Strawberry Chocolate Muffins

It is that time again, time for another Ultimate Recipe Challenge.  This month the special ingredient is STRAWBERRIES. 

Every once in awhile we like to make bread and muffins at our house.  One of our very favorite muffins were Strawberry Chocolate Muffins.  They are so good, and help fill  your chocolate cravings. 

To make these muffins, start with the dry ingredients.  In a mixing bowl add: 

1 3/4 cup flour 

2 cups sugar 

2 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/4 tsp salt 

Mix and then add the wet ingredients 

cut strawberries (amt is your preference, we like A LOT) 

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips 

1/2 cup softened butter or margarine 

2 eggs 

2 TBSP milk 

Mix well 

Place batter into muffin cups and then bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 

This recipe is very easily adaptable. If you prefer not to add the chocolate chips, you can add a banana or two.  If you just like the strawberries, and prefer a loaf of bread instead of muffins, this recipe will do that too. You will need to bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes instead of the shorter muffin time. I added a little glaze made from a little bit of powdered sugar and milk. The glaze  is super simple to make, just add a couple Tbsps of milk to some powdered sugar until it is the consistency you like.  

Want to see more delicious strawberry recipes, check out these here.. 

   

    An InLinkz Link-up
   



   

 
   

Read More »

Easy Bacon Chicken Alfredo Pasta #URC

This month I am joining with several other bloggers for another recipe challenge. This month the theme is PASTA.  We love pasta at our house, but regular spaghetti and sauce can be a bit boring.  Being a very busy mom, I wanted a recipe that was quick and easy to make with our crazy schedule, but something my family loved as well.  I think I found it with this dish! 

One thing about Easy Bacon Chicken Alfredo Pasta is you can make it  as simple as you would like it to be. It is all in the ingredients you prefer to use, and the amount of time you want to spend putting it together.  The bacon in this dish can be from a package you fry up, or a bag of real bacon bits.  The chicken can be frozen chicken you cut up and brown, or from a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken.  The same goes for the sauce, you can mix it up from scratch with milk and cheese, or pick up a jar of your favorite sauce. I chose to use all of the short cuts this time around, and we had a tasty meal in a matter of minutes. 

Cook up a pot of your favorite pasta. My kids have been into noodles like Penne and Rotini lately, but this recipe would also work great with spaghetti or fettuccine.  Once cooked to your liking, drain the water. 

In another pan, add chicken and your bacon pieces of choice. I love shopping at Aldi, and used a half bag of their real bacon bits that are in the salad dressing area.  

There are several different brands of Alfredo sauce that I use at our house, and think they are all good. In today's recipe I used Aldi brand Four Cheese Alfredo Sauce.  We like our food with extra cheese.  They also had a garlic and a classic version available for a slightly different flavor.  If you have extra time and  prefer to make your own Alfredo sauce, that works great too.  Pour the sauce over the chicken and bacon in the sauce pan.  Mix everything well and heat.  If you like  garlic, onion or any other extra flavor add it to the sauce during this step. 

Pour the sauce mixture over the cooked, drained pasta and stir until all of the pasta is covered. 

I had hoped to serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese, but unfortunately when I went shopping my Aldi store was completely out. I could have gone to another store to get some, but it was running late and I thought it would taste just as good with a different type of cheese.  I added some shredded cheddar cheese, and I was right, we loved the taste. 

The family loved this pasta, and asked me to make it again.  I loved that it was ready in only about 15-20 minutes, and was inexpensive to put together. 

Enjoy! 

Want some more delicious pasta recipes?  Check out these recipe from more than 30 other bloggers who are part of this recipe challenge.

   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Read More »