Peach Cobbler Muffins with Vanilla Bean Glaze

Peach season is one of my favorite times of year! Late summer, not quite fall, last Saturday before school starts time of year.  I used this muffin base with chocolate chips and kept thinking to myself, this is all wrong!  It needs peaches, not chocolate chips!  So a couple of days later I added fresh diced peaches and vanilla bean glaze.  And like magic, these muffins were born!  They will made as many times as possible during this most delicious season!  Happy going back to school!

Peach Cobbler Muffins with Vanilla Bean Glaze

(12 muffins)

2 cups flour

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 eggs

2 t vanilla

1 large peach (or two small ones) peeled and diced small

Vanilla Bean Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

2 T milk

1/2 t vanilla bean paste (you can use vanilla extract too)

For the muffins:

Preheat the oven to 400.  Grease muffin pan or use liners.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugars, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, coconut oil and vanilla bean paste.  I add the coconut oil to the warm butter and stir them together to melt the coconut oil.  

Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix until almost all the flour is absorbed.  Add the diced peaches and gently fold them in until they are incorporated and the flour is all absorbed.  Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the edges are golden brown.  While the muffins are cooking make the glaze.  

For the Glaze:

Place all the glaze ingredients into a bowl and whisk until smooth.  While the muffins are still hot, drizzle glaze over the muffins.  Let them cool for 5-10 minutes.  Serve warm!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

So Yummy!  I didn't have any buttermilk to make my usual banana muffins so I went on a search for a recipe that didn't use buttermilk.  I found this recipe on the King Arthur Flour website.  They have never led me astray and this recipe just boosted my confidence in them!  You can really put whatever chips or nuts you want in them or leave them all out but I have to say the combo of semi-sweet chocolate and cinnamon chips was divine!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
(12 muffins)

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup mashed, ripe bananas (I used 2 medium)
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1/4 t coconut flavor (optional, but so good)
1/3 c milk
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 cups flour (you can use half white and half whole wheat)
3/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)
3/4 cup cinnamon chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a muffin pan.

In a medium bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy.  Beat in the banana, egg, vanilla, coconut flavor, and milk. Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour and stir until smooth.  Add the chips (if using) and then divide evenly into the prepared muffin pan.  Bake the muffins at 350 for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Perfect Guacamole

This is the ONLY recipe you will ever need for this!  It is beyond delicious, perfectly simple and oh so fresh! We LOVE Mexican food at our house!  And good guacamole tops the chart! My husband and I often wonder why it is so many restaurants serve nasty guacamole when it is so easy to make!  The hardest part is finding GOOD avocados.  Once you have that handled, well the rest is just too easy!

Guacamole

4 ripe avocados*

juice of 1/2 a lime

1/4 cup salsa, the fresher the better!

garlic salt, to taste

In a bowl mash up the avocados with the lime juice.  We used a potato masher, if you want it smoother and creamier, use an electric mixer.  Stir in the salsa and garlic salt.  

To pick perfect avocados, buy ones that are hard and let them soften on your counter.  They are ripe when the are still firm to the touch but have a little give to them.  If you try and buy them ripe, they are usually over ripe or bruised.  We store almost ripe avocados in our fridge and they ripen a lot slower.  Let them come to room temperature before using, it will make them easier to mash.  

Storing left over Guacamole is tricky, we have found the best way is to press plastic wrap to the top of the leftovers in a bowl removing all the air bubbles. Like when you press plastic wrap onto the top of pudding to prevent a film from forming.

Candied Pecans

I made these for the previous salad post but lets be honest, I ate most of them NOT in my salad!  I just LOVE these!  They are so easy, so good and will be made often in my house! There are lots of recipes for these, they are all pretty much the same.  So here is what I did...

Candied Pecans

(2 cups of pecans)

2 cups unsalted pecans (or walnuts or almonds) 

2 T butter

1/2 cup sugar

1 t vanilla

nutmeg or cinnamon (or both)

Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Melt the butter in a non-stick pan.  Add the sugar, nuts and a sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg or both.  Stir constantly over medium high heat until the sugar melts and turns a golden brown color.  Once the sugar has melted and turns brown remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.  Mix well. Dump the candied nuts onto the cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and spread out as much as possible.  Let them cool completely. 

Use the nuts in salad or keep in an airtight container for munching! These would be great over ice cream as well!

Caprese Salad Skewers

I have seen this salad pop up all over the internet. I love that these are bite sized and individual.  Besides they are so easy and beautiful.  I have made them a couple of times now and they are always a hit.  The last time was for this Fall Baby Shower I put on with my BFF Abby.

Caprese Salad Skewers

Cherry tomatoes

fresh basil leaves

fresh mozzarella (I used and LOVE these little marinated mozzarella balls.  I found them at my grocery store.  The brand is Galbani)

balsamic vinegar

toothpicks

sea salt (optional)

fresh ground pepper (optional)

Place a tomato, basil leaf and mozzarella on a toothpick and repeat until you have the desired amount.  Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

(If you don't use the marinated mozzarella, you may want to sprinkle the skewers with sea salt and fresh ground pepper)

Chicken Taquitos

Every time I see taquitos in the frozen food section, I think YUM! But then I make them and think "What was I thinking?" They are never very good to me. So when I saw these over at Annie's Eats I ran right out and got the stuff. And boy I was NOT disappointed. My only regret was that I didn't double the recipe. *They freeze you know! So next time I make these (like tomorrow!) I am going to double the recipe and stock my freezer for the quickest meal EVER! My boys loved these too, making them double fantastic!

