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!

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!

Ricotta Cups with Hazelnuts

This dessert will  help you keep to your New Year's resolution of eating more sweets! These cupcake sized ricotta bites are light and fluffy and surprisingly very easy to make. This is not an overly sweet dessert and you can vary the toppings depending on your mood. We edited this recipe from the Pillsbury site to make it less sugary and to fit regular sized muffin cups.

One word of advice: go with the whole milk ricotta and not light of skim. You want that fuller flavor of the whole milk.

Prep time: 20 minutes (plus one hour or more for cooling)
Cook time: 10 minutes
Makes 12 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 15oz container of whole milk ricotta 
• 1/2 powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1 box of refrigerated pie crust, brought to room temperature
• 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts (or other toppings of your choice, like mini chocolate chips)
• flour for your work surface

 In a large bowl, combine ricotta, powdered sugar, granulated sugar and vanilla. You can use an electric mixer, or a spatula, but make sure to mix until smooth and creamy. Once mixed, place it in a resealable bag (a piping bag if you have it, or use a sandwich bag) and refrigerate for at least one hour.

While the ricotta mixture is cooling, start on the pie crust. Preheat the oven to 425.

Unroll the crust on your floured work surface. To cut the dough, we used the diameter of a one cup measuring cup, and that fit the regular muffin cups perfectly. A 3-4 inch round cookie cutter would work as well. Press the dough into the ungreased muffin cups and bake for 10 minutes. The cups should be browned when finished.

Take the ricotta mixture out of the fridge and begin piping it into the cups. If you used a resealable plastic bag, just cut one corner to make an instant piping bag. Sprinkle with the topping of your choice and enjoy!

Just Desserts: Lemon Ricotta Cookies With Lemon Glaze

We had some leftover lemons from our lemon squares and decided to venture into the other citrusy desserts. A search on the Food Network yielded a great lemon ricotta cookie recipe from Giada De Laurentiis

The cookies are cake-like, with a moist center and crispy edges. The lemon glaze gives it a nice zesty finish and an extra savory flavor. The original recipe calls for big drop cookies, about two tablespoons, but we opted for a healthy tablespoon instead because we love bite sized cookies.  

We didn't change too much from the original recipe; what we did below was make it a bit easier for beginner bakers or just those with small spaces. We baked two cookie sheets simultaneously in the oven; be careful with the sheet on the bottom rack. This may bake faster than the top rack and you should take it out about 3 minutes before the top rack. 

Prep time: 20 minutes

Bake time: 30 minutes
Cooling time: 20 minutes 

Ingredients:

Cookies:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• dash of salt
• 8 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 15 oz. container whole milk ricotta cheese
• Juice of 1 lemon, about 3 tablespoons 
• 1 lemon, zested (if you don't have a microfine grater, try using the smallest grade grater you have)

Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 lemon, zested

In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and set aside. 

Combine the softened butter and sugar in a fairly large bowl. We recommend using an electric mixer (but if you don't have one, softening the butter is key). With the mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, until it looks like freshly fallen snow. Mix in the eggs one at a time and beat until incorporated.

Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest; hand mix to combine. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, about 1/3 at a time. Mix until fully combined. 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Line 2 baking sheets with either a silicon mat or parchment paper. Spoon a healthy tablespoon for each cookie, keeping about 1.5 inches between cookies. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

While the cookies are resting, create your glaze. Mix all the ingredients together and stir until you work out all the powdered sugar lumps. Drop 1/2 teaspoon of glaze in the middle of the cookie and use the back of a spoon to spread the glaze. Let cool for about 10 minutes, then if desired, add another layer of glaze.

Let the cookies cool and the glaze harden for at least 90 minutes before removing from the cookie sheets. 

Just Desserts: Lemon Squares

We've all been gripped with the potluck anxiety of, what do I bring that will show off (Googled) culinary skills, but won't keep me in the kitchen all day? We always fall back on dips or desserts and this recipe falls in the sweets category.

