Pineapple Carrot Muffins

My first test run on this muffin recipe was a few months ago when we were having a breakfast at Faye's (the brains behind LiveBakeLove).  She had invited a few friends and their kids to just hangout and have breakfast.  She asked me to bring muffins since we were going to have kids around.  I have a basic muffin recipe which I have posted on LivebakeLove a few times using different flavor combinations, love the recipe.  Since pineapple is in season right now, it's cheap and perfectly sweet so I thought this would be a good starting point for a muffin.  I was going to follow my normal recipe and add pineapple  and carrots when I realized I didn't have enough all purpose flour, but I did have wheat flour and cake flour.  So I said, what the heck.. let me give it a try. There you have it, the creation of my Pineapple Carrot Muffins!

 

Honestly, these muffins are so delicious, no wonder the kids at the party loved them so much. And the funny thing is they were eating fruit and veggies without knowing it. 

 

I decided to remake the recipe this past weekend and brought it to a potluck party.  I sprinkled a little powdered sugar on top of them and served them as "cupcakes" without frosting, well... a hit again!  The flavor of the fresh pineapple and carrots with a hint of cinnamon makes these muffins delicious. Not overly sweet, but just enough sweetness to satisfy your sweet tooth.

 

I hope you give these muffins a try.

 

Happy Cooking Everyone

Pineapple Carrot Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients
3/4  cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup fresh crushed pineapple
1 egg, room temp
3/4 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
powdered sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)

Prep-work:
1. Carrots- I took, grated carrots you find already packaged at the store and put them in my food processor for about 1 minute. Love the way the carrots grate down to little bits. You will need 1 cup of these grated carrots.

2. Pineapple- I took fresh pineapple which I had cut into chunks and put them in my food processor for about 1 minute. Once done, I drained the excess juice.  You will need 1 cup of the crushed pineapple.

Directions
1. In a large bowl, whisk the three flours, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon together. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together the egg, milk, cooking oil and vanilla.  Whisk until smooth.

3. Add the carrot and pineapple to flour mixture and toss with a rubber spatula until combined. Mixture will appear crumbly.

4. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, stir just until moistened, but do not over mix or you will have tough muffins.

5. Divide mixture evenly between the 12 muffin cups

6. Bake for 20-24 minutes at 375 degrees.
7. Muffins will appear fluffy.

8. Serve warm or wait 10 minutes to cool and sprinkle with powder sugar.

Strawberry "Mojito" Lemonade! The Perfect Drink to Kick Off the Memorial Day Holiday!

 Last week was a great and not so great test run in the Live Bake Love kitchen. Once in a while, Faye and I get together to test out a few recipes we have had in our heads. The day started with me going to Faye's house where she served Mike,  her husband, and myself an amazing french toast breakfast. Trust me, it was amazing!!! Just look at this picture!

 After breakfast was done we started on our first test recipe, Circus Animal fudge... Well as you can see from the picture..

not so successful (yet) but I guarantee success in a few weeks. 

Then we proceeded to our amazing creation and success of the day...Strawberry "Mojito" Lemonade!  This drink was amazing.  I had been contemplating coming up with another drink recipe since the success of the Blackberry lemonade posted here. 

My mother is known for her fresh juices so I have been getting some great ideas from her lately. This one comes just in time for the Memorial day weekend. It is so refreshing and easy to make.  You and your guests will love it!  

The strawberry and mint compliment the lemon so it not too tart. Perfect amount of sugar from the infused syrup.   Then top it off with a little rum (or not) and start your weekend. 

 I hope you give this recipe a try and lets get this weekend started!!!

Happy Cooking everyone!

Strawberry "Mojito" Lemonade

Makes 1 pitcher

Approx 4-5 servings

Ingredients and Directions:

Infused Simple Syrup

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups water

6 mint leaves

1 strip of lemon peel

1 strawberry, halved

Place all of the ingredients in a medium size saucepan and cook over med-low heat until simmering (approx. 3-4 minutes).

Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temp.

Why syrup is cooling, make the fruit puree...

