Spiced Peach Muffins....and a few freezer recipe links!

TWO recipes on the blog in one week?!? That's a record for me lately.  Usually the only time I bake these days is when I am taking a meal to someone, or if I am getting paid to make cupcakes.  :)  I have really been trying to stock our freezer with meals, snacks and breakfast food the last couple weeks.  Although I have had a better pregnancy than the last two, there are still some very rough days.  I can't tell you how awesome it is to have home-cooked meals to throw in the oven so my family can eat well if I'm not up for cooking.  When I first mentioned this freezer idea to Landon he thought I was crazy and that all the meals would be freezer burnt.  Last night while eating his baked spaghetti, he said "wow honey, this freezer meal idea is fantastic".  Men.

Here's what's in our freezer right now and some links to a few recipes!

Pioneer Woman Sloppy Joes - I made these with turkey and froze in individual portions.  I also froze some leftover hamburger/hotdog buns to pair with these! It's perfect to make Landon a hot sandwich when he gets home from work.  It's one of our staple recipes.

Baked Spaghetti  - Just penne noodles (cooked), homemade meat sauce, cheddar and parmesan cheese Bake at 350 until warmed through!  This is always a kid favorite around here.

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole - love this recipe - I also layered white rice on the bottom of the dishes before layering the casserole.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos - Another staple - I usually leave the onions, cilantro and green salsa out for the kids.  I made a double batch of these and we are tearing through them.

Spiced Peach Muffins - I'm a Georgia Girl at heart.  I miss a lot of things about that place, but I really miss the peaches.  My mother-in-law was so nice to pick all of us sisters up some peaches from Porter.  They are amazing.  About as close to Georgia peaches as you can get here in Oklahoma, so naturally I just had to make some peach muffins.  These are spiced - which Landon wasn't a huge fan of, but you could omit the allspice and nutmeg to suit your taste.  I really enjoyed these - they tasted like a peach pie/cobbler right out of the oven!

Spiced Peach Muffins

King Arthur Flour

(makes 20-24 muffins)

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon allspice (optional)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon (if you leave out the other spices, you may want to add extra cinnamon)

2 eggs

3/4 cup canola/vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups milk

4 peaches, diced

granulated sugar for toping ( i used raw turbinado sugar)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375  Grease (or line) muffin pans.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, brown sugar and spices into a large bowl.  Stir in the eggs, oil and milk.  Gently fold in the fruit.  Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until done.  

Enjoy!!!

Baked Vanilla Bean Donuts with Strawberry Frosting

I can't believe my little Brooke will be turning FIVE in just a few weeks.  Donuts are her most favorite breakfast treat.  We decided on a breakfast donut bash to celebrate, so I whipped up these yummy donuts for a mini "photo-shoot"!  They are super tasty - I'm not a huge donut fan, but these are very cake-like and the frosting is delicious. I posted a picture on instagram, and had a few requests for the recipe, so I thought I would share the recipe I used on the blog today!  Next time, I think I will make these chocolate cake donuts using the same strawberry frosting.  Yum....

Baked Vanilla Bean Donuts with Strawberry Frosting

{shugary sweets}

Ingredients:

For the Donuts:

2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp vanilla

1 vanilla bean, scraped

2 eggs

3/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp melted butter

For the Glaze:

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tsp vanilla

4 1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp strawberry gelatin powder (or raspberry, cherry, etc.)

sprinkles

Preheat Oven to 325.

In a large mixing bowl combine all the ingredients until blended.  Put all the batter in a large ziploc bag and cut the corner.  Fill the donut pan 3/4 full with batter.  Bake donuts for 10-12 minutes.  I also used a mini donut pan, and I baked those for about 7-8 minutes.  I always press lightly on the donut while it's baking, and if it springs back I call it done!  :)  Remove from the pan and allow the donuts to cool before glazing.

To prepare the glaze add the milk, cream and vanilla to a saucepan over low heat.  Stir and heat until warm.  Whisk in the gelatin mix and then slowly whisk in the powdered sugar.  Remove from the heat.  ***I made 1/2 of this recipe for the glaze mix and it sufficiently covered all my little donuts!***

Dip the tops into glaze and immediately add the sprinkles.  I did a few at a time, the glaze hardens quickly and I wanted my sprinkles to stick!

Enjoy!!!  I kept mine in a ziploc container overnight, and I think they tasted better this morning!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola

Can you tell I've been home a LOT since I have been posting so many recipes?  I really was craving granola with my greek yogurt yesterday, and this was very quick and easy to whip up!  Our whole family loves it, and since it's made with honey/agave nectar instead of sugar it makes a "better for you" snack or topping! 

Peanut Butter Granola

What you'll need...

1/3 cup peanut butter 

1/3 cup honey/agave nectar (i used a combo of both)

2 cups old fashioned oats

1 teaspoon vanilla

chocolate chips, raisins, craisins, white chocolate chips....whatever you want to add in!

