#2,699: Carrot-Coconut Muffins

Here's the April muffin from Food Network's 12 months of muffins in their January 2018 issue.  This month is carrot-coconut with crystallized ginger.  I had fun giving the kids a piece of the candied ginger when I brought the package home...ok let's be honest, it was delivered by Amazon.  LOL  They were so traumatized by the spiciness of it, it took a lot of convincing to get them to try these muffins.  But the ginger flavor is definitely in there but it isn't as over-powering as I thought it might be.

When I first saw this recipe I thought it was going to be too hard or require too many ingredients for my liking, but I had almost everything on hand and just had to get the coconut, candied ginger, and the nuts.  But as much as I love macadamia nuts, I have FOUR pounds of slivered almonds (only paid $6 for them b/c they were on clearance at Sam's club), so I used those instead.  Next time I'll probably try macadamia nuts because they are so good.

I really enjoyed these!  I don't know if I would make them regularly because they aren't my kids favorite muffin, but they are different than what we normally have, so it was a nice change for us.  Besides Chloe (age 8 1/2) keeps asking me to make the roasted carrot-orange muffins so maybe if I just leave the crystallized ginger out of this she'll like these just as much.

As far as what my kids thought...Matthew (6) pretty much took a lick of one and said he didn't like it.  Chloe (8) told me that she didn't think coconut and carrots went well together.  Allison (11) however, loved it.  

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups grated carrots (about 3)

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut, plus more for topping

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts (I used slivered almonds)

1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

2 teaspoons water

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, ground ginger and salt in a large bowl; make a well in the center. Whisk the brown sugar, yogurt, coconut oil, eggs and vanilla in a small bowl; pour into the well in the flour mixture and stir until combined. Fold in the carrots, coconut, macadamia nuts and crystallized ginger.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling them three-quarters of the way. Bake until the muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the muffins cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: Stir the confectioners' sugar with the water in a small bowl. Spread about 1 teaspoon glaze on each muffin and sprinkle with coconut.

#2,698: Blueberry Banana Bread

I had some blueberries in my freezer (from last summer!) that I wanted to use up, so I decided to find a recipe to use them in along with the bananas getting over-ripe on my counter.  I made this recipe quickly this morning and my kids LOVED it.  It's going to make a great, quick breakfast for them for a few day this week. 

This is super moist, and there is a wonderful sweet crunch from the sugar that was added to the edges and dusted the inside of the pan.  I missed the step about adding it to the top because I had 3 kids in the kitchen with me distracting me. Next time I'm definitely going to add that. Thankfully I saw that there was supposed to be cinnamon in this, and I added it right to the batter. 

This is going to be a great recipe to make in the summer when blueberries are in season!  

1 cup granulated sugar, divided

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 overripe bananas

2 large eggs

7 tablespoons buttermilk milk (I used 2% with a splash of vinegar)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x5x3” loaf pan with butter and coat it with sugar. (You do this like you would grease and flour a pan. Grease it first, then add about 2 tablespoons sugar to the pan and move the pan side to side until the bottom and sides are coated with sugar.)

Cream butter and 3/4 cup sugar with a hand mixer. Set aside.

Add bananas, eggs, milk, vanilla, salt, and baking soda to a blender jar and blend until smooth.

Pour half the banana mixture into the butter mixture with 1 cup of flour. Mix with hand mixer until just incorporated, then add the remaining banana mixture and flour. Mix until just incorporated. Stir in blueberries (I threw mine in frozen). Pour into prepared pan.

I got distracted by the kids (stupid multi-tasking!) and added the cinnamon to the batter and then missed this step.  Whatever...it was still good! Combine 1/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs. The edges will be a dark brown and there will be a nice crack down the center.

Cool completely before removing loaf from pan and slicing.

#2,697: Baked Spanish Rice Balls

I had a little more than 1 cup of the leftover Instant Pot Spanish Rice we had for dinner a few nights ago and I wasn't sure what to do with it.  It wasn't enough to serve my family again for dinner, but too much for one person to eat for lunch.  So I decided to see what would happen if I tried to make a baked rice ball out of it.  I'm obsessed with peas lately so I figured I'd just throw some of those in there too.  :)

Personally I loved these.  It probably could have used a little more seasoning (chili powder, garlic salt, and black pepper maybe??), but otherwise it was so good.  No one else in my family will even try these...their loss!  

