Easy Lemon Glazed Muffins

Dear Fellow Foodies,

Its that time a year again, Thanksgiving, one of my absolute favorite holidays. Thanksgiving incorporates everything I love most: cooking, family & eating. The day after Thanksgiving is basically a free for all of all the Thanksgiving leftovers, however, these muffins are super yummy, and will add a little something extra to any breakfast. FYI - this receipt is not gluten free.

Ingredients:

3 c all-purpose flour
1 c sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 yeaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 1/4 c milk
1/2 c butter melted
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions:

Whisk together the flour, baking powder & salt in large bowl. Whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter & lemon zest. Stir in dry ingredients together until moist. Spook into a lightly greased 12-cup muffin pan, fill two thirds full. Bake at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes or until golden brown. Once muffin's cool, drizzle "lemon glaze' over muffins. SEE GLAZE RECIPE BELOW

LEMON GLAZE: Mix 1 cup of confectioner's sugar & the juice of one lemon together in a small bowl.

Super Yummy Gluten Free Mac and Cheese

I love food and especially pasta, bread and cheese. So, when I had to stop eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and other carbohydrates, it was a huge bummer. But today there are tons of gluten free products including pasta out there for people like me with gluten allergies and people don’t even know the difference.  I recently made this for my boyfriend and he didn’t even know the difference.

I did use some low fat substitutions but obviously you can choose heavy crème instead of milk.

Ingredients

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3 Tbsp. Rice Flour

2 ½ cups 2% milk

2 tsp. mustard

2 tsp. hot sauce (your preference)

8 oz. Cheddar (grated)

½ c Parmigianino Reggiano

½ lb. gluten free macaroni

Equipment

2 qt. shallow baking disk

Directions for Sauce:

-       Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat. Whisk in rice flour. Cook roux whisking (approx. 2-3 minutes), whisk in milk. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, simmer, mixing occasionally, (2-3 minutes).

-       Add milk, cheeses, salt & pepper to taste, mix until smooth & remove from heat.  Cover sauce.

D   Directions for Macaroni & Dish Assembly

-       Butter baking disk.

-       Cook macaroni in a pot. Salt boiling water & cook pasta until al dente. Drain & transfer to a bowl & combine with sauce. Spread macaroni mixture in a baking dish.

-       Sprinkler about  1/3 c Parmigianino Reggiano evenly over macaroni, bake until bubbly & gewy. (15-20 minutes). 

Guilty Foodie Pleasures - Eating Alone

Gasp if you may, I’m not a ‘Sex in the City’ fan. Sarah Jessica Parker is appealing (having more the appearance of a well bred horse) and she is not EVERY WOMAN. Let’s just start with her HUGE apartment in New York and then go on to her job and the fact that she does not have syphilis. This is all very subjective. ‘Carrie’ could very well have syphilis.

Going on….I did not see the movie and watched very few TV episodes. I’m a HGTV / Food Network / Housewives of Orange County or Beverly Hills / Keeping Up with the Kardashians kind of gal. However, I did watch one episode of ‘Sex in the City’ about the things you do openly when you live alone. (Example: Wearing a green mud facemask, eating your fingernails, etc). I don’t really remember the rest of the episode (I’d rather watch Mario Batali boil water on TV) but I did relate. I wear a green mud face mask (once a week) & there is one meal that I love love love love to eat alone while watching TV.  I love to think about what real chef’s crave when they come home. Example: What does Mario Batali make for himself when he’s up late at night and everyone’s asleep? Don’t worry, I’m not going to make it for anyone beside myself but here’s what I eat (my guilty pleasure) with a huge spoon straight from the bowl when I’m home alone wearing a green mud face mask & watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians on DVD.

Pasta with Soy Sauce

¼ of a package of any type of dried noodles (gluten free (if you’re me) or not gluten free if you’re everyone else)

½ tablespoon butter

Parmesan cheese ¼ cup

Soy Sauce (Use To Your Desire)

Directions:

- Salt boiling water in a pot.

- Put dried pasta in the pot & cook in pasta to your liking. I love goopy, almost overly done pasta.

- Once ready, drain pasta & put a big glop of butter so it coats pasta.

- Put pasta in a bowl and mix with soy sauce & shredded Parmesan cheese.