Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Ever since I started this recipe blog, I've been daydreaming about the day I would find a lemon poppy seed recipe to make and share. I don't know what took me so long, but here it is finally. Make sure you don't skip the glaze at the end. It takes these good muffins to absolutely scrumptiously moist muffins.

The ingredients:
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup sugar
4 oz. cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. grated lemon peel
2 Tbs. poppy seeds

GLAZE:
2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tbs. sugar

Sift baking powder, flour, sugar, poppy seeds, and salt together in a medium bowl. Cut cream cheese into 1/2 inch cubes. Add cream cheese and coat well in flour mixture (leave the cream cheese in chunks).
In separate bowl combine egg, oil, milk, lemon juice, and lemon peel.

Add dry mixture to the moist ingredients and stir just until combined (you'll still see some small cream cheese chunks--don't worry this is a good thing). Spoon batter into 12 prepared muffin tins. Bake 15-17 minutes at 375 ° or until muffins test done.

GLAZE: Combine lemon juice and sugar and brush onto hot muffins.

Enjoy!

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Curried Lentil Soup

This savory vegetarian soup is healthy, easy to make, and perfectly combines the flavor of sweet potatoes, curry, and lentils. Serve it up with some crispy bread and a salad and you'll have a hearty, protein/vitamin packed meal!

The ingredients: 3 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1-1/2 cups carrots, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
2 tsp. olive oil
1 Tbs. curry powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. finely chopped ginger root
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 (14.5-oz.) cans chicken broth
1 (10 oz.) package frozen green beans, thawed
plain yogurt

Mix sweet potatoes, carrots, onion and lentils in large sauce pot.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add curry powder, cumin, salt, pepper, ginger, and garlic, and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly. Stir in broth.
Pour spice and broth mixture into sauce pot with vegetables and stir.

Cover pot and cook on low for about 30-45 minutes or until vegetables and lentils are tender.

Turn heat to high; add green beans. Cook until green beans are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Top with plain yogurt and serve.

Enjoy!

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BYU Mint Brownies

*Perfect  for St. Patrick's Day*
Mint and chocolate together is one of my favorite flavor combinations and this knock-off of BYU's famous mint brownies combines them just perfectly.  Enjoy them as a fun Saint Patty's day treat or for a bit of Cougar nostalgia!  Go Cougs!  

Click here for printable recipe!

BROWNIE:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
2 Tbs. honey
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups flour
1/2 Tbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped walnuts

MINT ICING

5 Tbs. butter
dash of salt
1 Tbs. light corn syrup
2-1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring
3 Tbs. milk

CHOCOLATE PAN FROSTING

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup milk
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted


Directions:
1. Melt butter and mix in with cocoa. Allow to cool.

Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts.

Pour batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Cool.
(Don't overcook yours like I did.)  :)

2. Prepare mint icing: Soften butter. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting.

3. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time (~ 15 minutes) to stiffen the icing.

4. Prepare chocolate frosting: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat, 2-3 minutes. Stir in cocoa powder and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring, and then remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar until frosting is thickened and smooth.

Pour and spread warm frosting on top of the layer of mint frosting. Let them cool before cutting.

5. Enjoy!

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Sausage Egg Rolls

I had never tried anything like homemade eggrolls before, but after seeing how easy it really is and how much everyone liked them, I'll definitely be making these again soon.
The ingredients: 1/2 lb. pork sausage
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
3 Tbs. chopped onion
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
3-3/4 cups coleslaw mix
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. salt
16 egg roll wrappers
Oil for frying
Sweet and sour sauce

In a large skillet, cook the sausage, green pepper, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. In a large bowl, combine the coleslaw, pepper, and salt; stir in sausage mixture.Place 1/4 cupful in the center of each egg roll wrapper. Fold bottom corner over filling. Fold sides toward center over filling. Moisten remaining corner with water; roll up tightly to seal.

Heat 1 inch of oil. Fry egg rolls, a few at a time on each side until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with sweet and sour sauce. Makes 16 egg rolls.
Enjoy!

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Lara's Famous Fried Rice

I've been making this hearty, flavorful brown rice for so long that my kids don't even recognize plain white rice as edible. Sauteing it in butter and onions beforehand adds a little extra time to the already longer cooking time necessary for brown rice, but your efforts will be so worth the results! You won't want to go back to plain white rice either.




The ingredients:

2-1/2 cups brown rice*
2 Tbs. butter
1 onion, diced
5 cups water
3 chicken bouillon cubes

Stirring frequently, saute dry rice and diced onion in butter until rice is slightly browned (about 5 minutes). Meanwhile heat water and bouillon until boiling. When rice is browned, add to the boiling water/bouillon. Cover. Turn heat to low. Simmer slowly for 45-50 minutes or until water is absorbed. Serves 6.

