Pork Chops with Summer Peach Salsa

Perry and I just went through a prodigious pork phase (say that three times fast!) because we were testing out pork chop recipes. This version is lighter than the other two recipes because it requires the least amount of seasoning and adds a fruity salsa on top to carry the flavor punch.

This salsa is summery, using ripe peach, tomato, crisp red pepper, and green jalapeno. You could also add cilantro, mint, or red onion if you so desire. The salsa would also pair nicely with grilled chicken breasts or a spinach salad.

Pork Chops with Summer Peach Salsa

Serves 2

Chops:

2 bone in pork chops

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp chili powder

Salsa:

1 peach
1 tsp sugar
1 tomato
1/2 red pepper
1 jalapeno pepper
6 leaves basil
1/4 lemon (juice and zest)

1. In a shallow dish, mix the soy sauce, garlic powder, and chili powder. Add the pork chops, coating both sides in the mix. Allow pork chops to rest in marinade for about 30 min.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet and rack.
3. Cook chops for 15 minutes, flip, and then another 15 minutes, adjusting for the fat content and thickness of the chops.
4. Check that chops are cooked through, with no trace of pink. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
5. Dice the peach, tomato, red pepper into 1 cm cubes. Mince the jalapeno (with or without seeds and ribs, your choice. I do without.) Chiffonade the basil leaves.
6. Combine vegetables with the sugar and lemon juice and zest. Allow to sit in the fridge until chops are cooked and rested.
7. Plate pork chops, top with several tablespoons of salsa, and enjoy!

Mushroom Stuffed Eggplant

While shopping this weekend, I came upon these mini Italian eggplants for sale. I instantly thought how perfect they would be for a single serving. Even better, what if stuffed it full of delicious things? How adorable and delicious would that be? So that was that!

Now picking the right eggplant is tough. Many people don't like eggplant because once it develops seeds, it becomes bitter. Size doesn't correlate to age, however, so picking smaller eggplants may not necessarily give you younger eggplants. When you pick the Italian kind of eggplant, you want a nice and shiny skin, as blemish free as possible. It should be firm and just a bit soft, but not soft enough to leave imprints or bruises. For Chinese eggplant, (the long and thin variety), a glossy skin, few blemishes, and thin shape work best. The larger it is, the more likely you'll have seeds. Hopefully that helps you!

On to the recipe!

Mushroom Stuffed Eggplant
Serves 6

3 eggplants about the size of your hand, or a bit smaller
1 pound ground pork
1 medium onion, small diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 plum tomatoes, small diced
1 pack baby bella mushrooms, diced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 teaspoon salt
shredded mozzarella cheese to top (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Wash and prep the eggplant. Cut off the stem portion, trying to leave as much flesh as possible. Then slice the eggplant lengthwise in half. Using a paring knife and a spoon, scoop out the flesh of the eggplant, leaving 1/3rd of an inch around the edges to help the eggplant keep its shape.
3. Coat the bottom of a large glass baking dish with olive oil. Place the hollowed eggplant in the dish, cut side up. Brush the insides of the eggplant with olive oil and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool after 30 minutes so they're safe to handle, but keep the oven running.
4. In the meantime, diced the scooped out eggplant, onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms, and mince the garlic.
5. In a large pot, heat a teaspoon of olive oil and coat the posts bottom and sides. 
6. Cook and crumble the ground pork. If you render a lot of fat, pour it out.
7. When the pork is cooked, turn the heat to medium and add the onion and garlic. Cook until fragrant and the water from the onions deglazes the bottom of the pan. 
8. Return the heat to medium high and add the diced eggplant, tomatoes and mushroom. Also add all the spices. Cook uncovered so that all the water has a chance to evaporate. The majority of the vegetables will shrink in size, so don't flip out if you have too much.
9. When the stuffing is mushy, but mostly dry, stuff the eggplants. You will probably need about four tablespoons of stuffing per eggplant. (Excess stuffing can be served over rice or used to stuff other yummy things.)
10. Top with cheese. (Crushed nuts would also be a yummy topping!) Bake at 400 for about 15-20 minutes to set the dish.
11. Allow to cool before serving. Enjoy!

