confections and musings

i made these morning glory muffins for my daughter’s 2 1/2 year birthday.  yes, we do celebrate 1/2 birthdays.  everyone should.

i made a few tweaks to the recipe to make it a bit healthier…

1. instead of 1 c sugar, i used 1/2 c honey

2. instead of 1/2 c oil, i used 1/2 c applesauce (in addition to the 3/4 c applesauce)

3. instead of 1 c zucchini, i used 2 c carrots

4. i omitted the apple

5. instead of canned pineapple, i pureed fresh pineapple

these muffins were extremely moist and very interesting texture-wise.  crunchy, chewy, soft…it was all going on and i liked it.  my tot loved ‘em and so did my mom friends.  (and of course they loved knowing they were healthy muffins!)  another thing i love about having muffins around is they are a quick, grab-n-go breakfast or anytime snack!

what’s great about this recipe is  you really can add whatever fruits/veggies you want.  it’s FUN to experiment.  now go make someone happy by whipping these muffins up for a 1/2 birthday!***

i love cranberry sauce.  especially on a leftover thanksgiving sandwich…turkey, stuffing, cheese and cranberry sauce on two slices of bread, grilled to perfection.  mmmm.

for years i ate the canned jellied stuff.  it was good.  but when i discovered how easy it was to make my own, i had to give it a whirl.  i’ve been testing out different recipes for the past few years, but never really found one that was perfect.  til the other day.  when i created my own cranberry sauce recipe.  that’s right.

1 c orange juice

1 c brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 bag (12 oz) cranberries

combine juice, sugar & cinnamon in saucepan and bring to a boil over med-hi heat.  add cranberries and return to boil.  when cranberries begin to burst, continue to cook over med heat, and stir occasionally, until most of the berries have burst.  reduce heat to med-lo and simmer for about 15 min.  remove from heat and cool completely, then refrigerate.

my cranberry sauce is sweet & tart, and that touch of cinnamon adds the perfect little something to make it stand out.  i’ve actually been eating this all by itself in little bowls.  it’s that good.  enjoy!***

i make this quiche every year when asparagus is available locally.  i found the recipe in the Simply In Season Cookbook a few years ago, and it’s definitely tried & true.  i always use fresh dill in mine.  the recipe suggests swiss cheese, which i usually use, but this time i used white cheddar.  still delish.  perfect side for any spring dinner, or as brunch.  i paired mine with grilled balsamic chicken breast.  guaranteed to impress!***

asparagus quiche

3 eggs
1 c evaporated milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

beat together and set aside.

1-1 1/2 c asparagus, cooked & chopped
1 c swiss cheese, shredded
1/2 c bacon, fried & crumbled
1/4 c green onion or onion, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped OR
1/4 c fresh dill, chopped

mix together, adding herbs to egg-milk mixture.

pour asparagus mixture into pie shell, then pour egg mixture on top of that. sprinkle more cheese on top. bake at 425 for 15 min. reduce heat to 350 and bake til browned on top and set in middle, another 25-30 min. allow to cool 10-15 min before cutting & serving.

as i said to an old pal the other day, ‘i saw those near rotten nanners sittin’ there, and i just got this hankerin’ for muffins. had to have ‘em.’

that about sums it up.  i searched for a quick & easy recipe, landed on this one at simply recipes, and literally, in about 30 minutes flat, muffs were mixed, baked & cooling.  yes, my desire for banana muffins was very quickly satisfied.  moist, tasty, wonderful nanner flavor.  direct quote from the hubs: ‘it just tastes the way a banana muffin should taste.’

i paired mine with a scoop of natural vanilla ice cream.  deeeeelish.

i think that i may be buying ‘too many bananas’ at the grocery store from now on, just so i have a few rotten ones to make these bad boys.  that’s right.***

where to begin….i am sitting here eating this sweet, creamy, warm, extremely satisfying rice pudding.  it is divine.  truly.  there was a bunch of leftover cooked jasmine rice sitting in the fridge (from a dinner fail, that will remain nameless), and i thought, hmmm….maybe i’ll try my hand at rice pudding.  my friend jenny said that’s what she always does with her leftover rice.  homemade puddings intimidate me.  the constant stirring, the fear of burning, the worry of the improper consistency.  oh my.

i did a quick search on the world wide web for a rice pudding recipe with already cooked rice, and found this one at allrecipes.com.  once i saw that i had everything i needed and that the recipe received over 2500 raving reviews, it was a done deal.  (best thing ever about allrecipes is those very telling reviews!  i instantly know whether i will give something a whirl based on them.)  since i already had the cooked rice, i just skipped the first step of the recipe and started at number two.  very straightforward….rice, milk, sugar, salt….stir & cook til thick  creamy.  i was a bit unsure about when the pudding was actually ‘thick & creamy’….so i let it cook a little extra, until it was frothy, about 25 minutes.  after that, add more milk & eggs, then stir constantly for 2 minutes.  and finally, remove from heat and add butter & vanilla.  voila.  now that is easy.  the pudding definitely didn’t seem thick enough when i was finished cooking it, but as it cooled, it thickened considerably, and was perfect after i let it sit for about 20-30 minutes.  the recipe suggested serving the pudding warm.  i have never had warm rice pudding until today, and dare i say, i may never go back to cold rice pudding ever again.  it’s that good.  so next time you have leftover white rice, try making some super yummy & comforting pudding.  done & done.***