Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

My dear friend, Juliana, and I used to meet once a week and cook several meals for the whole week. I believe it was Tuesdays. We would each pick 2-3 recipes and buy the supplies for our chosen food adventure, enough for both of us to end up with one of all the meals. We both tended to share at least one tried and true recipe and then pick something new that sounded delicious. Juliana is an awesome cook, and usually made bread in her bread machine to go with one of her meals. The great thing about this is that Juliana had a totally different flavor pallet and I tried some new things that I may not have on my own. For example, gingered squash soup is delicious! My all time favorite recipe, though, is one she found on the internet. I can't find the original, I've searched and searched! If this is your recipe or you know the creator, please send me the link and I will gladly give credit! And here, ladies and gents, is the recipe for...

 PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS *glitter descends softly from the rafters as a small choir of heavenly angels gently sings to the muffins as they bake in their warm nest that is my oven*

(30 muffins)

• 4 Eggs
• 2 cups Sugar
• 1 (16 oz / 2 cups) can Pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/4 cups Vegetable Oil (yes, 1 1/4 cups)

• 3 cups Flour (King Arthur for regular, Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour for GF)
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 4 teaspoons Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 12 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (Ghirardelli is my absolute fave for baking)

GHIRARDELLI!

1) In a large mixing bowl beat eggs, sugar, pumpkin, vanilla and oil until smooth.

2) In another bowl sift together dry ingredients and mix into pumpkin mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.

3) Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full.

4) Bake at 400 F for 16-20 Minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. {24 min/silicone (GF)} {26 min/silicone (wheat flour)}

Ta~Da!

Guess which are GF...that's right, well, left...the ones that are totally falling apart! They are still delicious though :)

The muffin pans that I use are actually silicone, which I love. They do take longer to cook, so keep that in mind. Don't forget to generously grease them! I would also recommend running a butter knife around the edges before trying to extract them, especially gluten free. I've made this recipe GF several times now, which typically doesn't take as long as regular wheat flour. I did note the modified baking times in the parentheses.

A well loved recipe.

This time I did try something new, coconut oil in lieu of vegetable oil. I will say that it does change it and I'm not quite used to it. It was lovely, don't get me wrong, but when you've made the same recipe scores of times you do tend to notice when something is changed. I am also fairly convinced that the high oil content is why these freeze so well! Seriously. These are the best "frozen/reheat-in-the-microwave-for-30-second/high-calorie-before-early-morning-workout-muffins" ever. I adore them and I know you will too :)

ENJOY!!!

Three Great Ingredients:

King Arthur Flours

Ghirardelli Semi-sweet Chocolate

Trader Joe's Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

Avocado and Feta Grilled Cheese Sandwich

I made this a couple of weeks ago, but since I had taken a few pictures to share my delicious creation on Facebook I thought I should also share it here! Diana Meiczan's Green Goddess Grilled Cheese Sandwich was something I pinned on Pinterest and boy was it inspirational! 

UDI's Gluten Free bread

I didn't have any spinach, unfortunately, but I DID have avocados! And here in sunny southern California, we have beautiful avos. I used UDI's basic whole grain bread. As with most things GF, I recommend toasting the bread till it's just starting to brown. It falls apart otherwise.

I tried something I've never tried before, mayonaise on the outside. I always do my grilled cheeses in butter. Next time I make this I will either go with just the mayo or the butter, with both it was a tad oily.

I was also out of sliced cheese. However, I did have some good quality shredded cheese and feta. Limited ingredient breeds creativity. I added the shredded cheese and feta together in the pan, let it meld together, and then spread it via spatula onto the nearby toasting bread

To dress it up, I added some crushed red pepper. On top of all that was nestled the fresh avocado, some pink Himalayan salt, fresh cracked pepper, and the lazy cooks best friend, Season All.

Overall, it was delicious. I was in a salty mood, so I paired it with some black olives.

Short on space and not wanting to do more dishes than necessary, I used the avo peel :)

Even the toddler liked it! I made his on real bread and without the crushed red pepper.

Yummo!

 ENJOY!!!

French Bread with Boysenberry Syrup and Agave Whipped Cream

It's been a productive day. This morning before church I was actually inspired to cook! Usually on Sundays my poor men are subjected to cold cereal and bananas. Today I made french toast. I made it with regular bread for the guys and Gluten Free for me! Today I used UDI's Whole Grain Bread.

GF french toast with boysenberry syrup, agave whipped cream, and sprinkled with cinnamon.

Keep in mind that these recipes are a guesstimation. This is one of those dishes that I just pour ingredients into without measuring.

This "batter" is the perfect amount for 5-6 slices of regular sized bread. In my case, it yielded 3 regular french toasts with 2 GF (remember, they are irritatingly smaller than normal bread). If you are seriously allergic, DO NOT SHARE THE BATTER BETWEEN REGULAR AND GF BREAD! Unless, of course, you do your GF first.

• 4 fresh eggs
• 4 Tbs organic cream
• 1 tsp raw sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

I use the regular bread right out of the packaging, but I toast the GF till it just barely starts to brown. It tends to get soggy and fall apart too easily otherwise. Don't let the bread soak, just dip it around in the batter until it's covered.

I cook my french bread pretty slowly, over medium-lowish heat. Flip as often as your heart desires, just pay attention and don't overcook it!

I am not always fond of maple syrup, and tend to like the Boysenberry Syrup better. I personally buy Smucker's. I adore it with agave whipped cream:

• 2 C organic cream
• 2 Tbs agave syrup
• 1 Tbs vanilla extract

 Serve the french bread hot, with syrup and fresh agave whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.

ENJOY!