Eggnog Muffins

Oh, the weather outside is frightful

But the fire is so delightful

And since we've no place to go

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

I just love that song don't you?  It is a such a beautiful seasonal song.

Not likely that it is going to snow anytime soon in Los Angeles, but a girl can dream can't she?

This time of year screams holidays and holidays scream winter food.  Like eggnog.  We have eggnog every year cause MGG loves, loves, loves it!  Me...ehhh.  It's okay and I'll have a glass here and there but it's not on my top 10 list of holiday treats, like say....FUDGE!

But we do enjoy some and I enjoy using the leftovers even more.  Last year I brought you Eggnog Waffles which are spectacular!  This year I used my leftover eggnog to flavor up some wonderful Eggnog Muffins.  You know how I love my muffins!  I have tons and tons of recipes out there for you.  

But...these Eggnog Muffins are special.  They are spiced just right with a moist and fluffy inside and a sweet crunchy outside!  I really can't think of a better use for eggnog.  I'm sure that MGG can, but for now, these are at the top of my list!

Enjoy the season!


Eggnog Muffins

makes 6 muffins

2 T melted butter
3 T splenda bake sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup plus 2 T lite eggnog
Topping
Splenda brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 6 serving muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl add butter and sugar and mix well until fluffy. Add the egg and blend. Add the baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla, flour and eggnog. Mix until just incorporated. Batter will be a little thick.

Scoop the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle a little brown sugar over the top of each muffin.

Bake 18-20 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the pan and then transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool before serving.

Harvest Cobb Salad

Overindulgent during Thanksgiving?

Get back on track with this wonderful Harvest Salad.  Not long ago I had pinned this recipe on Pinterest (yeah baby!) which comes from the blog A Spicy Perspective by Sommer Collier.  She has an excellent blog! Stop by and say Hi!

So I quickly made this salad substituting a homemade ranch dressing instead of the one she made. Using some help from leftovers is a great way to put together a salad.  If you don't have leftovers you can always grab some of the ingredients from your grocery store's salad bar.

What makes this salad unique are the roasted butternut squash, and spiced pecans.  These are in place of blue cheese and tomatoes which are typically in a Cobb Salad.  I had leftover roasted butternut squash from dinner the other night, and leftover roasted chicken as well.  

MGG loves hard boiled eggs so we had a couple on hand as well.  Really all there was to do was to cook some bacon, and spice up the pecans.  

Simple to put together and tasty to eat!  This salad is a deconstructed salad, each ingredient laying side by side over a bed of romaine lettuce.  You can put this together mixed together if you want.  It's all good!

MGG loved, loved, loved, this salad.  He promptly requested that I make it again this weekend.  

Guess I need to roast more chicken, and butternut squash!

Enjoy!

Harvest Cobb Salad

Ingredients:

makes 2 large servings

1 romaine heart, roughly chopped
1 cup cooked chicken, torn in to pieces
1 1/2 cups roasted butternut squash cubes
3 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 small avocado, sliced
1/2 cup pecans halves
1 Tb. butter
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. paprika
¼ tsp. onion powder

Heat a skillet on medium-low heat. Add butter to the skillet, add the pecans. Sprinkle the pecans with the  garlic powder, paprika and onion powder.  Saute for about 4 minutes tossing to coat. Set pecans aside.

Place the romaine on a platter. Arrange the chopped chicken, roasted butternut squash, bacon, pecans, eggs and avocados in rows on top of the romaine.  Serve with your favorite creamy dressing. 

Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread

The weather is turning cooler and it makes me want to bake.

It also puts me in the mood for the upcoming holidays. Last night MGG and I went to The Grove, a local outdoor shopping area that is attached to one of the original permanent Farmer's Markets in Los Angeles. It was just fabulous.

We toured the different booths at the Farmer's Market and drooled over all the fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables. There is nothing better than the smell of fresh produce. I could stand there and sniff forever! We also looked at all the homemade candy, dried fruits and nuts. Oh yum! 

I got some inspiration and picked up some mini chocolate chips and some dried cherries to bake something scrumptious! Sorry, I'm getting over the pumpkin pie already!

We had a great time walking around looking at all the lights, a giant toy workshop, giant Christmas Trees, and even Santa and his reindeer flying through the snow. Live bands filled the air with great music that everyone was dancing to, and it even started to snow. Fake snow...this is Hollywood ya know!

Just a great way to spend the evening.

So, chilled and wanting something warm to drink and sweet to eat we went home.

I quickly make this great version (a winter version) of a banana bread, with my mini chocolate chips and dried cherries. 

Moist and flavorful, the bread along with a cup of tea was the perfect ending to a perfect evening! (Can't wait for breakfast tomorrow morning...)

Enjoy!


Chocolate Cherry Banana Bread

makes 1 loaf (16 slices)

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/3 c Splenda Sugar Blend
2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c lite sour cream
1/4 c 2 % milk
2 t canola oil
1 t vanilla
1 large ripe banana, mashed
1/3 c dried cherries
1/3 c chopped pecans
2 heaping T miniature semisweet chocolate pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat the bottom and up the sides of a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, Splenda blend, baking powder, and baking soda, and make a well in center.

In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, milk, egg, and oil. Stir in mashed banana and vanilla.

Add liquid mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in chopped cherries, pecan, and chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pan. Cool completely on wire rack. Makes 16 slices.