Oatmeal-Blueberry Muffins

I recently received a copy of Betty Crocker Whole Grains: Easy Everyday Recipes and was very excited at the prospect of what I would find inside. I've been trying to eat healthier and this cookbook seemed like a good addition to my stash of healthy cooking books.

The first recipe I tried was the Oatmeal-Blueberry Muffins. Yes, I know - not very ambitious, but I had all the ingredients on hand and I needed something I could take for a quick breakfast at work. You see, I never have time to eat before I leave in the morning between getting My Boys their breakfast, packing their snacks and lunches for school. It's a pretty hectic time each day. Of course, if I could drag myself out of bed even 30 minutes earlier I could squeeze in breakfast for myself but that is easier said than done.

Back to my newest cookbook! There are a good number of pictures, not of every recipe but enough to keep me reasonably happy. The blueberry muffins were whipped up quickly and baking away within 10 minutes or so. My only issue with these muffins was that they needed a contrasting bright flavor - perhaps orange or lemon zest. I'll try that next time I make them.

From Family, Friends and Food

They were best after they had just cooled enough to remove from the pan. I would definitely recommend toasting them if you have any left after the first day. They are only 180 calories and are packed with 2 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein. A nice healthy mid-morning snack or even to get you past the late day slump.

Oatmeal-Blueberry Muffins
Source: Betty Crocker - Whole Grains: Easy Everyday Recipes

Ingredients
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh or frozen (thawed and drained) blueberries

Directions
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottoms of 12 regular-size muffin cups with shortening or cooking spray, or place paper baking cup in each muffin cup. In small bowl, pour buttermilk over oats.

In large bowl, mix oil, brown sugar and egg with spoon. Stir in flours, baking soda, cinnamon and salt just until flours are moistened. Stir in oat mixture; fold in blueberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm.

Improved Tollhouse Cookies?

The quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie seems neverending. Periodically, you'll see a new recipe and nearly every food blogger will give it a try to see if it will be "the one". I've been pretty happy with the recipe Martha has in her Martha Stewart's Cookies: The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share cookbook. I've also made the Nestle Tollhouse cookie many, many times.

When I received the May/June issue of Cook's Illustrated I noticed that they had decided to try to perfect the Tollhouse cookie recipe. They took the usual methodical approach to making changes to the recipe and I think some of the changes actually made an impact on the cookies.

From Family, Friends and Food

Melting the butter and browning it really added a new dimension to these cookies. A nutty, almost toffee flavor, which coincidentally was what the author of the article was trying to accomplish. Now, I opted to make my cookies the traditional size - 1 tablespoon drop cookies. The recipe suggests increasing them to 3 tablespoon drop cookies. The purpose is to create the crisp edges and maintain the moist and soft center of the cookies.

The extra step of browning the butter and allowing the sugars to dissolve into the liquids is worth it. The cookies still had crisp edges and chewy, moist centers even though I made them smaller. I made these while My Boys were having play dates at our house. The 4 boys all enjoyed the cookies and somehow convinced me to let them each have a second cookie.

I got permission from Deborah at Cook's Illustrated to share the recipe here, so please do give it a try. I think that you'll enjoy this version of the perfect chocolate chip cookie as much as we did.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Cook's Illustrated May/June 2009

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspooons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

Directions
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

Heat 10 tablespoons butter in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1-3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.

Add both sugars, salt and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whish for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), givign dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

Divide dough into 16 ortions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use a #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet.

Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10-14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

Greenwich Village Food Tour

Last Monday, My Husband and I took the day and went into NYC. We have always enjoyed Greenwich Village so, we decided this time we'd take a food tour and see what places we have overlooked when wandering on our own. I found the tour by doing a Google search for NYC Food Tours, which led me to Foods of New York. I read a few reviews and decided that a 3 hour tour was for us (do you have the theme to Gilligan's Island go through your head every time you hear that phrase, too?).

The tour was set up to be a tasting tour with some history of the area as well. Our guide was very good and had lived in the neighborhood for years. I liked that the size of the group was only 16 people as much larger and it would have been difficult to hear everything and many of the shops and restaurants were pretty close quarters.

