MORNING GLORY MUFFINS

These muffins are a hit! I have no idea why they're called "morning glory muffins" except that they would be a great breakfast treat. I made them this afternoon and there may not be any left by breakfast! The ingredients remind me of a cross between a hummingbird cake and a carrot cake in muffin form. 
The original recipe is from Ina Garten/Food Network, I altered it to make part of the flour whole wheat and used craisins instead of raisins. 
The batter is colorful and yummy looking even before baking - see the photos at the end of the post. 
It goes together easily and quickly. The grating of carrots and apple is the most time consuming. I took advantage of the food processor instead of a box grater and grated them the night before when I was also grating carrots for another recipe. 

MORNING GLORY MUFFINS                            

Ingredients: 

1 cup vegetable oil, plus extra for the pan

3 extra-large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups grated carrots

1 Granny Smith apple, grated

1 (8-oz) can crushed pineapple, drained

½ cup pecans, roughly chopped

½ cup sweetened shredded coconut

½ cup craisins or raisins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 ¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and arrange two racks evenly spaced in the oven. Line two muffin pans with paper muffin cups. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla. Add the carrots, apple, pineapple, pecans, coconut, and raisins and stir together.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Scoop the batter with a standard (2 ¼ -inch) ice cream scoop into the prepared muffin cups. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Place the pans on a baking rack to cool and serve the muffins warm or at room temperature. 

 

The batter before the dry ingredients - it is
very colorful! 

Gently mix the dry ingredients in just enough to
completely moisten and mix all the ingredients. 

Top Secret Chocolate Cake

The rainbow sprinkles add a festive touch.
Favorite part for the grand girls! 

More comfort food time. During this Stay-At-Home season there is lots of time for cooking and baking - and eating. With the warmer weather we should be able to be outside taking walks to balance the extra calories. So here is an easy and pretty cake to celebrate your family. 

This recipe is from Pioneer Woman, one of my favorite sources. Her version adds a simple chocolate ganache topping made with ½ cup heavy cream and ⅔ cup semisweet chocolate chips. (heat cream until just bubbling.  Add chocolate ships to a small bowl and pour the hot cream over the top. Let sit for 1 minute, then mix until smooth.) This did not work for me, a sad waste of cream and chocolate chips! So I found an even easier way - ready-made frosting, that is included in this recipe. 

TOP SECRET CHOCOLATE CAKE

Ingredients:

One 15.2 oz box dark chocolate cake mix

1 cup whole milk

½ cup (1 stick) melted salted butter

3 large eggs, beaten

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Ready-made chocolate frosting

Directions: 

1.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10-cup Bundt pan with baking spray. 

2.    Mix together cake mix, milk, butter, eggs, chocolate chips and vanilla in a large bowl until completely combined. Pour into the prepared Bundt pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. 

3.    Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely an additional 20-25 minutes. 

4.    Topping: soften ready-made chocolate frosting in the microwave until  pourable but thick. 

5.    Transfer the cake to a cake stand or serving platter and pour the frosting over the top, allowing it to drip down the ridges. Sprinkle with rainbow sprinkles and serve. 

We have farm fresh eggs from Daughter & S-I-L. This
is 3 large eggs! It was a rich cake. 

Potato Soup for the Luck of the Irish

I don't know if the Irish are lucky or not. Right now it doesn't seem like luck plays a part in our everyday lives as the weather bounces from a 75 degrees sunny day to 24 degrees predicted for tomorrow night and we are staying home with the threats of coronavirus around us. It is certainly a time for comfort, and comfort food. With family birthdays in March we often think of St. Patricks Day themes and to me potatoes come in that theme.
This Loaded Crockpot Soup was a hit at a birthday supper last night and will make warm leftover meals tomorrow. It is easy to put together with hash brown potatoes and loaded like a baked potato with cheddar cheese and bacon.  I served it with the Cheese Wheel we usually enjoy at Christmas time. I added 1 cup of chopped ham to the cheese mixture in the cheese wheel for a hardy side for the soup.

LOADED CROCKPOT HASH BROWN POTATO SOUP              

 from Family Fresh Meals.com

      

Ingredients: 

1 – 20 oz bag of shredded hash brown potatoes

32 oz chicken broth

½ cup shredded carrots

7 slices of bacon, cooked and diced (reserve 2 slices for toppings)

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper1/4 cup onion, diced

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons flour

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

·     Int a 4-5 qt. slow cooker, add potatoes, carrots, bacon, broth, water, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. 

·     Cook in High 3 hours, or low 6 hours. 

·     Once cooking time is done, whisk flour and cream together until smooth. Add to slow cooker. (I tempered the cream mixture by mixing a small amount of potato/broth mixture with the cream mixture before adding it to the slow cooker.)

·     Cover and cook for on low for 30 minutes. Add cheese and stir until cheese is melted. 

·     Serve hot with optional toppings of shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, chopped green onions, sour cream. 

Pie/PI Day - My Favorite - Coconut Cream Pie

I'm not afraid of Coconut Cream Pie anymore! Although it is our family's favorite and a common birthday treat, it usually came from the local bakery to our house. And for church dinners I always hoped my fellow UMW members would make the coconut cream pie and I could pick my seat  at that pacesetting. 
My experiences with making coconut cream pie involved lots of stirring, time at the stove, and not-so-great results. This recipe from Chef Alli is a game changer! It is cooked in the microwave, much easier and quicker. Also the toasted coconut adds a richer flavor. The meringue recipe she shares is also different. It includes water! And it works beautifully. The meringued pie is also baked at a lower temperature for a longer time to cook and brown the meringue. This helps the meringue cook completely and keeps it from shrinking back from the edges or weeping as it cools. 
Wow! I may even volunteer to take a Coconut Cream Pie to the next church dinner. My son-in-law enjoyed this month's version of his pie-of-the-month Christmas gift. 

COCONUT CREAM PIE

                              

1 – 9” pie crust, baked and cooled

1 recipe meringue

6 Tbs. cornstarch

¾ cup granulated sugar

½ tsp. kosher salt

3 cups milk

3 egg yolks, beaten
3 Tbs. butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. coconut extract

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted (plus extra for garnish)

To toast the coconut: spread out over a large baking sheet in a single layer. Bake, uncovered, in preheated 325 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown, tossing often. 

In a large bowl, combine corn starch, sugar, and salt; whisk in milk. Cook on high power in microwave in 2-minute intervals, stirring between each, until mixture begins to bubble and thicken a bit. Stir a bit of the hot milk mixture into the egg yolks, then whisk the egg/milk minute back into the hot milk. Continue to cook on full power in microwave in 2-minute intervals for an additional 8-10 minutes or until mixture has formed a nicely thickened pudding/pie filling. 

Remove from microwave and whisk in butter, vanilla, and coconut extract; fold in coconut, then pour into a cooled pie shell. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of pie filling; let pie cool. After pie has cooled, cover with meringue. Bake in preheated 325-350 degree oven for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown. 

MILE-HIGH MERINGUE

5 egg whites

5 Tbs. ice water

¼ cup granulated sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites, water, and sugar for 3-5 minutes on high speed until stiff peaks form.
Spread meringue over cooled pie filling, making sure meringue is spread over the edges of the pie crust all the way around (to keep the meringue from shrinking back when baked).

Use a small spoon or spatula to make decorative peaks and swirls on the top of the meringue if desired. 

Bake pie, uncovered, in preheated 325-350 degree oven for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Let pie cool before slicing.