Corn Muffins

Hello... Is anyone still out there? 
It has been a VERY long minute since I posted anything here on this little blog of mine. I am sorry for that. When I took a little blogging break a year ago, I didn’t mean for it to last quite this long. 
We moved, twice actually. We moved from Vancouver Island back to Saskatchewan. We stayed with family for 9 months and finally just bought our very first house 2 months ago.
So suffice it to say, I have been out of my blogging element for way too long.
Time to get back on the horse, as they say, and what better horse to get back onto than Corn Muffins.

(is that weird cause muffins aren’t horses??  Anyway I am out of practice here, bare with me)

These little beauties are muffin perfection. They are crispy and golden on the outside and have a moist tender crumb on the inside. 
This recipe only has 8 ingredients, and other than the cornmeal they are all pantry staples. Now that I know how easy and delicious these Corn Muffins are, cornmeal is going to be a staple in my house.

What you need;
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¾ cup Cornmeal
¼ cup Milk (I used 2%)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ cup shorting (I used melted butter but my Dad always uses Canola oil and it makes no difference)
In a medium sized mixing bowl stir the cornmeal and milk together and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray and set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
Add the egg and shortening to the cornmeal mixture. 
Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir gently to just combine. It will be lumpy and you don’t want to over mix it.
Divide the batter into 12 muffins.
Bake in the 400-degree oven for 20 – 25 minutes. Once they are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean they are ready.
Cool in the pan for 2-3 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
The muffins will stay good for a day or 2 in an airtight container. 

These muffins are fantastic with a hot bowl of Chili or Soup, but my favorite is slathered with more butter than you really need and a healthy drizzle of honey. Lord help me, I could eat them all day.
This recipe is one of my Grandma Clarke’s. I love making her recipes. Following along her handwritten recipes always makes me feel like she is in the kitchen with me. 
I miss her...
I hope you make these muffins. They really are something to behold.
I hope to post another recipe next week now that I have my own kitchen and all my stuff unpacked.
Thanks for hanging in there with me.
Enjoy!
Jen

Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs

Summer is zipping by so fast, too fast! I have been trying to up my grilling game by making some new recipes. These Hawaiian Chicken Kebabs are my favorite so far! MAN, they were FANTASTIC!

So much flavor, easy to prepare and fresh pineapple which is always a win for me!

Look how pretty they are… the marinade makes such a sweet sticky sauce, so amazing!

What you need,

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For the marinade,

1/3 cup ketchup

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup soy sauce

¼ cup pineapple juice

2 tbsp. olive oil

1½ tbsp. rice vinegar

4 cloves garlic minced

1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger (I love fresh ginger a lot, so I probably added 1½ tbsp.)

¼ tsp. black pepper

For the kebabs,

1 lb. chicken breast or thighs cubed into 2-inch cubes

3 cups fresh pineapple cubed into 2-inch cubes

1 large red pepper cut into 2-inch pieces

1 red onion cut into 2-inch pieces

In a medium bowl whisk together the ketchup, brown sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, olive oil, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger and black pepper.

Place the cubed chicken in a large zip top bag and pour over half the marinade. Rub the marinade well all over the chicken and stash it in the fridge for at least an hour and up to 4 hours.

Meanwhile you can slice up the fresh pineapple cubes, the red pepper and the onion.

When you are ready to make the kebabs use wooden skewers or metal (if you use wooden make you soak them in water for an hour or so, that way they won’t burn on the grill)

Alternate the onion, peppers, chicken and pineapple onto each skewer.

I like the pineapple, so I really loaded that on!

When you are ready to cook heat your grill to medium high heat.

Cook the kebabs for about 4 minutes on one side. Flip and baste the cooked side with some of the reserved marinade. Then cook the second side for about 4 more minutes, then flip and baste that side.

Cook for 2 more minutes on each side, basting each time you flip. They should get sticky and brown and wonderful.

Carefully remove the skewers from the grill and serve over rice.

I have to say that these might be the BEST kebabs I have ever had! Everything cooked up perfectly and because everything was cut to the same size it was evenly cooked.

The sauce on these kebabs is amazing! Super flavorful, and full of sweet and sour and spice. I will be making these again for sure!

They were a hit in my house!

Enjoy!

