Into sweet and salty? Grab one of these muffins quick!
Ground and broken pretzels in the batter and a pretzel streusel on top along with chocolate chips inside the muffin.
For the streusel combine;
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup each ground and broken pretzels
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
For the muffins, whisk:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup ground pretzels
1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup whole milk (or buttermilk)
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pretzel or other coarse salt
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with liners; coat with nonstick spray.
For the streusel, combine 1/2 cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 cup ground pretzels and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Stir 6 Tbsp. butter into dry mixture, cover and chill.
For the muffins, whisk together 1 cup flour, 1 cup ground pretzels, chocolate chips, baking powder, salt and 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Whisk together milk and 2/3 cup sugar until sugar dissolves. Add eggs, oil, 4 Tbsp. butter and vanilla; stir into flour mixture. Let batter sit 2 minutes, then divide among muffin cups.
Squeeze streusel into clumps; top muffins with it and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake muffins until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 17-19 minutes. Let muffins cool in pan 10 minutes.
It’s that time again! Gearing up to get back to school! My boys are grown and their school days are over. No more backpacks, lunch boxes and trying to wake them up in the morning! Still when I see the little ones waiting for the school bus, it sure brings back wonderful memories. Always taking a picture on the first day of school.
For those moms who still have school age children, Katie Workman The Mom 100 Cookbook is joining us again this Sunday for some great suggestions and recipes to start out the school year smoothly.
Breakfast – the most important meal of the day.
Scrambled Eggs with Herb Croutons
2 slices of multi-grain bread cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, lightly smashed
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
Salt and Pepper
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
5 large eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp. snipped fresh chives
In a medium bowl, toss the bread cubes with the olive oil, garlic and herbs. Transfer to a large nonstick skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the bread is crisp and browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer the croutons to a plate and discard the garlic. Season with salt and pepper.
Wipe out the skillet and melt the butter in it. Season the eggs with salt and pepper and add them to the skillet. Cook over moderate heat, stirring gently until the eggs are partially set, about 2 minutes. Add the croutons and chives and gently fold them in, cooking the eggs about 1 minute longer. Serve immediately.
Of course, if you follow Katie’s rules…..their are no rules. Add fresh tomatoes, cheese, or salsa to this delicious breakfast. No need for toast! Switch out the herbs to whatever you and your children like!
Join us this Sunday for #SundaySupper Around the Family Table with Katie Workman at 7pm ET. Katie is so much fun and will be sharing her Easy Back to School Recipes during our chat. We love for you to join us and share your tips and inspiration.
Here are more fabulous recipes from our #Sunday Supper Team!
Easy Breakfast ideas:
Lunchbox Wraps:
Easy Weekday Suppers:
After School Snacks:
We will be sharing great family recipes all day and want you to share yours with us! Join us at 7pm ET for our #SundaySupper Chat with Katie Workman. Follow us on twitter by using hashtag #Sundaysupper or using Tweetchat. We love to feature your recipes on our #sundaysupper pinterest board and share them with all our followers. ~Recipe courtesty of Grace Parisi
Sharing with The Country Cook – Weekend Potluck
Grilled lemony, garlicy chicken with a refreshing Tzatziki sauce and a simple salad, makes a cool summer supper.
Tzatziki Sauce
2 cup good quality plain yogurt
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and grated
Salt and Pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh dill
Put the yogurt in a strainer lined with cheesecloth, coffee filter or paper towel and set it over a bowl. Let drain in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine cucumber with 1 tsp. salt; let sit for about 15 minutes.
Squeeze the excess liquid out of the cucumbers.
Return to bowl and add drained yogurt, garlic, fresh dill and salt and pepper to taste.
Chicken and Marinade
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-inch cubes
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp. dried oregano
Marinate chicken with olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and oregano.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Let marinate for at least 20 minutes.
Heat grill to medium heat. Thread chicken onto bamboo skewers which have been soaked for 1 hour. I found that no matter how long you soak bamboo skewers, they always seem to burn.
