where the secret ingredient is love
Week of July 9
Monday: stuffed sweet potatoes
Tuesday: Kheema [Indian Ground Beef with Peas] – didn’t get to that last week… or the week before. whoops!
Wednesday: homemade pizza
Thursday: chili lime shrimp
Friday: leftovers
Saturday: out to eat
Sunday: breakfast for dinner
Hey! Hope you had a happy Independence Day! Ben and I didn’t do anything super exciting… just had a little cookout [with awesome coleslaw and some Greek burgers he made], played Mario Kart on the Wii [I’m getting pretty good!], and watched a few fireworks on our balcony from the neighbors and the town’s celebration. We decided we didn’t want to deal with the traffic. 🙂 But we always enjoy the 4th of July because it was on that day that we got engaged four years ago, when I was staffing a summer project with Cru in Virginia Beach. Ben and a friend drove out to surprise me… so fun. 🙂 But anyways, back to the week.
I think these muffins might help your week out, don’t you?
My Grandma’s Blueberry Muffins are the absolute bestest blueberry muffins you ever did taste! So don’t you dare change a thing about them. 🙂 I certainly wouldn’t dream about it, even though the amount of butter and sugar in these little guys is really enough to warrant the name “cupcake” instead of “muffin.” Like, seriously. But they are worth it! I promise.
Even more so than the sweet muffin or the naturally sweet, juicy, fresh-picked blueberries, the crumb topping is what I absolutely adore about these blueberry muffins. Could that get any better? I think not. These muffins might look like your average bakery blueberry muffins, but they are absolutely not. And I’m not saying that just ’cause they’re from Grandma. Not at all. These muffins are sweet and a wee bit over the top, but they are still super light and fluffy to let the berry shine… unlike heavy bakery muffins. I don’t even bother trying other recipes anymore because I’m never satisfied. My Grandma simply knew what she was doing with these muff muffs! 🙂
Once you try them, I’m sure you’ll agree! Enjoy!
Directions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease or line muffin tins with paper liners, then set aside. Put flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix well. Cut in butter until crumb like. Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla to crumb mixture in large bowl. Beat until smooth, then gently fold in blueberries. Fill prepared muffin tins about 3/4 of the way full. Place reserved crumb mixture into a small bowl, then dribble in melted butter. Toss with a fork to make crumbs. Sprinkle on top of each muffin cup. Bake for 20 minutes or until crumb topping is golden brown. Store covered for up to one week, or can be frozen up to six months.Grandma's Blueberry Muffins
from my Grandma
Ingredients:
So, even though I love Jack Johnson… I don’t really like banana pancakes. I’m not a fan of globby, warm, overripe banana goo. What can I say? I prefer underripe bananas. I’m weird. All that being said… I absolutely adore these banana pancakes. They are so light, fluffy, and just sweet enough to be a little extra treat in the morning [or at noon or in the evening… pancakes are good anytime!].
So what makes these banana pancakes so great? Let me give you a hint: It’s not just the chocolate chips.
The bananas in the mix are mashed, not sliced, which give each bite full of banana flavor without that warm banana goo. This batter reminds me so much of banana bread, it’s uncanny! I cannot say enough good things about them, except to say that you should definitely check out the original post on Skinnytaste. Gina’s heart shaped pancake mold is absolutely precious… and I’m sure makes the pancakes taste a teensy weensy bit better. But I’m here today to say that even if you just make these the regular ‘ole way, they are still pretty amazing. 🙂
Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes [from Skinnytaste]
click to print
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat skillet over medium heat. Add a little oil to skillet to heat up.
In a small bowl, mix together flours and baking soda. In a large bowl, beat together banana, milk, egg whites, oil, and vanilla until smooth. Then gently fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
Pour 1/4 cup batter onto hot skillet, top with 1 teaspoon mini chocolate chips. Cook for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes on each side, flipping when bottom is lightly brown and batter starts to bubble.
Repeat until all batter is used, and serve pancakes with additional banana slices, chocolate chips, butter, syrup, etc.