Pear Cardamom Muffins (Low Fat)

I love love love pears. From happy Bosc to crunchy Korean, pears are a delicate and delicious fruit. I love them poached, in salads, the JellyBelly version - you name it, its delicious. So after making three batches of the Apple Cinnamon Muffins, I needed a little change and pears just happened to be on sale!

This version stays pretty true to the Apple Cinnamon recipe, incorporating applesauce (or in this case pear-sauce) rather than using oil. The pear sauce is cooked with cardamom, which is a fragrant Indian spice that is often used in chai tea, kheer (rice pudding), and other sweets. The cardamom lends an exotic feel to a rather homey muffin. I also added a bit of low fat yogurt to this recipe to add a bit more moisture and fluff. The yogurt has this way of making the muffins more cakey.

Yes,  its the same picture for the apple cinnamon muffins. Sue me, they look exactly the same!

Pear Cardamom MuffinsMakes 1 dozen regular muffins or 9 larger muffins

1 1/2 cup flour3/4 cup sugar1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder1 teaspoon cinnamon1/4 cup chopped almonds or walnuts
pinch of salt 1/2 cup milk1 1/2 cup pears, diced
4 cardamom pods, seeds only and chopped1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons low fat yogurt

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Sift all dry ingredients together in a bowl. (Flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nuts).
3. Make pear sauce. Place 1/2 cup diced pears in a microwave safe mug, then add a teaspoon of water and the cardamom seeds. Cover with a small plate. Microwave on high for two minutes. Mash with a fork and microwave until the pears have broken down to an applesauce texture. A little over or under cooked is fine. 
4. Add all wet ingredients: diced pear, pear sauce, egg, milk, and yogurt. Mix by hand to incorporate, but don't go crazy, since over mixing yields denser baked goods. Mix only as much as necessary.
5. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or a few sprays of Pam or canola oil. Spoon about a 1.5 tablespoons into a each liner. (Or two tablespoons for the larger muffins, which the batter will fill almost the whole cup.)
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool before eating.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I'm always hunting for ways to make sure I eat breakfast. A simple apple muffin recipe caught my eye, and oh, do they make the kitchen smell heavenly! I modified the original recipe to eliminate the oil, add a kick of candied ginger, and add some crunch with slivered almonds.

If you don't want to add oil to a recipe, you can replace the oil with applesauce or pureed pumpkin in a 1:1 ratio. I didn't want to use oil or open a jar of applesauce just for one batch of muffins. So I made my own applesauce in the microwave. I put about 1/2 a cup of diced apple in a mug, covered it,  microwaved it for a minute and a half, and mashed it with a fork. To remove excess water, I microwaved it for another minute to get the right consistency for applesauce. I did not add extra sugar or cinnamon for the applesauce, just used it straight out of the microwave. The muffins came out great without the oil or processed applesauce!

Apple Cinnamon Muffins
Makes 1 dozen muffins

1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup applesauce or canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup finely diced apples
1/4 cup slivered almonds or walnuts
2 tablespoons diced candied ginger
brown sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Sift all dry ingredients together in a bowl. (Flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt).
3. Add all wet ingredients, apple, nuts, and ginger. Mix by hand to incorporate, but don't go crazy, since over mixing yields denser baked goods. Mix only as much as necessary.
4. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Spoon about a 1.5 tablespoons into a each liner, then top with about a teaspoon of brown sugar (optional).
5. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool before eating.

Cheater's Baked Eggplant Parmesan Casserole

I really like eggplant. Not only do I like it in French cooking, I also love it in Chinese food. And now, Italian! However, traditional eggplant parmesan or rollatini tends to be breaded and fried. These dishes are tasty, but high on oil and preparation time. What's a Suli to do?


Blogger FoodWishes solves that problem for me with a very nifty video on Eggplant Parmesan Casserole. I've modified the recipe for the materials I had on hand for tonight, time, a smaller portion, and my particular tastes. I know the ingredient list looks long, but most of it is for amping up the sauce, which is totally optional.

