Sour Cream Carrot Cake Muffins

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Easter is about a week away.  It's one of my favorite holidays!  I have such great memories from my childhood of getting an Easter dress, some white patent leather shoes, having parties, hunting Easter eggs, and of course the food!!

Now that I'm older I still love a good dress, and I have to decorate my house with colored eggs, and pretty spring flowers and bunnies, and I've been known to have an Easter egg hunt or too!  But to me Easter if a day to spend outdoors in the pretty spring weather and after a particularly wet winter we are ready to be outside again. 

This year calls for a nice brunch out in Descanso Gardens.  One of our favorite gardens to visit.  They have a forest of camellia trees you can walk through along with a Japanese garden (swooning over the apple blossom trees, among every spring flower you can think of.  My personal favorite is the tulips.  Just gorgeous!  This year lunch will be held in the rose garden which is surrounded by arbors with climbing roses.  I can't wait to spend the day in a garden!

Descanso Gardens

SOUR CREAM CARROT CAKE MUFFINS

Today I'm bringing you a recipe for Sour Cream Carrot Cake Muffins.  What Easter without Carrot Cake?  You gotta have a bite of carrot cake and these muffins do the trick.  This is a lower carb version as well, so they are delicate, moist, and not overly sweet.  These are the BEST carrot cake muffins around.  The sour cream adds a layer of moistness and the carrots become tender and sweet.

The addition of raisins, walnuts, and spices give it a warmness you'll swoon for and a crunchy sweetness to every bite.  Oh boy these are good!  Perfect to make Easter morning, to take on the go, or to serve at a sweet and savory Brunch.  We adore these muffins and you will too!

Enjoy your Easter, and check out my other post, Host a Festive Easter Brunch, for more menu ideas, or use the search word "Easter" in the search box on the side. 

Sour Cream Carrot Cake Muffins

make 6 muffins

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons Splenda Bake
1 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup carrots, shredded
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 6 well muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl add flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, salt, and Splenda Bake.  Mix to combine.  Add the egg, oil, sour cream, and vanilla.  Stir until just incorporated. 

Fold in the carrots, raisins, and walnuts.  Scoop batter into the muffin tin.  Bake for 18-20 minutes until toothpick comes our clean and tops are golden brown.  Cool and serve.

Host a Festive Easter Brunch

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There is no better way to celebrate Easter, and the wonderful days of Spring, than with a scrumptious midday meal!  This one is filled with a wonderful array of dishes from Pork Loin, spring Strawberry salad, and luscious carrots.

Check out the menu with recipes below.

2017 Easter Brunch Menu

Pear Sparklers

Plum and Marscapone Crostini

Fresh Strawberry Salad

Strawberry Hot Cross Buns

Ginger and Herb Roasted Pork Loin

Classic Mashed Potatoes

Steamed Carrots in a Garlic Ginger Sauce

Individual Strawberry White Chocolate Trifles

Menu

Start the holiday right by offering Pear Sparklers in fancy goblets.  This light and refreshing drink is non-alcoholic but the addition of vodka would turn this into an adult cocktail.

Set out a platter of Plum and Marscapone Crostini for family and guests to nibble on while you put the finishing touches to the rest of the meal.

Spring salads can be a delight.  Present them with this Fresh Strawberry Salad that is bursting with in season strawberries, pecans, spinach, and feta.

Strawberry Hot Cross Buns are a holiday tradition.  The addition of strawberries just elevates it up a notch and screams spring.

Make this year's main entrée a beautiful and delicate Pork Loin.  Roasting this  Ginger and Herb Roasted Pork Loin  caramelizes the outside and produces a tender and juicy cut of meat. 

Potatoes are a traditional side dish at most holidays.  These Classic Mashed Potatoes will make the whole meal warm and comforting.

Spring carrots make an excellent side dish.  Serve my Steamed Carrots in a Garlic Ginger Sauce which compliment the pork loin perfectly.

Move over carrot cake, there's a new favorite in town! Individual Strawberry White Chocolate Trifles  make a dazzling individualized dessert that your guests will love.



For more Easter inspiration use the search word "Easter" in the search bar to the side.

Simple Homemade Meximelts

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Happy April!  It my favorite month of the year.  I'm a little biased because it's my birthday month, plus Spring is in full swing in Southern California and it's actually tinging on being hot!  Warmer weather means lot of outdoor activities.  We are just about to head out to the California Poppy Reserve to see the 'sea' of wild poppies in bloom.  So that calls for a quick lunch before we go.

Have you ever had a Meximelt from Taco Bell?

It's sort of a cross between a quesadilla and a soft taco.  Seasoned ground beef with fresh salsa and lot melted cheese round out the ingredients.  Very tasty...enough to make a homemade version that's done in 20 minutes!  Forget takeout fast food and skip that drive through.  Let's make a new dish for Taco Tuesday!

SIMPLE HOMEMADE MEXIMELTS

We love Mexican food around our house so today's recipe was just a natural progression to wanting to satisfy that craving along with a need to a quick lunch.  This dish comes together in about 20 minutes.  It comes together easy using ingredients that you probably have already on hand.

I did a small variation to the original.  They use pico de gallo, which is a fresh chunky salsa.  Since I didn't have that on hand I used our favorite jarred salsa. My homemade salsa would be great as well.   Either one will do but the flavor changes just slightly. 

So if you are craving Mexican food and want it FAST...or wanting to try a new variation on Taco Tuesday these Simple Homemade Meximelts will fit the bill.  Perfect, simple, tasty!

Enjoy!

Simple Homemade Meximelts

serves 4

3/4 lb of 10% ground sirloin
1 pkg. store-bought taco seasoning or my homemade version
⅔ cup water

1/2 cup jarred salsa
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
8 small flour tortillas ( I used low-carb flour tortillas )

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a skillet over medium heat brown the ground sirloin, crumbling with a wooden spoon as it cooks. 

Add the seasoning and water, stirring to combine.  Allow to simmer until most of the water is absorbed and a nice sauce is formed. 

Place tortillas on a baking sheet.  Add taco meat to the center of the tortillas.  Spoon salsa over the meat and top with cheese.  Fold one side of the tortilla over the meat mixture.  Bake in the oven for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese melts.  You want the tortillas soft and not crispy to watch the time closely.  Serve.