Asparagus and Parmesan Frittata

Lately, I'm lucky if I can sit down for 10 minutes to enjoy my food. Baby girl is coming up on 6 months and she keeps me BUSY! I think this blog has, therefore, turned into just a way for me to keep track of recipes that we liked, without the photos that take an extra 10 minutes that I just don't have anymore. I'll do my best to take at least one photo of each dish, but I can't promise anything.

Unfortunately, this delicious (and EASY!) frittata didn't make it to the picture table. I had intended on taking one, and then I burned my hand on the handle of the skillet. Ouch! Besides my stinging fingers, this meal was a hit. It was incredibly easy, versatile, and quick, which makes it the perfect meal in this house with Little Miss Needs Attention!

Asparagus and Parmesan Frittata

2 tablespoons margarine or butter
12 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk or half and half
1 package chopped asparagus, cooked and drained (find these in your freezer section-I used Green Giant, which steams in its own package)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

*You could add bacon, chicken, ham, turkey, or different veggies and herbs to mix it up too.

Preheat oven to 350º. Whip eggs with a hand mixer and then whisk in the milk. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the cooked asparagus and stir. Add the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until the eggs are slightly set.

Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and transfer the skillet to the oven. Cook until the eggs have set, about 15 minutes. CAREFULLY remove the skillet from the oven and keep the hot pad on the handle so you don't burn yourself like I did!

Enjoy!

Hubby's Favorite Apple Crisp

Somehow I didn't take a single picture of this recipe. Maybe that's because Hubby ate it so quickly. I, on the other hand, didn't eat any of it. This recipe was too sweet for me, but I've come to realize that I don't really like very sweet flavors. I love my mom's apple crisp, which I make with Granny Smith apples for that tart bite. I'm glad I used Granny Smiths in this recipe too, since it cut the sweetness a bit. Hubby declared this his new favorite apple crisp recipe. I guess next time I make it for him, I'll have to take a picture!

Hubby's Favorite Apple Crisp
*From Mommy's Kitchen

Filling:
4-5 apples, peeled and sliced (I used Granny Smith apples)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice (I used about 2/3 of a cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 stick cold margarine (not butter)

Preheat oven to 400º. In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and sugar together. Add a single layer of cinnamon sugar onto the bottom of an ungreased 8x8 or 9x9 inch baking pan.

Layer sliced apples, sprinkling the cinnamon sugar mixture in between each layer. Make sure to use enough of the mixture to cover each layer.

Once the apples are to the top of the pan, cover with a final layer of cinnamon and sugar. Mix the vanilla extract and apple cider together in a measuring cup. Pour the apple cider mixture over the apples.

Using a pastry cutter or fork, blend the 3 topping ingredients together until crumbly. Cover the apples with the topping and bake for 25-35 minutes until golden brown and bubbly. Cool and serve.

Enjoy!

Coconut Almond Granola

I have a hard time with snack foods. I don't want crackers, I want a steak or some leftover chicken noodle soup or pasta. Usually I reach for something a little more hearty than a handful of granola, but this is special granola. It has coconut and almonds, two of my favorite things. Add in some cinnamon (which you do!) and you've got yourself a yummy treat!

This recipe called for chia seeds, which I was all for using, but chia seeds are expensive! The brand is Bob's Red Mill and you can find them in the whole foods aisle. I didn't know if I would like the recipe, since I've never made granola before, so I didn't buy the seeds. A single batch of granola only calls for 2 tablespoons of chia seeds, which means a bag would last a long time. I might go buy the seeds for next time, since I'm sure I'll be making this recipe again and again. It's delicious, especially on Greek yogurt or even ice cream!

Coconut Almond Granola
*Adapted from The Vintage Mixer

3 1/2 cups coconut flakes, sweetened or unsweetened, depending on your taste
2/3 cup oats
1/2 cup almonds, chopped
2 tablespoons chia seeds (I left these out this time)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup coconut oil (mine was in solid form, so I heated it in the microwave until it liquified)
Dash of salt

Preheat oven to 350º. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and spread the mixture evenly onto a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes and then turn everything with a spatula. Spread it back out and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until just golden.

