365 Days of Baking

Day 351 - Homemade Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies

2012-02-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

I hear the trumpets sounding...

in my head anyway because I couldn't find the appropriate sound on YouTube.

2 WEEKS!!

14 more BAKED recipes!!!

I'm a little excited, can you tell?

Surprisingly enough, this year I haven't bought 1 box of Girl Scout Cookies. And I have to say that the family really didn't even miss them.

No Girl Scout came to our door, I didn't have any friends whose daughters were selling them (at least that I knew of, or were here in Arizona anyway) AND I didn't even buy a box when they were selling them out in front of the grocery store.

How good is that?? Hunh??

At $4 a box, with the cookies becoming smaller and the amount in each box becoming less, I just rather make them myself anyway, especially since I know that I can. And it is much more productive for me to just give a donation to the Girls without receiving the cookies in return.
Less calories.

Mission accomplished.

Enter an oven, a strong craving for some Thin Mint cookies and the recipe found at Baking Bites.

Homemade Girl Scout Thin Mints - makes

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

2 1/4 cups flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

6 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa, sifted

1/2 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.

Add the milk and extracts with the mixer running on low speed. The mixture may look curdled. It's ok, don't freak out on me.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa, and salt.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture on low speed and mix until combined thoroughly.

On two separate pieces of plastic wrap, shape half of the dough into rolls about 1 1/2-inches thick.

Refrigerate for at least one hour, until dough is very firm.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment.

Remove one of the rolls from the refridgerator and with a sharp knife, make slices about 1/4-inch thick. In order for the cookies to be crisp, the slices need to be not more than 1/4-inch in thickness.

Place on the prepared cookie sheet about an inch apart.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, until edges are firm.

Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before dipping them in chocolate.
Repeat with second cookie dough roll.

Chocolate Coating

10 oz. dark or semi-sweet chocolate (I used semi-sweet)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
*1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract - I added to give the cookies a stronger mint flavor.

In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Heat on high for 30 seconds, stirring until chocolate is smooth, and reheating for another 15-30 seconds depending on how well the chocolate has melted.
Mix in the peppermint extract.

The consistency of the coating should be between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating.

Using two forks, dip a cookie into the chocolate, transferring between the forks to drain.

Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment to set for at least 30 minutes.

If necessary, reheat chocolate in 12 second increments to ensure the coating will be smooth.

Ok, so here's the thing.
I was a little preoccupied today. I went to bed last night after learning of a friend's daughter's disappearance. This two, soon to be three year old little girl, Avalee, has been missing since 9am yesterday morning when her biological father failed to drop her off after his visitation. Athena and her husband have not been able to contact him or his family and neighbors said he was seen moving furniture out of his home over the weekend.
Needless to say, her mother, Athena, is worried sick.
I've posted her picture on the 365 FB page and information about the father's vehicle he drives.
Your prayers and positive thoughts for Avalee's return to her mom would be greatly appreciated and I thank you.

After learning there was no news on Avalee, I was able to motivate myself and planned to do a major grocery shopping and some cleaning after my P90X YogaX workout. Don't worry, I wasn't able to do the whole thing. I am certainly NOT a yoga person. I did about 45 minutes of the 1 1/2 hours and was then totally exhausted. The only energy I could muster was used to make these cookies.

I realized when I was writing the post that I added an extra 1/2 cup of butter. For some reason, my mind computed the 1/2 cup to be 1/2 pound. I don't know. I've done this way too much in the past few weeks, misreading recipes. I just wasn't focused I suppose.
Then I had the cookies on the sheet and went to put them into the oven when my daughter, standing behind me, said, "wait, can I see them?".
I guess I turned around too fast because 4 of them went flying off of the parchment onto the floor.
These cookies require a bit of love and care. They took me some time to coat and the chocolate may have needed another tablespoon or so of butter to make it a tad but thinner. I found myself scraping some of the chocolate off because it was just way too thick. It also only coated 1/2 the cookies and my ingredients made about 60 of them (it may have been that extra butter ;-) ).

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Homemade Girl Scout Thin Mints earned 3 rolling pins.
They were good and adding that 1/2 teaspoon of peppermint to the chocolate made a big difference. We had coated some of them when my daughter tried one and suggested we do that. I am so glad she did! Thanks, girl!
I wonder how much different they would have tasted without the extra butter.
They were good without the chocolate coating, too. Because I ran out of the chocolate we left some uncovered.
I think you'll like them. And it may even bring back some girl scout memories. It did for me!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 350 - French Butter Cookies

2012-02-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

Cookies, cookies, cookies!!!
We LOVE cookies!
I really love cookies!
I love them so much that I'll be making them for you again tomorrow! Not the same cookies of course, that would just be plain silly.
I'll give you a hint - they're popular this time of year.
That's all I'm sayin'. Nope, I'm not telling you anything else.
Don't even try to get it out of me.
You'll just have to come see tomorrow.
Oh, I can't wait to eat them.

In the meantime, these cookies came from Martha Stewart Living Cookbook - The Original Classics, p. 530; author, Martha Stewart; publisher, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 978-0-307-39382-1.

French Butter Cookies - makes about 5-6 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and brown sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla, mixing thoroughly.
Gradually add the flour and salt, mixing on low speed until just combined.
On three separate sheets of plastic wrap, roll the dough into three logs 1 1/2-inches thick. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour to overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., and placing a rack in the center.
Prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with parchment.
Remove one log from the fridge and roll it in the granulated sugar, making sure to coat it completely.

With a sharp knife, cut slices 1/4-inch thick.
Place the slices on the prepared cookie sheet 1-inch apart.
*Optional - with a toothpick, make 4 decorative holes in each cookie.* I did this, which was time consuming, and when they were removed from the oven, I couldn't really tell that most of them had holes.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack so that they can cool completely.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these French Butter Cookies earned 3 1/2 rolling pins.
They were very simple, but very delicious.
Be careful, A LOT of these can be eaten in one sitting; they're bite-size and yummylicious!
I think you'll enjoy them.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 349 - Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

2012-02-21T22:03:00.000-07:00

The doggie likes to be with me whenever I take my pictures. Ok, and whenever I'm baking in the kitchen. He watches me like a hawk, forever ready to leap at the first sight of something hitting the floor or waiting for the gift of a handout.

Once again, I was craving some chocolate.
Is that a surprise?
Seems like the majority of this year I've been craving chocolate.
I was thinking a chocolate chip muffin would do the trick.
But it couldn't be just a vanilla muffin with chocolate chips, it had to be a chocolate flavored muffin with chocolate chips IN it!
Yeah.
Just. plain. yum.

I left the SD card in the computer my husband took to work, hence the pictures of the finished product and none of the process. That's ok. I like looking at these anyway. It's almost as good as eating them. Saves you on the calories, anyway.

This comes to us from the Brown Eyed Baker which she found in Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. Thanks, Michelle!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins - made 16 muffins for me, 12 for Michelle ( I think my muffin tins are smaller)

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Place muffin cups into a 12-cup muffin tin and place on a baking sheet.
In a medium bowl placed over a small pan of simmering water, melt the butter and 1/2 of the chopped chocolate. Remove from heat.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, mix together the buttermilk, egg and vanilla. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Add the buttermilk mixture and chocolate mixture to the dry ingredients. Stir quickly and gently with a rubber spatula being careful not to overmix.
Fold in the remaining chopped chocolate.
Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full.
Bake for 20 minutes until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow the pan to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing the muffins from the tin.

I rate everything I bake on a scale from 1-4 and these Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins earned 3 rolling pins.
I loved the bittersweet chocolate chunks, but I think the only thin that held me back from rating these higher was that I was hoping for a fudgier muffin. It was more like cake and I am SO into chocolate fudgy brownies.
Don't get me wrong though, these were very good and did satisfy my chocolate craving.

We have A LOT of new faces over at our Facebook page. We're up to 611!!! Can you believe it?? And here I was thinking that we might not reach the 500 mark before 365 was up and we still have two weeks left! Woo Hoo! If you haven't already "like"d it, head on over here. I'm telling you now because it will be to your advantage when we have the giveaway on Day 365 - you'll get another entry!
Thank you!!

I love you all and give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 348 - Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars for the Secret Recipe Club

2012-02-20T10:00:00.001-07:00

It's that time again!!!

Time for our monthly Secret Recipe Club reveal!! So exciting!!

The Secret Recipe Club was started by none other than Amanda of Amanda's Cookin'. And our wonderful hostess of group C is Angela of Big Bear's Wife.
The Secret Recipe Club is like Secret Santa. Each blogger is assigned another blog in their group and we then choose a recipe to make and share. It's awesome because we are able to make new friends and try wonderful new recipes! But the best part is that we are not supposed to tell the blogger that we are secretly stalking them until we share our recipes with everyone on reveal day. It's so exciting!
We took the month of January off which was probably a good thing so that we could all get back to a sense of normalcy from the holidays. And now the month of February is upon us with today being Group C's reveal.

Drum roll, please as I present to you...

Delicious Existence!!

