Italian Almond Muffins

I made these for breakfast this morning and they were delish! They have balsamic vinegar in them and when they came out of the oven I could really smell it so I was really worried but once they cooled I couldn't smell it and they tasted great.

Italian Almond Muffins

2/3 C sliced or slivered almonds

1 3/4 C flour 

2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 C sugar 

4 large eggs 

Zest of one lemon

Zest of one orange 

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 

2 Tbsp whole milk 

3/4 C extra-virgin olive oil 

Powdered sugar

Toast the almonds then cool.  Crush in a ziploc bag using a meat mallet. Set aside. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin.

Blend together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer beat the sugar, eggs, and zests in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vinegar and milk. Gradually beat in the oil. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Add the almonds and stir until just combined. Fill the muffin tin almost to the top of the paper liners. Bake until golden on top and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins onto a platter and let cool for 5 more minutes. Sift powdered sugar over the muffins and serve.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/olive-oil-muffins-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

Recipe from Giada De Laurentiis (tweaked ever so slightly)

Chicken and Wild Rice Slow Cooker Soup

Yumalish, quick and easy!

Chicken and Wild Rice Slow Cooker Soup

Serves: 8 - 10

Ingredients

• ½ large onion, diced
• 5 carrots, diced
• 6 to 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced or diced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup whole grain wild rice
• 1-2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 8 cups chicken broth (or stock, homemade recommended)
• ½ cup heavy cream or half-and-half
• Optional topping: Toasted almonds

Instructions

1. In a slow cooker, place the onion, celery, mushrooms, garlic, rice, raw chicken, salt, and pepper. Pour the broth over top. Cook on low for 4 to 5 hours.
2. Stir in the heavy cream, ladle into soup bowls and top with toasted almonds (if using). Put the leftovers in the fridge or freezer (in individual portions).

Windex

So, this isn't technically a food recipe, but I ran out of Windex today while we were cleaning our mirrors and windows so I Googled a DIY recipe and the results were great.  This is just as good as Windex and a lot cheaper too.

Windex

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of WARM water
• 1 tablespoon of corn starch (yes, that's right-- cornstarch)
• 1/4 cup of rubbing alcohol
• 1/4 cup of white vinegar
• Small squirt of dishsoap

Mix the ingredients together in a spray bottle and tada! Done! Just make sure you always shake it before you use it because the cornstarch may settle a bit.

Cranberry Almond KIND Bars

These are super yummy granola bars.  And lots cheaper than buying Kind Bars... holy mackerel!!  I'm going to add some oats and cut down on the nuts a bit to make them even cheaper so I'll post that recipe if it's a success...
You can swap out the nuts and add things like coconut etc. to customize these to your tastes.

Cranberry Almond KIND Bars

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 20 minutes       Yield: 15 bars

Ingredients

2 cups (230 g) raw whole almonds

1/2 cup (70 g) raw macadamia nut pieces (or cashews)

2 cups (60 g) crisp rice cereal

1 cup (140 g) dried whole cranberries

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons (42 g) canola oil

1/2 cup (168 g) honey

1/4 cup (84 g) corn syrup

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 300°F. Line a quarter sheet pan (a shallow rimmed 9 x 13-inch baking sheet) with unbleached parchment paper and set it aside.
• In a blender or food processor, place about 1/4 of the whole almonds and grind into a mostly fine powder.  Toast the remaining almonds and then chop them just a bit (some will still be whole).  In a large bowl, place the ground almonds, the remaining whole almonds, cashews pieces, rice cereal, cranberries and salt, and mix to combine well. Add the oil, and toss to coat. Add the honey and corn syrup and mix to combine well. The mixture will be very thick and sticky.
• Scrape it into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Use the back of your spoon to press down evenly with as much force as you can muster to compress the mixture into an even layer. Be careful not to allow large clusters of almonds to gather in the corners of the baking sheet, or they will not hold together when you slice the whole thing into bars.
• Bake until the mixture is lightly browned and bubbling (about 20 minutes). Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Without removing the bars from the baking sheet and using a butter knife, score the bars into 3 equal rows of 5 rectangles each. Allow the bars to cool for another 10 minutes before placing in the refrigerator until completely chilled (about 30 minutes).
• Remove the bars from the refrigerator and invert the bars onto a cutting board, with the parchment paper now on top. Peel off the parchment paper, and finish cutting 15 bars. Wrap each bar tightly in wax paper, and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Chicken Cannellini Bean Tacos

These tacos are simple and delish - a good crock pot recipe for a busy day.  I used Great Northern beans.

Chicken Cannellini BeanTacos

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 1 1/4 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs)
3 Tbsp taco seasoning
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 can chopped green chilies
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp crushed coriander
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Taco shells
Shredded Mexican blend cheese
Shredded lettuce
Sour cream
Salsa

Place chicken in crock pot and sprinkle with taco seasoning.  In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, chilies, cumin and coriander; mix well. Pour over chicken. Top with beans.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

Remove chicken and shred. Return to crock pot and stir to get sauce on all the chicken. Allow to warm through if needed. Serve with toppings as desired.

Fresh Cherry Tart

I love, love, love fresh cherries so I was super excited to try this tart. And very happy that it was so deeee-lish!  :)  Also, I used strawberry jam since that's what I had opened and it was just fine.

Fresh Cherry Tart

9 graham cracker (2 1/2 x 5" each)
2 Tbsp plus 1/4 C sugar, divided
6 Tbsp butter, melted
6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 C heavy cream
1 lb fresh sweet cherries, pitted and halved
1 Tbsp seedless raspberry jam
1 tsp water

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  In a food processor, pulse graham crackers and 2 Tbsp sugar until finely ground. Add butter and process until combined. Transfer to a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Using the base of a dry measuring cup (or your hand), firmly press mixture into bottom and up sides of pan. Bake until browned, 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely on wire rack.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, vanilla and remaining 1/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add cream and beat until soft peaks form. Spread mixture into cooled crust. Arrange cherries on top.

In a small microwavable bowl combine jam and water; heat 30 seconds at a time until liquified. Using a pastry brush dab cherries with glaze. Refrigerate tart at least 30 minutes.  Can store, covered, up to 1 day.

Muddled Lemonberryade

I made this berry lemonade for our July 4th cook out and it was delish!  The original recipe calls for club soda but we really don't like club soda so we used 7-Up instead and it was great.  I should have taken a picture cause it does look pretty cool. Maybe next time...

Muddled Lemonberryade

4 lemons, sliced
1/2 C mint leaves
1 C sugar
1 pint berries (quartered strawberries & blackberries)
1 quart water
7-Up

Place lemons in bottom of a large pitcher.  Add mint and sugar on top. With a wooden spoon mash the mixture for 1 minute. Add the berries and lightly mash.  Add water and refrigerate until chilled.

Fill tall glasses 3/4 with lemon mixture then top off with 7-Up.  Serve.

Serves 6-8.



Altered slightly from a recipe from Food Network.