Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

We were getting sick of banana or carrot muffins. So I looked up recipes for oatmeal muffins (preferably oatmeal WITH something else) and came across this recipe. Decided to give it a try tonight and they are quite yummy. They taste like apple crisp in muffin form, if that makes sense. They haven't passed Charlie's taste test yet, as he's in bed, but Alex and I like them.

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (I used all purpose because I don't buy whole wheat flour, ever)
1 1/4 cups oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup buttermilk (recipe called for low-fat, but I couldn't get that, so I used regular)
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup raisins (optional...and I hate raisins so I left them out)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cases or spray with a nonstick cooking spray

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, combine applesauce, buttermilk, sugar, oil and egg. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add applesauce mixture. Stir until just moist. If putting raisins, fold them in at this point. Spoon evenly into muffin cups.

Bake 16-18 minutes.

Adventures in Feeding a Toddler

The good thing about doing baby-led weaning is that my son just ate whatever we ate, and I didn't have to spend time (or money) making (or buying) baby food.

The other good thing is, this has made for a not-picky child. He will eat just about anything we put in front of him. There are some things he refuses to eat (or won't eat very much of) but for the most part, he's not picky, which is great.

Except.

He's two (just about). He's a toddler. And he has these days where he wants none of it. Thankfully, we know that if he skips a meal, it won't kill him (and he will get hungry later on and eat something) but it's still frustrating (and wasteful) trying to figure out what (if anything) he will eat in those moments of "i'm going to throw anything they give me on the floor because I'm a toddler" that he has.

We do admittedly give him more fish sticks and chicken strips and KD with hot dogs than we probably should. However,  he eats more fruit and veggies than we do, and we try to make sure he gets as much of a balance as possible. We cook most things from scratch, which means we spend a decent amount of time in the kitchen preparing meals every day.

It can be upsetting when we spend time making a delicious meal and all he'll do with it is throw it on the floor. We try not to take it personally, but it's HARD. A happy day is when we make something and he devours it like it's the best thing ever.

And these days, those times are kind of few and far between. But that's the joy of trying to feed a toddler.

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

I got a craving for chocolate cake...and this recipe definitely satisfied it! I think I might have mixed it too much, as it didn't turn out quite as light and fluffy as it was supposed to, but it's still very yummy. Alex thinks it needed some canola oil or more butter, to make it moister. And it makes a huge amount. the recipe says it makes 1 two-layer 9" round cake. I put most of it in my casserole dish and then made nine cupcakes...and I should have made more cupcakes instead of putting so much in for the cake. The picture shows six of the cupcakes and the cake. I used store bought vanilla frosting and mini chocolate chips (semi-sweet) to decorate the cake/cupcakes.

2 cups boiling water
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour whatever pan(s) you plan on using for the cake.

In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the cocoa powder. Mix until it's smooth. Set aside and allow it to cool to room temperature. (To avoid lumps, pour a bit of the water over the cocoa and mix until it's a thick paste. Once it's smooth, add the rest of the water and whisk.)

In a large bowl, cream the butter until it's soft enough to beat easily. Gradually add the sugar, beating the mixture between each addition until it's light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture thoroughly each time. Incorporate the vanilla.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three steps, alternating with the cocoa mixture. Mix until the batter is just smooth.

Transfer to pan(s) and bake the cake in the preheated oven until a tooth pick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

*The cupcakes took 20 minutes. The cake, because it was so deep, took 45 minutes. The recipe says if you use two 9" round pans, it should take 25-30 minutes.

Taco Dip

I just invented my own taco dip. It doesn't look great, but it's absolutely delicious and Alex and I both love it.

1 lb ground beef
1 cup water
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 cup of cream cheese, softened
Approx. 325 mL mild salsa*
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, brown ground beef, drain. Add water and taco seasoning, cook until almost all water is gone. Add cream cheese, salsa and shredded cheese and mix well. Continue mixing over heat until cream cheese and cheddar cheeses are melted and mixed thoroughly. Remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes. Serve with nacho chips.

*I used about half of a large jar (650 mL) of salsa. So one small jar or half a large jar will do.

Alfredo Casserole

First post of 2013! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and is getting back to normal. I cheated a bit with this recipe (used a bottled sauce instead of making one from scratch) but it was seriously awesome.

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced into small bite sized pieces
5 large mushrooms, chopped
2 1/2 cups of pasta (I used small shells, but other pasta would work too)
1 jar  (410 mL) of Classico Alfredo and Roasted Garlic sauce
1 1/2 - 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a pot, cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook diced chicken in olive oil until white on all sides, then add mushrooms and cook another 3-5 minutes.

When pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the chicken/mushrooms and stir. Then pour in the jar of sauce and mix thoroughly.

Transfer mixture to a casserole dish and cover with shredded cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Let sit 3-5 minutes before serving.

*One thing we noticed after baking was that the sauce had gotten really thick and kind of dry. So I would recommend either using two jars of sauce, or just one jar of sauce but adding 1/2 cup water as well, to keep it saucier.

Macaroons

Just about every Christmas, my mom makes these cookies. This year, I asked her for the recipe so I could make them. They are, I think, my favorite cookies ever. And they are so easy!

2/3 cup condensed milk
3 cups shredded coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix ingredients thoroughly. Drop by teaspoon onto a well greased baking sheet (or if you're like me and use parchment paper on your baking sheets, grease the paper first). Bake in a 350F oven for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet immediately to cool.

Candy Cane Sugar Cookies

I wanted to make a special Christmas treat to bring to our staff Christmas party, and after much deliberation, I decided to take my sugar cookie recipe (which is the best sugar cookie I've ever had) and alter it a bit. The result is candy cane sugar cookies.

Here's the recipe. Much of it is the same as my Easy Sugar Cookies from November 2011, but so you don't have to go back and forth, I'll just post it all here. :)

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
5 peppermint (red and white) candy canes, crushed

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a small bowl, mix flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix sugar and butter until smooth. Beat in egg, vanilla and mint. Gradually blend in dry ingredients. Take rounded teaspoons of dough (I used more as I didn't want to make a huge amount of cookies) and place them on parchment paper on a baking sheet, flattening them. Sprinkle with the crushed candy canes, lightly pushing the bigger pieces of candy cane into the cookies.

Bake 8-10 minutes (12-14 minutes for bigger cookies like mine) or until golden brown. Let sit on cookie sheets for two minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack.

*I debated using 1 teaspoon of mint extract instead of just a 1/2 teaspoon, but decided against it as I didn't want the mint to be too overpowering, and since I was putting candy canes on them I thought it would be a bit much. However, if you try this and would prefer more mint, try them with 1 teaspoon and tell me how they turn out!