This blog was started by Danielle, who is a Health Coach and Lifestyle Motivator. I really like what she says about our lifestyle and diet and I believe it to be very true,

"Ditch your diet. End your obsession with calories and fat grams. Don't count another carb. Throw away those lists of "bad" and "good" foods. Stop restricting and you will start living. Focus on increasing your consumption of real food (fruits, vegetables, quality grains, complete proteins) and water and you will naturally decrease the amount of low nutrient processed foods you might be eating."

I have done this in an effort to shed a few pounds before the 365 is over and I have to tell you that because I've been putting healthier foods into my body and have significantly cut back on the processed foods, I physically feel better and now when I do my stomach just doesn't feel right.
For instance, ice cream, I used to have a pretty good size bowl of it before, but now a couple spoonfuls will satisfy me. I NEVER thought THAT would happen!

One recipe that I found on Delicious Existence was for Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars.
I am such a sucker for caramel apples and since after this recipe made me a lover of cheesecake, I couldn't pass this recipe up!
I did make some substitutions because her's is a vegan recipe, so go there if you're interested in that version.
They were graham cracker crumbs and flour for Namaste Biscuits, Pie Crust & More, granulated sugar for Turbinado sugar, butter for coconut oil, an egg instead of the egg replacer, and cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in place of the apple pie spice.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars - makes an 8 X 8-inch dish

Crust
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Cheesecake Filling
1 8oz. package cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Apple Layer
1 Granny Smith apple
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves

Streusel Topping
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup oats
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Caramel Drizzle
12 individually wrapped caramels
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and prepare an 8 X 8-inch baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the crust: graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and melted butter, mixing well with a fork.
Place crust mixture into prepared baking dish, pressing down gently with your fingers.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until soft and smooth, about 2 minutes.
Add the sugar, egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Pour over crust, spreading evenly.

In a medium bowl, combine ingredients for the apple layer: brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Mix well.
Peel, core and dice the apple into small pieces. Add to dry ingredients and toss to coat.
Distribute evenly over the cheesecake layer in the baking dish.

In another medium bowl, combine ingredients for streusel topping: brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, and melted butter. Mix will until a coarse meal is formed. Sprinkle evenly over apple layer.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until streusel is golden.
Transfer baking dish to a wire rack to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for an hour or more to set.
For the caramel drizzle, in a microwavable bowl, melt the caramels on increments of 30 seconds, until smooth, stirring in between. Allow to cool slightly and stir in the heavy cream.
Drizzle with caramel sauce before serving.

*I put the caramel sauce on before putting them into the refrigerator to set - BAD idea. The caramel hardened (of course!) and when I went to cut the bars I made a mess of them because the caramel was difficult to cut through, so I highly suggest you put it on right before serving.*

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars earned 3 1/2 rolling pins.
These were the best of caramel apples, apple crisp and cheesecake combined.
YEE HA!
I had actually doubled the caramel sauce and realized I hadn't needed so much, but it was quite delicious drizzled over the apple slices, too.
I'll definitely be making these again.
Our eldest daughter who is home from college for a few days just saw my post and is completely bummed she didn't have any.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 347 - Baked Eggs in Toast Cups

2012-02-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday, so that means a family breakfast, especially since our eldest drove home for the weekend.
Most of the time on the weekends I'll make breakfast but there are other times I'll have my offspring and hubby fending for themselves.

Adapted from Foodie With Family.

Baked Eggs in Toast Cups - serves 4

4 slices of bread (I used potato)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
4 eggs (you can use 2 for each person, but I chose 1)
2 teaspoon onion, chopped
1 small tomato, diced
1/3 cup shredded mild cheddar/jack cheese
salt
freshly ground pepper
diced jalapeno, bacon, ham are optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare 4 6oz. ramekins by spraying them with cooking spray.
Brush one side of each piece of bread with the melted butter.

Place the bread into the ramekins, gently pushing down so that the bread is against the sides and there is a good size opening for the egg. The bread may tear, but that's ok, it will be in your belly in no time.

Crack the egg and place into the middle of the bread.
Evenly divide the onion, tomato and other optional ingredients among the ramekins.

Sprinkle each with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Divide the cheese evenly over the top of each.

Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake:
15 minutes for a runny yolk, 20 minutes for medium, and 25 minutes for a hard yolk.

This one that is pictured has some jalapeno pepper in it for Mr. 365. He wanted some spiciness added to his.
I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 and the family (sans mom) unanimously decided that these should be given 3 1/2 rolling pins.
Yes, there were only 4 ramekins, so mom went without this morning. The sacrifices we make, eh?
I didn't taste it, nor did I honestly have a desire to because my family likes their egg yolks runny and that just grosses me out to be honest. *shudders*
So, out of the 347 recipes that I've made so far, this is the FIRST that hasn't earned my rolling pin rating, but I trust my critics. For the most part throughout all of this, the family has been in agreement on the ratings, so I figured if I actually liked runny yolks or had a 5th ramekin, I would have concurred. (Ooh, BIG word. ;-) )

I have to say that the 365 Facebook page is growing by leaps and bounds, and the pictures you are all pinning from 365 on Pinterest are awesome!!
We have SO many new people who have come by to join us and I'd like to say WELCOME to each and every one of you! I am SO thrilled and honored that you're here! And I'd like to send out a BIG thank you to my fellow bloggers who have been so kind as to share us with your readers!
~ I love you all! ~
No, really, really LOVE you!!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 346 - Oatmeal Carrot Cookies

2012-02-18T20:06:00.001-07:00

*Hmmm...sometimes it's brought to your attention when you either post a recipe incorrectly or make it wrong altogether and when that happens, I am grateful. I do not take offense. After all, I am human and I do make mistakes. I would absolutely LOVE if I posted and made every single recipe perfectly, but I know that won't always happen. Until one reader questioned me on this recipe, I thought everything was ok, except for the fact that I didn't think they turned out correctly. Yes, baker's error.
I messed up with the amount of butter.
I have now changed it to read the correct amount and it is as follows 1 1/4 cups which is equal to 2 1/2 sticks.
I used only 1 1/2 sticks. For some reason, my brain couldn't compute correctly yesterday.
So, thank you dear reader for catching that. I'm sure you saved quite a few people some trouble and perhaps that explains the reason the cookies came apart so easily? I'm not sure. Still learning.
And please, to any of you who may be reading, PLEASE, PLEASE, if you see something that is perhaps incorrect or you have a question about it, DO NOT hesitate to either e-mail me or leave a comment. I will welcome any feedback with open arms!*

Ah, family life...
We'd brought one of our cars up to our daughter at her college last Saturday so that she could use it for a few weeks and she drove home for the weekend yesterday.
Saturday mornings here at the 365 home are generally relaxing and easy going when we don't have cross country or track meets to attend; everyone's gathered in the living room watching tv, or accessing the internet on various electronic devices while I'm intermittently doing laundry while enjoying my cup of coffee and blog catch-up.
For the most part, Mr. 365 is in a goofy mood on Saturday mornings, and this morning was no exception.
His silliness actually started last night.
The kids had ventured out in various directions last night, so the Mr. and I decided that we would go out for a drink.
We had a good time relaxing and laughing and on the way home decided that we should play a game of Scrabble.
Then he said it.
"We should play Strip Scrabble!"
This coming from the man who also thought I should rename the blog "Sex for Tomatoes".
"Uh, no! How would that even work? And yeah, then one of the kids would come home to be mortified and need therapy for the rest of their lives! Sorry, not gonna happen."
We played Scrabble and I lost, but all clothes were kept on.
While we were playing, a really strange song came on and basically the only lyrics were, "It's our anniversary." I don't know who sang it or what the rest of the words were, but at that point Mr. 365 says that our 50th anniversary party we're going to play that song, be out on the dance floor just the two of us and do some dirty dancing while he's pretending to smack me in the behind.
He had me in hysterics!
All I could think of was the look that the kids, their spouses, and children would have on their faces!!
Priceless!
Fast forward to this morning when we are all gathered in the living room, Dad and I tell the three kids about our plans.
Each one of their faces dropped in complete disgust followed by,
"I'm not going."
"I won't be there."
"ME either!"
I asked our oldest, "Aren't you so glad you came home for the weekend?"
"Uh, NO! I want to go back!"
Our other daughter says to her, "Take me with you!"
"Ok, we're leaving in an hour."
Then Dad chimes in as he often does, referencing movies and ALWAYS pulling them up on YouTube...

Ah, my honey still makes me laugh...and I LOVE that.

Today it's Oatmeal Carrot Cookies.
These may not sound appealing to some of you and to others, they may be "right up your alley", so to speak.
Desiring something reasonably healthy today, I went the carrot route and found these at Becki's Whole Life which she adapted from Southern Living All Time Favorite Cookie Recipes.

Oatmeal Carrot Cookies

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup chopped pecans (I omitted)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugars.

Add the vanilla and the egg.

NOT THIS WAY, silly girl!!

It slipped.

Mix until thoroughly combined.
Gradually add flour mixture.
Stir in oats, carrots and pecans.

