blueberry muffins

I love baking, especially in the winter. It makes the kitchen feel and smell so cozy. I'm a total type-A personality when it comes to recipes, though; I follow them to a T and do not experiment. I've always wished I could be one of those people who thinks up recipes with the inspiration of just one ingredient. My thinking has always been, "If I don't put in exactly what the recipe says, my cake/bread/muffins will be ruined and I'll have gone to all this work for nothing." Until yesterday.

Scrambled eggs is my go-to breakfast and with Jack getting into more of a routine, I'm getting back into my scrambled eggs for breakfast routine. Yay! I always like to have something along side my eggs, usually something like a piece of toast or banana bread. And lately, I've been craving blueberry muffins. I wanted a muffin that was hearty and not too sweet, and ultimately decided on this recipe. But guess what? I didn't follow it exactly. I only had half the amount of wheat flour on hand, so I used all purpose flour as well. I also subbed in unsweetened applesauce for the oil. And guess what? The muffins turned out great! Go figure.

Blueberry Muffins

adapted from this recipe

1 cup mashed bananas

1 egg

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and grease muffin tin or paper muffin liners. The original recipe makes 18 muffins, but I them a little on the big side and only made 12.

Mix together mashed bananas, egg, water, and applesauce in a large bowl. Mix in flour, baking soda, and baking powder until mostly smooth. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Bake for 15-20 minutes and until the tops are golden.

favorite eats // lemon strawberry yogurt cake

What do I do when it's chilly and rainy and we've turned our heat off for the season? I bake. Which I actually enjoy now that I don't have morning/noon/night sickness. The grocery store had strawberries on sale this week and you better believe that a little crate of them was the first thing in my cart...that along with about 27 other kinds of fruits and vegetables. Baby Miller is craving stuff that's fresh, fresh, fresh.

So there on the counter sat 2 pounds of big, juicy strawberries just begging to be baked into something delicious and spring-y. Then I came across this recipe that I had saved on Pinterest awhile back: Lemon Strawberry Yogurt Cake. Done. And let me tell you, it is one of the most beautiful little cakes I've ever seen. And if spring had a flavor, I think it'd be a combo of lemon+strawberry.

via

Lemon Strawberry Yogurt Cake
from A Spicy Perspective

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 Tb. lemon juice, divided
Zest of 1 lemon
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
8 oz. plain or vanilla, Greek yogurt (I used vanilla & it was delish)
12 oz. fresh strawberries, diced
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan (10-15 cup pan.) Sift together the 2 ¼ cups of flour, baking soda and salt. Mix in the lemon zest and set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in 1 Tb. lemon juice. Alternate beating in the flour mixture and the yogurt, mixing just until incorporated.
3. Toss the strawberries with the remaining ¼ cup of flour. Gently mix them into the batter.
4. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan. Place in the oven and reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
5. Allow to cool at least 20 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Once cooled whisk together the remaining 2 Tb. of lemon juice and the powdered sugar. Drizzle over the top of the cake.

favorite eats // energy bites

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These little nuggets have become quite the staple at our house. I discovered this recipe last summer and have been cranking out batches of them ever since. However, I have never come up with a good name for this recipe. They're originally called "Energy Bites", but that's sort of boring. Tim is grown fond of calling them "Speed Balls" or "Speed Bombs", which are both extremely weird and awkward. So I guess the jury is still out on the official name. Nonetheless, these little puppies are packed with energy and goodness, and perfect for hikes and camping trips. Yeah, camping trips...remember those? Those times when you sleep under the stars and have bonfires and go on hikes, all in sunny 70-degree weather. I've nearly forgotten what camping is thanks to yet another snow storm raging outside my window on the 22nd day of April. Pure craziness. But you can bet I'll be whipping up a batch of Speed Balls for our trip out west in a few weeks!

Healthy Energy Bites
adapted from Gimme Some Oven blog

1 cup dry oatmeal (I use old-fashioned oats)
2/3 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or any sort of add-in you like)
1/2 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. chia seeds (optional)

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like - I make mine about 1" in diameter. These can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

favorite eats // breakfast burritos

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As I type this, I can hear a cardinal singing outside, which has nothing to do with burritos, except that both things make me SO excited!

Burritos have been a dinner staple for awhile now. I made burritos the first week we were married and we've been hooked ever since. We both like LOVE Chipotle, but we really limit our eating out budget. Usually when we have traditional burritos, I will make cilantro lime rice to give it that true Chipotle flavor. But lately one our faves has been the breakfast burrito, even though we've never had them for breakfast. I guess technically they're called "Egg and Hash Brown Tacos", but "Breakfast Burritos" seems to roll off the tongue a little easier.

Breakfast Burritos
adapted from Food Network Magazine

2 tablespoons butter
2 cups frozen shredded hash browns
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup salsa
8 large eggs
1/3 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
8 flour tortillas, warmed
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
fresh lime juice

Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat and cook hash browns until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Heat the remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the beans and salsa, reduce the heat to low and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Lightly beat the eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper to taste. Pour into the skillet with the hash browns and cook, stirring, until the eggs are almost set, about 2 minutes. Stir in half of the cheese and cook until the eggs are just set, about 1 more minute. Divide among the tortillas and top with bean salsa mixture, avocado, cilantro, remaining cheese, and sour cream and lime juice if your prefer...which you should prefer.

favorite eats // potpie

In general, I like to have clear goals and directions so I enjoy planning a menu for the upcoming week. Because without a planned-out menu of meals and grocery needs, there's no telling what will end up on the table at 6:00pm. And after nearly 2 1/2 years of meal planning, I'm finding patterns, favorites, and meals that both Tim and I love to make and eat. And usually, these meals are so good (and usually easy) that I think, "Man, I've got to tell someone about this! It's just so good!" Enter: Favorite Eats Series, a series of posts highlighting some of my all-time fave dishes I've made.

First up is potpie. Just the name conjures up images of a chilling night and a steaming helping of comfort food. I've made a few different versions of this wintertime favorite, but this is by far the simplest and most tasty version I've found.

And a quick note about the crust - I use store bought crust. There, now you know all my secrets. This would be just as delicious with a homemade crust, but the last time I tried to make my own pie crust (which was about 5 years ago) I had a pretty embarrassing melt down. So until someone shows me a super duper easy fool-proof way to make pie crust, it's coming from the grocery store, baby.

Potpie
adapted from Real Simple

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound mushrooms, diced (sometimes I do less if I'm adding in a protein such as chicken)
4 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups broth (veggie or chicken)
1 cup frozen peas
1 double crust

Heat oven to 400F. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, carrots, celery, onion, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. Add the broth and peas; bring to a boil.

Line your pie plate with one of the pie crusts and transfer the bubbly veggie mixture into the pie plate. Lay the other crust on top and cut several vents in the top. Bake until the crust is golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Let it rest 15 minutes before serving.

*I have also added ground chicken to this recipe before...so good.