Sloppy Joe's

This past week/weekend we were in Boston visiting our family.  The weather was great! Of course I came home to torrential downpours.  Hopefully the nice weather will be back soon but I can't complain since everything is so green and healthy looking right now.

Before we hopped off to Boston I made this sloppy joe recipe from The Pioneer Woman and I loved it! It's much like the kind I remember from a can only better. I left out a couple of the ingredients that Ree puts in her recipe simply because I either didn't have them or I knew my daughter wouldn't try it if they were in there. Either way, it was awesome.  My version is below but the link will bring you to The Pioneer Woman's recipe. 

Sloppy Joe's

Recipe modified from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey (or ground beef)
• 1/4 to 1/2 a large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• Worcestershire sauce to taste
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• salt and pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. In a large skillet, add the ground turkey and cook over medium until the turkey is browned. If you're using beef, drain any fat at this point.
2. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook just until it is beginning to get tender.
3. Add all of the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 10 minutes to meld the flavors.
4. Serve with toasted rolls or whatever you have. This would also be delicious served over a bed of lettuce!

Lemon Plum?

Have any of you ever seen a fruit or vegetable at the local grocery store and wondered what in the heck it is? That happens to be all the time particularly when I'm at the farmers market.  I even ask the people that are working the cash register what a particular item is and sometimes they have no idea either.

That's what happened here, I was at Wal Mart and I saw this pretty little plum and knew I wanted to try it.  The name made me think it would taste like lemon, but it doesn't really.  I brought it home and looked it up online and learned that the one I had brought home was actually unripe.  They are bright yellowish in color when unripe. I needed to let mine sit for about a week...

Walla! My lemon plum has ripened!

I also learned that this is a rare fruit that comes from Chile and is usually only available in the United States in February, which is when I bought this one. When ready to eat they turn into this beautiful orangish color and can even go a deeper color like reddish purple.  I didn't let mine go that far, I was anxious to try it. To me this lemon plum tastes a lot like a regular plum.  They are sweet and juicy and lovely.  I would buy then again, but in the meantime I will just snack on the variety that we almost always have in the grocery store.  It doesn't hurt that to me these plums sort of resemble a heart.

Good find!

Good Morning Muffins

I have to say, The Pioneer Woman did it again.  I love this muffin. I love everything about it.  I did change the ratio of flour from all all-purpose flour and instead did 50% white whole wheat and 50% unbleached all-purpose flour but I couldn't even tell that they weren't all white flour.  They were incredibly moist, they have a nice orange taste flavor inside and cinnamon sugar crunch on the top, and the inside was dense (which is how I like them) but not so dense that you have to drink a glass of milk just to wash them down.

The topping adds nice crunch and cinnamon flavor.

MyFitnessPal calculates the recipe that I used (with my changes as seen below) at 233 calories each.  Definitely not diet food but if you're able to keep it to just one muffin for breakfast it's so worth it. I froze half of the muffins for later and I'll report back when I un-thaw them to see if they change much when thawed.

This would be great to have on hand for a quick breakfast or snack, put one in your kids lunch boxes or even your own lunch box. A keeper for sure!

Good Morning Muffins

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour (or just whole wheat)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2 cups orange marmalade
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 whole eggs, beaten
• Topping
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg (I used a scant tsp)
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp salt
• wheat germ (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flours, sugar and baking powder.
3. Add in the butter and shortening and use a pastry cutter to incorporate it into the flour mixture.
4. In a separate medium sized bowl add the marmalade, orange juice and vanilla.
5. In a small bowl add the eggs and beat, then mix into the marmalade mixture.
6. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and use less than 10 very large stirs to incorporate the ingredients.
7. Use a cookie scoop or an ice cream scoop to add the mix to fill the muffin tin.
8. In a separate small bowl add the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, melted butter and salt and mix well. Top each muffin with this mixture. Add wheat germ to the top if desired.
9. Bake for 20-22 minutes for full sized muffins. I used mini muffins also and they baked for about 13-15 minutes.
10. Remove from the pan and cool on wire racks.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

So, I have this aunt, whom I love a lot, she lives in Montana, she makes awesome food.  She makes this awesome strawberry-rhubarb pie, everyone loves it and everyone wants the recipe.  Everyone including me. So I asked her for it and she said....no!