Lemon squares combine a buttery crust and a tart, yet mild, citrus flavor. This recipe, taking into account squeezing fresh lemon juice, took approximately one hour and can be made 24 hours in advance.

Once again, we looked to the trusty Cooking Light for this recipe, and tweaked it to our skill level and pantry contents. 

Bakers tip: Don't over-bake this! The lemon topping shouldn't be completely solid, but almost like a custard or jelly. When squeezing the lemons for juice, be sure to have a wire mesh handy to catch any seeds or pulp. 

Prep time: 25 minutes
Bake time: 20-22 minutes

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar 

• 3 tablespoons butter, softened

• 1 cup all-purpose flour 

Lemony goodness:

• 3 large eggs

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

• 4 medium sized lemons to yield 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice 

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons powdered sugar, for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350° and begin mixing the ingredients for the crust. Beat 1/4 cup granulated sugar and the butter at medium speed of a mixer until creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Do not pack the 1 cup of flour, then level with a sharp edge. Gradually add the flour to sugar mixture, beating at low speed until it looks like small, fine crumbs. Gently press mixture into bottom of an 9x13 or 8x8 inch square baking pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

1. For the lemon topping, beat eggs at medium speed until foamy and bubbly. Add the 3/4 cup granulated sugar and next ingredients through salt. Whisk or beat until mixture is well-blended. 

1. Pour lemon mixture over partially baked crust. Bake at 350° for 20 to 22 minutes (in a gas oven) or until set and you see a few brown edges. You'll know it's done when you stick a toothpick and it comes out a little gooey, but not liquid. 

1. While the squares are still hot, evenly spread the powdered sugar. Chill for at least 3 hours before serving. 

Whole Wheat Couscous with White Beans, Tomatoes, Spinach and Red Peppers

We're kicking of 2013 with a vegetarian recipe, to help any New Years resolutions out there. We've never dealt with couscous before, but this recipe has us clamoring for more. This is easy, fast and makes a lot of food. Good thing it heats up well, as you will definitely have leftovers. This recipe yields about 8-10 servings. 

To make this part of a healthy meal, try pairing it with corn bread (yum), a side salad or soup. 

Prep time: 10-12 minutes minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

•  olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 bag (about 6 oz) of baby spinach, roughly cut
• 2 (15 oz.) can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 2-2.5 cups cherry or grape  tomatoes, each cut in half
• 1 roasted red pepper, cut into strips
• 1 cup of uncooked couscous (whole wheat is a great choice if it's available)
• Salt, red pepper flakes and sriracha, to taste
• 1 tsp cumin 

Make the couscous according to the directions. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil and saute the onions until translucent in medium high heat. Add the tomatoes, red pepper and spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3-4 minutes. Season to taste with salt, pepper, sriacha and cumin. 

Lower the heat and add the couscous. Mix until well combined. Serve hot and with you choice of sides. 

Pumpkin Roll Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

We wanted to celebrate our 100th post with a special treat. A roll cake looks deceptively easy, but we learned the hard way it takes some practice and more patience to create. However, all the hard work does pay off as it's delicious and a fun, non-traditional dessert. The baking process also lends itself to some great stories. We ad libbed this recipe from All Recipes, which provided a great base. 

Before embarking on this journey, it would behoove you to read this 'how-to' from Cooking Light. We'll also outline the process below-but just in case you wanted a second opinion. 

Some key equipment you'll need to guarantee success:

• 15x10x1 baking sheet. We tried to cheat with a regular cookie sheet, and it's too big. It makes the cake too thin and susceptible to tearing during the rolling process.
• Wax paper: can't roll the cake without it.
• Smooth (read: no textures) kitchen towel. Anything with raised patterns just gives the cake more surface to latch onto, increasing the chance of tearing.
• Mesh strainer: this will help evenly spread the powdered sugar. 