Baked Eggplant Parmesan Casserole
Serves 6

The layers:
2 Chinese eggplant (the long kind) sliced diagonally 1/3rd inch thick. You need enough for two layers in a 9x9 inch glass casserole dish. (all excess should be cubed and added to sauce)
1 tomato, sliced 1/2 inch thick. You need enough for one layer. Extra goes to sauce.

Sauce:
1 jar marinara sauce
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 tsp sugar (optional. used to cut the acid in the sauce)
Large pinch red pepper flakes
Large pinch dried basil

Cheese Mix:
4 mozzarella sticks, pulled into thin strips
1/2 cup grated parmesan
3/4 cup ricotta (1/2 cup cream cheese for me - I was out of ricotta!)
large pinch oregano and basil

Breadcrumb mix:
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs (a slice of wheat and sourdough crumbled)
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 tbsp olive oil

1. SAUCE: Heat a saute pan with 1 tsp olive oil. When warm, add onion and garlic and cook on medium heat.
2. When onions are translucent, add green pepper. Add the extra eggplant or tomato from the prep too.
3. Allow sauce to simmer as you prep other ingredients. Watch the sauce and add water if the sauce becomes too dry/crumbly. 
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F with the rack in the middle.
5. CHEESE: Mix together the ricotta, parmesan, and herbs. If the mix is a little tough to come together, add a little hot water or microwave for a few seconds.
6. BREADCRUMBS: Mix the breadcrumbs with the parmesan and olive oil. 
7. Assemble the casserole. Pour in about 1 1/2 cup of the sauce to cover the bottom of the dish (may take a little more or less). 
8. Place the eggplant slices in a single layer. Top with the ricotta/parmesan mixture.
9. Add the single layer of tomato. Top with the shredded mozzarella.
10. Add the last layer of eggplant. Top with another 1 1/2 cup of sauce. making sure to fully cover the eggplant and get the sauce into the crevices. Do not pack the sauce down.
11. Top with the breadcrumb mixture.
12. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for about 40 minutes. 
13. Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes until top is golden brown and casserole is bubbling.
14. Insert a knife into the casserole. If the knife goes through without resistance, its cooked through. Otherwise, continue baking for 10 minute increments.
15. Allow casserole to cool for 15 minutes before serving so that the slices will come out neater and you don't burn the roof of your mouth!

Optional: Add a layer of frozen chopped spinach to the sauce or as an additional layer! 

Baked Sweet Potato with Banana

Nothing says autumn like the smel of warm cinnamon wafting out of the kitchen after coming in from a nippy day. I love whipping up this easy side dish to get the oven going. Also makes a great breakfast!

Baked Sweet Potatoes with Banana
Serves 4 as sides

3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1 inch pieces
1 ripe banana cut in one inch pieces (feel free to substitute for apples or pears)
1/4 cup dried cranberries, roughly chopped
1/4 inch grated ginger
1.5 tsp cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 generous squirt of honey
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup slivered almonds to top

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Prep the sweet potatoes, banana, and cranberries. Toss into a glass baking dish, preferably one with a cover. I used a 9 inch round glass dish with 2 inch sides.
3. Top with the brown sugar, cinnamon, clove, ginger, and honey. Stir to incorporate.
4. Add 1/4 cup water
5. Cover with aluminum foil or the cover.
6. Bake for 30 minutes.
7. Stir contents to re-incorporate the sugars. Covering the baking dish should have made the sweet potatoes cook mostly through.
8. Top with the almonds and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes.
9. Cool for 5 minutes prior to serving.

Beer Can Chicken

Beer Can Chicken. Do I have to say anything more to capture any man's attention? Not only does it include meat and alcohol, this dish is deceptively easy to make, incredibly moist, and flavorful.

