Vanilla Chai Muffins

These are SO yummy! Not too sickeningly sweet- and the buttercream is awesome. Like a big glass of your favorite chai tea :)

You can easily half the buttercream- especially if you're not a big frosting person. I think half is still plenty even if you are!

Vanilla Chai Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

Adapted from Gimme Some Oven

Chai Spice Mix
1 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Cupcake Batter

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or pure vanilla extract)
2 eggs
2 tsp. chai spice mix
1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste (or pure vanilla extract)
2 cups powdered sugar
remainder of the chai spice mix
1 Tbsp. cold milk, if needed to thin out the buttercream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a cupcake pan with liners. This made about 16-18 cupcakes for me.

In a small bowl or plastic bag, combine the chai spice mix ingredients. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla bean paste and beat in one egg at a time. Stir in 2 teaspoons of the chai spice mix. Fold in the flour and buttermilk alternately and stir until combined. Mix together the baking soda and vinegar in a separate bowl, then add it to the batter and mix until combined.

Spoon into prepared cupcake tins until 3/4 full and bake 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Buttercream Directions:
In a stand mixer, beat the butter until it is creamy. On low, mix in the vanilla bean paste and the rest of the chai spice mix. Carefully beat in the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time. If the buttercream is too thick add 1-2 tbs of cold milk until the desired consistency is reached. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes with your favorite frosting tip (I used the closed star tip).

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

This is a recipe I got from my sister, Susan, or as I like to call "Betty Crocker 2.0". She is always making recipes a little healthier and trying new things. These were delicious! She says they freeze well too. I made a batch for Jeremy and his buddies for their hunting trip and everybody texted me how awesome they are. I made a second batch for myself and have been eating them for breakfast all week. Whenever I make quick breads, I am generous with the spices.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
makes 12

3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. oat bran
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. canned pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 c. plain, low-fat yogurt
1/2 c. pure maple syrup or honey
1/4 c. butter, melted (or unsweetened applesauce)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. finely grated carrots
1/2 c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375*. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine flours, oat bran, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, yogurt, syrup, butter, egg, and vanilla. Stir in carrots. Add dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Batter will be thick.

Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

per muffin: 160 cal., 5.8 g fat, 27 g. carb.

Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls

I tried this recipe tonight and it was super delicious. I would call it a must if you like buffalo wings, but hate the bones. Very filling. I have quite a few egg roll wrappers left over so might try out some other ingredients for stuffing. This is one of those recipes that makes me want to try a lot of different variations. Found here. I will use much less cream cheese the next time I make these. The website doesn't have an actual recipe printed, so I made one below. I've also tried this girl's Chipotle burrito bowl and it was tasty.


Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls

1 small tub ranch cream cheese
cooked shredded chicken breast
buffalo sauce
egg roll wrappers

Prepare a rimmed baking sheet by lining with aluminum foil and spraying liberally with non-stick spray. Mix up the shredded chicken and enough buffalo sauce to make it saucy to your liking. Preheat oven to 425*.

Place one egg roll wrapper (ERW) on a flat surface and wet down all sides with water. Add about 1 tsp. of cream cheese in a line on the bottom 1/3 of the ERW. Add the buffalo chicken and wrap according to package directions (directions were on the back of the package I purchased. You may notice one side of the ERW has more powder than the other. I suggest having the most powdered side to the inside of the roll). Place the rolls on the baking sheet. Spray the tops with non-stick spray.

Bake for a 20-22 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Enjoy with a side or ranch or blue cheese and celery stick. May I also suggest the Crosscut beer from Lift Bridge. My current fall favorite.

Herb Crusted Roast Beef with Horseradish Cream

Well hello there old blog! Summer has been crazy and not my cooking has gone on in our kitchen. More dust lines the shelves than food! I found this recipe on Food Network, and made a few tweaks to it. It was GREAT! The original recipe calls for all fresh herb, and much more of them (2 cups fresh parsley...) but I didn't have any fresh herbs on hand, so just used dried!

1 3 lb boneless roast
salt and pepper
1/2 c plus 2 T oil
3 T powdered garlic, plus 3 cloves pressed
4 T dried parsley
2 T dried thyme
2 T dried oregano
2 T dried rosemary
2 T mustard powder

Horseradish Sauce
1/2 c sour cream (I used top the tater... it was really tasty!)
2 T horseradish
1 T lemon juice
(mix all together and serve)

For the roast...

