Remember those little cakes Nick and I had the other night?
Well, that recipe is actually a muffin recipe.
More specifically, Clare’s Cappuccino Muffins.
So, who is Clare?
You might remember me talking about those Coffeehouse Mystery books I’ve been hooked on lately – Clare Cosi is the main character in the series!
I have fallen in love with these books for a lot of reasons – they’re easy to get into, there are little tidbits about coffee woven into the stories, there are recipes at the end of each book(!), and they each make me want to own/run a coffee shop and solve crimes ;)
I’ve tagged almost every recipe at the end of every book, but I finally decided to make these muffins the other day.
In Cleo Coyle’s Decaffeinated Corpse, Clare Cosi actually baked these muffins and served them to a "suspect" in the book right before she interrogated him.
If these muffins were good enough to get someone to talk in the book, I knew they’d be a hit in our house.
Plus, they have coffee in them – what could be better?
Unfortunately, I can’t post the recipe, because it is copyrighted to Berkley Publishing Group and permission is needed to reprint it, but I can tell you that Nick and I loved them!
I can also tell you that this recipe can be found in Cleo Coyle’s Decaffeinated Corpse…and that each book is worth getting and reading.
The best thing about making these muffins was the smell while they were baking.
Chocolate + coffee, baking away in the oven? It was hard waiting for these to cool down enough to eat, let alone frost!
I think the only things to make these even better?
A cup of coffee and a chocolate covered espresso bean on top.
Let’s just say that half the batch is already gone ;)
My day was busy today – lots of stuff to do and not enough time, but I at least got the most important things finished before 5.
I made a little snack plate around 4 today to hold me over until dinner.
I knew dinner wouldn’t be very long after Nick got home, so I didn’t want too big of a snack – this little plate was perfect.
Some celery, TJ’s hummus, and these Toasted Asiago Kashi crackers I found this weekend. I’d never seen this flavor before – they were really good, especially dipped in the hummus.
As soon as it hit 5, I turned off my computer, started a load of laundry and got working on dinner.
I’m not sure how it happened, but I created a pretty good dish tonight!
Creamy Chicken Sausage Cacciatore
I looked up some basic cacciatore recipes and ended up making a whole new spin on it!
2 Roasted Garlic Chicken Sausages
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 lb. frozen peppers and onions
1-2 cloves garlic
1 cup broth
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 Tbsp sherry
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
8 oz. whole wheat pasta
Dice chicken sausages and crisp up in a bit of olive oil. Add in mushrooms to pan.
Once mushrooms are cooked, take mushrooms and sausage out of pan.
Add 1 tsp oil and add in onions and peppers.
Let cook until softened and add in garlic, broth, tomato paste, and crushed tomatoes.
Bring to a boil, lower the heat and add in seasonings. mushrooms, and sausage.
Stir in sherry, balsamic, and ricotta and let simmer 5-10 minutes.
Serve with whole wheat pasta.
I loved the little bit of creaminess from the ricotta and the mix of balsamic + sherry in the sauce gave it such a deep flavor – like it had been cooking all day!
This weekend, I finally bought more of my favorite tomato paste –
This really is the most clever idea ever: tomato paste in a tube.
You know how most recipes only call for 1 Tbsp? This solves having to buy cans of it and freezing it or forgetting about the extra and having to toss it later. You just use what you and keep the tube in the fridge – easy!
Nick and I are watching ELF right now, and it never fails to make me laugh and get me excited about the holidays :)
I’ve got to put the sheets on the bed and get back to the movie!