Beer Can Chicken

Serves 2-4

1 3-5 lb whole chicken
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
1/4 tsp Cumin, poultry seasoning, garlic powder or sprig rosemary- optional and to taste
1 stalk celery

1. Move the oven rack to the lowest setting as the chicken will be very "tall." Preheat the oven to 350. Take out a baking dish where the chicken can stand comfortably in.
2. Mix the salt, pepper, and any other dry spices in a small bowl.
3. Dice the celery into chunks.
4. Remove anything from the cavity of the chicken. Remove excess fat from neck and bottom and discard.
5. Dipping your fingers into the spice mix, generously cover the inside cavity and outer skin of the chicken with the spice mixture.
6. Take the celery and pack a handful in the inside cavity. If you have fresh herbs, you'd stuff them in here.
7. Wash the can of beer. Open it and drink half.
8. Stuff the beer can up the cavity of the chicken and stand the chicken up in the baking dish, so that it "sits" on the can. The weight of the beer in the can will help stabilze the chicken.
9. Fold the wing tips back so that they don't burn. (Think about it like this - its the equivalent of taking your right hand and touching your right shoulderblade)
10. Arrange the skin on the top so that it doesn't leave any of the meat exposed. If you don't have enough skin, try to cover with some celery or tin foil.
11. Optional - dice potatoes and toss in bottom of baking dish with extra celery for a quick and easy side. Sprinkle with excess salt/pepper. Stir the vegetables halfway through the cooking process.
12. Bake for about 1 hour for a 3 lb chicken, and 1.5 hours for a 5 lb chicken. (Obviously test to make sure its done and cooked through!)
13. Let the chicken "rest" for 10-15 minutes after removing from the oven. Carefully lift the chicken off the beer can and serve.

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

If you know anything about Kelly and I, you know we're suckers for pumpkin goodies. Pumpkin spice latte's, pumpkin loaves, pumpkin cheesecake - you name it, we want it. Its almost a shame that pumpkin is an autumn-only food.

Today's post celebrates pumpkin season in the spirit of my recent breakfast goods kick. When you Google "pumpkin muffins," the first result isn't the Food Network or Recipes.com. Its a food blog called "Smitten Kitchen" Of course, I modified the recipe, adding a few other fall ingredients.

Pumpkin Muffins

Adapted from the American club, in Kohler, Wisconsin via Gourmet Magazine via Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15 ounce can)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon clove

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup chopped cranberries

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon to top

1. Put oven in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter muffin tins.
2. Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, spices, 1 1/4 cups sugar, ginger, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Add walnuts and cranberries. Then whisk in flour and baking powder until just combined.
3. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.
4. Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about three-fourths full). 
5. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. 
6. Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
7. Cool in pan on a rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Yields about 12-18 muffins. Sorry no pictures - I ate them too quickly!

Chocolate Chip Muffins

What do you give at engagement parties? While most cases I'd fall to a bottle of wine, in this case, the couple didn't drink often. So what to do?

The future bride mentioned a penchant for chocolate chips. The party was happening at brunch - so what better than homemade muffins?

I followed the recipe on Food.com which got really good reviews, and actually argued the recipe called for too MANY chocolate chips! Like. And it was fast. I would totally make them again.

Nigella Lawson's Granola Bars

I hate mornings. I loathe getting up, forcing myself away from the comforts of my soft bed, and stabbing myself in the eye with a mascara wand due to fatigue. I can understand "seize the day" and "the early bird gets the worm" but I'd rather work past midnight than be at the office at 8 am. Its just so painful for me!

The very negative side effect of hating mornings is that I tend to skip breakfast. Often. In my haste to be on time and make that conference call, I completely forget to put any food in my stomach. Or worse, I'll just eat a cookie instead of something healthy.

Which leads me to this post about granola bars. Why buy a box of rock hard oat bars with nasty raisins, when I can make mine custom to what I like to eat, and just a smidge of sweetness? Why settle for processed food when I can enjoy a little homemade TLC? I sifted through many recipes before I settled on Nigella Lawson's Breakfast Bars - too many recipes called for a ton of butter, things like flax seeds, or maple syrup - none of which I really wanted in my breakfast or in my tiny kitchen.

I substituted sliced almonds instead of peanuts and used a mix of salted pumpkin seeds and sesame. I really liked the taste and texture of the mix. I found the recipe was a bit too sweet - even though it doesn't call for extra sugar, the condensed milk and sweetened coconut was a little much. The bars also had a duplicitous texture - the top was quite dry and the bottom was very moist. Baking it at a low temperature seemed only to allow the condensed milk to sink to the bottom rather than incorporate everything together. As I removed the bars from the pan, they tended to crumble a little, and I had to break out some sushi rolling skills to make sure they stayed in little bars.

