Muffin Report & My Secret Love Affair

Recipe #2 has been made and "tested"! The cranberry-zucchini muffins are divine! They are super easy to mix up and they are that perfect balance of healthy and dessert! My only dilemma was trying to find cranberries at this time of year. Luckily, the lovely Kaija had some frozen so I was saved! I think that I'm going to try them with dried cranberries or even dried blueberries. The pockets of hot berry burned my little mouth!

And now for my secret love affair...

Ok ladies and gentlemen. I have a confession to make. I am a dyed in the wool butter fan. I hate all things "fake"...meaning anything manufactured or created in a lab. This especially applies to my baking supplies. I have been known to use upwards of 10 pounds of butter for a single Thanksgiving meal. I am pretty hardcore! I recently purchased some cooking spray with flour (gasp, shock, horror!) in order to make it easier to grease the foil that I put my homemade marshmallows on. It is GENIUS! Every single nook and cranny was covered and the marshmallows were still delicious! So last night I wanted to roast some chicken on lemon slices but I didn't want everything to stick...so I busted out my cooking spray and coated the pan. Once again, GENIUS! Even the caramelized lemon juice came off the pan as if it were butter! So, I am here to say that I am newly in love with cooking spray. Please don't think less of me ;)

My chicken was a dream come true and super easy to make! I paired it with some sauteed zucchini with garlic. Here's the recipe for you to try out:

Lemon Baked Chicken


1 Meyer lemon
2 chicken breasts (leave the skin on for baking...it'll be juicier!)
Montreal Chicken seasoning
Old Bay Seasoning
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cooking Spray w/Flour

Heat oven to 350F. Spray your favorite casserole dish with cooking spray w/flour. Slice the Meyer lemon and lay slices on the bottom of the dish.

Sprinkle seasonings over the chicken breasts and rub in (use the Montreal Chicken seasoning most liberally.) Lay the chicken on top of the lemon slices. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Serves 2.

I am off to the store to get supplies for the ice cream for the 4th! I can't wait!!!!

First Fruits!

The first fruits of any kind of work always makes me joyful! Today I picked the first peas off of my fabulous little pea plants! They were sweet and delicious! Oh first fruits! I am also greatly anticipating my watermelon! The little guys are about 1.5 inches long now and are bursting out all over the place. They are so adorable it's ridiculous! I am wondering if I'm going to be able to keep up with the prolific nature of my plants! I think that there may be a melon party come August!

The zucchini is completely out of control so my next baking extravaganza will be the recipe from page 37 from Martha's Baking Handbook for Cranberry-Zucchini Muffins! Here's the recipe for the muffins:

Cranberry-Zucchini Muffins

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. finely grated zucchini (1-2 medium)
1/2 c. frozen or fresh whole cranberries

Preheat the oven to 375F. Generously butter 10 cups of a standard 12-cup muffin pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Stir in the zucchini. Add the flour mixture, and stir to combine; do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cranberries. Divide the batter evenly among the 10 prepared muffin cups.

Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the muffins are golden and a cake tester inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Turn the muffins on their sides in their cups, and cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

So far my baking adventures have been totally successful! The baking powder biscuits were delicious! Flaky, buttery and creamy all in one! I even got great reviews from the lovely recipients! Hmmm...now I have to figure out who gets the muffins!!! Anyone? Anyone?