Place dough onto cookie sheets using level tablespoonfuls.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Cool completely on cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Oatmeal Carrot Cookies earned 3 rolling pins.
They were tasty, but these were flat again and extremely soft.
They didn't stay together too well when I went to remove them from the cookie sheet which frustrated me.
I left out the pecans, but don't think that would have made the difference.
They weren't the chunky oatmeal cookies I thought they'd be, but they were still good.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 345 - Brown Sugar Pound Cake

2012-02-17T23:35:00.000-07:00

Nothing much going on today here, so we'll just have the recipe.

This is from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook - Original Classics, p. 470; author, Martha Stewart; publisher, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of The Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 978-0-307-39382-1.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake - makes one 9-inch loaf

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature, plus additional for greasing the loaf pan
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour, plus additional flour for dusting
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Place a rack into the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
Butter a 9 X 4 1/2 X 2 3/4-inch loaf pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and then butter and flour the paper. Remove excess flour and set aside.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and the brown sugar. Beat on medium speed for 2-4 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and almond and thoroughly combine.

Gradually and slowly add the beaten eggs, incorporating completely after each addition.

Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined.
Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the top is nicely browned and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Allow cake to cool completely in pan on a wire rack for 60 minutes.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and can I just tell you that right now, Mr. 365 has the music playing so darn loud in the living room that I'm having trouble getting my thoughts together.
Good grief, man!
He's rocking out to Gwen Stefani's 'The Sweet Escape'.
Who knew he liked this song? Not me!
There's only one child home and I'm surprised she hasn't come in to say, "IT'S TOO LOUD!!!!"
I've yelled at him a few times, but to no avail.
Yup, now he's moved on to the 80's station with Taylor Dane's, 'With Every Beat of My Heart' and just looks at me and says, "We should have gone to an 80's club tonight and gone out dancing!"
Yeah, ok. Maybe another night, dear.

The Brown Sugar Pound Cake...everything I bake receives a rolling pin rating and today's baked good earned 2 1/2 rolling pins.
The flavor was just ok. It wasn't the best pound cake I've ever eaten.
But, this pound cake sure was.
I think I'm more into just the plain pound cake flavor.
I don't need any of that fancy stuff going on. I really didn't like the taste of the almond flavor in it.
Pretty sure that's what did it in for me.

Enjoy your weekend all!
I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 344 - White Chocolate Cake Batter Cookies

2012-02-16T22:45:00.000-07:00

Here we are, 3, count them, I said THREE weeks to go!
I can't believe it.
It seems so surreal.
I've never committed myself to anything this long.
Except my marriage.
Oh, yeah, and raising our kids.
And ok, jobs that I worked for numerous years.
But nothing else.
Yeah, three weeks. I'm excited.
I will be having a giveaway to celebrate, so make sure you come back for it!
Haven't decided yet as to what it will be, but I'll be sure to let you know.
A trip, a car, a new home?
I'm kidding, don't get THAT excited!
I'm footin' the bill for this celebration and as much as I adore each and everyone of you and am extremely grateful that you've been reading, I just can't give you all the bells and whistles as much as I would TRULY love to.
But it will be something good.

I have to tell you if you haven't already heard about it on my FB page this morning.
When Mr. 365 woke up this morning and came out to the kitchen, there was no "good morning", or no morning kiss for his sweetie.
Instead he said, "Damn, I still can't get over how good those rolls were yesterday!"
And he talked about them again tonight on the way home from the movie!
Yes, they were THAT good!

As I was driving away from the grocery store and pondering today's purchase...
Don't you ponder your grocery store purchases, think about what you're feeding yourself and your family, friends, and the care you take to do the shopping and the preparation?
I don't know what I'm saying, I can feel myself starting to get a little giddy.
Maybe it was from licking the cookie dough off the mixer.
Anyway, as I was driving away, I was thinking how very fortunate Mr. 365 is.
I mean, seriously.
Do you have ANY idea how LOW maintenance I am?
Well, you do if you know me.
I'm not like some women who have to have a lot of clothes, shoes or jewelry or purses even.
Don't get me wrong, if he were to give me a gift of those things (which he never will - remember, we already discussed this about Valentine's Day) I would GLADLY accept, but there not the things that do it for me.
Heck, I haven't been shoe shopping in about 2 years and I cannot tell you the last time I bought some clothes.
One pair of jeans out of the three that I own is now so ripped that I can't wear them out in public and my slippers have a big hole in the toe, too.
I also don't want to go out and spend the money on stuff that I don't think I necessarily NEED at this point in time.
FOOD on the other hand, now THAT'S a different story!
And I'm not talking going out to eat either. I love to do that and experience new places, but eating out or ordering in once a week is perfectly fine when I am completely capable of fixing our meals.
As I was driving away from the grocery store...
isn't this like the third time I've said that?
Three seems to be the magic number for today.
*big, deep, booming voice*
This post was sponsored today by the number 3!
Memories of Sesame Street.
I was thinking how I would MUCH rather spend money on groceries and food to feed my family than purchasing a wire statue of a dog that would just sit gathering dust in my home.
That's how this whole thing came up, I went by a home furnishing store which I'll never go in, so the rather large wire/metal dog on display outside and thought about what else I could be using the money for.
FOOD!
Plain and simple.
Food.

The great thing about being the master of the kitchen and she who is in charge of the feedings is that whatever I am craving that day either for snack or for dinner is what we are having.
Maybe it comes from being an only child and wanting things done my way most of the time, but that's how it is here.
Am I alone on this one or is this how it is at your house, too?
I was craving some cake batter today. I don't know where it came from, I just was.
My daughter has been wanting some cookies, so let's just combine the two, shall we?
I saw that Kim from Lovin' From the Oven had made some, so here we go!

White Chocolate Cake Batter Cookies

*these cookies did not turn out as expected as you'll see from the pictures below. I suggest you follow Kim's recipe on her site.*
3/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup Funfetti cake mix
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cake mix, baking soda and baking powder; set aside.
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.

Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.

Gradually add the flour mixture and mix well.

Place on cookie sheets about 2 inches apart by using rounded tablespoonfuls.

Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden.

Oh dear.

What the heck happened to these cookies??!!
Kim said that her cookies were too flat and she suggested increasing the amount of baking soda and adding a pinch of baking powder. Maybe my amounts were off.
These have to be the flattest cookies I've ever made.
Wait!
Seems to me I made another really flat cookie during this baking excursion, but I can't seem to remember what they were. Maybe the Junior Mint Cookies. But I think today's were flatter, like negative flat.
But, just like the Junior Mints they tasted really good, but were awfully sweet.
I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and while I certainly can't give these White Chocolate Cake Batter Cookies a 4, they earned a 2 1/2; the flavor was there, but the flatness didn't do it for me.
I admit I was really disappointed that these didn't work out.
But they're still edible and made Mr. 365 happy. He was able to drink them, duh, no. He was able to EAT them with his glass of milk.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 343 - A Copycat Recipe - Texas Roadhouse Rolls

2012-02-15T22:19:00.000-07:00

I'm very tired today.
We didn't get much sleep here last night.
Mr. 365 and I went to bed around midnight, he was reading and I was blogging (and ok, was on Pinterest - SO addicting!).
But I have a question for you.
Why the heck is it that the smoke alarm batteries die only at night when you're sleeping?
Does somebody program either the smoke alarms or the batteries on purpose?
Seriously.
And I say smoke alarms too, because I just changed two batteries of the four alarms a week ago and this was after Mr. 365 changed three of the four last month.
Oh my gosh, I thought my Mr. was going to loose it.
He'd change a battery, we'd get into be, lights out...
"Low battery. Beep!"
Grumble, grumble, grumble with a not so nice word inserted here and there.
The ladder (and it's a full-size one because we don't own a small step ladder) was banging together and into the walls. Lights were being turned on and off, and our poor children were awakened by their father causing a ruckus in their rooms at 3 am with his paraphernalia.
Poor guy, he also had to drive to the store around 2:45 to buy some more 9 volts.
Batteries replaced, and the doggone things are STILL going off. Finally, he pulled the main one off the ceiling.
I think a can of compressed air is in order to spray those puppies clean and if that doesn't work, they'll be replaced ASAP.
It wasn't a good night.

If you've never been to a Texas Roadhouse, you need to go.
Well, actually now that you know how to make these roll, you really don't.
I think these rolls are the best things on their menu.
And come to think of it, and coupled with the fact that we haven't been there in quite some time, I don't even think these are on the menu.
If I remember correctly, they're complimentary.
And the best part of this whole thing is that they are to die for when spread with that cinnamon honey butter.
Oh. My. Goodness!

MAN, I sure do hope these taste like the ones in the restaurant or I'm going to be bumming out (does anyone even say that anymore or am I dating myself once again?) BIG time!

I found this at Eat Cake For Dinner.
Texas Roadhouse Rolls - makes 5-6 dozen smaller ones, but I made 19 larger ones as Jenn had recommended at Eat Cake. After all, bigger IS better, and it's less you have to eat! ;-)

4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups milk scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, separated
3 tablespoons melted butter, cooled slightly, plus additional for brushing
7-8 cups flour (I used about 7 1/2 cups)
2 whole eggs
2 teaspoons salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer, dissolve yeast in the warm water with the teaspoon of sugar.

