lemon & poppyseed muffins

I have always loved lemon and poppyseed cakes and muffins. It's just that those little seeds always get stuck in your teeth!! This recipe is from Dorie Greenspan and is delicious! I made little mini muffins, easier on the calorie snack front and for the kids lunch, turns out he's a fan of them too!

Lemon & Poppyseed Muffins
Makes 36 mini muffins

2/3 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp poppyseeds

 Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Mix all the wet ingredients together in another bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
Don't over mix the batter.

sweet potato & oat muffins

These are a new treat from Weelicious! and of course they were Delicious! I'm always looking for more healthy little treats to make for the boys lunch and these were another hit!

carrot & pineapple muffins

I've made these muffins before and they were such a hit with the boy i made some more! I needed to make a few batches of mini muffins to restock the freezer for his lunch treats!

jelly "faux" nuts

The boy and I like to watch CBC's Best Recipes Ever He loves that i cook so many yummy things and has started to take an interest in looking at recipe books and watching the cooking shows. One day we watched Kary make Jelly Fauxnuts and he says "oooh Mummy, can you make those?" of course i said sure, why not!

Personally, i think the boy has a little crush on Kary Osmond, i teased him saying his "girlfriend" was on TV and he blushed, hahah!! Cute!


Muffin:

2 cups (500 mL) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (125 mL) granulated sugar
2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1-1/4 cups(300 mL) milk
1 egg
1/4 cup (50 mL) canola oil
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla
1/2 cup (125 mL) raspberry jam

Topping:

4 tsp (18 mL) granulated sugar

Muffin:

Line muffin cups with paper liners or grease; set aside. In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together milk, egg, oil and vanilla; pour over dry ingredients and mix just until moistened.

Spoon about three-quarters of the batter into prepared muffin cups. With teaspoon, make dent in centre of each; add spoonful of jam. Spoon remaining batter over top.

Topping:

Sprinkle sugar over batter.

Bake in centre of 375°F (190°C) oven until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on rack.


This recipe made 12 "faux" nuts for us, i could have probably made 14 if i had spread the mixture out a bit more, they really fluff up and are really delicious warm from the oven! I froze the remaining fauxnuts and just pop them in the boys lunch when he gets a treat =)

black magic chocolate cake

Best. Chocolate. Cake. Ever. My husband loves chocolate cake, but is kinda fussy and not fussy atthe same time! He said to me...wait for it....you can just buy a Betty Crocker Mix and make that. I said "Uhhh, I don't think so" Yuck. But, knowing that was the "type" of cake he liked i have been making different recipes, just to see if they are as good as they say they are, trying to find that special go to recipe!



So when i found Kathleen's Gonna Want Seconds Cooking Blog! and her delicious Black Magic Chocolate Cake she had made from Hershey's....I had to try it! And, YES, it was WONDERFUL! =)

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup strong black coffee
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, coffee, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes (Batter will be thin). Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost as desired. Yields 10 to 12 servings.

I made my favourite chocolate frosting recipe and had enough to ice both 9 inch ruonds, DEEELICIOUS!! =)

porcupine meatballs

Okay, so i heard about these things, that they were delicious and easy to make and when you have two hungry boys to feed daily, what better than an easy and delicious beef dish!

First you make the meatballs, rice mixed into the meat! Roll them around in the sauce, now i baked mine instead of cooking in the pan, i seem to have a much better outcome that way, pans are notm y best friend at all! Look at what happens half an hour into the baking process, this made me LAUGH!!! These were fun and easy and delicious!!!


Porcupine Meatballs

Makes 36 x 1 inch meatballs

For the meatballs:-

500g beef mince

3/4 cup long grain rice, uncooked ( i used basmati as hubby is allergic to other types!)

1/4 cup tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 medium sized onion, finely diced

1/2 tsp salt & a dash of pepper to taste

herbs of your choice to season, i used a little oregano and basil =)

For the sauce:-

2 cups beef stock

1 cup pasta sauce (your choice again for flavour)

1 x 400ml tin condensed tomato soup

1/2 cup tomato puree

1. Make the meatballs! (and preheat your oven to 200C!)
Mix all your meatball ingredients together and form into 36 lovely little balls.

2. Make the sauce!
Mix all of your sauce ingredients together and pour half into a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish.

