Sweet Potato-Orange Blossom Mini Muffins

I'm back from New York. I'm in a New York State of Mind. But here are a few other things on my mind.

#1 - I didn't win the cook-off. Details are coming in the next post(s). These posts are going to be massive with details, so it's taking me some time to put them together. What's that?... You need a little something to get you through until the next post? Okay, check this out:

It's Hosea Rosenberg and Nikki Cascone from Top Chef! They were the judges of the contest.

#2 - I bought a cute yellow dress from Wal-Mart the other day (Here, not in NY - all they have is Duane Reade there). By the time I got it home and discovered it was a Taylor Swift dress, it was too late.

#3 - Drinking citrus vodka and eating pickles doesn't mix well.

... are you still with me? I'm surprised you continue to read.

#4 - Some people take my jokes a little too seriously on here. We all just need to chillax. Like Obama... gotta keep it cool. Get a sense of humor, maybe? We should just have a drink and CALM THE F down. That means you, angry forum posters.

#5 - Never order a salad from Steak 'n Shake. Worst. Salad. Ever.
Stick with the classic Steak 'n Shake dinner.

#6 - Your family is the most important thing in the world. You should always stick by them, because they'll always be there for you. Aww, that one was all serious.

#7 - Big Love is my new favorite show. It makes me want to become a polygamist.

#8 - Sweet potatoes are the bee's knees. Preferably North Carolina Sweet Potatoes. I've seriously been in love with them my whole life. Sweet potato pies and sweet potatoes with marshmallows on them have been a family tradition for years. Or baked sweet potatoes with butter and cinnamon sugar for a side dish. Yummmm.



Sweet potatoes are great for sides, salads, entrees and desserts, but they're also very delicious for breakfast. Ever had sweet potato cinnamon rolls? Sweet potato waffles? Sweet potato pancakes? They're all dynamite.

But have you had Sweet Potato-Orange Blossom Mini Muffins? Of course you haven't - because I just created this recipe, silly.

Now these are the bee's knees! Eat a few of these babies in the morning with a glass of milk and you'll feel energized and ready to take on the world.



Close your eyes and imagine the sweet taste of mini muffin in your mouth.. a light, tender, fluffy crumb, tasting of orange, cinnamon and sweet potato. Then, THEN, when you think it couldn't get any better, you taste the crunchy, brown sugary-buttery topping with oats, walnuts and crystallized ginger. How do you like that?

You can't eat just one Sweet Potato-Orange Blossom Mini Muffin. They're irresistible and oh-so-cute. But don't worry; they're not that bad for you! There is only a bit of butter in the streusel. The batter is kept moist by the orange juice and sweet potato. How perfect! Did I mention how easy they are to bake?

Sweet Potato-Orange Blossom Mini Muffins (Recipe by Me)
Printable Recipe

Cooking spray
1/3 cup quick cooking oats
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar, plus 1/2 cup
3 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus 1 1/2 cups
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tiny pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed cooked North Carolina sweet potato
1/2 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line mini muffin pans with mini muffin liners; spray with cooking spray.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together oats, walnuts, 1/4 cup brown sugar, crystallized ginger, and 2 tablespoon flour until combined; knead in butter using fingertips until well combined and mixture starts to clump together.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together additional 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together additional 1/2 cup brown sugar, eggs, sweet potato, orange juice and orange zest until well combined; stir flour mixture into sweet potato mixture until just combined. Divide batter into 3 dozen mini muffin cups. Sprinkle oat-walnut mixture evenly over tops. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until risen and golden brown.

Makes 3 dozen mini muffins

Strawberry-Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Pie

I fly out tomorrow morning (by myself) to New York City for the Quaker Oats Viewer Quickfire Challenge. There I will compete against two other finalists in front of an audience, in an outdoor kitchen. (All three finalists use one range... yeah, I know. I'm going to have to be aggressive. Don't think I won't be. )
The cook-off is the start of the Top Chef tour where the chefs travel around and promote the show.

We had to create a new recipe using Quaker Oats, and we have to cook it in the 45 minute time limit. Then the panel of judges will taste our food and pick a winner! The winner gets a trip to the location where they're filming the next Top Chef, and you get to watch them film and taste the food.

I know who the judges are, and I want to tell you so much, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to though, so I'll just have to share when I get back. They're good judges! I'm excited.

