Double Berry Muffins

Ahhh muffins…I had some strawberries and raspberries that were going to go bad soon. So how did I use them up? Muffins for breakfast! This way I could bring it to work and snack on something other than chips!

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Double Berry Muffins

Yields 48 mini muffins, 24 standard muffins, or 12 jumbo muffins

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 cup strawberries, diced
• 1 cup raspberries, halved

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF, and your muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

Next, add in the wet ingredients:  eggs, oil, vanilla, and orange zest. Dump in the berries and stir until combined throughout.

Place the batter in the prepared muffin pans. (I might have gotten a little to ambitious and over filled my muffin wells. 🙂) Place in the oven and bake. Mini muffin pans should take about 15-20 minutes. Standard muffin pans should take about 30-35 minutes. Jumbo muffins should take 45-50 minutes.

Once time has elapsed, remove the pans from the oven. Allow them to cool for 10-15 minutes before removing from pan.

Serve for breakfast, dessert, or as a snack!

Enjoy!!

“You don’t get tired of muffins, but you don’t find inspiration in them.” – George Bernard Shaw

Mini Rhubarb Strawberry Pies

Pi Day! I made pies for March 14th (π or 3.14) this year. The nerdy heart in me squealed for joy for a mathematic reason to bake. If I have not mentioned it before, I will mention it now: I LOVE rhubarb and strawberry ANYTHING! These pies were the perfect dessert to end pi day with a smile.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Mini Rhubarb Strawberry Pies

Yields 6 Mini Pies

Ingredients for the pie crust:

• 10 tablespoons (1.25 sticks) unsalted butter, diced and very cold
• 1.5 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2.5 tablespoons shortening
• 1/4 cup water + 1 tablespoon, ice cold
• 1 large egg

Ingredients for the filling:

• 2/3 cup rhubarb, diced
• 1/3 cup strawberries, diced
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon corn starch
• 1/4 teaspoon orange zest*
• 1 tablespoon orange juice*
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg

*For the orange zest and juice, I actually just used the zest from a clementine and juiced the entire thing.

Directions:

First take the butter out of the refrigerator and dice it into small squares. (I usually dice each tablespoon into 4 cubes each.) Once the butter is diced, store in the freezer until you need it.

Place the flour, sugar, and salt into a food processor. Pulse it a few times to combine all the ingredients. Next, add the shortening and butter from the freezer. Pulse until the mixture looks like a coarse meal.

Add the 1/4 cup ice cold water one tablespoon at a time through the feed tube of the food processor until the dough comes together. (You want the dough to adhere to itself but not be sticky.)

Turn the dough out to a floured surface, and give it a quick knead until it comes together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge for at least an hour.

While the dough is chilling, work on the filling. In a small bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, corn starch, orange zest, orange juice, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix ingredients until well combined well. Set aside for later.

Once you have chilled the dough, preheat oven to 350°F, and spray the middle of a standard muffin pan (6 wells) with nonstick cooking spray.

Pull the dough out of the fridge. Roll out pie crust on a well-floured surface or board with a lightly floured rolling pin to about 1/4″ to 1/2″ thickness. Dust off excess flour. With a round cookie cutter or drinking glass, cut 3 to 4-inch diameter circles out of each pie crust. Place each circle into the prepared muffin well.

Push it up the sides of the well to make sure all of it is covered. Reserve extra dough for the top crusts. You can either re-roll the dough and cut more circles to top them off or lattice the crust. (As you will see, I prefer the lattice top.) Just be sure to cut slits in the top of the crust if you cover it completely.

Evenly distribute the filling into each of the 6 muffin wells, and then top with the chosen crusts.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon of water and egg. Brush the tops of the pies with this egg wash.

Place the pan into the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Be sure to check the pies around 20 minutes to see if the tops are over browning. If they are, you can tent some foil over them to keep them from burning. Once baked, remove from oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes until you remove them from the pan.