Time: 20 minutes.
Yield: 12 pancakes.
Week of July 2
Monday: Spaghetti and Meatballs [made a double batch last week…and we had it Wednesday not Saturday :)]
Tuesday: Kheema [Indian Ground Beef with Peas] – didn’t get to that last week
Wednesday: BBQ for 4th of July!
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: breakfast for dinner
Saturday: out to eat
Sunday: leftovers
So… high school lunch. While most people I know have horror stories of inedible cafeteria food or exciting tales of sneaking off school property to go out for lunch during their high school years, I was fortunate enough to have an open campus… and an entire hour for lunch. It was pretty sweet, I do admit. My lunch hour as a high school student typically were spent one of three ways: 1) going out to lunch with friends, 2) eating a packed lunch at school to attend one of my many extracurricular activity meetings, or 3) going home. Even though I had great friends and thoroughly enjoyed being an involved high school student, as soon as I got my driver’s license and a car, I absolutely adored going home for lunch. It was bit of relaxing bliss during a busy school day. By graduation day [9 years ago…yikes!] I had my routine perfected down to the minute how I would rush through the hallways to get to the parking lot and beat the underclassmen [walking] crowd to my car, quickly making the sometimes tricksy left turn in order to have smooth sailing home… and subsequently, maximum time to heat up leftovers or make a tasty hot lunch at home.
There were many quick meals I made during those high school days–scrambled eggs, grilled cheese, Ramen noodles… you know, the good stuff. These meals had to be quick so I could get back to school on time, but also so I could watch as much of my Mad About You reruns as possible. Oh, and if it was a rerun I’d seen a zillion times, I’d turn on TLC [A Wedding Story=LOVE]. Or some dating game that I now forget the name of. Quality TV at lunch makes for a great day, folks.
But you know what makes for an even better day? A quality lunch, made while watching said reruns on the small kitchen TV, instead of on the comfy family room couch. And as a 17 year old, my idea of the most high quality at-home lunch was…. BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad! And not the version you’re seeing here. That version is almost embarrassing to admit to, because it was pasta + alot of ranch dressing + a little BBQ sauce + some zesty Southwest Mrs. Dash-esque spice blend. That’s it. No veggies, no cheese, no meat, no nothing. It was darn tasty though! In a moment of high school reminiscing last week, I set out to recreate that lunch… in adult style, of course.
This version of BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad brings the old school up to date. Rotini noodles, cooked to al dente perfection are still bathed in a luscious ranch/BBQ sauce blend… but the noodles are whole wheat, and the sauce isn’t quite as thick or overwhelming. A thinner sauce means more room for veggies… and this pasta salad is hearty enough for plenty of raw tomatoes, peppers, corn, and onions. Adding some black beans makes the salad truly hearty enough for a meal, unlike the old pasta salad of days gone by. And my good friend Mrs. Dash? Sorry to say but she has been replaced with not one, not two, not three, but NINE herbs and spices, including three types of pepper. It definitely has a kick to it, but the ranch and lime juice cool it down considerably, so don’t worry about the spice factor.
Absolutely glorious, no?
This isn’t a lunch I would have made during my high school days, but it’s so quick to throw together that I sure could have. And you can too… it’s great hot when first made, but it’s also fabulous chilled. I’ve been enjoying it for lunch over the past week, but I’m sure it’d be the perfect addition to your 4th of July BBQ, so I hope you enjoy!
What were your high school lunches like?
BBQ Ranch Pasta Salad [a TPC original]
click to print
Ingredients:
Directions:
Prepare pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, combine corn, tomato, celery, and red bell pepper in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together ranch, barbecue sauce, lime juice, basil, sage, garlic, oregano chili powder, parsley, and peppers. After pasta is ready, add to bowl with vegetables, pour on dressing, and toss to combine.
Enjoy warm, or cover and refrigerate for two hours before serving. Refrigerate for up to one week.
Time: 20 minutes.
Yield: 8 servings.
The Pajama Chef 