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Melt the peanut butter and honey (or agave) in the microwave at 30 second increments until melted.  Poor over the oats and coat completely with the mixture.  Spread on a baking sheet.  Bake for 10-15 minutes until the oats are golden on top, stirring them up halfway through.

Allow the granola to cool and ENJOY!

brown sugar, pumpkin bars & zucchini muffins

Can you tell my tastebuds are ready for fall?!? I had a can of pumpkin that I used in a few shakes, and I incorporated the rest of it into our weekend desserts.  You can't go wrong with Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars.  Early saturday morning I realized I was out of brown sugar....after I went to the store.  I quickly whipped up a batch of brown sugar - it is super simple!  All you need is sugar and molasses!  Click on each picture to take you to the fabulous recipes!

Blackberry Coffee Cake

We went blackberry picking yesterday morning because it was a beautiful day.  With a cool breeze and beautiful sunshine, it really reminded me of a summer day at Northland Camp.  I hope our family can go there for family camp one of these days - I would LOVE it!

She was serious about pickin'...until she got her foot wrapped around a stray thorny bush.  Things went quickly downhill after that.  Poor thing....I still dragged her around encouraging her to shake it off and get more berries!  While we were "having fun", the girls were throwing shoes and car keys out of the wagon while I wasn't looking.  I didn't even realize it until I got to my car and found out that all those items were missing.  We went back through and found 3 out of 4 shoes and a set of car keys. Whew.  Always an adventure around here.  :O)

Here is what we came out with!  Juicy and HUGE...some of them were still tart, but I couldn't throw the red ones away that my sweet Brooke picked!

Of course we had to go and bake them in something.  We made muffins after nap time.  Brooke was so excited that we used her berries!  This is a great basic coffee cake recipe for any fruit you have on hand!

Blackberry Coffee Cake Muffins

(I used this recipe.  I also made this last weekend using blueberries and a 9 inch pan and it was wonderful!)

Topping

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

Batter

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter 

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup milk

2 cups fresh or frozen berries (whatever you have on hand!), well drained

First: Preheat your oven to 375°F.

Topping: I used my kitchen aid to mix these ingredients together.  I emptied it into a small bowl.  No need to wash the mixer - just use it for making the batter!  It saves a little bit of time.  :O) 

Batter: Blend the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium sized mixing bowl. In a large bowl cream together the sugar, butter or margarine, egg and vanilla. Alternately add the milk and the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, ending with flour. Stir only enough to blend. Fold in the berries.

Pour the batter into a well-greased and floured, 9-inch cake pan. Sprinkle the topping over the batter and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a cake tester or knife comes out clean.  You can also bake this in a muffin tin.  I distributed the batter evenly between 12 muffin cups and baked for about 25 minutes.  

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes. If using a cake pan, loosen the sides with a knife or spatula. Holding the cake pan in your left hand, gently tip the cake out onto your right hand, remove the pan, and gently right the cake onto a serving dish.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

I saw this Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast cake on pinterest a few days ago and decided I needed to make it ASAP.  I had the perfect opportunity while making dinner today for one of my favorite friends who is under the weather.  Chili, cornbread and breakfast cake.  Great combination, huh?  My favorite part of leaving her dinner was plugging my crockpot in on her front porch to keep the chili warm.  Classy...

Try it soon!  It's a super quick and easy recipe, and it smells delightful! 

Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake

from : Alexandra's Kitchen

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (i used salted and cut the salt to 3/4 t.)

 zest from 1 large lemon

7/8 cup* + 1 tablespoon sugar**

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups fresh blueberries (i used frozen blueberries, thawed)

½ cup buttermilk

* 7/8 cup = 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons

** The 1 tablespoon is for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 350.  Cream butter, 7/8 of the sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.  Toss the blueberries in 1/4 cup of flour.  Whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the batter alternating with the buttermilk.  Fold in the blueberries.  This batter is THICK!  

Grease a 9 inch square pan with non-stick spray.  Spread into the pan and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake for 35-45 minutes until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  ENJOY!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

I must have been in the muffin mood yesterday.  I made a batch of Nutella banana muffins in the morning for the girls to eat fo breakfast.  While I was in the pantry looking or the Nutella, I found this:

Oh my.  I laid the girls down for a nap, and whipped up a batch of these Peanut Butter Chocolate Muffins.  I love having muffins in the freezer for the mornings when I don't have time to make breakfast for the girls.  Here's the recipe...

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins

(Baking Bites)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 c flour

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

2/3 c brown sugar

6 T Butter, melted and cooled

1/2 c peanut butter (dark chocolate, regular, crunchy)

2 eggs

1 c milk (i used skim and they turned out fine!)

3/4 chocolate chips 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.  Line or grease a 12 cup muffin tin.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, mix together the butter, peanut butter, eggs and milk until smooth.  Pour over the flour mixture and stir until combined.  Stir in the chips.

Divide the batter between muffin cups - fill them up to the top!  Add a couple chocolate chips to the top of the batter too! The will dome nicely this way.

Bake for 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the top of the muffin springs back when you press it.  

Cool....and enjoy!