Fruit Puree

1 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 cups of chopped strawberries  (reserve 1 cup)

1/2 cup of loosely packed mint

1 cup water

Pulse all the above (only the one cup of berries) in a blender until strawberries and mint are combined (about 1 minute)

Combine the cooled simple syrup. strawberry - lemon juice puree and the and the remaining 1 cup of chopped strawberries in a large pitcher with 7 cups of cold water.

Strain into glass with lots of ice.

Add 1 shot of white rum  (or more if you like!)

Stir.

ENJOY!!!

My Grandmother Nina's Chicken Mole

  Faye and I have joined forces with two of our friends to do a “Freezer Meal Exchange” every 4 to 6 weeks. What this entails is everyone in the group cooks and freezes a meal for four for every member of the group. These freezer meals come in handy during the busy work when we you don't have time to cook.

I admit, I was a bit skeptical about the concept when it was presented, but honestly it is the best thing ever!  Not only do we get to eat amazing food from awesome cooks, but we also get to try recipes you never would have considered otherwise, and to top it off we get to spend quality time each month with our girlfriends for the exchange lunch.  It really is a win-win situation!

Another great thing that has come out of this cooking adventure, is the time I get to spend cooking with my mom.  I have wanted to do this for some time now, but really have not had the time. The Freezer Meal Exchange has given me the perfect vehicle to do this! Finally, I am able to actually cook with my mom and get her recipes to share on the blog instead of just sitting at the dinner table and enjoying her delicious food.  It’s been difficult through the years to get actual measurements from her since her recipes always involved "a pinch of this", "and handful of that", "should look like this", or "I don't know, it just make it". Honestly, that is years of experience talking.  Since starting this club, we have been able to cook 3 of her recipes together and hopefully more to come! 

  As for this week’s recipe, it's my Grandmother Nina's Mole recipe. What is Mole? It’s a sauce that is added to chicken. It varies in flavor and technique depending on the part of Mexico you were raised.  Traditional Mole takes lots time, lots of ingredients (including chocolate) and lots of love to make. My Grandmother’s recipe is a simplified version, probably due to raising a big family in the mountains of Mexico.  After my Mom married my Father, her Mother-in -Law (my Grandmother) taught my Mom how to make her version of this spicy goodness called Mole since my Dad loved it. so much  I have grown up on this Mole since I was a child and it is delicious!  Rich and flavorful, not spicy, just a mild chile flavor that you will definitely enjoy. It it definitely worth the time to make!

 This Chicken Mole dish was a hit with the Freezer Meal Club so make a big pot of it and freeze the rest for meals throughout the month (if it makes it to the freezer!)

  I really hope you give my Grandmother Nina's Mole  recipe a try and that it becomes a well loved traditional meal for your family, just as it is for ours.

Happy Cooking everyone!       

    

Grandmother and Grandfather in the 1940's

Mom 2012

Grandma Nina's Chicken Mole
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

For Chicken soup:

1 cut up fryer, or 8 thighs or 4 chicken breast cut in two

½ of a medium onion

2 peeled garlic cloves

½ teaspoon pepper

8-10 cups of water

3-4 tablespoons chicken flavor bouillon

For Mole Sauce:

¾ cup Flour

¼ cup California chile powder

¼ cup Paprika chile

8 ½  cups of the chicken broth (from soup you made)

Directions :

Add chicken, onion, garlic, pepper, and water to a large soup pot. 

Bring to a boil.  Once boiling, add chicken bouillon and reduce heat to medium-high

     Cook for about 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

For the Mole Sauce:

1
     Using a large soup pot set heat to medium.  Add flour and toast.  (to toast flour, just continue to stir. It will become a nice light caramel color).  Once done, set aside and cool for 10 minutes

     Mix together, California powder, paprika with ½ cup of the chicken broth. Set aside.

     Once the toasted flour has cooled, put back on stove at  high heat. Whisk in 2 cups of the chicken broth, continue to add the remaining 6 cups of chicken broth.  Bring to boil.

     Once it is boiling, add the chile mixture you had made.  Whisking it in, reduce the heat to medium.

     Add the cooked chicken pieces and cook for another 8-10 minutes.

           Serve with Mexican rice  and warm corn torillas.

MEXICAN RICE

FREEZER MEALS READY TO BE FROZEN