Blueberry Muffin Tops

Nathan's playgroup is coming over today. The kids are always hoping there will be something yummy to snack on.  These Muffin Tops are the perfect muffin/cookie combination for everyone to enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup blueberries
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup salted butter (softened)
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• Crystal Sugar Sprinkles
• 1 cup Sugar

Makes about 30 Muffin Tops

 First combine baking powder, salt, and flour in a bowl and set aside.  Next cream together butter and sugar then add in egg.  After that is mixed well add lemon zest, milk, and almond extract.

After that is mixed well slowly add in dry ingredients.  Gently stir in blueberries by hand.

Refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375, then form dough into balls and sprinkle tops with Crystal Sugar Sprinkles and bake 11-13 minutes.

Now you will be able to enjoy the best part of the muffin!

Here are some other blueberry recipes that my family loves!

Frozen Blueberry Cheesecake Bites


Blueberry Muffin Mousse

Perfect Picnic Chicken Salad

I decided to take the night off from cooking on Friday. I still needed to run to the grocery store for a few items so I picked up a rotisserie chicken from Wegmans prepared foods section. We ate half of it for dinner and I used the other half to make chicken salad for lunch on Saturday.
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup mayo
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sweet relish
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 hard boiled egg diced (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 rotisserie chicken cubed

 ***makes enough for 4 sandwiches**
Mix all ingredients, except egg, together in a bowl. After they are all mixed together add in the diced hard boiled egg. I do this last because I don't want it to get smashed.

Serve chicken salad on croissant or toasted whole wheat bread. This is perfect for lunch or GREAT on a hot summer night when you don't want to eat hot food. BTW I think that the chicken salad is SO much better when it sits for a few hours in the fridge. The flavors mix together nicely!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness.  Check out the entire menu and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Check out our 8 Pocket Utility Aprons for Teachers and Hairdressers (and others)

Both magical moms have been busy with our newest Etsy item, these adorable half aprons! We started making them specifically for teachers, but they are great for hairdressers and vendors. I even made one for my aunt to wear at school and they are a hit with all the teachers.

We have several different patterns to suit your style needs! There are two basic styles, a canvas one with straight corners, and a fully lined cotton version with rounded corners.

They are very high quality and super cute! They would make a great gift for teacher appreciation day or just something to give at the beginning of the school year. And trust me on this one, teachers have enough Bath &Body Works, hand soap, coffee mugs, decorative teacher desk items and apples!

Cha Cha Chicken with Mango Tango Salsa-Nacho Average Chicken Taco! (And gluten free)

This is one of my favorite twists on taco night at our house. It's so full of flavor and super easy to make.

Chicken Ingredients:
1-2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
1-2 cans Mexican diced or stewed tomatoes
1 can favorite beans (I used pinto this time but use black a lot of the time as well)
1 packet taco seasonings
Corn tortillas ( you can use flour tortillas but then it's not gluten free)
Your favorite toppings- sour cream, cheese, lettuce, avocados

This is pretty simple, you just put it all in crockpot and cook on low 5-6 hours until chicken is easily shred able with fork. The sauce will be pretty runny so I usually take the lid of and turn to warm and let it sit for 15 minutes to let the sauce thicken up. This chicken really has the best flavor!

Salsa Ingredients:
1/2 cup diced mango (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup diced pineapple (fresh or frozen , I bet you could even use canned as long as it didn't have added sugar and you rinsed and drained very well)
1/4 cup diced red onions
2 jalapeños, seeded and diced (leave in some seeds if you want it spicier)
About a handful of chopped cilantro
Squeeze of lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least 30 minutes to let flavors combine. You can add many ingredients to this salsa such as chili peppers, oranges, etc but this was just what I had on hand. If you've never had mango salsa on tacos, this might sound a bit odd, but I promise you these flavors are so incredible together! My husband was so skeptical at first ("I do not want fruit on my tacos!") but this is now his favorite way to eat tacos. Think of how good kettle corn popcorn or salted caramel is... The sweet and salty go so well together. It gives boring old tacos the twist it needs (especially if you eat them often like we do).

