Make This!!!

Butternut Squash Muffins!

                 

These muffins are so good! Seriously, they are the best muffins I have ever made. No joke!  They look a lot like pumpkin muffins, but taste completely different - more reminiscent of honey+molasses. Not only do they taste amazing, they are also pretty to look at.

I made a batch a few weeks ago and my family assumed they were pumpkin muffins. Naseem ate one, and asked, "Are these pumpkin muffins?" I gleefully replied they were butternut squash. Naseem shrugged (as only Naseem can!) and ate another. If that isn't an endorsement, I don't know what is. The next day I took one to a butternut squash loving coworker. Her reply: "Those are freakin' delicious!"

I love the texture and chunks of butternut squash in these muffins.

Do yourself a favor and bake these muffins!

Butternut Squash Muffins adapted slightly from Tarlet Sweets

For butternut squash puree
1 large butternut squash, halved lengthways and scraped of seeds

Note: I buy the prewashed & cut butternut squash from Costco and just roast it in my oven with olive oil & sea salt for an hour at 350*. I let it cool overnight and pureed it in my food processor, which yielded 2 cups (so you will have 1/2 cup of pureed squash left over as the recipe only needs 1.5 cups).

For streusel
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. cold butter, cubed

*See note below

For muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups butternut squash puree
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs (room temp so the coconut oil won't clump)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Make squash puree.

For the streusel, in a small bowl, whisk together sugar and flour. Work in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. NOTE: make sure you make the streusel as directed. I always make my streusel with a fork, but used my fingertips this time. The streusel was absolutely perfect.

Preheat to 350 degrees F and line a regular muffin tin with baking cups. In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt to combine. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together the butternut squash puree, coconut oil, and sugars on low until combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Add vanilla and beat for a few seconds.

With mixer on low, incorporate dry ingredients until just combined. Pour batter into muffin cups until each is about 2/3 full and sprinkle generously, completely covering the top of the batter, with streusel.

Make sure to completely cover the batter with the streusel!

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and tops spring back when lightly pressed. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

After you have waited a few minutes, cut one open and apply a generous pat of butter. You're welcome!☺

YUM!

Try This!!

I'm baaaack! Well, sort of. Blogger has still not resolved their issue with uploading photos, but I found my way around this by blogging via my phone. Yay! ☺

Last Friday, I decided to remove my kitchen wallpaper. After the bathroom wallpaper removal project in July, I said I would just leave the kitchen as is. But...I needed a project and this fit the bill. Our kitchen had two layers of wallpaper to remove, so it took me all of our three day weekend to remove.

When I climbed up on a ladder to remove the paper above the cabinets, I saw this a dusty, greasy mess. I am embarrassed to say I honestly cannot remember the last time I cleaned the tops of my cabinets. Not a good thing.

I started to clean it with ammonia, but the fumes just about did me in. Not only were the fumes bad, but the dust just pilled and made more of a mess. I checked Pinterest for a quick fix and found a paste of baking soda & vinegar would do the trick.

I sprinkled the baking soda on and decided to spread it around before I added the vinegar. Then a miracle happened! I didn't need the vinegar, just the baking soda alone did the trick!! I massaged the soda into the dusty grease and voila! Instant clean!

I was so excited! Baking soda really is a miracle product! I was able to clean the top of the cupboards in no time at all. When I was finished, I just vacuumed the soda up. Then went over what wasn't picked up by the vacuum with a damp sponge.

After I am completely finished with my wallpaper/painting project, I plan to put a sheet of parchment paper down to catch any new dust/grease. Then I can just change the paper every month or so.

When was the last time you cleaned the top of your kitchen cabinets?! If you can't remember, grab the baking soda and get busy!

Blog Problems!

I have been trying to update my blog for an entire week. The problem? Blogger will not let me upload photos. I have several posts on the back burner. Hopefully, Blogger will get the problem figured out soon!
Stay tuned!!

Make This!!

 

Dutch Baby!

 

I was introduced to the wonderful Dutch baby during a sleepover in 5th grade. I have been in love with these oven pancakes ever since! They are easy, delicious and everyone loves them!  All you need is a large (oven safe) pan or skillet plus four ingredients and Voila! You have a Dutch baby. This pancake is also known as a German pancake or as my sister learned (by living back east one summer) David Eyre pancakes.