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 1h 15 mins (including cooling)

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin
• Juice from half a lemon (around 1-1.5 teaspoons)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for pan/paper
• 2.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar, plus extra to dust linen towel
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (great time to use your homemade extract)

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium sized bowl, beat eggs on high until foamy, about 5 minutes. Gradually introduce the sugar until it's thick. Mix in pumpkin and lemon juice. 

Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and fold into the pumpkin mixture.

Grease your baking pan and line it with wax paper. Grease and flour the paper to ensure the cake does not stick. Spread the batter evenly on the pan. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until the cake is springy to the touch. While the cake is baking prepare the linen towel: dust liberally with confectioners sugar 

Immediately flip the cake out of the pan and onto the linen towel. Peel off the wax paper backing and roll the cake, short end first. Cool for about 30 minutes. 

While the cake is cooling, make the frosting. Mix softened cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla until well combined. 

When the cake is slightly cool to the touch, carefully unroll it and spread the icing over the cake, up to about 1 inch of the edges. Roll it back up, sans towel. If your cake does tear, don't fret and use the icing like glue to keep it all together. Cover it with cling wrap and chill until ready to serve. (Trust us, it does taste better chilled).

Tomato Tart with Fontina

A light savory tart is just the antidote to the winter blues. This gem comes from Southern Living, which is a twist on a lighter French classic. We put our own small kitchen twist on the the tart and made it a bit smaller and manageable. 

This can be a side dish, or you can pair it with a hearty salad for a light entree. It's a great potluck choice as well. 

Prep time: 40-45 minutes
Cook time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crust
• 1 garlic bulb
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 cups shredded fontina cheese
• 2 medium sliced tomatoes, sliced
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 450. Press refrigerated pie crust on bottom and up sides of a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Be sure not to stretch the crust too much, as it will shrink down during baking. Bake the crust for 7-8 minutes or until pie crust is lightly browned; set aside.
2. Cut off the pointed end of garlic bulb and place it on a piece of aluminum foil. Brush the bulb with the olive oil and fold the foil to seal it. Place the garlic on a cookie sheet and bake at 425 for 30 minutes. Cool then squeeze the pulp through the cut end and brush the pulp on the bottom and sides of the pie crust. 

Sprinkle 1 cup fontina cheese over the garlic crust. 

Slice tomatoes and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on paper towel and blot; let stand 10 minutes. Arrange tomato slices in concentric circles over shredded cheese. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese.

1. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until tart is lightly browned.

Pasta Salad with Shredded Chicken

Pasta salad is no longer relegated to plastic tubs to be carted off to picnics. This version is a riff of a pesto pasta salad and uses spinach and almonds, instead of basil and pine nuts. It's light and tangy without being too cloying. 

Preparation time is minimal, with the bulk of time spent chilling the mixture. This dish is versatile  and can be a satisfying side dish or light main dish. As a main dish, expect 6-8 servings, and as a side dish, about 10-12 servings.

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Chill time: at least 4 hours

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs chicken breast, shredded
• 1 package rotini pasta, or other short pasta like ziti or penne 
• 4 cups of  baby spinach
• 3-4 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon water
• dash of salt
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 1.5 cups sliced almonds
• option to toast for extra texture

Brown the chicken in a pan. Once cooked, shred and set aside. Cook pasta according to directions and cool under cold water when finished.

In a food processor, combine spinach, cheese, olive oil, salt, sriracha and water. Pulse until well combined. Mix mayonnaise and spinach mixture  with pasta. Chill for at least 4 hours. Serve over a bed of spinach and a sprinkling of sliced almonds. 

Baked Chicken Noodles

Another great adaptation from Cooking Light. This chicken and pasta recipe combines two unlikely companions, Asian and Italian staples. Using linguine instead of chow mein noodles, and a soy sauce based sauce instead of a marinara dish yields a surprising new family favorite. While on paper the taste combination may not instantly sound appetizing, they somehow work together to create a light and non-greasy tasting noodle dish. 