So I was forced to find another recipe.  This one is pretty darn good and when you're in doubt about a recipe you're planning to make because you know it's going to be compared to another one that is super fantastic then you go with a trusted cook/baker.  In this case I went with Smitten Kitchen because everything I've ever made of hers has been amazing.  This recipe didn't disappoint!  I loved it! It is slightly different from my aunt's but since it doesn't look like I'll be getting that recipe anytime soon I'm quite happy with this one. 

If you've never had rhubarb before it's hard to describe, and you might be better off just trying a piece of strawberry rhubarb pie from your local bakery, it's fairly common.  Rhubarb by definition is a vegetable, however in 1947 it was decided in court to be identified as a fruit (in the U.S.) for the purpose of regulations and duties.  it is most commonly served in pies or jams and has sugar added to cut through it's sharp flavor. 

Cut up the strawberries and rhubarb into bite sized pieces. 

Use a large bowl to mix the ingredients before transferring to a pie plate. 

The butter makes the syrup that is created inside, nice and flavorful.

Doesn't that look beautiful? 

I love the little crunch that a sprinkling of coarse sugar adds.

By letting the pie cool completely you will be able to serve it without it spilling out all over the sides.  It's strawberry season here in the South but if it's not quite yet that time of year where you live you can do this entire recipe with frozen fruit.  At the very least you might have to use frozen rhubarb since sometimes it can be hard to find fresh.

I'm a huge fan of the sweet strawberries and the little tartness from the rhubarb.  This is one of my favorite flavor combinations!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups rhubarb (1 1/2 pounds) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups strawberries (1 pound) hulled and sliced
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup quick cooking tapioca
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 large egg yolk with 1 tsp of water added for egg wash
• 1 recipe for double pie crust (or store bought)

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. If you're using a fresh pie crust recipe, roll it out on a floured surface and then gently transfer to the deep dish pie plate.
3. In a large bowl add the strawberries, rhubarb, sugars, lemon juice, salt and tapioca. Stir together to combine.
4. Add the fruit mixture to the pie plate in a mound.
5. Dot the fruit with the butter pieces.
6. Top the fruit with the other crust that has been rolled out to form a circle that will overhang by about 1/2 inch.
7. Cut any dough that is longer then 1/2 inch and then tuck the remaining overhang under itself and crimp the edges.
8. Transfer the pie to a baking sheet and then use the egg wash mixture to brush over the top of the crust. Cut some slits for steam to escape. I used a little coarse sugar to sprinkle over the top of the crust as well but that is optional.
9. Bake for 20 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25 - 30 minutes until the pie liquid is bubbling and the crust is nicely golden.
10. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a cooling rack. The liquid inside will be fully gelled when completely cool.

Roast Chicken

First of all I'd just like to say:

Boston is where my family lives and where my husband and I have lived on two separate occasions.  It's my favorite city.  I'll get off my soap box in a minute. My heart breaks for those that were affected.

Not really sure what to post about today, since I didn't make any Boston Baked Beans or Boston Cream Pie lately. So I decided on Chicken, I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

To softened butter you add lemon zest and rosemary, some salt and pepper.

Smear it all together with your fingers, or a spoon. :)

Slather the chicken with the butter, get every inch of the chicken plus under the skin and inside the cavity.

Roast for about an hour or a little longer depending on the size of your chicken.

Isn't it lovely and moist? The skin was nice and crispy and the lemon rosemary wasn't overpowering but was noticeable.

I will make this again for sure. I make roast chickens often but haven't ever tried this lemon rosemary combination.  I like it.  I like it a lot.

Roast Chicken

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken
• 3 whole lemons
• 4 springs fresh rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste (or seasoning salt)
• 3/4 cups butter, softened

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Line a roasting pan with tin foil
3. rinse and pat dry the chicken.
4. In a small bowl mix together the zest from the lemons, 1 sprig of rosemary leaves that have been chopped and the salt and pepper.
5. cut the lemons in half and use your hands to rub the butter mixture all over the chicken, including inside the cavity and under the skin.
6. Squeeze a little of the lemon juice into the cavity and put the halved lemon inside. Do this with all the lemons (if they'll fit).
7. Roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'm always running into the problem of banana's getting too ripe on my counter.  If I only buy 3 or 4 they are gone so fast I think I'll buy more next time, then I buy more and they sit uneaten until I get panicky and go in search of a new banana recipe.

