Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Have you have tried something at a bakery and knew you had to try it at home? It happened with us and a very special lemon poppy seed muffin. The subtle lemon flavor with the bite of the poppy seed make these a great breakfast (anytime?) treat. 

We made mini muffins, but this recipe is good for any sized muffin. 

The original recipe is over at Food.com: http://www.food.com/recipe/lemon-poppy-seed-muffins-100943

Enjoy! 

Oven baked wings

Leave it to Alton Brown to come up with the perfect way to make wings without a deep fryer. This is a time consuming recipe, but the results are definitely worth it. We chose to make 12 wings with two different sauces; our own 6 ingredient bbq sauce, and a honey sriracha sauce. 

Here's the recipe, according to Alton: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/alton-browns-buffalo-wings-recipe.html

Some notes: 

• When steaming the wings, you'll know when they are done with the meat is a little darker and loots like boiled meat
• Don't skimp on the drying off time. The oven baking will only be successful if the wings are dry
• With the honey sriracha sauce, melt the butter first before adding the other ingredients

Prep time: 1 hour and 15 mins
Bake time: 40-50 mins

Wings: 

• Using a steamer basket, steam the wings for about 10 mins. You'll know they are done when they look a little darker. 
• While the wings are steaming, line a baking sheet with paper towels and place a cooling rack on top.
• When the wings are done, pat them dry and line them up on the cooling rack. Place them in the fridge to dry for at least an hour
• Once they are out of the fridge, pre-heat the oven to 425. Replace the paper towels with parchment paper and ditch the cooling rack. Line the wings in a single layer on the parchment paper and bake for 20 mins. Flip them and bake for another 25-30 mins, or until the skin is crispy and browned.
• Toss the baked wings with your sauce of choice. Serve and enjoy! 

Spinach and Feta Quiche with Quinoa Crust

Another winner from Cooking Light! This one is from the December 2014 issue and we were drawn to it because of the unique crust. The cooked quinoa gives this quiche a welcome crunch. Because of the ingredients, this could be a very impressive brunch entree! According to Cooking Light, this costs $2.09 per serving. We'll let you do the math on this one. 

Prep time: 20 mins
Bake time: 35 mins

What you'll need:

• 2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
• dash of black pepper and salt
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 bag of fresh baby spinach, about 6 oz
• 1/2 cup milk
• dash of salt, black pepper and red pepper
• 4 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• 2 oz feta, crumbled

What you'll need to do:

For the crust combine the quinoa, black pepper and egg in a bowl. Mix well until combined then press the mixture into a 9 inch pie pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375 for 20 mins. Cool and set aside.

For the filling, saute onion until translucent, then add spinach. Saute for about 3 mins. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, whisk milk, salt, black pepper, red pepper, 4 eggs, 2 egg white.  

Arrange the spinach mixture on the bottom of the crust then pour the egg mixture over the spinach. Sprinkle the feta over the whole quiche. Bake for 35 minutes at 375, until mixture solidifies. Let sit for about 5 mins then serve!

Cranberry Orange Muffins

We've had an epiphany: orange zest is amazing in baked goods. While old news to some, it was a revelation today when we bit into a cranberry orange muffin and we had to immediately make it at home. 

This is another recipe trifecta: easy, cheap and uses staples you already have in your pantry. 

The original recipe came from The Food Network and we substituted milk with half and half because that's what was in the fridge!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

What you'll need:

• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar 
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup half and half

What you'll do:
Preheat the oven to 375.

In a small sauce pan, simmer the cranberries and orange juice. When it bubbles, take it off the heat to cool and plump. 

Coat a 12 muffin tin with cooking spray. 

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a separate bowl, cream butter, orange zest and 2/3 cups of sugar until fluffy, remembering to scrape down the sides. 

Add the eggs in one at a time and beat well after each egg. 

Alternate folding in the flour and half and half, being careful not to over mix.

Fill the muffin tin and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Roasted Broccoli, Mushroom, and Barley Salad

Nothing like finding a delightful new side dish to complement your meals. This one comes courtesy of Real Simple-of course with a few tweaks to suit the pantry. 

