Lemon Raspberry Swirl Muffins - Taste and Create

For this month’s Taste and Create, I was paired with Grace from A Southern Grace. Not only are her posts funny and entertaining, she also takes some awesome pictures. Go and check her blog out – you will be sure to leave hungry!

I chose to make Lemon – Blueberry muffins this month. So off to the store I went with my little one. His job was to remember blueberry preserves and lemons; my job was to remember whole wheat flour. For whatever reason, there were no blueberry preserves, so I had to substitute raspberry preserves. They pair very well with lemon too. By the way, Benny did a great job remembering his ingredients and he helped me decide to substitute raspberry preserves. I also used a large muffin tin vs. a small one because I had large muffin cups on hand. The baking time increased for the muffins by about four minutes.

My muffins turned out to be very moist and full of flavor. The preserves added a lot of moisture and the wheat flour added a different texture and maybe a little nutty flavor. The raspberry preserves added a tang that I don’t think the blueberries would have brought t o the muffins. The muffins turned out really well. I don’t think I have ever had muffins that were that moist before. Thanks Grace for sharing this great recipe!!

Lemon-Blueberry or Raspberry Swirl Muffins

makes 24 magnificent mini muffins – or 12 large muffins.

Lemon Raspberry Swirl Muffins

Italian Quesadillas

I love the flavors of summer. Tomatoes and mozzarella cheese are my favorite, if you can’t already tell from my previous blog posts. This time, I thought I might try something I saw on tv; Italian quesadillas. I really thought the kids would like them. I used fresh mozzarella, tomatoes from my friend’s garden, basil from my porch, and chicken roasted with Italian spices. I would have grilled but it looked like rain and I knew if I started grilling it would rain for sure. It didn’t, of course. While my husband and I really enjoyed them, my kids weren’t so impressed. Oh well, as long as they keep trying new things; that is the important thing.

Along with the quesadillas, we had salad with Italian dressing, tomatoes, pancetta, ricotta, and eggs. Dinner was nice and light; perfect for a summer evening.

Italian quesadillas

Flour tortillas – 10 inch
Fresh tomatoes – sliced thinly
Fresh mozzarella – sliced thinly
Grilled or roasted chicken with Italian seasonings
Basil leaves
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

On one half of tortilla, in layers place cheese, tomatoes, chicken and basil. Add salt, pepper, and drizzle olive oil over top of layers. Close and place on flat grill seasoned with olive oil. Cook over medium to medium high heat until cheese is melted and chicken is warmed through. Serve immediately.

Cooking with no Power

I was so excited today. I went to the store to buy some boneless pork chops and mozzarella cheese. The reason for the excitement was two new recipes I was going to try on the grill. I know, I know, I have been working on cooking with only those items I have on hand. I am allowed to slip a time or two, right? The first recipe allowed me to use this wonderful beef spedini meat I had purchased on the Hill in St. Louis. The second recipe called for boneless pork chops for a Cuban pork dinner. I prepped up all the ingredients and was ready to put everything on the grill, and then the weather changed.

We had a terrible thunderstorm; it even caused the power to go out while I was cooking everything on the stove. I had potatoes in the oven, pork chops stuffed with ham, cheese, and pickles on the stove, spedini ready to go and asparagus all prepped too. Luckily for us I have a gas stove; so the stove works, while the oven doesn’t. I turned off the oven and hoped the potatoes would finish with any residual heat. While the boys held the flashlight, I finished cooking the meat and the asparagus.

Being the total photographer that I am – insert laugh here – I was so proud because I had taken pictures of almost every step and I will be posting them. It is the finished product that I really don’t have. My littlest went on the porch with me to try and salvage some pictures while my oldest son held a flashlight while I tried to take pictures in the dark inside. I will be happy to post those too. My husband said that he would suffer through me making this meal again so that I could have some good pictures. The next time I make this, it will be on the grill.

I was thrilled to have the power come back on about 1 ½ hours later, only to find out that we had no internet. We are wireless and something must have happened to the tower. I will have to call tomorrow. I had just settled down to watch some tv; it was getting late after all, when all of a sudden – yep you guessed it – the power blew again. No storm, just no power either. Here I sit in the dark typing on my laptop thankful that at least, I had this battery charged up. My cell phone is about ½ gone.

