Loaded Egg Muffins

These muffins were a revelation to me when they were first introduced. About 10 years ago, a trainer I was working with suggested I make them to help satisfy my need for bread in the mornings. She recognized my inner Carbie early on! Anyway, she described the concept of making these, telling me to add what I liked, and it felt simple enough for me, a high schooler at the time, to try and they have been a staple in my breakfast line up ever since. The base of the recipe is so simple that you can use any fixings you want and because of that, I never get sick of them. Bonus points because they can be stored in the fridge for 5 days and make a perfect breakfast or can be added as protein to a salad! Just a quick trip to the microwave to rewarm them and you have the perfect, protein-packed, “muffin” start your day!

Ingredients:

• 12 large eggs

• 3/4 cup finely chopped spinach (You don’t want to feel like a giraffe and pull out a whole leaf when you take a bite)

• 3/4 cup cooked, chopped, and cooled bacon (No egg scrambling!)

• 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used Mexican blend)

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

• Optional adds: 2 tablespoons milk (to thin it out a bit), 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1-2 seeded and chopped jalapeños

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a large bowl crack in your eggs, pricking the yolks, and whisking in order to create a homogenous mixture.

3. Add in bacon, spinach, cheese, milk, jalapeños, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and evenly distribute.

4. Line your muffin tins and then grease the pan! In order to make sure the egg muffins come out cleanly and that you’re not going to spend the next hour scrubbing your pan, I strongly suggest using liners or baking cups. I got these adorable and reusable ones off Amazon and they have given my hands and my scrub brush a much needed break!

5. Distribute egg batter into muffin tins. I used the 1/3 of a cup measuring cup to help ensure an even distribution!

6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a knife when inserted into the center muffin comes out clean. They will be really souffle-like when they first come out of the oven; however, when you take them out, they will lose a bit of their height as the hot air escapes. Don’t let that deflate your enthusiasm, honey!

7. Sprinkle with a little extra cilantro for color and enjoy! They keep for 5 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container—congratulations breakfast is done for the week!

Jazzed Up Blueberry Muffins

On Saturday morning after I got up and made coffee, I peeked in my fruit drawer and noticed pints on top of pints of blueberries that had somehow gone unused. Picking them up, I inspected them, took a bite, and decided that these perfectly ripe and juicy berries were to be wasted no more. I set off to make something with blueberries, what it was going to be, I had no clue. Flying by the seat of my pants, without a recipe, I got to brainstorming and decided that I really loved the flavor profile of my jazzed up banana bread.  I also knew that this recipe would lend itself well to a few tweaks and a pile of blueberries. Bonus points to my mom, as when taste tested my banana bread recipe, after telling me how much she liked it, she immediately said, “This would make a really great muffin.” Lightbulb! Blueberry muffins! So, I added some milk and blueberries to the recipe, played the recipe’s ratios, set the timer, and 30 minutes later I was greeted with the most fabulous smelling, heavenly, little blueberry pillows. Within an hour of making them, four of them were gone, and my husband said, with a full mouth of muffin, “You should share this recipe.” So, here is my recipe for my new favorite jazzed up blueberry muffins! They get their warmth from cinnamon, their lightness from the lemon zest and Greek yogurt, and their sweet smell and floral notes from plenty of vanilla extract. I think they are pretty wonderful and hope you will too!  

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• 1/4 cup butter, softened (1/2 stick)

• 1/3 cup greek yogurt ( I used Fage 2%)

• 2 teaspoons vanilla

• 1 cup sugar

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup milk

• 2 teaspoons lemon zest

• 1 heaping cup blueberries

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl combine, flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir and set to the side.

3. In a stand mixer or in a bowl with a hand mixer, combine butter, sugar, and beat until fluffy. Beat in yogurt, then eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Add in vanilla, lemon zest and milk. I grated my lemon zest right over the bowl! I wanted my batter to catch all of the oil that is released when grating! Stir together.

4. Slowly pour in dry ingredients into wet, mixing until just combined.

5. Add in blueberries and bring together.

6. Divide batter evenly in 12 lined and greased muffin tins.

7. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden and tops of muffins spring back when touched.

