Bacon
Shrimp
Shredded chicken bagged and frozen in one and two cup portions
Homemade soup - either leftovers or made specifically to freeze.
Ellio's pizza
Chicken breasts and thighs
Garlic bread

Produce
I always have celery, carrots, and potatoes
I usually have cucumbers, peppers, and another veggie.
Fruit I buy the most: naval oranges, granny smith apples, berries, grapes, bananas, stone fruits

Snacks 
Tortilla and regular chips, Utz special dark pretzels, Ritz crackers. I keep all of those on hand in case an impromptu party arises that we are either hosting or attending. If MFD has his way we also have Oreos, gummy bears, Nutty bars, and other assorted processed bad stuff.

What's in your pantry?  Big Hungry Shelby posted on this topic a few weeks back. Check out what she stocks here.

Tomorrow, tommorow, I love ya, TOMORROW!
Tomorrow I'm giving away a Target gift card because I love you.

Kiss kiss.

The Weekend that Was

Alas, kindred spirits, another Monday is upon us. I am in a good mood for a Monday, even though I was woken up at 6 a.m. by MFD reciting lines from National Lampoon's European Vacation in his sleep, forgot my breakfast, all the trash did not get out, two women were applying full face makeup on the train this morning, I have hives on my feet and my nails look like a homeless person's.

Perhaps someone slipped me an upper with me knowing? That would certainly account for this uncharacteristic good Monday mood.

Have some coffee and enjoy my weekend misadventures:

1. Major Project #1: Plant Bulbs.  I ordered my summer bulbs from Michigan Bulb, and on Friday I tracked them and they were on the truck for delivery, so I slated this chore for Saturday. They did not arrive Friday or Saturday. Incidentally my neighbor's new iPhone did not arrive, nor did my US Magazine. In any case, the bulbs did not get planted. Balls.

Where the F are my bulbs?

2. I took the dogs for a walk on Saturday and locked myself out of the house for an hour and a half with no phone. No neighbors were home for me to use their phone. Then MFD got home from work...he used my car on Saturday and took my spare keys...which have no house key. He did have a phone though, so we were able to get in when his sister brought the keys. Balls.

3. Major Project #2: Make Halloween costume. This did not happen for a few reasons. My name is not Laura and I am not crafty. Lack of time on Saturday due to time suck mentioned in #2 above. And Sunday I took a three hour nap instead. 

4. Every once in a while we come home to Keurig KCups with teeth marks in them on the floor near the closet where they are stored in plastic bags in a fashionable and awesome bin with no top. Sunday I left my house with Debbie only to turn around a block away because I forgot my phones. I caught Gus in the act of furiously ripping into the Donut Shop KCups. Foiled, Fatty. Mama's storing that shit in an impenetrable fortress of a bin from here on out. Add ugly bin with lid to this week's shopping list.

5. Pumpkin bars are the devil. The very very good devil with a large and fat behind from all the butter in them. I baked some Saturday morning, and between me, our nephew Drew and MFD, they're pretty much gone. Thanks to Shelby (see her blog here) for the recipe, which is super easy and listed after sign off below.  

6. Closet doors are my nemesis. I couldn't open them in the spare room so I ripped them off like Hulk Hogan rips through his shirt and will put curtains up on a tension rod like I did on my closet and the coat closet. HGTV would not be pleased, but it works for me. Closet door installation is a project to add to the Before We Sell list.

On a related note, I am full of glee over my newly purged and organized closet. I do not thrive in disorganized and chaotic home environments. Here's a tip for you people looking to organize shoes. I never knew what to do with mine. This is how I've stored them for the past three years. It's the best system I've ever used. Boxes like this are on the top of my closet and the spare closet. They can be found at Target for $2 a pop, and I buy the labels there too. Easy peasy.:

Other weekend highlights: another meal made with mushrooms, time with my nephews, sitting around a bonfire at Shady Brook on Sunday night with friends and family, more quality time with Investigation Discovery Channel, slept snug as a bug in a rug after putting the down comforter on on Saturday.

That's all, friends. Have a stellar week.

Humming on a Monday,

SMD

Shelby’s Pumpkin Bars

1 box yellow cake

3 large eggs

2TBS milk

1/4C sugar

3 TBS flour

1TSP cinnamon

1/2C melted butter

1 13.5 oz jar Muirhead 0r other pumpkin butter

1/4C cold butter

Preheat oven to 350. Reserve 1C of cake mix. Combine remaining cake mix, 1/2C melted butter and 1 egg. Stir well until mixed and press onto bottom of 9x13 pan.

Whisk together pumpkin butter, 2 eggs and milk. Pour over cake mixture in pan. Using pastry blender or fork, Combine cake mix, flour, cold butter, sugar and cinnamon. Crumble over top of cake. Bake 35-40 min or until golden.