Cool, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. This is good over ice cream, Greek yogurt, apple sauce, with milk, or just straight out of the jar!

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Applesauce

I love a recipe that makes the entire house smell like warmth and yumminess. I can achieve that with a great roast or baked dessert, but the best smell comes from any dish that includes cinnamon. This recipe for applesauce really sent the aroma of cinnamon wafting through our house. I was so excited to try this applesauce and it didn't disappoint!

This might be one of those recipes that I shouldn't mess with because it really was yummy as is, but I have a few changes I'm going to try next time. The first is switching out the white sugar for brown sugar. I'm also going to add nutmeg, cloves, and maybe a little bit of vanilla extract. I love that I have a great basic recipe though. I only wish it had made more! Once you mash it, the amount reduces by about half. Something to keep in mind for next time.

Emma helped Momma make applesauce! (Please ignore the clutter and mess in my kitchen. Having a baby and holiday time combine to make it impossible to keep my house clean!)

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Applesauce

*Slightly adapted from What Megan's Making

3 pounds of apples (6-9), peeled, cored, and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks

1 cup apple cider or apple juice, plus more as needed

2 tablespoons sugar, plus more as needed

Pinch salt

2 cinnamon sticks (optional)

1/4-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine apples, cider or juice, sugar, salt, and cinnamon sticks in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until apples are very soft and beginning to disintegrate, between 3-4 hours on low. Remove cinnamon sticks if using. Mash with a potato masher or immersion blender to desired consistency. Season with cinnamon and additional sugar to taste and adjust consistency with additional hot apple juice or cider as needed.

*Recommended apples: Jonagold, Pink Lady, Jonathon, Golden Delicious, Rome, Mcintosh, Empire

*Not Recommended: Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Braeburn, Cortland, Baldwin, Honeycrisp, Norther Spy

Cinnamon Roll Cake with Cinnabon Frosting

 I made cinnamon rolls for Christmas this year from the Pioneer Woman's recipe, which I love. I do them in my bread machine, which makes it insanely easy. The only work comes from rolling and filling them, but that is a lot of work and it is messy. Once Christmas was over and all the rolls had been eaten, which didn't take long (boo!), I still had a lot of frosting left over. What to do, what to do? I felt too guilty just eating it with a spoon (which I could have easily done), so I made this cake as a vehicle for the amazing frosting.

If you're looking for a quick fix to curb a cinnamon roll craving, this is the way to go. The cake is delicious and easy, but the frosting. Oh the frosting. This IS the Cinnabon frosting. It. Is. So. Good. Make it and eat it with a spoon. Go ahead, I won't tell anyone!

Cinnamon Roll Cake with Cinnabon Frosting
*From Life as a Lofthouse
*Frosting from CDKitchen

Cake:
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Topping:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) margarine, room temperature
1 package cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a 9x13 glass baking pan with cooking spray and set aside. In an stand mixer, add the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Once well combined, slowly stir in the melted butter. Pour into the prepared baking pan.

For the topping:
In a large bowl, mix the 2 sticks of butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together until well combined and creamy (I used an electric hand mixer). Drop evenly over the batter by tablespoonfuls and use a knife to marble/swirl it through the cake.

Bake at 350º for 25-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out nearly clean.

For the frosting:
Beat cream cheese and margarine together in a large bowl with a mixer. Slowly add in all powdered sugar. Once all of the sugar is in the bowl, mix for AT LEAST an additional 12 minutes until light and fluffy. With about a minute left on mix time, add in the lemon juice and vanilla.

Frost the cake when warm or cool or serve the frosting on the side to be used on warmed cake.

Enjoy!