Welcome to my daughters newest favorite muffin, she loves these things. In fact she's even had one as part of her dinner.  I don't feel bad about giving her one because it does have healthy ingredients even though I know she's only eating them for the chocolate chips.

The muffins have a nice banana flavor without being too banana-y.  The chocolate chips are definitely the biggest flavor but that can easily be controlled either by how many you add or the type of chip you use.  I used semi-sweet chocolate chips but I think these would be excellent with any flavor chip or even toffee chips.

They stayed moist for several days in a zip lock bag, in fact my daughter had them all eaten before we noticed any changes in taste. 

 Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (2 medium or 1 1/2 large)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray or line a muffin tin. (I used one regular sized 12 cup muffin tin and 8 mini muffins)
3. Mix the butter and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
4. Add the mashed banana, egg and vanilla and mix well.
5. Add the milk and mix well.
6. Add the remaining dry ingredients EXCEPT the chocolate chips.
7. When the dry ingredients have been added and mixed well you can add in the chocolate chips.
8. Use a cookie scoop or two Tablespoons to dollop the mix into the regular sized muffin cups, fill them full and mounded on top. Same with the mini muffin tins.
9. Bake the regular sized muffins for between 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
10. For mini muffins cook for about 15-20 minutes.
11. Let cool on a cooling rack slightly before serving.

Pineapple Gelato

It's the time of year when we all start to think about beaches and pools and cool drinks.  Most of us will try our hardest to stop baking so the oven doesn't make the kitchen any hotter and all the while we're sweating it out at the gym so we can look just right in our bathing suits.  It's a vicious cycle but we do it every year.

Speaking of things we do every year, I am in love with my ice cream maker.  Making ice cream is so easy and I love trying out new recipes. I've posted a picture of my ice cream maker at the bottom of this post.  I'm sure there are a million different options out there but I sure do like this one.

This is a very mild flavored ice cream.  Pineapple isn't necessarily the strongest taste anyway but it's oh so good on a hot day when you're just trying to relax. 

If some of you are wondering what the differences are between ice cream and gelato here it goes.  Any "gelato" that you make in an ice cream maker in the comfort of your own home is most likely going to be ice cream and not gelato.  Gelato is churned at a slower speed so it becomes more dense then an ice cream churner.  Gelato is also less fat then a typical ice cream.  Ice cream usually has about 10% fat content where as Gelato is around 7-8% fat.  Another big difference is the temperature in which the Gelato is cooled.  It's not frozen at the same temperatures we have in our freezers and is in fact warmer and therefore the Gelato doesn't get completely frozen and is served sort of halfway between frozen and refrigerator temperature.  I hope that clears things up.  Essentially my "gelato" is really more like ice cream.  I guess if you want the authentic gelato you'll probably have to visit an ice cream shop, specialty shop or Italy. :)  If you're really set on making your own authentic gelato there are gelato makers out there, since I haven't tried any of them I wouldn't be able to give my opinion. 

Pineapple is one of those classic summer fruits so I find that this gelato/ice cream is perfect!  If you're in the mood for something slightly different check out the link below for the original recipe which includes rosemary!

Pineapple Gelato

Recipe modified slightly from Bakingdom

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large egg yolks
• 1 - 15.5 ounce can crushed pineapple with the juice (or use fresh like I did)

Cooking Directions

1. In a large bowl, pour 1 cup of heavy cream and place a mesh sieve on top.
2. In a medium saucepan, add the other 1 cup of heavy cream and the milk and sugar and cook over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is right below the boil point.
3. In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks and slowly add some hot milk mixture (about a cup) while whisking constantly.
4. Now add the tempered egg yolks back into the milk mixture and bring to a low boil until the mixture has thickened and can coat the back of a spoon.
5. Pour the hot milk/egg mixture through the mesh sieve into the cream and mix well. Add the crushed pineapple and mix.
6. Place some plastic wrap over the mixture (touching the mixture) until it has cooled to room temperature.
7. Refrigerate overnight.
8. Put the mixture in your ice cream maker; following your manufacturers instructions.
9. Freeze.