Spent Grain Cinnamon Apple Muffins

I have been craving baked goods incorporating apples.  This week has been trying for me.  I have tried numerous recipes for various things and I wasn't happy with most of them.  I was determined this morning to bake something that not only tasted good, but also was visually appealing.  I went back to my roots and pulled out my BHG cookbook (11th edition) for inspiration.  I decided upon using a basic muffin recipe and adapt it to what I am craving... apples and spent grain!

So was born the Spent Grain Cinnamon Apple Muffins.

Spent Grain Cinnamon Apple Muffins (yields 12)
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. spent grain flour
1/3 c. white sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp.  salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
1 apple, peeled, cored, and diced

Preheat oven to 400F.  Line 12 muffin cups with paper cups.  I like to spray just a tad of non-stick spray to ensure easy release from the liners. 

In a medium bowl, stir together flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon*.  Make a well in the center of the dry mixture.  *feel free to adjust the cinnamon to a level of your liking.  I think perhaps this could be increased to a full teaspoon.

In another bowl, mix beaten egg, milk and oil - for the oil, I used a vegetable & canola mix.  Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir just until moistened.  Note, the batter will be lumpy.  Fold in the apples.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling about 2/3 full. 

Bake for 18-20 minutes in a 400F oven till golden brown.  Cool on wire rack for a few minutes.

I am sure that they would be perfect just like this, but one of my earlier failed recipe attempts left me with a glaze.  So I decided to glaze the top of the muffins and sprinkle with a little bit of ground cinnamon.

Glaze
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tbsp. butter, room temperature
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 tbsp. half & half

Mix all the ingredients above till smooth.

After the muffins have cooled, but are still a little warm, spread some glaze onto the tops of each of the muffins.

Sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

Enjoy!

Spent Grain Hamburger Buns

I wanted to make use of some leftover pork shoulder and what better way than to have BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. Only problem was that I didn't have any buns. So I found this recipe online and decided to give it a try. Of course I added some spent grain to it and it turned out fabulous! I didn't realize how easy it was to make hamburger buns and they are so delish! I will never buy store-bought hamburger buns again!

Spent Grain Hamburger Buns (yields 12):
1 c. milk
1 c. water
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt

5 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. spent grain flour
.25 oz active dry yeast

1 egg yolk
1 tbsp. water

In a medium saucepan, combine milk, water, butter, sugar and salt.  Bring to boil over medium-high heat.  After boil is reached, remove from heat and let cool till the mixture reaches less than 110F.  If you are reading this page, chances are you're a homebrewer - and you all know not to pitch your yeast when the mixture (wort ;P) is too hot because you'll kill the yeast. 

In your stand mixer bowl, mix the flour, spent grain flour, and yeast.  When the milk mixture is lukewarm, add it to the flour mixture.  Using the dough hook, mix for 8-10 minutes.  Place dough in a oiled bowl, turn to coat and cover with a clean towel till the dough has doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down and divide into 12 equal portions.  Roll each portion into a ball, ensuring it is smooth and tight by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching at the bottom.  Place dough balls onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. 

Gently flatten each ball till it is about 3-4" in diamter.  Cover with a clean towel and let rise, probably about 30 minutes or so.  I had to make a trip to the Homebrew Supply Store, so mine sat for a few hours.

Arrange the racks in your oven so neither rack is in the very top-most or bottom-most position.  Preheat the oven to 400F.

Mix the egg yolk and tablespoon of water in a small dish.  Brush the yolk-mixture ontop of each of the rolls.  If you wanted to sprinkle some sesame seed or other delightful garnish, now is the time to do it.

Bake for 10 minutes and then place them on the other rack in the oven - ensuring each pan gets some time on the upper rack.  Bake for another 5 minutes, or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Mexican Lasagna

I found myself in a bit of a rush to get dinner done the other night and wanted to use up some items in both the fridge and the pantry.  I was inspired to do something with the leftover tortillas that I had made the other day and a Mexican lasagna was born.

Mexican Lasagna (yields 4 servings)
.5 lb of ground turkey
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cayenne pepper, ribbed and seeded and chopped
1/4 c. green bell pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can refried beans
1 tbsp. chili powder
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
salt & pepper, to taste
4-6 spent grain tortillas

I know some of you are thinking... what? only a 1/2 pound of meat?!  Well, I only have three mouths to feed and with everything else that is in the lasagna, that is all we need, and we still have leftovers!  Recipes are made for a guide... some inspiration.  Feel the free to adapt any recipe to fit your wants and needs!  :)

Preheat the oven to 350F

Brown the turkey over medium-high in a skillet until no longer pink.  Remove from skillet and drain.

