 I appreciate a dessert-for-breakfast kind of day (hello, biscotti) more than the average girl but, that doesn't mean that I want to eat blueberry cupcakes first thing in the morning.🧁 I strongly believe that muffins should be only sweet enough to still be considered indulgent and decadent. I can't even believe that I'm saying this - the girl with the out of control sugar addiction.🤪 But it's true. I maintain my stance that muffins should be light and fluffy, buttery but not greasy - and they should have a crunchy, crackled top.
Most muffins don't fall into the "healthy food" category but that doesn't mean that they're completely unhealthy either. Loading them up with superfoods like blueberries, nuts and whole grains makes them powerful fuel to kick off the day. And if you're feeling like your muffins are a little too healthy - you can always slather on a pat of butter. 🧈😂 These blueberry granola muffins are the perfect combination of sweet, healthy, crunchy and delicious. I made a batch of homemade granola to use in my muffins but you could also use a store bought granola if you prefer. I also put fresh blueberries in my muffins because - well, May.🫐 But if you don't have access to fresh berries - substitute frozen. Just be sure they're still frozen when you stir them into the batter or you'll end up with purple muffins.🤣  Blueberry Granola Muffins 1 cup flour 1 cup old fashioned oats ½ cup brown sugar 2 Tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt 1 cup milk ½ cup unsweetened applesauce 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil 2 large eggs 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/2 cups blueberries 1 cup granola
 Bake 25 minutes at 350.
Ciao!
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 This is going to be a week of celebrations!🥳 We're kicking it off with Mother's Day lunch on Sunday and... my mom is in town!!! To follow that up, we're celebrating my mom's and my birthday on Monday and Tuesday this week. #gotcake? 🤣  With 3 consecutive days of celebrations - there will be no lack of decadent desserts in our house this weekend.😅 In my world - every celebration must be properly commemorated with ample amounts of sugar.🎂 Is it really a birthday party if there is no cake? As for my birthday - my celebratory dessert of choice almost always includes chocolate.🍫 For the rest of my choco-holic followers - this dessert is for you. Dark chocolate cups filled with dark chocolate mousse, fresh whipped cream and a fresh strawberry. (Adding fruit makes it healthy.🤣) This chocolate mousse is absolutely amazing. Smooth and creamy, dark and decadent.  Chocolate Mousse 4 large egg yolks 1/4 cup sugar 2 cups heavy cream pinch sea salt 2 teaspoons vanilla 7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
 Spoon into dessert cups. Chill 2 hours.
Top with additional whipped cream and chocolate curls or fresh strawberries.
Ciao!
 A few weeks ago, I ran across an old picture of my brother and I circa 1975. I texted the picture to him with the caption "reenactment?" His nearly immediate response - "absolutely, let's make it happen."🤣 Just to be clear - I have no idea why we were dressed like this. Were we dressed up in costumes for Halloween?🤠 Why do I have a stocking on my arm? Am I holding Curious George? So many questions.🤪 I thought that what I was wearing in the picture was an apron but my mom informed me that it was a dress. 👗😳
I had never tried to reenact an old photo before and turns out - it's not easy. I had to pack toy guns in my checked bag on our flight to Ohio. (There was no ammunition.😅) My brother brought his hat, boots and vest in his luggage. My mom graciously allowed us to dig through her Christmas boxes to find a stocking - in April. And then there was the issue of my oh-so stylish outfit. Well, my mom came through again with an almost nearly perfect replicate of my green "dress" and red vest.  There's no question that it was a challenge to recreate our childhood photo but it was so much fun. I have no memory of the original picture being taken but I'm pretty sure that I'll never forget the day we took the second photo.📸 Recreating photos - not really my forte. Recreating recipes - my speciality. Taking old recipes and putting a new, modern spin on them - that's my jam. Key Lime Pie has been around since 1927.🥧 It's light, it's refreshing, it's the perfect combination of sweet and sour. There's nothing wrong with the original recipe but if you want to try a slightly different variation - you need to try Coconut Key Lime Tartlets.  Coconut Key Lime Tartlets 1 cup graham cracker crumbs 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut 6 Tablespoons butter, melted 5 Tablespoons sugar 1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk ½ cup Key lime juice 3 large egg yolks ½ tsp. salt 1 Tablespoon plus 1⁄2 tsp. lime zest (from 2 limes) ¾ cup heavy cream ½ teaspoon vanilla extract lime slices
Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until set.  Cool 1 hour on racks. Refrigerate 2 hours.