Mix up your batter while the butter is melting in the oven...

Pour the batter into the preheated pan, bake for 20 minutes....

Immediately cut into 6 equal quarter (or smaller),

squeeze fresh lemon juice on top & sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Dutch Baby

1/3 cup butter
4 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
lemon slices
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425*. Melt butter in pan (in oven). Blend the eggs, milk and flour in a blender. Pour into the preheated pan with melted butter and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately with lemon & powdered sugar.

Birthday, Crabbing, & Christmas

This post is all about playing catch up! I am condensing most of the fun things we did in December here. ☺

Happy birthday to me!

On the 11th, I turned (gulp!) 45. Wow! Middle age!! Omid and I celebrated by going to Pine State Biscuits for breakfast. I brought my own candle, lit it & Omid snapped this photo. Do you want to know what is the perfect birthday cake? Biscuits & gravy! We had a delicious breakfast and it was a fun way to spend my birthday morning.☺

The weekend of December 13-15, we went crabbing & razor clamming. My dad drove down from Olympia to meet Ward & Omid on the morning of the 13th to go crabbing. I can't remember the exact number of crab caught, but I know it was over twenty. Lin, Tammie, Jeff & I had to work that Friday (+ the kids had school), so we all met up with Omid and gang later that evening. We ate tons of crab & fresh oysters for dinner. So delicious!

The next day, Tammie, Lin, my dad, Ward, Jeff & Omid went crabbing again. They didn't have as much luck, and only got one crab. I stayed behind with the kids & dogs. Matty and Austin drove Matty's Jeep on the beach and got stuck in soft sand. Uh oh!  A good Samaritan stopped to help dig them out and an hour later, two very relieved boys came back to tell us the story. So glad a $1000 tow was not needed! Matty learned a valuable lesson: stay off the soft sand!!!

We headed out for the razor clam dig at 2:30 p.m.  It was the Stevens' first time ever and we were excited to show them the ropes. We all got our limits in less than 30 minutes. Remy & Jack helped out too. It was a great weekend with lots of love! I can't wait until we do it again.☺

Clamming weekend at Long Beach, WA.

Fast forward to Christmas Eve. We had a small get together with our friends. Omid made several fun appetizers and I made cranberry bliss bars for dessert.

 

Fun fact: Every other December, Omid and I rewatch the entire season of The Sopranos. Here are Nas & Matty posing "Soprano" style for me. So fun!

 Remy wasn't too keen on the idea of being picked up for the second photo.

 

We were so busy chatting, that I neglected to get any photos of the party. Jeff invited us all to attend Christmas Eve mass with him and his family at 10:00 p.m. We took up the entire back pew of the church. It was a very nice service.

We celebrated Christmas day at a party at the Stevens' home. So much delicious food! After dinner, We played poker and I was the big winner! Yay, me!

Jeff's parents, MeMe & Pop flew in from Texas, Christmas evening, just in time for the party.

The parents!

The kids!

This photo made me stop in my tracks. While I love the photo of us all together, I dislike the food/wine baby who showed up to the party. Photos don't lie....I have restarted The Shred!!!

December ended with my good friend & former Special Services coworker, Sharon, visiting from Texas. We had a lovely reunion at Lapellah.

♥

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! I am so looking forward to changes and new beginnings for 2014.☺

Make This!!

 

 

I found this recipe for shredded pork in the new Costco Connection magazine. It sounded too easy, but I had to try it for myself. Omid usually smokes a pork butt on his Traeger and it takes about 5 hours. I was curious to see if I could get the same result in my crock pot.

 

 

I didn't purchase a pork butt, but used a pork sirloin tip roast that came in a four pack from Costco. It was about 3 pounds.

 

I lined my crock pot with three strips of bacon, added salt to the pork roast, set it to low and forgot about it. When I woke up this morning, the kitchen smelled really good. After 16 hours, I tried to take the roast out of the crock pot with a BBQ fork and it totally fell apart. I had to take it out with tongs, in sections, it was so tender.

