Lemon-Scented Pull-Apart Coffee Cake

This Lemon-Scented Pull-Apart Coffee Cake is like nothing I’ve ever had before. The final product looks gorgeous and the Pull-Apart Coffee Cake tastes more like a pull-apart, soft and chewy yeast bread with a sweet yet tart lemony flavor. I love how you get to eat this coffee cake with your fingers, hence the name “Pull-Apart” coffee cake! No cutting knife or fork involved!

My mom made this pull-apart coffee cake last week for Easter. I thought it was very good and the yeasty bread reminded me of the dough in the bread you would eat in a cinnamon roll. In fact, we all decided that next time we make this coffee cake, we are going to substitute a cinnamon-sugar filling for the lemon paste filling and keep the tangy cream cheese icing, but omit the lemon juice. That would be a nice twist on the typical cinnamon roll. We’ll have to change the name to Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Apart Coffee Cake. I can’t wait to try it!

That is not say that the lemon paste filling was not good…it was delicious. However, if you’d read my blog before, you know that the men in our family are NOT big fans of “fruity” desserts. They would rather you slather something in chocolate or just make chocolate chip cookies and brownies all day. In fact, on Easter we had David Lebovitz’s Nutty Chocolate Chunk cookies, Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts, Martha Stewart’s Key Lime Bars, and Lemon-Scented Pull-Apart Coffee Cake. Quite a few desserts for only five people in my family! The girls (my mom, sister, and I) ate the lemon and lime desserts, while my dad and husband ate the cookies and brownies.

Enjoy this new twist on coffee cake!

NOTE: This recipe looks long and complicated, but my mom said that it is actually fun and pretty easy to make. Flo Braker, the author of the cookbook Baking for All Occasions (where this recipe comes from), is very detailed in her directions. That way, you do not miss a step or get confused in preparing this wonderful dessert.

Lemon-Scented Pull-Apart Coffee Cake

Ingredients
Sweet Yeast Dough
About 2 3/4 cups (12 1/4 ounces/350g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces/50 g)granulated sugar
2 1/4 tsp (1 envelope) instant yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup (2 1/2 fl ounces/75ml) whole milk
2 ounces (1/2 stick/55g) unsalted butter
1/4 cup (2 fl ounces/60ml) water
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Lemon Paste Filling
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces/100g) granulated sugar
3 tbsp finely grated lemon zest (3 lemons)
1 tbsp finely grated orange zest
2 ounces (1/2 stick/55g) unsalted butter, melted

