Corn Muffins

It's cool and rainy here on May the 20th.  So, we are having Ham 'n Beans for dinner tonight.  Something to go with?  Corn Muffins, right?

I've used this recipe exclusively since I got it from my granddaughter, Olivia.  She has a little cookbook called "The Hey Girls Muffin Makers"  and the recipe comes from that cookbook.

Here's the recipe:

1 1/4 Cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
3/4 Cup corn meal
1/3 Cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Cup buttermilk (I use 4 Tbl. dry buttermilk powder and 1 Cup water)
1/3 Cup oil (I used light olive oil)
1 large egg beaten

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a 12 cup paper lined muffin tin.

Combine dry ingredients.  Here is where I use the dry buttermilk powder.  Four tablespoons to one cup of water = one cup of buttermilk.  This stuff is handy because it's hard for me to have buttermilk on hand.

In another bowl or a large measuring cup, wisk together the wet ingredients.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.  Stir until almost smooth.

Spoon into paper lined muffin pan -- about 1/4 Cup of batter per muffin.  Bake until the muffins are puffed and golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

The temperatures on ovens vary greatly.  The recipe calls for baking 17 - 19 minutes, but mine only took about 15 minutes, so watch carefully.

I usually have a little bit of batter left over from this recipe, but not nearly enough to warrant a second batch of muffins.

Enjoy with a smear of honey butter.  Simply mix equal parts of honey and softened butter (yes, butter).  We are lucky to get our honey from a local bee keeper -- he's also a co-worker of my hubby, so it's a win win.

Enjoy friends!

Chicken & Pineapple Skewers

I was looking for a recipe to use boneless skinless chicken thighs. We like the richness of chicken dark meat.  So after some searching on food network, I came across this recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence--he's a classy guy and I love the things he cooks.  So here it is, Chicken & Pineapple Skewers.

First let's get all the ingredients together:  chicken thighs, pineapple, green pepper, ketchup, soy sauce, honey, yellow mustard, brown sugar, garlic, lemon, olive oil, salt & pepper.

First make the sauce:  1 cup ketchup, 1/4/ cup soy sauce, 1/4/cup honey, 1 Tbls. yellow mustard, 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar, 2 cloves garlic, & juice of one lemon.  Combine all of the above ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.  Simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Cool and remove the garlic cloves.

Cut chicken thighs into 2 inch pieces, cut the pineapple into 1 inch chunks, cut the green pepper the same.

Thread the pieces onto 4 to 6 metal skewers, alternating between chicken, pineapple, and green pepper.  Brush the skewers with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Set aside about 1/2 of the sauce. Brush the skewers with some of the remaining sauce.  Preheat a grill to medium high.  Grill the skewers, turning and basting with the sauce regularly, until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.  Serve with the remaining sauce.

Enjoy friends!

Teriyaki Glazed Chicken KaBobs

I ran across this recipe for chicken KaBobs on The Iron You blog. The photo and recipe sounded amazing and I had all the ingredients on hand.

Ingredients 

Serves 6

¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup white wine
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
bamboo skewers 
2 lb free-range chicken breasts, cut into 1½-inch chunks
Ground black pepper to taste

I added some vegetables to the KaBobs.  Button mushrooms, green peppers, and onion.

The chicken chunks bathing in the marinade

Toss the vegetables with some olive oil, salt, and pepper

Drain the marinade off the chicken, do not save the marinade.

Soak bamboo skewers in some water,

thread the vegetables and chicken on

the skewers

Grill until the chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender

Directions

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, add soy sauce, white wine, water, honey, white vinegar, ginger and garlic. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat and let cool for at least 10 minutes.

In a shallow sealable container or in a large Ziplock bag, combine chicken chunks and teriyaki marinade. Cover or seal and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes
(marinate overnight for fullest flavor).

Remove the chicken from the marinade and skewer onto bamboo sticks
that have been soaked in water for 5 minutes.

Heat a grill or a grill pan to medium-low heat
(if you’re using an outdoor grill lightly oil the grill grates).

I strongly recommend low-temperature cooking so that the teriyaki marinade
can glaze without burning black.

Grill the chicken kebabs, until golden brown and cooked through, about 10 - 12 minutes turning regularly, until juices run clear.

Transfer kebabs to a platter, top with chopped cilantro and serve.

This recipe is courtesy from the  "The Iron You"  Isn't their photo beautiful?  And the recipe is delicious!!!!

Enjoy friends!!

Homemade Granola with Pumpkin Pie Spice

You can eat it right out of your hand, pour milk over it and eat it like cereal, or make a healthy parfait by layering yogurt and granola.  Anyway you serve it, homemade granola is the bomb.