Of course we've added a bit of sriracha, but even with just the red peppers, the dish has a subtle heat that doesn't overwhelm the other flavors. 

As always, we used the Cooking Light recipe as a guide and edited it to our tastes (and, admittedly, what was currently in the pantry). The recipe below yields a 9x13 dish and can easily yield 8 servings. Bonus: it heats up well and make for great leftovers or packed lunches. 

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 17-20 minutes, depending on how brown you like your bread crumbs

Ingredients:

• 1 16oz package of linguine 
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 medium sized red bell pepper, diced
• 8 oz mushroom caps (shiitake or portobello work nicely)
• 1.5-2 lbs chicken breast, cubed
• 3 small to medium garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 less-sodium cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste
• 1 to 1.5 teaspoons sriracha (optional)
• 2-3 heads of bok choy, leaves thinly sliced
• .5 to 1 bunch of green onion
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Cook the pasta according to your taste and preheat the oven to 400.

Heat peanut oil in a large pan or wok and add the bell peppers and mushroom. Saute for 2-3 minutes then add the chicken and garlic. Add the soy sauce and coat the mixture, stirring frequently.

In a separate bowl, combine cornstarch and chicken broth, whisking until cornstarch is dissolved completely. Add the mixture to the pan and cook until the liquid is slightly thick. Be sure to stir, stir, stir. 

Remove the pan from heat and add the vinegar, red pepper, and if using, sriracha paste. Then drain the pasta and add it to the mixture, followed by the bok choy, onions and 2 teaspoons of the sesame seeds. Toss to combine.

Grease your 9x13 dish (glass works best) and spoon the pasta mixture evenly into the dish.

Combine the melted butter and breadcrumbs, then sprinkle evenly on top of the pasta.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until the bread crumbs are slightly browned. 

Asian Coleslaw

We're not big fans of normal coleslaw over there-a bit too much mayo. This coleslaw iteration gives the cabbage a bit more bite and savory flavor from an unexpected source: Ramen noodles. Yes, those Ramen noodles. One batch of this coleslaw could feed a bbq of 8-10 people and is a great complement to any bbq or friend chicken.


Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook's note: this does not keep its crunch and texture for more than one day. Eat it while it's good!


Ingredients:

• 16 oz coleslaw package
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1/4 sugar
• 2 packages chicken seasoning from Ramen noodles
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds (you can also toast these or have them raw)
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 packages of crushed Ramen noodles

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar and chicken seasoning. Toss this dressing with the coleslaw package. Right before you're ready to serve, mix in the almonds, sunflower seeds and crushed Ramen noodles. 

Appetizers: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

It's time to use that red pepper you roasted to make roasted red pepper hummus. It's no secret that The Galley Kitchen loves hummus, we've done the classic recipe and its edamame counterpart. Today we look to a colorful alternative and add a roasted red pepper. The pepper gives the hummus a slight kick, but not enough to turn off those adverse to some spice.

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

• 2 15.5 oz cans of chick peas (drained)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice (the squeeze bottle kind or fresh, whatever)
• 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil (enough to cover 1/3 of the peas with oil)
• Salt to taste
• 1 medium roasted red pepper, sliced into quarters

1. Place the garlic and pepper in a food process and pulse until blended.
2. Add the chick peas, olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Pulse until all ingredients are mixed.

Side Dishes: Cheese Biscuits

Everyone has experienced the slight panic that comes with a potluck or group dinner. You never want to make the dish that has the least amount of traffic at the table, but you also don't want to be slaving in the kitchen for days. These cheese biscuits are an easy option and will appeal to every crowd because who doesn't love cheese?


This is a dish that requires a minimal number of dishes and space so it's great for apartment dwellers and students.

There are many variations of the basic biscuit recipe and a great place to start looking for interesting additions are right on the back of the biscuit mix box!

