Category Archives: Uncategorized

January 8, 2012 · 9:00 am

Beany Burgers

Oh, hello 65 degree day in January.

What a tease!!!!

So fine…whatever. I see you, warmth, and I’m going with it.

Burger night!

**Just to warn you: bean burgers aren’t pretty and also it was nighttime.  Apologies for the questionable photography

Not just any burger though…this is a burger made for January.

You know….January…that month when you have sworn up and down, backwards and forwards after the gluttony of December to stop eating cookies and fried things and candy and sugarfatcarbsaltwhatever trend you’re going for but all you really want is a burger?

Oh and wouldn’t some fries be awesome too?

I’ve got you covered.

All of the flavor…less of the artery-clogging nonsense.

BRING ON THE BEANS!

(black and pinto…rinsed and drained)

This is a photo of panko and olive oil.  It looks like yellow snow.

In this case, you should definitely 100% eat the yellow snow.

(Not right out of the bowl though…we’re gonna do a lot of stuff to it first)

((So I guess actually the same rule applies…don’t eat the yellow snow)

It goes in a pan to get toasty, then set aside to cool.

Some veg.

Some veg…diced.

Beans…and mash.  (Not the British kind. Literal mashed beans)

Eggs, oil, spices. Some things to make it stick together and some things to make it tasty!

Now get everybody together for a massage….feta decides last minute to join the party….feta is always more than welcome

Once you’ve got everybody hangin out getting to know each other pretty well (in patty shape, of course), into the pan they go!

Settle that sucker on a bed of baby spinach on a Dakota bun (from the best bakery ever!).

Avocado is a must.

Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce usually makes an appearance.

Side o’ sweet tater fries.

Lovin’ how I’m livin’

Your turn!

Enjoy!

❤ Ellen

P.S. know what’s awesome?

You can make them the day before (on a day you have time) then just throw them in the skillet the next day.

Even awesome-er: make a bunch, freeze them, instant burger day/pretty healthy last minute meal.

Win.

Beany Burgers

Recipe adapted from Black Bean Burgers

Makes about 7 burgers

¾ cup panko
3 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. olive oil, divided
1(15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
2 large eggs
1 HEAPING tsp. ground cumin (I always go heavy on the cumin..)
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely diced
1/2 medium onion, minced
1/4-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

  1. Combine the panko with 2 teaspoons of the olive oil then place in a skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently (do NOT walk away!) until light golden brown.  Set aside to cool.
  2. Meanwhile, dice your onion and pepper and mash most of the beans in a large bowl until they are smooth.  Leave about 1/2 cup unmashed
  3. In a small bowl, combine the beaten eggs, 1 tablespoon of oil, cumin, salt and cayenne
  4. Add the egg mixture, the toasted panko, the rest of the beans,the feta cheese, the bell pepper and onion to the bowl of mashed beans.  Mix everything together really well.   I find it’s best to just dig in with your hands and massage everything together.
  5. Create 1-inch patties, (about 1/2 cup of bean mash each) and heat some oil in a skillet over medium heat. ((MAKE AHEAD: you could get this far the day before then refrigerate the patties for the next day))
  6. Place patties in the heated oil and cook until well browned on both sides

Some tips:

  • I don’t know if you noticed but hese are made of beans.  Which means they’re softer than beef burgers.  ((I wonder if I could add some oats for some chew??)) This means you’re gonna want a firmer bun (Dakota was PERFECT). I’ve tried them with those big soft potato buns and it’s just a pile of mush.  Make sure you get some texture! Or at least toast your buns
  • Avocado.  Seriously. Do it.
  • Treat them like regular burgers….lettuce/tomato/ketchup/mustard….it all works just fine.
  • Freeze them very very well wrapped and if possible…individually.  Pop them in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 2o minutes and you’re good to go!

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December 31, 2011 · 4:05 pm

Cheesy Spicy Corn Muffins

ENOUGH with the cookies and sweets!!

We’re going the opposite direction now….

We’re going spicy.

Also cheesy.

Yes, salt is involved.

Sugar plays a minor role.

Make mini muffins for an awesome appetizer tonight!

