Chocolate Orange Swirl Muffins

You guys know I'm a sucker for yummy muffins, well, for any muffins for that matter.  I LOVED these!  I doubled the recipe but not the chocolate chips, oh and I used the mini-sized.  I put them in cute muffin wrappers and took them to a brunch.  Unfortunately I didn't get to bring any home.  I so need to make them again, and soon!

From Melskitchencafe.com---again!

YIELD: MAKES ABOUT 12 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• ½ cup canola oil or melted butter
• ½ cup buttermilk
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Zest of one medium orange (about 1 tablespoon)
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips, regular or mini-sized

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (for dark, nonstick pans) or 350 degrees for regular muffin tins. Line tins with cupcake liners or spray with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. In a separate medium-size bowl beat together the egg, oil or butter, buttermilk, orange juice, vailla and orange zest. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and mix together just until moistened. Don’t over mix! You may even see some small dry spots – as long as the mixture is evenly moistened without being overmixed, it will be fine.
4. Into two bowls, divide the batter in half. Sift the cocoa powder in to one of the bowls and fold in half of the chocolate chips. Fold the remaining chocolate chips into the other “white” bowl of batter.
5. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the prepared muffin tins, alternating the orange and chocolate batters. Fill the cups 2/3 full. Bake for 13-15 minutes at 350 or 17-18 minutes at 325 until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool the muffins for five minutes in the tins. Remove the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Cheese and Garlic Buttermilk Biscuits

For you, Michelle.

Cheese and Garlic Buttermilk Biscuits

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), cold
2 cups flour
1 Tb sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
about 3/4 cup buttermilk

2 Tb butter, melted
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp parsley flakes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.  Cut butter into flour mixture using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in cheese then stir in enough buttermilk so dough leaves the sides of the bowl.  Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead very lightly until dough forms a soft ball, about 10 times. Do not overwork the dough!  The less you handle the dough, the more fluffy your biscuits.  Roll or pat 1/2 inch thick.  Cut with floured 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter.  Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Mix together melted butter, garlic salt and parsley flakes.  Brush the tops of the warm biscuits with the garlic butter and serve hot.

Sweet Baked Ham

I just tried this recipe out this week.  My it was delicious, though the house did smell of vinegar for probably 24 hours.  I think it was worth a little extra effort.  If anything, it was fun to try out something new.  Recipe from melskitchencafe.com

Sweet Baked Ham

Ok, the cut of ham is really important here. You do not (and I repeat, do not!) want a spiral sliced ham or else it will be very, very dry. Look for a cut of ham that is not sliced and still has the bone-in. The best cut I've found is a butt or shoulder cut (might be labeled shank, also). You can make a larger ham than 5-7 pounds, but be aware you'll need a larger pot to accommodate the ham (and will increase the sugar/mustard mixture accordingly). My friend, Mel, that gave me the recipe, boils her ham in a huge pot outside on her propane stove (like a camp chef-type stove). I only had my classic stovetop available and used my biggest pot with the 5-7 pound ham. Also, the ham can be boiled and shredded a few days in advance of baking in the oven in order to save time. Finally, take care not to boil the ham TOO long or you'll end up with ham jerky and you don't want that. If you are worried about time, err on the side of taking it out at 2 hours (even if it means you are having to cut part of the ham away from the bone instead of it falling away). It should still be very tender. Larger hams will definitely need the longer boiling time.

INGREDIENTS

• 5-7 pound precooked bone-in ham (see note!)
• White distilled vinegar (around 1-3 cups)
• Water
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground dry mustard

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the ham in a large pot and cover with 2 parts water to 1 part vinegar until the ham is covered by at least an inch or two of liquid. Bring to a boil and cook, boiling vigorously, for 2-3 hours, until the meat easily falls off the bone. Liquid will most likely splash out during cooking if your pot is as full as mine so take care that the hot liquid doesn't splash on anyone nearby. Once the water/vinegar came to a rolling boil, I lowered the heat to a bit above medium. It maintained the vigorous boil but didn't splash as much. Be prepared that due to the vinegar in the recipe, it is going to smell like vinegar as it boils. I opened a window and turned on the vent above my stove and all was good in the world. My friend, Mel, who gave me the recipe, boils her ham outside on a camp chef-like stove. Great option if you have one.
2. After the allotted time, carefully remove the ham from the pot, discarding the liquid, and let it cool until it is easier to remove the meat from the bones. Shred the ham, discarding the fat and bones, and place half in a 9X9-inch baking dish (or a similar size). In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and mustard. Sprinkle half of this mixture over the ham. Layer the rest of the ham on top and sprinkle with the remaining sugar/mustard mixture. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Rice Pudding

From Melskitchencafe.com

Cheesecake Rice Pudding {Plus a Chocolate Version!}

YIELD: SERVES 4-6

Note: The recipe is written to make either a full batch of cheesecake or a full batch of chocolate rice pudding. Alternately, you can make the full batch of pudding, split the hot, cooked pudding in half and add halved amounts of the cheesecake and chocolate variations to each half to make some of both without doubling the entire pudding recipe. Medium grain rice is important for this recipe. It can be found by the other varieties of rice. I haven't tried this recipe with long grain, brown rice, short grain or arborio so I can't weigh in on how those would fare as a substitution.