Spiced Pumpkin Bread with Dark Chocolate

Hello, Fall! If you’re reading this, I have probably just touched down in the Big Apple, and cannot help but reminded by Meg Ryan’s line in You’ve Got Mail, “Don’t you just love New York in the fall?” While Tom Hanks may not be asking for my address to send me a box of “newly sharpened pencils,” as he jokes in the film, I am finding my own way of enjoying the season. As my mom, sister and I are working through my grandmother’s recipes for the cookbook we are creating in her memory, we are coming across a treasure-trove of old favorites! One of them being, her Pumpkin Bread. Now I’ve never met a bread I didn’t like, but this one feels special. It’s not overly sweet, and the texture is simply divine. The taste actually lives up up the aroma while baking! I will admit, the base of this recipe is my grandmother’s, but I felt it needed a bit of a face lift. For starters, the original recipe called for a full cup of oil. That’s over 1800 calories, just in oil! So I swapped a few tablespoons of butter and some applesauce. The spice list in the original was pretty extensive, too. In order to simplify, I decided to use pumpkin pie spice seasoning, using a tablespoon, and a dash extra of cinnamon. My pumpkin pie seasoning also has ginger in it, which makes the bread a touch more spiced, than the cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg the original recipe called for. I love falling for Autumn, and this bread can take me through the season’s flavors in a bite!

Ingredients:

3 cups of sugar

4 tbsp melted butter

3/4 cup of applesauce

1 15oz can of pumpkin 

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3 cups self rising flour

1 12 oz bag of dark chocolate chips

1 tsp salt

4 eggs

This recipe makes 2 loafs or one loaf and a dozen muffins! Or you can make all muffins too, if that’s your thing!

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl combine, flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt.

3. In another large bowl beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Crack and add in eggs in one at a time. Once combined, add in pumpkin and applesauce, and bring together.

4. Add dry ingredients in, stirring into wet in 3-4 installments.

5. Once combined, fold in dark chocolate chips.

6. Place batter into greased baking dish. If making in loaf pans, bake for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If making in muffin tins, bake for 25-30 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched.

Mimi's Biscuits

I’ve probably started and stopped this post five times. To be writing about and referencing my grandmother in the past tense is something that I always knew would be hard. My grandmother didn’t pass away young, so to speak, she had turned 81 just three days before she died, but her passing away was not something my family was expecting. Though she passed in February of 2018, the grief still stays just below the surface, ready to pop up when you least expect it. As a therapist when I work with clients experiencing grief, I have always explained using the image of the beach. Some days the waters are calm and you can enjoy the surf and the sand. Other days, find high ground because the waves might swallow you whole.

To make a long story short, my grandmother arrived in Houston on her birthday, which was a Thursday, and her bypass surgery was scheduled for bright and early Monday morning.

A hard-headed and feisty woman, my family has always remarked that, “Mimi always gets her way.” Her venture to Houston and last days proved to be no exception. In the middle of the night on Sunday, she went into cardiac arrest, the hospital’s chaplin appeared, and next thing we knew she was gone. Our family now listless without our anchor.

She kept remarking that she did not want to have the surgery and that she would be so appreciative if one of her grandchildren would sneak her out of the hospital for some iced tea and envueltos. To the air ambulance crew that flew her from McAllen to Houston, when they flew over her country club, she offered them to take a pit stop for some margaritas. She did not want to have the surgery, and true to form, she got her way.

Losing someone is always hard, but it’s initial shock that accompanies the unexpected grief that feels like the toughest hurdle. Each of member of my family has grieved differently; for some it’s a quiet, internal battle, others find comfort externalizing and talking it out, but it seems two things that has brought comfort to all: her stories and her food.

My grandmother loved life and lived (and dressed!) out loud, something that she has passed on to her daughter (my mother), her granddaughters, and great-granddaughters. While we are all trying to reconcile what it means for her to be gone, as a family and individually, she was far too big of a piece to not figure out how to carry her with us.

Enter: her stories and her recipes. Recently, my mom, sister and I have been cataloging and curating a cookbook with all of her recipes, which has ranged from “Jezebel Dip” to biscuits to the Waldorf’s Red Velvet Cake. When I found her biscuit recipe, I was amazed at the simplicity, and of course, they were delicious—as all simple recipes seem to be. I really should start another page on here with her sayings/expressions/quips of wisdom because these biscuits personified, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

I shall call it “Mimi was right about everything…”

Recipe:

-2 cups of self rising flour

-2 sticks of cold butter

-8 oz sour cream

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, add in two cups of flour.

3. Cut each stick of butter in half, length-ways, and then each half into 1/2 in. pieces.

4. Add those sticks of butter to the flour, and cut in using a pastry blender, or your hands. Breaking butter into pea-size pieces. The flour will start to feel and look like wet sand.

5. Add in 8 oz of sour cream (remember you need an acid to activate the self rising part of the flour) and mix in with a spatula until flour as pulled away from the sides of the bowl and a shaggy dough has formed.

6. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface, and knead softly (about 3-4 times) until you have a smooth consistency.

7. Press out dough into rectangular shape (about 6-7 inches long and 4 inches wide), about an inch thick, and then fold the dough on to itself—folding it in half length-wise, and turn it a quarter to the right. Press it back out to the rectangular shape, folding left side to the right again, and turn a quarter again. Repeat this process 2-3 times, you are building layers into your biscuit dough.

8. Flour a two inch biscuit cutter and cut out as many biscuits as you can. Re-roll scraps and repeat until you get 12.

9. Place in greased muffin tins and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits Part Two

Now that we have the story out of the way, let’s get down to business of biscuit making. Biscuits are the perfect test for any person who loves being covered in flour. Like a toddler, they cannot be rushed and like a teen, they can have a mind of their own. My friends, I give you my version of the perfect Buttermilk Biscuit:

Ingredients:

 - 4 cups White Lily Self-Rising Flour

- 1 teaspoon salt (I use Diamond Kosher)

-1 teaspoon of sugar

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1/2 teaspoon baking soda (yes you’re using self rising but these give a little extra lift!)

-1/2 cup of butter flavored Crisco (1/2 a stick)

• Plus additional 1/8 of a cup for greasing baking surface

-1 1/2 cups of buttermilk (Don’t have buttermilk, don’t be sour ;) … you can make it as fast as you can say “I’m out of buttermilk”… measure out as much milk as you need and then add in one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice per cup. Let sit for 10 minutes and you are good to go!)

-3 tablespoons European Butter melted, for brushing at the end

Yields:

 12 Biscuits

Method

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt. Once mixed together, take Crisco and break into smaller pieces and add to flour mixture.

2. Using a pastry blender or your hands, cut Crisco into dough. Breaking up into pea size pieces and a crumbling texture.

3.  Make a well in the center for the flour mixture and pour in buttermilk. I always add in my cup measurement first and then add in my last 1/4 as I need it. If mixture seems dry and does not pull away from sides of bowl, add a touch more of buttermilk, a tablespoon at a time.

4. Use a spatula to wipe down sides of bowl while working to combine. Once brought together, turn out onto a floured surface.

5. Knead gently, about 5-7 times, until dough has a smooth consistency.

6. Then begin the folding portion: flour your rolling pin, and then begin rolling our your dough into a rectangle about 6 in. wide and 9 in. long and about half an inch thick, take bottom side of dough, and fold the dough in half. The bottom edge and the top meet. Turn the dough, to the right once, then roll out again (to about half an inch), and then fold in half and turn back to the left. Complete this folding process 5 times—you are building layers into your biscuits.

7. Cut out 7-8 biscuits with 2¾ inch biscuit cutter (second to largest in set). Combine and roll scraps and cut out remaining biscuits. **Do not twist the cutter when you push down, this will pinch the seams shut that you just worked so hard to create. Keep the motion up and down, and flour your cutter between each.

8. Place on a baking sheet or cast iron skillet, pre-greased with Crisco or butter, with sides touching. **Remember, biscuits are friendly and LOVE neighbors!

9. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Brush tops with melted butter immediately out of the oven.

Click through the pictures below for a step by step of how to make a biscuit

Southern Buttermilk Biscuits Part One

I really feel like these do not need an introduction, but perhaps my fascination with these little dough pucks does. When I set out to write this post I realized how, as good Southern recipe goes, this begins with a story. So I broke this post into two parts. The first is the story, the second will be the recipe and the method.

When in graduate school and still living with my parents (shout out to that back home baller life), my father kept remarking how making the perfect biscuit eluded him. Given his more than proficient cooking skills, especially for Southern staples he grew up on, I decided to try my hand at making a batch one day on a whim. I wondered how hard it could truly be. Truth be told, I was probably avoiding writing a paper for my psychopathology class. After doing some quick recipe research, preheating my oven, and about 30 minutes after remarking that he always underworked his dough, I presented him with a pan of freshly made biscuits. Between me, my mom and dad, all 12 biscuits were devoured in the span of 2 hours. My dad and I continued to pursue the perfect biscuit: recipe and technique. Both of us have a bit of competitive edge; therefore, it was only a matter of time before this became a ride on the trash talk express, and that, my friends, is where this story takes a departure into interesting.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLEEEEEEEEE…

In this corner: standing at 5 foot, 4 inches tall, the butter-enthusiast herself, Savannah “like the city” Eidson (this was pre-marriage, I’ll use my maiden name)…

