In The Kitchen || Blueberry Muffins (In a Mug)

In the mood for a blueberry muffin but don't necessarily need a whole dozen?  Or maybe your significant other claims they don't like blueberry muffins even though they devoured a plate of blueberry doughnuts like it was nothing, so you end up with more than you can/should eat by yourself?  Enter the blueberry muffin in a mug!

My only experience with "baking" in a mug was unsuccessful so I was hesitant to try it again.  But after seeing this feature recently, I decided to give it another go but with a few tweaks.  Much to my delight, the muffin in a mug was a success!  I don't know the calorie content of these guys but I'm hoping it's not crazy considering I've eaten one nearly every day the past couple weeks!  The heartiness of the whole wheat flour and ground flax seed fill me up and Ricky Ricardo likes that he gets to sample the blueberries.  It's a treat for everyone!

Ingredients

• 1/4 C whole wheat flour
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1/4 t baking powder
• 1/4 t ground flax seed
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cinnamon
• 1/2 T butter
• 2 T + 1 t soy milk
• 1/8 t vanilla extract
• 2+ T blueberries

Instructions 

1. Mix the first six ingredients together in a microwave-safe mug until thoroughly combined.
2. Cut the butter into small chunks and add to dry mixture, working the butter in until no big chunks remain. The mixture should look like moist sand at this point.
3. Add in the milk and vanilla extract and stir until the mixture is thoroughly combined.
4. Sprinkles blueberries throughout muffin mixture, pushing a few down so your blueberries are dispersed throughout.
5. Microwave on high for 80 seconds.  Let cool for a minute--those blueberries will be HOT!
6. Enjoy!

This has been a great recipe to play around with, substituting different flour types, berries, and spices. Since I have a gluten-free flour on hand, I gave that a go just to compare.  If you're in the mood for a light, true bakery style muffin then this is a great route.  I, however, really dig on the whole wheat flour since it has a denser, more hearty thing going for it.  The ground flax seed is a great addition to add some fiber to, ya know, keep ya regular if that's what you're into!  I normally make myself a muffin before I hit the gym or yoga since it's quick, easy, and fills me up without weighing me down.  I'd like to give cranberries and orange zest a try or maybe create a morning glory style muffin.  The worst that can happen is it's a total failure and I waste one whole muffin, not a dozen.

Happy micro-baking!

Merry (day after) Christmas!

Two days after my last post, something BIG happened!  I'm still working on putting together that post, so in the meantime, a glimpse into the happenings of the past couple weeks.

Josh and I celebrated our Christmas early on Sunday evening.  Out of sight is a crazy house turned upside down from packing.  This is our little corner of peace!

Josh spoiled me with the tablet I've been pining over for some time.  I love it!

One of my favorite holiday recipes: mint brownies.  I made these for my company's potluck and again to bring to my family for our goodie exchange.  I could eat the whole pan by myself!  I'll post the recipe soon, I promise!

An easy devil's food cake box mix recipe improvised with some holiday mint M&Ms.

Another easy box cake mix recipe using French vanilla cake mix and some Christmas sprinkles.

Christmas Eve at my parents' home.  Ricky looks so festive and majestic!

Now instead of running to open presents at the wee hours of the morning as we did as children, we gather around the table for breakfast first.  A new family favorite is this delicious cranberry orange buttermilk cake.

Christmas morning.  The Santa tree topper is probably as old as I am and has taken a couple falls.  Even with a few bumps and bruises, us "kids" refuse to let my mom replace it.  It's just one of those traditions we can't let go!

Ricky Ricardo stands guard over my gifts.  My family truly spoiled me again this year!

This Christmas was yet another reminder of how blessed I am to have such an amazing family.  It's nice to be able to surround yourself with the people you love most and recharge your mental batteries.  And while my siblings and I are all grown, having my 3 year old niece around really makes Christmas come alive again with excitement.

The next few days will be busy as we move into our new home and try to get settled in before the new year gets in full swing.  I normally spend New Year's Eve/Day with my family, barely making it to midnight to watch the ball drop!  This year, however, Josh and I are going to spend this time together enjoying a low key dinner at our favorite Italian spot downtown, Cibo.  I'm looking forward to the new year and can't wait to see some big goals come to fruition.  Now to make that resolution list!

Merry (belated) Christmas and a Happy New Year to you!  May the new year bring all the health, wealth, and happiness you deserve!

Good News!

You may remember from last week's post, I mentioned my stress over not having found a rental home with just over 3 weeks left til our move-out date.  Well the stars and moon aligned just right and we found and were approved for the perfect property!  It was the last house I had found and was my last hope.  After just stepping in the front door, both Josh and I knew it was the one and thank goodness!  Now to just transfer all the utilities/bills and to pack!