I'll be sharing more details on some of the places we stopped as I review some of the products I purchased (of course, I had to purchase some of the things that I sampled!). But, in case anyone is considering a tour during an upcoming trip to NYC I want to give you an idea of what to expect from the one we took.

We began our tour with Joe's Pizza. Very traditional slice of thin NYC style pizza. It was good, but I must say that the best was yet to come.

From Family, Friends and Food

Next up, we visited O & Co. A specialty shop that sells premium olive oils, vinegars, seasoned salts, among many other tasty goodies. We sampled some pesto and a French olive oil while we were there and it was easy to tell that the quality was so much better than what you might find at the grocery store.

From Family, Friends and Food

We stopped by an herb, spice and scent shop called Aphrodisia. The woman who owns the place mixes her own tea blends and we were treated to an orange spice tea that was simply delightful. There was a wide assortment of spices and tchotchkes to browse and purchase.

From Family, Friends and Food

One of my favorite stops was Murray's Cheese Shop. It's considered a NY institution. We had a sampling platter that included imported Parmesan Reggiano that will make you realize just how incredible it can taste on it's own. We also sampled a cheese called Drunken Goat Cheese that was aged with red wine, and it was a smooth and creamy - similar to fontina but with a more subtle flavor. The tray also had some olives and pickles and we were lucky enough to sample some fresh out of the oven cheese puffs. I could have made lunch just from that one stop.

From Family, Friends and Food

Our second pizza stop was at Bleeker Street Pizza. They use San Marzano tomatoes in their sauce, and it's not a puree it's real bits of tomato. I am not kidding when I say that this pizza had the best sauce I've ever had. I LOVED the pizza from Bleeker Street and would definitely make another trip back there next time we are in The Village.

From Family, Friends and Food

We also visited Centro Vinoteca and tasted a farro risotto that was delicious, but the texture was different than what we were expecting for risotto. The flavors were spot-on delicious. Apparently, this is the restaurant where Leah from last season's Top Chef works as Executive Chef. She wasn't there while we were visiting since she comes in for the evening dinner service.

We were also treated to a couple of bakeries in the neighborhood. Milk and Cookies is primarily a cookie bakery and we were given a large, fresh from the oven chocolate chip cookie that was big enough to fill my hand and then some. They have recently begun packaging mixes of some of their popular cookies and are now selling them in the tri-state area at Whole Foods. I bought the double chocolate mix and will be sure to share a review of that soon.

Our final stop was at Rocco's which is a quaint bakery that has what looks like a never-ending case of pastries and cakes. Just standing there and looking could give you cavities! Rocco's allowed us to sample their cannoli's which they only fill once they are ordered. This is key since most bakeries fill them in the morning and they sit and become soggy. Not the case with our sample, the cream was smooth and decadent and the pastry was nice and crisp.

Overall, it was a wonderful tour and we are planning to go on another one very soon to Chelsea Market. For a tasting tour, you get more food than you could imagine and will not need to go for lunch after you are finished. As I mentioned, I'll share more as I try the wonderful products I purchased over the next few weeks.

Brownies To Rock Your World

I bet that title caught your attention. Well, it was meant to! Check out these brownies:

From Family, Friends and Food

Last week, My Husband discovered Stumble Upon and when he hit the Stumble button, he was brought to the blog, eat me, delicious. There was a picture of these Marshmallow Crunch Brownies that looked too good to pass up. These brownies have been a hit with Culinary Concoctions by Peabody and Nosh With Me - so, with all of these good reviews how could I just add this recipe to my ever growing pile of things I want to make "someday". This recipe had to be made now, not a year from now.

These brownies are truly a piece of chocolate decadence. They are worth every single dirty dish and measuring cup and spoon. I made them as a dessert from an impromptu get together we had with some friends this weekend. To say that these were a hit would be a the understatement of the year. I had some leftover and took them over to a neighbor's house and her girl's loved them as well.

