Glazed Doughnut Muffins

These muffins were delicious!  They really did remind me of a doughnut!  I found this recipe at My Baking Addiction, and she adapted them from a King Arthur Flour recipe.

For the Batter
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 to 1 ¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg, to taste (I used ¾)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
For the Glaze
3 tablespoons butter; melted
1 cup confectioners’ sugar; sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. Or line with 12 paper muffin cups, and grease the cups with non-stick vegetable oil spray; this will ensure that they peel off the muffins nicely.
2) In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.
3) Add the eggs, beating to combine.
4) Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla.
5) Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
6) Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full.
7) Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.
8.) In a medium bowl, prepare the glaze by mixing together the melted butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and water. Whisk until smooth.
9.) When muffins have cooled slightly, dip the muffin crown into the glaze and allow the glaze to harden. Then dip them a second time.
10.) Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Muffins will keep at room temperature for about a day.

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

I love hot chocolate this time of year, but the cheap mixes at the store just don't do it for me.  And well, the good stuff is just too expensive.  This solves my problem.  It is delicious, easy, and cheap!  This recipe originally comes from a Cook's Country magazine, but I found it at a few food blogs such as Mel's Kitchen Cafe and Pennies on a Platter.

*Makes about 20 servings

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups nonfat dry milk powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1½ cups cocoa powder, dutch-process or natural
1½ cups white chocolate chips or finely chopped white chocolate
¼ teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
Whisk together all ingredients in a large bowl. Working in two (or more) batches, depending on the size of your food processor, pulse the ingredients in a food processor until the chocolate is finely ground. (I did it in one batch in my Blendtec.) Store the dry mix in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

To make hot cocoa, put 1/3 cup of the cocoa mix in a mug and stir in 1 cup of hot milk. Top with whipped cream or miniature marshmallows, if desired.

Italian Beef Sandwiches in the Crockpot

• 1 large roast (fat trimmed if needed)
• 1 package Good Seasons Italian dressing
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1 Tbs. sugar
• 1-2 cans chicken broth 
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 package brown gravy mix (mixed with 1 cup water)
• 1 green pepper, sliced
• 1 small jar pepperoccinis with juice

Instructions

1. Poke the meat with a fork or knife and put it in the crockpot
2. Mix all the ingredients and pour over the meat.
3. Let it marinade overnight in the refrigerator or cook it right away on low for 8-10 hours. Or put it in at lunch time and crank it up on high and cook it for 5-6 hours.
4. Shred the meat and serve on hoagie buns with the peppers and sauce for dipping. 

I found this recipe www.eatathomecooks.com
  

Baked Chicken Bacon Taquitos

Baked Chicken Bacon Ranch Taquitos
My husband says that these are his new favorite taquitos.  I actually halved this recipe for just the two of us, and we still had plenty leftover.

Ingredients:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened (I always use Neufchatel cheese, unless it is a dessert.)
12 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
1 (1 oz) packet dry Ranch Dressing mix
2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
3-4 Tablespoons green onion, chopped
20 (6-inch) flour tortillas (I actually used 8" tortillas)
Salt
Non-stick cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Mix together cream cheese, chicken, bacon, cheese, and green onions. Add in about 1/2 of the dry Ranch dressing mix and taste (add more if you want more of a Ranch taste). Mix well. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture into a flour tortilla and roll it up.
Place taquito seam-side down on the baking sheet. Repeat until your filling is gone.  Once finished, spray the tops of the taquitos with non-stick cooking spray (or you could lightly brush some olive oil on them) and sprinkle with salt (I like kosher salt).
Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes (or until edges and tops are golden). Let cool for a couple of minutes. Serve with Ranch dressing or "Salsa Ranch" (equal parts salsa and ranch).

School Lunch Peanut Butter Bars

These are a good little treat that my kids love I found the recipe here.

School Lunch Peanut Butter Bars

1 1/2 C Flour

1¼ tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Baking Soda

¾ C Butter

¾ C Sugar

¾ C Brown Sugar

1 ½ tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 C Creamy Peanut Butter (split)

2 Eggs

1 ½ C Quick Oats

Frosting:

½ C Butter (1 stick)

3 ½ C Powdered Sugar

2 T Cocoa

¼ C Milk (I use whatever I have in the fridge)

1 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugars, 3/4 C peanut butter, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add dry ingredients, just until incorporated. Then, stir in the oats. Spread onto a greased 11 x 15 Jelly Roll Pan (cookie sheet). Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes.

The frosting is a two step process. First, whip the remaning ¾ C Creamy Peanut Butter until it becomes lighter colored and fluffy. Carefully spread the whipped peanut butter over the pan cookie.

Then, add butter to a small sauce pan and melt the butter. Add the milk and cocoa. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Heat just until boiling. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Then, gradually add the powdered sugar. Stir until thickened. Pour over the peanut butter and gently spread over the cookie. Cool completely, and slice into bar cookies.

The Best Spanish Rice

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil 2 tablespoons chopped onion 1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice

2 cups chicken broth 1 cup chunky salsa

Directions:

1.	Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
2.	Mix rice into skillet, stirring often. When rice begins to brown, stir in chicken broth and salsa. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes, until liquid has been absorbed I needed a fast easy Spanish rice recipe I found this one HERE it turned out really well. I will be making it again