Posts Tagged: recipes
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
We were sitting, reading books, when Davey looked up at me and said, “Mama, can we make some cupcakes?!”
“How about we make some pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips?”
“Yeah, let’s make pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips. That’s a great idea!” he retorted, and off we went into the kitchen where he became the boy who makes muffins without a shirt.
They were gone in a day (no kidding.) I imagine that these will become a staple much like my *LFF Banana Bread!
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Ingredients
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (I very rarely use white)
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 can of canned pumpkin
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (or more, that’s your call!)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
- Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In a separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt. Add wet mixture. Then, stir in chocolate chips.
- Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.
In Honor of St. Patrick
Tomorrow’s Menu: Shepherd’s Pie
(Rachael Ray’s Recipe)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds potatoes, such as russet, peeled and cubed
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or softened cream cheese
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup cream, for a lighter version substitute vegetable or chicken broth
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
- 1 3/4 pounds ground beef
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup beef stock or broth
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire, eyeball it
- 1/2 cup frozen peas, a couple of handfuls
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Directions
Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes and pour them into a bowl. Combine sour cream, egg yolk and cream. Add the cream mixture into potatoes and mash until potatoes are almost smooth.
While potatoes boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil to hot pan with beef or lamb. Season meat with salt and pepper. Brown and crumble meat for 3 or 4 minutes. If you are using lamb and the pan is fatty, spoon away some of the drippings. Add chopped carrot and onion to the meat. Cook veggies with meat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. In a second small skillet over medium heat cook butter and flour together 2 minutes. Whisk in broth and Worcestershire sauce. Thicken gravy 1 minute. Add gravy to meat and vegetables. Stir in peas.
Preheat broiler to high. Fill a small rectangular casserole with meat and vegetable mixture. Spoon potatoes over meat evenly. Top potatoes with paprika and broil 6 to 8 inches from the heat until potatoes are evenly browned. Top casserole dish with chopped parsley and serve.
