Fresh Strawberry Muffins

This is the strawberry muffin recipe that was trending around Facebook last spring. I made it once, we loved it, then lost the recipe. Thankfully I found it again this spring and have already made it twice. This is a quick and easy muffin recipe; what takes the most time is chopping the strawberries.

Fresh Strawberry Muffins
makes 12 muffins

1/2 c butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c chopped strawberries
3 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400*. Cream the butter and sugar together. Add the egg and mix well.

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to the butter mixture. Add vanilla. Gently stir in strawberries.

Spoon the batter into greased muffin pans. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over muffins.

Bake muffins for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Black Bean Soup

We have another snowy day here today and it's been really cold. This soup just hit the spot with it's warmth and spice. It's also super easy to make.

Black Bean Soup
serves 6-8

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp chili powder
a good dash of cayenne pepper
a good dash of cumin
4 cans black beans, drained and rinsed OR 1 lb dried black beans, cooked
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 c water
salt to taste
lime wedges (optional)
1/2 c coarsely chopped cilantro (optional)
diced avocado (optional)
sour cream (optional)

Heat oil in Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat until shimmering. Cook onion, jalapeno, and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cayenne pepper, and cumin and cook about 1 minute. Add beans, broth, salt, and water to pot. Bring to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup so about 1/4 of the beans remain whole. Add a bit more water if the soup is too thick. Serve with lime wedges, cilantro, avocado, and sour cream.

Rosemary Maple Mustard Pork Roast

This was something I found on pinterest and it's definitely a keeper! A really great way to make pork, a touch of sweet, a touch of spicy. I could actually just eat the sauce by itself (don't tell, I actually did that). The recipe is for a pork loin, I used tenderloins (that's why the pork in the picture is so small).

Rosemary Maple Mustard Pork Roast

2-2.5 lb pork loin roast
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 c Dijon mustard
1/4 c real maple syrup
1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 375*. Line a small roasting pan with aluminum foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Place roast in pan and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl, stir together the mustard, maple syrup, and rosemary with more salt and pepper. Rub half the mixture onto the meat. Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 145-150 degrees. Remove from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve with the rest of the sauce.

from Lauren's Latest

Thanksgiving 2015

We had a good but busy Thanksgiving this year. Whitney was home from college and we all went down to our house at Massanutten with my mom joining us. After enjoying our feast there, on Saturday we went to Pennsylvania to hang out at my dad's with my brother, sister, and their families. It's been a while since I made Thanksgiving dinner since we usually go to my dad's. The last time was a few years ago when Whitney's birthday fell on Thanksgiving and we had a huge crowd here. It was Whitney's birthday again on Thanksgiving and instead of cake as one of the desserts I made her apple crisp. She's missed my home cooking while she's been at college. She says the food is mostly ok but not great.

Our feast included a turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top, roasted sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts with bacon, cranberry sauce, cranberry orange relish, and for dessert we had apple crisp, pumpkin pie, and cranberry pie. It was all so good!

our perfectly cooked turkey

the feast

my apron, made by Sarah

my plate of yum

Buttermilk Coffee Cake

I made this the other day because I had some leftover buttermilk from something else I made. I can't believe I forgot about this recipe! It's one of my favorite coffee cakes. It's got a hint of sour from the buttermilk, a touch of nutmeg, and is a lighter, fluffy coffee cake. So good!

Buttermilk Coffee Cake

1 1/4 c flour
3/4 c packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c butter
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2/3 c buttermilk
1 beaten egg
1/4 c chopped nuts

Preheat the oven to 350*. Combine flour, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in butter till crumbly; set aside 1/2 cup crumb mixture. To remaining crumb mixture add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well. Add buttermilk and egg and mix well.

Spread batter into a greased 8x8x2 inch baking pan. Stir together reserved crumbs and nuts; sprinkle atop batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

from Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook

Apple Butter Muffins

Oh, my gosh! These were seriously delicious muffins! I used homemade apple butter that I had in the freezer when I made these for Muffin Monday and they didn't last long. These will definitely be in regular rotation on Mondays, especially in the fall and winter. I may need to make more apple butter just so I can make more muffins.

Apple Butter Muffins
makes 12

2 c flour
1/2 c brown sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 c apple butter
1/4 c milk
1 egg

Heat the oven to 425* and grease a muffin tin. Stir flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter, apple butter, milk, and egg together with a fork until well combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until just combined (the batter will be lumpy). Pour into 12 muffin cups and bake 15 minutes. Enjoy!

From Eat at Home.

Italian White Bean, Sausage, and Cabbage Soup

I was looking around on my pinterest soup board for something to make last night and came across this one. Since we now have a vegetarian in the house sometimes things can be a challenge. This soup looked good and was easy enough to make it so that all of us could enjoy it. I cooked the sausage separately and just put it in the bowls for those of us who wanted it and ladled the soup on top. The original recipe calls for breakfast sausage but I used sweet Italian sausage. This is a veggie heavy soup, lots of veggies to a lesser amount of broth.

Italian White Bean, Sausage, and Cabbage Soup
serves 6-8

1 lb. sweet or hot Italian sausage
1 small onion, diced
1 small cabbage, sliced into bite sized pieces, about 4 cups
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz. can drained Great Northern beans
6 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp garlic powder
red pepper flakes, a few shakes (optional)
salt, to taste

Cook and crumble the sausage in a large pot over medium heat. When the sausage has almost finished browning add the onions. Cook for a few more minutes until the sausage is cooked through and the onions are soft. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and simmer for about 5-10 minutes until the cabbage is soft.

Slightly modified from Barefeet in the Kitchen.

Cook and crumble the sausage in a large pot, over medium high heat. When the sausage has almost finished browning, add the onions. Cook for a few more minutes, until the sausage has browned and the onions are tender. Add the cabbage, beans, tomatoes, broth, and spices. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes to soften the cabbage. - See more at: http://www.barefeetinthekitchen.com/2014/08/italian-sausage-cabbage-soup-recipe.html#sthash.XOgl9IDv.dpuf

Cook and crumble the sausage in a large pot, over medium high heat. When the sausage has almost finished browning, add the onions. Cook for a few more minutes, until the sausage has browned and the onions are tender. Add the cabbage, beans, tomatoes, broth, and spices. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes to soften the cabbage. - See more at: http://www.barefeetinthekitchen.com/2014/08/italian-sausage-cabbage-soup-recipe.html#sthash.XOgl9IDv.dpuf