Pineapple Muffins

It has been a rainy great day.   Fall is in the air.  These are a great Muffin.  Loved them,  especially right out of the oven.  HAPPY DAY TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!




Pineapple Muffins

1/2 cup  pecans 2 cups  all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/3 cup  unsalted butter, room temperature 3/4 cup  granulated white sugar 1 large egg 3/4 cup  plain yogurt 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 -20 oz can crushed pineapple, drained sprinkle the batter in the muffin tin with cinnamon sugar before baking

Pineapple Muffins:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Toast the pecans for 8 minutes, or until lightly browned and fragrant. Set aside to cool aND CHOP   Grease, or spray with a nonstick spray, muffin tins.    In a separate bowl, whisk to combine, the flour, salt, and baking soda.    In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the yogurt,  . Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Fold in the toasted pecans and drained pineapple.    Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle top with cinnamon sugar.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. (Length of baking time will depend on the size and color of the muffin tins used, i.e. dark colored pans will cook the muffins faster than lighter colored pans.)   Makes about 1 doz.

Chai-Spiced Shortbread Cookies

We went to our cabin for Thanksgiving.  It was so great. Woke up one morning and This was the sunrise that we got to see.  

The river was full of water with all the rain that we received.   

Sausage making 

              

        I made these cookies tonight.  They are awesome.  Everyone that ate them loved them.  They are all gone.  Yum!!!  They were really good broken up on ice cream. 

 

 There  a  change that I made to the recipe.  I added 1/4 c. more sugar.  The critics said that I should put less White chocolate chips, the cookie is so good on its own.  We will see, I liked the chips!!!!    

Chai-Spiced Shortbread Cookies

Photo: Alex Farnum; Styling: Robyn Valarik

Although the flavors here are rich and complex, the recipe is very easy to make.

Outstanding

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Yield: Makes 45

Total: 40 Minutes

Recipe from

Recipe Time

Total: 40 Minutes 

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 87
• Calories from fat: 55%
• Protein: 0.9g
• Fat: 5.4g
• Saturated fat: 3.3g
• Carbohydrate: 8.9g
• Fiber: 0.3g
• Sodium: 59mg
• Cholesterol: 12mg

 

Ingredient

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour $
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds*
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• Leaves from 1 English Breakfast tea bag
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer until smooth. In another bowl, stir together flour, cinnamon, ginger, fennel, cardamom, and tea. Add to butter mixture and beat on low speed until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
2. 2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set 1-tbsp. balls of dough 1 in. apart on sheets and flatten slightly with a floured glass.
3. 3. Bake until cookies are light golden on undersides, 15 to 18 minutes, switching pan positions halfway through baking. Transfer to racks to cool.
4. *Grind in a clean coffee grinder or in a mortar.
5. Make ahead: Up to 3 days, stored airtight.
6. Note: Nutritional analysis is per cookie.

Apricot Crisp

Just got done picking all of my Apricots,  I think the birds ate more than we did.  I have been making apricot sauce, pies and crisp.  I made Pie first.  It was awesome, then I was being lazy and made the pie without the crust and it was just as good as the pie.  Well, I think I will make crisp from now on.  I took the crisp to my friends for dinner.  She had company, Mary and JoAnn, who we had such a great time getting to know.   They loved the cobbler so much I told them I would post it so they could make it before the apricots are gone.  It was so great meeting new people over dinner and a great dessert.  Thanks for getting me to post again it has been a while.  I think it is too bad that desserts are so much fun to eat and to make.  All well, my favorite food group sweets/desserts.  




Apricot Crisp


6 cups fresh apricots sliced

1 tsp. vanilla extract 1-2  T. Lemon Juice  (If you want it a little tarter add 2) 3 Tbsp. brandy* 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 3 Tbsp. quick cooking tapioca 1/4 tsp. salt Combine all of the above ingredients together in a large bowl large bowl.  Let stand 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon filling into pan and dot with butter. TOPPING: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/3 cup butter, melted 1/2 c.oatmeal In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar and pecans and oatmeal. Stir in butter.