INGREDIENTS

Pudding:
• 4 cups half-and-half
• 2 cups cooked medium grain rice
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten and brought to room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Variation:
• 6 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes and softened to room temperature
• 2 tablesoons powdered sugar
Chocolate Variation:
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (regular or Dutch-process)
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
• 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour 3 1/2 cups of the half-and-half, cooked rice, sugar, and salt into a large 3 to 4 quart pot. Stir constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon or flat silicone spatula until the mixture thickens, 25-35 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. Place the beaten egg in a medium bowl. Slowly add a spoonful of the hot pudding to the egg, whisking vigorously and constantly. Continue to temper the egg with 3-4 more spoonfuls of the hot pudding, whisking constantly. Add the tempered pudding and egg mixture into the pot of hot rice pudding, stirring quickly to incorporate. Return the pot to medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture boils.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the last 1/2 cup of half-and-half and the vanilla extract.

NOTES

For the cheesecake version, stir the softened cubes of cream cheese into the hot pudding. Add the powdered sugar and stir well until the cream cheese is fully melted and incorporated. Transfer the pudding to a large bowl. Press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to avoid a skin forming and refrigerate until ready to serve. The pudding can be served warm, room temperature or cold and will keep well covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

For the chocolate version, add the cocoa, powdered sugar and 1/3 to 1/2 of the chocolate chips to the hot pudding. Stir until melted and smooth. Transfer the pudding to a large bowl and press a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to avoid a skin forming. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Once chilled, stir in the remaining chocolate chips. Serve warm, room temperature or chilled. It will keep well covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Sugar Cookie Bars

Just made this last night for FHE.

It's basically a sugar cookie without quite all the work.  The boys LOVED it.  Per the instructions, I was so afraid to over bake it that I ended up under baking it instead.  I would bake it closer to the 13 (maybe even 14?) minutes, not the 10.  

Ingredients

Bars:
• 3/4 cup butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened to cool room temperature
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest (optional)
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
Frosting:
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk or cream
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Sprinkles (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until combined.
3. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Press and/or spread the sugar cookie mixture gently into an even layer into the bottom of the pan.
4. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Don't overbake! The bars shouldn't have any color around the edges and barely be set in the middle. Let the bars cool completely before frosting.
5. For the frosting, cream together the butter and powdered sugar until smooth (if the mixture has trouble coming together, add a drop or two of milk). Add in the vanilla and mix. Add the milk or cream and mix until the frosting is light and fluffy. Add food coloring, if desired.

~From melskitchencafe.com

Chocolate-Coconut Mousse

Alright, alright. Here's the chocolatey coconuty mousse. It's pretty fast and easy, but still kind of nice. I served it with strawberries, but it was also delicious just by itself. I thought so at least. Becky and Micah might say otherwise :) I didn't measure everything very well. I just kind of dumped, but the recipe with exact measurements is below. I wasn't sure how much it made, so to be safe I used 3 cans of coconut milk and dumped in the rest until I liked the taste. That served Becky, Micah, and I at Easter, plus some tastes from my roommates, and then I had some leftover still that I served to my FHE group with another fruit dip, so it made more than I thought. Let's seeeee, how else can I talk about this? Fine, on to the recipe. Wait! Here's the link to the website just in case you need it. 

http://www.superhealthykids.com/recipes-blog/vegan-thick-and-creamy-chocolate-mousse.php

Thick and Creamy Chocolate Mousse

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Instructions

• 2 cans full-fat coconut milk (chilled)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 4-5 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 4 Tbsp honey

1. Place coconut milk in the freezer for about an hour prior to making the mousse
2. Spoon the coconut cream out of the can and place in a large bowl or mixer
3. Add honey, vanilla, and cocoa powder
4. Beat until smooth and creamy
5. Serve with fruit

Welcome!

'Sup guys.  Here I was sitting here trying to menu plan for the week, and struggling.  After my morning was wasted and only four lousy meals were planned, all I could think about were Rachel's oatmeal pancakes and Michelle's chocolate coconut mousse.  So how 'bout a family recipe blog?  Eh?