I do really like how they taste and it was super easy to make. Supposedly they store well (and actually get better over time) so we'll see how the bars in my desk vs my freezer fare over the next week and if the texture improves. If I make this again, I would probably soak the oats in some water first, drain them, and then use 2/3rds of the condensed milk. Additional cons are the lack of health benefits in condensed milk (I'm estimating the calorie count for this bar at around 170 but with a hefty amount of saturated fat) and the cost - a Nature Valley bar retails at 59 cents a bar but the ingredients for my bar cost 50 cents each - what about labor?

But the important thing is - will I like them enough to make sure I always eat breakfast?

Spinach Quiche

A few weeks back I reaaaaaaaaaaally wanted to make chicken pot pie. So I bought pie crust and all the ingredients and made a really awesome filling! Then I went to preheat the oven and... it was dead. Suanne was sad. Really really sad.

So then the oven got fixed, but Suanne had gone through all the chicken stew. So what to do with the pie crust?

Spinach Quiche
Makes 3 small servings


Olive oil
2 cloves garlic, made into paste
2 sundried tomatoes, minced
6 mushrooms, cut into cubes
1 1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach
Dried basil, oregano, salt
1 mozzarella stick, shredded and chopped
1 roll pie crust (Pillsbury for me!)
3 jumbo eggs
1/4 cup milk
dash sriracha

1. Heat tablespoon olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add garlic and dried tomatoes. (Optional: add sausage or bacon here)
2. Reduce heat to medium after garlic is fragrant. Add frozen spinach. When mostly defrosted and loose, add mushrooms, basil, oregano. Cook on medium heat until the majority of water has evaporated (or you get runny quiche). In the meantime...
3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Move the rack to the middle of the oven.
4. Prepare your ramekins (the ceramic dishes you see souffle come in?). I used three 3-inch-wide ramekins which were about 3.5 inches deep. Use wider and shallower ramekins for easier cooking! Take the pie crust and divide into 3 equal triangles. Trim the triangles to create a crust for each ramekin. Pinch and remove crust as needed to flatten crusts flush to the sides.
5. Crack your eggs into a bowl and beat. Add the 1/4 cup milk and dash of sriracha. Mix well.
6. If necessary, season the filling with salt and pepper. Don't be afraid to add a little more salt - the egg will soak up a lot of it.
7. Spoon filling into the pie-crust ramekins (don't pack it down). Mix in shredded cheese.
8. Pour egg mixture into the ramekins - fill just enough to cover the filling. Do not fill all the way to the top - the egg expands and may overflow! 
9. Take a deep baking dish and place the ramekins in. Add water into the baking dish until the water is a) halfway up the baking dish or b) halfway up the sides of the ramekins (whichever comes first). Adding water to the dish helps the ramekins distribute heat, prevents messy spills from quiche volcanoes, as well as keeps the baking dish from warping in the oven.
10. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until a chopstick/toothpick inserted through the middle comes out clean and not goopy with uncooked egg. If using a wider/shallower ramekin, try lowering the heat to 400 degrees and bake for 15 and check frequently.
11. Remove from the oven and let cool. Be really really careful removing the baking dish from the oven - please don't spill boiling water over yourself. If you're paranoid, let the whole thing cool in the oven.

Sweet Roasted Pecans

I've been on a big pecan kick lately: Several weeks ago, our family in Oklahoma sent my mom several pounds of freshly picked nuts from a relative's pecan orchard. (Yum!) So my awesome mom passed along quite a large portion to me and I've been experimenting with them. I first made this recipe a few weeks ago, but it turned out so good that I've made it several times since.

** Note: The main flavor in this recipe comes from garam masala, which is an Indian spice blend. I found it in my local Indian supermarket, but you can also order it online or substitute cinnamon to taste. I found this site which does a good job of explaining both what garam masala is and how to use it.