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F..  Evenly spread topping over the top of the filling. . Bake 30-45 minutes, until center is bubbly and topping is brown. Let cool completely on wire rack. Makes 8 servings. *Note: You can substitute plain brandy for the apricot brandy in this recipe, or you can substitute 2 Tbsp. water for the brandy if you don't want to use alcohol.   It is great with the brandy

Pulled Pork Sandwich

Here is the recipe for Pulled Pork Sandwich which goes with my Spicy Cold Slaw. 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/barbecued-pulled-pork-sandwiches-with-homemade-bbq-sauce-cole-slaw-and-fried-pickles-recipe/index.html


It is great!!!!!  I have not done all in this recipe   I change things in the recipe.    Go to the link to get all info.  hope you enjoy.

This is the link to my Spicy Cole Slaw recipe
http://misenplace2.blogspot.com/2011/03/cold-slaw.html 

Ingredients

• 1 boneless pork butt, about 4 pounds
• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Essence, recipe follows
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon cayenne
• Wet Mop Basting Sauce, recipe follows
• Barbecue Sauce, recipe follows
• 8 Hamburger buns
• Kicked Up Cole Slaw, recipe follows

Directions

Place the pork in a baking dish. In a bowl, combine the sugar, Essence, salt, cumin, paprika, pepper, and cayenne. Rub the seasoning evenly over the pork to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat an oven or smoker to 225 degrees F.

Bring the pork to room temperature and place in a roasting pan, fat side up. Slow cook in the oven, basting with the wet mop basting sauce every 45 minutes, until tender and the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F. (The cooking should take about 6 to 7 hours.) Remove from the oven and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

With a knife and fork or two forks, pull the meat apart into small slices or chunks. Toss with the barbecue sauce, to taste, and divide among the hamburger buns. Top with the coleslaw. Serve with the additional Barbecue Sauce on the side.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning):

• 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch. Published by William and Morrow, 1993.

Wet Mop Basting Sauce:

• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt

The night before you cook the pork, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk well. Refrigerate and let the flavors blend overnight.

Yield: 2 1/4 cups

Barbecue Sauce:

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup ketchup
• 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and whisk well to dissolve the sugar. Place in a squeeze bottle and dress the pulled pork sandwiches to taste.

Yield: about 2 cups

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I found this recipe online and have wanted to try it for a long time.  Made it last night and it was really good.  I changed the recipe of course.  Here is the link to the original recipe.  I added some corn meal to the crust recipe.  I put corn and pineapple with some yellow bell pepper.  It was awesome!!!!  Enjoy !!!

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

cauliflower crust pizza

Serves 2; Adapted from Your Lighter Side.

ingredients:

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 T. cornmeal
olive oil (optional)

pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings*

directions:

To "Rice" the Cauliflower:
Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes. There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself.

One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

To Make the Pizza Crust:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven. To the crust, add sauce, toppings and cheese. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).

Enjoy!

*Note that toppings need to be precooked since you are only broiling for a few minutes.

Chicken Wings

We went to St. George Utah over Presidents Holiday.  It is always wonderful to see the Red Rocks.  Just love them.  We went Hiking in Snow Canyon.  It rained, but the sun came out and warmed us up. It was an awesome day.  I was going through mom's recipes and found the chicken wing recipe that I have been looking for.  Yum!    It is a great recipe and am so glad to have found it.  Tatton and I were trying to make it for Super Bowl weekend.  Could not find it.

Chicken Wings

Aunt Alices

3 lbs chicken wings

 2/3 c. ketchup

2-3 T hot pepper sauce (to taste)

 1/3 c. brown sugar

3 T. orange juice concentrate 
½ lemon sliced

bake wings at 350 degrees 1 hr. add other ingredients bake 25-30 min till done.

Mrs. Fields Oatmeal Cookie

We went to Morro Bay Night Diving.  It was awesome.  The guys jumped off the pier into the water.  This is a picture of them coming up the ladder after they where done diving .  Rod was waiting in the water, (you can see his face in the water behind Bryce ) to come up and all of a sudden something huge jumped out of the water and went back in right by him.  It scared me to death.  It was an Elephant Seal.  Rod came up the ladder pretty fast.  It was awesome.  The shark at the restaurant looked really cool at night.
      We went to San Francisco last weekend to the Fancy Food Show at the Moscone Center.   Wow,  I think I gained 10 pounds.  But their was some great food.  Had a great time!!!  Look forward to next year.    Then went to China Town.  Always love China Town.  Missed Chinese New Year By 1 week.  That is a lot of fun.  Got me some Lucky Bamboo.  love it. !!!!!!

