Monday, June 4, 2012

Muffin's love Empanadas!

Me and my boy
Hey There Sleepy Muffin Readers!


I am so thrilled that its almost officially Summer! Mr. Muffin and I have been going through a transition lately of trying to recycle more, eating at home, composting, and trying our hand at growing our own fruits and veggies (that last part is more Mr. Muffin - not me). In addition to that, I can't believe my boy is already 4 months old. He's already become quite a character by laughing, giggling, and jabbering to anyone who will listen. He loves grabbing his feet and trying to stick his toes in his mouth.



Our first sunflower!






One of our favorite activities lately has been visiting the local farmer's market in Coppell, Texas on Saturday mornings. Its hands down the best one in the area. They have all sorts of goodies both grown and locally made. One of my favorite finds lately have been eight ball zucchini. My favorite way of cooking it has been sauteed in butter with a little garlic and onion.




Peach inspecting Pattypan squash and Okra seedlings



Anyways.....back to what we've been up to:
Mr. Muffin, has gotten into the urban farming concept and has started two beds. One with Patty pan squash, Okra, summer savory herb, tomatillos, and ground cherries. The other bed has bush cucumbers, heirloom watermelons, and purple hull peas.  As you can see, they're doing very well so far aside from some hungry pests that seem to like okra leaves. Peach seemed a little interested in the bed but for the most part she keeps away thank goodness. We're looking forward to seeing how well they turn out.

Purple Hull Pea seedlings




A couple of weeks back, we visited a restaurant called El Guapo in Denton after visiting their farmer's market (I bought some sunflower sprouts that were quite tasty in my salad - by the way). I decided to order chicken empanada's which was a lucky choice. They were so crispy and bursting with flavor, I was instantly in love. Since we had some leftover taco meat tonight I decided to try my hand at making some. They turned out extremely well and were fairly easy to make so I figured I'd share the recipe with you:







Little Sleepy Muffin's Empanadas

Ingredients:
  • Cold taco meat (use your favorite type of meat)
  • Shredded Cheese
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1 Tbsp. butter
  • 1 Tbsp. Lard
  • 1 Tsp. Kosher Salt
  • 2 Tsp. Baking Powder
  • 1 1/2 Cups water
  • Extra flour for dusting

Using a cast iron skillet is the best way to fry hands down!
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Once combined, mix in the butter and lard and combine so it creates a cornmeal like texture. Now, comes the messy part: gradually add in water and knead the dough until its been combined completely and smooth. If you have kiddies, this is the part that they would find particularly fun. After the dough is ready, separate it into about 10 balls (give or take). Take a doughball and manually work it into a thin disk large enough to place a small spoonful of taco meat and shredded cheese. Fold the disk in half and seal the empanada with a fork around the edges.

fried clamshell-looking goodness


Next, fry those baby's up! Unfortunately, I didn't gauge how long to fry them but I fried them long enough to brown it on both sides. Once they're done cooking, serve them up with salsa, queso, or enchilada sauce. Also, I must apologize because I can't really tell you how many empanadas this batch makes: Mr. Muffin and I were enjoying them so much that we didn't bother trying to count how many they made.




*yawn* Well, I'm getting tired folks.

Until next time,

The Little Sleepy Muffin

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Chickens, Veggies, and Goat's Milk - Oh My!



Hey there Muffin Readers!
The Muffin-lette's grand debut!

Its been a while hasn't it? I know....I know..... Muffins can be so flighty. 

Well not entirely. As you may have known we had a little muffin-let baking and he was born a few months ago. Its taken some adjusting to a new member of the family but its overall been great. I just can't believe that he's already three months old already!

Anyways, I've missed talking to you guys and figured its time to stop being a lazy muffin.

Veggie Patch!








As you can tell, Spring is in the air! After doing a ton of running around today we decided to check out Homestead Farms in Keller, Texas.

I had heard about a farm that was practically in the middle of the 'burbs but never got a chance to go and check it out. Well, it was such a lovely day outside that we all packed up in the Muffin-mobile (sorry I couldn't resist calling it that) and drove out there.


Hey there Mr. Chicken!
When we got there we parked right in front of their vegetable patch, jumped out and started exploring the various goodies they had currently growing. The patch wasn't particularly large but it definitely wasn't a typical backyard veggie patch. They had all sorts of  wonderful things growing such as watermelons, squash, onions, heirloom tomatoes, garlic and peas. 

After looking around the veggie patch for a bit we wandered into their store where we bought some peaches, a half gallon of fresh goat's milk and a goat meat snack. In case you're wondering, a goat meat snack appears similar to a Slim Jim but much, MUCH better. 


Next, we went out back to check out their rabbits and chicken coops. I got to admit that these chickens were very pretty and healthy looking.


Overall, Homestead Farms was a small operation but I loved that they have a farm in the middle of the suburbs that services the area and that they were super friendly. This place was a nice and relaxing spot that is kid-friendly and easy to find.

If you're in the area I'd strongly recommend checking them out our take a look at their website here: http://homestead-farms.net/ . They are in the middle of an expansion project and can really use your help to raise funds by buying a Homestead Farms t-shirt for $15. I'm definitely planning on getting one myself sometime soon.



Side Note:


Speaking of Goat's Milk.......

A few days after our excursion I decided to make some biscuits to go with dinner one night. I have a go-to recipe I use off of Allrecipes but of course, I have to put a Muffin-y spin on it and swapped out goat's milk instead of buttermilk this time around. After dinner, Mr. Muffin and myself declared them to be my best batch ever so I figured i'd share the recipe with all of you:

Little Sleepy Muffin's Goat's Milk Biscuits (serves 2)

2/3 Cup flour
1 Tbsp butter
1/3 Cup Lard (yes, its bad for you but it makes tasty biscuits)
A Pinch of Salt
1 Tsp Sugar 
 1/3 Cup Goat's Milk (or use Buttermilk for the less adventurous)


Throw it all in your mixer and mix just until combined and it starts to pull away from the side of your bowl. If its still too soft sprinkle in a little flour until it starts to pull away but dont take too long.


Once your dough is set, flour your counter, sprinkle some flour on your dough and fold your dough about 15-20 times - Do not over knead!


When your dough is finally ready, mush your dough into a square sized shape of about 4"x4" (What?? Muffin's are impatient and dont currently like their existing rolling pins!). 

Using your knife cut your biscuits into quarters and shape the rough edges. I discovered a while ago that portioning out biscuits this way instead of using a circle cookie cutter was quicker and a much more enjoyable way of making biscuits. 


Plop those babies in a baking pan and bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with some homemade preserves or butter.


Click here to view the original recipe

Until next time!

Love, 

The Sleepy Little Muffin