Cuban Pork Dinner – swiped from Grill It with Bobby Flay. I couldn’t get the entire recipe as I had no power and now no internet either.

4 boneless pork chops butterflied and pounded to ¼ inch
2 oranges juiced
2 limes juiced
½ - 1 cup olive oil
1 large handful cilantro chopped
4 cloves garlic chopped
Salt
Pepper
4 slices ham
4 slices swiss cheese
2 pickles sliced thinly length wise into 4 slices each

Marinate pork in oranges, limes, olive oil, cilantro, garlic, and salt and pepper for at least 2 hours. Take pork out of marinade, place 1 slice ham, cheese, and 2 pickle slices on 1 side of pork. Fold in half. Place on grill and cook on each side for 4-5 minutes or until done. Let meat rest for a few minutes and serve.

Beef Spedini – I saw this being prepared on the Today show today.

1 lb. beef spedini meat
¾ lb. mozzarella cheese cut into strips the length of the spedini meat
8 oz prosciutto ham
Fresh basil leaves
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Take a piece of beef spedini, place it on board. Add prosciutto, basil, and cheese. Roll and skewer with two skewers. Keep doing this until all meat is used. Put on sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Cook on grill 2 minutes on each side or until medium rare. Let rest for 3-4 minutes and serve.

While our dinner turned out very well – eating in the dark is loads of fun, especially with two kids. I enjoyed the evening, but I don’t look forward to cleaning up in the daylight tomorrow. My goodness, it is getting quite warm in here. I hope the power comes back soon.

Mungo's Salad, Mexican Buffet and Family

Today we had the family over for dinner and a swim. The theme of the night was Mexican – for the most part. I did have to make Caprese salad along with Mungo’s salad.

The kids had a ton of fun in the pool. My boys love to play with their cousin. My brother-in-law – from previous post, along with his girlfriend, brought bean dip from Chili Heads in Alton. My sister-in-law helped me get everything ready – she always does when we have a party.

According to the forecast, it was supposed to be around 98 degrees. Unfortunately, or fortunately, it was only in the 80s – after it rained in the morning, causing us to think that the party might actually end up indoors. Being able to splash around the pool and hang out with family is always a good time. It reminds me how important family is.

I thought that a Mexican buffet would be a great idea for this evening. Hubby’s family really likes spicy food, so I thought – how perfect. We had three different kinds of meat, carne asada, chicken marinated in lime, orange, cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, salt and pepper and then grilled on medium heat after the meat marinated for a while. I didn't marinate the chicken as long as I marainted the beef. I also made taco meat with hamburger and taco seasoning. With the choice of flour tortillas, hard and soft tacos, there was plenty of food to go around. Condiments for the tacos consisted of cheese, sour cream, peppers, jalapeño peppers, olives, lettuce, and tomatoes.

Along with the taco/burrito bar, there were refried beans and two different kinds of salads. For and appetizer, guacamole, salsa and chips were served. I made the guacamole myself adding salsa, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper, and of course, avocados.

Maybe I am crazy, but I really believe in fresh food. Not only did I grate the cheese, I also chopped the lettuce, sliced the olives, and used tomatoes from my garden. I just think fresh is the best. I must admit though, that I only bought whole olives because they were on sale for around .50 a can.

For dessert I made up a quick batch of sour cream cookies. They are not only some of the easiest cookies to make, but they are really tasty too. My kids love them, but I really made them for my father-in-law. He loves to end his dinner time meal with a little sweet. I had originally planned to make a cake that my mom used to make, but I ran out of time. That will happen another day. Even tho

Mugo’s salad is a recipe I received from my friend, Dot. She used to be my next door neighbor and is still one of my best friends in the whole wide world – mostly because of this recipe – just kidding.

Mungo's Salad

2 heads romaine lettuce chopped
1 lb. bacon cooked and chopped into small pieces
1 lb. rope provel cheese
4-6 green onions chopped

Place all ingredients in bowl and combine

Dressing

¼ cup water
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¾ cup olive oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 package Italian seasoning mix

Combine all ingredients except for olive oil. Add oil slowly to mixture. Right before service, combine dressing with salad ingredients – serve immediately.