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 12-14 mins per batch

Kitchen tip: These are best made in muffin molds because they will not keep their shape as well if made as drop biscuits.

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups biscuit mix (such as Bisquick or other all purpose baking mixes)
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (sharp cheese gives the biscuits more flavor)
• 1 cup sour cream 
• 1/2 cup of softened butter

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and grease the muffin pan.

Cube the softened butter and combine with biscuit mix until the butter is no longer in large pieces.

Stir in the cheddar cheese, sour cream and water.

Fill the greased muffin cups 1/2 full with the mixture. Bake until tops are golden brown.

Appetizers: Edamame Hummus

I love hummus. It's one of the most versatile food items: great for groups or a quick and easy lunch. Much like traditional hummus, edamame hummus is a good source of protein. This variation has a more distinct bean taste. There are many recipe variations and this is one of the simpler versions that can easily be made with ingredients on hand.

Bonus: great with raw vegetables or even chips.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pound frozen shelled edamame
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 2-3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 teaspooon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Optional: 1 tablespoon of sriracha

Boil the beans in about 1/4 cup of salted water for 4 to 5 minutes. While the beans are boiling, mince the garlic in a food processor. Drain the beans and add to the food processor. Add the cumin, lemon juice and if using, the sriracha. Puree the beans and slowly add the olive oil, then the water until all the ingredients are mixed and the hummus is smooth.

Reinventing Crispy Rice Treats

Everyone loves a fresh Rice Krispie treat. I decided to put a bit of a twist on it by using Marshmallow Fluff...Strawberry Marshmallow Fluff! The Fluff adds a bit more sweetness to the treats and the strawberry flavoring doesn't add much to the flavor, but it sure does look cool. If you can't find pink fluff, pink marshmallows could also do the trick. This is a very fun and cheap dessert that's designed to share with a group.

Check the ingredients below:

• 3 tablespoons of butter, with more for the serving dish
  
• 5 cups of crispy rice cereal
• 1 jar of Strawberry Marshmallow Fluff OR 1 package (10 oz) of regular sized, pink marshmallows

Prepare a dish with cooking spray or butter for the treats.

Melt the butter in a large pot, then add the fluff. Be warned though-fluff is tough to work with and is very, very sticky. A silicon spatula with a spoon for scraping works pretty well. Once the butter and fluff are mixed together, take the pot off the heat and add the crispy rice cereal, stir until the fluff and cereal are well mixed. When it's cool, cut into squares and enjoy!

Favorite Side: Pico De Gallo

I feel pretty healthy whenever I make pico de gallo. There's nothing in it other than some fresh vegetables and a squirt of lemon juice. The official ingredient list below:

• 6 plum tomatoes, quartered
  
• 2-3 jalapeno peppers, seeded
  
• 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
  
• salt and lemon juice to taste
• 2 medium sized cloves of garlic, minced

Take out your handy food processor and pulse the garlic and salt, until they are minced to your liking. Place in separate bowl.

Pulse the tomato pieces until chopped, but not too juicy. Place in bowl with garlic and salt.

Next, pulse the jalapenos and onion until they are as big/small as you want.

Mix all the ingredients together, squirt in some lemon juice and enjoy with your homemade tortilla chips.

Macaroni Salad

So the title of this post is a bit of a misnomer, as I made this salad with rotini instead of macaroni. Other than the pasta change, the rest of the ingredients are from your standard macaroni salad. This is a great sandwich companion or it can be eaten as alone as a light lunch.

Macaroni Salad
Serves a lot

1 box of macaroni or rotini
1 diced red pepper
1 diced green pepper
1 diced small red onion
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1.5 tablespoons of sugar

Mix the mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar until well blended. Toss the mayonnaise with the pasta and vegetables until coated.


This is one of the thriftiest meals, coming in under $10. If you're not making this for a crowd, this will feed you for a week.