Muffin Top

Muffins are the perfect treat.


Whether sunrise or sunset, there's always room for a muffin.




You can snarf one from your hand and lick the crumbs off your fingers (all the better to hide the evidence of hurried consumption and shattered resolutions!)




You can adorn a plate with plump muffin goodness. A muffin makes everything look prettier.




You can eat it from a cup or a tiny bowl. And if some ice cream/ butter/ honey/ whipped cream/ another muffin should happen to join the muffin in its tiny bowl, that's ok. Muffins in cups should never be lonely.


You can even pluck a muffin straight from the pan and pop it into your mouth. Don't worry, you don't need to taste anything ever again after this muffin.





As a expert on muffins, I can assure you they are 100 percent tasty and good for the happiness of the tummy and soul.





Scientists have proven that one muffin a day can prevent crankiness, stress and depression. I should know. I live at the North Pole all year.



If you don't have a muffin, dozens of muffins will go without cheerful kitchens to populate this year. And you wouldn't want that, would you?


So there's only one real question, Invisible Friends:




Have you had a muffin today?




He won't bother you. I promise.


This is actually my mom's recipe for Banana Nut Bread. I just made them into muffins because, well, who can resist a hot, tasty muffin?




Banana Nut Muffins

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas ( 3 med. bananas)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2- 2/3 cup chopped pecans

Grease bottom of muffin cups or one loaf pan, 8 x4x2 inch if you prefer a loaf bread over muffins. Stir flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nuts together. In a separate bowl, mix egg, bananas, sugar and cooking oil. Mix wet batter into dry batter until thoroughly mixed and pour in muffin cups or loaf pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees for muffins, 60-70 minutes for loaf pan at same temperature. Check with toothpick to make sure center is done.

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! Tomorrow, the Rubber Chicken continues to search for his Fuzzy Duck. This weekend, as requested, a new Twirl and a special announcement about a celebration here at the Pond, as well as a new series of stories you're sure to love! Stay tuned!

A Beautiful Mess

Several years ago, a country band called Diamond Rio released a song called "Beautiful Mess."

"What a beautiful mess, what a beautiful mess I'm in
Spending all my time with you
There's nothing else I'd rather do
What a sweet addiction that I'm caught up in
'Cause I can't get enough
Can't stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful, what a beautiful mess I'm in"

Invisible Friends, this is a beautiful mess. A beautiful mess of meatball goodness handmade by none other than the Pond's resident chef, Ben.




There's only one problem with this gorgeous mess of meaty goodness.


There's no real recipe.


It's different every time and is constantly evolving.


There are however, a few constants. They involve 2 lb. ground beef, Parmesan cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, crushed cracker crumbs, an egg, oregano and various Italian spices, kosher salt and pepper.

First, you mix the big old mess together. Then separate into little balls with a spoon or Ben's favorite, a cookie scoop.



Rolling, rolling, roll the meatballs....






Drop into a dutch oven with your favorite sauce and let simmer for two to three hours.



That's it.







It's simple.





And beautiful.




And messy.


Just the way I like it.


Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! Tomorrow we have a re-cap of the Babies' Birthday party! Then this weekend, we have the chronicles of the Rubber Chicken as he rescues his lady love of frizz, the Fuzzy Duck! And more whimsical fun coming your way! Stay tuned!

New Recipe Series: Classy Chicken Speghetti

Here at the Pond, we're not the most of sophisticated of folks. Several of my Invisible Friends create glorious meals with things like butternut squash and kale and all sorts of fancy things. They know what crudites are and shallots and how to make shrimp cocktails.



Meanwhile, the Ducks of the Pond eat sophisticated dishes for dinner such as nachos...


French Toast....



Waffles...



Loads of beef-heavy meals like chili and meat pies...



And of course, the family favorite peanut butter....




We're a nutritionist's dream.




And any day now, the Queen will invite us to dinner.


So it's no surprise that in my quest to try new recipes, I found a classic recipe that I managed to make Pond-friendly.




Translation: I dumped a bunch of cheese and "gravy" on it.

You all know where I get my love of gravy from.