The original recipe calls for an anchovy flavored dressing, but that's not really our jam. Instead, we substituted the anchovy paste with sriracha paste. Bonus points: this is very easy to make and you can substitute the vegetables with whatever you have handy.

Prep time: 10 minutes 
Cook time: 25 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 
  cup quick cook 
  barley
• 1 
  large bunch broccoli, cut into florets
• 1-2 shallots, cut into rings
• 1 
  pound 
  cremini or oyster mushrooms, halved if large
• 4 
  tablespoons 
  olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sriracha paste
• 2
   garlic cloves
• 3 
  tablespoons 
  fresh lemon juice
• Feta

What you'll do:

Wash and chop the vegetables. Preheat the oven to 425 and line a baking sheet with foil. 

In a large bowl, mix the broccoli, shallots and mushrooms with the olive oil, salt and pepper. When they are coated, spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until browned.

While the vegetables are roasting, cook the barley according to directions. 

Mix the remaining tablespoon of oil, crushed garlic, lemon juice and sriracha. Set aside.

When the vegetables are done, mix with the cooked barley and toss with the dressing and sprinkle with feta. Serve hot or cold! 

Pumpkin Spice Muffins!

Nothing says fall like pumpkin spice _____ [fill in the blank]. Everywhere we turn it's pumpkin this and pumpkin that...not that we're complaining. The subtly of the pumpkin taste makes baked goods a little more savory and not too sweet. Pumpkin flavored breads and muffins then have a great diversity, either as a sweet dessert (maybe paired with cream cheese frosting?) or as savory breakfast bread with just a dab of butter.

From The Smitten Kitchen, this pumpkin muffin recipe is easy, quick, and only includes one non-pantry staple item: canned pumpkin. The muffins are spongy and moist. We tweaked it slightly to up the pumpkin spice taste. 

Prep time: 10 minutes

Bake time: 25 minutes  

Makes 16 muffins (can probably make 12, slightly larger ones)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice 
• 1 15 oz can pureed pumpkin 
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice + 1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 350 and grease standard size muffin tins. 

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin spice.

In a larger bowl, combine pumpkin, vegetable oil, eggs and 1 1/4 cups of sugar. 

Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and mix until combined.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full (or slightly more for 12 muffins vs. 16) and sprinkle with the pumpkin spice and sugar mixture. 

Bake for 25 minutes, rotating the pans half way to ensure equal baking time. Muffins are done when a wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. 

Smoothies!

We've been on a smoothie kick as we try to salvage some of the summer produce. You don't need a fancy Magic Bullet or juicer for these, but a good blender goes a long way! 

Think of these smoothies as a way to use some overly ripe produce, or just a way to be refreshed as summer winds down.

Green Smoothie 

Makes 2, 12 oz smoothies and is good for 2 days

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado
• 2 cored, peeled and chopped medium sized apples (we used gala but up to you)
• 4 cups chopped and de-stemmed spinach (very important step to ensure non-chunky smoothies!)
• 3 cups apple juice

What you need to do:

Make sure your ingredients are chopped/diced before tossing in the blender. Use the "chop" or "mix" setting on your blender for about 2 mins. then, switch to "purree" or "liquify". Blend until smooth and add any flax or chia seeds as desired.

Mixed berry smoothie

Makes 2, 12 oz smoothies and is good for 2 days 

• 2 cups frozen mixed berries (do not defrost)
• 1 cup plain yogurt (regular, as we thought Greek would be too tart)
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 cup milk (we used plain almond milk, but can see the merits of vanilla almond milk!)

Make sure your ingredients are chopped/diced before tossing in the blender. Use the "chop" or "mix" setting on your blender for about 2 mins. then, switch to "purree" or "liquify". Blend until smooth and add any flax or chia seeds as desired.

