Fun with Muffin Tins

As I've mentioned before, one of my goals this summer is to make at least one new recipe each week.  This week, I've run into a bit of a theme where many of my meals have been made in a muffin tin!

We started with an old stand-by in our house: Mini Muffin Quiche.  Okay, they're probably really frittatas since I don't make a crust, but anyway . . .

I love this dish for many reasons.  Evelyn LOVES these little delicacies and will gobble them down like rapid fire, plus they're full of power foods which are awesome for her growth and development.  Also, they serve as amazing leftovers and can be reheated the next day for either breakfast or lunch.

Okay, so the recipe is as follows (adapted from a recipe I found on Weelicious last summer):

• Spray muffin tin with that handy extra-virgin olive oil cooking spray stuff and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Whisk five eggs with about 1/4 cup of milk and about 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese.  Season to your preference.
• Add any vegetables.  This particular batch had spinach (3 cups pre-cooked with the water drained like crazy), 1 diced tomato, and chopped black olives.  I also added fresh shredded mozzarella.
• Pour into muffin tin.  Be sure to fill only halfway because they will rise!
• Cook for 25 to 30 minutes or so (or until a nice golden brown).

This morning, with the temperatures being so cool, Evelyn and I decided to use up some of our ripening produce and bake.  We took an old stand-by banana bread recipe with the intent of folding blueberries into the batter.  As we got going, I realized that our three little ripened bananas wouldn't have been enough to yield the two cups of mashed banana so we added some applesauce to the banana (and cut the 2 eggs to 1).  My, oh my . . .were these ever a toddler hit!

  Yummy, yummy.

Tonight's original dinner plans included MORE muffin tins (mini ground turkey meat-loaves) but we decided to treat Evelyn to a date out with Mommy and Daddy instead.  We hit up a local Salad bistro (where the kid's meal is practically as large as an adult-serving - ahh!), visited a local kiddie amusement park, and finished the night off with some fro-yo.    If these temperatures keep up, then I'll give the turkey muffin meatloaves a try tomorrow!

Ringing in the Summer Season

Yesterday marked the first official day of summer (woo!), and while I'm still slaving away at school, I decided to celebrate a bit!

I came home to find that the little one hadn't eaten her afternoon snack, so we piled into the car and headed to our favorite frozen yogurt bar.  Mmmmm.  Fat-free yogurt with fresh fruit.  Guilt-free decadence!

After heading back home, we found that Jon hadn't returned from work yet, so I decided to surprise him with some hamburger patties to throw on the grill.  He's all about beef and I'm hit or miss with it, so needless to say, this was a huge treat for him.  And y'know, these were pretty darn tasty!  Here's my recipe that I kind of made up on the spot . . .

• Take 1 pound of ground beef (we only use all-natural, grass-fed which kind of makes it tastier, anyway).
• Mix well with one egg, chopped onion (half), and minced garlic.  Season with black pepper and Mrs. Dash's salt-free table seasoning.
• Form beef mixture into 12 round balls (even in size) and then squash down.  
• On six patties, sprinkle a pinch of shredded mozzarella cheese and a pinch of crumbled feta cheese.  Cover each cheese-topped patty with a plain patty.

Grill to your preference.  Mmm mmmm.

Anyway, I had those ready to go, sliced up a fresh and juicy watermelon, and then Jon walked in the door with a fresh bouquet of flowers from my favorite local florist!  Whatta guy!  He knows how I strongly dislike grocery store bouquets!

It is a huge arrangement, therefore I had the opportunity to use my HUGE music vase that the Class of 2010 gave me last Spring!


And because it was the first day of summer, I made a point in starting one of my projects.  My sister, Abby, and I sanded down the old picnic table that has been taking up space next to our garage for the past three years.  We then began giving it a fresh coat of paint in a buttercream yellowish hue.  Still have a bit more to go but I feel accomplished in starting it (at least)!  Unfortunately, I TOTALLY forgot to take a before picture.  I always forget to do that!  Oh well!

Dwindling Year

It's been difficult to find the time to post for the past week or so.  With the hustle and bustle of the end of the year, I've just been too plum tired to type.

Another school year is quickly winding down and as we're entering Regents testing week, I'm spending my time proctoring, filing music, planning for next year, and cleaning the toxic waste zone known as my desk.  Y'know, I often lament the sorry state of my desk at school.  Try as I might to keep things tidy, the piles continue to bloom and grow like pesky lil' weeds.  Oh, how I wish I was "type A."

While I'll miss the Class of 2011 (because they're really great kids) an awful lot, I am beginning the final countdown towards this year's summer recess by making finite goals for my "upcycling projects."  Typing these here will hold me to them, so the first three projects include . . .

• refinishing and repainting an old picnic table
• creating pillowcase dresses out of a few embroidered vintage pillowcases that I scored on Etsy (this project will require much assistance from Mom)
• modge-podging coasters out of bathroom tile.

Also on the agenda: trimming away my tulip/daffodil stems and planting petunias in the rock garden.  Of course, this means that I'll choose the petunias and then point and shoot Jon in the directions to where I'd like them planted.  He loves gardening and completing outdoor chores.  I do not share this love.  This is obviously one prime example of how our contrasting personalities and interests make for a perfect match.  [Cue Paula Abdul . . .]