Maple-Drizzled Apple Muffins

Here's the funny thing about pregnancy: It makes you crave things that you may not have even liked before you got pregnant. Let me give you a couple of examples. All my life I've hated marshmallows, but last Friday I ate my weight in s'mores, and I currently can't get the thought of these treats out of my head (I actually think I may make them tonight). The other example, which is applicable to today's post, is maple syrup. I've never been a big fan of syrup itself or of maple-flavored things (maple sausage excluded; I have always liked that), but now? I can't get enough of it. So when I saw these muffins, they immediately attracted my attention.

These muffins are soooo delicious. Studded with chopped apples and drizzled with a maple glaze, they absolutely scream "fall" to me. The maple flavor is subtle and sweet, not overpowering at all. This is the kind of muffin that warms you up from the inside out. One Allrecipes reviewer said she added dried cranberries to the muffin mixture, which I'm definitely going to try next time. I think that would make these even better!

Maple-Drizzled Apple Muffins
source: Allrecipes

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups chopped, peeled apples
12 pecan halves
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. In a small bowl, mix milk, butter, syrup and egg; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apples.

2. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Top each with a pecan half. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Cool completely.

3. For glaze, mix confectiones' sugar and syrup; drizzle over muffins.

Arroz con Pollo

I saw this recipe a couple of months ago on Debbie's blog, and I bookmarked it immediately. I've always wanted to make arroz con pollo at home, but I guess I always thought it was a time-consuming, labor-intensive process. But it really wasn't. This meal came together relatively quickly and was absolutely delicious.

The recipe calls for the thighs to be seared in the bacon drippings so the skin gets crispy, but then they go back in the rice and broth mixture to cook through, and by the time the rice was finished the skin had lost a lot of its crispiness. Next time, I'll either use boneless skinless chicken thighs, or I'll cook the bone-in skin-on thighs completely through, separately from the rice. But that was really the only issue I had with this meal. I omitted the peas because I didn't have them on hand, and I also left out the saffron because honestly, it's not an ingredient I would ever use again. I also added some chopped Spanish-style olives to the rice mixture for the last few minutes of cooking. Joe and I both really enjoyed this dinner, and it will definitely be a repeat in our house. Thanks for the recipe, Debbie!

Arroz con Pollo
source: adapted from mocha me

4 slices bacon

4 chicken thighs with skin and bones

Salt and pepper to taste

Paprika to taste
Dried oregano to taste

Garlic powder to taste

Cumin to taste

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 small sweet yellow onion, diced

2 bell peppers, diced (I used one red and one green)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

2 cups chicken broth

1 pinch saffron (omitted)

1 cup rice

3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (divided)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed (omitted)
1/2 cup Spanish-style pimiento-stuffed olives, roughly chopped

1. Cook the bacon in a large Dutch oven. Once the bacon is cooked, drain on a paper towel and then crumble. Set aside.

2. Season the chicken thighs with a bit of each seasoning to taste. Cook the chicken thighs, skin side down first, for 4 minutes each side. Remove from pan and set aside on a plate.

3. Add the olive oil to the Dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot add the onion, bell peppers and a bit of each seasoning to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the garlic and cook constantly for 60 seconds. Add the diced tomatoes, chicken broth, saffron, rice, crumbled bacon and half of the cilantro. Stir until mixed thoroughly; taste the broth and re-season if needed.

4. Add the chicken in an even layer and simmer over medium low heat, partially covered for 25 minutes. Make sure to stir occasionally so the rice doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. During the last few minutes of cooking, stir in the olives. Sprinkle the finished dish with the thawed peas (if using) and the remaining cilantro.

Sausage and Cheese Muffins

I probably should have included this in yesterday's meal-planning post, since yesterday was November 1. But I didn't decide until yesterday afternoon that I'm going to attempt to do NaBloPoMo on this site as well as on my personal blog. I mean, how hard can it be, right? I typically post every day except for Saturday anyway, and I have a lot of recipes backing up to share. This is going to be easy, right? Right?

*crickets*

Ahem. Anyway. The recipe I'm sharing today was a huge hit in our house. They're called sausage and cheese "muffins," but they're really more biscuit-like in texture. Whatever you want to call them, they are absolutely delicious. I made these for breakfast the same week I made these baked apples for dinner, so I had a half-pound of maple sausage to use. The original recipe calls for hot sausage, which I think would have been equally as good.

I topped mine with butter, and Joe topped his with butter and maple syrup. These came together very quickly and were the perfect breakfast for a cozy Sunday morning!

Sausage and Cheese Muffins
source: adapted from Allrecipes

1/2 pound bulk pork sausage (I used maple, which was yummy, but I think any kind of sausage would work)
1/2 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 1/2 cups biscuit/baking mix

1. In a skillet over medium heat, cook sausage until no longer pink; drain.

2. In a bowl, combine soup, milk, sage and sausage. Stir in the biscuit mix just until moistened. Fill greased miniature or regular muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until muffins test done.

Weekly Meal Planning

I had fun sharing all of those Halloween-themed goodies with you last week. I actually think I gave myself gestational diabetes due to all the sugar-laden treats I consumed. Someone had to eat all of it! It was totally worth it, though.

And now here we are, in November. I can't believe this year is almost over. It's time to start freezing some meals in preparation for the new little man's arrival in January, so a few of the recipes on this week's meal plan will be doubled so I can freeze half for later.

Monday: Chicken and cheese enchiladas

Tuesday: Biscuits over creamed chicken

Wednesday: Macaroni and cheese-stuffed tomatoes, salad. Except instead of using store-bought macaroni and cheese like the recipe suggests, I'll make a batch of our favorite mac and cheese to stuff the tomatoes, and then freeze the rest.

Thursday: Cream cheese potato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches. This soup is incredible as-is, but it's going to be even better when I add some broccoli, bacon, and cheddar cheese to it. Which is what I so plan on doing.

Friday: Pizza joes, steak fries

Saturday: Baked gnocchi. I've been wanting to make this ever since I got this cookbook, and I think it's finally cool enough to justify the heavy, creamy calorie fest.

Sunday: Baked ziti, garlic bread

Weekend Breakfast: Pumpkin buttermilk pancakes, sausage links

Baking: Coconut-chocolate pecan pie. I'm on my own with this one since Joe hates shredded coconut, so be sure to check back to see how I do at consuming an entire pie by myself. (Spoiler alert: I'm sure I'll do just fine.)

Halloween Week: Halloween Pumpkin Bars

I know, I know: I missed yesterday's Halloween-themed recipe. But this week has been long and stressful, and I've decided the only way I can cope is to take some of the pressure off of myself. On Wednesday night, that meant eating fast food for dinner and resting on the couch instead of cooking dinner and making chocolate-caramel apples (I know, don't those sound good? I'm definitely keeping them in mind for next year). But yesterday I did muster up the time and energy to make these adorable treats for a work potluck today:

Aren't they cute? They were so much fun to make. I think the guys on the right look like Easter Island statues. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Halloween Pumpkin Bars
source: inspired by Taste of Home and ...and a cookie for dessert

Baked pumpkin bars (use Taste of Home's recipe, or this one, which is truly the best)
Cream cheese frosting (canned will work, but homemade is much better)
Yellow and red food coloring
Candy corn
Black decorating gel

1. Bake pumpkin bars according to recipe directions; cool.

2. Meanwhile, tint frosting with yellow and red food coloring to make orange; spread over cooled bars. Cut bars into squares.

3. Using candy corn and decorating gel, make a face on each bar.