Serve alone, with whipped cream, or with ice cream!

Enjoy!!

“The man for me is the cherry on the pie. But I’m the pie and my pie is good all by itself. Even if I don’t have a cherry.” – Halle Berry

Strawberry Citrus Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Strawberry Cake…mmm. One of our favorites!! This usually gets made around Valentine’s Day or whenever I have strawberries on the brink of going bad in the refrigerator. For years I was in search of a recipe that would use fresh strawberries instead of gelatin. This is what I came up with. I did have to supplement with some red food coloring to achieve the correct color, but that’s okay with me…because it’s YUMMY!

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Strawberry Citrus Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Yields 2 9-inch round cakes or 1 heart shaped cake*

Ingredients for the cake:

• non-stick baking spray
• all-purpose flour, for pans
• 1.5 cups self-rising flour
• 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup lemon sugar
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup pureed strawberries, seeds strained out (1/2 pint of strawberries)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• zest from 1/2 lemon
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• red food coloring, optional

*Double recipe if you want a 3 layer cake and use 3 9-inch round pans.

Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting:

• 1 (8 ounces) package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
• 1 tablespoon milk, if needed

Directions for the cake:

Preheat oven to 325°F, and spray 2 9″-round pans or 1 heart pan with non-stick baking spray. (If you use non-stick cooking spray, flour the pans as well.) Set aside.

To prepare the cake batter, combine self-rising flour and sugars. Mix well. Add oil, pureed strawberries, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs in a large bowl.

Stir well until fully combined. At this point, I added the red food coloring. I usually just add it a couple of drops at a time until I achieve my ideal pink color.

Divide batter evenly between prepared pans.

Bake until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, approximately 26 to 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Rotate the pans halfway through the baking period.

Remove from oven and cool in pans for 20 minutes or more before turning onto wire rack to completely cool before icing.

Directions for the frosting:

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Slowly add the sugar in 1 cup batches until desired sweetness is achieved. (You can use less than 3 cups if you like your frosting not as sweet.)

Stir in vanilla. Add milk slowly if you need a less stiff consistency.

Pour a small amount of frosting on top of the entire cake. This is called the crumb layer and will help with keeping your crumbs out of the product.

Finally, pour remaining frosting on top and spread over the entire cake. Decorate cake as desired, slice, and serve.

Enjoy!!

“I feel you need to know that your good friend, Miranda Hobbes, has just taken a piece of cake out of the garbage and eaten it. You’ll probably need this information when you check me into the “Betty Crocker Clinic. ” – Miranda Hobbes, Sex and the City

Chicken & Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Dressing

Spinach, strawberries, mangoes, and chicken…oh my!! Sometimes my husband and I are tired of the regular old salad. This revamped light salad combines vegetables and fruity goodness with a little protein to boot.

With LOVE from Texas,
The Pint-Sized Mayo

Chicken & Strawberry Spinach Salad with Strawberry Balsamic Dressing

2 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, trimmed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons strawberry jelly (or jam)
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/2 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1 mango, diced (I prefer mine to be slightly under-ripe)
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, reduced fat
• 2 – 3 cups baby spinach
• 1/2 cup cinnamon-roasted walnuts

Directions:

Season 2 chicken breasts on both sides with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Pour the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium sized pan.

Place the chicken in the pan and grill until cooked through, (an instant-read thermometer should register at 160°F) about 3-5 minutes per side. Once cooked, remove from heat to cool for a few minutes.

While waiting for the chicken to cool, place jelly (or jam) in a medium bowl and whisk in vinegar then 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the dressing with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add the strawberries, mango pieces, feta, and spinach to bowl and toss to coat evenly in dressing.

Finally, slice the grilled chicken. Place the spinach mixture in the middle of a plate and top with sliced grilled chicken and sprinkle candied walnuts.

Enjoy!!

“Strawberries are the angels of the earth, innocent and sweet with green leafy wings reaching heavenward.” – Terri Guillemets