With the dough hook attached, mix in the milk, remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, and enough flour to make a medium batter. (I added about 2 1/2 cups of flour here.)
Mix thoroughly.
Allow to stand until light and foamy, about 8-10 minutes.

Add melted butter, eggs and salt.

Beat well.
Add enough flour to form a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes.
While dough is resting, prepare a large bowl by spraying it with cooking spray.
Knead dough until it is smooth and satiny.

Place into prepared bowl and turn over, coating it with oil.

Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set to rise in a warm area until double in size, about 1-1 1/2 hours.

Punch dough down.
On a lightly floured surface and with a lightly floured rolling pin, flatten dough into a rectangle until it is about 1/2-inch thick. It's a pretty big rectangle, but I didn't measure it.

Fold the rectangle in half (short way - I know there's another way to say that, but I'm blanking out at the moment), so that it is about 1-inch in thickness, and lightly roll together to seal the sides together.

Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
With a dough scraper, cut into rolls.

Place rolls on a greased baking sheet.

Kitty being held hostage in the kitchen and is not too happy about it. Geez, all the puppy wants to do is play with you. Ok, and lick you to death.

Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm area until double in size, about 1 hour or so.

Preheat oven to 350 and bake rolls for 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden.

Upon removing from oven, brush tops with melted butter.
Serve with Cinnamon Honey Butter.

Cinnamon Honey Butter
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for approximately 30 seconds until lightly whipped.
Add confectioners' sugar, honey and cinnamon and beat until smooth and thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Continue beating on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Texas Roadhouse Rolls earned...
You ready for this?
4 ROLLING PINS!!!!!

Hot DIGGITY!!!

These were SOOOOOOOO unbelievable good that this is how the conversation went with my Mr.
Me, "So what'd you think of the rolls?"
Him, "They were REALLY good! They tasted just like the real thing and they were so good I couldn't believe you'd made them!"

Wow. thanks a lot.

But I did! And I have to admit that even I was surprised at how well they turned out!!
Yeah, they were NOTHIN' like that French Bread I made the other day (fortunately, and which post I still have yet to finish!)!
These were just absolutely the most bestest, stupendous, delicious, incredulous, dynamitous, I-can't-think-of-another-word-that-ends-in-ous-to-describeous how incredibly awesome these babies were!!
AND they were SO SOFT and AIRY!!!
Ah,...
it was like a cloud of sweet, yeasty goodness!

Attention!!
BE ON THE ALERT!!
This is one of those recipes on the 365 blog that I STRONGLY recommend that you make!!
I'm not trying to force you into anything here, but I really don't think you'll be sorry.

These should be served at EVERY special occasion!!
Even when there isn't a special occasion you just NEED, yes you NEED to have these in your life.

They. Are. Almost. Better. Than. Chocolate.
Almost.

And don't you DARE serve them without that cinnamon honey butter.
Oh my goodness!
Because if you do, you are only hurting yourself and the ones you love.
It is such a disservice to give those to anyone plain.
Don't. Even. Think. About. It!

Make them.

NOW!

Oh, and if you don't want 19 really HUGE muffins, you can just divide the dough into smaller rectangles, let the dough rest and then divide it into smaller rolls totaling 5-6 dozen.
It'll be fine.

Enjoy your rolls!
You need to come back and tell me what you think. I want to hear about them!

I am going to bed doing a very happy dance~ Sweet dreams y'all!!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 342 - Molten Lava Cakes

2012-02-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

Of course, it's Valentine's Day and you can't have Valentine's Day without chocolate now, can you?
It's would be like Abbott without Costello, Fred without Ginger, peanut butter without jelly.
Or for those of you who are too young to relate to two of the above references, an iPod without apps., or Facebook without status updates.
These things just GO together.
And love was in the air today.
There were heart-shaped boxes of candy, balloons, roses, teddy bears, and the color red everywhere today!
Every year the grocery store in our neighborhood sets up a tent in their parking lot specifically for the sale of Valentine's Day items. It's a large tent, a very large tent.
And it's FILLED with anything Valentine's related.
Yes, it's a good idea so that they can make more money and the lines will be shorter in the store, but I can't tell you how many people I've almost hit with my car over the past few days; people pleased with their purchases and filled with anticipation of the recipient's reaction that they're not remembering they are walking into the pathway of an oncoming car.
Heeellllooooooo, my car is bigger than you, but yes, you are a pedestrian, so I'll slam on my brakes causing my poor dog to slip off the backseat onto the floor as you go merrily on your way, without a mere acknowledgement.

Here I go again, off on a tangent.
Wasn't this post supposed to be about love and sharing it today?
Well, we're ok. I did that today. The parking lot incident happened yesterday.

Here at the 365 home, we don't typically celebrate Valentine's Day for reasons being, "Why do I have to go out and buy you something on ONE particular day when I show you the other 364 days that I love you?"

Because... I WANT CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!

Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE that he does things for me throughout the year like making dinner, cleaning the house, date nights, massages, spontaneous lunch dates, etc., but would it kill ya to buy one doggone box of chocolates just one stinkin' day of the year? In the shape of a heart with a pretty bow on the top?

I don't care about the flowers. Yes, they're pretty and smell wonderful, but honestly, in my house, they're dead in a few days anyway.
Stuffed animals holding hearts that say I love you? Nah, I had a collection of teddy bears when I was a teenager and sold all 50 or so. I'm past that stage, well past it.
Balloons? No. They're cool and all, but the dog is afraid of them. If they move ever so slightly when the air in the house goes on, he freaks out and starts barking at them. It's funny at first, but then it gets old. No balloons.
Jewelry? I don't wear it. Save the thousands and we'll pay a bill.

But, use just a little bit of it to buy me one of those BIG heart-shaped boxes of candy! You know the ones, they have all the different kinds, the soft, creamy, different flavored squares, and caramels, and nutty things, and toffees...oh heavens!

Ah, boo, hiss!
I didn't get one today.

Oh honey, guess what? Valentine's Day candy will be 50% off tomorrow...

Anyway, we had chocolate today and I made sure of it.
I put a Reese's Peanut Butter Heart in each of the kids' lunches, (sorry daughter who is away at college) and in hubby's laptop bag trying to drop a hint.
No. such. luck.

AND,
I made Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes!
I've never made them before and with a daughter who is a chocoholic, I figured these would be a hit since she's been asking for them anyway.
I found the recipe at Savory Sweet Life which Alice adapted from Paula Deen's Home Cooking.

Molten Lava Cakes - makes 6

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
10 (1 1/4 sticks) tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Prepare 6 6oz. ramekins by spraying them generously with cooking spray.
In a medium microwavable bowl, melt the chocolate chips and butter for 30 seconds. Continue melting for 30 second increments until butter and chocolate are smooth when mixed together.

Whisk in flour and confectioners' sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Whisk in eggs and egg yolks and mix together until smooth.

Mix in vanilla.

Evenly divide batter between the ramekins.

Place ramekins onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minute. The edges will be firm and set, but the middle will be wiggly.

Run a knife around the outer edges to loosen it from the ramekin.
Place a serving dish over the ramekin and invert it to transfer the cake to the plate.
Serve with ice cream or freshly whipped cream and garnish as desired.

I rate everything on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Molten Lava Cakes earned 3 rolling pins.
These were so rich, but not as rich as they probably should have been because I'm just noticing that I only used 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar when the recipe called for 1 1/2 cups.
Whoops.
They tasted pretty darn good anyway, so I can only imagine how much better they would have been had I followed the recipe correctly. Ha ha.
They chocolate cake on the outside was yummy, but then when you cut into it, the chocolate oozed out and it was magical.
Oh, and so yummy with the whipped cream!
These would be great for St. Patty's Day, too or any occasion for that matter! Add a little Creme De Menthe and you'll be good to go.

These were a perfect ending to a wonderful Valentine's Day without any gifts.
Well, there's always the love I'll be feeling tomorrow and the other 363 days of the year. ;-)
Besides, love won't cause me to gain any weight.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 341 - French Bread

2012-02-13T22:19:00.000-07:00

So, I'm almost caught up.
I have the recipe that needs to be put up from yesterday and this post to do.
I hope to finish both tomorrow in addition to doing tomorrow's post.

Today I made French Bread for the meatball subs I planned on serving for dinner tonight.
Long story short, they didn't turn out so well and I made a run to the store after I took some pictures of these sorry looking loaves for some real sandwich buns.

These need to be revisited.
They are the sorriest looking loaves of bread I think I've ever made.

Here are the pictures. Recipe to follow tomorrow.

This recipe is from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook; author Marion Cunningham; publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., a division of Random House, Inc,.

French Bread - makes four 14-inch loaves

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 340 - Baked Potato Cheese Balls

2012-02-13T21:42:00.001-07:00

Day 340 - is really Sunday, February 12.