 

The roast shredded up so nicely, too. The result: not bad! I do prefer the smoked pork butt done in the Traeger, but this worked really well in a pinch and is perfect for BBQ sandwiches.  Make it!

 

Slow Cooker Kalua Pork via Costco Connection Magazine
3 bacon slices
5 lb Boston butt pork roast (I used a 3 lb sirloin pork roast)
1 1/2 Tbs red Hawaiian sea salt (I used Himalayan pink salt)*use less salt for a smaller roast!!

Line the bottom of a slow cooker with the strips of bacon. Evenly salt the pork with the salt. Put the roast in the slow cooker on low for 16 hours. Remove the meat & shred. Enjoy!

Make This!!!

Egg & Bacon Casserole!

 



 

I work in the Special Services department of my school district. The ELL instructors and Special Services staff don't get to see each other very often, so when we do...we always make sure we meet over a delicious themed potluck.

 

My friend Janet brought this egg & bacon casserole (breakfast theme) to our potluck right before Thanksgiving. I have been begging her for the recipe and she finally emailed it to our group this week. I decided to make a half recipe for breakfast this morning.

 

 I was very surprised to read this recipe had croutons in it. Once it's baked & ready, you can't tell at all! Janet's recipe called for unseasoned croutons, but use what you have on hand. This is what I used.

 

 

 

You can measure out the croutons with a measuring cup (messy business) or just estimate that the amount of croutons needed will actually cover the bottom of your baking dish. *I lined my baking pan with foil for easy clean up.

 

 

 

I didn't have a block of cheese on hand, but what I do have is sliced Tillamook cheddar cheese. I grabbed a stack of six, sliced them into strips, then diced the strips into smaller squares.

 



 

While I was prepping my dish, I cooked the bacon in the oven. This way, I didn't have to babysit the bacon on the stove top. The bacon came out great and I think I will cook it this way from now on.

 

I placed ten strips of bacon on a foil covered cookie sheet, then put the tray in a cold oven. I turned the oven on to 375* and after twenty minutes, flipped the bacon over and set the timer for another 15 minutes.

 

By this time, I had my casserole all ready to go except for the bacon. I removed the bacon from the oven, turned it down to 325* and cut the bacon with kitchen shears, sprinkling it over the casserole.  

 



Ready for the oven!

 

After 45 minutes, it was done.

 



 

Make this breakfast casserole! It's yummy, easy & would be perfect for Christmas morning.

 



Egg & Bacon Casserole

1/4 cup butter, melted

4 cups unseasoned croutons (I used seasoned Focaccia croutons)

2 cups cheese, grated (any kind, I used cheddar)

2 cups milk

8 beaten eggs

1 T mustard (I used Beaver brand Hot Dijon mustard)

8-10 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled

 

Place croutons in a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle butter and then cheese over croutons. Combine eggs, milk & mustard. Pour egg mixture over cheese and sprinkle with bacon. Bake at 325* for 40-50 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

*I added 1/4 cup of chopped green onions to mine to give it some color. Plus, I really like green onions.☺

Make This!!!

 

Raspberry Shortbread Bars!

 

These bar cookies are the perfect treat to take to a holiday potluck or add to your Christmas cookie tray.

I have made three batches in the last 24 hours. One as a tester, to make sure they were tasty (they were!!!) and two batches for work/school potlucks today.

Make these cookies!

Raspberry Shortbread Bars via The Baking Bargainista

2 1/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
1 egg
pinch salt
1/2 cup + 2 ounces raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350*. Line a 9x9 pan with foil, and grease it lightly. Mix all ingredients except for the jam until well combined. Put 4/5 of the shortbread dough into the foil. Pat it down until you have an even crust. Spread  6 oz. of raspberry jam over the dough. Use more than you think you need! If you skimp on the jam, it will thin out too much and look watered down. Trust me on this! Take the remaining dough, tear off little chunks and sprinkle it evenly over the jam. Bake for 40 minutes or until the top is slightly golden. Let cool & cut into squares. Enjoy!
**I used a 9x13 pan instead of a 9x9 pan. I also over baked my first batch, as I didn't think they were done. They were! Make sure you take the shortbread out after 40 minutes!

