Rainy Day Baking: Strawberry Greek Yogurt Muffins!

I totally get the need for gloomy days in April; you know, "April showers bring May flowers" and all that jazz, but it's hard to perk up when the skies are gray! Rainy days are ALWAYS good for baking! I just happened to have bought strawberries on sale this week, so muffins it was!  And of course, I found this recipe on Pinterest.....enjoy!

Strawberry Greek Yogurt Muffins (adapted from www.cooksjoy.com) 

2 cups flour (or 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
one egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries, plus a few pieces for sprinkling on top

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl with a whisk.  In another bowl, combine milk, egg, oil and Greek yogurt. Mix till smooth.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix gently to combine. Fold in strawberries.  Pour into greased muffin tins (or lined with cupcake papers) and place additional strawberry pieces on top, if needed.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until tops are golden.  I have dark, non-stick muffin tins, so I baked mine at 375 degrees for just 20 minutes. 

They are wonderful when warmed up!

Thinking Spring; lemony Baked Greek Chicken Meatballs

After a long, horrid, blustery winter, I am SOOOOOO ready for anything spring-like! Lemon to the rescue; these light, flavorful meatballs were just the thing to pick me (and my girlfriends) up! The Tzatziki sauce was an awesome accompaniment! Zesty! I served the meatballs with a super simple 5-layer Greek dip (see 5/10/13 post for recipe) with warm Naan bread and some red raspberry brownie bites (brownie mix in mini muffin tins topped with fresh raspberries - oh yeah!). Welcome, spring!

Baked Greek Chicken Meatballs with Tzatziki 

(I found the recipe on Pinterest, of course, but forgot to note the source - sorry!)

1 pound ground chicken

1/2 onion, diced small

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

zest of one lemon

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used panko). 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place ground chicken in a large bowl and add the onion, garlic, oregano, lemon zest and salt and pepper.  Add the egg and breadcrumbs and mix with hands until just combined.  Lightly oil a baking sheet with olive oil.  Form meatball in large portions and place onto the baking sheet.  Bake for 12 minutes, flip them over, and bake for another 12 minutes, or until they are no longer pink inside. 

Serve with Tzatziki sauce:

1 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced very small

2 Tablespoons dried dill 

juice of 1/2 of a lemon

1 small clove of garlic, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

Combine yogurt, cucumber, dill, lemon juice and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

"Loaded" Blondies

Being stuck in the house for a week and a half, due to illness, really made me want to bake something yummy this weekend. These "loaded" goodies were savory and decadent; just what the doctor ordered! And, easier to make than cookies! And the best part was that I had all the ingredients in my pantry, so I didn't even have to leave the house! They are yummy warm or at room temperature, and are probably awesome with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! 

Loaded Blondies (thanks to www.fakeginger.com for the recipe!)

2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 sticks butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup semisweet or milk chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter a 9 X 13-inch baking dish.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.  In a large bowl, beat the butter until fluffy.  Add the sugars and beat until well combined.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture between additions, and then beat in the vanilla.  Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined.  By hand, stir in the chips, nuts and coconut.  Scrape the batter into the buttered baking dish and spread with a spatula to even out the batter.  

Bake for 40 minutes, in the center of the oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  The blondies should pull away from the sides of the baking dish a little and the top should be a nice honey brown.  Transfer baking dish to a wire rack to cool.  When cooled, cut into squares (you should end up with 20-32 squares).  Enjoy!

I love how the blondies look like they are in a French patisserie! Oo la la!