They’re spicy and fun.

Don’t worry, though, you can control the heat level-from none at all to “help my face is on fire”.

I made pleasantly sneakily spicy!

We’re talking thin crunchy outer layer, moist, cheesy inside, just the right amount of heat to finish it off…

You want these. Let’s do this thing.

The requisite bowl o’ flour

Oil, sugar, eggs in a different bowl.  Then cornmeal comes to play! Man I love cornbread.

Now…let’s talk about peppers.  Peppers can be tricky.

I used serrano because that’s all they had at the store and let me tell you what…I was nervous.

I was nervous because I’m used to jalapeno peppers. I know how spicy they are, I know how much seed-age to include so my muffins are nicely spicy instead of flaming little balls of lava.

I looovveee spicy food. But you know…there’s a limit.  At some point it’s just not enjoyable.

Luckily, we have this thing called the internet.  You’re on it right now in fact.

So I did a little research and kind of took a guess..

and it was a winner!

Spicy levels are tricky because something that is flaming out of control spicy to one person could be barely anything to the next person.

I found a site that uses a little chili pepper rating system.  I like it because I can compare spicy levels of peppers I’m familiar with.

Jalapenos got 3 little peppers.  Serrano got 4. Habanero (the crazy ones) got 5.

Got it.

Peppers get their heat from their seeds.  If you take the seeds out you take the heat out.  I needed 4 serrano peppers to make 1/2 cup but including 4 peppers worth of seeds would have been straight up batty.  I included only 1/2 of 1 pepper’s seeds in the batter.  That gave the muffins a hint of heat that kind of sneaks up on you.  Totally manageable.

Honestly…I like things spicier…I would have liked a whole pepper’s worth of seeds.

Half a pepper is a good crown pleaser, though.  Choose your own adventure.

(Side note: I hate those choose your own adventure books.  I used to get so overwhelmed because I wanted to read every possible version of the story and I would lose track of what decisions I had already made.  Terrible. Also not at all relevant.)

Now that you’re finished agonizing over your pepper seeds (sorry to do that to you)…throw them in your batter with some cheese.

This is another choose your own adventure situation.

The specific amount of cheese I added comes to about “2 big handfuls”

I should have measured but…I didn’t. Sorry.  1/2 cup is skimpy I’ll tell you that.  You need at least a cup.

Also, I used sharp cheddar.  You can use whatever you want! Or none at all! Or green onions instead of peppers! Or herbs! Or just cheese! Or shoot…throw some honey in there instead of savory! Add in some bacon! Chop up a hot dog and make them corn dog muffins!

Whoa…things just got weird.

Anyway…fill some well greased muffin tins about 3/4 full, bake and voila!

Mine aren’t mini but yours could be!

Savory muffins tonight then sweet muffins tomorrow morning?

I think yes.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May all your resolutions come true.

Enjoy!

❤ Ellen

Cheesy Spicy Corn Muffins

Recipe slightly adapted from here

1½ cups King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup whole or 2% milk
½ cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup diced serrano pepper, including 1/2 of 1 pepper’s seeds
1- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

**Oven 400 degrees F

  1. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and set aside
  2. In a large bowl, combine oil, sugar, eggs and milk.
  3. Add  cornmeal and flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined.  The batter will still be lumpy, that’s ok.
  4. Fold in the pepper and cheese (or whatever you’re adding if anything)
  5. Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full and bake at 400 degrees F for 17-20 minutes until cooked through and lightly brown on top

Enjoy as an appetizer or with a hot cup of chilli or soup! Makes 1 dozen regular sized muffins

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December 30, 2011 · 11:04 am

(Battle of the) Blueberry Crumble Muffins

I know, I know.

Blueberries are summer food.

Also they are very expensive right now…and pretty pitiful looking.

Normally, I would not ever ever ever buy blueberries in the winter time.

But I did that…I bought them…and I made muffins.

Because:

1. I miss summer something AWFUL.  Also my boss is on vacation and her blog is killing me so I needed a taste of some summer livin’.

2. These were on “sale” (still expensive but better) and were actually blue instead of white-ish

3. That man o’ mine requested these blueberry muffins (which he loves) for breakfast (which he hates)…how could I deny him?

