Raspberry Sour Cream Muffins - A Valentine Breakfast

I made a special muffin just for my love on Valentine's Day!

When I think of Valentine's flavors, pink, strawberry, chocolate, and raspberry come to mind.  So I'm in a pink mood this year...and the delicate love it emits.  So why not make a wonderful breakfast treat for your loved one that's pink.

I remember a cookie I once had that was raspberry and white chocolate.  At the time I thought...this is Valentine's in a cookie!  One thing though was that the white chocolate made it a little two sweet for me.  So when I set out to make this muffin, I thought of that cookie and decided to leave out the white chocolate.  But to give it that moist decadent feeling I added sour cream to the muffin mix.  Heaven!  With the addition of raspberries I ended up with a beautifully moist, tart yet sweet masterpiece of a muffin.

Of course the cute little heart muffin papers didn't hurt!

What a special way to say "I Love You" than with these muffins.  They taste THAT good!  See for yourself...

The recipe makes twelve, but you can halve it if you would like less muffins.  Perfect for breakfast with some eggs and bacon.  A wonderful way to start off the day.  And made with love....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Raspberry Sour Cream Muffins

Makes 12

2 c flour

1 T baking powder

1/8 t salt

½ c sugar or ¼ c Splenda sugar blend

2 large eggs

1 c sour cream

6 T canola oil

1 t vanilla

1 c frozen or fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or line with paper liners.

In a large bowl add flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.  Stir to combine.  In another small bowl lightly beat eggs.  Add in sour cream, oil, and vanilla.  Beat slightly to mix.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Stir until moistened.  Do not over mix.  Fold in raspberries, being careful not to mash them.

Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tin.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Allow to cool 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Be My Valentine Dessert

The magic of  Valentine's day is upon us.  

How will you celebrate?  Will it be a lavish dinner out, or something quite at home.  Or perhaps not a dinner at all but a special day planned for the two of you.  We usually do something memorable such as a museum, or day out.  This year we're talking about attending a Flamenco concert...how passionate is that?

So in honor of that passion I thought I would bring you a dessert to make for your loved one that will knock their socks off.  I saw this wonderfully easy dessert over on Stonegable.  I absolutely love Yvonne's blog, so if you get a chance make sure to pop over and check it out for yourself.  She called it "Be My Valentine Dessert".  What a perfect name!  I knew I had to recreate it for MGG, and I did, and he loved it!

(see the medium and tiny puff hearts!  adorable...)

So here' my adaptation of her wonderful recipe.  It's very easy to put together.  The hearts are made from puff pastry, which you can make several days ahead and keep them in a storage bag.  Assembly on the big day is quick and easy.

I hope you and your loved ones enjoy this special treat.  I can't wait to make another one!!!

Look for a wonderful valentine breakfast muffin later in the week.  They'll put love in the forefront of your day!

Be My Valentine Dessert
adapted from Stonegableblog.com

serves 2

2 4" square puff pastry sheets, or 1 large sheet puff pastry
8 strawberries
1 T sugar
chocolate syrup
strawberry ice cream
whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Thaw puff pastry for 15 minutes.

In a small bowl, cut all but 2 strawberries and sprinkle with sugar. Gently mix and set aside.  Cut the 2 strawberries from the tip almost to the base in 5 slices and open like a fan.  Don't cut all the way through so the base stays together.

Place the puff pastry on wax paper on a work surface.  Using a large cookie cutter cut out 2 large hearts. You can also cut out several medium hearts, and several tiny heart for garnish.  

Put the pastry hearts on a parchment lined baking sheet. Leave a little room between each heart.  If the pastry is still cold you can now cook them.  If they are more like room temperature put them back in the refrigerator for 15 min, as cold puff pastry will puff better when cold.  

Bake at 400 degrees until they are puffed and golden, about 15 minutes.  The tiny hearts will only take about 10 minutes so if you are cooking those remove them after 10 minutes.  Cool the hearts completely. At this point they can be saved in an airtight container for several days.

To assemble: Gently cut the two largest puffed hearts in two.  I used a serrated knife so the pastry would not break.  Drizzle the chocolate syrup over the bottom of a small plate.   Put the bottom heart shell in the pool of chocolate and top with a scoop or two of the ice cream.  Place the sliced strawberries on top of the ice cream.  Add the top heart shell and drizzle a little syrup over the top.

Garnish with whipped cream, and a fan cut strawberry and medium and small heart puffs.  

Orange Chicken Stir Fry

One great thing about living in Southern California is the amount of great Chinese and Thai restaurants that we have.  So many to choose from and so little time!

While we have many favorite dishes that we typically order when we go out, there are a few that I just love.  Chicken is probably my favorite protein in  Asian dishes, so I tend to order that more. Getting a couple of main dishes and sharing them is our favorite thing!  I love Cashew Chicken, General Tao's Chicken, Lemon Chicken...you get my drift.  Another popular one is Orange Chicken, and I love it as well.  The unfortunate thing is that this dish tends to be fried.  So we don't end up ordering it as often as I'd like to.

So everyone loves a good stir fry right?  They are easy and quick to make at home.  You can make a small or large quantity with no problem, and the taste is fresh...outstanding!

So missing my Orange Chicken, I set out to make a dish worthy of the name with the flavors I crave...but with out the frying.  Out came the ingredients to whip up a wonderful glaze and using my base techniques for stir fry it was done!  Quick and simple, fresh, light, and citrusy.  My cravings were satisfied...ahhh!

What a great meal to cook on a weeknight.  This can be done in under 30 minutes.  Prep is the key, and make sure to start the rice first.  A nice bed of fluffy brown or white rice will set the dish off.  The rest is a piece of cake.

Next time you are craving take out, make it at home.  It will be healthier for you and more cost effective. The best part is it will taste just as good as your local Chinese restaurant.

Orange Chicken Stir Fry

serves 4
time:  under 30 minutes

1 T cornstarch
2/3 c orange juice
1/2 t ginger
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size cubes
1 large zucchini, halved and sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
3 teaspoons canola oil, divided
1/3 cup reduced-sugar orange marmalade
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Roasted peanuts, optional
Hot cooked rice, optional

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and orange juice, and ginger until smooth; set aside. 

In a large nonstick skillet or wok, stir-fry chicken 2 teaspoons canola oil about 5-7 minutes until golden brown and cooked all the way through.  Remove and keep warm.

In the same pan,  add another teaspoon of canola oil and stir-fry zucchini until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add chicken back to the pan.  Stir in the marmalade, brown sugar and lemon juice until marmalade is dissolved. 

Stir orange juice mixture.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve over rice and top with roasted peanuts if desired.