Blueberry Muffins

I'm not usually a breakfast person, but since this little baby has been incubating in me, I am suddenly starving by the time morning rolls around. Like, my stomach grumbles loudly before I even roll out of bed. This is not normal for me. Towards the end of school I resorted to muffins and granola bars, so now that I am on vacation I decided it would be a good idea to make some muffins to have around for my morning starvation. My favorite type of muffins are definitely blueberry, especially when they have a little lemon zing to them and a sugary, crunchy top. Lucky for me, blueberries are in season and looking great, so I set off on my muffin making spree! 

This particular version of the recipe came out great. I made mine a little extra large because I like when the top puffs over and gets a little crunchy (the good type of muffin top, ladies!). These also freeze well - I defrost mine in the microwave on high for about 30 seconds so they get a little warm.

Blueberry Muffins

Makes 10 larger or 12 regular sized muffins

Ingredients

Crumb Topping:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup slightly softened butter, cubed

Muffins:

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cups sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp. milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp freshly grated lemon zest

1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried (feel free to use more than 1 cup. Frozen does not come out as well)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. If you have a muffin pan prone to sticking, I suggest also spraying cooking spray around each cup in case they cook over.

Make the crumb topping: in a small bowl, mix together all crumb topping ingredients using a fork. Set aside.

Make the muffins: in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder until combined. Add the egg, oil, milk, vanilla, and lemon and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Evenly scoop the batter into the muffin pans (fill 10 cups 7/8 full, or 12 cups about 3/4 full). Spoon the crumb topping evenly over each muffin before baking.

Bake at 400F until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean (for larger muffins about 22-25 minutes, for regular sized muffins about 18-22 minutes). Allow to cool slightly, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!

Check out those blueberries!!

Corned Beef Hash

Every St. Patrick's Day we always have a big batch of corned beef and cabbage. My mom always seemed to find the largest corned beef in the existence of man, despite the fact that there were only 4 mouths to feed. This left us with piles of leftover, delicious, salty corned beef to eat for the entire following week. I'm not complaining.  When I met Andy, he introduced me to the world of corned beef hash. I love corned beef, I love crispy hash browns ("home fries" as we call them back home), so naturally I love the combination of the two together. Andy is the self-proclaimed corned beef hash king, and he makes it for me every year after St. Patrick's Day (it works wonders). This is a simple, delicious, hearty breakfast and I hope you enjoy :o)

Corned Beef Hash

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

1 tsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. butter

1 russet potato, peeled and diced into small cubes

1/2 small onion, diced

1 cup corned beef, diced into small cubes

salt and pepper to taste

2 sunny side up eggs*, for serving on top

Directions:

Heat the oil and butter in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the potatoes and onion and cook until the potatoes begin to turn light brown and soften a bit. Add the corned beef, salt and pepper. At this point you need a little patience. Spread out the hash as much as you can in the skillet and press it down using the back of a spatula. The goal is to increase surface area contact so the potatoes begin to crisp up, but don't push so hard that everything turns to mush. Allow the hash to sit and cook, untouched, for about 3 minutes, then flip parts of it over, press, and repeat. Continue flipping, pressing, and leaving alone for about 10-15 minutes or until the hash is brown and crispy, and the potatoes are cooked all the way through. Divide hash into two servings and top each with a sunny side up egg. Yum!

* I had a moment of enlightenment when watching the Food Network last week. Ree, the Pioneer Woman, made perfect sunny side up eggs for a breakfast, and they are so simple. When I say perfect, I mean that I swear these eggs were those plastic ones I used to have in my make-believe-kitchen as a kid. Perfect. These totally beat my always inevitably overcooked attempts at fried eggs. Try her recipe, it rocks!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

These muffins were originally from the mother of my childhood friend Julie. I remember that whenever I would go over to her house, sure enough there would be a bag of homemade pumpkin chocolate chip muffins waiting for us in the freezer. All it took was a few minutes in the microwave to warm these tasty treats up and to get the chocolate chips ooey and gooey! Julie’s mom passed along the recipe to my mom (because I raved about them so much) who later passed it to me so I can make them on my own. Ok, so these aren’t exactly the healthiest muffins you’ll ever have, but they sure are delicious! I have made this recipe a little lighter by replacing oil with applesauce, but if you prefer you can replace the applesauce in this recipe with an equal part of canola oil. The pumpkin really makes these muffins moist and delicious (we often refer to them as “muffcakes” due to their cupcake-like qualities). Bake a full batch and freeze the extras. You can microwave one each morning for breakfast or as an after-dinner treat (about 20 seconds on high). Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yield: 15 muffins (approximately)

Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup applesauce
1 cup canned pumpkin or squash (not pumpkin pie filling, just plain pumpkin – check the ingredient list, it should only say “pumpkin”!)
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips and one tablespoon of the flour.

In a medium bowl, sift together the remaining flour through the salt and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the applesauce, pumpkin, and eggs until well blended. Slowly mix in the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until well combined, being careful not to over-mix. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Bake according to the following times (it is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out crumbly):

Muffins, lined with cupcake liners, ¾ full: 17-20 minutes

1 loaf pan (pumpkin bread): 45-50 minutes

Yum! :o)

Source: Carol Garmin

Breakfast Frittata

This past weekend we were very lucky to host the Fabbris for a fun-football-filled weekend (and other revelry). To help us prepare for tailgating, I wanted to make something simple for breakfast that was also satisfying... this frittata was the perfect thing. I wish I had a picture to add to this post, but once the frittata hit the table it was devoured pretty quickly! I had never actually made a frittata before, but I seemed to come up with an effective strategey that involves both stovetop and broiler cooking methods. The eggs didn't dry out, and the fillings were awesome! This is an easy go-to breakfast for any weekend morning, and it's delicious and hearty as well! Enjoy :o)

Breakfast Frittata

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

6 large eggs

2 tbsp milk or cream

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 strips bacon

1 link chicken or pork sausage, chopped into bite sized pieces (I'm into Al Fresco brand)

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup arugula leaves, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3 tbsp. blue cheese

You will need a large, non-stick, oven proof skillet for this frittata. Preheat the broiler.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. In the large skilled, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and wipe out excess grease. Add the sausage and onion and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Add the arugula and blue cheese. Pour over the egg mixture and make sure everything is covered. Sprinkle the mozzarella on top of the eggs. Cook over medium low heat for about 4 minutes or until the edges are firm but the middle of the frittata is still loose. Transfer the frittata to the oven and broil for about 3-4 minutes or until the eggs are set and the frittata is cooked through. Remove from the oven and slide onto a plate. Cut into wedges and serve! Yum!

The best part about this recipe is that you can use whatever fillings you like - keep it vegetarian, add extra meat or cheese, or experiment with some new combos. The method remains the same.