Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Photo found on Food.com, recipe #3564

It's getting to be that time of year!! (Don't let the 90 degree weather fool you!)

Time for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins :-)

Recipe can be found here... and they are pretty darn fabulous! (Also, check out the 'Lite' version found on the same site)

Sangria a la 2011

The other night, while gathering at a friend's house we made a pitcher of impromptu Sangria.  I had never made it before and since have made a few batches so I thought I would share just so I can remember next summer when I forget :-)

Sangria (the summer 2011 version)
From the Addingtons

1 bottle white wine (we used cheap stuff)
2 shots blackbery brandy
2 shots peach schnapps
2 Tablespoons sugar
Fresh cut lemon slices
Fresh or frozen peaches
Fresh or frozen berries

*Mix everything in a pitcher with ice and chill for a few hours (if possible)
*Serve over ice


Since making this, I saw an article in a magazine on sangria and found that it can be made up of any wine, white or red, and the fruit and liquer can vary.  My guess is that you should trial and error your own recipe until you get a version you like.

Baked French Toast

I had a request the other day to post a recipe I mentioned.  (Ann-Marie, you NEED to try this!) I generally have a rule that I have had to try a recipe twice and gotten good results both times in order to recommend it to anyone else, let alone post it on my fan-tab-ulous blog here.  I am happy to say this is now a Postable recipe!  The prep time is faster than making regular french toast, in my opinion, but the baking does take awhile.

I believe this was originally a Pampered Chef Recipe, and then given to me by my friend Brooke. (always credit where credit is due.)  I am slightly modifing the directions based on what I have done and has worked for me.

Baked (Apple) French Toast

• 1 Loaf sliced Texas Toast (Maple flavor was good, if you can find it)
• 8 eggs
• 3 cups milk
• 3/4 cup sugar, divided
• 1 splash (Tbsp. but I used more) Vanilla
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 5 Granny Smith apples OR another fruit. 
• I used apples, then blueberries on the second batch... both were DELICIOUS!
• I am sure strawberries,peaches, or raspberries would be great too.

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, spray or butter a 9x13 baking dish
2. Layer the Texas Toast in the bottom of the pan, two pieces high.  Fold or cut the bread so it covers all the way to the edges and corners.  You should use almost the whole loaf.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs lightly with a whisk. Add milk, 1/4 c. sugar and vanilla then whisk to combine.
4. Pour Half the liquid mixture over the bread.
5. Peel, core, and slice the apples and cut into rings or pieces and layer on top of the bread.  (Or layer your alternate fruit on top.)
6. Pour the remaining half of the egg mixure over the fruit.
7. Mix the remaining 1/2 c. sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle over the top.
8. Dot with pieces of butter.
9. Bake for 35 minutes, might take slightly longer.  It should only be a little wiggly in the middle.  Let it set to cool at least 10 minutes.
10. Serve plain or with butter and syrup.

**Original recipe says this can be made ahead of time, covered, and refrigerated.  Baking time will increase to about an hour.  Check after 45 minutes.

Once a Month Cooking {part two} Prep Day

[Find Part One here]

Preparation
As with any large-scale cooking project, preparation is a must!  After we have done our shopping for our OAMC day, we usually like to take a few hours to prepare as much as possible before we do the main cooking. 

We take a look at our recipes and note any major needs... grating cheese, chopping onion or other vegetables, portioning out meat, precooking, and chopping meat to use the next day are just a few things we like to try to do ahead of time if possible.  The more we do ahead of time, the faster the cooking gets done. 

Sometimes we add in some of the meat preparation to our prep day.  Since we have a variety of recipes to prepare, we like to do some of the marinate only recipes ahead of time.  They are the easiest to prepare: just portion out the meat into quart-sized Ziploc bags and pour the marinade in on top.  While these meals aren't technically 'cooked' yet, they are still some of our favorites.  How many times have you gotten stuck at dinner time trying to figure out what to do with the chicken in your fridge?   

Here are a few of my favorite marinate-only recipes...

Marinated Steak

• Any type of steak you would BBQ (enough for four, about 1-1/2lbs)
• 1/2 c. Vegetable oil
• 1/4c. Soy sauce
• 1/4c. Red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. Minced garlic (1 clove)
• add meat to a Ziploc bag
• mix marinade in a bowl and pour in bag over meat
• seal bag and freeze
• defrost overnight and BBQ!