Using the same skillet, add onions and cook till starting to soften - about 3 minutes.  Add the bell pepper, cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Add the cayenne pepper and garlic, cook for 1 minute.

Return the turkey to the skillet.  Add the tomatoes (I put mine in a food processor for a minute because my daughter doesn't like chunks of tomatoes).  Add the spices and mix well.  Heat over medium heat till heated through.

Heat refried beans, either in a microwave using a microwave-bowl or in a small saucepan (the beans are easier to spread when warm).

Time to assemble the lasagna.  I used a 9" glass pie plate.  I layed on tortilla on the bottom of plate and broke off pieces of another tortilla to cover the bottom of the plate (this may not be neccessary, it depends on how big your tortillas are).  Next I spread 1/3 of the refried beans over top of the tortilla.  On top of the beans, I put 1/3 of the tomato meat mixture, spread out evenly.  Last, sprinkle about 1/3 cup of shredded cheese.  Repeat tortilla layer.  Spread the remaining 2/3 of refried beans ontop of tortilla.  Spread 1/3 of tomato meat mixture.  Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of cheese.  Place last layer of tortillas, spread the remaining tomato-meat mixture and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Spent Grain Waffles

I have been making my kiddo chocolate waffles for years.  The other day I decided to incorporate some spent grain into the mix.  The recipe that I follow stems from this chocolate waffles recipe. 

Chocolate Spent Grain Waffles (yields 10 waffles)
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. spent grain flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. white sugar
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 c. milk
2 eggs
4 tbsp. butter, melted

Heat your griddle while you make the batter.

Mix your dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Add your wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Use cooking spray or brush melted butter over the preheated griddle before adding batter.  Do this each time.

Place about 1/4 cup of batter per waffle onto the griddle.  Close lid.  My griddle has a little light that comes on when its done, but I prefer to wait till I see the steam subside.  Usually about 3 minutes.

I like to serve my waffles with peanut butter and syrup. 

Funny side note:  When I made these, I hadn't yet had my fill of coffee and forgot to add the sugar.  My daughter was already eating hers and didn't skip a beat.  I asked if she liked them, she nodded and said they were good - just like they always are.  So... not only did I sub some of the flour for spent grain flour, but I omitted the sugar in the batter.  Kid tested and approved for a healthier version!

Enjoy! 

Chicken and Black Bean Burritos with Pumpkin Cheese Sauce

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I know... it sounds weird, but I really enjoyed it.  Besides, I still had a little bit of pumpkin puree leftover from Halloween.  It is inspired by Closet Cooking's pumpkin and black bean burritos.

Chicken and Black Bean Burritos with Pumpkin Cheese Sauce (Yields 8 - 10):
1 recipe for spent grain tortillas

2 chicken leg quarters, cooked, deboned, deskinned and shredded
1/4 to 1/2 c. chicken broth
1 tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tbsp. ground cumin
salt & pepper, to taste

1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 of a large onion (approx. 3/4 c.), chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 c. beer
salt & pepper, to taste

Pumpkin Cheese Sauce
1 c. pumpkin puree
1 tsp. dried cilantro or 2 tbsp of fresh chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 to 1/2 c. milk
3/4 c. cheese (I used a mix between American and cheddar)
salt & pepper, to taste

Garnish
sour cream
chopped tomatoes or salsa
fresh cilantro, chopped

In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium to medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook till softened and translucent, about 3-5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook a minute longer.  Add black beans, beer, and spices and let cook till most of the liquid has reduced.  When the liquid has reduced, do a rough mash on the black beans.  Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

In a medium bowl combine cooked chicken, spices and broth.  You may need to microwave this just before assembling the burrito to ensure it is hot.

In a medium saucepan, combine pumpkin puree, spices, and milk over medium heat.  When mixed well and heated through, turn heat off and add cheese.  Stir till cheese has fully incorporated with the pumpkin sauce.  Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

Now for assembling the burritos.  Take a freshly made spent grain tortilla and place onto a plate.  Spoon the black bean mixture onto the center of each tortilla.  Place a spoonful of the cooked shredded chicken on top of the black beans.  Roll into a burrito (or enchalada style - with the ends open).  Top each burrito generously with the pumpkin cheese sauce and then garnish with a dallop of sour cream, tomatoes, and cilantro.

