Family-Favorite Applesauce Muffins

August 30, 2016
Our family-favorite Applesauce Muffins are perfect for fall {and anytime} breakfasts, brunches, and snacks.  Serve up Applesauce Muffins fresh-baked, or make them ahead and freeze so they're one less item on your baking list to worry about!
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Applesauce Muffins Image ~ our family's favorite muffins!  www.thekitchenismyplayground.com


Baking with the warm flavors of fall is one of my favorite things to do.  With the season's abundance of pumpkin, apples, cinnamon, pecans, and other warm-and-comforting spices, I'm truly in baking heaven.

Loaded with the flavors of applesauce, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves, it's probably no surprise then that I simply adore these Applesauce Muffins.  As does our entire family!

My Mom started baking Applesauce Muffins years and years and years ago, and they quickly became a family favorite.

Serve up Applesauce Muffins fresh-baked, or make them ahead and freeze so they're one less item on your baking list to worry about!
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Southern Baked Beans with Bacon

August 22, 2016
How do you make canned baked beans taste awesome? Take a handful of pantry staples and a few slices of bacon, and whip up a tasty pan of these semi-homemade easy Southern Baked Beans with Bacon.  They're the perfect summer cookout side!
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Spicy Baked Beans with Bacon ~ Easily whip up a tasty pan of these semi-homemade baked beans!  They're the perfect cookout side dish.  www.thekitchenismyplayground.com


Alas, we are nearing the end of summer.  And I can hardly believe it.  It's that time of year when school is about to start up and the less-structured, stay-up-later days of summer are about to be figments of the past.  But as our warmer days wind down, there's still time to get in a cookout or two more before we pack away the grills and pool toys for cooler weather.

And what makes a better cookout side dish than baked beans?  Nothing!  Especially when they're semi-homemade, easy Southern Baked Beans with Bacon.

This particular baked beans recipe is a cookout staple in our family. 

Starting with canned pork and beans as a base, this semi-homemade baked beans recipe comes together super quickly, and truly makes canned baked beans taste amazing. 

As a matter of fact, it's a plain old any-type-of-get-together staple in our family, cookout or not!  We even enjoy a big pan full on Christmas Eve with our family-tradition pulled pork barbecue dinner.

My Southern-born-and-bred sister-in-law introduced me years and years ago to this easy baked beans recipe.  Starting with canned pork and beans as a base, this semi-homemade baked beans recipe comes together super quickly, and truly makes canned baked beans taste amazing.  

The pork and beans are mixed with several pantry staples -- like onion, brown sugar, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce -- to amp up their flavor.  And they get a huge jolt of flavorful spiciness from a generous dose of chili powder.

Spicy Baked Beans with Bacon ~ Easily whip up a tasty pan of these semi-homemade baked beans!  They're the perfect cookout side dish.  www.thekitchenismyplayground.com

But my favorite part of all with this dish?  The bacon, of course.

Yes, the whole pan of baked bean yumminess gets topped off with a few slices of bacon.  

As the beans bake, the bacon imparts fabulous flavor throughout the whole pan ... and the bacon gets all nice and toasty on the top.

I, for one, clamor to scoop up one of those tasty slices of bacon with my serving of beans.

I, for one, clamor to scoop up one of those tasty slices of bacon with my serving of beans.  Heck, I've been known to just pull a piece of bacon right of the top and pop it whole into my mouth shortly after the pan of beans comes out of the oven.  Yes, I indeed love it that much.

So as these days of summer wind down, grab the grills and enjoy squeezing in at least a few more cookouts and some extra summer fun.  

And whether it be burgers and dogs or some nice juicy steaks you're tossing on that grill, bake up a big pan of Southern Baked Beans with Bacon to serve alongside ~ They're the perfect cookout side.