Vietnamese BBQ Pork & Noodle Salad

This is a new one for us-trying Vietnamese flavors at home. Pork, delicate rice noodles and some great spice make for a light yet filling meal. The rice noodles are called "rice sticks" or "rice vermicelli" and can be found in most large grocery stories in the Asian food aisle. Don't be fooled by the actual rice noodles, which are flatter and a bit larger.

The recipe calls for pork loin, but we wanted to use chops for thrifty reasons (natch).

It's a great meal for the week as it stores separately and heats up great.

This is from the September 2014 issue of Cooking Light and has been adapted to take advantage of our pantry and tastes, which tend to run a bit spicier than most.

Prep time: 25 mins
Cook time: 60 mins + 1 hour marinate time

What you need:

• 5 teaspoons of sesame oil (not usually found with the other oils, but is in a smaller bottle in the Asian food aisle)
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sriracha paste (it's not the type with the squeeze top, but a screw top)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large shallot, chopped (or 2 medium shallots)
• 6 pork chops. thinly sliced 
• 1 package rice vermicelli 
• 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of carrots, julienne cut
• 2 tablespoons chopped, dry roasted peanuts

What to do:

• Combine 1 tablespoon sesame oil, soy sauce, sriracha paste, brown sugar, garlic and shallot in food processor until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup of the marinade.Place pork in ziptop bag and marinate with remaining sauce for at least an hour. 
• Cook noodles according to directions, toss with 2 teaspoons of sesame oil. 
• Pre-heat broiler and place pork on broiler pan covered in foil. Broil about 3 minutes on each side, until pork is no longer pink in center.
• To serve, plate amount of noodles desired with 1/2 cup lettuce, 1/4 cup cucumber, 2 tablespoons carrot and drizzle with 1 tablespoons of marinade. Top with pork chop and 1.5 teaspoons chopped peanuts and enjoy. 

How to fake a barbecue

Summer in an apartment is missing one big thing: a grill. We've toyed around with the broiler and wanted to share some key lessons. Combine this method with our six ingredient barbecue sauce and you've got yourself a summer cookout (in your kitchen).

Prep time: 4-8 hours (plus marinating time)

Cook time: 30-35 minutes

What you'll need:

• Your favorite barbecue sauce (you can use ours)
• 3 pounds of legs and thighs 

What you'll need to do:

Marinate the chicken pieces in the barbecue sauce for at least 4 hours. 

Once it's good and soaked, preheat your broiler and place the pieces skin side up. Broil for 5-7 minutes until the skin is just a bit fire kissed. 

Preheat your oven to 350. Place the chicken in a rack above a baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until juices run clear. 

Ta da-barbecue in your kitchen. 

Blueberry Coffeecake with Almond Streusel

A delightful way to take advantage of berry season. This one comes by way of the July issue of Cooking Light, with some tips from us to help any first time bakers.

This cake is light and fluffy, but also has some fantastic flavor in every bite. It's a good breakfast companion with a strong cup of coffee. 

The recipe specifically calls out not baking this in a dark or nonstick pan. 

Prep time: 25 minutes

Bake time: 45 mins

What you'll need:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh (or frozen) blueberries (if using frozen, don't thaw the berries. Just bake a bit longer if necessary)
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind (the whole rind of a medium sized lemon)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about half a lemon)

What you'll need to do:

Combine 2 cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl and mix with whisk. Place your blueberries in another small bowl and sprinkle two tablespoons of the flour mixture over them and toss to coat (This apparently helps the blueberries not bleed into the mixture). 

In yet another small bowl, combine brown sugar, rolled oats, sliced almonds, 1 tablespoon flour and cinnamon. Stir in the 2 tablespoons of melted butter and mix, making sure to break up any large chunks of brown sugar. 

Preheat your oven to 375. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar, 1/4 cup butter and oil until blended. Add the egg and beat well. Alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Stir in the lemon rind and juice.

Grease the pan and spread half the batter, then layer with 1 cup of blueberries. Spoon the rest of the batter over the blueberries, then top evenly with the brown sugar mixture.

Bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Cool and enjoy!