Enjoy!

Spent Grain Tortillas

 

Recipe adapted from the Urban Spork.

Spent Grain Tortillas (yeilds 12):
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. spent grain flour
5 tbsp. shortening
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. hot water

Mix all-purpose flour and spent grain flour together in a large bowl.  Using a pastry cutter, incorporate the shortening until the flour mix resembles course crumbles.

Dissolve salt in the hot water.  Add water to mixture and combine with a fork.  The spent grain flour I used was from a black wit, thus the dark color - although the color in the picture below didn't turn out right...hmm.

Divide the dough into 12 equal portions.  Roll into balls and let rest on a plate covered with plastic wrap for 30 minutes. 

After letting the dough rest, lightly flour your work surface.  Flatten a piece a dough gently with your hand and then use a rolling pin to flatten the dough 1/8 to 1/16" thick or approximately 6" in diameter.  Repeat with each dough ball.

Heat a skillet over medium to medium-high heat.  Using one tortilla at a time, cook for about 30 seconds on each side.  Keep cooked tortillas covered with a cloth while finishing the rest of the batch.

Enjoy!

Spent Grain Pumpkin Muffins

Halloween has just passed and last week I took our pie pumpkins that we had painted and made some pumpkin puree.  The last few days, I have been debating on what I was going to make with the pumpkin puree.  I've decided this morning that I was going to make some pumpkin muffins.  I found a pumpkin muffins with streusel topping recipe that sounded pretty good for a guide.  One of the ingredients that is listed in the original recipe is applesauce.  I do not have any applesauce on hand, but I do have an apple that I can use. 

So to begin with, I need to make the applesauce.  I took a Gala apple, cored it and cut it up into chunks ( I left the skin on).  I put the apple chunks into a small sauce pan and added just enough water to cover the apples by 1/2" to 1".  I also added a dallop of homemade applebutter that my mother-in-law gave us last year and part of a cinnamon stick and a single clove (it is only one apple afterall)! 

Heat the apples to boiling and let simmer over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until the apples are soft and the liquid has reduced by two-thirds.  By the way... this makes the house smell delicious!

 

 

After the apples have cooled, take out and discard the cinnamon stick and clove.  Pour the apples and liquid into a food processor and pulse till it is applesauce consistancy.

 

 

This yields approximately 1 cup.  Good thing I only need 1/2 cup for the recipe.

 

 

 

Applesauce (Yields approx 1 cup):

1 Gala apple, cored and chopped into 1/2" cubes

1/4 cinnamon stick

1 clove

2 tbsp of applebutter

water

 

 

Okay... now I can get back to the pumpkin muffins.  Here's the link to the original recipe.  Remember, my goal is to incorporate spent grain into normal recipes with a few tweaks here and there and hope for the best!

 

Pumpkin Muffins (Yields 20 muffins):

2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. spent grain flour

1/2 c. oats

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger (using freshly grated)

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground nutmug (using freshly grated)

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. pumpkin puree

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

2/3 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. applesauce

3 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

 

Streusel Topping:

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 tbsp softened butter

2 tbsp oats

1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tbsp spent grain flour

 

To make spent grain flour, just dry out your grains in your oven on low heat (200F) till all the moisture in the grains are gone (this takes a few hours and typically should be done on your brew day).  This is now your dried spent grain.  To turn the dried spent grain into flour, just put the dried grain into a food processor or a coffee grinder... pulse till you get something that is similar to the consistancy of flour.  I will go into more detail about drying spent grain on my next brew day. 

 

It takes approximately 1 to 1 1/2 cups of dried spent grain to get 1/2 cup of spent grain flour. 

 

Alright, lets get started.  Preheat your oven to 350F.  Line muffin pan with liners.

 

In a medium-sized bowl, combine your dry ingredients except for the sugars.

 

 

In a large bowl or in your stand-mixer bowl, combine your wet ingredients plus the brown and white sugars. 

 

 

 

Gradually add your dry ingredients with the mixer on low speed until all is thoroughly combined.  Scrape sides of bowl if necessary.

 

 

 

Mix steusel topping ingredients together in a small bowl.  Note:  use softened butter, not melted.  I don't know why I melted mine, but it turned into a paste rather than a crumbly streusel.  Oh well.  I'm sure it will taste great.

 

 

 

Evenly distribute batter into prepared muffin tins and top with streusel. 

 

 

 

Bake 12 minutes and rotate pans.  Bake for an additional 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick insterted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

 

 

 

Enjoy!