Spicy Baked Beans with Bacon ~ Easily whip up a tasty pan of these semi-homemade baked beans!  They're the perfect cookout side dish.  www.thekitchenismyplayground.com
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Side Dishes
Southern
Yield: about 10-12 servings

Southern Baked Beans with Bacon

Southern Baked Beans with Bacon

How do you make canned baked beans taste awesome? Take a handful of pantry staples and a few slices of bacon, and whip up a tasty pan of these semi-homemade easy Southern Baked Beans with Bacon. They're the perfect summer cookout side!
Prep time: 15 MCook time: 2 H & 30 MTotal time: 2 H & 45 M

Ingredients:

  • 2 (14 or 16 oz.) cans pork & beans
  • 1 T. chili powder
  • 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 c. ketchup
  • 1/2 c. brown sugar
  • 1 T. prepared yellow mustard
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • dash of salt
  • 3 or 4 slices bacon

Instructions:

  1. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. 
  2. In the baking dish, combine all ingredients EXCEPT the bacon slices. Stir until well combined. 
  3. Place bacon slices on top.
  4. Bake at 300 degrees for 2 to 3 hours, until bubbly and bacon is cooked.
TRACEY'S NOTES:
  1. I prefer to use Bush's baked beans in this recipe ~ the sauce is thicker, and in my opinion bring a better base flavor to the dish than other brands.
Created using The Recipes Generator

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars

August 18, 2016
Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars ~ Combine two favorites in these totally tasty bars.  They're a double dessert delight!
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Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars ~ Combine two favorites in these totally tasty bars.  They're a double dessert delight!   www.thekitchenismyplayground.com

You just can't go wrong with chocolate chip cookies.  And you especially can't go wrong with them when you pair them up with another dessert favorite.  Like brownies ... for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies.  Or a dip in chocolate ... for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles.

Or how about cheesecake for these super easy Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars?

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Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

August 11, 2016
Made with ground oats, whole wheat flour, and just a touch of white flour, these Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins are mostly whole grain.  They make for a perfect low-guilt breakfast or after-school snack treat!
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Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins ~ Made with ground oats, whole wheat flour, and just a touch of white flour, these tasty muffins are mostly whole grain.  They make a perfect low-guilt breakfast or after-school snack!   www.thekitchenismyplayground.com


I love blueberries.  I think they may be my favorite fruit.  But, you know, I've never been a big fan of blueberry muffins - at least not of 'traditional'  blueberry muffins.

To me, many blueberry muffins are kind of like yellow cake with some blueberries tossed in.  Not that there's anything wrong with that - it's just not my thing.

Now these, these blueberry muffins - I love!
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Roasted Shrimp & Broccoli Sheet Pan Supper

August 8, 2016
Looking for low-effort, flavorful dinner ideas?  Roasted Shrimp & Broccoli Sheet Pan Supper is for you!  With just a little tossing of ingredients together, this one-pan dish with tasty lemony shrimp and cumin-spiced roasted broccoli is ready in under 30 minutes.
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Roasted Shrimp & Broccoli Sheet Pan Supper ~ With just a little tossing of ingredients together, this one-pan dish with tasty lemony shrimp and cumin-spiced roasted broccoli is ready in under 30 minutes.   www.thekitchenismyplayground.com

I think since I write The Kitchen is My Playground, it's pretty apparent I love to cook.  I started cooking with my Mom way back about the time I started to walk, pulling up a chair to stand on at the counter and being dubbed the resident stirrer.  I think I was also dubbed the resident spoon licker, too ... a responsibility I loved and took very  seriously.

I've carried that love of cooking instilled in me through my Mom throughout my entire life.

But you know what?

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Puppy Chow {or Yuppy Chow}

August 5, 2016
Covered in chocolaty goodness and powdered sugar, Puppy Chow {or Yuppy Chow} is a classic sweet treat ... perfect for everyday snacking or for holiday gift giving.  It's freezer-friendly, too, for make-way-ahead convenience.
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Puppy Chow {or Yuppy Chow} ~ Covered in chocolaty goodness & powdered sugar, it's a classic sweet treat ... perfect for everyday snacking or Christmas gift giving.  Freezer-friendly, too, for make-ahead convenience.   www.thekitchenismyplayground.com

Are you familiar with this totally yummy confectioners' sugar-coated stuff?  Do you call it Yuppy Chow?  Or Puppy Chow?  Or White Trash?  Or Muddy Buddies??

Yes, I've heard this concoction referred to as many different things.  But one thing's for sure ... no matter what you call it, it's just plain good.

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