Blackberry Ginger Muffins + Mother's Day Brunch

Most of my weekend was spent in New Hampshire, spending quality time with family and friends. It was really wonderful, since it's been a while since I've seen my entire immediate family at one time. Since we were all going to be together on Mother's Day, my siblings and I decided to make my mom brunch on Sunday. The menu included:

Bacon, for the meat eaters...

Omelettes, with several "fillings" to choose from...

Fresh fruit...

And my homemade Blackberry Ginger Muffins.

These muffins were a total experiment, but I'm glad they came out as well as they did (although next time, I'll probably use fresh ginger for extra flavor). The inspiration behind them was a bag of frozen blackberries that had been sitting in my freezer for quite some time. After some perusing through The Flavor Bible, I decided to add some dried ginger and cinnamon for extra flavor. The end result was a very moist, flavorful muffin - that also tasted somewhat healthy thanks to the whole wheat flour and blackberries.

Blackberry Ginger Muffins

Yields: 15 muffins 

-2 cups whole wheat flour

-1 cup packed dark brown sugar

-1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/2 tsp. dried ginger
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-1 cup milk (I used Lactaid Milk)
-3 tbsp. butter, melted
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-1 egg
-1 1/2 cups frozen blackberries, roughly chopped
-Cooking spray
-Granulated sugar

Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 400  degrees.
2.) Combine flour,brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture.
3.) Combine milk, butter, vanilla and the egg in a small bowl; add to flour mixture, and stir until just moist. Gently stir in blackberries.
4.) Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each paper-lined muffin tins, sprayed with cooking spray (I didn't have paper tins, but used extra cooking spray, which worked fine). Bake at 400 degrees for 16 minutes. Sprinkle muffins with granulated sugar, and then bake for 3 minutes more, or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in the center. Let muffins cool for about 10 minutes before removing them from the pan.

These muffins - along with the brunch in general - were a hit with both the adults and children.

My older sister and niece.

My niece and nephew.

Such a great weekend, with good food, family and great friends.

What new recipes have you experimented with lately? 

Memorable Irish Meals

On occasion, I still do some freelance writing for my hometown newspaper, The Nashua Telegraph. I recently wrapped up an article for their upcoming St. Patrick's Day issue regarding local people who make or cherish traditional Irish recipes - that have their own, unique twist to them.

Writing this story and speaking with several different people in the area really made me think about my own upbringing in an Irish/English/Scottish household. Every Sunday, my mother would make a big meal - that would provide plenty of leftovers throughout the week - and nine times out of 10, this Sunday dinner was chocked full of Irish fare.

This morning, I'd like to take a little walk down memory lane to give you some insight into my family's Irish dinners/recipes growing up.

Shepherd's Pie: My mother made Shepherd's Pie a lot. I still crave that comforting flavor of warm mashed potatoes, although now I'm looking for the perfect vegetarian-friendly version. My mom's version was very budget-friendly. Her Shepherd's Pie was made with instant mashed potatoes, cream-style corn and scrambled beef with jarred tomato sauce. Growing up, it was delicious.

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Pot Roast with Boiled Potatoes and Cabbage: A Sunday dinner staple in my house growing up. I remember the house always smelt so amazing on Sundays. 

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Irish Coffee: Every Thanksgiving - once I got older, and to this day - we have our own version of "Irish coffee." Our Irish coffee is made with Amaretto instead of whiskey. And it's delicious (and, when my mother makes it, very strong).

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What are some childhood food memories you cherish?

Belated Christmas Recap

Now that I have finally have my camera back, I thought I'd share some photos with you all from my Christmas with my family. This year's celebration was no different from any other year - and I mean that in a very, very good way. My holiday consisted of a lot of food, family, friends, love and good times. Here's a little taste of why I am one extremely lucky lady (photos in no particular order).

Christmas morning!

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My family's annual Christmas Eve "Picking Dinner."

My nephew, Ryder, playing with his new Bat Cave.

My Mom and I.

My older sister and my adorable niece, Aubrey.

Christmas dinner!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, too - and a very happy start to the new year!!

Second Helping: Pork 'Shepherd's Pie'

Growing up, our Irish & Scottish family's version of Shepherd's Pie consisted of instant mashed potatoes, cream-style corn from a can, and whatever scrambled hamburger was on sale that week at Market Basket. The meals my mother made for us growing up were convenient, affordable, and ginormous - she made enough of everything to feed an army, so we had leftovers for the week (and for the freezer). However, no matter how inexpensive and simple our dinners were, I have fond memories of sitting around the table with my family almost every night, which, in turn, made the meals comforting and delicious.