I've never had chicken spaghetti before, but this was delicious. It was cheesy, had tons of flavor and made me seriously consider eating it for breakfast. This is pure comfort, ya'll.


And the best part is it's only 513 calories a serving. (Depending how much cheese you add. )



I got this from my new favorite cookbook that my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas, Serving Louisiana.



If you enjoy candlelight meals with several courses, you might want to skip this.

But if you enjoy spaghetti with a bit of a kick and some cheese and don't mind slurping your noodles, this is for you.



Chicken Spaghetti from Serving Louisiana



1 (3 lb.) chicken
10 ounces of spaghetti
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup 1 stick margarine
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup
1 tblspn chili powder

My addition: Black olives

Boil chicken in stock pot until tender. Drain and reserve two cups of broth. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces, getting rid of skin and bone. Cook spaghetti according to package directions and drain.

Saute the onion, bell pepper and celery in margarine in skillet until tender. Stir in reserved broth, chicken, soups and chili powder. Simmer for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. Add pasta and mix well.

Spoon chicken mixture into 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle (or dump, if you're me) cheese on top if desired.



Serves 8 (I cut it in half.)

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! Tomorrow we have a new date with the Rubber Chicken and Fuzzy Duck! And this weekend, we've got all sorts of whimsical fun and tales to keep you mesmerized until Monday morning!

Comfort in the Pond: Chicken Pot Pie and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

You're all familiar with my attempts to re-create the world's best chicken pot pie from Alaska.



And before we get started, I have a confession. Mom and Mama K, I know you both bought me gorgeous ramekins for Christmas. But I just couldn't help myself. Ice cream dessert bowls and mini-chicken pot pies just seem to go together. Don't kill me.

Moving on.

Although most of my fabulous Invisible Friends think I spend my life inhaling pie and ripping meat off of ribs, I do attempt to eat healthy. Poor Ben is trying to eat healthy, and I keep making cinnamon rolls.

So I decided to throw him a pie, instead of a meat bone. A delicious, low-fat chicken pot pie.



That's right. Low Fat Chicken Pot Pie.

I got this recipe from Taste of Home: Healthy cooking Dec/ Jan issue.

And it's nice and simple. And low-fat. Did I mention that?



You simply make a roux, cook tasty chicken and vegetables...



And roll out a low-fat crust to top them.



Pop them in the oven for 20 minutes and you have four yummy pot pies at 443 calories each.

Just in case you were wondering--it's good. It's really good. Creamy, rich but not too rich and pure comfort.




And since we have all those calories left over...



We can have a cookie. Or two. Or ten.


I'm just trying to keep it balanced, ya'll.




Taste of Home: Healthy Cooking Chicken Pot Pie

1 cup plus 2 tblspns all purpose flour, divided
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tblspn. cold butter divided
2 tblspn buttermilk
1 tblspn canola oil
1 to 2 tblspn cold water
4 medium carrots sliced
3 celery ribs sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
2/3 cup fat free milk
2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
1 cup frozen peas
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 egg white

1) Combine 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, salt. Cut in 2 tblspn butter until crumbly. Add buttermilk and oil, toss with fork. Gradually add water, tossing with fork until dough forms ball. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

2) For filling, melt butter in large skillet. Stir in carrots, celery and onion and cook until crisp-tender. In small bowl, combine flower with broth and milk until smooth. Stir into veggie mixture. Bring to boil. Cook and stir for 2 min. or until thickened. Stir in chicken, peas and pepper. Transfer to four 16 oz. ramekins and set aside.

3) Divide dough into four portions. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to fit ramekins. Place dough over mixture, trim and seal edges. Cut decorative center or cut slits in pastry. Brush with egg white.

4) Place ramekins on baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until crusts are golden brown.



Ben's Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

(He consented to give it to you, dear Invisible Friends. But in return, Ben demands all positive feelings, good things, promotions, Porches and lottery winnings that come as result of his culinary creation of these cookies are subject to his "cut." Yes, he really said that.)

1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
2 small boxes raisins. (About a cup to 3/4 cup)

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Melt butter and stir with sugar in bowl.

3) Add egg and vanilla.

4) Add cinnamon, salt, baking soda and flour.

