Buttermilk chocolate chip pancakes.

This is our sleepover favorite breakfast.  My daughters love these and so do their friends.  Light, fluffy & packed with dark chocolate chips ~ how couldn’t you love these :)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups of low fat buttermilk
1/2 stick of melted butter or butter substitute
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt together in your stand mixer.  Then in a separate bowl (I use my large measuring cup) whisk buttermilk, butter, eggs and vanilla.  Add to the flour mixture and blend.  Add the chocolate chips and mix by hand.  Ladle into a hot skillet (sprayed with nonstick spray) and cook until lightly browned on each side.

Enjoy!

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3,000 & a Chobani thank you.

The winner is:

Shayla Ebsen

Congratulations!  Please email me at robin@kneadtocook.com for further instructions.

Thank you everyone for liking Knead to Cook!  Love to you all :)  ~ Robin

 

 

Knead to Cook is quickly approaching 3,000 friends & I’m humbled, excited and thankful for each of you.  This blog has been a pipe dream for me for many years & watching is grow and flourish has been an incredible experience.  I’ve enjoyed “meeting” and getting to know each of you through your posts as well as sharing my own crazy life with you all.

Chobani, one of my absolute favorite products to use in my baking/cooking and just plain eating everyday, has offered to do an awesome giveaway for one random fan of Knead to Cook’s Facebook page.  When Knead to Cook’s Facebook page reaches 3,000 friends – A random person will be chosen to receive 1 case of Chobani 6 ounce yogurts (12 in all) in a variety of flavors sent directly to your door, how cool is that?!  

How the giveaway will work…

1.  You must be a fan of Knead to Cook’s Facebook page and a US resident.
2.  Only one random winner will be selected.
3.  When Knead to Cook’s Facebook page reaches 3,000 friends/fans, a random winner will be chosen the following day (at 7 p.m. EST) and announced at 9 p.m. EST that evening.
4. The winner has 48 hours to email me at robin@kneadtocook.com to provide me with their mailing address.  That will be forwarded to my contact at Chobani.  If the winner doesn’t reply within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected.
5.  Chobani will provide the date of arrival that will be communicated to the winner.

That’s it!  Super easy :)  Good luck friends & a big thank you for making my dream come true.

~Robin
oxoxo

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Orange Poppy Seed Chobani Muffins.

I’m on a orange kick lately!  Nothing wrong with that, right?  I love the color.  I love the fruit. It makes me smile & that’s always a good thing.  I started out with the thought of making wheat bran muffins & here it is… orange poppy Chobani muffins.  Ha ha.  This is how my day has been going.  They got a thumbs up from both of my girls.  I’ll take that :)  And now it’s time for me to share it with you…

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of butter or butter substitute, room temperature
Zest from one orange
2 eggs
1/2 cup of Chobani non fat plain yogurt
2 cups of all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup of milk
1/4 cup of poppy seeds

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Spray your muffin tins with non stick baking spray or line with wrappers.

In your stand mixer bowl, cream sugar, butter and zest together.  Add one egg at a time and beat.  Add the Chobani and mix again.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, powder, salt and nutmeg.  Add to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk.  Beat after each addition.  Finally add the poppy seeds and mix until well blended.

Using a ice cream scoop, fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way full and bake for 14-16 minutes.    Makes one dozen muffins.

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Orange cinnamon buns.

 

I prepared these last night for my daughter’s birthday breakfast this morning.  They were very well received!  Ooey gooey yumminess is the way to kick off your birthday, or any special day, in my opinion.

Dough recipe:

1 1/3 c + 1 tablespoon warm water
2 teaspoons of yeast
2 tablespoons of white sugar
4 cups of bread flour (I used King Arthur’s)
Zest from one large orange
3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
4 tablespoons of butter or butter substitute (I can’t believe it’s not butter etc.)

Directions for the dough:

In a small bowl combine the warm (not hot) water with the yeast and sugar and let stand for 6 minutes.  The mixture should foam up, if it doesn’t your yeast has gone bad or the water was too hot and killed it.  Repeat if necessary.

In a separate bowl (in your stand mixer), combine the flour, orange zest and salt.  Add the butter to the mixture.  When the yeast is ready, pour that into the flour mixture.  With the dough hook combine the ingredients (slowly to start or flour will fly everywhere).  Once incorporated, knead the dough with the dough hook for 10 minutes.  If the dough is super dry, add a teaspoon or less of water to it.  If it’s too wet, add a teaspoon of bread flour.  Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover to rise for one hour.  Keep it in a warm location (I place mine in my microwave just be sure not to turn it on).  The dough should rise to double its size and spring back when you poke your finger into it.

Filling ingredients:

1/2 cup of white sugar
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
1/4 tsp of nutmeg
Zest of one orange
5 tablespoons of butter or butter substitute

Directions for filling:

Combine all of the ingredients (minus the butter) in a bowl.  Set aside until the dough is ready to roll out.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray your glass 13×9 pan with nonstick baking spray and set aside.

When the dough has risen to twice it’s size – flour your surface that you will roll your dough out on.  Roll out the dough to about a 10×14 size.  I then take the butter (softened) in my hand and rub it all over the dough, to the edges.  Then sprinkle the filling over the top of the butter, again, going right to the edges.  You will then start to roll one end tightly until the entire piece is rolled up into one large log.  Take a sharp knife and cut 1 1/4 inch pieces.  Lay into your prepared 13×9 pan.  Butt the spiral dough right up against one another.  If you have additional pieces, I just lay them on top of the first layer in a random fashion.

Set the rolls aside to rise one final time for about 20-25 minutes.  Then bake for 22-24 minutes.

Glaze ingredients:

1 cup of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of orange juice

Directions:

Whisk together and set aside.  Pour over warm rolls when removed from the oven.