I hope you'll take my word and try this wonderful recipe out. Enjoy!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness, Appetizing April Menu and our 30 Days of Dinners June Menu.  Make sure to check out all of the other great recipes on the menus!

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Chicken

This is something that can be thrown together very quickly with ingredients that you probably have on hand. The blend of the sweet and spicy gives perfect flavor. This recipe is extremely easy to adjust based on the number of people that you need to serve. I can make a small amount for just our immediate family or for a large group. Either way, everyone LOVES it!

Ingredients:

• Garlic Powder
• Chili Powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Chicken Breasts
• Bacon
• Brown Sugar

First, cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise. Then sprinkle each side with chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

After that, spiral wrap each piece of chicken with a piece of bacon and roll in brown sugar. Place chicken in baking dish and bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with your fave side dish. I am sure that there won't be ANY left over!

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our Appetizing April Menu.  Check out the menus and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

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Simply Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

This is one of the easiest and tastiest recipes I make. I love slow cooker recipes because I just put the ingredients in and several hours later, we're ready for dinner!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. or so cubed beef
• 1 can golden mushroom soup (it really needs to be the golden to taste so good)
• 3/4 can beef broth (you really want the same amount as the mushroom soup so I pour into empty soup can to measure)
• 1 packet Lipton onion soup mix
• 1 block cream cheese (less fat is ok but do not use fat free- it doesn't melt and incorporate into sauce)
• I also added a couple handfuls of sliced mushrooms because I had them on hand.

Directions:

Place all ingredients EXCEPT cream cheese in slow cooker and cook on low 6-7 hours. Bring cream cheese to room temperature and put in slow cooker the last hour of cooking. Stir to incorporate the cream cheese into the sauce. Serve over cooked egg noodles or rice. Yum!

This recipe was featured on our Appetizing April Menu. Check out the entire April menu for a variety of dinner ideas!

Tic-Tac-Hearts

I feel like I just got all of my Christmas decorations put away and now its time to put out Valentine's decorations. I am glad, because my front door was looking a little bare. The conversation heart wall hanging (see earlier post) was my first creation for this year. When I told my 3-year old that we were going to put up our Valentine's decorations he immediately started singing "Jingle Bells." He makes me laugh!

My guys love to play Tic-Tac-Toe so I decided to make a heart inspired version. I used a white picture frame, white thread, and one piece each of white, pink, red and black felt.

First I cut the black felt to fit inside the 8x10 frame. Next I cut 1/2 inch strips of white and machine sewed them onto the black forming the tic-tac-toe board. Next I traced a heart shaped cookie cutter to make the heart game pieces. Then I put the black piece into the frame and we were ready to play! I oldest son informed me that we can't call it tic-tac-toe, we have to call it "tic-tac-hearts."

Better than Rice-a-Roni (and healthier) Rice Pilaf

I try to incorporate whole grains as much as possible in our house, and that means whole wheat pasta and brown rice. But I love the boxed rice flavors. So I experimented and came up with a great alternative to the preservative loaded box stuff. It's only half whole grain because I couldn't find whole wheat orzo, but it is made with brown rice instead of white, so it's a healthier alternative.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup brown rice
- 1 cup orzo pasta
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 2 cup chicken broth

Directions:

1. Heat oil in pan and add rice, orzo and onion.
2. Cook on medium heat until mixture is golden brown.
3. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until tender.

Easy peaty and much better for you (especially if you have a  corn or yeast allergy- you can't use the boxed stuff).

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our 30 Days of Dinners June Menu. Make sure to check out all of the other great recipes on these menus!

Flattened Redskin Potatoes

These potatoes are the perfect side dish to accompany just about any main dish. I usually make them when I already have something in the oven, because they easily adjust to any oven temperature.

Ingredients:

• 5-6 Redskin Potatoes (I usually make 1-2 potatoes per person depending on size of the potato)
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• ½ teaspoon minced garlic
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
Put potatoes in water, bring to boil.

