teacher by day - chef by night
So I used the 2nd package of venison that my custodian had given me (remember the awesome venison meatballs I made last month!?) to make Venison Chili this week. In all honesty, I was really hoping for a more gamey flavor – but I guess …
Installment #2 of GREEN recipes. I always read about detox smoothies and all sorts of other healthy-type-things, but am often too scared (or not enough dedication to “detox”) to try them. So when I found this Green Spinach Smoothie that included sweet flavors AND chocolate …
I keep finding some really cool GREEN recipes (look forward to reading about chocolate green shakes in the near future). I guess this is my way of thinking healthy (or not having snow days every other day even though I love the beauty of winter and snow) So these green beauties may look savory, but they are indeed a great breakfast muffin! These also introduced me to the world of quinoa – so I will try to experiment and learn more about that now too… I’m going to try to experiment with one new thing each month 🙂
These muffins have a slightly sweet taste to them, but are dense and tasty enough to not be overly gross BUT not so “spinach-y” that you don’t want to enjoy them for breakfast. I’m telling you – the only way to truly enjoy these is to make them and try them yourself!
Spinach Quinoa Muffins (from Dandy Sugar)
Dry Ingredients:
Wet Ingredients:
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 12 cup muffin tin OR for a breakfast at school – prepare a 24 cup muffin tin. Put 2 cups of dry baby spinach leaves into the food processor and pulse until the leaves resemble a puree. You should have about 1 cup of chopped spinach total.
Combine dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk. In another bowl, whisk egg and sugar together until incorporated and light in texture. Add remaining wet ingredients and whisk. Pour dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir just to combine – do not over-mix. Gently fold quinoa into the mixture. Pour (mine was really thick… more like ‘dump’) batter into muffin tin to about 3/4 full each. Top each muffin with chopped nuts of your choice.
Bake for 15-19 minutes for the regular muffins (or about 12 – 15 minute for mini muffins) until centers set or a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Enjoy while warm!
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Kermit the Frog always said “Its not easy being green” – but I think its easier than we all thought, so – GO GREEN… its good for your health, the environment, & all of our futures!
Slow Cooked Meals are amazing! The flavors all meld together, the house smells delicious, and the anticipation grows! When I first started to do crock pot cooking, mom was surprised because I hate when my foods touch. Now, to set the record straight – I …
Today is another one of those snowy days (Snow Day #6 by my count). I used to love having random snow days (skiing, sledding, etc) – but this year I am just so over having “snow storms” which amount to about 3-6 inches each time …
The flavors of the wine and olive oil bring a smile to any Italian dinner table – so why not continue those great flavors to your dessert!? That is exactly what I thought when I stumbled across this recipe the other day. The [light] extra virgin olive oil lends just enough flavor to come through (and hey – its good for you too, right) without overpowering.
If you like a really sweet cookie – please stop reading now! These are just sweet enough to work on that sweet tooth without being too super sweet.
A perfect ending to a great Italian dinner. They also make a great ending for a Not-So-Great dinner as was my case! Yes, these cookies were the ending to a not so successful night of having my parents over. My parents fed me for more than 20 (25, whatever – who’s counting, and I was in college for some of those years) years, so I enjoy having them over for dinner. After my horoscope last week I invited my parents over for dinner for the weekend. I made crab cakes (tried a recipe without egg – they fell apart), baked french fries (great, could have been crispier and about 1/2 the salt), and caesar salad (too much anchovies for the boy). This was not a GREAT dinner (although I am sure my mom cooked a few failures for us when I was growing up, and I survived because I don’t remember them) but the company was good. We ended the meal with these fresh Red Wine Cookies (for the record – dad hated them)
INGREDIENTS
(makes 16 – 24, depending on ring size)
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add wet ingredients and stir until a soft dough forms: it should clump together when you squeeze it in your hand. If it is still too dry, add a little more wine by the tablespoonful (I ended up just dunking each ball in some wine to make it a little moister before rolling each one).
Divide the dough into small (golf ball sized) pieces. On a flat, unfloured surface, use the palms of your hands to roll each piece into a 1/2″-thick rope. Don’t be afraid if the dough “cracks” as you roll, as long as it’s not crumbling (I had trouble working with it when it was cracking – so just get a tiny bit of wine on your ball before rolling it out). Pinch the ends of each rope together to form a ring.
Dip one side of each biscuit in sugar and place on the prepared pan. Bake about 15 minutes, until bottoms are golden. Cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.(You can also freeze in a ziploc bag/plastic container after baking, and taken from the freezer as needed. Let biscuits come to room temperature before serving.)
“Beauty [taste] is in the eye [mouth] of the beholder” Although my dad might not have been the biggest fan (on, I think he hated these pretty much) of these, please try them because I think you will enjoy them! & always remember “if at first you don’t succeed: try, try again!”