3. Place the meatballs into the dish and top with remaining sauce.

4. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 200C for approximately one hour.

5. At 30 minutes, take the dish out and LOVE THE SURPRISE! Ladel the sauce (baste) the meatballs OR if you aren't worried about breaking the rice spikes, just flip the balls over to cook them evenly.

6. Serve and enjoy =)

This dish was great! I really enjoyed making it for the first time, most of the recipes i found out there were even more simple but i like flavour and can't make just plain meatballs or just a tin of tomato soup for sauce...can't do it!

Here are the links to two of the inspiring recipes and bloggers that also made these delicious meatballs!

Circle B Kitchen and dlyn

tuna herb & cheese waffles

Thinking it might be healthier to make a savoury waffle instead of a sweet, i messed around with a few waffle recipes i found and made up my own mixture for this one! Really yummy, i do love tuna....my husband doesn't though, so i share this love with the boy =)

Tuna Herb & Cheese Waffles
Makes 12 (using 1/3 cup batter each)

1 cup flour
1 cup wholewheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
150g grated cheese
2 x 170g tins of tuna (drained)
4 tbsp chopped chives
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter melted
1 1/2 tbsp seeded mustard
2 cups milk

Preheat your waffle maker!

Whisk all the wet ingredients together and add them to the dry ingredients.

Stir well and let it rest for a few minutes.

Bake and eat! These are delicious, i froze the rest so that we could toast them when we felt like some and add them to the boy's lunches! Just layer them with a smakll square of greaseproof in a ziploc bag and they keep for a good while, not that they last that long!

strawberry & cranberry newtons

After making Homemade Fig Newtons and them being such a great success, with much thanks to The Boastful Baker i kept thinking about what other flavours i could make with that recipe!!


I saw All Day I Dream About Food had done it! Why not! So i decided on Strawberry Newtons, but i had some dried cranberries too so i threw them in also! Just for luck =)



Strawberry Cranberry Newtons

Filling:
1 cup finely chopped dried strawberries
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups apple juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice

Cookie Dough:
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour

1. Make the filling: Combine the strawberries & cranberries, water, apple juice, lemon juice and sugar in a medium sauceapan and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook at a bare simmer for 1-2 hours until the fruit is so soft that it's spreadable. Most of the moisture will cook out and create a nice thick syrup.

2. Transfer to a food processor or blender, add the lemon zest and process until smooth. Remove from the food processor and allow to cool.
(i don't have a food processor, so mine was a little chunky, but we loved it!!)

3. Make the dough: Cream together the butter, sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, for 2-3 minutes on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl and paddle. Add the egg and vanilla and beat in. Scrape down the bowl and paddle again. Add the flour and beat on low speed until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

4. Place racks in middle and lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

5. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12 x 16 rectangle. Cut into 4 equal strips, each 12 x 4 inches. Spoon a line of filling down the center of each strip. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges together. Place on the parchment-lined baking sheets, seam side down.

6. Using a super sharp knife, slice each log into 10 cookies. (Pop the logs in the freezer for 10 minutes before slicing them.) Bake, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, for 12-15 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack.

Again i thank The Boastful Baker for sharing her wonderful homemade newton recipe! The dough recipe is amazing, it turns out beautifully every time! This filling was sweet with a little taste of tart from the cranberries, my husband and son LOVED them!

What's next...i'm thinking tropical with mango and pineapple? raspberry? blueberry!

fig date & walnut muffins

In trying to be healthier and use wholewheat flour, less sugar and more fruit and vegetables, i decided to try out a recipe from Amy Bites her delicious recipe for fig, date and walnut muffins turned out AMAZING! Even when i made a big boo boo and added the toppings into the filling.....whoops!

Fig, Date, and Walnut Muffins
Recipe from Amy Bites and below is what i ended up making =)

2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
1 1/4 cups chopped dried figs
3/4 cup chopped dried dates
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup oats
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine flour, sugars, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture.

Mix milk, figs, dates, walnuts, oil, vanilla, and egg . Add fig mixture to flour mixture, mixing just until combined. Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 400° for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes; remove muffins from pans, and cool completely on rack.

It made 36 mini muffins for me, which i freeze for easy packing in lunches or snacking =)