Family Chow Hall

Years ago, a friend gave me a recipe for Morning Glory Muffins. Scrumptious. A recipe involving raisins, carrots, nuts, and coconut, yet simple.

I don’t make muffins often - too many carbs and too much starch for me, but my kids love them and it gets some fruit into their diet, so I make them occasionally.

This morning I used the Morning Glory Muffin recipe but added different fruits to suit my kids’ tastes and what I had on hand in the fridge and pantry. It turned into Cranberry-Pumpkin-Apple-Nut muffins which were quite yummy. I realize that you can use lots of different fruit combinations in this basic recipe and come up with something different every time. I LOVE recipes like that - when you can make a dozen substitutions and still have success!

Easy Morning Muffins
makes 2 dozen regular or 1 dozen large muffins

3/4 c. fruit A (cranberries)
3/4 c. fruit B (tiny apple chunks)
3/4 c. fruit C (pureed pumpkin)
1/2 c. chopped nuts (pecans)

3 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. melted butter
(option - use peanut butter in place of the butter)
1 c sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar

1 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. white flour
1/2 c. cereal - Grape Nuts, Rice Krispies, All Bran, or similar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt

Heat your oven to 250.

Step 1 — Use your chopper or paring knife to coarsely cut the fruit. Use your imagination - surprise your family with an interesting combination! Coconut, pecans, almonds, apples, bananas, blueberries, cherries, dates… - the possibilities are endless. One of the fruits should be smooth - mashed bananas, applesauce, or something pureed, like pumpkin. Toss all of the fruit and nuts together in a large bowl. Measurements are negotiable, you can have more of one and less of another.

Step 2 — Melt the butter or peanut butter and then add the eggs and sugars. Whisk all of this together in a medium-sized bowl. Then add this to the fruit mixture and stir.

Step 3 — Combine the dry ingredients — the flours, cereal, baking powder and cinnamon. Depending on what fruits you put in, you may want to skip the cinnamon. Add the dry mixture to the sloppy fruit mixture and fold - just until the flour is moistened. This is a general rule with muffins - do not overmix.

Grease your muffin pan and bake at 350 for approximately 20-25 minutes.

These muffins are moist and sweet, yet full of healthy fruits. A great way to start your day or send your children off to school. If I figure out how to make yummy muffins without sugar, I’ll be sure to let you know!

Okay, after tonight’s dinner, I don’t think I could ever go vegetarian.

These days, I’m eating mostly fruits and vegetables, but OH MY! — Beef is just too good to be eliminated from my diet permanently.

As a Christmas gift, an associate sent my DH a box of Filet Mignons — top-notch, high-quality, thick-cut, and packed in dry ice. This was a few weeks ago, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them, so they went into the freezer for awhile. This morning we decided to make them.

Last year’s batch of Filet Mignons were good, but I wasn’t happy with the way I prepared them - on the grill. It had turned dark while I cooked them and in my inexperience they were way under-done. (I suppose some people would say that Filets cannot be underdone.) Anyway, we ate them, but they could have been better.

Tonight we learned exactly how much better they can be. I did a bit of research and decided to pan-sear the steaks with a cracked pepper crust. I also added a wine/broth mixture for dipping. (There were great without it, even greater with it.)

You can use the same method for other types of steaks - check the cut to make sure that pan-searing is appropriate. This is the single most important thing to learn about beef - different cuts are best prepared in different manners.

The steaks I was working with were cut 1 1/2 inches thick, 8 oz. of pure, delectable beef each. Cooking times have to be reduced if your steaks are not as thick. From what I have read (and the tasting tonight proved it) filet mignon should not be overcooked, rare or medium rare is what you are looking for. A couple of ours were more like medium and they were still delicious, but the redder ones were better.

I have to admit that our family eating these was a little scary. We all loved them except my 3-year old, who sat staring and sucking his thumb. When it was all over, he ate spaghettios. Who can figure out 3-year olds?