Yesterday, being Sunday, little did I realize that there would be a small window of opportunity for me to bake.
I woke up sore from our hike, so it took me a little while to get myself going in the morning. After putting a few loads of laundry in, I decided I'd get started on the baking.
Then it hit me. A wonderful opthalmic migraine hit me.
At first, I thought I was just "seeing" things, or rather, not seeing things, but then my eyesight started to get worse, and I knew if I didn't nip this thing in the bud and take some Excedrin (yes, my medicine of choice, and no, this is not a paid endorsement) immediately, I'd be down for the count later.
These occur every 6 months or so and the doctor says it's brought on by stress. It is similar to a migraine with the headache, but there areas in my field of vision that I absolutely cannot see.
I'll put my hand up about a foot away from my face and I can see my thumb and part of my index finger and maybe the pinky, but the rest of my fingers are missing.
The first time this happened, it freaked me out because I was driving, but was able to go straight to my eye doctor's office for him to tell me that, "Yes, Lynne, these are normal and no, you don't have a brain tumor."
Ok, but that was my first thought.
So this occurred in the morning yesterday and then the Excedrin started kicking in. It proceeded to get better and full vision was restored, but the headache lingered ever so slightly.
No biggie. It will go away.
Time to bake.
The other day this recipe popped into my head and I was dying to try it.
What if I mixed mashed potatoes with cheese and green onions, then rolled them in bread crumbs and BAKED them?
Hunh?
Oh, according to the internet I am not the first one to do this.
But I put it together anyway.
And just in time, too.
Because I was bombarded by a second opthalmic migraine.
Two in one day? This is a first. It's always one and I'm done.
I think I was too worried about getting behind on all of these posts and it got the best of me.
So, instead of posting I went to bed. And here we are.
I will be putting the recipe up tomorrow, but wanted to fill you in and I'll give you the pictures.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 339 - Banana Chips

2012-02-13T21:05:00.001-07:00

Day 339 which is really supposed to be dated Saturday, February 11.

The 365 family (or at least the 4 who reside here now) were going on a hike up north on Saturday.
I had a hair appointment at 9 am which was going to last about 2 hours and we were planning on leaving about 1/2 hour after I returned home.
After our planned hike, we were driving to meet our eldest daughter to take her out to dinner since we would be somewhat in her proximity. That meant we probably wouldn't be getting back home until about 9 pm or so.
Needless to say, at that time of night, I was NOT going to be baking something. Just even forget about the fact that I wasn't going to have any natural light with which to take my pictures.
So, I got myself out of bed around 6 am, finished baking the meatballs I had stuck in the fridge from the night before and perused the internet for something that I could both bake and take on the hike with us.
Two browning bananas on the counter were my focus.

Banana Chips
Blech. No. I HATE the banana chips that come in trail mixes and are in those bulk bins at the stores.
Ick!
Ooh, I don't want to make those!

As it is, I can only eat a banana plain or in banana bread. Alright, in banana cake it's really yummy, too.
But put it into a smoothie, or on a banana split and I don't want any part of it.
Weird, I know.
What can I say.

Well, if I make these banana chips, I don't have to eat them.
Oh yeah, wait a minute, I do.
I at least have to have one because I have to rate it.
Oh, cripes! This is going to be like Fear Factor for me - I'm going to have to gag it down just to give it a rolling pin rating.
"Yeah, I give it 4 rolling pins (heck, they never have to know that I choked on the thing and then gave it a rating!)."
Don't worry, being dishonest is NOT something I want to be here on 365. I am tasting EACH and EVERY thing that I make so that you can have an honest review to base your opinion on, even if it is that Indian Pudding we all couldn't stand and wanted to give a big fat 0.

So, I made them anyway

Recipe adapted from Home Made Simple.

Banana Chips- made 33 chips

2 medium bananas
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Cinnamon for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment and spray it with cooking spray.
Peel the bananas and slice them 1/4-inch thick.
Dip them into the lemon juice to coat both sides.
Place onto the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle the slices with cinnamon. (I found it easier to put the cinnamon into my hand and then put a little on each slice, otherwise it was coming out to fast.)

Bake for 3 hours total. Flip slices over after 1 1/2 hours and then bake for the remainder until golden and crispy.

These may not be the most attractive thing I've ever baked, but...
I have to say that these Banana Chips didn't taste ANYTHING like those hard (and what I call blechy)chips in the grocery stores.
THESE WERE DELICIOUS!!
EVEN I LIKED THEM!!
Ok, I didn't eat ALL of them, but I definitely had more than one,probably about 5 or so, I think.
I rate everything I bake and it was unanimous that these Banana Chips should earn 3 1/2 rolling pins.
They were not as crisp as they probably should have been, but that was part of their greatness, too.
The moment I started to chew one of them, it took me right back to when the kids were babies and I fed them their jarred bananas.
I loved those baby food bananas!
Oh, my goodness, and these chips were so incredibly sweet, and yummy!! They tasted just like the baby food.
They were even a little chewy. They were getting stuck to my teeth, but I liked that.
I think you'll like this healthy snack!
It may not be the quickest thing to make for the family, but bake these up for the kids while they're in school and see their reaction when they come home and take a bite.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 338 - Orange Cranberry Muffins

2012-02-10T22:25:00.004-07:00

Recipe AND pictures below! Woo hoo, I've finally done it!! Thank you all so very much for being so patient, it's been a crazy few days.
I still have two recipes to post from the weekend.
But, I'm baaaacccckkkkkk!!!

(The following is from Friday night. I wrote this and hadn't posted the recipe or the pictures.)
Oh, dear. I've had one, yes, ONE glass of wine tonight after dinner and it's done me in. There will be no post this evening for that reason.
I'm a lightweight, what can I say and Mr. 365 wanted me to relax tonight and watch "Hannah and Her Sisters" with him.
Now I'm done, and I can't keep my eyes open, so it's bed time.
I will post about the Orange Cranberry Muffins, don't worry.

Sweet dreams, y'all or Happy Saturday to others!! Mwah!!!

This was adapted from my New Doubleday Cookbook, p. 659; authors, Jean Anderson and Elaine Hanna; publisher, Doubleday, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., an imprint of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-385-19577-X.
Orange Cranberry Muffins - makes 8 muffins

1 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
zest of 1 orange
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by filling it with paper cups. Fill any unused cups halfway with water to ensure even baking.
Into a medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the grated orange zest and toss to coat. (STOP!!! DO NOT add the dried cranberries! Do as I say, not as I DID! When I added them at this point, the cranberries became coated in flour (DUH!) and stayed that way until eaten and didn't make for a very good tasting dried cranberry. Don't worry, I'll tell you when to add them.) So ignore the following picture. Just imagine all you see is orange zest. There is no red - you are really hallucinating.
See what fun you have when you join me here at 365, we hallucinate!
And we're not even doing drugs!
Woo Hoo!
Ok, back to the recipe!

In a small bowl, beat together the egg, milk, orange juice and melted butter.

Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture all at once and stir until just mixed (batter will be lumpy. It's ok, don't wig out on me.)

This is IT! This is where you add the dried cranberries!! Stir them in lightly. You don't want to over mix the batter and there can still be some lumps.
Motto, it's good to be lumpy!
Oh, and we're going to hallucinate again because see that picture below? Yeah, the dried cranberries with the flour on them? Yeah, you're not REALLY seeing that because remember we didn't add the cranberries with the orange zest. It was AFTER!
Those things taste yucky when they have flour all over them.
Blech.

Fill the prepared muffin cups about two-thirds full and remember to fill those unused tins halfway up with water.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Orange Cranberry Muffins earned 3 rolling pins.
I have always LOVED the taste of cranberries and oranges, especially at Thanksgiving.
Ooh, these would be really good with some FRESHLY crushed cranberries at that time of year.
*SIGH*
Well, we just have to wait a few months.
Before you know it, it'll be Christmas again.

