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Blueberry Gems

Muffins, muffins, muffins - I could eat them all day long. I like little light bite size muffins and dense muffins as big as my head. I mean, they are pretty much little cakes moonlighting as breakfast, and I love anything that allows me to work more cake into my diet and not have it count as dessert. This is my favorite blueberry muffin recipe - super simple and easy to pull together- I always have frozen blueberries in the freezer and self-rising flour in the pantry. There's no softening of butter or pulling out the mixer, which allows me to be a bit spontaneous (which as a Mom, I rarely get to be) and whip them up when inspiration grabs hold.


Paula Deen's Blueberry Gems

2 cups self-rising flour
1.5 cups sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 375. Line 18 muffin tin cups with liners or spray with cooking spray (or 12 muffin cups if you're making jumbo muffins).

Combine flour and sugar in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, oil and milk. Whisk together until well combined. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour in the liquid. Mix with a spoon until the flour is moistened. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling two-thirds full. Bake for 23-25 minutes until nicely browned and puffed.

BBQ Chicken PIzza

Okay, I have vowed to only post my favorite recipes here - nothing that's just average, nothing that I would consider "good enough." And since BBQ chicken pizza is one of my favorites, here you go:

-1 bag Trader Joe's pizza dough (or any other brand)
-1 or 2 TBL olive oil
-1 cup bbq sauce
-Cooked chicken breast meat, approximately 1 c. chopped (I buy TJ's "Just Chicken")
-thin sliced sliced red onion (or chopped green onions)
-shredded cheese (mozarella, monterey jack, smoked gouda, or any combo of these)
-chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray pizza pan with cooking spray. Roll dough on board with cornmeal (my favorite) or flour. Spread dough on pan, brush with olive oil. Bake for 6 minutes. While baking, chop chicken and toss with half of the bbq sauce. Remove from oven- if dough has puffed, poke raised spots with knife to deflate. Spread remaining bbq sauce on crust. Top with half of the cheese. Top with chicken and onions, and then sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 14-16 minutes more until brown and crisp. Allow to rest at room temp for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

Smoky and Spicy Quiche

Quiche is a great go-to when the fridge is on empty. The key to a successful quiche (thanks, Laurel!) is to bake it at least a few hours in advance, and let it rest for a few hours before serving. You can then serve it at room temperature or reheat in the oven at 200 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. This recipe can be adapted, adjusted, and made to be your own...don't be afraid to substitute whatever veggies, cheese, or meat you have in your fridge. Even my kids devoured this, despite the spicy kick from the tomatoes- they pretty much love anything in a pie shell. For my 5-year old who thinks he doesn't like eggs, I call it "cheese pie," you can call it whatever you want, just try it!

Smoky and Spicy Quiche

• 1 ready made piecrust (Trader Joe's is my favorite, but you can use any brand)
• 5 eggs
• 1- 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup sourcream
• 1 can diced, fireroasted tomatoes with green chiles (well drained, juices pressed through sieve)
• 1 package Trader Joe's chopped pancetta (or 3-4 slices bacon, chopped)
• 2 cups shredded smoked Gouda (approx. 5 ounces)

Brown pancetta, set aside to drain on paper towel lined plate. Place pie crust in deep dish pie plate, prebake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. While it bakes, whisk together eggs, milk and sourcream. Stir in tomatoes. Once piecrust is finished pre-baking, drop oven temperature down to 375. Layer 2/3 of the cheese in the bottom of the crust and top with pancetta. Pour in egg mixture and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 50-70 minutes, until top is set and golden brown. Do not overbrown it, as the gouda will continue to brown after you've removed it from the oven. Allow quiche to rest for a few hours before serving.

Favorite random kitchen tips

As I've said, I'm no professional chef, but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve. These little, simple pointers- garnered from watching others cook, cooking with friends, reading cookbooks, and my own trial and error- have become crucial in my cooking and make me look like I really know what I'm doing! Hope you'll find them helpful as well:

-Don't be afraid to really salt your food. Do you see how much salt the professional chefs on Food Network use? They will often grab a mini handful from a dish and sling it right in there! Salt will really help bring out the flavor of you food, don't be afraid of it.

-When you make pizza (whether homemade or frozen), allow it to sit out and rest for at least five, even 10 minutes. I used to cut into my pizza straight out of the oven, and the juices would run everywhere, taking with it a lot of the flavor and wonderful oils. Letting it rest allows the cheese to firm up a bit, keeping all the yummy flavor in.

-When making scrambled eggs, add in 1-2 TBL of sour cream instead of using milk. Your eggs won't be runny, but more fluffy and with an added zing.

-Ice cream tastes better when it is soft. Let it sit out and soften for at least five, even 10 minutes before you scoop it. If you don't believe me -test it out yourself. Try the ice cream rock hard out of the freezer and taste it again after its really softened up. The flavors are better and the ice cream feels better in your mouth when its really softened up.

Tried and True Crispy Pizza

In our house, if you're a grown-up, Friday is pizza and movie night. It used to be frozen pizza, but since my love affair with Trader Joe's began, I've been using their pizza dough and play with different fun toppings each week. Sometimes its pepperoni deep dish, sometimes its pesto and veggie,and other times it chicken, gorgonzola, caramelized onions, and walnuts (you haven't lived until you've had crunchy walnuts on a crisp pizza). Anyway, no matter the toppings, I really like my crust thin and crispy...and the key is to prebake the crust before topping it. Here's the scoop:

-Roll out pizza dough (Pillsbury, TJ's, your own homemade dough)
-Brush with olive oil (can also sprinkle with chopped garlic or some italian seasong for umph)
-Bake at 400 degrees for 6 minutes.
-Remove from oven, top with your sauce, cheese, and toppings, return to oven for about 15 minutes.
-Once brown and crispy, let pizza sit for 5-10 minutes to firm up and become even more perfect.

Praise the Lord!

The shortribs were amazing, and worth every ounce of sweat, every minute checking them in the oven, and even the carpel tunnel I feel in my stirring hand. The sauce was amazing....a thick reduced sauce of tomato, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, thyme, bay, and lots of good red wine. The meat was moist, tender, and just fell off the bone. After cleaning my plate, I felt that warm fuzzy full and relaxed Thanksgiving day feeling sweep over me. Gotta take a few days off from serious cooking to recover (and to eat the leftovers).