*If white rice is used, reduce cooking time to 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy!

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White Chip Chocolate Cookies

I made these cookies one time for backwards day at school, since they're reversed from the traditional chocolate chip cookie with the dark cookie and light chips. Ever since then, my kids have called them "Inside-Out Cookies". Pretty much I only make them once in a while, since we can gobble a whole batch in one sitting. They're soft, chocolatey, and oh so yummy!
The ingredients:
1 cup butter
2/3 cup cocoa
3/4 cup white sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
2-1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter, white sugar, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in small bowl. Gradually beat in flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in morsels. Drop by well-rounded tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 6 minutes (you'll want them to look slightly under-done when you take them out).

Enjoy!

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Orange Chicken

This is one of the great recipes from the Lion House cookbook! I love the orange/onion combination and the prep time is so short it's perfect for fixing and forgetting.


The ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 can (6-oz) orange juice concentrate, thawed
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. corn starch
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. salt
4-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine flour, salt, and pepper in plastic bag. Add chicken pieces and shake to coat well. Place chicken pieces in baking pan. Spread onions generously over surface.

Combine orange juice, water, brown sugar, nutmeg, and cornstarch. Pour over chicken. Cover with foil and bake at 325° for 45-60 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Serve with rice.

Enjoy!

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Whole Wheat Herb Bread

The perfect accompaniment to a savory soup on a cold winter day.


The ingredients:
2 cups warm water (divided)
2 Tbs. yeast
2 cups whole wheat flour
2-1/2 cups white flour
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup powdered milk
1 Tbs. sweet basil flakes
1 Tbs. crushed rosemary
1 Tbs. ground marjoram
1 Tbs. crushed parsley leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey
1 large egg

Combine 1/2 cup of the warm water and yeast in a small bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine wheat flour, 2 cups of the white flour, powdered milk, salt, basil, rosemary, marjoram, and parsley and mix well.

In another bowl mix together the remaining 1-1/2 cups warm water, oil, and honey. Combine with dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Add the egg.

Once the egg is fully mixed in, combine yeast mixture with flour mixture. Continue to add remaining 1/2 cup flour until mixture is stiff and difficult to stir. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth, adding additional flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Once the dough is smooth, place in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise in a a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

After the bread has doubled, work it down and shape into three free-form loaves. Cover and let dough rise again until nearly doubled, about 1 hour. Bake a lightly greased cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Enjoy!

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Thai Beef Stir Fry

When I cooked this recipe up for my family, my little one asked me why the chicken was so dark. Hehe. Apparently I don't make beef enough for them. The kids loved this meal and Glen was completely gaga over it and was asking me to make it for him just a couple nights later. This is definitely going into the keeper file!

The ingredients: 2 Tbs. cornstarch
3/4 cup water
3 Tbs. peanut butter
4 Tbs. soy sauce (divided)
1-1/2 lbs. boneless beef top sirloin steak, thinly sliced
1-1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 EACH medium green, sweet red, and yellow pepper julienned
1 can (8-oz.) bamboo shoots, drained
1/2 cup julienned carrot
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Hot cooked rice

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Stir in peanut butter and 3 tablespoons soy sauce; set aside. In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry the beef, garlic, pepper (the spice), and remaining soy sauce in oil on medium heat until meat is no longer pink; remove beef from pan, leaving the juices behind.

Add the peppers, bamboo shoots, carrot and pepper flakes to the juices; stir-fry 2-3 minutes or until tender.
Stir cornstarch mixture; add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Return beef mixture to the pan. Serve with rice. Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!

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Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pound Cake

Any of you fellow cooks out there who have been following our blog for long, know that we're a little nutty for peanut butter in our family. (haha--I just crack myself up sometimes). This cake is moist and peanutty on the inside with a hardened chocolate shell on the outside. In other words, it was crazy good and we gobbled up the whole thing in less than 24 hours.

The ingredients:(anything that starts with a cake mix is a friend of mine)

1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup milk
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (divided)
3 eggs
2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (divided)
1/3 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and lightly flour a 12-cup bundt pan; set aside.

In large bowl, with electric mixer at low speed, beat cake mix, milk, 1/2 cup peanut butter, and eggs until blended, about 1 minute. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes, scraping sides occasionally. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove cake from pan.
Meanwhile, microwave remaining 1 cup chocolate chips with 1/4 cup peanut butter on high for 1 minute or until chocolate is melted; stir until smooth. Drizzle or spread over cooled cake and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

Enjoy!

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