1 cup leftover Instant Pot Spanish Rice
1/3 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 eggs
¼ c thawed peas
½ cup plain breadcrumbs

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place breadcrumbs in a small bowl, set aside.  In a second bowl, beat one egg, and set aside. 

In a separate bowl combine the leftover rice, cheddar cheese, 1 egg (lightly beaten), and peas. 

Form the rice mixture into golf ball sized balls.  Dip each rice ball in egg mixture and then coat in breadcrumbs. 

Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 15 minutes. Rotate the rice balls and continue baking for an additional 10 - 15 minutes or until they are golden brown. Serve hot with or without a dipping sauce.

#2,696: Homemade Latte WITHOUT an Espresso Machine

So I have been really into drinking lattes lately, but I am TERRIBLE at making them at home.  I use my Keurig in the morning and my coffee just seems super diluted no matter what I try.  I hate spending at LEAST $4 for coffee at a coffee shop (even if they do offer deals on numbers of purchases), so I figured there had to be an easier way of making them at home.  After several failed attempts, I came across this video which actually seemed to work for me!  So I figured I'd pass along this link in case anyone wants to try it too. 

First of all, I had to pull out my actual coffee maker...not my Keurig.  And I had to double the recipe so that I could fill Tervis cup (and it's a smaller one!).  My first attempt at this, I had one cup worth of a latte...yeah, I drink way more than a small/tall!

My next job/step is to learn how to add the cute latte art!  :)

4 tbsp ground coffee
10 oz water
1 cup milk
And I definitely needed 3-4 packets of stevia.  But I like my coffee a bit sweet

You will also need a glass jar with a lid.

Brew the 4 tbsp of ground coffee with 10 oz of water.
While that is brewing, place 1 cup of milk in a glass jar and microwave on high for 30 seconds. 

Remove the jar from the microwave and put the lid on the jar.  Shake vigorously for 30-60 seconds.  

Remove the lid and continue heating the milk for an additional 30 seconds.  Watch closely so that it doesn't bubble over. 

Pour your brewed coffee into a large mug (my Tervis is a 16 oz one!).  Add desired sweetener, and then add the warmed milk and foam.  

#2,695: Carrot Cake Banana Bread

One of my favorite places to go in the grocery store (when I actually step foot into a grocery store thanks to Walmart's Pick Up service!), is the clearance section.  I never know what I'm going to find and what deals I'll be able to snag.  Recently I was able to get a box of carrot cake mix for 50 cents.  So I've been trying to think of a way to health-ify it so I can give it to my family (preferably as some sort of breakfast food).  When I saw the 2 very ripe bananas on my counter, I knew someone had to have combined the two, and a quick Google search led me to this recipe.  Thankfully I had an extra banana waiting to be used up in my freezer, so I was good to go on whipping this one up.

Matthew wouldn't even try this because "It has carrots in it.  I can see them!".  The girls and I however loved this.  It is super moist!  I love the addition of the coconut in it too....the girls didn't seem to notice that it was in there.  

1 package (15.25 ounces) carrot cake mix, dry

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used coconut oil) 

1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) (I omitted)

1/4 cup shredded coconut, plus more for topping (optional)

Optional Cream Cheese Spread (I did NOT make this)

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

2 Tbsp honey

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients until combined and a batter forms. Pour the batter into prepared pan. Top with additional coconut if desired. 

Bake the bread for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan and allow to completely cool.  Once cooled, slice and serve with sweet cream cheese spread if desired.

If desired: While the bread cools, whip together the ingredients for the spread until smooth. Cover and until ready to use and refrigerate any leftovers.

#2,694: Instant Pot Mexican Rice

I needed something quick and easy to go with the Taco Beef Bake with Cheddar Biscuit Topping I was making for my family for dinner.  It should be no surprise that I wanted to make something in my Instant Pot, so when I found this recipe (and that I had everything on hand to make it), I knew it was going to be exactly the thing that I wanted to try!  I was able to throw the Taco Beef Bake into the oven, then start to make the rice, and both were done at the same time!  (Score!)  

Those of us who love rice, really enjoyed this dish.  The other two, were more content to eat the main dish.  However, this rice was perfectly cooked and seriously so good!  I will definitely be making this again in the future!  

