yogurt coffee cake muffins

We are lacking on good in the kitchen right now. I just don’t feel like going to the grocery store. Don’t judge :) Even though we really have nothing I was still looking for breakfast recipes and came across these coffee cake yogurt muffins. I was overly excited that I actually had everything needed to make them. I immediately went to the kitchen and started baking. They were so easy to make! I was a little nervous when I put them in the oven because they looked horrible but 25 minutes later they were beautiful, delicious muffins!! We had them for dessert last night and I brought one to work this morning. They tasted simply fabulous both times…it’s like dessert for breakfast! Give them a try…you will be happy you did!!

yogurt coffee cake muffins.
source: cooks.com

filling-

1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. cinnamon
1/4 c. chopped pecans

Mix thoroughly ingredients for filling.

batter-

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. plain yogurt
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda

what you do-

Cream butter, sugar. Beat in eggs, yogurt and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients and add.
Spoon 1 tablespoon batter into each greased or lined muffin cup. Sprinkle with one teaspoon filling. Top with batter and sprinkle each muffin with filling. Bake 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

Yields: 12 muffins.

Grilled Chicken and Peaches with Chipotle-Peach Dressing

I was with my good friend Leah last weekend and we were talking about our menus for the week. She told me about this chicken and peaches dish she makes that was her husband's favorite. She shared the recipe with me and I made it last night...now it may be my husband's favorite! :) The original recipe was a little different from the way I did it- on the original it says to grill the peaches...personally, I don't love grilled fruit so they way I did it is below :) ENJOY!

*as always, this picture was just snapped with my blackberry so please forgive me :)

Grilled Chicken and Peaches with Chipotle-Peach Dressing

adapted from Bon Appétit.

what you need:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/3 cup peach preserves
1/3 cup peach nectar
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing
1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro plus sprigs for garnish
3 large peaches, rinsed, fuzz wiped away, each cut into 8 wedges
4 boneless chicken breast halves with skin

what you do:

Coat grill rack with nonstick spray. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Or, use George Foreman (I did)

Stir preserves, nectar, red wine vinegar, adobo sauce, 2 teaspoons evoo, and chopped cilantro in small bowl; season with salt and pepper.

Peel peaches and cut into chunks.

Add dressing mixture and peaches to a skillet. Heat on medium to low for about 5 minutes.

Grill chicken until cooked through, about 7 minutes per side.

Place grilled chicken on the plate and top with the dressing/peach mixture.

enjoy!!

M&M sugar cookie bars

a couple of weekends ago i wanted to make something easy. i didn't have a ton of ingredients so i wanted something simple. i was looking on thenest and saw this blog. i have looked at and got ideas off of stephanie cooks before and i was really happy to see these easy m&m sugar cookie bars! they were the perfect fix for my sweet tooth! :)

what you need-
1 stick butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
M&Ms

what you do-
1- Preheat the oven to 350.
2- Melt the butter in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar.
3- Once it's slightly cooled (about 3 minutes) beat in the egg and vanilla.
4- In a separate bowl combine the flour and baking powder. Stir this into the wet mixture.
5- Pour into a greased 8x5 baking dish (or similar size). Bake for approximately 15 minutes.
6- Pull out of the oven and top with M&Ms, gently pressing them into the dough.
7- Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes, or until the top is set and the cookies don't wiggle when you shake the pan. They should still be white with barely golden edges.
8- Cool completely in the pan before slicing. Yields 8 cookie bars.

light brioche buns

i want to be able to make bread. SO bad. i have made honey yeast rolls a few times with no luck. i saw these buns on annie's eats (where i also got the honey yeast rolls) a while back and have had them on my mind since but just hadn't gotten up the guts to attempt bread again. so, i attempted sunday and FAILED. bad! i guess my water was too hot and i killed the yeast. i was so bummed when they didn't rise. so, last night i tried again. at first, i didn't think they were going to rise but then...they did! i did a happy dance in my kitchen. they aren't the prettiest buns but they taste AMAZING! so, here you go...light brioche buns! :) i will def make again and go for the look of annie's...round and beautiful!!

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. warm milk (around 110*)
1 cup warm water (around 110*)
2 tsp. instant yeast
2½ tbsp. sugar
1½ tsp. salt
1 large egg
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2½ tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

For topping:
1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp. water, for egg wash
Sesame seeds (i left this out only because i didn't have any!)