Grilled Apple Chicken

• 4-6 4oz. chicken breasts
• 3/4c. Unsweetened apple juice or apple cider
• 1/3c. Lemon juice
• 3Tbsp. Soy sauce (reduced sodium)
• 3Tbsp. Honey
• 1/4tsp. Garlic power
• 1/4tsp. Ground ginger
• Add meat to a ziploc bag
• mix marinade in a bowl and pour over bagged chicken
• seal and freeze
• defrost overnight and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes
• I like to add some apple butter on the top for added flavor and sweetness!

Achieving Cupcake Perfection

I am not, nor do I think I will EVER be a 'great' cook or baker.  It is just something I don't have that perfectionist, slow-and-steady mindset for...however...

If every batch of cupcakes could look like this one, I would be a happy lady!

Not only do the look pretty (and uniform!) they taste IN-credible (in my humble opinion). 
They also don't melt or wilt (although it hasn't reached 100 degrees here yet so that could be a misnomer). 

Cupcakes

with

Marshmallow Frosting: enough for about 15(+/-) cupcakes as I frosted above

• 1 8oz. jar marshmallow fluff
• 1 1/2 sticks butter at room temp
• 3/4 c. powdered sugar
• splash (1 tsp or so) vanilla

Mix with electric mixer for 2+ minutes until frosting is all the same consistancy
Transfer to a piping bag or ziploc with a hole cut out and dollop! 

As always, credit where credit is due, recipe found here

Today's ramblings

I seriously have been staring at the computer for 30 minutes with nothing to write.  Sometimes blogging everyday is hard.  Sometimes getting up to attach you camera to you computer takes too much effort...

Our washer broke.  Actually it still runs, but it is leaking some weird brown oozie stuff onto the clothes.  I think I got it almost 10 years ago and spent $250.  I feel like I got my money's worth and I am ready to move on.  And on a positive note, how many days of your life do you get to say, "I can't do laundry today."?  Even if I really, really wanted to, I couldn't. 

[okay, I guess I could hit the laundramat or head to my parent's house... but lte's just pretend that those aren't viable options...just for today] 

My tax appointment is tomorrow.  My Type A comes out every year the day before tax day and I act like I know what I am doing.  I try to figure out how much we are getting back or owe.  I never actually get it right.  There are more formulas for little things that I always forget, but I try to make sense of it for ...

...wait for it...

Fun. 

Yes, figuring out taxes is actually kind of fun for me. 

I made some crock-pot chicken for dinner.  Crock-pot chicken is usually kind of blah... I added TWO packets of onion soup mix and have to say it was so much better...
3 Chicken breasts
2 pkgs onion soup mix
1 whole onion
1-1/2 c. water
Let cook for an hour or two on low
add
4-5 cut potatoes
6-8  cut carrots
3 stalks celery
1/2 c. more water
salt
pepper
3-4 cloves minced garlic
let cook for another few hours

So... there you have it.  A blog post for the day.  Nice and random :-)

How to Make a Carmel Apple

In an effort to get into the spirit of fall, I bought some carmel for some apples... here was our attempt at carmel apples!

One bag of Carmel Bits, sticks included.

One baggie of Oreos, smooshed around on the ground into bits.

Five medium sized apples... add the sticks.

Stir the carmel over medium low heat until nice and smoothly melted.

Dunk apples in the carmel, then roll them in the Oreos. Put them in the fridge for a half hour or so... enjoy!

Ours didn't turn out so pretty, but it is all in the experience! I thought they were tasty... the kiddos weren't so happy with them.

Good Eats

I have to share my love for this show. I discovered it on Food Network back when we lived in Paso. Until the point where I discovered that it was great, I thought Alto Brown was a goober. He has very quirky ways of describing the way food cooks, but now this is why I love it! Actually, this is Hannah's favorite 'real' show too. By real, I mean that it is not a cartoon. The girl LOVES to cook and loves the way he explains everything.

Anyhow, the point in all of this was that he has an episode about making waffles from scratch. John wrote everything down the other day and made them... they were so yummy!!

(While I was looking for the recipe on foodnetwork.com I found another one for sweet potato waffles...hmmm...might have to give that one a go soon too!)

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
4 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 cup
4 3/4 ounces whole-wheat flour, approximately 1 cup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 whole eggs, beaten
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
16 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
Vegetable spray, for waffle iron
Directions
Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.
In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl beat together eggs and melted butter, and then add the buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until combined. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Ladle the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the iron according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Close iron top and cook until the waffle is golden on both sides and is easily removed from iron. Serve immediately or keep warm in a 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.