From my experience growing up, I learned at an early age not to waste food - and not to appreciate three nights in a row of the same leftovers. So, the other night when I was faced with leftover, un-stuffed pork and spinach, I got a little creative - and also managed to make use of a favorite childhood meal.

Pork "Shepherd's Pie"
Yields: 2 servings

-2 pork chops, cooked and seasoned like this
-2 cups spinach
-2/3 cup instant mashed potatoes, cooked
-1 tbsp. olive oil
-Herbs de Provence
-Salt and pepper to taste
-Shredded cheddar cheese

Directions: Heat up olive oil in saute pan. Add spinach and cook over low to medium heat until slightly wilted. Take off heat. Cut pork into 1-inch cubes, and place each cut pork chop on the bottom of two ramakins. Spoon 1 cup spinach into each ramakin, over pork layer. Scoop equal amounts of mashed potatoes (while still slightly warm) over the spinach and pork layers. Sprinkle some shredded cheddar cheese over the top of each, and place both ramakins on a cookie sheet. Cook in 350* oven until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes).

And ta-da! You have pork "Shepherd's Pie."

The end result was a lighter, healthier version of the comforting Shepherd's Pie we had growing up. Although I ate this meal without my family sitting around me at the table, I was fortunate enough to enjoy it with thoughts of them and fond memories of our meals together - and I look forward to our meals to come.

What was your favorite meal growing up? 

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'Grown-up' Turkey Sloppy Joes

This has to be the best meal I've made in a long time.

Sloppy Joes, how I have missed you. Growing up, we had sloppy joes pretty frequently, because they're cheap and easy to make, and oh-so delicious. Plus, messy food can be fun to eat - especially when you're a kid (or a kid stuck in a 25-year-old woman's body).

The traditional sloppy joe sandwich, at least in my house, consisted of scrambled hamburger and tomato sauce sandwiched between two hamburger buns. However, tonight I was in the mood for a healthier, "jacked up" sloppy joe sandwich - and the end result was pretty damn tasty.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

Yields: 2 servings

-1/2 package ground lean turkey (I freeze the other half for later in the week)

-1/2 green pepper, diced into chunks

-Tomato sauce (I used Classico's Fire Roasted Tomato & Garlic)

-1/4 white onion, diced

-3-4 jarred jalapenos, diced

-1/2 tsp. minced garlic, jarred

-Chili powder

-Salt and pepper

Directions: Heat onions in sauce pan with 1 tbsp. olive oil until translucent. Meanwhile, mix turkey, jalapenos, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper in bowl. Add green peppers to pan with onions, and cook for about 1-2 minutes, until slightly soft. Add turkey, and mix well with onions and peppers. Add desired amount of tomato sauce (enough to cover turkey mixture). Cook on medium heat until turkey is cooked through.

I served my sloppy joes on toasted whole wheat bulkie rolls with slices of cheddar cheese. The cheese melted beautifully throughout the sandwich, and I had all I could do to not lick my plate clean - like I used to do when I was a kid, after eating mom's sloppy joes.

[Stay tuned next Wednesday to find out how I used the leftover ground turkey in a "Second Helping" recipe].

What was your favorite "messy" meal as a kid? 

My Christmas, in photos

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately, kids - I've been M.I.A. due to the Christmas holiday, and my recent weekend away for a snowboarding trip. But now I am back, and happy to report that I received a pretty sweet Canon PowerShot S90 camera for Christmas. My old camera was a Kodak, bottom-of-the-line camera that took pretty lackluster photos. However, my new camera takes amazing snapshots! Despite my gift, I spent most of my time this Christmas reflecting on all the wonderful people I have in my life, and how lucky I am to have each and every one of them. I feel like this holiday flew by way too fast, too, so I am devoting this post to the holiday I shared with my family and my loved ones, through photos (with my new camera). Most of these shots highlight my mother's talent for holiday decor - or, in other words, what makes Christmas Christmas for the Collins'. Enjoy the show!

OK...I wouldn't be a true foodie without including some photos of what I ate on Christmas. Below is my dinner plate, consisting of turkey, homemade gravey, squash, mashed potatoes, peas with pearl onions and mushrooms, and a dinner roll. Simple, traditional, and downright delish!

Also, here is a shot of the white chocolate-covered trail mix my mom made for Christmas Eve/Day. Completely addicting and dangerous:

Finally, I had to conclude this mini photo reel with a picture of my adorable nephew, Ryder, with his favorite gift this Christmas: A stuffed dinosaur. How cute is this kid? (He's with his mom, my older sister, Theresa):

How did you spend the Christmas holiday?