Last weekend I spent some time with my family to celebrate my mom and younger sister's birthdays.  While there, my sister and I put one of my holiday pins to practice and made some festive headbands for my niece and ourselves.  It was a quick, easy, and cheap project coming in at only $4 for 8 headbands thanks to the Dollar Tree and the dollar section at Target.  Everyone got in on the festivities!  We also picked out the family Christmas tree, a tradition we hold onto whether it be chopping down our own as we did in earlier years or picking one from the Home Depot parking lot.  While I thought this little guy was adorable, it didn't make the cut!

This weekend I have plans to begin my holiday baking, starting with my favorite mint chocolate brownies for my company's holiday potluck.  I live for these brownies and I know you will, too, once you try it for yourself.  Recipe to come soon!

As Christmas approaches and I've crossed house hunting off my list of to-dos, I've also managed to cross off a few more people on my shopping list.  What a relief!  I feel like I'm able to enjoy the holiday more now.  Even Ricky is feeling the holiday cheer!

Christmas Countdown

Christmas is less than 3 weeks away.  Three weeks, folks!  As much of a planner as I am, I am not prepared for this Christmas at all.  Josh and I picked out our tree on Sunday and plan to decorate it today, and I got most of our decorations up Sunday while watching a marathon of Who The *&$% Did I Marry? on Netflix (so festive, right?!), but that is about as far as I've gotten with our holiday preparations.  Normally I would have most, if not all, of my shopping done by this time but I don't even think I've completed half of it. Enter holiday stress eating!

 Like Santa, I like making lists.  In fact, I live by my lists and rely on them to keep me straight.  Even if I go out of town to my parents' for a weekend, I make a list of items to pack or sure as sh*t I will forget something.  And so every year I make a list of what to get each member of my family (and Josh's family as well).  Over the years we've also started a group email thread for everyone to include a few items from their wishlist.  This is probably the first time I've been stumped about what to ask for--is that a sign that I'm a legit grown up now?!  I've got my shopping list ready but I haven't had much time to cross everyone off yet so I'm feeling the pressure and hoping to be done in the next week.  Oh the pressure!

On top of preparing for the holidays, Josh and I are moving into a new place the weekend after Christmas since our current home goes on the market in January.  Where are we moving, you ask?  No freakin clue!  Enter more holiday stress eating.  We were initially hoping to buy a house this year but decided we should save up more over the next year in order to have a better down payment and competitive edge if need be.  We're hoping to have our new residence locked down in the next week because not knowing where you're going to live is kind of a big deal in my book!  Plus, there's all the logistics of forwarding your mail, utilities, packing, and the actual move itself...in just over three weeks.  Again with the three weeks, folks!

In the lead up to Christmas, I'm trying to stay in the moment and in the spirit as much as possible.  The older I get, the more it seems like time just flies by so I'm trying to soak it all in and enjoy every moment possible.  In the meantime, I've rounded up a few recipes to try and a few quick DIY projects I'm hoping to complete so all my pinning doesn't go to waste!  Now that November has passed (where the heck did that time go?), I'm shifting from all recipes pumpkin to all things mint and chocolatey.  Nothing puts me more in the mood than dark chocolate and candy canes, even more so if they are part of a cookie/cupcake/whoopie pie!  Check back in throughout the month to see some of my holiday festivities!

If you have any great holiday recipes, traditions, or projects, I'd love to hear about them!

From The Kitchen || Mini Pumpkin Spiced Cheesecakes

Truth be told, I was not a fan of cheesecake until just a few years ago.  I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I loathe cream cheese unless it is thoroughly disguised, as in my mom's delicious cream cheese pound cake.  There is just something about seeing someone's teeth imprints in inch-thick cream cheese caked on a bagel that makes me gag.  Or even worse when people squirt the packets of cream cheese directly into their mouth and follow it with a bite of bagel (walk around a college campus if you don't believe me!).  Grosses me out to the core!  It must have been my mom's cheesecake that got me over this fear and thankfully allows me to enjoy sweet treats like these mini pumpkin spiced cheesecakes.

You may remember from this post that this recipe was on my list of must-tries for the Fall baking season.  I've never baked cheesecake before so this was going to be an adventure.  I'm happy to report that all went well and these little guys were a hit with my boyfriend and his family as we sat around the table carving pumpkins a couple weeks ago.