In this corner: standing at 6 foot, 4 inches tall, the Crisco crusher himself, purveyor of the 5 P’s, former offensive guard for America’s team, Jim “better get two of those” Eidson…

So now that you have a sense of the height difference between me and my dad, you can probably guess that there is a slight difference between our hand sizes and when I say slight I mean significant. Base of my palm to the tip of my third finger is just under six inches. I cannot throw a regulation size football properly. Read: my hands are tiny. My father’s hand measurement is closer to 8 inches. His hands are GIANT, which was wonderful for the many pass-protection drills, but not so much for biscuit making. Why you ask? Because there is a significant difference between the amount of force my dad and I create when we work a dough. But we have the opposite problem, he is worried that his large hands are going to overwork the dough and he underworks it. I’m worried my delicate digits are going to underwork the dough, so I overwork it (#psychology).

In addition to our size differences, we were also on different teams of fat. My dad believed Crisco was the finer choice, as it is what he grew up with in Alabama, and thought it resulted in a crisper biscuit top.

I was team butter all the way. I thought it made a more flavorful, hydrated dough, as it imparted more steam into the dough when baked.

Like all good rivalries, we decided to have a biscuit-off around Thanksgiving and it was a draw (can you say fixed?). I was feeling a bit unsatisfied with the results and then stumbled upon the best news ever. The great State Fair of Texas held a biscuit-off every year called the “Red River Biscuit Showdown” that is held during the Red River Shootout football game. This was my chance. I would tell my dad that we were taking this to the field (errr…actually the Fair) but you catch my drift. It would be a showdown of sorts, and instead of it being between OU and Texas, it would be between me and my dad. Or so I thought.

It turns out that participants for the biscuit competition are drawn randomly, which you have to first apply for, and only 14 are chosen. As it is a live cooking demonstration, they can only accommodate based on the number of ovens they have. Dreams. Dashed. We decided it was unlikely that both of us would be chosen. So I applied for the competition, we called a truce between the fats, and I happened to be selected (can you say beginner’s luck?). My dad and I spent July (when you are notified of your selection) through October perfecting my biscuits. My former opponent was now my biggest ally and taste taster. Things I figured out during my biscuit practice drills:

1. Biscuits cannot be rushed. If you are nervous or anxious, two things happen: your body temperature rises and your muscles tense. Anytime I’ve made biscuits in a pinch for time, they have always turned out tough and have not browned properly.

2. You need to keep things cold. In addition to keeping your psyche on ice, your utensils, bowls, and any other biscuit paraphernalia need to be chilled too.

3. Crisco is more forgiving than butter. Crisco is shelf stable, meaning it does not need to be refrigerated, and in a competition that is very helpful.

4. If you want to use butter, freeze the sticks whole first. Shout out to Southern Living for this tip. You can get a grater and literally grate frozen butter over your flour to cut it in. Genius.

5. Flour makes a difference. Yes, your standard all-purpose flour is great for a Saturday morning biscuit at home. But want to take it to the next level? Use a self rising flour. Before the competition, I ordered 20 pounds of White Lily Self Rising Flour. Why so specific? Because White Lily is made from a softer type of wheat that results in a more tender flour, ergo a more tender biscuit.

6. If you are going to use butter, make it European—oui oui. It has a higher milk fat content, and will make the inside more fluffy. You’re already eating a biscuit, this is not the time to try and make them a diet food.

7. Oven temperature is crucial. At the Fair, my oven panel went out because the circuit was shorted (thank you to ESPN College Game Day) and I had to be moved to another oven. My oven never quite got hot enough and my biscuits did not brown properly.

8. Unlike the saying “good fences make good neighbors” biscuits LOVE neighbors. The closer, the better. It helps them rise up.

9. If you use self rising flour, or any baking soda on its own, you must use an acid to cause a reaction. Most of time this is buttermilk.

10. Use your cooking utensils instead of your hands as much as possible. Cut in your fat with a pastry cutter, mix your milk in with a wooden spoon or spatula.

P.S. If you made it to the very end of this post. BRAVO! Thank you for sharing my love and pursuit of the perfect biscuit. 

Got my game face on at the Red River Biscuit Showdown at the State Fair of Texas! As you can see there are stands in the back and family members and fellow biscuit enthusiasts can sit and enjoy the competition. I had over 20 people show up in support, but all of them are standing on the barriers. Hence all the empty seats!

A few of the 20! Shout out to the Crain family for stopping by to cheer me on!