Breakfast Only on Weekends

In my house breakfast is only made on weekends.  We have a house guest this weekend so I've been cooking up a storm.  Thursday dinner was Hawaiian style short ribs, veggie stir fry and rice.  Yesterday lunch we had chicken fried rice made with the leftover rice from dinner.  Dinner last night was meatballs and spaghetti.  And for breakfast I made omelets and bacon.  I should probably start thinking about what's for dinner....but oh well, I blog instead!  

The omelets were Mohlajee style.  What's a Mohlajee omlet you ask...well, its one made with Mohlajee masala! (Also known as Garam Masala)  For party favors at our wedding, my husband I decided to do spice jars filled with seasonings since we both love to cook.  Mine was called Mohlajee Masala and contained a homemade blend of garam masala while my husbands was called Lowry Seasoning ( you know like the brand Lawry's) and contained a spice rub for ribs he likes to use.  We got the spice jars at Cost Plus and tied a recipe to each one using ribbon.  The labels were designed by my nephew and printed at home.  I was cheap and frugal for my wedding even.

So to make a Mohlajee Omelet you'll need eggs, garam masala, onions, jalepeno, bell pepper, and whatever other veggies you'd like to add.  Mushrooms, tomatoes, italian squash are all great options.

Finely dice the veggies, you can decide how much you want to add.  Fry the onions in butter or olive oil if your health conscious like most of my family.  Add in the rest of the veggies and saute for a little bit (maybe a minute on medium).  Beat egg(s) in small bowl add salt and pepper to your liking and pour into frying pan with the veggies.  Let it cook for a bit then sprinkle with garam masala.  If your fancy like me do the tri-fold when almost cooked through and then flip or if you prefer just flip over and cook the other side.  

If you are wondering where you can find garam masala I would try your local grocery store if you live in an area with lots of Indian folks as it probably has an Indian foods section.  If not, then you may have to google where your local Indian store is or buy it online.  Its a very versatile spice mixture commonly used in North Indian cuisine.  

Dress: Nordstrom Rack~ Purple sweater dress with flower things- $20
Tank Top: Gap~Neon green tank top-$7
Jeggings: Target-$22
Boots: Ross-Aerosoles Knee high black boots-$20
Coat: Thrift Town: Bebe Fushia Trench Coat-$20
Approximate Total Cost-$89

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!  I know I am! My blog reached crossed 3,000 hits today! Woohoo!  Yes, I'm a little obsessive about checking the stats, but I really do find statistics interesting.

Apple, Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Cupcakes

 Isn't my cupcake stand FREAKIN adorable! My wonderful friend gave it to me as a "not housewarming gift".  I specifically asked for no housewarming gifts because my house is plenty warm.  We had very generous wedding guests who requested I add more stuff to my registry and I still ended up with extras!  Anyway, she said she saw this at TJ Maxx and instantly thought of me and my cupcakes.  Every time she comes over I bake her something.  Last week I made the promised oreo cookie cupcakes for her and they quickly disappeared off the stand.  Tho of my loves in one little paper liner...

Anyway, I digress, I decided to make an apple based cupcake for the family open house party I'm hosting today.  Earlier this week I made another batch of apple butter chutney to give out as party favors.  I figured apple butter would be a perfect butter substitute in a cupcake recipe and a good way to add apple flavor without adding apple chunks.I have tried substituting regular unsweetened apple sauce in cookies and banana bread before with mixed results. You couldn't really tell in banana bread but my oatmeal raisin cookies came out a strange chewy texture my husband didn't care for.

I adapted a cinnamon and brown sugar cupcake recipe which you can find at the bottom of this post.  I doubled the original recipe and substituted apple butter for 1/2 of the called for butter.  This way it has some buttery fatty goodness and not all healthy...i believe desserts should have at least a little sin to be delicious!

As you can see, these cupcakes don't rise much and have little bubble holes on top...still delicious though!

Apple, Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Cupcakes
(Makes 20-24 cupcakes)
Ingredients

3 cups cake flour, sifted and then measured
1/2 cup of butter softened
1/2 cup of apple butter chutney
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp.  ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups milk at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

I n a medium sized bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside .

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beet the butter, apple butter chutney, cinnamon & sugar till light and fluffy.  Mixing well between each addition add the eggs and vanilla one at a time.

Add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with two additions of milk.  Beat after each addition just enough to combine ingredients & do not over mix.

After all the additions, beat for just one minute.

Divide batter equally among 24 paper lined cupcake tins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes and then turn out and let cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting.

Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Cupcakes
(Makes 10-12 cupcakes)

1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted and then measured
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. sale
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup milk, room temperature


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

I n a medium sized bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside .

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beet the butter, cinnamon & sugar till light and fluffy.  Mixing well between each addition add the eggs and vanilla one at a time.

Add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with two additions of milk.  Beat after each addition just enough to combine ingredients & do not over mix.

After all the additions, beat for just one minute.

Divide batter equally among 24 paper lined cupcake tins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes till a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes and then turn out and let cool completely on a cooling rack before frosting.

Apple Butter Chutney

In my backyard are huge apple and pear trees.  We currently have more fruit than we know what to do with so I'm searching for some new recipes to try out.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

So far I've made a pear cobbler, pear cupcakes, applesauce and today a recipe of my own creation, Apple Butter Chutney.  I decided to use the slow cooker method of preparing apple butter and add some whole spices to give it a little Indian Chutney flavor.  It turned out really good and would probably go great on pork chops or roasted pork loin.  My husband plans on using some as a rub for ribs this weekend! I can't wait to try those.  I think next time i might add some chili powder for additional heat.

Makes about 16 oz of chutney.  You will need a slow cooker, preferably a small one.

Ingredients
4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small piece of cinnamon bark or stick
1 green cardamon pod
1 black cardamon pod (if you can't find this you can probably substitute another regular cardamon pod)
1 small dried red pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper (you can use black if you want...i found this in the cupboard first)
2 whole cloves
1/3 cup of sugar (I used TJ organic cane suger...its just what i prefer)
1 heaping tbsp of light brown sugar
1 tsp or so of canola or vegetable oil.

1. Place enough oil to cover the bottom of the crockpot
2. Plug in crockpot and wait one minute for the oil to heat.  Then add in the whole spices (everything except the sugar, ground cinnamon and apples) and let them cook for a minute or two till it smells fragrant.
3.  Add in the rest of the ingredients.
4.  Cook for 4-5 hours.  Check on it every so often and stir it making sure its not burning or cooking unevenly. It will be done when all the apples are no longer solid and the sugars have caramelized.  Look for a medium to dark brown color.
5. Enjoy or can to save for later.

I decided to try canning for the first time.  Picked up the materials at the hardware store of all places, including a book on canning methods.  I tried various -marts first but they didn't carry canning jars.

I only have one, not so flattering picture of my outfit today.  My camera batteries are both drained and I can't find the charger anywhere...there maybe a short break from blog posts till i find it.  My hair is doing some crazy 70's flip today. It has a mind of its own.

Dress: Ross-Heather Grey Jersey dress-$15 (similar here or here)
Belt:Thrift Town-Rainbow colored belt-$2
Scarf-A gift from my friend when she visited Turkey-FREE!
Shoes:Old Navy-Faux leather Grecian sandals-$20