Tangy Cream Cheese Icing
3 ounces (85g) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup (1 1/4 ounces/35g) powdered sugar
1 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions
1. To make the Sweet Yeast Dough: Stir together 2 cups (9 ounces/255g) of the flour, the sugar, the yeast, and the salt in the bowl of a stand mixer; set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter over low heat just until the butter is melted. Remove from the heat, add the water, and set aside until warm (120 to 130 degrees F), about 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract.
2. Pour the milk mixture over the flour-yeast mixture and, using a rubber spatula, mix until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Attach the bowl to the mixer, and fit the mixer with the paddle attachment. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at at time, mixing after each addition just until incorporated. Stop the mixer, add 1/ 2 cup (2 1/4 ounces/65g) of the remaining flour, and resume mixing on low speed until the dough is smooth, soft, and slightly sticky, about 45 seconds.
3. Sprinkle a work surface with 1 tablespoon flour and center the dough on the flour. Knead gently until smooth and no longer sticky, about 1 minute, adding an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons flour only if necessary to lesson the stickiness. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover the bowl securely with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise in a warm place (about 70 degrees F) until doubled in size, 45 to 60 minutes. Press the dough gently with a fingertip. If the indention remains, the dough is ready for the next step. While the dough is rising, make the filling.
4. To make the Lemon Paste Filling: In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and the lemon and orange zests. Set the sandy-wet mixture nearby (the sugar draws out moisture from the zests to create the consistency).
5. Before baking: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Or, lightly coat the pan with nonstick spray.
6. To shape the coffee cake: Gently deflate the dough. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 20 x 12-inch rectangle. Using a a pasty brush, spread the melted butter generously over the dough. Cut the dough crosswise into 5 strips, each about 12 x 4 inches. (A pizza cutter is helpful here.) Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons of the zest-sugar mixture over one of the buttered rectangles. Top with a second rectangle and sprinkle it with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the zest-sugar mixture. Repeat with the remaining dough rectangles and zest-sugar mixture, ending with a stack of 5 rectangles. Work carefully when adding the crumbly zest filling, or it will fall off when you have to lift the stacked pastry later.
7. Slice the stack crosswise through the 5 layers to create 6 equal strips, each about 4 x 2 inches. Fit these layered strips into the prepared loaf pan, cut edges up and side by side. (While there is plenty of space on either side of the 6 strips widthwise in the pan, fitting the strips lengthwise is tight. But that’s fine because the spaces between the dough and the sides of the pan fill in during baking.) Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place (70 degrees F) until puffy and almost doubled in size, 30 to 50 minutes. Press the dough gently with a fingertip. If the indentation remains, the dough is ready for baking.
8. Bake the coffee cake until the top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.
9. While the coffee cake bakes, make the Tangy Cream Cheese Cheese Icing: In medium bowl, using a rubber spatula, vigorously mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the milk and lemon juice until the mixture is creamy and smooth.
10. To remove the coffee cake from the pan, tilt and rotate the pan while gently tapping it on a counter to release the cakes sides. Invert a wire rack on top of the coffee cake, invert the cake onto the rack, and carefully lift off the pan. Invert another rack on top, invert the cake so it is right side up, and remove the original rack. Slip a sheet of waxed paper under the rack to catch any drips from the icing. Using a pastry brush, coat the top of the warm cake with the icing to glaze it. (Cover and refrigerate the leftover icing for another use. It will keep for up to 2 days.)
11. Serve the coffee cake warm or at room temperature. To serve, you can pull apart the layers, or you can cut the cake into 1-inch thick slices on a slight diagonal with a long, serrated knife. If you decide to cut the cake, don’t attempt to cut it until it is almost completely cool.

Yield: one 9 x 5-inch coffee cake, about 15 servings
Baking for All Occasions by Flo Braker

Key Lime Bars

For those of you who know me, I am a big fan of key lime desserts: Key Lime Pie, Limeade Pie, Key Lime Frozen Yogurt, Yoplait’s Key Lime yogurt, etc. My grandfather, Poppy, was the only other person I knew who loved key lime as much as I did. I think we had similar tastes when it came to desserts! He would always buy me a Key Lime Pie from Chez Bazan Bakery in Tyler, Texas whenever I would visit him. Chez Bazan would always drizzle lime green swirled lines over the whipped cream portion of the pie. Super tart and super good!

These Key Lime Bars I made are some of the easiest and best tasting lime bars you can make. The recipe is from Martha Stewart and they are fool-proof. The crust is simply sugar, butter, and graham cracker crumbs pressed into a glass baking dish and baked in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes. While that cools, you make the filling, which consists of egg yolks, lime zest, key lime juice, and sweetened condensed milk. Yes, there are only four ingredients in the filling! I would eat these key lime bars over a traditional key lime pie almost any day of the week (however, I’ve never made a homemade key lime pie before, so I may be a little biased on these super easy bars.) If you have heavy cream on hand, I would recommend making the whipped cream to spoon on top of the key lime bars. The whipped cream is so much richer and has a sweeter taste than plain old Reddi-wip. That’s not to say I don’t like Reddi-wip… with only 15 calories a squirt, I squirted a very generous amount on these bars! Enjoy.

Combine sugar, butter, and graham cracker crumbs.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes.

Beat egg yolks and lime zest on high until thick, about 5 minutes. Use a wire whisk attachment with your stand mixer.

Beat in sweetened condensed milk and key lime juice.

Pour onto cooled graham cracker crust and bake for 10 minutes in 350 degree F oven.

Cool completely, and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Slice.

Serve with homemade whipped cream or the simple Reddi-wip topping.