2 tbsp avocado oil (I used olive oil)

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

3/4 cup tomato sauce

2 cups long grain white rice

2 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cumin

dash cayenne pepper

Set the Instant Pot on saute and add your oil and onions. Leave the lid off and stir frequently.  Saute the onions for about 4 minutes and then add in the rice and garlic.  Saute the onions and rice for about 2 minutes, until they begin to turn a golden color.

Add in the tomato sauce, chicken stock, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper and stir. Scrape the bottom so the rice doesn’t burn.  Close and lock the lid. Turn the Instant Pot to Manual HIGH for 8 minutes.

When 8 minutes is up and Instant Pot beeps, do a quick release of the pressure.  

#2,693: Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies

Like I mentioned in my previous recipe/post, I was told to bring a dessert to Easter this year, and since the traditional Lamb Cake was already being made, I wanted to make some sort of cookie.  Not being the best baker (because I don't do well with exact measurements), I figured this recipe looked easy enough for me to handle, and for the kids to help out with. This dough needs to be chilled for at least 2 hours in the fridge, but can be made up to 5 days in advance (although that seems like an awfully long time to prep it and then leave it in the fridge.  We wouldn't have any dough left if I waited 5 days to make it.  

To make this easier to handle when cold, right after you make this dough (prior to refrigerating it) portion out each cookie amount and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet (with each cookie dough ball right next to one another so you could get a lot on one sheet), then cover it with foil and put it in the fridge until the next day.  

When ready to bake, pull them out of the fridge for about 10 minutes and then place on a separate cookie sheet spread out so they were about 2 inches apart from one another.   

By the way, these are REALLY good cookies.  There are a lot of M and M's in this dough (an entire bag of them!!), and I made these more on the smaller side for a cookie, but it was a great grab-and-go snack/dessert.  

PS: I'm super thankful that this isn't my year to make the Lamb Cake and that I have probably 3 more years until I have to do it again!  Here's a pic of my Lamb Cake the last time I had to make it.  That poor lamb.  His head kept leaning more and more until it completely fell off! 

  

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch salt, optional and to taste

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate M and Ms (or another variety of M and Ms, or chocolate chips may be substituted)

To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugars, egg, vanilla, and beat on medium-high speed until well-creamed, light and fluffy, about 5 minutes (or use a hand mixer and beat for at least 7 minutes).

Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix until just combined, about 1 minute.  Add the M and Ms and fold in by hand.

Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping mounds. Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds very slightly with your palm, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread.

Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat, parchment, or spray with cooking spray, and place them on the baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly under cooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not bake longer than ten minutes as cookies will firm up as they cool.

Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing and transferring to a rack to finish cooling.

Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

#2,692: Spring Flower Pretzel Bites

I had to bring some sort of dessert to my cousin's house for Easter, and I knew my brother and his girlfriend already had the Lamb Cake covered, so I wanted to bring something small and easy to grab as you walked by.  I had the kids help me make these super easy pretzel bites, so this was a total family project.  These are so simple and so good!  I would definitely make this again!  This would be cute for a baby shower with just pink and blue candies.  Or just made with colors of a certain theme, school cools, etc.  I had never heard of Butter Snap Pretzels, but here is a link to what they look like and where I got them.

Butter Snap Pretzels

White Candy Melts

Pastel M and M's

Preheat oven to 225 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicon baking liner.  Place the butter snap pretzels in rows on the baking sheet.  Put one candy melt on top of each pretzel.  Warm in oven for 2-3 minutes - you don't want them melted, just softened.

Quickly place one M and M in the center and surround it by 5 or 6 "petals". Gently press them down to "secure" them in the candy (they are definitely cuter with the "M" facing down so you can't see it).  

Let cool and serve. (You can speed up the cooling time by placing them in the refrigerator for a few minutes).  Store in an airtight container - enjoy!

April Fool's Cake Pops

My family doesn't necessarily try to prank our kids on April Fool's Day, but when I saw my cousin share this post on making cake pops out of brussel sprouts, I knew I had to bring these to Easter! 

These definitely look a lot like a cake pop, and even my dad didn't know there was something wrong with these.  They were really easy to make.  I just cut the bottom off the RAW brussel sprout and kept pulling away leaves until they were the size of a traditional cake pop.  Then I melted some chocolate (I bought this kind at my local Walmart) and dipped each one in.  I added some candy sprinkles and then placed it in a Styrofoam rectangle to keep it standing upright.  

I don't know what was funnier...the kids who took a big bite right away, or the ones who just kept eating the chocolate off it?!