Set up your grill with a piece of foil to protect the ends of the skewers.
Cut lemon in half and squeeze onto chicken while grilling.
Keep the lemon on the grill – the heat makes the lemon soft and you can squeeze about 50% more juice!!
Souvlaki is traditionally served with pita bread.
Lightly butter pita and warm on the grill.
For the salad combine 3 Roma tomatoes diced, 1/2 red onion diced, 1/2 cucumber, 2 Tbsp. olive oil, 1/2 lemon juiced, salt and pepper and 1/3 cup black Kalamata olives. Top with Feta Cheese.
One of the most common symbols in the lives of all moms is the need to feed our families. Packaged foods and take-out are ruining our health and it’s hard to fight to keep your kids from turning to those quick microwave meals when you don’t have the time to prepare something. Weeknight dinners are one thing – then there are lunches and most important – breakfast.
This is a simple mom/family friendly recipe that can be make in advance. When your kids help prepare something, they are more likely to try it. Kids can crack the eggs and stir them up for you. It’s a great cooking lesson! Don’t hesitate to come up with your own combinations to best suit your family’s taste. When the mornings are hectic – pop a freshly made Breakfast Burrito into the microwave and feel good about feeding your family something fresh and nourishing.
BREAKFAST BURRITO
2 tsp. canola oil
1 12 oz. package @Johnsonville Breakfast Sausage
1 cup frozen hash browns with peppers and onions
8 large eggs
Cheddar Cheese
Salt and Pepper
4 taco size flour torilllas
Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add sausage links. Cook for 12-16 minutes or until cooked through and browned, turning often.
Remove to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the hash browns to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are golden brown and crisp, about 8-10 minutes.
Beat the eggs in a medium bowl until frothy. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and a few dashes of hot sauce (optional). Pour the eggs over the potatoes and cook, stirring until the eggs are fluffy and just set. Remove from the skillet and keep warm.
Wipe out the skillet and return it to the heat. Warm the torillas one at a time in the skillet. Build the burrito by layering the egg mixture, sausage and a sprinkle of cheese. Fold up the two sides and roll up tightly.
TO FREEZE:
Wrap burrito in paper towel and then in foil. Freeze in zip-top bag, label and freeze.
TO REHEAT:
Remove foil. Place burrito with paper towel on a microwave safe plate and heat on HIGH for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, or until heated through.
A few weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to go to Lidia’s Restaurant in New York for my birthday. New York City is only about a 25 minute train ride from here, and the train brings you right into Penn Station. Felidia’s is a renovated brownstone on E. 58th Street. Warm and cozy, first class service and of course, amazing food! I brought along my first cookbook of Lidia’s with me JUST IN CASE she showed up and could sign it for me. I was soo excited! We ordered the Sunday Family Style Dinner which was really like a tasting menu, but it was plenty for all of us. We started with a tray of fine proscuitto and salami, 4 small salads – baby beets with gorgonzola and camembert, octopus salad, shrimp salad and fingerling potatoes. Onto the pasta course; Three Fresh Ravioli stuffed with Pear and Pecorino Cheese – amazing! (I found the recipe and will be posting), and lasagna. Meat course consisted of baby lamb chops, flat iron steak, roasted chicken and fresh sweet italian sausages.
The dishes were served family style and the bakeware was beautiful! I just happened to find it on QVC.
Now for dessert!
Little tiramisu, open cannoli and a blueberry tart – just enough to end the meal.
Did I tell you we ordered an $85 bottle of wine?
Hey – you only live once and it was my birthday :o)
They brought this out for me!
I told the maitre`d that I was a big fan of Lidia’s and asked if the chef could sign my book for me. After a few minutes he came back to our table and told me that Lidia was in town and he would leave it on her desk for her to sign for me. I’m still waiting for it!!!! I know she’s filming in New York so hopefully she will get to it soon. Update: Just received my book today!
On to the recipe. Her new cookbook features recipes from all the regions of Italy. This next dish is from Lombardy. It’s a no-stir technique. The name comes from Pitocchi (taken from the Greek word for “poor”) where beggars roamed the lowlands during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries seeking food; usually a plain rice dish is what they got.
