One Bowl Blueberry Muffins

March 4, 2018March 4, 2018 ~ agustinaskitchen ~ 4 Comments

This is a recipe that I am going to commit to memory. It’s that good and that simple! One of my kids has been inhaling blueberries these last couple of weeks, to the point where I just can’t buy enough of them. However, this week either she slowed down eating them or I bought too many because I found myself with a couple extra packs and somewhat unsure what to do with them. For a while I contemplated blueberry scones — my very very favorite blueberry scones, but that requires dusting the countertop with flour, using super cold butter, etc… etc… and to be frank: too big of a mess; too much of a hassle.

I’ve been pouring over the recipes in Deb Perelman’s book Smitten Kitchen Every Day since I got it around Christmas time and when I turned to these muffins yesterday I knew I had to make them ASAP! No fussy ingredients, one bowl, add the ingredients, mix it up, bake, enjoy… and easy clean up! To be honest, no one likes doing dishes. Especially on a weekend morning. So do yourself a favor and whip these up — you’ll be so happy you did!

INGREDIENTS:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 c. granulated sugar

finely grated zest from half a lemon (I zested a whole, you should too)

3/4 c. sour cream

1 large egg, room temperature

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries

3 tablespoons turbinado sugar, for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat oven to 375. Line a muffin tin with 9 liners, or do as I do, and butter the muffin tin and then dust with flour, the good old fashion way.
In a large, microwave safe bowl, melt the butter – about a minute and a half in the microwave.
Add the sugar, lemon zest, sour cream, egg and whisk until smooth.
Add the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until fully incorporated.
Add the flour and blueberries. With a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour and blueberries to the batter.
The batter will be thick and smell delicious. Go ahead, taste a little 😉 Divide the dough into the 9 prepared muffin cups and sprinkle a generous amount of turbinado sugar on top of each muffin.
Bake for 25 minutes, then let cook for 10 minutes and enjoy!!

cheers!

(Almost) Guilt Free Oatmeal Pancakes

February 23, 2017March 4, 2017 ~ agustinaskitchen ~ Leave a comment

We love pancakes over here. Sometimes for breakfast, often for dinner, and maybe lunch too. Made from scratch or out of a box or bag – they’re practically foolproof. Especially with a thick(ish) slab of butter and a drizzle of warm maple syrup, who can resist? I definitely can’t, yet I always have a tinge of regret because pancakes have SUGAR, which isn’t something I always want to have at breakfast or dinner. These pancakes are amazing because they only have 1 tablespoon of sugar and oatmeal! I don’t feel guilty eating them or serving them to my family – everybody wins! Make them this weekend, and you won’t regret it either 🙂

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Recipe adapted from pancakes, crepes, waffles & french toast by Hannah Miles

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup oats + a small sprinkle of sugar if desired
1 1/2 cups milk (almond or 2% are what I’ve used and work fine)
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

First, you must make the oat mixture. Put the oats (with a super light dusting of sugar – about a quarter tablespoon, if desired) on a pan over medium heat to toast the oats. About 3 minutes, and remove from heat. Allow to cool and put the oats in one cup of milk. Allow the oats to soak 20 minutes.
To make the batter, put the flour, baking powder, egg, salt, sugar, and milk-soaked oats mixture in a large mixing bowl and whisk until combined.
Add the melted butter, and whisk until fully mixed.
Slowly whisk the remaining half cup of milk, making sure the batter does not become too thin. If the batter does get too thin, simply stop adding milk.
To cook the pancakes, put a little butter on a large pan over medium heat so that it lightly coats the pan. Then pour about a quarter to a third cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until the underside of the pancake is golden brown and some bubbles start to form on the top – about 3 minutes. Flip with a spatula until the other side cooks – another 3 minutes. Keep an eye on them!

We don’t have a warmer drawer, so I put the oven at 200 degrees and stack the pancakes in there to keep warm until they’re all done and ready to serve!

