I am officially the MUFFIN QUEEN!

I have been obsessed with making muffins lately.  I am going to list a basic recipe then tell you how to amp it up and make your own.  So far I have made your standard Blueberry Muffins, Chocolate Muffins and an absolutely delicious Almond Banana Cream Muffin.  I also have a tip on how to make them look like the gigantic muffins you see in grocery stores and bakeries!

Ingredients:
Dry components - mix these together in seperate bowl
2 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
dash of salt

Wet ingredients - whisk together before adding dry ingredients

1 c. buttermilk  (to make your own butter milk -  mix 1 c. milk with 1 Tblsp. white vinegar)
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup veg or canola oil
Optional - extract -  this can be vanilla, almond, orange anything that will go with your flavors use 1 tsp.

Mix wet and fry ingredients together.  This is your basic muffin mix.  Now you add your flavors..

Bluberry Muffins- add one cup fresh or frozen blue berries-gently fold into batter

Banana Muffins- mash two large ripe bananas - gently fold into batter-My secret is I also add one small box of Banana Cream Instant Pudding (so delicious) - this is where I added the Tblsp. of Almond Extract to give it a Banana Nut taste without the actual nut

Chocolate Muffins- I added 1 large box Instant Chocolate Pudding- I added the Tblsp. Vanilla Extract for this one.

Pumpkin- 1/2 can of pumpkin puree

Pistachio- 1 small box of Pistachio Instant Pudding-1 Tblsp. Almond Extract will give it extra nuttiness!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray Large muffin pan with baking spray. 
This is the secret to large muffins.  Fill all the way to the top.
Bake for 26-30 minutes or until golden brown.  ( I also test with a toothpick or a fork to ensure they come out clean).

There are so many directions you can go with this basic recipe and they will be fabulous.  Another idea is Cranberry Orange- using dried cranberries and either orange zest or orange extract.

So far I am testing these daily and I have new ideas everyday!  Please feel free to experiment and see if you can come up with something not so "traditional".  I promise no matter what that everyone who tries them will be impressed that they were made from scratch!
ENJOY!

HOLIDAYS ARE OVER...TIME TO GET BACK TO WORK!

I apologize for no new posts but I have been actively working on recipes for my book.  I have to tell everyone how amazing a Greek inspired recipe turned out last night.

I made a Spinach-Feta cheese stuffed chicken breast with Greek Oven Roasted Potatoes and a Lemon Vinaigarette marinade!  Absolutely delicious!

Ingredients are as follow:

4 boneless chicken breast
14 oz. frozen spinach
1/2 c. feta cheese crumbles
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
1/2 c. sour cream
1 egg beaten
2 tbs oregano
1/2 c. black olives coarsely chopped
1 small onion chopped

First step-butterfly chicken breast.  Place open in gallon size plasic bag.  Use a mallet or heavy bottom frying pan to pound out thinly.
Season chicken with salt, pepper and I like to use Soul Seasoning as well. (this is a ready-made combination of salt, garlic, paprika, onion, black and red pepper).
Set aside while you make the stuffing.

Spinach-Feta Stuffing:
14 oz. package of frozen spinach. Thawed and drained.
1/2 c. feta cheese
1/2 c. cottage cheese
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella
1/2 c. sourcream
1 small onion chopped
1/2 c. black olives coarsely chopped
2 Tblsp. oregano
1 egg beaten

Mix together and place  1/2-1 cup on butterflied chicken breast.  Fold chicken breast together and secure with toothpicks.
Use a small amount of olive oil to coat a cookie sheet.  Place stuffed chicken breast on pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

For a side dish, I made Greek Oven Roasted Potatoes with a Lemon Vinaigarette

1 1/2 c. olive oil
6 Tblsp. fresh lemon juice
1 bunch of chopped green onions
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tblsp. oregano
2 Tblsp. parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 pounds large russet potatoes, cleaned and cut lenghtwise into 6 wedges
1/2 c. chicken stock

Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, onions, garlic, oregano and parsley in a medium bowl.  Salt and Pepper to taste.
Toss potatoes in mixture and place on large baking sheet.  Reserve remaining vinaigarette.

Pour chicken stock around potatoes.  Roast potatoes until tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, about 45 minutes.  Place on serving platter and drizzle remaining vinaigarette.  Garnish with more parsley.


This meal was a huge success at my house and will be included in the book!  Please give it a try and let me know what you think!

Tis the season for tounge, tail and eyeballs......