I created a pretty tasty little recipe that I like even better than my original. I want to share that, and the recipe, but I should probably wait until I get back.
I'm confident in my recipe, but knowing my luck, I won't win.

That's all the information I have for you. I couldn't tell you where this cook-off is at, what time, what hotel I'm staying at, when my flights are, etc. I'm getting all of this information today, heh heh heh. *Nervous laughter* I'm serious.
Hey! I'm a fly by the seat of your pants kinda girl, so I'm not worried! This will be fun.

I'm pretty excited, even though I'll only be there for two days. I wish I could have met up with some of my food blogging friends, but it's such a short trip I don't have time. But a trip to New York City is a trip to New York City! I'll take it. What's the second best thing to culinary school in NYC?
A Quaker Oats Quickfire Challenge in New York City.

I'm taking full advantage of this trip. I'm going to document everything that happens to me. I'm going to take lots of pictures and eat a lot of food. For this blog, of course. I need material.

I hope they have a Cinnabon in the airport. I like to eat a Cinnabon and drink a Frappuccino while I wait for my flight. But sometimes I go into a coma before my flight. It happens.. but it's sooo worth it.

I hope Bravo/Quaker take us out to dinner or something. I'm going to take full advantage of it and order a steak.. with like, truffles and fois gras. I might even order a brownie sundae for dessert. Gotta live it up, you know.

I wonder what hotel I'm staying at. Last time I was in New York, I had to pay for the hotel myself, so I chose Comfort Inn. It was quite nice. They had a breakfast bar with a cappuccino machine and doughnuts, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Okay, that's enough of that. I wasn't sure what to expect when I created this pie, but I was pleased. Very pleased. I would make this again and again. The pie starts with a graham cracker crust, and only a tiny bit of butter and honey is used. The filling consists of light ricotta cheese, light cream cheese, sugar, vanilla bean and an egg. Then it's topped with a simple strawberry sauce that's absolutely perfect. My sister and I ate the whole pie together. Well, a piece every night. And it was mostly me, not my sister. I love pie.

Wish me luck! Bye bye!

Strawberry-Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Pie (Recipe by Me)
Printable Recipe

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon honey
1 (8-ounce) package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2/3 cup granulated sugar, plus an additional 5 tablespoons
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out
1 large egg
5 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 quart strawberries, stemmed, sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, butter and honey until well combined; press into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together cream cheese and ricotta cheese until smooth. Beat in 2/3 cup sugar and vanilla bean seeds until combined. Beat in egg until just combined; pour into prepared crust. Bake for 20 minutes or until set, and wobbles only slightly. Cool for 45 minutes before lightly covering and transferring to refrigerator to cool completely, at least 2 hours.

To make the strawberry sauce, in a large nonstick skillet, stir together additional 5 tablespoons sugar, water and cornstarch until combined. Turn heat on to medium and bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently; stir in strawberries and cook for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant and mixture starts to thicken up. Transfer strawberries and juices to a bowl and cool for 15 minutes before lightly covering and transferring to refrigerator to cool completely; serve strawberry sauce over sliced cheesecake pie.

Makes 8 servings

POM Sorbet Spritzer

This is only my second post this week... I can't believe that. But then again I can believe it, because I've been pretty busy. I'm back on the schedule full time, waiting tables, and it's been really busy lately because of spring break.
And once again I'm falling behind on reading all my blogs. I'm disgusted with myself. However, I've been going to sleep earlier, and I have to say, it's been quite nice. I feel well rested and I have energy! Or that could be the multiple shots of espresso I've been drinking every day.

So the POM people contacted me a week or so ago, and asked me if I wanted a sample of POM. I was like, are you kidding me?! YES! I love POM. It's the best juice in the whole world. It's so delicious and good for you, and it's great to cook and bake with. There is a lot of information on their website and blog, so you should definitely check it out and learn about all of the benefits of POM.

They sent me a CASE of pomegranate juice in the mail.. as soon as I received the package, I ripped open the box, grabbed a bottle and started chugging it. That's not a joke.

I considered baking with some of the POM, and I might still do that, but I really just like drinking the juice. One of my favorite ways to drink it is in a cocktail. I took the POM, put it into my ice cream maker, and make a sorbet, JUST using the juice itself. You don't need anything else!


Turns out POM is hard to photograph. Silly POM and your shiny, reflective bottle.