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Salt and pepper roast, brown with 2 T oil on all sides until caramelized. Remove from pan, place on rack on cookie sheet. Mix all dried ingredients with enough of the 1/2 c oil to make a paste. Spread over all sides of roast. Insert meat thermometer and cook medium rare to 125 degrees (if you have an electric one it's really easy... I just set it so the timer went off when it hit 125). I was waiting for Adam to get up, so let mine go to 15o degrees and it was done and still moist. It took a little less than 2 hours... much quicker than I thought it would!

Slice and serve with horseradish sauce!

Sunday roast any night of the week!

Ooey-Gooey Peanut Butter-Chocolate Brownies

I made these last weekend as a treat for our stay at a friend's lake cabin. These were DELICIOUS! Seriously, make them today. Believe it or not... this recipe is from Cooking Light magazine! I was making them in a hurry and accidentally added 1/2 cup butter instead of 1/4 cup, but they were still good. :) I was also very generous with the PB chips.

Ooey-Gooey Peanut Butter-Chocolate Brownies

3/4 cup fat-free sweetened condensed milk, divided
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1 (18.25-ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Cooking spray
1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow creme (about 1 3/4 cups)
1/2 cup peanut butter morsels

Preheat oven to 350*. Combine 1/4 cup condensed milk, butter, milk, cake mix, and egg white in a bowl (batter will be very stiff). Coat bottom of a 13x9-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Press two-thirds of batter into prepared pan using floured hands; pat evenly (layer will be thin).

Bake at 350* for 10 minutes. Combine 1/2 cup condensed milk and marshmallow creme in a bowl; stir in morsels. Spread marshmallow mixture evenly over brownie layer. Carefully drop remaining batter by spoonfuls over marshmallow mixture. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Beer Can Chicken

Directions:

1. Preheat the grill.
2. Take out your handy beer can holder (gift from my parents 3 years ago, ha!) I think you can buy them in almost any store though. I put mine in a cake pan to catch any chicken juice.
3. Grab a cold one from the fridge. If you're not pregnant drink half the can.  If you're like me or just can't handle the taste of beer pour your husband a glass of beer to enjoy when he comes in from working out in the garden. Place the half can of beer in the holder.
4. Take the chicken out of the bag and place over the can of beer. We buy Golden Plump Mesquite flavored chicken because we don't have to make our own spice rub then.
5. Place chicken in the middle of the grill.  Turn off the burner directly below the chicken and turn the other burners down to medium to medium/low.  Close the lid and wait.
6. I checked the chicken half way through and turned it a bit for more even cooking. Our grill cooks extremely hot so I ended up turning my burners down more towards low.
7. After an 1hr 15 min check to see if the "done" marker has popped out. (The golden plump chickens come with a little popper to let you know when it's thoroughly cooked.)  If not done keep checking every 5-10 minutes.  It may take as long as 1hr 30min.
8. Remove from grill. Caution the chicken, stand, and beer will be very hot.  I placed it in a clean cake pan and let stand in the house for 10 minutes before carving.
9. Enjoy! You will be so surprised with how the chicken just falls off the bone. It is so DELICIOUS!!!

Pork Chops in Sour Cream

Originally from Kelly Mortenson

Adam's aunt Kelly gave me this recipe at my wedding shower as part of a recipe collection from the family. I didn't think it looked that great so didn't try it for over 2 years. I finally made it because I didn't know what to do with some pork chops one night. This has now become mine and Adam's favorite way to eat pork chops... it is SO good!!!!

4-6 pork chops
1/2 c water
2 T brown sugar
2 T finely chopped onion
2 T catsup
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
1 beef bullion cube or 1 t bullion granules
2 T flour
1/2 c sour cream

In large skillet, brown pork chops in small amount of oil. Add 1/2 water, brown sugar, onion, catsup, garlic, and bullion. Cover; simmer 30-40 minutes or until tender. Remove chops to serving platter, keep warm.

In small bowl combine flour with 1/4 c water; slowly add to cooking liquid left in pan, stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in sour cream, heat through-DO NOT BOIL!

Return chops to keep warm or serve immediately. Serve sauce over chops.

Kelly's note on the recipe says, "It's really good!" and I wish I would have listened sooner!!