Very Berry Muffins

I had such a blast baking cookies and Rice Krispies treats with Ryan, and he really seems to enjoy helping me in the kitchen.


I was in the mood to bake today, and thought muffins would be a good culinary activity. Plus, Ryan could have them for breakfast this week - he loves eating things he helped create!


I went digging through my Reader to find something that was reasonably healthy and didn't require a trip to the store. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I found the perfect muffin on my friend Brooke's blog (I believe Brooke found them here).

I stuck with her adaptations, and the only thing I changed was doing half whole-wheat for the flour.


And the verdict? Awesome. Ryan inhaled his, and my husband ate three of them at once!

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp butter (melted and cooled)
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar(plus additional for sprinkling)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries (thawed and divided)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup berries and milk and mash well. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar; add egg and beat well. Gradually mix in dry ingredients by hand. Mix in berry/milk mixture, followed by remaining berries and mix until just combined.

Using two spoons pour batter into prepared muffin tin, filling each chamber 3/4 full. Sprinkle top of muffins with sugar. Bake for 22-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Rice Krispie Treats

It's a cold, snowy day here today, and I was looking for something fun to do with Ryan after he woke up from his nap. He wanted a snack, so I thought we could make some Rice Krispie Treats!

Ryan absolutely LOVES sitting up on the counter and "helping." He's really good about sitting still and not touching the hot stuff - what a good boy!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows (or 4 cups miniature marshmallows)
• 6 cups Rice Krispies®

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.

What Ryan is looking forward to most in 2009:

Someone found the Silpat...

Ooey Gooey Chicken Pasta

I love easy meals. And anything that include pasta and mozzarella is automatically a winner in my mind.


So you can imagine that this "Ooey Gooey Chicken Pasta" by Kelly was a huge hit for me! The only thing I'd do differently is add more sauce; I definitely didn't have enough. (This dinner also reminded me that I haven't made my own sauce in a very long time...)



Ingredients:

• 1 package chicken tenders
• 1 large jar of spaghetti sauce
• 1 box whole wheat pasta
• 3/4 cup of ff ricotta cheese
• 1-2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook chicken via your preferred method; I threw it onto my grill pan for about five minutes on each side. Let it cool and then pull apart with fingers or finely chop.

Cook pasta as directed. In a sauce pan, add shredded chicken and spaghetti sauce and whatever spices you like (I use garlic, onion and crushed red pepper). Simmer on low-med until warmed through.

Drain and pour pasta into your baking dish. Add ricotta cheese and about half of the mozzarella and mix into hot noodles. Pour spaghetti sauce mixture over pasta and mix in. Top with the remaining shredded cheese. Bake on 350 for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

In honor of Mother's Day...

Fresh Raspberry Chicken

When I saw this recipe from It's Melissa's Kitchen, I starred it immediately. It has only been a few days since she even posted it, but I couldn't wait to give it a whirl.

I especially liked how it was a make-ahead kind of meal; I did all the prep work last night and just had to throw it in the oven tonight. Considering that I had to run a few errands (okay, go buy clothes) after work, this was perfect.

This tasted really good. The chicken was very tender and the fruit flavor was powerful without being too much. And I have to reiterate that I loved just dumping and baking!

Even Ryan liked this meal:




Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup raspberry preserves
• 3/4 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed (I couldn't find this, so I just used regular pineapple juice.)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
  
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder (I omitted.)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 cup fresh raspberries, mashed
• another 1/4 fresh raspberries for garnish

Place chicken in a large ziploc bag. Toss in preserves, juice concentrate, soy sauce, vinegar, chili powder, curry powder, garlic powder and 1/4 cup mashed raspberries. Close bag and mix it all around. Marinate in fridge from 2 hours to overnight.

Preheat oven to 350. Dump all ziploc contents into baking dish. Bake, covered, 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven, transfer to serving platter, top with pan juices and remaining raspberries.

Serves 4

My Food Shopping Partner

"Okay, Mommy, I'm ready - let's go!"

Pork Milanese with Creamy Caper and Lemon Sauce

I saved this in my "Recipe Box" on the Food Network's website because it looked pretty easy, light, and yummy. Coincidentally, this episode aired the day before I was planning to make it. I TiVo'ed and was blown away by how simple and FAST this really was to make.


I thought that the sauce tasted a bit too lemony; next time, I probably won't use a whole lemon. Also, there was WAY too much sauce; I will for sure halve the recipe or even make only a quarter of it. There was a TON left!

We both really liked this. Even Ryan, who I don't think has EVER eaten more than a bite or two of a pork chop, ate almost a whole one! Look:


Source: Giada diLaurentiis, foodtv.com

Ingredients:

Creamy Caper and Lemon Sauce:

• 2/3 cup mascarpone cheese
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup capers, drained and chopped
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pork Milanese:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 thin-cut pork chops

For the Creamy Caper and Lemon Sauce: Combine the mascarpone and mayonnaise in a medium bowl. Slowly add the milk, stirring as you go, until all the milk is incorporated. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Set aside.

For the Pork Milanese: Combine the flour and the 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper in a shallow dish and stir together. Crack the eggs into another shallow dish and beat until combined. In a third shallow bowl, place the breadcrumbs. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Dip the pork, 1at a time first in the flour, then the eggs, then the bread crumbs. Warm the vegetable in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot place the breaded pork in the pan. Cook until golden and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer the pork to a serving platter and serve with the sauce alongside.

My sous chef!

My sweet Ryan, currently 17 months, has millions of toys. Seriously. You should see my living room. Looks like Toys R Us threw up.

So he has all these options, and what he choose to play with? He LOVES to go into my utensil drawer and pull out the same three things: a wooden spoon, a teaspoon measuring spoon, and a half teaspoon spoon. That's it. He walks around the house holding those things and tries to feed you his imaginary food.


He also loves to "help" me cook by dumping stuff in whenever I let him. I think we're looking at the next Emeril, people...