Peanut Butter Muffins

What is Dalton eating with such zest? Why it's a peanut butter muffin! We've been trying lots of muffin recipes around here. This one is courtesy of weezie at Mommysavers.

Peanut Butter Muffins

1 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup soft butter
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in peanut butter and butter. Add milk and eggs and stir just until moist. Bake at 350 for 15-18 minutes.

More!

Indian Food: Veg Biryani and Raita

6 months after coming to India, I have finally learned how to cook Indian food. One dish at least. Biryani (minus copious amounts of chili powder) is one of the Indian dishes we've found that we like. I just fed the last of the leftovers to Dalton for lunch and he gobbled it down. There is a veg version and a chicken version. In one you use vegetables, in the other, chicken. Apparently, it's weird to mix the two, but I've been doing so anyway.

Veg or Chicken Biryani Recipe

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 bay leaves

2 cinnamon sticks

3 whole cloves

2 cardamom pods

1 small red onion, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, minced or pureed

1 teaspoon ginger, minced or pureed

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 teaspoons plain yogurt

1 teaspoon coriander leaf (cilantro)

1 teaspoon mint leaf

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon coriander powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4 teaspoon garam masala

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sliced carrot

1/2 cup sliced green beans

1/2 lb cubed chicken

1 cup rice

2 cups water

Cook the first set of ingredients in the oil until onion is soft. Add the ginger-garlic paste and tomatoes. Add the cilantro and mint, the yogurt, and the powdered spices. Stir in the veggies and chicken. Add rice and water. Cook until rice and chicken are done.

Raita is a condiment used to take the heat off some Indian dishes. It reminds me of eating sour cream, lettuce, and pico de gallo with enchiladas.

Raita Recipe

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 tomato, chopped

1/2 cucumber, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 t. cilantro, chopped

dash salt

Mix

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

This delicious, summery dessert is basically lemon bars with strawberry puree mixed in the lemon curd. Recipe from Baking Bites, but you could just use your own lemon bar recipe and just mix in some pureed strawberries if you like.

This recipe is the same as my favorite lemon squares recipe (originally from Food Network), with the yummy addition of pureed strawberries.

Strawberry Lemonade Bars Recipe
Crust
1 1/2 sticks butter
2 c. flour
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1/2 t. salt

Filling
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon (optional)
1/2 cup pureed strawberries (about 3/4 cup berries)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 cup all purpose flour

Crust:

Cream together butter and sugar. Add flour and salt until mixture is crumbly. Press into an even layer in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake 20 minutes at 350.

Mix lemon juice, lemon zest, pureed strawberries, sugar and eggs until smooth. Add in flour. Pour filling over hot crust. Reduce oven temp to 325 and bake 30 additional minutes, or until set.

Glazed Pear Crepes

I invented this recipe for Glazed Pear crepe filling after we ate at a French cafe and saw it on the menu (too late to order it). It was delicious and we'll definitely be having it again.

Glazed Pear Crepe Filling Recipe

2 pears, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup apple juice (optional)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon brown sugar

dash cinnamon

Boil pears in apple juice until soft, if required. Drain. If you are using canned pears, or if your pears are really ripe you can probably skip this step, but pears in India don't ever seem to ripen.

Melt butter in pan and add brown sugar and cinnamon . Saute pears in butter and brown sugar until it forms a glaze sauce that clings to the pears.

Spoon the glazed pear filling into a crepe and top with some whipped cream.

Here is my mom's crepe recipe as well. Crepes are really easy to make.

Crepe Recipe

1 c. cold water
1 c. cold milk
4 eggs
1/2 t. salt
2 c. flour
4 T. melted butter

Blend all ingredients in the blender.

Pour about 1/4 c. batter into a heated, 6 inch non-stick frying pan (don’t grease it). Swirl the pan around, off the heat, until it is covered in batter, then pour out the excess. Cook until lightly browned, flip and cook about 10 more seconds to brown the other side.

Playdough Recipe

I have been using a new playdough recipe that seems to be a bit more elastic and doesn't require cream or tartar (which is unavailable in India). I think it makes a good amount for three colors.

2 cups flour

1/2 cup salt

1 packet Kool-Aid or a few drops of food coloring

1 cup boiling water

2 1/2 tablespoons oil

Puffy Pancakes

We call these puffy pancakes because we called them Dutch pancakes growing up and John called them German pancakes and we could never agree. So, we started a new tradition. This is Maggie's favorite breakfast.

This recipe is easy to remember because you just need 1 of everything. (4 eggs = 1 cup)

4 eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons butter

Turn the oven on to 425. Put the butter in a 9x9 glass dish and put it in the oven until the butter is melted. Mix the remaining ingredients well. Once the butter is melted, remove from the oven and turn the pan to coat the bottom and sides. Pour the batter into the pan and bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Don't open the door while it's baking!

White Cake with Strawberry Cream Filling and Strawberry Frosting

Maggie requested "strawberry" for her birthday cake. She also wanted an animals party, and we ended up with a strawberry circus elephant cake! I made a white cake, filled it with strawberry cream, and frosted it with homemade strawberry frosting. It was delicious, if you like excess of sugar.

To make the elephant cake, I baked two round cakes, and cut a cone-shaped trunk out of the center of one. The two sides of the cut cake served as the ears. I had to cut and bend the trunk, as it didn't fit on the baking sheet.

White Cake Recipe

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter

4 eggs

2 tablespoons vanilla extract (yes, tablespoons)

3 cups flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup milk

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat well until fluffy. Beat it a lot, or your cake will be heavy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Again, beat the batter a lot. Stir in vanilla extract, then add flour mixed with baking powder. Stir in milk until batter is smooth.

Bake in two greased 9" pans at 350 for 30-40 minutes (until cake springs back when touched).

Strawberry Cream Filling Recipe

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup diced strawberries

Beat cream with sugar until it forms stiff peaks. Stir in strawberries. Don't make this too long beforehand or the cream will sink.

Split the cake in the center, remove the top half and spread with strawberry cream filling. Replace the top half of the cake.

Strawberry Frosting Recipe

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup strawberries, pureed (about 1/4 cup after pureeing)

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter, and blend in strawberry puree and vanilla. Mix in powdered sugar until you get a frosting consistency.

This stuff is so good. It tastes like strawberry ice cream. This made just enough to frost two separate cakes, including all the cut edges.

Sources:

white cake recipe

strawberry frosting recipe

elephant cake