Key Lime Bars
Ingredients
1 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs
2 1/2 tbsp finely ground graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tsp finely grated lime zest
2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice, (about 23 limes total)
1 cup sweetened condensed milk, (14 ounces)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Key limes, thinly sliced into half moons

Directions
1. Make crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press evenly onto bottom of an 8-inch square glass baking dish. Bake until dry and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. (Leave oven on.)
2. Make filling: Put egg yolk and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Mix on high speed until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add condensed milk in a slow, steady stream, mixing constantly. Raise speed to high; mix until thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add lime juice; mix until just combined.
3. Spread filling evenly over crust using a spatula. Bake, rotating dish halfway through, until filling is just set, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight).
4. Cut into 2-by-2 inch bars. Put cream in a clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Garnish bars with whipped cream and a slice of lime. Ungarnished bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.

Yield: 16 bars
Martha Stewart

Fettuccine Alfredo

My husband almost didn’t believe me when I told him that this Fettuccine Alfredo was low fat. With no heavy cream, and only 1 tablespoon of butter, you may be wondering how this Alfredo sauce can taste so good? Well, the secret is 1/3 less-fat cream cheese. Cream cheese, combined, with a little flour, minced garlic, skim milk, and Parmesan cheese makes for a wonderful, low-fat sauce with only 13.5g of fat and 399 calories versus a whopping 65g of fat and nearly 1,000 calories in traditional Fettuccine Alfredo.

As a little kid, I was the biggest fan of Fettuccine Alfredo and would order it every time I ate at The Olive Garden, Macaroni Grill, or Carrabba’s (my favorite Italian food restaurants growing up). Once I realized how many calories were in Fettuccine Alfredo, which wasn’t until I was a senior in high school, I ceased to order my favorite Italian dish for fear that I would “get fat”!

Just last week, my sister informed me that she made this low-fat Fettuccine Alfredo recipe from Cooking Light for her boyfriend, Colby. I was shocked because my sister had never ordered Fettuccine Alfredo from a restaurant in her life, and she told me that her recipe happened to be very good! Well, I had to give it a try, and a few days later my husband and I sat down to an old Italian classic that was “good for us.” I added grilled chicken to the recipe by sauteing the chicken in a cast iron skillet with olive oil and a little rosemary. Simple, and a perfect addition of protein to my favorite pasta recipe.

Enjoy!

Optional: grill or saute’ chicken in olive oil and a little rosemary until chicken is done, and no longer pink.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add garlic; stir for one minute, and then stir in flour. Next, whisk in the milk, and cook for 6 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Add Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, and salt, and whisk together until cheese melts.

Toss sauce, with hot, cooked pasta.

Serve, topped with extra Parmesan cheese, parsley for garnish, and sliced grilled chicken.

Fettuccine Alfredo
Ingredients
1 Tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups 1% low-fat milk (I used skim)
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
2 Tbsp 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups hot cooked fetttuccine (8 ounces uncooked pasta)
2 tsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Cracked black pepper

Directions
1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in flour. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook 6 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring constantly.
2. Add 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, cream cheese, and salt, stirring with a whisk until cheeses melt.
3. Toss sauce with hot pasta. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and chopped parsley. Garnish with black pepper, if desired. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Cooking Light, January 2007

Nutrition
Calories: 399
Fat: 13.5g
Protein: 21.3g
Carbohydrate 48.9g
Fiber: 2g
Cholesterol: 34mg
Iron: 2.1mg
Sodium: 822mg
Calcium: 451 mg

Oven Roasted Vegetables

I have discovered over the years how much I truly love vegetables. For those of you who don’t know, I gag over mashed and baked potatoes. I guess its the mushy, soft texture that gets to me. I can’t say I truly hate potatoes though, because I LOVE oven-roasted potatoes!!! In my opinion, Brio Tuscan Grille has the absolute BEST oven roasted vegetables in the entire world. If you have not tried them, then you must! I went on my first date with my husband-to-be, Matt at Brio. The funny thing is, my mom and sister went on that first date with me. No, my family is not weird, or overly protective, it is just that I met Matt at church on a Sunday morning and he offered to take my family out to eat afterwards. Of course no one said “no”, so my mom and sister (my dad was out of town), ended up at Brio on my date with Matt! As most of you know, my husband is a pretty talkative guy…not a shy bone in his body. At the end of the date, I was clueless as to if he liked me or not. At that point, since Matt had been so friendly by telling us so many intriguing stories from his college days, I thought he was just being nice and was interested in becoming a member of our church, not date me. I sure liked him though! Long story short, within four months, Matt and I were sitting at Brio, this time ALONE, the night he decided to propose to me!