 I was suppose to post a cookie recipe at Thanksgiving for Nancy.. It is her favorite recipe and she loves it.   I am late posting it .  Better late than never.   The trick to the cookies are to cook them till they are slightly brown.  They still look doughy, but light brown on the bottom.   I like to use around 1/4 c. dough.  I make a double batch and keep them in the fridge and bake a dozen when I want them and eat them warm.  Yummy!

Mrs. Fields Oatmeal Cookies

1 c. Brown sugar                                          1 c. white sugar
1 c. butter                                                     2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
cream together brown sugar, white sugar and butter.  Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.

2 c. flour                                                       2 1/2 c. oatmeal
1 t. baking powder                                        1 t. soda
1/2 t. salt                                                     
 add the above to the creamed egg mixture and mix well.

1 c. coconut                                                   1 c. chocolate chips
1- 1 1/2  cups chopped nuts.  ( as many as desired)
can add butterscotch chips and as many chocolate chips as desired  I usually just dump in as many as I think looks good.
 Add the chocolate chips and nuts and coconut and butterscotch chips to the dough mixtures.

 Can refrigerate till want to bake.  Take out of the fridge to warm up, they bake better if they are not so cold. I use around 1/4 c. of dough for 1 cookie.  It makes them thick and moist   Cook till  your desired doneness
Bake 350   8- 10 min or till lightly browned..                                                                            

Lemon Rosemary Cookie

Spring has sprung in Paso!!!!  These flowers are just by my front porch.  January and spring is here.  Well, It feels like it today. (Can you see the Christmas lights on my bushes. Crazy! ) I decided to try these cookies.  Wow, I sure enjoy the rosemary and lemon together.  I cut back on the rosemary because I did not think I would like it.  I am going to put the whole amount that it calls for next time I make them.    Awesome!   Love them!  I used Lemons from my Lemon tree and Rosemary from my rosemary bushes.   I am off to enjoy the beautiful spring day we are blessed to have this day!!!
   Hope you enjoy!!

Lemon Rosemary Cookies

Yields approximately 2 dozen, depending on how large you cut them

Ingredients
12 T butter, softened (6 oz)
3/4 cup sugar (5 oz)
1 T finely chopped fresh rosemary
Zest of 1 Meyer lemon
1 egg
2 1/4 cups AP flour (10 oz)
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t kosher salt
2 t baking powder

Rundown

• Butter + sugar
• Add the lemon and rosemary
• Add the egg and vanilla
• Mix the dry ingredients together
• Add dry to wet
• Chill
• Shape
• Bake

Method
Cream the butter and sugar together on high speed for 3 minutes.  The mixture will be a very pale yellow.  Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the lemon zest and rosemary. Mix on low for a few seconds to combine.

Add the egg and vanilla. Beat again on medium-high speed until the texture is smooth and glossy, about 2 more minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl.

In a separate bowl, stir the flour, salt and baking powder together with a fork until evenly combined. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and mix on medium low speed until a cohesive ball of dough forms.

Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for one hour. If you are in a hurry, you can put the dough in the freezer for 15 minutes or so. Given the high butter content of the dough, we need it to be quite chilly for shaping and cutting.

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat. Working with no more than half the dough at a time, roll it to 1/4 inch thickness and cut rounds with cookie or biscuit cutters. Alternatively, roll the dough into a log and cut small disks, shaping the edges with your fingers after cutting to create a uniform cookie. Leave at least an inch of space between each cookie as you place them on the sheet. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges are ever so slightly golden.  Cool 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack.  

I got the recipe from  http://saltyspoon.com/index.php/2010/03/lemon-rosemary-cookies/   I rolled them thicker than the 1/4 inch and cooked them till just lightly browned.  I then added a glaze on the top of a cooled cookie.  

Mix 1½ cups powdered sugar with 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice and the finely shredded zest of 1 lemon. Spoon 1/2 tsp. glaze over each cooled cookie, spreading with back of spoon, and press 1 rosemary sprig into glaze.