Once boiling cook 7-9 minutes or until they are tender enough to stick knife in with ease. Remove from water.

Preheat oven to 400. Place potatoes on foil lined baking sheet. Lightly press with bottom of drinking glass. (Be sure to do this slowly so potato does not go everywhere).

Melt butter and garlic in bowl in microwave.

Brush over potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes until skins are slightly crisp. These potatoes are good on their own, but even better when served with Loaded Potato Dip (see other recipe)

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness.  Check out the entire menu and try out some of our other YUMMY recipes!

Maple Dijon Chicken

Maple Dijon Chicken Last night’s dinner must have been good because there were no leftovers today for my lunch! I tried something new- Maple Dijon Chicken. I made a few variations to the original recipe and I think it turned out great! My Father-in-law (who likes to give his “feedback” about everyone’s cooking) said that he LOVED it!

Ingredients:

• 6-8 Chicken Thighs ( I used Boneless/Skinless)
• ½ cup Dijon Mustard
• ¼ cup Maple Syrup (I used Breakfast Syrup)
• 1 tablespoon Rice Vinegar or Rice Wine Vinegar
• Fresh Rosemary (I didn't have any on hand so I used dried)

Preheat oven to 450. Combine Dijon Mustard, Maple Syrup, and Rice Vinegar together in a bowl. Arrange chicken in 8X8 baking dish.

Salt and pepper the chicken to your taste and then poor the mixture on top.

Cover baking dish with foil and bake at 450 degrees for 40 minutes. Baste the chicken with the liquid in the baking dish after 20 minutes. To make sure that chicken is cooked all the way through, you can use a meat thermometer. Chicken should be cooked to 165 degrees.
I am sorry that I don't have a picture of the finished dish, but it smelled so good that we gobbled it up as soon as it came out of the oven! Oh and I forgot to sprinkle the rosemary on it. Ooops!
I served this chicken with Flattened Redskin Potatoes, Loaded Potato Dip, and Steamed Broccoli.

This recipe was featured in Two Magical Moms March Menu Madness and our 30 Days of Dinners June Menu. Make sure to check out all of the other great recipes on the menus!

Crispy Parmesan Potatoes

This is hands down the best way I've learned to make roasted potatoes. As with most of my recipes, you can change around the ingredients, but the prep stage is what makes these potatoes.

Ingredients:

• - 3 large potatoes (you can easily double this recipe to feed more)
• - 4 Tbsp. Crisco shortening
• - Parmesan Cheese
• - Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place your baking sheet in the oven to heat it up.
2. Cut potatoes into half then quarter the halves.
3. Place potatoes in pan with cold water and salt. Bring water to boil and immediately drain the potatoes. The trick is not to cook the potatoes just get them warm.
4. Return potatoes to the pan and cook over medium heat just to get them dry.
5. Add crisco and heat and stir until the potatoes are evenly covered in the oil.
6. Arrange potatoes in single layer on baking sheet and top with Parmesan and salt to desired amount.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, turning potatoes halfway.

Who Wants To Be A Jedi?

Who hasn't dreamed about having Jedi powers and using a lightsaber as a kid?  During our latest trip to Disney World in 2012, our son Evan was lucky enough to have the opportunity to participate in Jedi Training Academy at Hollywood Studios.  I used my iPhone 5 to take some video of the training and did a little editing to keep it short.  This is a MUST DO activity for anyone that is in to Star Wars, but it is a very popular attraction so here is my tip to make sure that your son or daughter gets to participate in this Jedi right of passage.



Top Tip:  Arrive at least 45 minutes before Hollywood Studios open with your running shoes on.  Make sure that you have the young Jedi with you that want to participate(ages 4-12 can participate) in Jedi Training Academy.  Once they open the gates go directly to the ABC Sound Studio to register your Jedi not the Jedi Training Academy stage.

After you're done battling Darth Vader with your newly learned force powers, you can make your way to the Tatooine Traders gift shop to build your own custom lightsaber or you can choose to build one from your favorite character.