Eggnog Pancakes

Trying to get back into the kitchen has been difficult with a new baby, to say the least. I've been cooking a lot of recipes that we are familiar with, so there hasn't been much to post on the blog. However, this morning I got the itch to cook something new, so I decided to try this recipe for eggnog pancakes. I'm not a fan of eggnog myself, but the hubby loves it and we found some pumpkin eggnog that I actually really like, so I used it in this recipe. The pancakes turned out really yummy, but are very thick and cake-like. Next time I will thin the batter with a little bit of plain milk, but Hubby loved the cakey, fluffy texture. These would be a great Christmas breakfast if you are going for something simple and quick!

Eggnog Pancakes
*Adapted from Taste of Home

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups eggnog (I used pumpkin eggnog)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Milk, for thinning

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

Whisk the eggs, eggnog, and butter in a small bowl. 

Stir wet ingredients into dry and mix until just moistened. Add milk to thin if necessary. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top and cook until second side is browned. If the batter is thick, bubbles will not form, so watch the pancakes closely while cooking.

Enjoy!

Mom's Apple Crisp

Well, Hubby and I have officially begun the countdown. Baby girl is due in about 4 weeks and we're hoping (praying, begging) that she is a little early because the end of this pregnancy has been far more difficult than the beginning. Of course, the sweltering heat this week doesn't make the swollen ankles and discomfort any better, but the end is in sight. I just have to keep telling myself that!

I made this recipe a long time ago and the photos have been sitting on my computer waiting to be put into a post. I confess that I haven't been all that inspired to write or do much of anything lately, but I have to share this one before fall is really upon us because this apple crisp begs to be made in the cool weather I know is just around the corner. This recipe is my mom's, but it's also in one of my Nana's old cookbooks, which is probably where Mom got it in the first place. Regardless, Mom's apple crisp is guaranteed to make you happy and make your house smell like heaven. It's very, very easy too and always a crowd pleaser. So, once you feel that bite in the air that signals fall, make this apple crisp! Your friends and family will thank you, I promise!

Mom's Apple Crisp
*From my mom

6 cups peeled, pared, and sliced apples (8-10 apples-use Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, or Cameos; we use all Granny Smith because I love the flavor contrast between tart and sweet)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
2/3 cup margarine or butter, softened

 Heat oven to 375º. Grease 9x13 pan. Place apples slices in the pan. 

Mix remaining ingredients thoroughly and sprinkle over the apples.

Bake 30-45 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown. 

Serve with whipped cream or ice cream and cinnamon. Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Muffins

First off, some wonderful news: Hubby and I are pregnant! Our little peanut is due October 9th and we are over the moon about it. Unfortunately, pregnancy equals an aversion to all things cooking, especially the poultry we typically live on. Hubby's been in charge of his own meals lately and I've been existing on cereal and yogurt with the occasional granola bar, salad, and bowl of fruit mixed in. I don't mind going out to eat, as long as I don't think about the cooking process (isn't it weird that my nausea is tied to all things food and all things cooking?), so we've been eating out a lot lately.

Then came the day that I was reading my food blogs and doing an exceptional job of staving off the nausea and I found this recipe on the Tasty Kitchen blog. I had to make it. Hubby was off doing daytime assault rifle training (ah, to be a cop and smell like gunpowder for days . . . yuck), so I decided to bake these to surprise him. He's been feeling very neglected lately and is especially thankful for the way I used to cook because now it's soup and grilled cheese living all over again. I think he feels like he's back in college. And he can't even complain because it's his fault I'm knocked up, haha!

Anyway, back to the recipe. It's amazing. The muffins are light as air and the cinnamon and sugar covering the entire thing makes it taste just like a snickerdoodle cookie. And snickerdoodles are Hubby's favorite cookie. He was so happy when he came home from the outdoor range, soaked through and bruised all over from drills to find warm, cinnamony muffins waiting for him. I think he almost cried.

Snickerdoodle Muffins
*From Tasty Kitchen

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks unsalted)
1 cup sugar
2 whole eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup buttermilk

For the topping:
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350º. Prepare 2 muffin tins with liners. The muffins are too delicate to just spray the pans, so definitely use the liners. In a mixer, combine the butter and sugar and cream until fluffy.