 Top each mini pie with a dollop of whipped cream.  Garnish with a lime slice.
Ciao!  Some friends and I took a cooking lesson a couple of weeks ago at one of my favorite restaurants. It was in a word - inspiring. 🌶️🧄🧅🥗🍤
The chef made all of this food (and more) in 2 hours!😳 I don't know about you - but I'm sure that it would take me a whole lot longer than 2 hours to make all of this. What's even more impressive is the fact that chef Jose had no idea what he was going to make until after we walked in the door. He asked us what we wanted to learn and what we liked to eat and then the magic started to happen. Chef invited us to treat his commercial kitchen like our own. His goal was to teach us the skills to make delicious meals in our own homes. We were able to look all the delicious ingredients that were available in his refrigerator and then choose which ones we wanted to prepare. 🍓🫐🍊🍋
Ingredient driven meals are what I make most often in my own home. When I have tomatoes to use up - I make batches of homemade salsa or marinara.🍅 When I've got leftover chicken - it's tacos or chicken salads.🌮🌯🥗 And on a good year, when my garden is flourishing - I make eggplant meatballs, eggplant parmesan, grilled eggplant and eggplant sandwiches.🍆 This Spring, I have cilantro growing in my garden for the very first time. I've tried planting it over and over and up until now - I've never been successful at keeping it alive. So now that I have a thriving plant, I want to take advantage and use it because I still have a feeling that it might have a short life span. So this weeks, ingredient inspired meal - lettuce wrap turkey tacos with fresh cilantro. 😅  Lettuce Wrap Turkey Tacos 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 yellow onion, chopped 1 lb 95% lean ground turkey 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp paprika 1/2 cup tomato sauce 1/2 cup chicken broth Romaine lettuce leaves , doubled up, for serving
 Add chili powders, cumin, paprika, tomato sauce and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and cook 5 minutes.  Spoon filling into lettuce wraps.  Top with your favorite taco toppings. Cheese, avocado, sour cream, tomatoes, olives, etc. Anyone able to find the cilantro on my tacos? Yup, after I finished putting my lettuce wrap turkey tacos together - I forgot it. 🤦🏻♀️ Here's to making a cilantro based meal again tomorrow night. 🤪
Ciao!  Presenting the latest edition of When Opposites Attract.😅 For those of you who don't already know - I'm happily married to a wonderful man who couldn't be more opposite than me. I look at rules as more of a guideline and I assume that it's my responsibility to challenge them.🚫😅 He follows all rules without question. He's a meat eater - I'm a vegetable lover. 🥩🥦 He is crazy athletic and irritatingly proficient at every sport that involves a ball.⚾️😂 And somehow I manage to hit myself in the shins whenever I hold a tennis racket in my hand.🎾🤷🏻♀️  Our opposing personalities came through in epic form during our basement renovation, earlier this year. We had different ideas about speaker placement, television size and the type of furniture that we needed.🛋️ He envisioned a giant red leather sectional couch carefully positioned around a larger than life projection tv. I had a more modest decor in mind. 🤣 And that was just the first week of basement negotiations.😅 The crazy thing is that even though we butt heads over decorating decisions, our opposite personalities also compliment each other in many ways. He's the voice of reason when I start to obsess over details that really don't matter. I'm better at color, design and organization decisions and he's better at anything involving technology. We needed each other to create a basement space that is perfect for both of us. Opposing flavors are the name of the game for this scrumptious bite size appetizer. Crisp, tart apples, salty parmesan cheese, paper thin slices of prosciutto, bitter arugula and a sweet balsamic drizzle. You can get all of those amazing flavors in a single bite of a Prosciutto Wrapped Apple Bite. These are so easy to make and a delicious appetizer or hors d'oeuvre for any party.  Prosciutto Wrapped Apple Bites Honey Crisp Sprite Prosciutto Parmesan wedge Balsamic glaze Arugula
Toss apples in Sprite and drain.  Shave parmesan into very thin slices.  Lay a slice of cheese on top of each prosciutto slice. Place an apple slice and a piece of arugula on top.  Roll tightly.  Drizzle with balsamic.  Ciao!
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