Doughnut Muffins

These are great little muffins, because they use basic ingredients, nothing fancy. Though they seem fancy with jelly filling, and crunchy tops.

To start, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, put 3 1/2 cups flour.


1 Tablespoon of Baking Powder


1 teaspoon salt


1 teaspoon cinnamon


1 teaspoon nutmeg


and 1 1/2 cup sugar.


Stir to combine.


Now, in another mixing bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups milk, 2/3 c vegetable or extra virgin olive oil


and two eggs


Mix well.


Pour milk mixture into your flour mixture.


Mix.




Now, you will need to line with paper, two 12-cup muffin pans, or do this in two batches. You are going to put about 1 Tablespoon of the batter into the bottoms of the cups.


Now the fun part.

Take your favorite jelly or jam...or even apple butter. I am using strawberry for half, and my homemade wild blackberry jelly for the other half. Put about 1 tsp in the middle of each cup.


Now you will cover the jelly with batter. I use a medium sized scoop to do this, but you can simply spoon the batter in, filling the cups about 3/4 full.


Now bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes or until they test done when a toothpick is inserted in the middle. These muffins do not get very brown.

While they are baking, melt 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter.


Pour it into a small bowl...I used one of my measuring cups.


In another small bowl, combine 2/3 c sugar, and 2 tsp cinnamon.


Here are the just-out-of-the-oven muffins.


Now for the tricky part. Carefully remove a hot muffin from the pan, and dip the top into the melted butter. (If you try and hold the muffins near the top of the paper, they are a little easier to handle.)


Then immediately dip it into the cinnamon sugar.


Repeat with all of the muffins.


And then let the muffins cool a couple minutes. Dipping the hot muffins in the butter and then cinnamon sugar creates a crunchy and sweet top to the muffins.


Eat warm or room temperature.


Enjoy!

*Note: If 24 muffins are too much for your house, you can half this recipe to make 1 dozen. When I make these, I often give some away as gifts to friends or neighbors, so 24 is perfect for around here.


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Printable Version: Doughnut Muffins

Key Lime Cheesecake

Last year, I went on a short trip to Georgia, and while I was there, I had the most delicious cheesecake I have ever had. It was a Key Lime Cheesecake.

I wasn't able to get the recipe from the lovely lady that made it, but ever since I have been on a mission for a recipe for one.

This one is pretty darn good. It isn't the same as hers...I don't think anything could top that....but it is good :-)

Scalloped Potatoes & Ham, revisited

The other day I made Scalloped Potatoes and Ham for dinner with some of the leftover ham from Joshua's birthday dinner.

Since my other posted recipe was not that great of a post, I thought I would re-do it. However some of the images aren't the greatest of photos, so please bear with me. It was a very overcast day, and the lighting in my kitchen wasn't the greatest.

First, you will need to wash 4-6 potatoes. You are going to want about 6 cups of sliced potatoes, so if you are slicing away and realize you have too much, just put the other potatoes away. Here, I washed 6, but only needed 4 of them. I prefer to use red or yellow potatoes, with nice thin skins. I don't peel them, just leave them on. Slice the potatoes nice and thin.


In a small skillet, melt 4 Tablespoons of butter.


And add 1/2 c finely diced onion.


Let that cook for a couple minutes on medium-low heat, until the onions get soft but not brown.

In the meantime, butter a casserole dish.


When the onions are soft, whisk in 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.


When it is well blended, and beginning to bubble, whisk in 3 cups of milk. I use whole milk.


Let the milk slowly come to a boil. Stir it quite often, and as it gets hot, stir continually.


Once it comes to a boil, let it boil for 2 minutes, again, stirring continually. then remove from the heat.

Heat your oven to 375 degrees.

Stir into the milk sauce, about 1/2 tsp black pepper, and 1/4 tsp salt.


Now stir in 1/2 tsp thyme.


In your casserole dish, layer half of your potato slices, and about 1/2 c chopped, cooked ham.


Now top it with 1/2 of the milk sauce.


Repeat the layers.




Cover the casserole dish, and bake it for 65-75 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost done.


I am not a fan of foil, but since it doesn't really touch the food in this case, I am okay with it. In my decluttering, I got rid of my casserole dish with a cover, because I rarely used it.

After the baking period, take it out of the oven, and divide another tablespoon of butter into little bits, and drop it all over the top of the casserole. Put it back in the oven, uncovered, and bake another 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.



Enjoy!

Note: as a variation, you can try an "Au Gratin" dish by layering some shredded cheese in with this!

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Printable Version: Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

SotM Field Trip - Final Chapter at the Natural History Museum

Finishing up our trip to the Natural Sciences Museum in Raleigh, we went into the Living Conservatory.

This is a very warm, tropical room, filled with these beauties.





Sometimes if you hold still, they actually land on you. It's pretty cool.



Check this guy out. On the outside of his wings, he looks like this.



And on the inside....



There were just a few other residents in there, that were not winged and colorful. This is one...



And you can't really see this one, but this would be Sid the Sloth. Okay, maybe his name isn't Sid....but he is a sloth! And he's a bit anti-social.



This finishes up our trip through the Natural Science Museum.

Hearty Herbed Italian Bread

This is a great bread to side with Italian-style dishes. You can use it for Stromboli, Garlic Bread, or whatever you like.

First, create a warm environment, by turning the light on in your oven.

And to start, in your mixer bowl, pour in 2 cups of lukewarm water. Sprinkle with 1 Tabespoon of yeast.


Let it sit for about 5 minutes, so it can dissolve and start bubbling.

Then, add in 1 1/2 c of regular, white bread flour. Mix it in.


Next, add in 1 cup of cornmeal, and 1/2 cup of rye flour (I use fresh-ground)


Mix it up for about 1 minute.


And now we will add 1 1/2 teaspoon each of Oregano and Basil.


This is what it should look like.


Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel, and place it in your oven, and let rest for about 30 minutes.
It will look something like this.


Next, you are going to add in 2 teaspoons of salt...


...2 Tablespoons of good olive oil...


and with the dough hook going, add in 1 cup of wheat flour (again, mine is fresh-ground)


And then gradually add in another cup of the unbleached bread flour, creating a nice dough. Let this knead in the machine for 10 minutes.



If need be, you can add up to another 1/2 cup of the bread flour, if it is unmanagable. This dough will remain slightly sticky though.

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl.


Take the dough, and form it into a ball, then roll it around in the oiled bowl, to coat it with the oil all over. I just swirl the bowl around to do this.


Now, cover it again with a towel, and put it back in your warm oven to rise. Let it 30-45 minutes, or until doubled in size.


After it has risen, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead it just a couple times. Divide the dough in half, and roll one section out into an oblong shape.


Now, roll the dough up.


Note: I have a special pan designed just for making this type of bread. I lightly spray it with some oil before placing the dough in it. If you don't have one of these pans, that is okay. Just use a baking sheet or stone.

Roll the dough, place it seam-side down in the pan, tucking the ends under. Repeat with the other half of the dough.


Cover the dough again with the towel, and place it back into the warm oven for the final rise. Let it rise 30 - 60 minutes, or until doubled in size.


Now, set the pan on the counter, and heat your oven up to 400 degrees.

When your oven is ready, you are going to spray the loaves with some water. If you don't have a spray bottle, just brush some on. If you want, you can slash the tops of the loaves about three times at an angle. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. This time I didn't.

Spray the loaves, and then immediately put them in the oven, and bake for 30 - 35 minutes, or until just golden brown.




Enjoy!



Printable Version: Hearty Herbed Italian Bread