Then scoop little balls of sorbet into your wine glasses and top with champagne... nothing too dry. And that's it! No recipe required.


I went champagne shopping at Dillons, and what a mistake that was. I'm never shopping at Dillons again. I walked into the liquor section and was immediately escorted out by a mean, feeble-looking woman security guard, because I was shopping with someone that didn't have his ID. So they lost my business. I then went to Price Cutter and bought my champagne.
Soooo ridiculous! You don't want my money, Dillons?! Fine, I'll let someone else have it.

Anyway, that's all I have for today. Make this POM sorbet spritzer this weekend and celebrate the arrival of spring!

Bailey's Irish Cream Brownie Buttons

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Do you feel lucky? Do you?! I'm feeling very lucky and fortunate, and I didn't even eat me Lucky Charms at the top of the mornin'. I wish I had some Lucky Charms, but unfortunately I haven't had them in years. I had to switch to adult cereal like FlaxPlus Pumpkin Raisin Crunch and Cascadian Farm Oats & Honey Granola (which are delicious by the way, but they don't top Blueberry Morning... uh, 23 going on 75).

There was a method to eating me Lucky Charms... a brilliant method. Eat all of the actual cereal first, then eat the marshmallows and the pink milk at the end for a really good treat.
Now that I think about it, we usually ate Marshmallow Mateys - not Lucky Charms. How disappointing.

Anyway, I'm feeling very lucky and happy today, and it's all thanks to you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! More details to come in a future post. Right now I don't know much.

Let's just say I'm getting out of town next week. Start spreadin' the news.
I'm about to break into show tunes and start shimmying across the room.



I have to go to work tonight and serve corned beef and cabbage to customers, and that's about the extent of my St. Patrick's Day celebration. Except I did make these little brownie cups to eat, and they're so cute, festive and delicious. It's a brownie batter flavored with Baileys, cream cheese, and just a tiny hint of espresso. They're topped with just a simple, easy buttercream with Bailey's in it. I don't think the frosting was necessary, so it's your call on what you do. I kinda like them simple, sans frosting.

You can dance a jig while whipping these up and have them baked and ready in no time.

Bailey's Irish Cream Brownie Buttons (Recipe by Me)
Printable Recipe

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; remove pan from heat and stir in chocolate chips and espresso powder until melted and well combined.

In a small mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together cream cheese and Bailey's until well combined.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together egg and granulated sugar until well combined. Whisk in melted chocolate mixture and cream cheese mixture until well combined. Stir in flour mixture until just combined; working in batches using a mini ice cream scoop, divide batter into 34 mini muffin liners that are placed on sheet pans. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until puffed and set; cool completely.

To make the frosting, in a medium sized mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, confectioners's sugar, Bailey's and vanilla extract until well combined and creamy - about 1-2 minutes. Pipe or schmear frosting onto brownie cups.

Makes 34 mini brownie bites

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Banana Chip Cookies

First off, today is the last day to vote in the Quaker Oats Viewer Quickfire Challenge. I'd really love your vote. I'm sitting in the number one spot right now, and that's where I've stayed during the entire competition, but I'm still worried. It's the last day of voting and anything could happen. Old Maurice, Denise and Lori are making me nervous.

I'll let you all now how this turns out. Thank you so much for your votes, support and comments. You've made me a very happy girl.
This week has been a little stressful, and I'm glad it's over. My back hurts, I'm tired, and I've been baking and eating too much pie lately. I'm going to be celebrating at midnight, if all goes well, with a nice, tall glass of Everclear.


Heh heh. Don't you love this picture of a megaphone after you vote?
I'm really going to miss this megaphone picture. I'm kind of confused as to why it's there, but whatevs.

This is the last recipe of oatmeal week. You're probably relieved. I'm relieved, too. I'm ready to move on and work on some spring dessert recipes.

It's another oatmeal cookie, but this one isn't healthy. I mean, I'm sure you're getting some nutrients from the oats, banana and dark chocolate, but other than that, it's not healthy. But they're very buttery and scrumptious, so who the hell cares!

It's an oatmeal cookie with mashed-ripe banana in it, with chocolate chips and chopped up banana chips.

Otis Spunkmeyer has nothin' on me, yo.