The only one who didn't care for them was My Youngest who informed me that he only likes Rice Krispies in milk. Oh well, more for the rest of us! You could make them without the Rice Krispies, but that crunchy bite compliments the rest of the brownie... they are simply irresistable. Like I said, they will rock your world. Yes, they are THAT good!

Since this recipe has been shared in 3 other places, I will send you to those sites I mentioned earlier rather than re-type it here. Please do visit these blogs, they are great resources for recipes and yummy food photos!

Quaker Oats Simple Harvest: GIVEAWAY Winner!

Just returned from a day in NYC enjoying a Food Tour of Greenwich Village, which I will share with you once I've digested not only the food but the information shared!

I wanted to post the winner of the All Natural Gift Basket from Quaker before the rest of the day got away from me.

I used www.random.org and the winner is #3, RecipeGirl! Lori - email me (patsy_k(at)verizon(dot)net) your shipping information and I'll get that information to the nice people who gave me the opportunity to hold my first giveaway!

Thank you for all of the fantastic healthy snack ideas! I've made some notes to myself so that I can add them into my routine! Have a great evening, and I'll have some great recipes to share throughout the rest of this week so come on back soon!

Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

About a month or so ago, Deborah at Jersey Bites introduced me to Twitter. I had heard of it, but didn't know much about it. So, I signed up and jumped right in and found some of my blogging friends there! It's really quite fun to chat with them about various topics and another great thing is when I can't remember where a recipe is located someone will come to my rescue!

While chatting on Twitter one day, Judy at No Fear Entertaining mentioned a muffin she was making that she found at Elle's New England Kitchen. I know, it seems like one of those stories that is about my best friend's sister's ex-boyfriend's cousin's little brother - or something like that. Stay with me though. Judy made the muffins as directed by the recipe shared by Elle. Then, she had a brainstorm on how to lighten them up and make them a bit healthier by subbing a bit of whole wheat pastry flour and applesauce for some of the all-purpose flour and the oil. She mentioned that the subs worked out really well and that it made the muffins a bit healthier. I was sold! Of course, I didn't bookmark the recipe (I probably did but I have probably a thousand bookmarked in my Google reader) so, I asked her on Twitter and she was able to find it for me within moments. Thanks, Judy!

From Family, Friends and Food

I managed to hide a couple of bananas from My Youngest this week so I could let them become nice and ripe just for this recipe. It went together rather quickly. Keep in mind the batter will be very dry, but as Judy says keep working with it and it will come together.

These Double Chocolate Banana Muffins are nice and moist and taste like a treat with each bite. I had to use Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Cocoa as that's all I had left. It worked out nicely, and the chocolate flavor was very intense. My Oldest declared them "yummy" and gave them the double thumb's up. I loved the specks of banana throughout, you could really taste the banana flavor in each bite.

Quaker Oats Simple Harvest & a GIVEAWAY!

I love blogging about food. Now that is a simple statement, isn't it? Well, it's true, I love sharing my love of cooking and blogging has been such a fun way to do it. I've become friends with some wonderful food bloggers who are always so generous whenever I have a question. I've even been lucky enough to win a few giveaways just by leaving comments on their blogs. Another great thing about blogging is that I've been given the opportunity to try some great products.

I was contacted about trying Quaker's newest Oat Snack granola bar - Trail Mix. As I've said before, I love granola bars and when given the chance to try a new one I'll generally say yes. Their new Trail Mix bar is a chewy, sweet and salty bar. Great for an afternoon snack - which is my favorite time to enjoy a granola bar. Just enough to hold me over until I get home and get dinner started. A nice bonus of this line of granola bars is that they contain 10 whole grains and they are all natural. Check out their full line HERE.

Now, for the fun stuff! I'm having my first ever GIVEAWAY here at Family, Friends and Food! I'm very excited to share an "All Natural Gift Bag" that has 3 boxes of Quaker's Simple Harvest Trial Mix Bars, 1 very cozy bathrobe and slippers that are all natural and eco-friendly.

From Family, Friends and Food

Now, you may be asking yourself - "How do I win?" Well, it's quite simple. Leave a comment on this post by Sunday, March 22nd telling me you favorite healthy snack. I'll then use a random number generator to choose a winner. I'll announce the winner by Tuesday, March 24th.

