Strawberry Streusel Muffins

Does anyone remember Ragamuffins? They were a childhood favorite and I cannot find them in Texas. I miss the fake, crunchy strawberry "flavored nuggets". These muffins worked well with the frozen stash of strawberries we had picked at Froberg Farms. Miss F has already eaten two, one for breakfast and one for lunch. I myself had to sneak one minutes after they came out of the oven.

Strawberry Streusel Muffins
makes 12

Muffins:
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup butter, softened
1 egg
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries, chopped

Streusel:
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl. Add the egg and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture, together with milk. Stir in vanilla, followed by strawberries.

Fill 12 paper-lined muffin cups with batter.

Streusel: combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Cut in the butter, using a fork, until large, moist clumps form. Sprinkle a generous teaspoon over the muffin batter. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until browned.

Pin It Now!

Cheesy Meatballs

I am not a fan of ground beef, when I was a kid I hated hamburgers, meat sauce or anything with any groud beef in it. I will now tolerate it, but it certainly isn't something I ever crave. I do like a good McDonald's hamburger, but that is because the bun to hamburger ratio is so high. C had made burgers for the 4th of July, so I decided to make spaghetti with meatballs with the rest of the ground beef. I make meat balls so I can just eat the sauce and the pasta. C and Miss F both loved the meatballs...go figure.

Cheesy Meatballs
makes eight

¾ pound ground beef
¼ pound pork sausage
1 egg, slightly beaten
¼ cup seasoned bread crumbs
3 tablespoons shredded five cheese Italian blend
1 cloves garlic, pressed
¼ cup minced sweet onion
½ teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a rimmed baking pan with foil sprayed with cooking spray.

To make meatballs, lightly mix ground beef, sausage, eggs, bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, sweet onion, oregano, salt, and pepper until combined. Do not overmix.

Place about ¼ cup of meatball mix in your hand. Form into a ball. Repeat until all meat is used.

Bake about 35 minutes or until meatball juices show no pink color.

Serve with your favorite pasta and sauce.

Pin It Now!

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

My very most favorite chocolate chip recipe has to be the Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie. I saw this recipe on the fantastic blog, Pencil Shavings. I am a big fan of Neiman Marcus, so I figured I might as well try their cookies. These cookies are very rich and have a little crispy edge as compared to the BFCCCC. They were a nice change from my old standby. Once again, Neiman Marcus didn't let me down. Now only if their new shipping policies were as good as these cookies...it is so irritating not to get things in a day or to from them, silly costcutting.

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies
makes 2 dozen cookies

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1-½ teaspoons instant espresso coffee powder
1-½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (approximately 30 seconds).

Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds.

In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the espresso coffee powder and chocolate chips.

Using a 1 ounce scoop or a 2 tablespoon measure, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Gently press down on the dough with the back of a spoon to spread out into a 2 inch circle. Bake for about 20 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges. Bake a little longer for a crispier cookie.

Pin It Now!