Today I woke up to a great surprise. As I was checking the Stats on my blog today I noticed hits from a site I had not been to in a while. When I get a link that I don’t remember submitting something to I always have to check it out. Well, it happens that my Black Bean, Corn and Chicken Chili is on Saveur Magazines “Best on the Web” Site.
Say what? I was so excited that I squealed and woke K up. I don’t know how it got there, but I am so happy to see that it is there. Please check it out!
So it seems that this weekend I was on a bit of a baking craze! We have so many baked goods in the house right now that I don’t know what to do. Most likely the girls on Monday at work are going to be happy when they find that I have snacks for them!
* This recipe is adapted from the Allspice Crumb Muffin from Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook Baking From My Home to Yours.
Apple Muffins
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 Granny Smith apples (peeled and coarsely chopped)
Preheat to 375. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk the melted butter, eggs, milk and vanilla together until well combined. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, quickly but gently stir to blend. Toss in chopped apples and fold the apples in.
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.
* Since I had leftover caramel from the Caramel Apple Cake I decided to drizzle a bit on. Yummers!
{Apple Muffins}
I love barbecue pulled pork. K does not. So I am always look for a way to make something I like, but in a way that he would eat it. I came up with this recipe. It was sooooo good! I even took the some for the next days lunch.
Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken
5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 (12 ounce) bottle barbecue sauce (I used Jack Daniels)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 onion (diced)
Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, chicken broth, brown sugar, onion and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.
Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on high or 6 to 7 hours on low. At 3rd hour (on high) or 6th hour (on low) shredded the chicken and cooked on low for 1 more hour.
* I know that this makes a lot of chicken for two people (that is who I was making it for). You can refrigerate the chicken to make for other meals. The chicken tastes wonderful on a pizza with mozzarella cheese, celery and a bit of ranch dressing drizzle. You can also make a shredded chicken quesadilla with cheese and whole wheat tortillas. Try out any ideas you have for the extra chicken!
{Slow Cooker Barbecue Chicken}
Here in New Jersey the nights are cold during the winter. Hell the days are cold too. This year has been like no other. It is only October and we have already had nights where we are freezing. I have a feeling that this winter is going to be a cold one!
Now I get cold very easily. We have heating in our apartment but only raise it to 70 (the highest due to trying to save on the $ and we love to cuddle on the couch to keep warm). We do have a large supply of smaller blankets, for those winter nights that drop below 30 and we need something to cover us on the couch.
One blanket that I love the most is our down comforter. When K’s brother was moving out to California he gave us the blanket as a present. He had bought it, never used it and being that he was moving to a state that didn’t need heavy blankets he gave it to us. It is one of the best blankets in the world and I just can’t seem to share it. Every night while we are sleeping I slowly steal the blanket in my sleep. By morning I am wrapped in this wonderful cloud of down and he is shivering on his side of the bed. So now I am (erm he is) in the market for a new blanket. I need to find something that will keep him warm, but also cute enough to lay on the bed.
Let the shopping begin!
I am always on the lookout for a good chocolate chip cookie recipe. I know so many people who love chocolate chip cookies, but in so many different ways. Some like the chewy, gooey kind. Some crispy. Some a little of both. So I am looking for the perfect recipe to make. Below is one that I found on Allrecipes.com. It has a little bit of both – chewy in the inside and crispy on the ends. Let me know what you think!
Chocolate Chip Cookie
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups dark chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 325.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
{Chocolate Chip Cookies)
# 95. Watch 10 movies my fiancé wants to watch that I would never be interested in (8/10) – Superman / Batman: Public Enemies
Based on a recent comic book story by writer-illustrator team Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness, Public Enemies has President Lex Luthor (yes I said president) framing Superman for murder as a giant Kryptonite meteor heads towards earth. Superman teams with Batman to stop both the meteor and Luthor’s plans for his demise. The majority of the movie features Superman and Batman fighting dozens of random super-people, while the whole meteor plot seems secondary and the ending just seemed to abruptly end (and wasn’t very good).
K loves Batman. He hates Superman. He couldn’t believe they were best friends in this movie. Neither could I. But the story line was good and it was a fun little movie to watch.
Lately I have noticed that I have been lagging on my 101 in 1001 days list. I have been so caught up with baking and cooking that it seems to have slipped my mind. So I went through the list again and tried to figure out what I would like to work on. Some are simple while others are going to take a bit more time.
One of the goals on my 101 in 1001 list was to try 12 new teas. So far I have tried two. Shame on me. With all the teas in the world and how simple they are to try why haven’t I blown this one out of the park already? Today I decided to work on that. I woke up and decided to try the white ambrosia from Tea Forte’s autumn collection.
White ambrosia is a white tea that melds delectable fruits, vanilla and slices of coconut to create a cornucopia of tropical delights.
It was an interesting tea – one I am not sure that I would try again. When I first read that the tea had coconut in it I was skeptical. I am a coconut lover, but only in desserts and adult beverages. I can’t eat soup with coconut or any sort of dish that involves meat. BUT if you give me a good coconut cookie or a pina colada I am all for it. It was a nice tea to try, but I was not a fan.
# 55. Try 12 new teas (3/12)