Having never baked a cheesecake before, I obviously wasn't prepared in the pan department.  And since I love all things mini (who doesn't!?), I had my eyes on this pan from Sur La Table which I am happy to report was perfect for the job.  Clean up is super easy, too.  I'm also a big fan of this little gadget that, while not absolutely necessary, does make it easier and cleaner to distribute batter among pans or for pancakes/waffles.  Sure it adds another item to wash, but it's easier than using a measuring cup and your fingers/spatula.

As for the recipe itself, the only adjustment I made was to substitute the cream cheese to 1/3 reduced fat in an attempt to make myself feel less guilty should I have decided to eat 5 in one sitting!  I ended up with more whipped topping than was needed, but I can always find another use for it, like on top of a pumpkin spiced latte!

If you have any great fall cheesecake recipes, share in the comments below!  And if you aren't sick of pumpkin baking recipes yet, check back next week for DELICIOUS mini pumpkin spice latte bundt cakes with coffee glaze!

From The Kitchen || Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

When it comes to desserts, Josh is very simple in his likes.  And since it's just us in the house, baking normally requires that I keep him in mind unless I plan on eating the goods all by myself.  Confession: I've dusted off more than I care to admit on my own and my thighs are thanking me now.

Back to Josh...  For his birthday, he originally requested chocolate whoopie pies with mint frosting.  Sure, it's his call since he is the birthday boy but I wanted to try something new and take advantage of my pumpkin fever. Seeing as how he loves snickerdoodles and cream cheese, I figured I couldn't go wrong.  Lucky for me I got to knock out two birds with one stone (no actual birds were harmed in the making of these cupcakes) and easily convinced him that I should make these instead.

The verdict?  Yum!!!  The cake is extremely moist and isn't overpowering with either the pumpkin puree or pumpkin pie spice flavors.  To me, subtly is key when you're using such powerful spices.  And while I'm normally not a fan of cream cheese unless it's thoroughly disguised, this frosting won me over.  Josh requested I leave a few without the frosting so I just dunked the tops in the sugar/spice mix and served them at breakfast.

A few notes/variations I made on the recipe. 1) I used yellow cake mix instead of the alternative, white; 2) I opted to use oil instead of applesauce since that's what I had on hand; 3) I only used 3T of butter to coat the tops and it was more than enough; 4) Trying to keep my expanding waistline in mind, I went for reduced fat cream cheese; and 5) I found the right amount of powdered sugar for the frosting is 4 cups.  Another change to the recipe is the oven temp; I've found that 325 for 20 minutes with each cup filled 3/4 full is the magic equation to perfect cupcakes.  I'm also a big fan of baking with these party cups since they can be pulled apart easily, making eating a bit less messy.  I still use a cupcake pan so that each cupcake bakes evenly.

Pardon the day after iPhone photo.

These cupcakes were a hit with Josh and his family and super easy to make.  I'm always looking for new pumpkin recipes to try, any suggestions?

Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday shout out to my other half!  Today marks another year in which he's managed not to kill himself, which is no easy task!

With both of us working today, I tried to make the best of it starting with a Starbucks run and a homemade breakfast at the crack of dawn (literally) to get his day off right.  Tonight we're off to his mom's house to enjoy a family celebration and to devour the pumpkin snickerdoodle cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting that I whipped up last night.  Recipe to come soon!

Love you, babe! 

Changing Seasons || Fall

Fall in Central Arizona is a state of mind, not an actual season.  Sure, the weather cools down come late October, but the leaves don't really change colors rather they just fall off the trees unceremoniously.  Sadly, nothing special. Since 2009 I have either lived in or visited Seattle during the Fall so I could soak in my fill of the changing season.  I'm a bit bitter this isn't the case this year so without the visual cues, I'm looking to Trader Joe's, Starbucks, Target, grocery store baking aisles, our annual pumpkin patch trip, and the likes to get me into the spirit.  I'm longing for the first opportunity to bust out the riding boots, leggings, and sweaters.

Perhaps I overcompensate, but I get full fledged, borderline obsessive, pumpkin inspired fever!  It's everything pumpkin from granola, pancake/waffle mix, chai tea latte mix, and PSL's to pumpkin cookie jars, cupcakes liners, sprinkles, puree, and more.  I can't help myself.

If I can't have Fall outside, I can at least have Fall in my stomach!  To throw myself into the season, I've rounded up a few recipes to whip up over the next couple months.  Some I've already tried and loved, others I'm just drooling over.  What are your favorite fall recipes?

Get The Recipes 

Caramel Apple Cupcakes | Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies | Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes | Pumpkin French Toast Bake | Chocolate Pumpkin Whoopie Pies