Since Brio has such wonderful vegetables, I’ve been on the lookout for a substitute that I can make at home. Well, these Oven Roasted Vegetables from the Houston Junior League cookbook are a close second! Brio’s vegetables are still my favorite because they are extremely crispy…just how I like them. This recipe on the other hand, gives off a wonderful aroma from the fragrant Italian seasonings that make these vegetables appealing to the pickiest of eaters. We omitted the eggplant because we didn’t have any, and substituted a yellow bell pepper for a green one. Use your favorite vegetables in this dish, and roast using the delicious olive oil drizzle.

Here is a cooking tip from the Stop and Smell the Rosemary cookbook: “High-heat roasting in a 425 to 450 degree oven is a cooking technique which produces a crisp outer layer and moist inner layer. The result is delicious whether roasting meats, fish, or vegetables. When roasting vegetables, use a roasting pan large enough to keep them uncrowded and stir occasionally to prevent sticking. A nicely browned appearance will indicate doneness.”

Enjoy!

Red and Yellow bell pepper and fresh mushrooms.

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and seasonings.

Drizzle over chopped vegetables.

Roast in a 450 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in eggplant, peppers, and mushrooms and roast for an additional 10 minutes.

Oven Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients

10 tiny red new potatoes, unpeeled (if available, cut large ones into quarters)

10 baby carrots

1 small white onion, cut into wedges

1 small red onion, but into wedges

1/4 cup olive oil

3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or rosemary, or a combination

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp lemon pepper

1/2 small eggplant, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)

1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch strips

1 medium green bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch strips

10 to 15 whole fresh mushrooms

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. Place potatoes, carrots, and onions in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Mix olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, oregano, rosemary, salt, pepper, and lemon pepper in a small bowl. Drizzle over vegetables and toss.

3. Roast uncovered 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in eggplant, peppers, and mushrooms. Roast an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until tender.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Stop and Smell the Rosemary: Recipes and Traditions to Remember; The Junior League of Houston, Texas.

Colby’s Quick Spaghetti

This past weekend, as you may know, I traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma to run in the Remember the Ten Run with my sister. This event honors ten men (mostly players and coaches) from the Oklahoma State University Basketball Team that perished in a plane crash on January 27, 2001 in Colorado. The Remember the Ten Run has now become an annual tradition held on the third Saturday in April each year. My sister and I decided to race in the 10k. I placed 4th in my age division with at time of 45:19 and my sister placed 2nd with a time of 42:01! Apparently it pays to be the girlfriend of an outstanding OSU cross country and track runner (Colby). He is considered as one of our country’s fastest collegiate runners. Maybe his speed has rubbed off on my sister because she sure ran a fast time! I on the other hand did well for having not trained. Maybe my husband’s collegiate football talent from Texas A&M will rub off on me! However, I don’t know of any women football leagues out there… plus at barely 5’1 tall and 90 pounds, football would not be a sport I could picture myself being good at!

As part of the “carbo-loading” we do before a big cross country race, my sister’s boyfriend, Colby made us his “quick spaghetti” recipe that his mom has made him over the years, and it was delicious!

This is definitely not your typical “spaghetti with meat sauce” recipe with the red, marinara sauce you would typically expect. Instead it has more of a creamy, mushroom and tomato flavor you would expect from a tomato-cream sauce like in Penne alla Betsy. The simple ingredients include ground beef, a can of mushroom soup, a can of tomato soup, and seasonings. You probably already have all you need sitting in your pantry at home!