I guess I could have used frozen blueberries or even dried blueberries.

Technically that’s true but not in real life.  In real life fresh blueberries are the only kind that give that satisfying burst of juice when you bite into them.

Also, only fresh blueberries make that huge splotch of bluey purple in your muffin that let you know it’s going to be an amazing bite.

You need fresh blueberries.  Splurge a little.  Before you resolve not to do that anymore.

Now…I have a confession to make.  I struggled with these guys.  What we have here is an EllenintheKitchen eipc failure

I know exactly why, too.

I mixed the dry ingredients correctly, then I mixed the wet ingredients correctly, then I mixed them together….

…and then I didn’t bake them immediately.

Idiot.

I realized I needed to make the crumble topping and also take pictures for you and also my phone rang and also the dryer cycle ended and I guess I should take the clothes out so they don’t wrinkle……….oh yeah wait a second…I’m making blueberry muffins.

::sigh:: real life.

Meanwhile all those leavening gases (which make the muffins nice and fluffy) that the baking powder starts producing when it’s mixed with the wet ingredients was working it’s magic on…the air.

Idiot.

It’s ok though….I tried again and it was fine…just like it has been fine all the other times I have made these muffins.

Sorry…more than fine.  These are delicious.

I promise you can make them, too.

If your muffins fall, just pick up and try again.

Kinda like if your resolutions fall by the wayside around February (or January 2) it’s ok.  Just pick them up and try again.

Also, bake your muffins immediately.

These aren’t just fluffy, moist, juice-bursty blueberry muffins.  These are muffins with a lesson!

Class is in session.

BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING: make that freakin crumble.  Don’t be like me and get to the end with everything all mixed and gassy (which is what you want in a muffin, trust) then realize you need to make the crumble.  Do it now. No one cares if this stuff sits for a while.

What? Don’t look at me like that. The brown sugar hat made the butter look like teeth! Obviously.

He’s the muffin man HA!

Ok ok recess is over. The blueberry eyes shouldn’t actually go in your crumble.  Some cinnamon and maybe some oats should, though.  Then break it up into little crumbly pieces..

Ok muffin time.  Dry ingredients-unite!

Then you get your wet ingredients together….

and I have a secret for you.

Buttermilk really and truly makes a difference in baking.  Treats come out moist and richer than they do with regular milk.

However, buttermilk isn’t a thing I just have laying around all the time-so I have a trick.

Milk + Lemon

BAM buttermilk….imitation…

Just put a tablespoon of lemon juice per cup of milk (which means a teaspoon of lemon for 1/3 cup of milk in these muffins).  Put the juice in your measuring cup then fill the cup the rest of the way with milk.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes before baking.

It works..for real life.

((apparently you can use vinegar instead of lemon juice too but…gross))

Fold in the blueberries (the batter will be thick and gluey…that’s good…no sinking berries!!), throw them in muffin tins, crumbly topping them…

See those berries peeking not sinking!?

Woohoo they rose!!

Happy Breakfast-ing. Or…fast breaking I suppose.

New Year’s Eve Appetizer tomorrow!

Enjoy!

❤ Ellen

P.S. Just submitted this to a sweet treats trade off at sweet as sugar cookies!  Check it out…lots to see!

Blueberry Crumble Muffins

Recipe ever so slightly adapted from To Die For Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup buttermilk (or 1 teaspoon lemon juice plus enough milk to make 1/3 cup..let sit for 5 minutes) ((you could use just regular milk too….but don’t…))
1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumble Topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup oats (if you want)

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin cups well or line with muffin liners.
  2. To Make Crumb Topping: Put 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 cup oats in a small bowl. Combine with a pastry cutter until you have pea sized pieces of butter.  Set crumble mixture aside
  3. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder, set aside.
  4. Combine vegetable oil, egg and buttermilk.
  5. Mix wet mixture with flour mixture, then fold in the blueberries. The batter will be very thick-that’s what you want!
  6. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full, and sprinkle (generously) with crumb topping mixture.
  7. Bake for about 20 minutes-then eat up!

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