Make This!!!

 

 

Dream Bars!

 

This recipe is an oldy, but a goody. I switched out the Crisco for coconut oil to make it a 'tad' bit healthier. I'm so glad I did! The shortbread crust tastes so buttery/coconutty.  Make these today! They bake up in no time at all.

 

Dream Bars

 

1/4 c coconut oil

1/4 c butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350*.  Mix coconut oil, butter & sugar together. Add flour.  Flatten into bottom of ungreased 13x9 pan. Bake 10 minutes. Spread with almond coconut topping.

 

 2 eggs, well beaten

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbs flour

1 tbs baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup shredded coconut

 

Mix eggs, sugar & vanilla. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in coconut & almonds.

Return to oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.

Cool and cut into bars.

Run Matty, Run!

 

Matty finished his final season of XC with a team banquet this past Thursday. Matty actually had his best year & earned a varsity letter for his effort! YAY!!! This comeback was especially sweet since he had to sit out his junior year to recover from micro-fracture surgery.

Proud athlete!

 

 

Senior boys receiving their awards.

The banquet ended with a senior tradition. The seniors say something about the other members of the team with the teammate's name, followed by 'most likely to.' I have to say, as a parent I have always dreaded this tradition as there have been many horribly cruel comments in the past. This year I was pleasantly surprised! There were no mean spirited or rude comments. This says so much about this group of seniors!

Reading 'most likely to...'

This wonderful lady is Karen Goritski. She is the assistant coach for the team. She is an amazing woman & the biggest cheerleader for the kids! We will miss her lots!

Great job, Matty! We are so proud of you!!!

Final season highlights
Click on the photo to enlarge.

One Potato, Two Potato?

 

We've had a beautiful week of sunshine around here!  Windy, but dry enough that I was able to clean out all my planter boxes that were full of dead summer annuals.

 

 

While cleaning out the container above, I found this rather large sweet potato! I've always planted sweet potato vines, but this is the first time one has produced a root vegetable for me.☺ My other container that had an even bigger sweet potato vine, only had a tangle of red roots.

I guess I really DO have a green thumb!

Make This!!!

I found this recipe in the current issue of Kraft’s Food & Family Magazine. It is a winner! These bar cookies are perfect for a party or potluck and keep well for several days, if they last that long!

Gingerbread Caramel Bars
Serves: 36 bars

1pkg.  (2-layer size) spice cake mix

2tsp.  ground ginger

1/2cup  butter, melted

1 egg

35 KRAFT Caramels

1 can  (5 oz.) evaporated milk

1 pkg.  (4 oz.) BAKER’S White Chocolate, coarsely chopped, divided

 

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Line a 13×9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides; spray with cooking spray.  Beat cake mix, ginger, butter and egg with mixer until blended.  (Dough will be stiff.)  Press 2/3 of the dough onto bottom of prepared pan.

Bake for 10 to 12 min. or until lightly browned.  Meanwhile, microwave caramels and milk in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 3 to 3-1/2 min. or until caramels are completely melted and sauce is well blended, stirring after each minute.

Drizzle caramel sauce over baked layer in pan. Reserve 2 Tbsp. chopped chocolate; sprinkle remaining over caramel sauce. Crumble remaining gingerbread dough over dessert. Bake 25 to 30 min. or until center is almost set. Cool completely.

Microwave reserved chocolate in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec. to 1 min. or until completely melted, stirring every 30 sec.; drizzle over dessert.  Let stand until chocolate is firm.  Use foil handles to lift dessert from pan before cutting into bars.

Note: I will leave the white chocolate out next time and just keep it as a drizzle. I felt the taste of the chocolate competed with the caramel.
Update! I made these again last night and substituted pumpkin pie spice for the ginger. Wow! It made the cake so much spicier.☺

Make This!!!

Chili with Smoked Brisket

 

 

Omid smoked another brisket for our family this past week. When it was cool enough to slice, I made sure he saved me enough meat so I could make my tasty chili. 

The secret to this delicious recipe is of course, the brisket; but also the spice mix from a box of Carroll Shelby's Chili Kit.  This is a tip I gleaned from my friend Kris C. It has the perfect amount of cumin & chili powder. I don't use the salt, cayenne or masa mix - just the large bag of spices.