Thank you all again for being so patient while I took a few days off from posting. I'll explain my absence within the next few posts.
Remember, our motto for the day, it's good to be LUMPY!
And hallucinating is fun as long as it's done naturally and by that I mean, JUST with your imagination!!
I am NOT encouraging ANY drug use of the sort!! ICK!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins, orange cranberry muffins, to be exact!! ;-)

Day 337 - Sweetly Spiced Almonds

2012-02-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

Are you ever able to take a moment out of your busy day to just sit for moment, or you don't even have to sit, but to take a deep breath and to just be grateful for the world around you and the moment that you're in?
You don't even need to be outside or one with nature to do it.
Mr. 365 and I were out today which reminded me of it, to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. Though where we went there were no roses, just lots of cacti and bushes I couldn't identify.
And I know if you're super busy or if there are things in your life that you're struggling with that it can be difficult, if not darn near impossible to do that.
Believe me, I've been there.
And there are days at this point in my life where I still struggle.
Like at this very moment, when my 14 year old son is sitting here at the kitchen table with me while I type this post. He's supposed to be doing his homework, but like all of a sudden he's talking up a storm, then panting like a dog, doing hand movements to the music, making weird noises with his mouth, and now I just catch him making funny faces at me through the hand he has up to his face!
Ugh!!!
Even in moments like this, I can appreciate his humor.
Although now I'm starting to become a little aggravated because with these interruptions, this post won't be done until midnight!
Hmph. I just attempted to leave the room with my computer and he started apologizing profusely, saying that he'd stop and get his homework done.
Hmmmm...seems to be working. He's now focused.
I can continue. Where was I?
Oh yeah.
It is so important to have "an attitude of gratitude" because it makes things that much easier when we do go through those struggles. I know doing this makes it easier for me to be more aware of the blessings in my life when difficulty comes, easing the burden even if it's only slightly.
So today, Mr. 365 and I burned off a little bit more than 365 calories. I'd like to say it was 365,000 calories because it sure did feel like it, but I know it wasn't nearly that much.
We hiked from our home, up and over a mountain in our community and back home. It took us three hours to complete it, and was a bit of a struggle at times, especially going up, but I was grateful that we did it. And Mr. said he thought we covered about 10 miles, figuring we were moving about 3 miles an hour.
Grateful for the time he and I were able to spend together, the exercise or rather major work-out I got, and for the beauty we were able to see. It was truly spectacular.
All of it.
Here are some pictures from the top of the mountain.

So, being as exhausted as I was and since my feet were killing me, I wanted to bake something easy and where I wasn't going to be spending a lot of time on my feet in the kitchen.
I've had these almonds in the pantry and have been wanting to spice them up a bit as I had with the Baked Spiced Almonds on Day 244. Those were so delicious and were quite addicting.
The Baked Walnuts? Ick. Not so much.
I knew if I made these I didn't want my egg whites to have stiff peaks. That to me, is just WRONG. I didn't like the way that tasted on the walnuts at. ALL. Neither did anyone else for that matter.

I found this at Suzie Sweet Tooth.
Sweetly Spiced Almonds - makes 12 oz. of almonds

1 egg white,
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon salt
12 oz. raw almonds
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon coriander

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper and spraying the parchment with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, ginger and coriander; set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, mix together the egg white, water and salt. Place the almonds in the bowl, and toss, making sure they are completely coated.

Place almonds in a strainer to drain for 4-5 minutes.

Pour almonds into the sugar mixture and toss to completely coat.

Place the almonds into a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes on the upper rack of the oven. After 20 minutes, move the tray to the middle rack and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack for nuts to cool completely.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Sweetly Spiced Almonds earned 3 rolling pins.
They would have been better if I hadn't slightly burned them.
I cooked them according to the recipe, leaving them on the middle rack for the additional 20 minutes, but I'm thinking that it should have been for only 15. So, check them after 15 minutes when they're on that middle rack to make sure that the bottoms haven't browned too much.
There's nothing worse than eating burned nuts, or almonds, rather.
Well, ok, there is, but remember, we need to be grateful for ALL things. ;-)

I give you BIg baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 336 - Rosemary Flatbread

2012-02-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

I was going to make BLT's (bacon lettuce and tomato sandwiches) tonight and wanted a really good bread to go with it.
The dinner plans changed as did the bread plan, but I found this one in my Martha Stewart Living Cookbook - The Original Classics, p.550; author, Martha Stewart; publisher, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 978-0-307-39382-1.

Rosemary Flatbread - makes 2 10 to 12-inch loaves

1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F.)
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (it was less than 1 envelope because an envelope
contains 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/2 tablespoon salt, plus more for sprinkling
2 1/2 to 4 cups flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (I found that 1 tablespoon was plenty for our tastes)

Into a large bowl, pour the 1/4 cup warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the water in the bowl and let it sit for about 10 minutes until foamy.
Mix in the milk, room temperature water, olive oil and salt.

Add 1 cup of the flour and with a wire whisk, mix until smooth.

Continue to add flour 1 /2 cup at a time until the dough comes together in a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Place the dough on a generously floured work surface.

Knead until soft and smooth and no longer sticky. This can take about 6-8 minutes, adding more flour as needed.
Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough in it, coating it all around with oil.

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap.
Place the bowl in a warm place to rise so that it doubles in size for about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and divide the dough into two pieces.
Form each into a ball and place each on a 12-inch wide, oiled baking sheet.
Press each ball into a 10 to 12-inch circle using oiled fingers.

Cover both circles with plastic wrap and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.

Pressing your finger tips into the dough, make dimples and then lightly drizzle with more olive oil.

Cover each with a moist towel and place in a warm area to rise for 10 minutes.
Evenly divide the rosemary between the two loaves and sprinkle with salt.

Bake 25-30 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly golden.
Within the first 10 minutes, spray or sprinkle water on the tops to crisp the surface.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Rosemary Flatbread earned 3 rolling pins.
It was really tasty and I think as my neighbor suggested when she and her son came to drop off some gorgeous Valentine's Day cookies, that it would be over the top if some Asiago cheese were to be put on top.
Oh, YUM!
We ate it with our chili tonight for dinner. Probably not the typical bread you eat with chili, but we didn't care and were dipping it into some olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
It was pretty darn delicious and I know would be 3 1/2, if not 4 rolling pins if one were to add some Asiago cheese.
Hint, Hint.
Just come back and leave me a note to let me know how that turned out for you.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 335 - Baked Rice Breakfast

2012-02-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

Well, here is it, Day 335, with only 30 days to go in this baking adventure!
Wow!
I'm sure you're going to be hearing that from me a lot these next few weeks.
Wow.

I had some leftover cooked rice, so when I saw this recipe and this recipe, I decided to somewhat combine the two.
And since I'm hooked on the Baked Blueberry Oatmeal I made on Day 269, I decided to add those delicious blue pieces of greatness to the dish.
I think I also may be craving some rice pudding type thing because my baked rice pudding way back when was a debacle! It's not even worth linking to it because it wasn't edible, but of course, if you're really that interested in seeing it, you can do a search for it over on the right hand side.
It was burnt. It was gross. And I was completely disgusted it didn't turn out.
So, I'm hoping this has a different and better result.

Adapted from The Gourmet Mama and Mr. Breakfast.
Baked Rice Breakfast - serves 4 (but it will only be serving one because I know no one else will eat it. Oh well, all the more for ME!)

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup cooked long grain brown rice
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup flax seed meal
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 1-quart baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine blueberries and dried cranberries. Mix with the 1 tablespoon of flour until well coated; set aside.

*This will help to suspend the fruit while it is baking instead of it sinking to the bottom. Try this tip in your breads, cakes, and muffins, too! It works!*
In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk, rice, flax seed meal, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix well to make sure sugar is dissolved.

Mix in the blueberries an dried cranberries.

Pour into prepared baking dish. Give it a stir to evenly distribute the fruit, unless of course, you want it all glumped (Oooh, new word! - just sounds better than clumped) together.

(The cooking spray caused the yellow dots in the batter. No biggie.)

Bake for 1 hour.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Baked Rice Breakfast earned, uh, 2 rolling pins.
Yeah, it was edible, but it wasn't very tasty.
The blueberries were good in it, but I think overall it may have tasted better with white rice.
I used the brown rice and flax meal to make it healthier, but I think it backfired on me.
This is something that was good to try the first time, however I won't be making it again or if I do, I would use the white rice.
I had one serving and threw the rest away.
It didn't taste anything like rice pudding as I had hoped it would.
Oh well.
You don't know if you're going to like something unless you try it.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 334 - Bacon Sage Wrapped Chicken

2012-02-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

We had this dish at my mother-in law's when we went back east for Christmas.
She found it at Everyday Food. Of course, it wasn't baked and I added the bread crumbs to it.

Bacon Sage Wrapped Chicken - serves 4

2 large chicken breasts, sliced into 1-inch thick slices, made about 14 pieces or you can use chicken tenders which is what the original recipe calls for
1 egg
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
3/4 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Fresh sage leaves
1 package center-cut bacon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with tin foil (I was out), and placing a wire rack into the sheet. Spray the baking rack with cooking spray.
In a shallow dish, combine bread crumbs and Lawry's Seasoned Salt.
In a separate shallow dish, beat egg.
Coat a piece of chicken completely with egg.
Coat chicken piece with bread crumbs completely on both sides.
Repeat with remaining chicken.

Put a sage leaf on a piece of chicken and roll a bacon slice around the chicken to secure the sage. You will not need toothpicks, the bacon will stay wrapped around the meat pretty well.
For the larger pieces of chicken I used 2 sage leaves and 2 pieces of bacon. I also think the center-cut bacon is shorter, so if you use the regular slices, you may not need two.
Place pieces on prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Place under broiler for 2-3 minutes until bacon is crisp, if desired.

