Comfort Foods and Indulgences

What is a guilt-free muffin anyway? I guess that means something different to everyone. Let's face it, muffins do not usually equal health food, but there are ways to make them better for you. A healthier muffin to me means, a little protein and fiber, with a lot less cholesterol causing ingredients and lower in calories.

I am literally shocked at how good this muffin tastes with just a few little ingredient changes. There is no oil or butter in these muffins! And they are satisfying and sweet; dense, but in a good way. They are also completely moist, even after four days. 

I used my tips and tricks for the Best Banana Nut Muffin and applied them to this recipe. The two-cup method does work when it comes to creating a banana muffin you will love.

Consider it the perfect gateway snack in between meals, with a cup of black coffee of course.

This may well be our favorite appetizer. The combination of the prosciutto with the luscious fig jam is so good and then the creamy goat cheese - well, you just have to make these.  And (shhhh...) they are so easy!

All you need for these little wonders are a good fresh baguette, a jar of fig jam, some salty prosciutto, plain goat cheese and some fresh basil.  The fig jam is an item which is now found in any grocery store.  You just have to know where to look for it.  Some stores carry it with the jams and some carry it with the international foods.  I know Whole Foods has this brand of jam and they always have some tucked in with all the cheeses.

This stuff is incredible - if you've never had it, you'll want to eat it with a spoon.  Or put it on toast.  Or make a sandwich with it.  Or put it on scrambled eggs.  Okay, you get it.  For the prosciutto, make sure you buy a good quality prosciutto - because there are so few ingredients, this appetizer is only good as the quality of your ingredients.

With the very cold, very rainy, part snowy-sleeting weather going on outside, comfort food reigns supreme at the moment.  Grilled cheese is always a favorite so the hubby and I went for this kicked-up version of grilled cheese for lunch the other day.

The name of the sandwich caught my eye as we lived for years about 70 miles east of San Francisco. We went there as often as we could (which was never enough).  San Francisco is truly one of the most beautiful cities in America and the food there is always incredible and very much inspired.

The idea of Parmesan on the bread is pure genius and flavoring the butter that cooks the sandwich in the pan...it's like a Monte Cristo, only better. Of course the Muenster cheese, avocado and turkey made it just over-the-top.  We truly enjoyed it!

When I growing up my Dad often had a bag of Keebler’s Pecan Sandies stashed away in an upper cupboard, reserved for when he was craving a crunchy cookie with a hot cup of coffee.

Unfortunately for him, the kids usually managed to find the bag and polish off what was left with some tall glasses of cold milk.

Keebler is still making their famous cookie, but this homemade version is a much better choice. Melt in your mouth nutty shortbread cookies that are incredibly flavorful, making it impossible to eat just one.