 

Here's my yummy recipe in case you want to try it out yourself.

 

Best Ever Brisket Chili

 

4+ cups of smoked brisket, cubed

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 15 oz. can kidney or black beans, rinsed & drained

1 onion, diced & sautéed

1 4 oz. can roasted & diced green chiles

1 package Carroll Shelby's chili spice mix

8 oz water (more if you like your chili soupy - we like it thick)

 

Saute onion in butter or olive oil until translucent. Place all ingredients in a crock pot and simmer on high for 5 hours, reduce to low for one hour.  Serve with sour cream, green onions & corn bread. Enjoy!

**For a heartier, more rib sticking chili: serve over cooked macaroni noodles.

 



Make This!!

 

Easy Chicken, Turkey or Tuna Turnovers

 

 

Basically, whatever leftover meat you need to use up, stick it in these easy and yummy turnovers. I used one cup of cubed turkey, as that is what I had on hand after making an early Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday evening.

Easy Turnovers
1 cup cooked tuna, chicken or turkey
1 cup shredded cheese
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
mayonnaise to moisten (about 1/4 cup)
salt & pepper
1 recipe biscuit dough

Preheat oven to 400*. Roll out prepared biscuit dough 1/4" thick and cut into 4 inch rounds or squares. Place about 2 1/2 T of filling on each. Fold over and seal. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush tops with melted butter. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
*I sprinked the tops of my turnovers with shredded parmesan cheese.

Dinner with Friends at Le Pigeon!

This past Saturday, our good friend Katie visited from Spokane. Lin, Tammie & I decided a few weeks ago that Katie's visit called for a trip to a 'fawncy' restaurant. Lin suggested Le Pigeon, we made the reservation and started our "countdown to Katie!"

 

Le Pigeon has been ranked the #1 restaurant in Portland for the past few years. The executive chef, Gabriel Rucker is a two time James Beard award winner. When I called to make the reservations six weeks ago, there were only two slots left for November 2nd. A 5:15 p.m. slot or a 10:00 p.m. slot. If you want to go, make your reservations early!!

 

 

Fun fact: Katie and I have been friends for 17 years!

I love these ladies!!♥

Once we arrived at Le Pigeon, I was surprised at how tiny it is. The restaurant fits about 45-50 diners, maybe. Tables are 'family style,' so you will sit with strangers. It's also a bit noisy inside. This is not the place if you want a quiet, romantic dinner for two. It is, however, out of this world delicious!!!

We all agreed to order the five course tasting menu. It was the best way to taste many things on the menu. One note: in order to try the tasting menu, everyone in your party must order it.

Our first course was deep fried rock shrimp with pickled mango, green onion and a tarragon greed goddess dressing. The dressing was the star of this course. So tangy.

First course

The second course was a pan fried sea bass, served with turnips and mushrooms.

Second course

The third course was Wagyu beef, pan fried foie gras and deep fried shallots. This was the first time I had ever tried foie gras. It was out of this world delicious!  The foie gras was the best part of this course.

 

Third course
 

The fourth course was venison with a bone marrow pumpkin pie and brussel sprout cole slaw. The bone marrow pumpkin pie was my favorite part of the fourth course. Sweet & savory.

Fourth course

At this point, we were so incredibly full, but there was one course left: dessert! Dessert was a cream puff filled with foie gras ice cream and served with salted caramel sauce. We also had a pumpkin pots du crème. It was 3/4 filled with the pumpkin mousse, 1/4 filled with whipping cream and topped with a crumbled gingersnap cookie. I wish I had one right now in front of me. It was just delectable.

Fifth course

After we thought we couldn't stuff another bite into our mouths, the waitress brought us camembert cheese filled chocolates. They were surprisingly good.

Our dinner took three hours from start to finish. Katie and I got the wine pairings with our dinner. I am so glad we did. I didn't recognize any of the wines on the menu at Le Pigeon (many being French). All of the wines were delicious.

Stuffed, happy mamas!

If you get a chance to dine at Le Pigeon, DO! It was a lot of fun and the food was amazing!