Pepper-Coated and Pan-Seared Filet Mignons
makes 6, easily adjustable

6 Filet Mignons - 1 1/2 inch thick / 8 oz. each
1 t. salt
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. sugar
dash cayenne pepper
3 t. cracked black pepper
3 T. olive oil
1/2 c. beef broth
1/2 c. red wine
1 t. parsley

The cooking of these goes pretty quickly, so be prepared. (You might want to read the steps through a time or two.) Have your side dishes ready, the table set, the candles lit, etc. Another note: use a cast-iron skillet if possible, not a non-stick skillet, certainly nothing with a plastic handle. Borrow a cast-iron skillet from Grandma if you need to. Also, be prepared to open the windows in case of a little smoke.

Start by heating the oven (yes, I said the oven) to 375. This was easy for me because I was baking potatoes for a side dish.

Next, lay out the steaks on 3 or 4 thicknesses of paper towels and let them drain. Flip them and pat the tops dry. They should be nice and dry before moving on to the next step.

Combine the salt, peppers, garlic powder, and sugar in a small bowl. Consider this like a rub - sprinkle a bit on each steak and rub it in. Just do one side now and do the other once they are in the frying pan. In a larger bowl, combine the broth, wine, and parsley — set this aside for now.

Heat the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat until good and hot. The oil doesn’t have to be smoking but if you put your hand over the open skillet, it will feel rather uncomfortable.

Place the steaks (peppery side down) in the skillet and set a timer or watch the clock for 3 minutes. While they sear, top with the pepper seasoning. Using a tongs, flip them gently. The reason that filet mignons are traditionally wrapped in bacon is because they tend to fall apart. Sear the other side for 3 minutes also.

Move the skillet (steaks included) into the oven for 3 more minutes. Keeping things simple with the times — don’t you love it?! After three minutes, remove and gently move them to a shallow bowl — I used a pasta bowl. Put the skillet back on the stove and add the broth combination, stirring up and loosening any bits that were stuck to the pan. Then pour this over the filets and you are ready to serve.

The Poblano Pepper is quickly becoming my favorite for Mexican dishes. With just a touch of heat of more serious peppers, none of the sweetness of a bell pepper, and enough flavor to taste — the Poblano suits my purposes in the kitchen quite well. That is, no one complains about them. My son likes as much heat as possible (ever try the Habanero Doritos? — he loves them) and does not like sweet peppers at all, but my hubby doesn’t like much heat in his peppers - he prefers his tongue to stay intact.

If you need a little “Pepper-education,” Poblanos are very dark green, glossy and have a long and irregular cone-like shape. Again, not much heat, but that yummy pepper flavor without the sweetness of a green or red bell pepper.

So I’ve been using Poblanos more and more - in salsa, beans, and soups most particularly. The Poblano Pepper Boat evolved in my kitchen one night last week. I was making fajitas for my kids, but wanted something without refined starch for hubby and I. These peppers turned out so well that I knew I had to pass it on to all of you. As a bonus, Sam took a picture so you can actually see it and don’t have to rely on your imagination.

Poblano Pepper Boats
makes 3 servings

3 Poblano peppers
1 can pinto beans
1 sweet onion
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. oil
2 T. chicken stock, broth or water
1/2 can petit diced tomatoes
1/2 t. cumin
salt and pepper
cilantro
cheddar cheese, optional

Cut the tops off and then slice the peppers lengthwise and carefully remove the innards - the “core,” seeds and white pithy parts. Lay these open-side up on a baking stone or glass pan. You can pre-bake these in a 350 oven while you prepare the filling ingredients.

For the filling, coarsely chop the onions and the tops of the peppers (you didn’t throw those out, did you?!) Heat the oil in a medium skillet - use nonstick - and add the onions, peppers, and garlic to it - saute until the onion begins to soften. Remember - this is YOUR food, not mine, so if you like it hot, add a jalapeno or whatever pepper you like. Meanwhile, drain the beans and mash - either by hand with a fork or pulse them in a handy kitchen chopper.

Add the mashed beans and the tomatoes to your onions in the skillet and let them come to a quiet bubble. After that, you will want to turn them down as low as possible. Add the cumin, salt and pepper. A dash of lime juice is a nice addition, too. Chili powder is great if you want to add a southwest flavor.

Finally, remove the empty peppers from the oven and “stuff” them with the bean filling. Top with a sprinkle of cheese and minced fresh cilantro if you want. Return to the oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with fajitas, Spanish rice, eggs, corn chips or tortillas, tostadas… you-name-it! ENJOY!