1-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 cup onion cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup carrot cut into 1-inch chunks
1 cup celery cut into 1-inch chunks
2 plump garlic cloves, peeled
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry white wine
5 cups hot chicken stock
2 cups Italian short-grain rice, such as Arborio
For finishing:
2 Tbsp. butter, cut in pieces
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh Italian parsley
1/2 cup grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano,
Trim any excess far from the chicken thighs, and cut them into 1-inch chunks
Using a food processor, mince the onion, carrot, celery and garlic into a fine texture. Pour the olive oil in the saucepan, and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the vegetable mixture and season with salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture has dried and begins to stick to the bottom of the pan.
Toss in the chicken, bay leaf and salt. Stir the chicken in the pan until browned and caramelized, about 6 minutes. Raise the heat, pour in the white wine and cook, stirring and scraping up the browned bits in the pan, until the wine has almost evaporated.
Pour in the stock, then add the rice. Stir well. Bring to a boil, cover the pan and reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 14 minutes until both the rice and the chicken chunks are fully cooked and the consistency is creamy.
Turn off the heat, drop in the butter pieces, and stir until well incorporated. Stir in the parsley and 1/2 cup grated cheese. Spoon into warm pasta bowls and serve immediately. Pass additional cheese at the table.
It was a great birthday!
~From Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy
~Menu Planning Monday
The Holiday Season is upon us. Time to get together with family and friends and celebrate! Grab your glass and enjoy! Let us all count our blessings at this time of year and every day for the love of family and friends.
Hot Spinach Parmesan Dip
This is my version of that great dip from T.G.I. Friday’s
Everyone devours this!
2 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. fresh spinach, cleaned, trimmed and coarsely chopped
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
or
2 (10 oz. pkgs. frozen spinach, thawed
1/2 cup milk
6 ounces cream cheese
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Pinch of cayenne pepper
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Freshly ground black pepper
Baguette slices, breadsticks or tortilla chips, for serving
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.
Add onion and garlic, cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Add spinach in two additions, letting the first batch wilt before adding the next.
Cook until completely wilted, 5 to 8 minutes
Add frozen spinach and incorporate.
Transfer to a colander and drain, pressing lightly with a spoon to release all excess liquid.
In the same pot, warm milk over high heat. Whisk in cream cheese until melted, about 3 minutes.
Off heat, add spinach, Worcestershire sauce, Parmesan, Romano, cayenne pepper and 1/4 cup mozzarella; stir to combine. Season with pepper. I did not think it needed salt, but test it to suit your taste.
Pour into a lightly oiled 1-1/2 quart baking dish; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and a sprinkling of paprika (optional) for color.
Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot.
Let this be a time when we renew our faith in the power of love and realize the importance of time with our families.
Most of a classic club sandwich ingredients are here; bacon, turkey or chicken, cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Instead of three layers of toast there are three crispy tortillas, and guacamole in place of mayonnaise.
3 slices of bacon
3 flour tortillas (8-inch)
1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
4 oz. sliced roast turkey or chicken
3 slices pepper Jack Cheese
4 slices tomato
2 Tbsp. salsa
1 Tbsp. sour cream
Quick Guacamole
1 avocado
2 Tbsp. minced red onion
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Salt, black pepper or cayenne pepper to taste
Preheat broiler.
Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate; reserve drippings. Brush both sides of tortillas with drippings, transfer to a baking sheet, and broil until beginning to brown, 2-3 minutes. Flip and broil until crisp, 1-2 minutes
To assemble, spread guacamole on 2 tortillas and top both with lettuce.
Place turkey and cheese on one of these tortillas, then stack the other one on top of the cheese, lettuce side up.
Layer bacon and tomato on top of lettuce.
Top with salsa, sour cream and the remaining plain tortilla.
Poke 4 sandwich picks into the sandwich, and cut the club into quarters between the picks.
