Surprise Muffins

Things I learned in food programs during my 4-H years continue to be instilled within me today! Times I spent with my mother in the kitchen preparing food projects for the county fair, visiting neighborhood kitchens to learn about culinary techniques and the many recipes collected from those days are just a few of my favorite memories from my childhood.  These Surprise Muffins were almost classified as lost until recently when they were discovered tucked away in an old cookbook.  Use any flavor of jam...that makes it a fun surprise.  This just happens to be some homemade jam from our strawberry crop from this past summer.  Hope you enjoy these muffins as much as we do!  

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Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

PRINTABLE COPY
2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold
3/4 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix flour and baking soda. With a pastry brush, cut butter in flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in center of flour mixture. Add buttermilk all at once.  Stir until moistened. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Quickly knead dough 10-12 times. Roll dough to about 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with biscuit cutter and place 1-inch apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake 10-15 minutes. Brush with melted butter.

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Homemade Pasta Sauce

I have fond memories of staying at my Grandpa and Grandma

Franklin's during summer months. They lived on a farm so a lot of

time was spent outside.  My Grandma was an amazing cook!

She always prepared a big meal for my sister, cousins and me

when we stayed over.  I will always remember her 

homemade spaghetti sauce.  She always made this sauce 

and served it in a vintage bowl, all by itself.  The pasta, spaghetti,

was served in another bowl.  We would put our pasta on

on plates and pour however much sauce we wanted 

over our pasta.  Parmesan cheese was always on the table.

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Pantry Purging Cookies

I decided to purge my pantry of "almost expired" items recently.  It was much needed and a job I had put off.  If you are like me, you shop the grocery adds and buy in bulk when things are on sale.  What I can't stand is finding something in my pantry months later that has expired so I have made, what I call, "purging my pantry" a regular event.  I keep one shelf empty - okay, almost empty and when I clean my pantry I put all items just expired or almost expired on that bottom shelf to remind me they need to be used now or very soon.  Then I go on a quest to find new recipes, or find the recipe, I had originally intended to prepare using these ingredients. This task provides an opportunity for me to look through some of those cookbooks I haven't had my nose in lately or thumb through my recipe box and/or notebooks full of recipes.  


The ingredients found that needed to be used soon were a half jar of chunky peanut butter and a can of peanuts. My first thought was...I haven't made Double Treat Cookies for some time.  This cookie recipe was shared by my sister, Debbie, many years ago.  I remember going to her house one day and she had just baked some.  They were cooling on wax paper and I instantly asked her what kind of cookie it was.  I had my first Double Treat Cookie that day. I'm suppose to share that these cookies are Casey's favorite (my nephew).    
DOUBLE TREAT COOKIES
(Printable Copy)
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup regular shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup peanut butter, chunky style
1 cup peanuts, chopped
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two large baking pans with parchment paper.

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It All Started with A Craving

Sometimes it just amazes me how a simple combination of  "on-hand" ingredients can result in such a delicious meal. This is exactly what occurred one recent evening when I found myself not wanting to go to the store, yet I had a craving for a favorite chicken dish I've made many times. My husband was at a business meeting and it was just me!  I had been craving one of my favorite dishes for several days so I went home from work, broke the chicken out of the freezer, put my apron on and set out to make Chicken Piccata.  I had just found a bottle of capers when organizing my pantry the other day so I knew I had all the needed ingredients.  Making a double recipe was also on my agenda so I would have plenty of leftovers.  Bow-tie pasta was also discovered in my pantry tucked away behind some other items so making an easy side-dish was not far away.  When all was done, I devoured every bite in front of the television watching a prerecorded "girly movie."

Chicken Piccata
(Printable Copy)
INGREDIENTS

• 3  boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 4 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup capers
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley

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Cooking in my Crockpot

It's the name of one of my boards on Pinterest ...Cooking in my Crockpot.  If someone would have told me three months ago that I would be addicted to something new in a few months and it's name was Pinterest, I don't think I would have believed a word they said.  Pinterest came along and it didn't take long to be consumed by all it's wonderfulness!  I have to get my Pinterest fix daily.  It's usually the last thing I do on my computer each night. The creators behind Pinterest are nothing more than geniuses!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I'm sharing with you today...one of my favorite Pinterest pins on my recipe board for Barbecue Chicken coming to you from the blog STICK A FORK IN IT!  I love the name of that blog, I love that blog and I love the Barbecue Chicken recipe that I found on Pinterest.

Crockpot Barbecue Chicken
(Printable Copy)
INGREDIENTS...
4-6 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 small bottle BBQ sauce

1/4 cup vinegar

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 - 1 teaspoon garlic powder

   
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