Colby’s spaghetti is quick, easy, tasty, and fool-proof. It also fulfilled my sister and my need for “carbo-loading” before our big race the next day. It paid off and we each ran our best. Enjoy and try this new twist on spaghetti!

Colby’s Quick Spaghetti
Ingredients
1 pound hamburger meat
1 can mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
Italian seasoning, oregano, and garlic salt to taste
salt and pepper

Directions
1. For the Meat Sauce: Brown 1 pound of hamburger meat and drain. Put meat back in skillet and add 1 can mushroom soup and 1 can of tomato soup, mix together (you might need to add a little water, maybe 1/4 cup).
2. Add Italian seasoning, oregano, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Heat this mixture.
3. To Cook Spaghetti: Heat water in large pan, add some salt before water boils, then add spaghetti. Cook spaghetti according to package directions, about 12 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings
recipe from Karen Lowe (Colby’s mom)

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

The weekends are always a time of baking sweets for me, so on Sunday, I needed my “baking fix”. I went to Stillwater, Oklahoma on Saturday to run a 10k with my sister. While we were there, we tried baking “Rum Raisin Bars” from the Fat Witch Brownies cookbook. Unfortunately they were a flop…. we soaked the raisins in dark rum instead of light rum, and so the bars tasted like alcoholic, liquid blondies. For those of you who don’t know me, I HATE the taste of alcohol and DO NOT drink (nor does anyone in my family). Thus, these bars tasted disgusting, so we threw them out.

When I got home from Stillwater, I was still craving something sweet, since the Rum Raisin Bars did not turn out. I immediately flipped through my cookbooks, and found in my recipe box, a yummy looking quick bread called Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze. The recipe was photocopied out of some magazine my mom had bought a while back, but since it has been so long, I can’t remember what magazine the bread came from.

If you are looking for a twist on your typical banana bread, this is the one to try. It has sweetened coconut, ripe bananas, and luscious lime juice combined with powdered sugar for a tart and tangy glaze to complement the sweet and savory bread. This bread reminds me of Martha Stewart’s Coconut Banana Bread, that I dearly love, except this recipe has a lime glaze. For those of you who may not know this, I am in love with anything with lime in it! Key lime pie, limeade pie, key lime bars, and now key lime pie frozen yogurt from Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt in Stillwater (which I discovered this past Saturday). Enjoy this delicious bread!

Combine sugar and butter and beat until smooth in electric mixer. Add eggs, beating after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt until just moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut.

Pour into greased loaf pan.

Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of coconut.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour, or until cake tester comes out clean from the center. (I halved the recipe and baked one mini loaf for about 40 minutes).

Let bread cool. Meanwhile, whisk together lime juice and powdered sugar.

Drizzle glaze over warm bread. Let bread cool completely.

Slice and enjoy!

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

Ingredients
9 ounces all-purpose flour (about 2 cups)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt (I non-fat vanilla yogurt)
3 Tbsp dark rum (I omitted)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Cooking spray
1 Tbsp flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with knife. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
3. Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; beat until well blended. Add flour mixture; beat a low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut.
4. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan.
5. Combine powdered sugar and juice; stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 1 loaf, 16 slices

Nutrition
Calories: 193
Fat: 4.6g
Protein: 29 g
Carbohydrate: 35g
Fiber: 11g
Cholesterol: 35mg
Iron: 1mg
Sodium: 179g
Calcium: 15mg

Sloppy Joe

My husband, Matt, and I absolutely loved this Sloppy Joe recipe from Saveur.com. Not only was it easy, I’d say it is pretty healthy too! With chopped yellow onions and bell peppers, canned tomato sauce, chili powder, and a few other spices, the only “fatty” ingredient in this dish is your ground meat. I used ground turkey, so I saved even more calories and fat. (My husband had no idea I substituted turkey for beef! haha.)