Whole Grain Mustard Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons whole grain mustard

In a small bowl. combine mayonnaise and mustard. Mix thoroughly and serve with chicken, if desired.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Bacon Sage Wrapped Chicken earned 3 1/2 rolling pins.
It was good the way I made it, and the Panko bread crumbs added a nice crunch.
The broiler in my oven is not working since our oven died and Mr. 365 traded the broiler igniter for the oven igniter and hasn't replaced it yet.
I really wanted the oven crisper, uh, no, I meant I wanted the BACON that was wrapped around the chicken crisper. I really can't stand chewy bacon.
So, since the broiler isn't functional I took out my handy dandy kitchen creme brulee blow torch and fired that baby up.
Uh, that didn't work so well.
It kind of made the bacon a little more well done, but in the process, it also burnt some of the bread crumbs.
I think you should use your broiler.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 333 - Frosted Sugar Cookies aka Lofthouse

2012-02-05T21:58:00.098-07:00

I'd like to congratulate all of you Giant fans.
It was a tough loss here at 365, but we're taking it all in stride.
Our dog, as many of you know is named after the Patriot's quarterback, and I couldn't even bring myself to say his name after the game.
Poor dog.

I found this recipe at Michelle's site Brown Eyed Baker.
The dough should be refrigerated overnight, so don't be thinking you'll be able to make these for tonight's dessert.
They just taste better that way and it will make the dough easier to work with.

Frosted Sugar Cookies aka Lofthouse - makes 6 dozen

1 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt*
6 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
*Michelle used sour cream in her recipe, but I chose to replace it with the yogurt.*

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, completely incorporating each.
Mix in vanilla and yogurt.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients with the mixer on low speed.
The dough will be sticky, but that's ok.
Divide the dough in half onto separate sheets of plastic wrap. Form each half into a rectangle about 1 1/2 inches thick. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare two cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper or silpat.
Flour your work surface well and remove one of the dough halves from the refrigerator. Flour the top of the dough, also, and rolling pin if necessary.
*I had a BIG problem with the dough sticking to the counter when I tried to place the dough onto the cookie sheets, so make sure you really flour your surface!*
Roll the dough out so that it is about 1/4-inch thick.
Using a 2 1/2-inch round cookie cutter, cut the dough into circles and place on cookie sheets about 1 inch apart.
Bake for 7-9 minutes until just barely golden. Remove cookies from sheets immediately and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Repeat process with remaining refrigerated dough.

Buttercream Frosting
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups confectioners' sugar
pinch of salt
6 tablespoons heavy cream
food coloring, if desired

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and vanilla until light and fluffy.
With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the confectioners' sugar and the salt.
Frosting will be dry, but should be smooth and creamy.
Add the cream, one tablespoon at a time, incorporating each completely.
After all the cream has been mixed in, beat on medium-high speed for about two minutes, til light and fluffy.
Add food coloring, if desired, and thoroughly combine.
Frost cookies and allow frosting to set before storing in an airtight container.
We found that the longer the cookies sat, the better they tasted.

I rate everything on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Frosted Sugar Cookies aka, Lofthouse Cookies earned 3 1/2 rolling pins!
The cookie itself was sort of cake-like, and not that sweet, so the frosting complemented it quite nicely.
It was fun to frost these because I did it with my daughter who was home for the weekend from college. She enjoyed it, too.
She had been wanting me to make these for quite some time and I was finally able to surprise her with them this weekend.
I have never had one of the frosted sugar cookies from the store, but my daughter assured me that these were just as good. I personally think these would be better because of the love that's been put into them!
LOVE makes everything taste better!!
She was happy and brought quite a few back to school with her, but I'm not sure how much she'll be sharing them. ;-)

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 332 - Baked Cinnamon French Toast

2012-02-04T23:55:00.001-07:00

We eat French Toast quite often here at the 365 home mainly because our 14 year old son LOVES it.
And I don't just mean he LOVES it, HE LOVES, LOVES, LOVES it!!!
If this kid were only to be given a choice of 3 foods for the rest of his life they would be French Toast, Chicken Picatta, and pasta.
And probably in that order, too.
Whenever we go out for breakfast, he only orders French Toast and more often than not wants a double order.
So, seeing Cinnamon Baked French Toast on The Pioneer Woman, I KNEW that I had to make it.
And because it's BAKED, it can be featured here on 365!
Yippee!!
I have to admit that I was a little hesitant making this for the boy because he is such a stickler when it comes to his favs. After all, the Baked Chicken Picatta didn't go over very well, so I'll be making that dish on top of the stove as I usually do.
AND, when I told him how I was preparing this French Toast, he kind of turned his nose up at me and gave me a funny look.
I have to say that I was pretty excited about the preparation of this dish because the base o prepare the day before and stick it in the fridge overnight and the topping can either be done the day of or night before, also.
Super easy!

Baked Cinnamon French Toast - serves 8-10 or 4 + 1 growing teenage boy

1 loaf day old French bread
8 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

The night before you want to bake this, prepare a 9 X 13-inch baking dish by generously greasing it with butter.
Cut the loaf of French bread into 1-inch cubes and place into baking dish, spreading evenly.

Into a medium bowl, break open the eggs.

Add the milk, heavy cream, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix well to thoroughly combine.

Pour the mixture evenly over the bread.

Cover the baking dish tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
The topping can be prepared either the night before and placed in the refrigerator in a plastic bag or made the morning of baking which is what I did.

Cinnamon Topping
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 cup (1 stick) butter, cold

In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.

Cut butter into pieces and add to bowl.
With a pastry cutter, cut butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles course meal.
Place in bag to store in refrigerator overnight or place on French Toast.

To bake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Remove baking dish from oven and uncover.

Distribute cinnamon topping evenly over french toast.

Bake for 45-60 minutes depending on how well you want it cooked. 45 minutes and you will have a softer, bread pudding-like texture or 60 minutes for a drier and firmer dish.

I baked it for about 52 minutes and it was perfect.

Serve with maple syrup and if desired, butter.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Cinnamon Baked French Toast earned...4 rolling pins!
And that was from the BOY himself!!
I was pleasantly surprised that he had given it such a high mark!
Then I tasted it.
It truly was delicious, soft, crunchy, sweet and cinnamony.
Oh YUM!
I have to agree with the boy on this one. It does deserve a 4.
I added the 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon to the liquid mixture before pouring it over the bread and I think it was a really good addition, adding that extra flavor to the bread.
This is a great new way for our family to enjoy our French Toast!
I think this will be a great dish for Christmas morning because I'll put it together Christmas eve after everything's settled down so that we can (ok, or rather I) can enjoy Christmas morning without having to spend a lot of it in the kitchen.
This would also be great to prepare tonight if you're going to be spending time in the kitchen making things for the BIG game tomorrow. Breakfast in the morning would be an easy prep!
...Or rather it would have been had I posted this sometime earlier this afternoon as I had originally planned. Sorry.
Well, Valentine's Day is coming up and what better thing to serve to your sweetheart in bed!
Right?

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 331 - Cranberry Flax Meal Oat Bran Muffins

2012-02-03T22:35:00.001-07:00

It's Friday and that means it's the start to a great weekend!
I picked up our daughter at college, did some baking and prepared tomorrow's recipe.
I have loads, and I mean LOADS of laundry to do this weekend, some cleaning, and of course there will be Scrabble to play with the family.
We are so into this game now that I actually went out and bought the Official Scrabble Dictionary.
We're serious now, folks.
It's really become a great thing at night to do with the kids. It's wonderful to turn the TV, iPods, and cell phones off and spend some quality time together.
It's also pretty cool to see at what level the vocabulary is at for the youngsters.
There has been that occasional "made-up" word which was the reason for the dictionary purchase, and even Mr. 365 has taken that chance in order to get ahead in the game.
It's something we've really enjoyed and I highly recommend it.
Scrabble's great, and did you know that there are quite a few words that have a "q" that you actually DON'T need a "u" for!
And no, we haven't memorized the dictionary yet.
Oh yeah, and I've heard something about some sort of football game on Saturday?
Anybody know anything about that? ;-)

I adapted this recipe from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook, p. 75; author, Diana Shaw; publisher, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of The Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.; ISBN 0-517-59989-9.

Cranberry Flax Meal Oat Bran Muffins - makes 14 muffins (the book said it would make 6 muffins with the cups 3/4 filled with batter. I must have some small muffin tins to come up with 14 instead of 6. And you can tell in the pictures that they don't look as large as your typical muffins.)

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
3 egg whites

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
Prepare muffin tin(s) by greasing them with butter. Any cups that are not filled with batter, fill them halfway up with water.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together wheat flour, flax meal, oat bran, brown sugar, cranberries, baking powder, baking soda.
In a medium bowl, mix together buttermilk and egg whites until thoroughly combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until the dry mixture is completely moistened, but still slightly lumpy, about 30 seconds.

Fill the prepared muffin tins with batter about 3/4 full.

