Morning glory Muffins

I get quite a few cooking magazines in the mail – and even though I read a ton of food blogs – I love sitting down and flipping through my latest Cook’s Country, Cooks Illustrated or Everyday Food magazine.   These muffins immediately caught my attention – not only because of their appealing name – they are chock full of tons of things I love.  They have carrots, coconut, apple, pineapple, walnuts and raisins.   I also feel that a food processor is a must with this recipe – or else you will be doing a lot of chopping and shredding on your own.  I am not lying even with the food processor – these muffins do take quite a bit of prep work to get made, they are surprisingly involved for a muffin.  Luckily they came out super moist and really flavorful – definitely worth making your morning glorious by eating one! 

Ingredients

• 3/4 sweetened shredded coconut, toasted
• 1/2 cup walnuts, toasted
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple
• 1 Granny smith apple, peeled, cored and shredded
• 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots (2-3 medium sized)
• 1 cup golden raisins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

2. Toast coconut in a dry skillet on medium heat until golden brown.  Place in food processor.  Then toast walnuts in same skillet until toasted.  Place in food processor.

3. Process coconut and walnuts until finely ground.  Add flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and pulse to combine.   Transfer mixture to a large bowl and set aside.

4. Shred apple in now empty food processor (with shredding blade) and set in a large fine-mesh strainer set over a liquid measuring cup.   Add pineapple to strainer.  Press fruit dry – juice should measure about 1 cup.   Bring juice to a boil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat and reduce until 1/4 cup.  Let cool slightly.

5. Combine juice with melted butter, eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine. 

6. Shred carrots in now empty food processor (with shredding blade).

7. Combine wet and dry ingredients until just combined.  Add in pineapple-apple mixture, carrots and raisins. 

8. Divide evenly into muffin cups.  Bake for 24-28 minutes until toothpick comes out clean when pressed in the center of a muffin.  Cool for 10 minutes in pan and then cool completely on wire rack.  

Source: Cook’s Country April/May 2011

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Pineapple Upside-down Cake

I mentioned in my last post that I had some fresh pineapple – one of the things I did with it (other than just eat it – yum!) was make this pineapple upside down cake. 

It was in my latest issue of Cooks Country and I loved the easy ‘lightened up’ version they had concocted.  They recommend using frozen pineapple – but none of my stores seem to carry it.  So fresh can be substituted – but definitely don’t use the canned version. 

I haven’t made a pineapple upside down cake in forever – so I knew it was time.   You have to eat it quickly though – since it doesn’t keep too well, but believe me – you won’t have a problem doing that!  Enjoy!

Ingredients

pineapple topping:

• 4 cups thawed frozen or fresh pineapple, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

cake:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream or yogurt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan.

2. Cook pineapple and sugar in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until pineapple is light brown and juices are nearly evaporated – 10 to 12 minutes. 

3. Off heat, stir in butter, lemon juice and vanilla.  Pour pineapple mixture into bottom of prepared pan.

4. For the cake, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

5. Whisk sour cream, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.  Slowly whisk butter into sour cream mixture until incorporated.

6. Stir flour mixture into wet mixture until just combined.

7. Scrape batter over pineapple mixture, spreading to cover. 

8. Bake until cake is golden and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.  Cool in pan for 10 minutes.  Turn out onto a platter and cool for 1 hour before serving.

Source: Cook’s Country April/May 2011

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Grilled chicken and pineapple quesadillas

This was one of those recipes that I wasn’t quite sure about – part of me thought I would like it and another part of me thought I would hate it.  But I’ve been seeing this recipe made over and over again online – which is always an indication of something great.  I also had all of the ingredients on hand – including fresh pineapple and cilantro – so I felt like it was the prefect time to add it to my menu plan.   I was starving when this was done – so I didn’t arrange a photo-shoot of the finished product.  After eating half of a quesadilla – I decided this was too good not to put on the blog, so I grabbed my camera and the remaining triangle of quesadilla and snapped a few shots.   But don’t let the bad photo fool you – these are absolutely delicious.  I can’t wait to make them again when it finally gets warm enough out to use the outdoor grill.  Enjoy

Ingredients

• 4 whole flour tortillas
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup grilled pineapple, sliced
• 1 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, grated
• fresh cilantro
• 2 Tbsp. barbecue sauce

Directions

1. Cut pineapple into wedges, stick on skewers, and grill over low heat. Cut into slices and set aside.

2. Pound chicken breast to thin.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil on a grill pan and grill on both sides until done, brushing with barbecue sauce. Set aside and slice into very thin slices.

3. Warm griddle over medium heat and melt butter in the pan. Slightly warm and toast tortillas on both sides, then remove from griddle and set aside.

4. To assemble: sprinkle two browned tortillas with grated Monterey Jack. Arrange chicken slices evenly over the surface. Add pineapple slices and cilantro. If desired, drizzle extra barbecue sauce over the top. Add second browned tortilla on top of each one.

5. Add to oven to warm, or back to skillet to warm, until cheese is melted. Cut each quesadilla into six wedges.

Source: Pioneer Woman

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