They're delish!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Banana Chip Cookies (Recipe by Me)
Printable Recipe

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups quick oats, uncooked
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup finely mashed ripe banana
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped dried banana chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and salt; stir in oats until combined.
In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, brown sugar and banana until creamy, about 1 minute; beat in egg and vanilla extract until just combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and banana chips by hand until combined.

Drop heaping teaspoons of dough onto cookie sheets; bake for 9-10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Cool for 1 minute before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 18 cookies

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Granola

Is anyone sick of oats yet? Not me.

I couldn't get sick of oats. I've eaten some oats every single day this week in different forms, and I feel very healthy and energized. My heart feels good and my colon has never been better.

I've been buying the giant canisters of Quaker oatmeal to eat for breakfast, but also to use in baking. Oatmeal is cheap stuff, so it's good to buy for anyone on a budget. I buy quick cooking AND old fashioned oat. Quick for breakfast and old fashioned for baking.

I used old fashioned for this granola. Do you like granola? Do you make granola? I love granola, and I've always loved it. It brings out my inner hippie. I think I was reincarnated from the seventies, by the way, but that's a whole different post.

I wanted sort of a granola I could snack on during the day, but also sprinkle on top of cereal and oatmeal. Why not a chocolate granola? Why haven't I seen it before. Everyone loves chocolate. Actually, I think it does exist.

I'm very scatterbrained and out of it today. All I can think about is this Quaker oat/Top Chef contest. I've been obsessing over it.
Have you cast your vote today? I thank you so much for all your help and support. Let's do something fun when all of this is over. A fun post of sorts. Maybe a giveaway? Let me shop around a bit.

Anyway, so I thought, heyyy why not chocolate-peanut butter-banana granola? That's one of my favorite flavor combinations. The granola contains ripe banana, brown sugar, peanut butter, cocoa powder, honey, vanilla, oats, banana chips and bittersweet chocolate. Oh gosh that sounds good.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Granola (Recipe by Me)
Printable Recipe

1/2 a large ripe banana
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup coarsely chopped dried banana chips
1/4 cup finely chopped bittersweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a cookie sheet.

In a large mixing bowl, mashed the banana up; whisk in brown sugar, peanut butter, water, cocoa, honey, vanilla and salt until well combined. Stir in oats until combined; spread out evenly on cookie sheet.

Bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 8 minutes or so, until crisp. Remove pan from oven and stir in banana chips and chocolate. Cool completely before serving.

Healthy Honey Oatmeal-Golden Raisin Cookies

Continuing on with my oats week, I bring you Healthy Honey Oatmeal-Golden Raisin Cookies.

See? I can bake something that doesn't contain a stick of butter (or more) in it. It's nice to bake a treat and not feeling guilty about indulging. I actually feel good about eating these cookies. They're healthy! They have oats, so they're good for your heart.

I had a box of golden raisins that I needed to use up and decided an oatmeal cookie would be perfect. I associate golden raisins with Indian cooking, and I thought the flavors of honey, toasted almonds, cardamom and crystallized ginger would go well with the raisins.

Now I don't know if you're a raisin fan or not - I'm going to guess not. Everyone I know can't stand raisins. I'm a little on the fence.. I think raisins are nice sometimes in certain things. They can be a good change of pace, you know? They're just dried grapes, so I don't see the big deal.

I guess people don't enjoy the dried, chewy texture of the raisin. For these cookies, I soaked the raisins in hot water, making them moist and plump.

Anyway, I would give these babies a try; they taste like an energy or granola bar. I'm not sure what the final calorie count on these is, but I think they're pretty low-fat. You could probably even reduce the butter a bit. Sorry, but I just have to have a little butter in my cookies. :))

I'd greatly appreciate your vote today in the oatmeal contest if you have the time. You can vote once a day. Thank you kindly. I know this is becoming tedious. I feel like I've been voting for weeks and weeks. I even made up little samples (100 samples) and passed them out to my friends, family and coworkers yesterday. Got to rock the vote, you know?

Healthy Honey Oatmeal-Golden Raisin Cookies (Recipe by Me)
Printable Recipe

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup quick oats, uncooked
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup golden raisins, soaked in hot water
1/4 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted
4 teaspoons finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cardamom; stir in oats until combined.
In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, brown sugar and honey until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in egg whites and vanilla until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture until just combined; stir in raisins, almonds and ginger by hand.

Drop heaping teaspoons of dough onto cookie sheets. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand, if desired. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 1 minute before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 1 dozen large cookies