Chicken Taquitos

(10-12 taquitos, 3-4 servings)

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup salsa (I used homemade, but use whatever you love)

1 T fresh squeezed lime juice

1 t chili powder

1/2 t cumin

1/2 t onion powder

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 T chopped cilantro

1-2 green onions, chopped

2 cups shredded chicken (about 1 1/2 chicken breasts)

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese (I used cheddar)

10-12 6-inch (fajita size) flour tortillas

cooking spray

kosher salt

1/2 can corn, drained (optional)**
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)**

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or spray with cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, spices, cilantro, green onions, chicken and shredded cheese. Mix until well combined.

Briefly heat the tortillas until they are soft enough to roll easily. Place a tortilla on a work surface and fill with 2-3 Tablespoons of chicken mixture down the middle. Roll the tortilla tightly around the filling and place the taquito seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat until all the tortillas are filled. Space them evenly on the baking sheet. Lightly spray the tops with cooking spray and then sprinkle with kosher salt. (This actually gives a great pop to these, so do not skip this step!)

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Serve with salsa, sour cream and guacamole, if desired

*To freeze for later use, transfer the baking sheet to the freezer and chill the assembled taquitos for 30-60 minutes. Then transfer them to a freezer safe container or storage bag for storing. To bake them from frozen, simply add a few minutes to the original baking time, until the filling is warmed through

**We made these again and added one can of black beans and a can of corn (both drained), omitted the cheese, left the chicken the same and doubled the cream cheese and spices and it made twice as many taquitos!  We didn't miss the cheese at all and LOVED the corn and beans in them!

Restaurant Style Chicken Nachos

I am a huge fan of mexican food in general, but nachos {Good Nachos} top my list. I made these on a whim to copy our favorite Mexican restaurant and they were so yummy! I need to put them on here so that I will remember to make them again! This is more just a list of ingredients because you can make as big a plate of these as you like!

Restaurant Style Chicken Nachos

Chicken, cooked and shredded

green enchilada sauce

cheddar cheese/jack cheese

refried beans

tortilla chips

sour cream

salsa

guacamole

Preheat your oven on broil. Place an oven rack about 10 inches from the top of the oven. Cover a pie plate or cookies sheet with foil and pile on some tortilla chips. Cook shredded chicken in enchilada sauce in a sauce pan until warmed through. Heat up refried beans (I like to add a little enchilada sauce and shredded to these). Put dollops of beans all over the chips. Next add the chicken in the same way. Top with lots of shredded cheese. Place the nachos in the oven under the broiler until the cheese is melted and starts to bubble. Top with sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. We like to gather around and eat off of the same plate just like at a Mexican restaurant!

*You could totally use any kind of meat: shredded beef, shredded pork or make it vegetarian and just use beans!

Pizza bites

I found this recipe over at Our Best Bites. I did mine a little differently, but they are the same idea. My kids thought these were pretty cool! What kid (or adult, for that matter) doesn't love finger food!

Pizza Bites

Pizza dough*

Ranch dressing (already made up)

mozzarella cheese, cubed into 1/2 inch cubes

olive oil

Italian seasoning

garlic powder

Parmesan cheese

*You can use whatever pizza dough is your favorite. I used this one. I doubled the recipe and it made about 24 bites.

Roll out the pizza dough into an rectangle about 18 inches by 6 inches. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 24 squares. In the center of each square put 1 to2 teaspoons of ranch and the same amount of cheese (about 4 cubes). Gather up the edges and seal the dough so none of the innards leak out. Place these seam side down in a greased pie plate or similar dish. Brush the tops with olive oil and then sprinkle with Italian seasoning, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes or until the tops are golden and the dough is cooked. Serve with marinara sauce or ranch dressing for dipping.

You can really fill these bites with anything you would put on a pizza...pepperoni, pineapple, bell peppers, etc.

We even filled a few with a big marshmallow and a few chocolate chips. When they were cooked I drizzled them with some icing, YUM!

Bean Dip

This bean dip has been a staple in our house since I was in high school. It is quick, easy and oh so good! My kids love this as a snack and can devour the whole thing in a matter of minutes. This is also a really good way to dress up plain old refried beans as a side dish.

Bean Dip

1 (16 oz) can refried beans

1/2 cup of your favorite salsa

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup sour cream

Mix together the beans, salsa and cheese in a sauce pan and heat until the cheese is melted, stirring to keep from burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the cheese is melted, remove from heat and stir in sour cream. Serve warm with chips or as a side dish.

Cinnamon and Sugar Almonds

These are my husbands most favorite. So when I saw them over at My Kitchen Cafe, I of course had to give them a try. I love everything about these from smell of my house while they cook to the sweet crunchy flavor. These are such a great holiday treat, ok, maybe an anytime treat!

Cinnamon and Sugar Almonds

(about 2 cups)

1 egg white

1 t cold water

1/2 t vanilla

2 cups unsalted almonds

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 t salt

1/2 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a large 11x17 rimmed pan with foil and lightly spray it with cooking spray.

In a large bowl beat egg white until stiff peaks form. Add the water and vanilla and beat again until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in the almonds until they are coated with the egg mixture.

In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add this to the almonds and stir until mixed well. Spread the coated almonds into an even layer on the prepared pan. Bake for about 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes, until the almonds look and feel dry. The coating should be crunchy. Let cool completely before serving and packaging.