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fullsizeoutput_148c — I love adding fresh berries – strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries to my pancakes. Its a fresh and delicious way to add extra fiber and a little sweetness 😉

cheers!

Summer Zucchini Bread

August 27, 2016August 27, 2016 ~ agustinaskitchen ~ 2 Comments

Zoooooochini Bread! A little while back this recipe popped up on Smitten Kitchen’s Instagram feed, I knew I had to make it. I had a few zucchini sitting in the fridge, and I didn’t want them to go bad, bud I didn’t really feel like using them in anything. Cue: Zucchini Bread. Like Banana Bread is to bananas when they are starting to go past due, Zucchini Bread is to zucchini when it’s on its final days.

This recipe yields 2 loafs, which I love because you can keep one loaf for yourself and gift the other to friends, family, neighbors. My brother lives really close, so I called him and told him there was a loaf of zucchini bread wrapped up and ready for him to pick up when he could. A couple of hours later, he popped by and happily took his loaf home with him, to keep as a snack for his long hours studying and working. It’s a win – win because I got to see him for 10 minutes and he got a loaf of bread. Who wouldnt love that? Right? In fact, I think I’m going to get a few zucchini at the store this afternoon solely to make this bread again tomorrow…

INGREDIENTS:

3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)
1 cup raisins or chocolate chips (I used about half a cup of chocolate chips and half a cup of raisins)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease two 8×4 inch loaf pans. I always take about a tablespoon of butter and smudge it all over the pans, then I sprinkle some flour over the butter, and pat it around to make sure the pan is greased well, and that the bread will fall out when it’s done. There’s nothing worse than taking the time and energy to bake something delicious and then not be able to get it out of the pan!! Please tell me it’s happened to you too, no?
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Mix in the oil and sugar, then the zucchini and vanilla.
Combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the nuts, raisins, and/or chocolate chips. I added a combination of raisins, pecans, and chocolate chips, totaling almost 2 cups worth.
Mix these dry ingredients into the wet egg mixture. Divide the batter into the prepared pans.
Bake the loaves for about 60 minutes. I start to check it around 50 minutes, then let it bake for another 10-15 before I take it out and let it cool.

Cheers!

Easter Easter, Brunch All About It!

April 2, 2016 ~ agustinaskitchen ~ Leave a comment

I YouTubed Easter napkin fold, and these cute “bunny ears” came up, which was fun to do. I copied the bunny design with the kids’ names from someone on Instagram I had seen and loved.

Easter, He is Risen! My favorite holiday. Every time Easter rolls around, I find myself saying “Easter. This is my favorite holiday. Truly, Truly, my favorite.” Family, close friends, deeeeeelicious food, champagne, chocolate, egg hunt, bunnies, tulips, flowers, spring time. It’s one of the few holidays, that renews, recharges, leaves me feeling at peace. Maybe it’s because it stands all on its own, maybe it’s because it marks the start of spring, maybe it’s because we never travel for Easter, or a combination of those things. The point is: Easter is my favorite.

Before I say anything else, let me tell you that this Easter I did not cook or bake a thing. Instead, I set the table, which was fun and actually very relaxing while the littlest slept and the oldest hung out with Dad and Uncles and Aunts. My Mom, as she always does, made the most incredible Easter brunch. We look forward to it for weeks and weeks, and it did not disappoint! There were fresh made crab cakes with an amazing little sauce I could have eaten straight with a spoon, breakfast croissants with a homemade sun dried tomato mayo, a perfectly cooked Spanish tortilla, and plenty of mimosas with fresh squeezed OJ.

Oh, and dessert. Holy cow, dessert. My sister made a Banffi Pie! So good, so decadent. It is deceiving because it has bananas in it, so you think it is healthy. But it’s not. It’s pure sugar and cream. And to top off the pie we had chocolate mousse!

Voila! Now go ahead and gain 10 pounds with these pictures 😉