Here's the ingredients I used, modified somewhat from the recipe on

My Baking Addiction

4 cups old-fashioned oats

chopped pecans

sliced almonds

craisins

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

3 Tbls pure maple syrup

2 Tbls mild olive oil

1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, and pecans.  Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, oil, and pumpkin pie spice.

Mix and bring to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour over the oat mixture.

Stir to coat.  Spread in a 1/2 sheet pan lined with a silicone mat.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes, stir occasionally. 

Let cool, add the craisins.

Store in an airtight container--I used the empty oatmeal container.
(reuse stuff!)

You can improvise and use any combination of nuts and dried fruit.

Here's the link to make your own pumpkin pie spice:

pumpkin pie spice

Enjoy friends!

Teriyaki Chicken Thighs with Asparagus Salad

These are skinless and boneless thighs.  The dark meat is rich and delicious!  

So gather up the ingredients and let's get cooking.

6 Chicken thighs 

1/4  C. low sodium Soy Sauce

2 Tbl. Rice Vinegar

2 Tbl. Brown Sugar

2 garlic cloves, grated or minced

1 tsp. grated fresh ginger root

1/4 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes.

Combine the marinate ingredients, mix well, and pour into a zip lock bag.  

Throw in the chicken thighs, mush them around.

Seal the bag and into the fridge for 2-4 hours.

Here's a close up on grating the ginger root, do the garlic the same way!

Time's up!  Take the chicken thighs out of the marinate,

and arrange them on a broiler pan.

Turn the oven broiler on high and broil these for 8 - 10 minutes,

flip them over and broil for another 8 minutes.  They will be really tender!

The finished product.  Tender and very flavorful.  

Note: sprinkle on some sesame seeds.

There was fresh asparagus at the store today, 

so along with the chicken I made this salad:

Slice some asparagus spears crosswise into about 1 1/2 inch slices

Slice some mushrooms, and halve a few grape tomatoes.

Steam the asparagus until tender crisp, 

and saute the mushrooms in olive oil until tender.

Mix up the dressing:  

1 part soy sauce, 1 part oyster sauce, 1 part olive oil, 1 part  honey.

Pour on the dressing, toss and mmmmmmm.

Serve this salad cold or at room temp.

Enjoy, friends!

Chicken Tenders with Two Dipping Sauces

You could buy chicken strips/tenders in the frozen section 

OR go to fast food places and buy some chicken something or other.  

You can make your own, these are easy, 

and that way you know exactly what is going into your food!

This is a kid's meal but fit for adults, too.

Starting with the dipping sauces.  Tonight I made honey mustard and spicy Thai dipping sauces.  So gather the ingredients and let's get cooking!

Honey Mustard -- equal parts of honey and dijon mustard.  The honey is a product and gift from a friend who is a bee keeper, he gives us quart jars of honey from his bees!!--we are so lucky to live where we live!  

Thai Sauce  -- 1/2 C sugar, 1/2 C water (boil to dissolve the sugar), 1/2 C lemon juice OR vinegar, grate in some ginger root and some garlic.  Add hot sauce sparingly!  I added a splash of fish sauce, be careful, this stuff is salty!  

Photos show grating the ginger root and garlic.  Just a tip on ginger root, you can chunk it, peel it, and then freeze.  It keeps forever and you can grate it frozen.  EASY!

Take a chicken breast and slice it into strips.  The three breading stations -- seasoned flour, egg wash, and panko bread crumbs.

The chicken strips go into the egg wash after being coated with seasoned flour.  Egg wash is simply a beaten egg with some cold water added.

There they go into the panko bread crumbs.  You can use regular bread crumbs if you can't find panko, but panko bread crumbs make them super crispy!

And Panko Bread Crumbs make me crazy, crazy, that's all....

All coated and ready to go into a lightly oiled skillet to brown and crisp and become delish!

This is my new favorite non-stick skillet!  It is ceramic w/o PFOA and is stable on exposure to high heat.  We have no teflon or other non stick skillets.  Only ceramic and stainless steel cookware.  This baby cooks a crispy product--oh and we have a smaller one for fried/scrambled eggs.  

Done!  Nice and crisp and tender!  Ready for some dipping sauce....

Hummmmm, honey mustard OR spicy Thai dipping sauce?  

Either way, it's a winner!

yum!

Yum!

and YUM!  What else can you say about sauce dripping from a chicken tender???  

Dinner tonight was a kids meal fit for adults!  

Add in some steamed veggies and dinner is done!

Enjoy friends!!!