Lemon Raspberry Muffins

April 25, 2013 by Mackenzie

What says “spring” better than lemon and raspberry? These muffins are moist and light – a perfect treat on a sunny spring morning!

This recipe easily halves (which we did so we wouldn’t be eating muffins for days!) or multiplies so it would be great for a Mother’s Day breakfast!

Lemon Raspberry Muffins
Makes 18 muffins
Recipe from lovegrowswild

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 1/4 cups raspberries
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, mix the beaten eggs, buttermilk, oil, and lemon zest. Fold in the raspberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack.
2. When the muffins are cool, whisk the powdered sugar and lemon juice to make a glaze, adding more lemon juice if needed. Drizzle over the muffins and use a pastry brush to make sure all the edges are coated. Let harden for 5 minutes.

“Once-a-week” Sweet Potato Bread

April 10, 2013 by Mackenzie

So you probably know I have an obsession with sweet potatoes. Every time I go to the store I buy 3-4 and would gladly eat them for my next three meals! I made this bread for the first time about six weeks ago and LOVED it – and now my suite requests it every week! I’ve been tinkering with the recipe to bring down the amount of butter and finally found the right balance! The best part about this bread is how moist it it – oh my gosh I want a slice right now.

Sweet Potato Bread
Makes 1-2 loaves (it depends on the size of your sweet potato. The first couple times I made it, it all fits in one loaf pan – the last time it made two loaves. You can always freeze the second loaf!)
Recipe adapted from Three Clever Sisters

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (do not use regular whole wheat flour – it totally changes the taste. If you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour, all AP flour is fine)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Flesh from 1 med-large sweet potato
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup skim milk

Directions:

1. Roast the sweet potato. Preheat oven to 425F, wash sweet potato, pierce it several times with a fork and place on a foil covered baking sheet in the oven for forty five minutes to one hour, or until a knife runs through it easily. Allow to cool. (You should do this step a couple hours in advance)
2. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and dust with flour to prevent the bread from sticking.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the sweet potato flesh, sugar, and brown sugar with a mixer until well combined. Mix in butter and applesauce then add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each one. Beat in the vanilla.
5. On low speed, add half the flour mixture, beat it then add half the milk and beat again. Repeat with remaining flour and milk. Do not overbeat.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean, about an hour. Let bread cool in pan for 20 minutes then allow to cool on a rack.

Black Bean and Veggie Quesadillas

February 8, 2013 by Mackenzie

Since I don’t have class until noon everyday, I’ve been eating lunch in my room most days – typically leftovers or soup or a quick lunch I can whip up.

This recipe is one of those quick, whip-it-up lunches. I made the fillings yesterday and now, I can quickly throw my quesadillas together before I head off to class! Also, this recipe is low-cal and filled with vegetables so I feel good about eating it!

Black Bean and Veggie Quesadillas
Makes 4 servings
Recipe adapted from The Picky Eater

Ingredients:
1-2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 cup frozen corn
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (I used 1/4 cup of sliced jalapeños from a jar)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 15 oz can refried black beans
Taco seasoning
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
Salt
Shredded pepperjack cheese
4 whole wheat tortillas

1. Heat oil in a medium pot, add onion, bell pepper, corn, jalapeños, and garlic. Sauté until cooked through, 5 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder and salt to taste. Mix well and remove from heat.
2. Meanwhile, heat refried beans in a small saucepan. Add about 2 tsps of taco seasoning to flavor the beans. Remove from heat when warm.
3. If you want to save some for later – keep bean and vegetable mixtures separate and refrigerate.
4. Assemble quesadillas by slathering 1/4 of the bean mixture on half of the tortilla, followed by 1/4 of the vegetable mixture. Top with cheese (you don’t need a ton because the beans will help hold it together too). Fold in half and heat on a sprayed pan over med/low heat. Flip halfway through and serve warm with salsa!

Winter Salad with Sweet Potatoes, Pomegranate Seeds, Goat Cheese and more!

December 6, 2012 by Mackenzie

Libby and I made this salad for dinner last night and it was oh so good!! Libby made it up so I’m giving her all the credit 🙂 It’s awesome and will definitely be made again soon!

Winter Salad

Serves 2

1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1 inch chunks. Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper and bake until tender, about 25 minutes.

2. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together: 1/2 tsp dijon mustard, 1 tsp of brown sugar, 1/8 cup of balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup of olive oil and salt and pepper. We eyeballed these ingredients and did our best just now to think of how much we used… so definitely taste and see if it needs more of anything.

3. In a large bowl, add mixed greens, walnuts, goat cheese, pomegranate seeds, dates, sweet potatoes and vinaigrette! Serve with a piece of toast with honey butter.

photo-16

Snickerdoodle Cake!

September 1, 2012 by Mackenzie

This cake was awesome! It was our first baking attempt of the year – it’s definitely going to be interesting with no easily accessible kitchen! We made up the batter in our room and then ran it down to the kitchen next door to bake it… worked just fine! I see a lot of “no bake” items in our future though!

Okay so this Snickerdoodle cake is from pinterest and the picture looked incredible! So when we were trying to figure out what to make – I kept returning to that recipe and… well pretty soon it was in progress!

Ours wasn’t nearly as pretty as the one in the original link – but it sure tasted fantastic!!!

Snickerdoodle Cake
Makes 1 9/13 or 2 round cakes (to layer)
Recipe from foodwithfamily

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (we substituted with 1 1/3 cups AP flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch)
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
2 sticks butter, softened to room temp.
1 3/4 cups fine or superfine sugar (we just used regular)
4 large eggs, room temp.
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole milk, warmed to room temp.

For the buttercream: (we made this up because we didn’t have enough butter but it was still really good so i’ll share it with you. Find the directions to the original recipe in the link above)
1 stick of butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 Tbs ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
These are REALLY rough estimates. We really just eyeballed it until it tasted/looked good 🙂

To Bake the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 235. Butter and flour your pan(s) (tip is to use the butter wrappers from the butter you’re about to use!)

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale in color.

Beat the eggs in one at a time, fully incorporating each egg and scraping down the bowl in between each addition. Beat in vanilla.

Add about 1/3 of the milk, beat to incorporate, then 1/3 of the flour mixture, again beating to incorporate.

Repeat this process, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until all of the milk and flour are mixed in evenly – starting and ending with the dry ingredients.

Pour the batter into the bans and bake, rotating midway through, for about 35 minutes (we did 40) or until it tests done.

Let the cakes cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes before turning onto the racks to finish cooling.

To Make the Buttercream:

Beat together butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat. Add milk to desired consistency.

Frost and you’re good to go!

Blueberry Buttermilk Scones

July 14, 2012 by Mackenzie

Spence has been requesting these for awhile now and this morning I finally made them! I got the recipe from a friend in high school and have been making them ever since! They are the best scones I have ever had!

Blueberry Buttermilk Scones
Makes 6-8 scones

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup buttermillk
1/3 cup melted butter
blueberries
sugar in bowl

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in buttermilk and butter – just until evenly moistened.

Spray a cooking sheet (I do not recommend using a silicone mat for this recipe). Grab a mound of dough (about 1/3 cup) and press 6-7 berries into the dough – poking some into the very middle and leaving some visible on the outside. Roll in sugar and place on a cooking sheet. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

hint: do not smooth out dough of scone – leave it for a more natural look 🙂

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