Directions:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the milk, water, yeast, sugar, salt and egg. Mix briefly to combine. Add the flours to the bowl, and mix until incorporated. Mix in the butter. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed for about 6-8 minutes. The dough will be somewhat tacky, but you want to avoid adding too much extra flour which will create tough buns.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1-2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Using a dough scraper, divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each portion of dough into a ball and place on the baking sheet, 2-3 inches apart. Cover loosely with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rise again, 1-2 hours, until puffed up and nearly doubled.

Set a large metal pan of water on the lowest rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400˚ F with a rack in the center. Brush the tops of the buns lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake the buns about 15 minutes rotating halfway through baking, until the tops are golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

*note- when putting the wrap over for the 2nd rise make sure to just lay it over...otherwise the wrap will stick to the buns. just trust me! :) haha

strawberry pineapple crumble!

strawberry pineapple crumble.
source: joythebaker

i get joythebaker updates via email. i love them. i love her baking and i love the way she writes. i pretty much always love everything i make that comes from her website. as for this strawberry pineapple crumble- when i saw it come up in my email i was like oh my, i must make this. i'm glad i made it because i will share it with others but i wish i would have remembered i don't really like cooked strawberries!! fail. so, it was really good minus the cooked strawberry taste, for me! if you like the taste of cooked strawberries...you should totally make this!!! :) either way- i was happy to use strawberries and pineapples together. i love both very very much!!!!

what you need:

1 pound strawberries, hulled and cut in half
1 pound peeled and diced fresh pineapple
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup brown sugar

what you do:

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350*.

Toss diced fruit together in an 8-inch square baking dish.

In a small dish, whisk together 3 tablespoons white sugar, cornstarch, 1/4 cup of flour and pinch of salt. Toss the mixture with the diced fruit. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the cold butter cubes. Use your fingers to break up the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture. Add the oats and toss together until the butter bits are about the size of the oat flakes.

Pour the oat mixture over the prepared fruit. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until juices from the fruit bubble up around the sides of the pan.

Remove the crumble from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
source: Rachel Ray

my husband loves all things spicy. every time he has to go out of town for work i end up making pesto mozz and tomato pizza. so, i had some dough left over the other night when he got back in town and decided to try to do a buffalo chicken pizza. i hadn't made it before and was a little worried about the taste. i just googled buffalo chicken pizza and this one from rachel ray came up! i thought it looked good and i love blue cheese so i decided to give it a go. SO glad i did- it was delish and bradley was in heaven. we will def make this one again soon!! :)

What you need:

Chicken
Extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons of grill seasonings
Pizza dough & flour to handle
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2-3 tablespoons of hot sauce
1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
½ cup of blue cheese crumbles
tomato sauce

What you do:

Drizzle chicken with evoo and grill seasoning. Grill chicken. (I used George Foreman and it was fabulous!)

In a medium skillet on medium heat, melt butter. Once butter is melted, stir in Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and tomato sauce.

Form pizza dough using AP flour to handle. Roll out and have ready.

Add chicken to hot sauce mixture and fully coat.

Cover pizza dough with chicken mixture and cheeses.

Bake 18 minutes on 425* or until crisp (we baked about 25 minutes)

strawberry swirl cream cheese pound cake!!

Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Source: Southern Living, March 2011

that is the picture from southern living because i for some reason forgot to take a picture of this fabulous cake. i plan on making it again soon so let's pray i remember to take a picture! haha. :)

as i have said before, i love getting my southern living magazine each month! in march they had this pound cake and i knew i had to make it since it was strawberry and cream cheese. it took a while to make but it was SO good when finished. bradley and i had some. i took some to work. i took some to my parents when we visited for the weekend. all the places i took it everyone LOVED it!! you should make it :)

what you need:

1 ½ cups butter, softened
3 cups sugar
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. almond extract
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup strawberry glaze
1 wooden skewer

what you do:

preheat oven to 350*. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add cream cheese, beating until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

Gradually add flour to butter mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed. Stir in almond and vanilla extracts. Pour 1/3 of batter into a greased and floured 10 in tube pan. Dollop 8 rounded teaspoonfuls strawberry glaze over batter, and swirl with wooden skewer. Repeat procedure once, and top with remaining third of batter.

Bake at 350* for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10-15 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely (about 1 hour) .

Rave reviews on this one!! ☺