Tis the season to be jolly fa-la-la-la-la!  Ok, so I am so tired of turkey and ham and the usual suspects that generally show up at the seasonal dinners  Bring on the Venison heart and liver!  Bring on the BRAINS!!!!  Oh yummy creamy goodness!  I could care less about the Figgy Pudding!  I want some bull testicles!  I know that alot of this may sound repulsive to "non-adventurous" eaters but close your eyes and take a bite.   I promise you it really is not so bad!!!  I have been "advised" not to post my eclectic taste on my blog but I cannot help myself.  I have become bored with American Cuisine and I just want others to know that these are everyday staples in other cultures.  There is a reason for this and it simply comes down to this, THEY ARE DELICIOUS!  I have found a restaurant in Asheville that specializes in alternative meals.  The Admiral on West Haywood.  Unbelievable menu!  It looks like a dive bar from the outside and a Four-star restaurant on the inside.  Elegant yet relatable... and absolutely fabulous!  Pate....sweetbreads...oh my!  Love love love it!  Open your mind and stomachs!  You will be pleased!!!

Cold Winter Morning Here in Asheville

I love sitting here at my desk thinking of food and recipes while watching the squirrels jump around right outside my window.  They sure have gotten fat lately.  I guess they are getting ready for winter, stock piling their food sources.  Kind of reminds me of what I have been doing with the canning for the past few months.
I think I have enough soups, stocks, and marinaras to last me a life time! Yet I still want more!  Do you think this  makes me a hoarder???  Well, this one is short and sweet.  I have company in town!
ENJOY!

Okay...I have some tips on making your own stocks.

I have found that whenever a recipe calls for a large amount of stock (larger than your typical amount of 8 or 16 ounces) it can become quite costly.  I have been making my own stocks for a while now using my pressure cooker.  This is so simple it is honestly rediculous!

Beef stock:
For just under $1.50 you can buy beef bones with marrow inside.  I was buying these for my dog and cooking them up when I realized that you can actually kill two birds with one stone.  I place one bone in my pressure cooker with 1 quart of water.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cook for approximately 2 minutes and voila! Remove the bone, toss it to the dog and pour off the liquid into sterilized canning jars!  So easy!

Chicken stock-
Everyone assumes that the real essences of chicken comes from boiling down the bones.  I am here to tell you NOT SO!  I prepare frozen chicken breasts with 2 cups of water in my pressure cooker.  Again, season to taste. Cook accordingly to the amount.  Pull out your chicken and strain off the broth into your canning jars.

Vegetable stock-
Same thing.  I use onions, celery, carrots, broccoli, caulifower and really anything you feel like throwing in the pot!  Cover with water, salt and pepper to taste.  These really only need 1-2 minutes and you are golden!
Strain off your liquid and can them up for future use!

Literally, as I am writing I am making a beef broth to use in a Venison stew tonight.  I cannot express how good my house smells right now!  It is crazy good.  I wish someone would hurry up and invent "smell-o-vision"!

Try this out!  You can even do it in a deep pot on the stove top.  You don't HAVE to use a pressure cooker but it really is the quickest way if you are constantly on the go!

ENJOY!

I forgot how much I love me some quiche!

So the other night,  I was cleaning out my refridgerators...(yes, I have two) and I found that I have an abundance of eggs, so I decided to make a quiche.  I haven't eaten quiche in years but I always remember my mom would make 2-4 at least once a month.  They were unbelievably delicious.  This is a meal you can eat at any given moment anytime of the day.  It is perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even the occassional midnight snack.  The beauty of making this was that it allowed me to just dig through my fridge, freezer and cupboard and basically create a "kitchen sink" type meal.  Meaning, I used everything I could throw in but the kitchen sink.  Let me tell you....I am still thinking about it...constantly!  It was that good!  So, I am going to put the recipe out and you let me know what you think.  As I have said before, make it your own...if you don't like one of my ingredients, just substitute or delete an item!  Trust me.  I know you will enjoy it either way!
So, I made a ham (leftover lunchmeat), broccoli, onion, mushroom and cheese quiche.  If you are a vegetarian just leave out the meat.  It has enough veggies to still be nutritional and filling.

Now I can tell you how to make a yummy, flaky pie crust that most likely you have all the ingredients in your cupboard.  But for simplicties sake,  run out and buy a frozen crust.  So here is the break down.

1standard frozen pie crust (thawed)
1 1/2 cups cubed ham (as I said, I took our sandwich meat and chopped it into strips)
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup feta cheese (feta does not break down and melt as easily as cheddar, so it adds an interesting textural component that I love.  Also, it adds some nice salt to the dish)
1 cup broccoli florets (I tend to make a nice small chop on mine so that the flavors incorporate a little easier)
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup mustard (you can use 1/2 tsp dry mustard but I like using premade. It adds moisture)
To the side have an additional 1/2 cup cheddar cheese shredded for topping
Heat your oven to 375 degrees.  Pour mixture into pie crust and bake for about 35 minutes .
Pull it out and top with another 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar
Bake 15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.


I promise this is a delicious meal that you will go back to over and over.

Enjoy!