Enjoy!

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Marinated fresh mozzarella.

I’m a self-proclaimed cheese addict.  I can’t imagine ever giving it up.  It’s beyond versatile and this weekend – it made a wonderful appetizer for a party that we hosted.  Super easy. Prepare ahead of time.  Leftovers?  Use them in salads, to top pasta, for a wonderful panini or just hit it straight up!

Ingredients:

1 lb of fresh mozzarella (I used bocconcini) – perfect size for appetizers
4 tbl of good quality olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced (use more if you like)
2 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of thyme
1 tsp of rosemary (I used fresh)
4 whole basil leaves torn up (garnish)
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tsp of salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Combine and let those delicious flavors marinade for at least 24 hours.  Remove about 1 hour prior to serving to let the cheese come down to room temperature.  Garnish with fresh basil.  I used these on mini skewers with cherry tomatoes (both yellow and orange) with a basil leaf.

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Strawberry Basil Margaritas.

I adore hosting summer parties outside on our patio.  Small groups or large groups… Love having people over.  We fire up our firepit (that I built) and enjoy cocktails while the kids toast marshmallows and make s’mores.  One of my favorite things about summer, hands down!

This weekend we had a wonderful party to celebrate my daughter’s 11th birthday.  I wanted to prepare some drinks for my beverage containers ahead of time.  I adapted this recipe from theKitchn website.

This was to fill a 3 gallon beverage dispenser.

Ingredients:

4 (12 ounces) frozen limeade concentrate cans
10 c of fresh, water
15 strawberries, hulled and cut in half
18 basil leaves
7 cups tequila (gold)

Into your beverage dispenser, empty all of the limeade cans into your dispenser followed by 10 cups of water  Then add the tequila.  Stir to blend.  Then add the strawberries and basil.  Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.  We had ice on the side, not to water the margaritas down throughout the night.  These were such a hit!  Both the men and women loved it.  I’ll be making this cocktail throughout the summer.

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Marinated aspargus.

I rarely take shortcuts but this is one I always do for a party and it is a time saver & a great appetizer.  How can you go wrong, right?

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs of fresh asparagus, washed and trimmed (bottoms)
1 container of a good quality Italian dressing

Directions:

Place the asparagus in a ziploc and pour the entire bottle of dressing over top.  Seal and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.  Remove and plate.  So good, unbelievably easy.  I always plate with other things, olives, tomatoes – I also served my marinated mozzarella skewers with this on the side.

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Crumbs Cupcakes.

My kids, along with me, have never really been a huge fan of cake.  Cupcakes we love!  I think it’s the smaller package that makes it more appealing.  In honor of my daughter’s 11th birthday, she asked for these fabulous cupcakes to celebrate.  This is the actual Crumbs cupcake recipe – we’re huge fans!

This recipe makes 6 giant cupcakes.  I made regular sized cupcakes (this recipe made about 26 of them).  I’ve halved the icing recipe as the original makes entirely too much and I hate wasting it.

Cake ingredients:

3/4 lb of unsalted butter, room temperature
2.5 c of sugar
5 eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1.5 tsp of almond extract
3 c of flour (unbleached all-purpose is what I used)
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 c of buttermilk (I used low fat)

Frosting:

1/2 lb of butter
8 oz of cream cheese (I did use low fat)
1 lb of powdered sugar
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream together butter and sugar, then add eggs, vanilla and almond extract.

Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda in a separate bowl and then add to the butter mixture.

Add the buttermilk and mix until just incorporated.  Avoid over mixing.

Line your muffin pan with cups and fill each cup to the top with batter.  Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Let the cool completely.

Directions for Frosting:

Cream together butter and cream cheese (both must be at room temperature).  Add the vanilla and powdered sugar.  Combine well.  Ice completely cooled cupcakes and decorate.

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Drunken lemonade.

Another wonderful cocktail to prepare ahead of time in your beverage dispenser is this yummy concoction.  I used a 4 gallon dispenser for this recipe.  Refreshing and perfect for an evening party or barbecue.

Ingredients:

4 containers of frozen lemonade
10 c water
4 c of vodka
2 lemons, sliced for garnish

Directions:

In your beverage dispenser, add all 4 frozen lemonade containers.  Add the water & vodka and stir until combined.  Then add the lemon slices to the top (they will float).  We served ice on the side so the cocktails wouldn’t get watered down.

Feel free to use more or less vodka in this recipe, depending on your preference.  You can also garnish with fresh berries, mint, basil, rosemary etc.

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Curried ginger chicken in the crock pot.

This recipe has simply come from necessity.  Tonight my daughter has a show at school and today was filled with running tons of errands for a rather large gathering we’re hosting Saturday evening.  This dish is quite aromatic.

For the chicken dish ~ Ingredients:

1/2 c of tomato sauce
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1.5 tbl of curry powder
2 tbl of freshly grated ginger
1-2 tsp of cumin (I added more but I just love it)
3/4 c of water
1 onion, medium sized, diced
Chicken breast – I was using tenders so I did 10 total (you can use breasts – 4 to 6 would work well)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp of freshly ground pepper

Directions:

In your crock pot on high (to cook in 4 hours) or low (6-8 hour cooking time) – add the first 6 ingredients. Whisk to combine.  Then add the onions to the mixture.  Combine.  Top with your chicken, salt and pepper.  Cover and cook.

For the sauce:
1 c of Chobani non fat plain yogurt
Juice from one lime
3 cloves of garlic
3/4 c of fresh mint leaves
1/4 tsp of cayenne
1 tsp of cumin
1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Blend together with your hand immersion blender or regular blender.  Place a dollop over the chicken dish and serve.  Garnish with mint leaves.

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