5) Stir in oatmeal and raisins.

6) When mixed thoroughly, scoop out golf-ball sized balls on greased baking sheet.

7) Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Don't worry if they look gooey; they'll set.





But if you bake these, beware....

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! Tomorrow we have the Blond Duck Confessions!! Get ready to learn things you would have never guessed about me! Saturday, we have the second part of candy animals and Sunday, a special edition of TWIRL! And yes, you'll really learn what's in the envelope and who the Dance Hall Dreamers are.

BBQ Chicken and Baked Beans

First, before we talk food, many of you have been asking about my book. The Twelve Tales of Christmas is a collection of 12 whimsical stories, including Rosalita (part two and three) and Priscilla Piper. The tales range from romance to whimsical children's stories to suspense (Noelle is haunted by her grandmother's fruitcake, literally.) To order, go here or click on the blue button in the side column of my blog. You can also go to lulu.com and type in my name and 12 Tales of Christmas.


And now, for barbecue!



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It is a truth universally acknowledged that barbecue, no matter how delicious, never photographs well.

That's right. I just used a Pride and Prejudice reference on barbecue.



I mean, that's the fabulous thing about barbecue, in my opinion. Whether it's ribs (beef, not pork), chicken, brisket, sausage or turkey legs, it all looks about the same. In a professional smoker, it'll be blackened on the outside with pink tender meat on the inside and slathered with sauce. In an oven, it'll be crisp on the outside, tender on the inside and slathered in sauce. On a grill, it'll be slightly charred on the outside, tender on the inside and slathered with sauce.

So no matter which way you cut it, it'll be slathered with sauce.




And I love food slathered with sauce, dripping with dressings and drowned in gravy.



I suppose you could say I'm a girl after my father's heart.


And when you've got good barbecue, you need good barbecue beans.


Like these.


Now, beans have a misfortune in the food world. They're not pretty, they're not particularly colorful and they often look like a simpleton food.



But these beans are my grandma June's beans. And while they're simple to make, they're anything but simple tasting. Bush's Beans and his talking golden retriever don't have anything on my grandma's beans.






The barbecue chicken is part of our New Recipe Series from the Serving Louisiana cookbook my dear mother-in-law gave me for Christmas. I've marked up the majority of this book, so you can be expecting a lot to come from it in the next few weeks. Delicious treats like chicken dressing, chicken and gravy, south of the border pie, chicken spaghetti, chicken and dumplings, brisket, lasagna, creole meatballs, po' boys and baked fish....

Poor Ben. He'll never stick on his diet with me around.



Especially with these in the freezer.

The FDA considers me a hazard to people's health.

But at least we can get some good barbecue in before the dietitians and nutritionists haul me away.




Barbecue Chicken from Serving Louisiana

1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper (Mine was rotten so I used a can of green chilies.)
1 1/2 tblspn Worcestershire sauce
1 tblspn mustard
1 tblspn brown sugar
4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless or one small chicken cut up
1 tblspn garlic salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Combine ketchup, water, wine vinegar, onion, bell pepper, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and brown sugar in sauce pan. Mix well. Bring to boil then reduce heat.

Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt and pepper. Arrange in baking dish, single layer, and pour sauce over chicken. Bake, covered at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until cooked through.

Serves 4.

And the book says it's only 238 delicious calories. Hooray!




Grandma June's Baked Beans

2 lbs. of pork and beans, canned
4 strips of bacon
1/2 cup chopped onions (or onion powder equivalent)
2 tblspn. brown sugar
1 tblspn. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp yellow mustard.

1) Cook bacon until crisp. Drain and keep 2 tblspn. bacon fat.
2) Cook onions in drippings until tender, not brown.
3) Mix beans with other ingredients in casserole dish. Chop bacon into small pieces and add to remaining ingredients.
4) Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes or 325 degrees for 1 hour 45 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before eating.


Stay tuned, Invisible Friends! Tomorrow we have an interview with the Cookie-Stealing Bunny! Then this weekend, we have a edition of Candy Animals and a special edition of the Gift, where we learn what happened to the flower! Monday will kick off another chapter of the Gift with a week of whimsical fun (and the answer to what is in the letter!)