I love creating new recipes using what I have left in the fridge. This Stuffed Pizza Meatloaf has a few delicious surprises inside.
A while back I was looking for recipes using Ritz crackers for an article I was doing. A neighbor gave me a recipe for Elvis’ favorite meatloaf using Ritz crackers in place of breadcrumbs. That’s where the crackers come in. This meatloaf was also made with sour cream instead of eggs. I was really surprised that the sour cream makes for the most tender meatloaf! I had everything for the Elvis meatloaf but I also had some leftover pizza sauce and cheese. The last ingredient – frozen mozzarella sticks. And the Stuffed Pizza Meatloaf was born.
Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. 85% lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup Ritz or Town House crackers (about 20)
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup pizza sauce, divided
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
6 frozen mozzarella sticks
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In the bowl of a small food processor, add crackers, garlic and red pepper flakes and pulse into fine crumbs. In a small skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Add cracker mixture and toast lightly over medium heat. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine ground beef, crumb mixture, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, 1/3 cup pizza sauce, 1/2 cup mozzarella and sour cream. Mix well to combine. Spray a large piece of foil with cooking spray. Flatten out meatloaf into a 9″ x 6″ rectangle. Arrange mozzarella sticks side by side.
Form into a loaf shape enclosing mozzarella sticks. Place in 8 x 12 baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, top with remaining pizza sauce and return to oven for 20 minutes more. After 20 minutes, add remaining mozzarella and return to oven until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Let cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.
This a new family favorite! I hope you’ll give it a try!
This is a great change of pace from a heavy cream sauce for pasta. I have been seriously watching my cholesterol intake for the past few months, and today I found out that my LDL level is down 26 points! You don’t need to take medication if you eat well! There are so many pasta options now – choose your weapon~!
4 cups chopped cauliflower (1 medium)
1-1/2 cups Skim Plus 100% Fat Free Milk
2 Tbsp. Smart Balance Buttery Spread
1 lb. pasta of your choice (I used Barilla Tri-color Penne)
1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine, chicken or veggie broth
Pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp. lemon zest
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Directions:
In a large saucepan combine cauliflower and milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered 8-10 minutes or until cauliflower is fork tender. Add cauliflower mixture to blender, add Smart Balance and blend until smooth. Set aside.
Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly tender. Stir in wine or stock. Stir in cauliflower puree.
Drain pasta, reserving some of the cooking liquid. Add pasta to saucepan. Add nutmeg, lemon zest, Parmesan, parsley and salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Add pasta cooking liquid if pasta seems too dry. Serve warm with additional grated cheese.
This classic combination almost always shows up at parties or in any Italian buffet.
It’s great warm or even at room temperature.
1 (16 oz.) package frozen cavatelli
1 head fresh broccoli florets or 1 (12.oz) package frozen broccoli florets
1/4 cup olive oil
6 oz. chicken stock
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Oregano to taste
Crushed red pepper to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Steam or boil broccoli until just tender, but not soft. Heat oil in a medium saute pan and lightly saute garlic and onions until golden. Add chopped tomatoes and continue to saute. Add chicken stock and spices. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes.
Cook cavatelli according to package direction or until desired doneness.
Toss with broccoli and tomatoes and sprinkle with grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese.
~Recipe courtesty of Grace Parisi
Felidia’s is a renovated brownstone on E. 58th Street. Warm and cozy, first class service and of course, amazing food! I brought along my first cookbook of Lidia’s with me JUST IN CASE she showed up and could sign it for me. I was soo excited! We ordered the Sunday Family Style Dinner which was really like a tasting menu, but it was plenty for all of us. We started with a tray of fine proscuitto and salami, 4 small salads – baby beets with gorgonzola and camembert, octopus salad, shrimp salad and fingerling potatoes. Onto the pasta course; Three Fresh Ravioli stuffed with Pear and Pecorino Cheese – amazing! (I found the recipe and will be posting), and lasagna. Meat course consisted of baby lamb chops, flat iron steak, roasted chicken and fresh sweet italian sausages.
