Cranberry Muffins

So, I bought a bag of cranberries for practically no reason, I think it's because I was feeling MERRY and they looked pretty. But, then I just saw them sitting in my fridge and I was contemplating whether to put them in glass bowl as decoration or to taste the unofficial official holiday berry. I opted for some muffins. I've always loved a cranberry muffin.

Here's a simple recipe to follow: (Makes 12)

1 1/2 c flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 c sugar

1/4 c veg oil

1 egg, beaten

1 c orange juice

1 tbsp orange zest

1 1/2 c chopped cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 and grease muffin pan

sift flour, salt & baking powder: set aside

beat oil & sugar together...add egg

beat till smooth

add OJ & zest

add flour mixture & stir till mixed

fold in cranberries

pour into muffin pan till 2/3 full

bake 20-25 min :)

Give to a less fortunate family this season

If you're in the Atlanta area, go to this website to check out the options of giving to the less fortunate families out there. It'll feel soooo good: http://www.familiesfirst.org/get-involved/T51-adopt-a-family

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Umm, I literally JUST made this cheesecake about 10 minutes ago and it was so easy and affordable and looks so good, I just HAVE TO share it even though I havent tried it yet!

Okay, ingredients are as follows:

21 oz can of apple pie filling

9 inch graham cracker pie crust

2-8oz. packages of cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/4 cup caramel topping

1/4 cup cinnamon apple sauce

12 pecan halves + 2 tbsp chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350

Reserve 1cup of apple filling & set aside

Spoon remaining filling into crust

Beat together cream cheese, sugar & vanilla

Add eggs & mix well

Pour this mixture over the pie filling

Bake for 35 minutes until center is set

Cool to room temp

Mix reserved pie filling, caramel topping & apple sauce in small pan over low-med heat

Heat for about 1 minute or until spreadable

Spoon apple-caramel mixture over top of cheesecake & spread evenly

Decorate cake with pecan halves

Sprinkle chopped pecans around the cake

Refrigerate until serving time!

chili so good and hearty

Chili is never something I've desired, but one night my husband requested it and I took it as an opportunity to make something I never have before. He wanted it with cornbread muffins. So I fiddled around for some recipes but none seemed to be what we were looking for, so I took them all together and built my own. Recipe as follows...

Ingredients:

2 red onions, chopped

5 tbsp of jalepeno chiles, chopped

1/2 can of chipoltes in adabo sauce, chopped

8 garlic cloves, chopped

2 1/3 lb of ground beef

1/4 cup chili powder

2 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 28-oz can diced tomato in juice

1 15 1/4 oz can of kidney beans, drained

14 oz can of beef broth

chives or green onions, chopped

sour cream

shredded cheese

Directions:

Heat some oil at bottom of soup pot

add onions, saute until brown...about 6 minutes

add jalepeno and garlic and saute for a minute

add the chipolte
add beef and saute until brown for about 10 minutes

add chili powder, cumin and paprika

mix in tomatoes with all its juices, beans and broth and bring to boil

reduce heat and simmer until chili thickens, stirring occassionaly

about 45 minutes

skim any fat from surface

pour into bowls, sprinkle cheese and chives

dollop sour cream and enjoy :)

perfect & easy thanksgiving pasta course

Nothing screams fall more than a savory brown butter sage sauce. This time I added fall favorites, toasted walnuts and cranberries... served over butternut squash raviolis. You can always make your own ravs, or to save time, I found some really great affordable ones at Whole Foods:
Rising Moon Organic Butternut Squash Raviolis.


Brown butter sage sauce recipe ingredients:
1 and a 1/2 sticks of butter
2 tbsp of sage
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup cranberries
parmesean cheese to taste

To toast walnuts, heat oven to 350, place on baking sheet for about 10min or until golden brown. Always toast them before you chop them.

Directions:

Melt butter in sauce pan at medium heat
add sage, walnuts & cranberries until butter browns (about 3min)
turn off heat & season to your liking
our over raviolis :)

Simple gourmet flavors in under 15 minutes.

feel good gifts

This year, being away from home has been the hardest, especially with the holidays coming up. Gift giving has never been so important. So I've found some feel-good ideas that I wanted to share. Flowers, especially centerpieces are always great to send, especially when you feel like you're the only one missing from the table! I found my new fav online flower shop at www.teleflora.com Also, shopping with a cause can make you feel good when you're homesick! Check out gift giving sites like www.goodshop.com or www.uptownliz.com to make your purchases where a percentage goes to charity! The holidays are approaching, so happy holidays to all!

Simple Shrimp Scampi

It's so easy, simple yet filling and deeeelish. I dont really have a set recipe I usually just go with the flow of the flavor profile, but here's a compiled list of ingredients:

1 lb of angel hair pasta (or spaghetti, or whatever you have!!)

1 lb of shrimp

olive oil

butter

8 garlic cloves, chopped

capers (as many as you prefer)

dry white wine

red pepper flakes

parmesean cheese

1 lemon, halved

parsley (if you like)

Directions:

start boiling your water for the pasta...

heat olive oil over large skillet

toss in about 2 tbsp butter

throw the chopped garlic in

followed by some capers

throw in the shrimp

add red pepper flakes (as many as you prefer)

add wine (usually about 1 cup)

squeeze some lemon

let simmer

add more olive oil

in the end, toss some chopped parsley in

drain pasta

place 2 tbsp butter at the bottom of the pot you boiled your pasta in

dump the contents in the large skillet to the bottom of the pot

dump the drained pasta into the pot

mix together! Salt & pepper to your liking

garnish your bowls of pasta with parmesean cheese and lemon halves :)