Raspberry Citrus Muffins

I'm a morning person but I am not. I love to get up early and write but I need to be in bed with my cappuccino while doing so. I don't want to have to get up unless I absolutely have to. I love the idea of getting up early and baking so that the kids will have some fresh out of the oven muffins ready for them for their breakfast. As much as I aim to do this I fall short. Way short. I have even thought about having the batter ready and scooped into muffin tins the night before. But with the after school rush of sports and homework and dinner this never happens. So I will stick to using my weekends. I'll bake a couple of batches and freeze them and take them out as needed. I still pop them in the oven before serving... so they still have that warm out of the oven feel and taste. This is the best I can do for now!

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter, room temperature
2/3 C sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 eggs
1/2 C sour cream
1/4 C orange juice
Zest of 1 lemon and 1 lime
2 C flour
2 tsp. baking powder

- beat together sugar and butter
- add eggs and beat well
- add OJ and zest
- add sour cream
- add baking powder and flour, mix well
- fold in about 1 1/2 C raspberries -- I used frozen, thawed, about 1/2 bag


Pour batter into lined or greased muffin tins and bake at 375 for 25 - 30 minutes. (Test with a toothpick)

Makes 12 muffins

Cranberry Orange Quick Bread

I used fresh cranberries so this bread is quite tart. Feel free to substitute the dried, sweetened variety if you prefer. I'm looking forward to having a slice in the morning... maybe with a little smear of fresh butter. Mmmm... Maybe I won't be able to wait until the morning!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

This recipe makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

3 cups of flour
1 1/2 cup of sugar, plus 2 tbs
2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 cup of canola oil
1/2 cup of orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries

Using a knife or mini blender chop cranberries add 2 tbs of sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together eggs and sugar
Add flour and baking powder
Add canola oil and vanilla
Slowly add flour and baking powder and mix until well blender
Stir in cranberries

Pour into 2 well greased loaf pans

Place in oven 1 hour until lightly golden brown. (45 minutes in convection oven.)

Serve with butter, Marmalade or on its own!

Make it your own: Delightful Citrus Cranberry Muffins

I'm not sure why I had these in my house. Daddy picked them up for sure. I'm not even a lemon poppy girl. But the kids were hungry and there was nothing in the house. Well, sure there was... but no one wanted, oatmeal, cereal, eggs or yesterday's pancakes. So I grabbed this muffin mix. It was the small one. The one that makes just 6 muffins, which is totally useless when there are 5 people in a house. But that's not the point and I didn't buy them and I should have been happy they were in the pantry to begin with.

I looked at the directions and turned the oven on as it said to do. Then it told me to "just add water." Well, I don't just do anything and I like to tinker. So I replaced the water with orange juice. And added a half a cup of dried cranberries.

And you know what? These cranberry citrus things were good. Damned good! (No picture. All were eaten!)

Simple Springtime Sparkling Sangria

Spring is in the air! The birds are singing the buds are budding and everyone is happy and chipper! When I had a couple of friends over the other night for appetizers and coctails I wanted something to reflect the weather. So, a Simple Springtime Sparkling Sangria it was! And, what a hit it was too!

You'll need to marinate your fruit (as pictured above) for a good hour before adding the champagne just prior to serving.

Ingredients:

1 Cup of orange juice
1/2 - 3/4 Cup of Grand Marnier or Triple Sec
1 apple (red variety) cut into pieces
1 green apple cut into pieces
1/2 orange cut into pieces
1 bottle of Champagne or Proseco*

In a large pitcher add juice, liqueur and fruit. Place in fridge for at least an hour. Just prior to serving add Champagne or Proseco.

Pour into champagne glass, add a few pieces of fruit and Cheers!

*I just love Proseco and discovered it about a year or so ago. Averaging about $12 a bottle, a good bottle of Proseco (Italian effervescent wine) rivals a good and much pricier Champagne. It's a great alternative to it's French cousin mixed in drinks or enjoyed all by itself.