Place the muffin tin(s) into the oven and as you shut the door, lower the temperature to 400 degrees F.
Bake until golden brown, about 22-25 minutes., or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Place the tin on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing the muffins from the pan.
Store in a sealed plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Cranberry Flax Meal Oat Bran Muffins earned 3 1/2 rolling pins.
I really liked these and my daughter did as well.
The best part besides the taste, was the fact that every time I took a bite of one, I felt like I was doing something good for my body!
WOO HOO!
I am doing the healthy muffin dance - duh, duh, duh, duh, duh, DUH! *swings her hip way out to the side*
Oh, my back!
Ok, no more dancing for me, back to baking.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 330 - Cream Cheese Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips

2012-02-02T22:10:00.001-07:00

Short and sweet tonight, folks. I have such a headache that it hurts to keep my eyes open.
I've wanted chocolate for the past few days, but then again, when do I go a day that I don't want the good ol' brown, sweet stuff?
Today it was cream cheese brownies. The recipe from Brandy at Brandy's Baking called for semi-sweet mini morsels to be sprinkled on the batter before putting them into the oven, but I decided to use the Reese's Peanut Butter Chips instead.

Cream Cheese Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips - makes 16 brownies

Cream Cheese Layer
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon vanilla

Brownie Layer
1/3 cup butter (5 1/3 tablespoons)
4 oz. (4 squares) semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray a 9 X 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
For the brownie layer, in a medium microwavable bowl, combine butter and chopped chocolate. Melt in microwave for 30 seconds and stir. If necessary, heat for another 30 seconds, stirring again to make sure butter and chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside to cool.
For the layer of cream cheese, place the cream cheese into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed while gradually adding sugar and mix until well combined. Add the egg, vanilla, and flour. Mix until smooth and set aside.

To the chocolate mixture, whisk in the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt.

Gradually add the flour combining until thoroughly blended.

Pour 3/4 of the brownie mixture into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.

Drop the cream cheese mixture on top by spoonfuls.

Sprinkle the peanut butter chips evenly over the batters.

Place the remaining brownie batter by small spoonfuls on top of the cream cheese.

Cut through the batters with a knife, so that it is marbelized.

With an offset spatula, smooth the top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until cream cheese is just set.
Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool and refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting and serving.
*Brandy's note: These are best served slightly chilled, they have a denser texture and are much easier to cut* I second that.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Cream Cheese Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips earned 2 1/2 rolling pins.
I think I should have just stuck with Brandy's suggestion of the mini semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Even Mr. 365 said there was too much going on with all the flavors.
Which I thought was quite odd because I his liking peanut butter was my motivator for switching up the chips.
These were ok, but the peanut butter did nothing for them and I think, actually detracted from them.
Go with the chocolate chips.

I give you all BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 329 - Cauliflower Gratin

2012-02-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

Last night we went out to a FABULOUS meal with my husband's brother-in-law who was in town for a work conference. We had a wonderful time and the food was absolutely incredible!
We went to the Tonto Bar & Grill at Rancho Manana in Cave Creek, AZ.
Oh. My. Goodness.
I had the Vegetable Nosh which included sauteed spinach and broccolini, green beans, a sweet potato, onion and leek gratin, and the highlight of the dish - a quinoa, feta, and vegetable salad.
WOW!
I had never had quinoa before and have been wanting to try it. I am SO very glad I ordered it!
My husband, daughter, and brother-in-law were all impressed with it.
The food was so absolutely fresh and absolutely flavorful!!
I highly recommend going there if you're ever in the Phoenix area! It is a little pricey, but so very much worth it!
I loved that quinoa so much, I'm going to have to try to duplicate it. Well, come as close as possible because I don't think I'll be able to get a hold of any cholla pods. Our waitress, .Laura, so kindly talked to the chef and he had told her that was one of the ingredients and that they are harvested in Tucson.

I'm stuck on vegetables after eating dinner last night and we had a very large head of cauliflower growing in our garden that I needed to cook before it started to flower.
So here it is...

Cauliflower Gratin - serves 4

1 head of cauliflower (about 3 pounds)
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded colby/cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Prepare a 1-quart baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.
Cook cauliflower in a pot of salted, boiling water for 5-6 minutes.

Drain and place into prepared baking dish. Season with some salt and freshly ground pepper.

To prepare sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
Whisk flour in so that it forms a light roux.
Gradually add milk, whisking so that the roux blends in completely.
Continue cooking and whisking until sauce thickens. Do not boil.
Add salt and pepper.

Stir in Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses and stir until cheeses are melted.
Pour sauce over cauliflower.

Sprinkle colby/cheddar cheese over the cauliflower.
In a small bowl, combine melted butter and bread crumbs. Mix until thoroughly combined with a fork.

Sprinkle bead crumbs entirely over the cauliflower.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and this Cauliflower Gratin earned 3 1/2 rolling pins.
It was quite delicious and I'm not a big fan of cauliflower.
I am a huge fan of cheese though!
The combination was quite delicious and that sauce really made the dish.
I have found a new way to add cauliflower to my family's diet.
This is good because we have more growing in the garden.

I give you all BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 328 - Buttermilk Pie

2012-01-31T23:17:00.001-07:00

I've heard of this pie, but until I baked it today, had absolutely no idea of how it would taste.
I found the recipe on Homesick Texan.
It was strange because when I went on to her site to read the post, she has a picture of a recipe card. When I first saw it, it kind of took my breath away because it looked exactly like my grandmother's handwriting. It was quite eery actually.
I must have quickly read through the beginning of the post where Lisa mentions her great-grandma's name, but when I read it under the recipe card, I swear to you I thought my heart stopped for a second.
Ok, I know it didn't actually stop, but sometimes there are these moments in life when some things seem to connect in the universe and you have a feeling that it's all kind of surreal?
You have, haven't you?
Well, don't worry if you haven't, you're probably one of the sane ones and I'm just one of those freaks that this stuff happens to.
Weird that both her great-grandmother's and my grandmother's handwritings are exactly alike, but what is even more bizarre, is that they were both named...Blanche.
And I don't think that name was too common back then, but I could be wrong.
Oooh, I got goosebumps again. It was like my grandmother was in the kitchen with me today. It was a little strange I tell ya.
I wish I could find one of her recipe cards and compare them.
So, I baked Lisa's great-grandmother's Buttermilk Pie, but I can't post the recipe tonight or finish this post.
It will have to wait until tomorrow, but I just had to share that story.
Right now, I will be going to bed with pleasant memories dancing in my head of my grandma, Blanche, who was one of the best cooks I know. I learned a lot in her kitchen and cherish the moments I was able to spend with her.
I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of it. Promise.

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!

Day 327 - Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes

2012-01-30T22:25:00.003-07:00

It's that time of the month for Your Best Recipe hosted so wonderfully by Nancy at Spicie Foodie. I, along with a number of other bloggers have selected our best recipes for the month of January. Click on the YBR link and see the magnificent creations! Thanks, Nancy, for hosting again!

Can I tell you I had never even heard of Hasselback Potatoes until a few months ago?
How is that?
It's not like I'm living in a cave or nuttin'.
Alright, granted before I started this endeavor I really only cooked a few things for dinner.
You could say I was in a cookbook rut.
I loved collecting cookbooks and actually have a pretty good collection between my own and the ones I kept when my mother passed away.
But did I use them often? No.
They looked pretty impressive anyway sitting in this specially built bookcase I had in my old kitchen for them.

Where was I going with this?

Oh yeah...
In all of those cookbooks, not once did I ever see a recipe for Hasselback Potatoes.
AND, I hadn't seen them on the internet until I started reading other blogs.
But seeing them made me want them.
REALLY want them.

I adapted this from Shelbi Keith on Tasty Kitchen.

Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes - serves 4

4 medium potatoes
4 tablespoons butter, frozen (makes it easier to cut)
1 3-inch solid piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, sliced thin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup shredded colby cheddar/Monterey Jack cheese mix
plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
green onions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Prepare a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Rinse and scrub potatoes under cold water. Pat dry.
On a cutting board, place two wooden spoons with handles the same thickness on either side of a potato.
With a sharp knife, slice the potato into thin slices, about 1/4-inch thick. The spoons will prevent you from cutting all the way through to the bottom of the potato. BRILLIANT, if you ask me, but I didn't think of it, Shelbi did. Thank you, Shelbi! It worked great!!

Repeat with other potatoes.
Slice the butter into thin slices and place a slice of butter into every other slit in the potatoes. In the other slits, insert a piece of Parmigiano cheese, so that it alternates, butter, cheese, butter, cheese, etc.

Sprinkle each potato evenly with the garlic powder and salt.
Drizzle each with olive oil.
Bake for 45 minutes.

Remove baking sheet from the oven and drizzle each potato with the heavy cream.
Sprinkle shredded cheese over the top of each.
Bake for 10-12 additional minutes.
Serve warm with plain Greek yogurt and green onions, if desired.

I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these Scalloped Hasselback Potatoes earned 3 1/2 rolling pins.
Oh. My. Goodness!
These were SO darned delicious!!!
I was hesitant about the taste of the Parmigiana cheese in them, but it added a great flavor to it.
SO stinkin' GOOD!
Some of the cheese slices were breaking when I was putting them into the slits, but the slivers I didn't eat, I shoved back into the potato.
It doesn't have to be stuffed perfectly, the butter and cheeses will melt perfectly into the spud.
Another great side to add to our menu rotation!
I hope you enjoy them as well!

I give you BIG baking hugs and muffins!!