Jen

Recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Classy

Roasted Mushroom & Asparagus Quiche

Growing up in the 80’s I remember quiche being a big deal. I remember everyone making it and it was kind of a big thing if you could get your husband to eat it. I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t want to eat quiche. It is amazing! Or at least this one was.

The roasted veggies were tender and full of flavour. The nutty Gruyere cheese goes great with the egg. It was just a winner all around in my opinion.

I served it with a simple baby green salad with cranberries and pumpkin seeds and a light balsamic vinaigrette. It was the perfect accompaniment.

Even the hubs loved it, so I guess I win!!

What you need,

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2½ cups mushrooms, sliced or quartered (I used a mix of cremini and white button)

2½ cups asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 small shallot diced

½ tsp. dried thyme

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. olive oil

3 eggs

1 cup half & half

1 ½ cup Gruyere cheese, grated

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg

1 deep dish pie crust, I bought mine because pie crust scares me! 

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the mushrooms, asparagus and shallot with the olive oil, thyme and salt & pepper.

Spread in single layer on a sheet pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the veggies golden and softened.

Turn the heat on the oven down to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, half & half, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Layer the cheese onto the bottom of the pie crust. Sprinkle the veggies over the cheese in an even layer.

Pour the egg mixture over the veggies, be careful it doesn’t over flow. I like to put my pie plate on a sheet pan, just in case.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the crust is golden and the egg is set.

Let the quiche stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This quiche was amazing! Seriously, I LOVED it! It is great hot, room temperature even cold.

It would make a great brunch, lunch or dinner.

I can’t believe it took me this long to make a quiche, I think I will be making them much more often now. I think ham and cheese, or broccoli and bacon would be awesome.

What are your favorite quiche fillings??

Enjoy!

Jen

Blueberry Crumb Muffins

Well my grand plans of posting a recipe once a week seems to have gone by the wayside…

How was my last post in April?? Like seriously time is flying by.

I am making my big comeback with yet another muffin recipe, shocker!

This is a really good one, fresh blueberries a crunchy cinnamon topping, that is hard to beat!

What you need,
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Makes 12 muffins

For the muffins,

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 cup mashed ripe banana (I had 2 large bananas)

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup fresh blueberries

For the topping,

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed 

2 tbsp. flour

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tbsp. butter, softened

Start by heating the oven to 370 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners, or spray liberally with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the banana, sugar, egg and butter until smooth and fluffy.

Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Fold to just combine.

Toss in the blueberries and carefully stir them into the batter. 

In a small bowl mix the topping ingredients together until light and crumbly.

Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and top each muffin with a teaspoon of the topping.

Bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and crisp on top.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5-8 minutes then carefully remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days or you can freeze them. They likely won’t last that long, they are truly delicious!

This muffin recipe would be great with any seasonal fruit, raspberries, chopped peaches or nectarines, plum, cherry!! You get the idea…

Glad to be back, let’s see if I can get another post out next week. Don’t hold your breath, but I am hopeful!

Enjoy!

Jen

Individual No Bake Lemon Cheesecakes

I whipped up these amazing little cheesecakes for Easter dinner last week.

I knew I wanted lemon, and I knew it had to be easy and this delightful little recipe was the perfect thing.

A total of 5 ingredients… and no bake, and totally utterly delicious!

I changed 2 things from the original recipe, first I used Biscoff Cookies instead of Graham Crackers for the crust and I will tell you it was the right thing to do… Biscoff is the new Graham for sure!

I also added an extra lemon, because I LOVE my lemon desserts very lemony!

What you need,

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¾ cup Biscoff cookie crumbs (I used about ¾ of a package of cookies and just smashed them into crumbs)

2 tbsp. melted butter

1 can condensed milk (the full fat one please!)

8oz. cream cheese (again, full fat, just do it!)

Juice & Zest of 2 lemons

Whipped cream for topping (optional, but not really optional!)

In a small bowl stir the butter into the Biscoff crumbs until they are moist and totally coated.

Divide the crumbs between 4 small dishes and press lightly into the bottom. Don’t press to hard just loosely packed is good.

In a medium bowl use a hand mixer to whip up the cream cheese and condensed milk until light and creamy.

Mix in the zest and juice until well incorporated.

Divide the batter between the small dishes.

Cover the dishes and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, but overnight is even better.

Top with a little (or a LOT) of whipped cream right before serving.

How cute are these! Add a slice of lemon or a little flower and it really would be a perfect dessert for any spring or summer dinner!

Enjoy!

Jen