Maple Glazed Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I’m not a big fan of breakfast foods, for the most part. Nine times out of ten, I pick leftovers or baked goods (brownies, pie, cookies…they’re all fair game) over cereal or eggs if given the choice. That’s where muffins come in – I love muffins for breakfast, especially paired with a nice mug of hot coffee. These muffins, which I found while browsing the Food Gawker app on my phone, are the perfect mix of sweet and cinnamon-y.

Maple Glazed Apple Cinnamon Muffins (recipe adapted from Pinch of Yum)
- 1 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- dash of nutmeg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 apple, finely chopped (I used a fuji apple, but you can use whatever you have on hand)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 teaspoons half and half
- 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup (real, not the fake stuff!)

Combine all the dry ingredients (except the powdered and granulated sugars) in a medium bowl.
Mix milk and eggs, then add to the dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened. Add the butter and stir again.
In a small bowl, combine diced apples and two tablespoons of granulated sugar. Fold into the muffin batter.
Divide batter into muffin cups or greased muffin tins (you should get 8 muffins).
Bake at a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

Once the muffins have cooled, make the glaze by combining powdered sugar, half and half, and syrup in a small bowl. Stir until moistened – add more half and half if it is too thick. Drizzle glaze over the cool muffins.

Shredded Chicken Fajita Quesadillas

This is one of my favorite kind of meal discoveries – you’re cleaning out the fridge/pantry and trying to find ingredients to make something for dinner, when inspiration strikes. Plus, they’re relatively hassle-free and taste like something you’d get at a restaurant, but much healthier and cheaper! It also utilizes one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, the slow-cooker.

Shredded Chicken Fajita Quesadillas
- One chicken breast
- 5 cups of water
- 5 whole peppercorns
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and left whole
- 1/2 small onion
- 3/4 cup salsa (any kind you like – homemade or store bought)
- Flour tortillas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 bell pepper
- Colby jack cheese
- Butter

First off, combine chicken, water, peppercorns, garlic, and 1/4 of the onion to a crockpot. Cook on low for 6-7 hours, or until it shreds with a fork.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the crockpot and drain all the liquid (I discarded the onions, garlic, and peppercorns, too). Put the chicken back in the crockpot and use two forks to shred the meat. Once it’s shredded, add the salsa and set the crockpot to the “keep warm” setting.

Cut the bell pepper and remaining onion into strips. Cook in a small skillet with the tablespoon of olive oil until tender. Add these to the chicken in the crockpot and give it a good stir to mix everything together.

This is where it gets fun. Brush flour tortillas with butter and add to a skillet on medium heat. Spread cheese on the tortilla (however much you want – I like quite a bit). Then add a layer of the chicken mixture and top with more cheese. Put another tortilla on top of that and let it brown for about five minutes. Carefully flip the quesadilla over and allow the other tortilla to brown, too. Remove from heat when the tortillas are both golden and slightly crispy. Cut into quarters and serve with whatever toppings you prefer.

Parmesan Oven-Roasted Redskins

I love potatoes. I love cheese. I love cheap, easy, slightly unusual sides. Enter these oven-roasted redskin potatoes. They have to bake for little while, but prep takes roughly five minutes. You can’t beat that. The batch I made was for two servings, but it can be doubled or tripled very easily.

Parmesan Oven-Roasted Redskins
- Two medium redskin potatoes
- 1/4 small white onion
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons Tuscan seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste

Cut potatoes and onions into bite-sized pieces. In a mixing bowl, combine vegetables, oil, seasonings, and Parmesan. Toss to coat.

Lay the potatoes out on a baking sheet or on a baking dish and bake in a 400-degree oven for 45-50 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender and the cheese has started to crisp up.

Strawberry Lemonade White Sangria

I don’t entertain very often, but if I’m having people over, I like to have some sort of food/drink for everyone. And, as a fan of cooking and baking, I generally try to do something a little nicer than my friends’ old standbys, jungle juice and the Velveeta-and-canned-chili-in-a-crockpot dip. Sangria seemed like a good choice for a game night – for a smaller group of people, it’s affordable and different.

I’m not a big fan of red wine (nor do I know much about it), so white sangria was my go-to. This one is fruity and sweet, but using a pinot grigio kept it from being overly sweet. It was a big hit! I should have made more than one pitcher, because it was gone in no time.

Strawberry Lemonade White Sangria
- One bottle dry white wine
- 1/2 cup light rum
- 2 cups lemon lime soda
- 2 lemons, thinly sliced
- 1 cup strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
- 1 apple (any kind), thinly sliced

Layer lemons, apple slices, and strawberries in the bottom of a large pitcher. Pour the light rum and wine over the fruit. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

When you’re ready to serve the sangria, pour in the two cups of soda. Using a large spoon, spoon some of the alcohol-soaked fruit into each glass. Pour the sangria over the top.

Mediterranean Potato Salad

With summer being right around the corner, Michigan is warming up and we’re having some beautiful weather, which means people are firing up their grills and having barbecues. I’m heading to one at my parent’s house tonight, with my boyfriend and potato salad in tow.

I’m not a fan of the traditional mayonnaise and mustard-based potato salad, so I wanted to try to lighten it up a bit. This recipe for a Mediterranean-inspired potato salad is light, cool, and tastes great served alongside burgers and grilled veggies.

Mediterranean Potato Salad – from The Detroit Free Press

2 pounds redskin potatoes, cooked, cooled, and cut into cubes
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about the juice of one lemon)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/3 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, quartered
3 green onions, washed and thinly sliced

Place the cooked, cubed potatoes in a large bowl.
In a measuring cup, whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. Pour the dressing mixture over the potatoes and stir gently. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, feta, olives, and green onions. Gently stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours to allow flavors to blend.

I added capers (one of my favorite things ever) and red pepper flakes to add a little something extra, but it tastes just as good if you don’t add them.

Hello world!

Hello, food blog world! I’m a 23 year old student with a passion for cooking (and, more importantly, eating) great food. I also love writing, so I figured I’d combine the two (because we all know the Internet needs more food bloggers!).

The main focus of Plain Jane Cooking is going to be recipes – ones I’ve gathered from cookbooks, websites, and family members over the years – but some restaurant reviews will probably make their way onto your screens, too.

My objective is simple: I love cooking and I want to share my passion with others! I hope you’ll stick around to see what I have in store for you guys.