Editing to add: Make sure to leave a way for me to contact you if you win, blog address or email address.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Today, everyone has a bit of Irish in them just because it's more fun that way. My Boys set traps up in their classrooms trying to catch a Leprechaun, but the little guys were too quick to be caught. They left them some treats to enjoy at school though, wasn't that thoughtful?

It seems many people use St. Patrick's Day to make Corned Beef and Cabbage. You won't find that dish hitting my dinner table. Sorry, but can't stand the smell of it cooking so it's not going to enter my home. Instead I went the sweet dessert route today. A blogging friend of mine, Lori at RecipeGirl, posted some really pretty cupcakes she made for a wedding last weekend. One of the recipes she ended up using was a doctored up cake mix (White Wedding Cupcakes).

I had all the ingredients on hand, but didn't realize I was a little bit low on sour cream. So, I subbed the same amount of vanilla yogurt in it's place. They were so moist and delicious! I added a bit of green food coloring so that they would be festive for St. Patty's day.

I made a simple buttercream frosting and added more green food coloring. After dinner, My Boys iced their own cupcakes and enjoyed having a bit of fun decorating them. I tried my hand at trying to make pretty cupcakes using a decorating tip I bought awhile back. I think for a first attempt I did pretty well. What do you think?

From Family, Friends and Food

From Family, Friends and Food

Here are some St. Patrick's Day recipes for you to check out:

Head over to Stacey Snacks for some Irish Soda Bread.

Prudence Pennywise made Irish Oatmeal Cupcakes. Did you know that oatmeal was from Ireland?

Eat Real made Colcannon which manages to hit her table more often than any other traditional Irish dish.

Cooking By the Seat of My Pants made an Irish Stew - that is Weight Watcher friendly!

Bookmarked Recipes Round-up

Here’s this week's round up of Bookmarked Recipes and this week we have some more great recipes from some more great bloggers. I had the pleasure of hosting this week's Bookmarked Recipes for Ruth at Ruth's Kitchen Experiments.

I'll start this week off with a recipe from Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking Magazine, Brussels Sprouts with Bacon. They were so good, My Boys ate them with huge smiles on their faces!

From Family, Friends and Food
Next up, is Happy Cook from My Kitchen Treasures. She made Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Maple Drizzle that she found at Rosie Bake a Piece of Cake.

Jen from Boston at Beantown Baker made Molasses Sweet Potatoes from the 2009 Inaugeration Luncheon.

Katerina at Culinary Flavors in Greece found a recipe for Tiganites with Yogurt in a local paper called Ta Nea.

Christie from Wisconsin who writes Edible Antics, found a recipe for Gingerbread Cake in Grandma's Home Kitchen Cookbook.

Maggie from Dog Hill Kitchen joins in by sharing Corned Beef Glazed in Honey and Mustard. She found this recipe at Kevin's blog, Closet Cooking.

LaDue & Crew joins Bookmarked Recipes for the first time with a recipe she found in a free newspaper for Pears With Vanilla Poached Kumquats.

Tigerfish made Tamarind Chicken that was first found at Delicious Asian Food.

James from the Cotswold Food Year made Passionfruit Panna Cotta with Pistachio Tuile from The Passionate Cook.

Thanks everyone for your submissions!!! It's always exciting to see what people have been making and recreating as well as meeting some new bloggers.
Next week’s round up will be hosted by Cristie at Edible Antics - Having Fun with Food.

That's it for this week. Remember if you want to take part here's all you have to do....
1. Pick a recipe from a book/magazine/blog/website/tv show and make it. (Note you can only submit 1 recipe per week)
2. Blog about it
- include where you got the recipe in your blog post (including a link to their website if possible)
- include a link to this post or this blog in your blog post
- include the logo (see above) for Bookmarked Recipes in your blog post
- include a photo of your recreation on your blog post
3. Email bookmarkedrecipes[AT]gmail[DOT]com with the following information:
- Your name
- The name of your blog
- The URL of your blog
- The permalink for your entry
- A photo of your entry
- A note of where you got your recipe from