Add the eggs and vanilla and combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

Add half the dry ingredients to the batter and mix to combine.

Add the buttermilk and sour cream and mix again.

Finally, add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter.

In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the topping.

Using a scooper (or your hands), scoop a ball of the dough into the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Gently roll the ball around (this is a bit of sticky mess, but it's worth it and it gets easier as you get the hang of it). Place the ball into the muffin liner.

When you have completed all the muffins, sprinkle the remaining cinnamon and sugar on the tops of the muffins. Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden on top and toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Breakfast Egg "Muffins"

Do you ever have one of those "ah-ha" moments that leaves you feeling excited and smart? I had one of those when I thought these up a few days ago. I'm sure someone else has already done them, but still. These were good. And I thought of them! Not that this recipe is anything spectacular, but making eggs yummy is something I pride myself on, especially since Hubby loves eggs. He actually got out of bed before noon (he works nights-he's not just lazy) to eat these (granted, once he was finished, he went right back to bed, but still!) and I enjoyed them myself. I especially like the variety of ways these can be changed. A few days later we made them non-scrambled:

You could also add in mushrooms, ham, bacon, broccoli, different cheese, any leftovers, etc.

Breakfast Egg "Muffins"

1 slice of bread for 2 muffin tins

Eggs (if scrambling, use 1 less than the number of muffins you're making: so if you're making 6 muffins, use 5 eggs)

Butter spray

Salt and pepper

Shredded cheese

Sliced green onions

Any other toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray. Cut a circle out of a slice of bread (I used a 1/2 cup measuring cup . . . and hmm, water spots much?) and press it into the bottom of a muffin cup.

Tear out the rest of the soft part of the slice of bread and press it into the bottom of a second muffin cup. Repeat for as many muffin as you'd like to make.

Scramble your eggs with a small pinch of salt and a generous sprinkle of pepper (we're big pepper fans, so add to your taste). Spoon egg into the muffin cups until about 3/4 of the way full.

Add your toppings.

Bake at 350º for 20 minutes or until the muffins puff up and the egg is cooked through.

Enjoy!

Cinnamon Swirl Cake

I love all things cinnamon. For me, the sweetness of sugar isn't necessarily a craveable thing, but the bite of cinnamon is something I physically need. Seriously. And go figure, I would desperately crave cinnamon when the hubby is sick, so I spent most of second half of the day baking this cake while he was in bed moaning and groaning about his tummy. (I say that like he's being a big baby because I like to tease him, but really Hubby is a trooper when he's sick.) Anyway, back to the food. This cake is rich, completely unhealthy, and very yummy. I think my only change would be to the basic cinnamon frosting I made for it. Next time, I will use a cream cheese glaze so that the frosting doesn't overpower the cake.

Oh, I used my Nana's bundt pan to make this recipe.

I had an overwhelming sense of her being tickled to see me use it, just like I feel whenever I use one of her old pans. She would be so happy to see me cooking like I am! And she would have loved some of these recipes. I miss her so much.

Cinnamon Swirl Cake

Cake:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)

2 cups white sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

Swirl:

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1 cup brown sugar

Cinnamon frosting:

2 cups sifted confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 325º. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Combine cinnamon and brown sugar for the swirl and set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition.

Stir in vanilla.

Add in sour cream and flour mixture, a little at a time. Mix just enough to fully incorporate the flour.

Spread half the batter into into the prepared bundt pan.

Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar mixture into the pan, leaving only a small amount for the top.

*Next time I will sprinkle a small amount of the cinnamon mixture into the bottom of the bundt pan first and then add the rest to the middle, as the bottom of the bundt pan is actually the top of the cake.

Add the rest of the batter.

Top with any remaining cinnamon mixture. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a knife inserted in the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before inverting the pan.

For the frosting: Cream together butter, sifted confectioner's sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Add in milk, 1/2 tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Beat until fluffy. Top the warm cake with frosting and serve.

This is also delicious heated up with your morning coffee! Enjoy!