Tag: delicious

Berry Breakfast Muffins

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I’m never too hungry right when I wake up in the morning, but when I know I have homemade muffins waiting for me, that’s a different story. These muffins are perfect because you can add whatever fruits or nuts or oats you desire and they will be always be tasty. I took this recipe from Clean Eating Recipes and jazzed it up a bit with the fruit around my kitchen.

Ingredients:

Baking Steps:

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a muffin tin with baking wrappers or grease the tins well with coconut oil.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the coconut milk and lemon juice. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.
  3. Place the honey, eggs, and coconut oil in a mixing bowl and whisk together until well combined.
  4. In another bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Whisk half of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add in half of the coconut milk mixture and whisk until just combined. Whisk in the remaining dry ingredients and finish by adding in the remaining coconut milk mixture, mixing just until combined – do not over-mix.
  5. Fold the blueberries, raspberries, and banana into the batter.
  6. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin tins (tins will be completely full of batter).
  7. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until tops are set.
  8. Let cool for 5 minutes and remove from pan. Store in an airtight container.

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I hope you enjoy and let me know what you ended up adding to them! 🙂

Avocado and Buffalo Chicken Salad

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I’ve recently been craving Buffalo Chicken and summertime means salads right? So i found the best of both worlds and it was as delicious as I’d hoped. The recipe was adapted from this recipe I found on Pinterest. I decided not to add quinoa (though it would have been good with it too!) and I didn’t use quite as much hot sauce, probably 1/2 cup instead of 3/4. And to top it all off I used Organic Ranch from Trader Joe’s!

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  • 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
  • 1/2 cup franks red hot sauce
  • 2 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 4 cups of chopped green leaf lettuce
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 2 avocados, sliced
  • 1/3 cup sliced red onion
  • 1/2 cup cooked corn
  • Drizzle ranch dressing
  • 1/4 cup diced fresh cilantro (optional)

Holiday Caramel Apple Trifle

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Without one tiny, minuscule doubt, if you make this dish for dessert you will be the hit of the party. It’s so easy and so tasty, and will make you want dessert even after you’ve filled yourself up on an overwhelming amount of turkey, ham, rolls, potatoes, etc, etc. I would certainly recommend making this for any holiday occasion, because its fun to make, pretty, and can serve a lot of people.

I found a recipe on Pinterest (here) and improvised by making a yellow cake mix from Fresh Market and also bought the most delectable caramel sauce from Fresh Market as well, which I recommend everyone buy and eat it on pretty much anything and everything. It’s seriously life changing.

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 4 cups chopped peeled granny smith apples (about 5 medium)
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (I also added chopped hazelnuts)
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon apple pie spice, divided
  • 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 jar (12-1/4 ounces) caramel ice cream topping, divided
  • 1 carton (12 ounces) cool whip, thawed, divided
  • 1 box of yellow cake mix baked according to the recipe (or pound cake or angel food cake)
  • Additional apple pie spice to sprinkle on top!

Directions:

  1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in the apples, walnuts and hazelnuts, brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice. Cook and stir for 8-10 minutes or until apples are tender.
  2. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1/2 cup caramel topping and 1/2 teaspoon of apple pie spice. Fold in 2 cups of the whipped topping.
  3. In a trifle bowl or glass serving bowl, layer a third of the cake cubes, cream cheese mixture and apple mixture. Repeat layers twice. Garnish with remaining whipped topping and drizzle with remaining caramel topping. Sprinkle with additional apple pie spice if desired. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
  4. Yield: 14 servings.

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Crema Catalana

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Inspired by the Spain Box from Try the World, I made the Crema Catalana recipe from their online magazine with my own twist to it.

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The original recipe is below:

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 egg yolks
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2½ Tbsp. cornstarch
  • 2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. milk
  • Grated zest of ½ orange (or in my case honey!)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 Tbsp. P. Listo jam
  • 4 Tbsp. sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl using a hand held mixer, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy, about 5 minutes. In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons milk until the cornstarch dissolves.

2. In a saucepan, combine the remaining 2 cups milk, orange zest, and salt. Heat over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until small bubbles form along the edge of the saucepan. Once the bubbles appear, lower the heat to keep warm.

3. Add the egg and sugar mixture to the cornstarch mixture and whisk until homogenous. Slowly pour in the warm milk, whisking constantly, until smooth and homogenous, then pour back into the saucepan. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly with a spoon, until it thickens, 10 to 12 minutes. Do not allow to boil.

4. Pour the mixture into 4 ramekins, then cover and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 3 hours.

6. Remove the ramekins from the fridge and spoon 1 tablespoon of the jam onto each custard. Sprinkle with the sugar, then broil until the tops are caramelized, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Note that instead of using orange zest, I added about a tablespoon of an organic lavender honey that I have newly acquired and which is absolutely delectable.

I had never cooked with ramekins before, so I bought mine from Crate & Barrel (only $2.95 per dish!)  on the way home from work one day and am so excited to have them as a new addition to my kitchen!

I’m disappointed because I didn’t have a torch to really get the sugar bubbled and crispy, instead I broiled mine in the oven for a few minutes. They were still sweet and delicious though!

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Enjoy ❤

Review: An Evening at Fleurie, a Romantic French Restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia

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As I have mentioned already in a previous post, Charlottesville, Virginia has some of the best food in the world. It is less than two hours from Washington, DC and offers a break from the hustle of the capital city. And last night, my friend, Carrie, and her boyfriend, John, spent their two-year anniversary sharing fine wine and delicious food at a downtown French restaurant, Fleurie.

Since it was their anniversary, Fleurie made special menus recognizing their special occasion and even had a bottle of sparking wine from the Loire Valley in France waiting for them on their candlelit table.

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At the beginning of our friendship, Carrie and I majorly bonded over our deep affection for anything related to France, and this restaurant seems to epitomize everything about Paris given its romantic tone and thoughtful ingredients and menu. This restaurant seems like the perfect pick for a special celebration.

Carrie said the ambiance were positively enchanting. The restaurant has exposed brick walls and was playing classical Parisian music softly in the background (think “La Vie en Rose”). Although I haven’t been there myself, Carrie said the food was mouthwatering and delightful. She sent me the following pictures with descriptions and it all sounds so incredible!

They were given a beet amuse-bouche and for appetizer they had soft-shell crab which was on special for the evening.

For the main entree Carrie had butter poached lobster, coral spätzle, and fava beans served with a ginger Sauternes sauce.

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John ordered the meadows pride lamb and braised lamb ravioli with fond de braisage. (This one looks soooo delicious!)

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And of course no celebration goes without dessert. Carrie and John split the chocolate souffle with vanilla bean ice cream and dark chocolate cream sauce…Yum!

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And lastly, Carrie and John were given complimentary petit fours after the meal!

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Fleurie is now at the top of my must-try restaurant list! Also, you can follow Carrie on her travel blog – https://musichanainkibera.wordpress.com/