This meal cooks in under 20 minutes and is definitely a crowd pleaser. Toast some buns, prepare some coleslaw, and you’re set. On a side note, I do have a funny story about the toasted buns, that I must share with you. Since moving into our new house, I’ve had to readjust to my new oven. I must say, the broiler sure heats up fast, and I ALMOST learned that the hard way!!! While toasting my hamburger buns for these Sloppy Joes, I was doing my best job checking the oven every so often to make sure they were nicely browning. Well, apparently I stepped away for from the oven for too long, and before I knew it, the buns were black, crusty on top, and the oven was smoking. As I opened the oven door, the smoke came out like “I Dream of Jeannie” does, and I thought the smoke was going to set off my fire alarm! A few more seconds and I would have had to pull out the fire extinguisher! Lucky for me that hasn’t happened yet…

In my early days of cooking I had a reputation for catching things on fire. In our house growing up, I caught Easy Mac on fire because I forgot to add the water to make macaroni and cheese. I just stuck the noodles in the microwave, pressed start for 3:45 and next thing I knew, I smelled smoke and saw black, shriveled noodles! Another example was just few years ago when I was in college at Texas A&M University. I was broiling salmon, and the recipe said to drizzle olive oil on the fish. Well, I drizzled a little to much, and the heat from the broiler caught the oil on fire from the aluminum foil that the fish was sitting on. This time the fire alarm when off, and I had to dump Evian water all over my burning salmon! My stomach was in knots and I was shaking because I was so nervous that evening. I could have burned my whole apartment complex down! Yikes!

So back to the Sloppy Joes…any man would love it if you made this recipe for him. This recipe says it serves 4, but my husband eats a lot when he likes something, so it only served 2 in our family! Enjoy!

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat and cook onion and pepper until soft, about 6 minutes.

Add beef and cook until browned, about 8 minutes.

Add tomato sauce, Worcestershire, chili powder, salt, pepper, and Tabasco. Cook until reduced and thick, about 10 minutes.

Sloppy Joe

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 2-3

Source: Savuer

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 green pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
8 oz. ground beef
1 cup canned tomato sauce
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. chili powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Tabasco, to taste
2-3 hamburger buns, toasted

Instructions

Heat oil in 12″ skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, about 6 minutes.
Add beef and cook until browned, stirring so that the meat breaks up into small pieces, about 8 minutes. Add tomato sauce, Worcestershire, chili powder, salt, pepper, and Tabasco; cook stirring occasionally until reduced and thick, about 10 minutes.
Divide between buns and serve.

Bow-Tie Lasagna

This Bow-Tie Lasagna is a recipe you can make when you don’t have a lot of time. It is extremely easy, and you probably will have all the ingredients on hand. Simply boil your pasta, cook your meat, and mix it all together with spaghetti sauce, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and a little sour cream and you have a pipping hot, delicious meal right in front of you in less than 20 minutes.

My husband has been craving lasagna, but I’ve yet to make one since they normally serve 8-10 servings, and it is just the two of us here at home. My husband, Matt, is not big on leftovers either. Thus, I usually halve every recipe I make. This Bow-Tie Lasagna impressed Matt, sometimes a picky eater, in the fact that he does not like the “classics” altered in any way. We both loved this, and will definitely make it again. I used ground turkey instead of ground meat to save on fat and calories. Matt, if you’re reading this…yes, it was ground turkey, not ground beef! haha 🙂 I can’t taste a difference between the two meats. This recipe comes from the The Tasty Kitchen, a compilation of recipes set up and hosted by The Pioneer Woman. Enjoy!

Boil your pasta according to package directions.

Brown your meat until it is no longer pink.

Add in spaghetti sauce, fresh mozzarella, sour cream, and Italian seasonings.

Simmer for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Bow-Tie Lasagna
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (I used ground turkey)
5 cups bow tie pasta
3 cups spaghetti sauce (I used Newman’s Own Marinara)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning (adjust to your liking)
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions
1. Fry the ground beef in a small pan. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions.
2. After the pasta is cooked, drain and drizzle with olive oil. Mix in your spaghetti sauce. Add the cooked beef, seasonings, cheese, and sour cream. Fold together and allow it to all combine and melt together over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Yield: 6 servings
The Tasty Kitchen

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins

My sister made these muffins a while back for a cross country runner at Oklahoma State University. Unfortunately I was in Washington D.C., so I did not get to try these decadent looking muffins, but I heard they were excellent.

