Thursday, October 14, 2010

Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins


Photography: Randy Mayor; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursell



Yield: 2 dozen (serving size: 1 muffin)


2/3 cup (5 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350�.

Combine cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended. Add sugar; beat until fluffy. Add vanilla, egg whites, and egg; beat well.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and buttermilk to cream cheese mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Gently fold in raspberries and walnuts.

Place 24 foil cup liners in muffin cups. Spoon batter evenly into liners. Bake at 350� 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack.



CALORIES 142 (32% from fat); FAT 4.7g (sat 2.4g,mono 1.3g,poly 0.7g); IRON 0.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 19mg; CALCIUM 31mg; CARBOHYDRATE 22.6g; SODIUM 138mg; PROTEIN 2.7g; FIBER 1.1g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2003

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Crockpot Lasagna

Sorry no picture. But this was SO DELICIOUS! Made it for the first time yesterday. My SIL's family (grandparents and uncle) and us were the guinea pigs. Everyone that is was "damn good". I'd have to agree. We will be making this often!

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground beef - *instead of hamburger i would suggest sausage.
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
  • 1 large jar spaghetti sauce (such as Ragu in the 1 lb. 10 ounce jar)
  • 1 package (8 ounces) no-boil lasagna noodles
  • 16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1 lb. ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan/Romano cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Brown the beef, onion, and garlic in a little oil in a frying pan. Drain off any grease.

Add the spaghetti sauce into the browned meat mixture. Mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, milk, and egg. Beat until thoroughly mixed and smooth. Then mix in the mozzarella cheese and the grated cheese, so that all the cheeses are combined.

Grease the slow cooker/Crock Pot with some vegetable shortening on the bottom and sides.

Put about 1/4 of the meat and sauce mixture in the bottom of the slow cooker/Crock Pot. Put a layer of noodles on top of that (break or cut them if needed). Put about 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of that. Then repeat with sauce, noodles, cheese for another 2 layers. Top with meat sauce. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until noodles are tender.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

I think we have a new conference breakfast tradition.

Yield: 8-12 large cinnamon rolls or 12-16 smaller rolls

Ingredients:

For the cinnamon rolls:

6½ tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch ground nutmeg

5½ tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 large egg, slightly beaten

1 tsp. lemon zest

3½ cups bread flour

2 tsp. instant (rapid rise) yeast

1 cup plus 2-4 tbsp. whole milk or buttermilk, at room temperature

For the filling:

1½ tbsp. unsalted butter

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼-inch slices

¼ cup sugar

½ tsp. cornstarch

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

Pinch ground nutmeg

Pinch salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sugar

¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

For the glaze:

4 oz. cream cheese

1 tbsp. unsalted butter

3 tbsp. caramel sauce

1 tbsp. milk

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar, salt and butter on medium-high speed until smooth. Mix in the egg and lemon zest until incorporated. Mix in the flour, yeast and milk until a dough forms. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed, about 8 minutes until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. (You may need to add a little extra flour or liquid to achieve this texture.) Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, make the filling. To make the caramelized apples, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apple slices, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix until the apples are evenly coated. Cook about 18 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Set aside to cool. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon to blend; set aside.

Mist a work surface with spray oil. Roll it out into a rectangle with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the dough with flour if needed to keep it from sticking (about 12 x 14 inches for larger rolls or 9 x 18 inches for smaller rolls). Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix to blend. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the surface of the dough. Evenly distribute the caramelized apples over the top of the dough. Starting with the wide edge, roll up the dough into a cigar-shaped log, creating a cinnamon sugar spiral as you roll. Pinch the seam shut, and with the seam side down, slice the log into your desired number of rolls. Transfer them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, placing the rolls about ½-1 inch apart.

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 75-90 minutes, until the rolls have grown into each other and have nearly doubled in size. At this point, the rolls can also be covered and retarded in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Pull the pan out of the refrigerator 3-4 hours before baking to let the dough proof.

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool in the baking about 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

To make the glaze, combine the cream cheese and butter in a small heatproof bowl and microwave in 15-20 second intervals until it is warm enough to whisk together. Whisk in the caramel sauce, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar until smooth. Swirl the glaze over the top of the cinnamon rolls. Let cool at least 15-20 minutes before serving.

Printed from Annie’s Eats