Puffy Apple Omelet

Puffy Apple Omelet

Breakfast can be savory or sweet.  We all tend to think of egg dishes on the savory side.  But, sometimes, I like to offer my guests something a little out of the ordinary, like this puffy apple omelet.  I have hundreds of cookbooks and I just love going through them for ideas.  This particular recipe was in one of the Taste of Home collections and, although it is a little more effort than your traditional omelet, it is definitely worth it.  Rather than do one larger omelet, I did individual portions,  Let me know if you give it a try!

Puffy Apple Omelet

Ingredients
•3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
•1/4 teaspoon baking powder
•1/8 teaspoon salt, optional
•2 eggs, separated
•3 tablespoons milk
•1 tablespoon lemon juice
•3 tablespoons sugar
•TOPPING:
•1 large tart apple, peeled and thinly sliced
•1 teaspoon sugar
•1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
•In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt if desired. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks, milk and lemon juice. Stir into dry ingredients and mix well; set aside.
•In another small bowl, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon as a time, on high until stiff peaks form. Fold into yolk mixture.
•Pour into a shallow 1-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange apple slices on top. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over apples.
•Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 18-20 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve immediately.

Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn Bed & Breakfast online.  We hope to see you in person, soon.

Love,

Susan

Irish Soda Bread Muffins for St Patty's Day

Irish soda bread muffins

I was looking for a recipe for St. Patrick's day and came across this recipe from King Arthur flour for Irish Soda Bread Muffins. This muffin is not very sweet, has a nice crust and is hearty. The recipe makes 12 nice sized muffins. I did not use as many raisins as the recipe calls for. I had a 6 oz box on hand, which was 1 cup. I thought that was plenty. Also, I did not use the caraway seeds.  You don't have to be Irish and it doesn't have to be St Patty's Day to enjoy a delicious Irish inspired muffin.  Love, Susan

Irish Soda Bread Muffins from King Arthur Flour

• 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups raisins (I used 1 cup)
• 1/2 to 2 teaspoons caraway seeds (optional)
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• extra sugar, for topping

Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray 12 muffin cups with PAM.
2) In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, raisins, and caraway seeds, if using.
3) In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk and oil.
4) Combine dry and wet ingredients just until dough comes together. Do not overmix.
5) Scoop the batter evenly into 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle with sugar.
6) Bake the muffins for 20 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove them from the oven. Tip the muffins in the pan, so their bottoms don't get soggy. Wait 5 minutes, then transfer the muffins to a rack to cool. Serve them plain, or with butter and/or jam.

Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn Bed & Breakfast.  Come visit again, soon.

Scones, Anyone?

Chocolate Almond Scones

I truly thought I disliked scones as I had never had one that I enjoyed.  Then, I found this wonderful recipe that I came across many years ago. I use it as a guide for whatever flavors I want to put together. They can be made with frosting or they can be brushed with melted butter or cream and sprinkled with sugar just prior to baking. The options are endless. What you see above is the chocolate chip with almond variation. Hope you enjoy it!

Apricot-Orange Cream Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chopped dried apricots
½ cup white vanilla baking chips
1 1/3 cups whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice

Heat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet. In large bowl, mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, orange peel and salt until well blended. Stir in apricots and baking chips. Add whipping cream all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.
On lightly floured surface, knead dough 6 or 7 times until smooth. Divide dough in half. Pat each half into 6-inch round; cut each into 6 wedges. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
Bake 10 to 13 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix powdered sugar and enough orange juice for desired drizzling consistency. Drizzle icing over warm scones. Serve warm.
VARIATIONS:
Cranberry-Pecan Scones: Substitute dried sweetened cranberries for the apricots and add 1/2 cup chopped pecans with the cranberries. Double Chocolate-Almond Scones: Omit orange peel and apricots. Stir in 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips with the white baking chips. Add 1/4 teaspoon almond extract with the whipping cream. For the icing, substitute water for the orange juice and stir in 1/4 teaspoon almond extract. Sprinkle tops of iced scones with 2 tablespoons sliced almonds.

When you decide to give the recipe a try, let me know what variation you made.  I'd love to hear from you.  Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn Bed & Breakfast.  Hope you'll come see us soon.

Love,

Susan

Peanut Butter & Jelly Mini Muffins

Peanut Butter and Jelly Mini Muffins

Sometimes, you don't want a big muffin.  You just want a little one with big flavor.  So, how about peanut butter and jelly mini muffins?  This recipe makes 30 - 32 mini muffins, or if you prefer the regular size, it makes 10 regular muffins.   The recipe can be halved to make just 5 regular muffins or 15 minis.   I like to add a little more jelly on top after they come out of the oven.

Peanut Butter 'n' Jelly Mini Muffins
Yield: 30 mini muffins

½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons grape jelly

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray mini muffin pan with PAM.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs, yogurt, peanut butter and oil until smooth.
4. Combine wet with dry ingredients just until moistened.
5. Scoop batter equally into 30 mini muffin cups. They will be about ½ full.
6. Top each with 1/4 teaspoon jelly.
7. Bake at 400° for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks

Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn.  Hope you'll come again, soon.
Love,
Susan

Gluten Free Banana Nut Muffin Recipe

Gluten Free Banana Nut Muffins

Gluten free recipes very often do not taste very good.  Let's be honest.  Many recipes are absolutely horrible.  This one, however, is so good that everyone likes them.  And, it only makes 8 muffins.  Of course, you could double the recipe if you wanted to make more!  Hope you enjoy this recipe.

GLUTEN FREE BANANA NUT MUFFINS RECIPE
1 large very ripe banana, mashed
3/8 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/8 cup oil (I used canola)
5/8 cup rice flour (I used organic white)
2 TBS chopped walnuts + 1 TBS for garnish
3/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp xanthan gum (optional)


1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 8 muffin cups with liners or spray with PAM.
2.In a medium bowl, combine the banana, sugar, vanilla, egg and oil until very well mixed.
3.In another medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients, including 2 TBS nuts.
4.Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients until all is well incorporated.
5.Scoop evenly into 8 muffin cups and sprinkle tops with reserved nuts.
6.Bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes.
7.Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan.
8.Enjoy!

 

Thanks for visiting the Americus Garden Inn.  We hope you'll come see us again, soon.

Love,

Susan

Banana Chocolate Swirl Muffins

I had a couple of extra ripe bananas and wanted to experiment a little. So, I made these banana chocolate swirl muffins today. Everybody loved them. Hope you do, too. Love, Susan

Banana Chocolate Swirl Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

2 medium very ripe bananas
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup semi-sweet or special dark chocolate chips, melted and cooled
¼ cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, mash bananas with sugar. Add the oil, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, sift all dry ingredients together to combine. Add to banana mixture and stir just until moistened.
4. Remove 1 cup of batter to a separate bowl and combine with the melted chocolate. Stir in mini chips.
5. Fill the muffin tins by alternating layers of banana and chocolate – use about a TBS per layer. Gently swirl with knife.
6. Bake until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes.
7. Cool in the pan 15 minutes, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.
8. Enjoy.