Sweet Roasted Pecans

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs. butter
• 1.5 tbs. honey
• 1/2 tbs. vanilla extract
  
• 2 cups (approx.) pecans
• 1/2 tsp. garam masala
• Kosher salt, to taste (I think I used just a few heavy pinches.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
   
2. Melt butter in a large, microwave-safe bowl.
3. Using a spatula, mix the honey and vanilla into the melted butter. (Hint: Use a silicone spatula, as this will get a bit sticky.)
4. Add the pecans to the bowl and toss to coat thoroughly.
5. Sprinkle the spices over the nuts, then toss again to coat.
6. Spread the nuts in a single layer on a foil-lined sheet pan and place in oven for 7 - 10 minutes. **Don't walk away from them; check them often. You'll be able to smell when they're done.**
7. Remove the tray to a cooling rack and use the spatula to move the pecans around so they don't stick to the foil.
8. Let them cool for a few minutes. You can eat them cold, but they're super-amazing when they're still warm!
   

Tropical Paradise Muffins, or Kelly's Fruity Muffins

It's finally fall! I love fall - the beautiful, cool weather; the changing leaves; the hearty foods! And of course, now that the weather's cooling off, it means a lot more baking.

I woke up this morning and wanted something sweet. I thought about pancakes, but they can be so cliche. So, as I surveyed my kitchen (and found an overabundance of fruit), these muffins sort of materialized in my head.

They're a perfect transition from summer to fall: they take the tropical flavors of summer and marry them into a very dense, sticky, baked treasure of delectable yumminess. Mmmm!

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups cubed watermelon (all seeds removed!)
1/3 cup of strawberry-banana juice
2.5 ripe bananas

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 heaping tbs. apple sauce
3/4 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/2 cup oatmeal

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease muffin tin. (I used muffin liners, but they stuck to the muffins big time. Therefore, I highly suggest greasing your pan instead!)
   
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, sugars, and applesauce.
4. In a blender, puree watermelon, juice, and bananas.
5. Add half of the puree to the flour mixture and blend well, making sure to scrape down the sides. Repeat with second half of puree.
6. Fold in coconut and oatmeal.
7. Pour into muffin tin and bake until top is dark golden brown and springs back when pushed. You can also use the toothpick test - insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean, the muffins are done! **Note: This batter doesn't rise very much, to fill your pans almost to the top.

Yields approximately ten to twelve muffins.

Mmmm ... Mmmm ... Meatloaf!

So, I haven't posted much lately - sorry to my co-author and all of our soon-to-be fans!

But fear not, my friends, for I bring you a new take on an old favorite (or not-so-favorite)! I've taken what can be a tired, boring, bland meal and turned it into a juicy, satisfying, filling comfort food.

It takes a little bit of work, but it freezes and reheats well. (I'm all for anything that freezes well: homemade food is so much better than TV dinners. Bleh!)

And now, without further ado, I give you one of the best meatloaves you'll ever taste!


Mmmm ... Mmmm ... Meatloaf
- 1 red onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup of carrots, diced
- 1/4 cup of celery, diced
- A splash of red wine (Either regular wine or cooking wine is fine.)
- 1/4 cup of green onion, chopped
- a handful of baby spinach
- 1/2 pound of ground turkey
- 1/4 cup pumpernickel crumbs (You can use any type of bread, but I like the flavor of pumpernickel. Also, bread that's more stale than fresh works better. Trust me.)
- 1 egg
- A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
- 1.5 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. coriander

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Sauté the red onion, garlic, carrots and celery in a small amount of olive oil until they are tender.
3. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and let it reduce a bit.
4. Add the green onion and spinach. Cook until the spinach wilts. Remove from heat.
5. In a large bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients with the veggies and another splash or two of red wine. (Use your hands - it's the best way to mix it! Just be sure to wash them well both before and after.)
6. Press the mixture into a loaf pan and cover with foil.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove foil and bake until a thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf registers 165 degrees Fahrenheit (about 15 to 20 minutes). There should be a nice crust on the top.
8. Once the meatloaf is cooked, remove from oven and let sit for at least ten minutes before cutting. (If you cut it immediately, all the juices will leak and the loaf will become dry!)
9. Enjoy!