These fruit-filled muffins come from one of my new favorite cookbooks called The Sono Baking Company Cookbook by John Barricelli. They offer both a crisp top and a tender, buttery inside infused with a hint of lemon. You can use cranberries instead of blueberries as a substitute. Serve warm with a drizzle of honey or a pat of butter. Enjoy!

Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins

Ingredients

2 cups plus 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp coarse salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1/2 cup sour cream

Coarse sanding sugar, for finishing

*Tip: the blueberries in this recipe are tossed with flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom. The thin flour coating allows the blueberries to “float” throughout the muffin or cake rather than all ending up on the bottom

Directions

1. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray, or generously with softened butter; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 cups of flour, the baking powder, and baking soda; set aside. Toss the blueberries in a sieve with the remaining 1 tablespoon flour; set aside.

3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and lemon zest.

4. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, beating just until the flour is absorbed. Add the sour cream, beating until combined. Gently fold in the blueberries with a rubber spatula.

5. Use a 2-inch (1/4 cup) ice cream scoop to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with the sanding sugar.

6. Bake, rotating the pan about two-thirds of the way through the baking time, until the tops of the muffins spring back when touched and a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

7. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Use an offset spatula or table knife to gently lift and turn the muffins on their sides in the muffin cups. Let cool completely in the pan.

Yield: 12 muffins

The Sono Baking Company Cookbook by John Barricelli

My Chocolate Chip Cookies (similar to McAlister’s Deli Chocolate Chip Cookie)

Here is your classic American, buttery and irresistible chocolate chip cookie with crisp caramelized edges, a rich chewy center, lots of chocolate, and fresh, crunchy pecans. To me, these cookies taste just like McAlister’s Deli chocolate chip cookie. Flat, chewy, sweet, and addicting. The only difference is size… if you’ve ever tried a McAlister’s cookie, you’ll know that they’re about 5 inches in diameter!

What makes these chocolate chip cookies so good you ask? Melted butter, well-rested dough, the right temperature, and cookie sheets without paper liners. My mom made two batches of these cookies a few days ago, and her two batches of cookies turned out very different. The second batch was ten times better because the dough sat for nearly 36 hours (her first sat for only a couple of hours). For some reason, the longer you let the dough rest, the flavors come together better, and makes for a more intense, flavorful cookie. She also baked the second batch in a convection oven. She dropped the temperature down about 25 degrees F and turned the baking time back to 8 minutes. For those of you who don’t know (I didn’t either), a convection oven uses a fan in the back of the oven which cooks the food faster, and allows for more even baking. My mom said the cookies seemed to brown up on the top faster than they would in a traditional oven. She said it allowed for more even baking, because the oven heat came throughout the unit, rather than at the bottom, from the coils.

Experiment today with these chocolate chip cookies and tell me if they remind you of a delicious McAlister’s cookie! This recipe came from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich. Enjoy.

My Chocolate Chip Cookies (very similar to McAlister’s Deli Chocolate Chip Cookie)
Ingredients
2 1/4 cups (10.125 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and still warm
3/4 cup (5.25 ounces) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (5.25 ounces) packed brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 cups (12 ounces) chocolate chips or chunks or hand-chopped chocolate

Directions
1. Combine the flour and baking soda in a bowl and mix together thoroughly with a whisk or fork.
2. In large bowl, combine the melted butter with the sugars, vanilla, and salt. Mix in the eggs. Stir in the flour mixture until just all the dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. If possible, let the dough stand for 1 to 2 hours, or (better still) overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
4. If necessary, remove the dough from the refrigerator to soften. Scoop rounded tablespoons of dough and place them 3 inches apart on the ungreased or lined cookie sheet. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown at the edges an no longer look wet on top. Rotate the pans from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through baking time to ensure even baking.
5. Remove from the oven and let the cookies firm up on the pan for 1 to 2 minutes. For unlined pans, use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to racks to cool; for lined pans, set the pan or just the liners on racks. Cool completely before storing or stacking. May be kept in an airtight container for several days.

Yield: about 60 cookies
Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich