Easy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffin Recipe Great with Beer

It's pumpkin season people! It's time to decorate, carve, cook, any pumpkin or gorde looking object you can get your hands on!  And have you seen what people are doing with this amazing fruit? Just look at Pinterest or your Facebook feed.. Pumpkin rolls, pumpkin carving, pumpkin fairy houses... Really? Yes, pumpkin fairy houses! It seems to have turned into a competition of who can make the best pumpkin thing.  So I've decided to share my "go- to" pumpkin recipe which means Martha Stewart is going to have to move over because Handbrewed Soaps has just stepped up!  Really though, Martha Stewart would whoop my butt hands down! 

Like many of you, I don't have time to make pumpkin ANYTHING from scratch, but I can fake some slammin' pumpkin muffins thanks to Trader Joes!! (Even though it is not technically a pumpkin, it does say 'pumpkin' on the box, so this counts during pumpkin mania!)

What you need: 
1) box of Trader Joes Pumpkin Bread Mix
2) Chocolate Chips
3) Beer of your choice (see recommendations below)

Directions:
Follow the directions on the box, and add as much chocolate chips as you want.  As they cook decide what beer to drink as you enjoy the best damn pumpkin muffins you've ever tasted!  Better yet, choose your beer before hand and sip while you bake!

Beer Recommendations:
1) We of course recommend drinking your own homebrew for obvious reasons.. we are homebrewers! We enjoy our pumpkin spiced ale, made especially for this season.
2) Saranac Pumpkin Ale- You initially taste a mouthful of pumpkin that is followed by cinnamon.
3) Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest-It's a light and creamy lager. A refreshing autumn beer.

So there you go.. I give you permission to create your pumpkin wonderland pre-made or pre-fab... while enjoying a tasty cold beverage!  

Mother's Day Brunch: Because She Loves Beer!

We got this great image from
Pink of Perfection

Mother's Day is quickly approaching, and it's time to plan the perfect brunch for that wonderful lady who's favorite thing is beer!  What more could she want than her favorite ice cold beer, but foods whose ingredients include just that, beer! And as a DIY'er yourself, what better way to tell your mom how much she means to you, than creating a brunch around her favorite theme!   But don't worry, it's not as hard as it looks...  I've found some great ideas and easy recipes to share with you!

This image came
from the Cooking Channel 

Decorations:  Beer bottles make beautiful table decorations and if you are a beer lover yourself, you probably have some sitting around!  Simply wrap raffia or lace around them, insert her favorite flowers and viola!  

Beverages: The first go to drink would be her favorite beer.  Or, why not try a beer infused drink such as a beer cocktail? For a light citrus taste using a wheat beer, try a Ginger Rum Shandy.  Or, for a more hardy drink, try a Ruddy Mary that uses a dark ale or stout! Both will be a winner.

A beautiful image
from Draft Magazine

Food:  There are many ways you can go with food.  For the egg lover, you may want to try a Sausage and Pale Ale Fritatta, or a Bacon, Egg and Greens Panini made with a wheat beer. Or go an entirely different route with  Beer Pancakes or Muffins made from her favorite fruit beer!!!

And finally, have fun celebrating your Mom.  She will love spending time together!  And if you want to give her a gift, may I suggest a bar of Handbrewed Soaps?  We have plenty of beer soaps to choose from!  (I had to make the plug... it was so appropriate!  LOL)  Have a HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

Handbrewed Soaps Brew Tips of the Day! April 2015

Did you miss our Handbrewed Tips of the Day?  Well catch up on them here in one post!

Brew Tip #1:  Boiling an Easter Egg:

Brew Tip #2:  Brewing a Great Cup of Coffee!

Brew Tip #3: Using Tea as a Seasoning

Cooking with Homebrewed Beer: Spanish Rice/Jambalaya like dish!

This is a mix between Spanish Rice and Jambalaya.  I think I should can it Spanalaya!

What you need:

Olive oil

½ cup onion

1 red bell pepper

1 jalapeno pepper  (not into spicy? Try a green bell pepper)

2 chopped whole tomatoes (or1 can of crushed tomatoes)

2 cups of chicken broth

1 cup of homebrew

21/2 cups of rice

½ teaspoon cumin

1-teaspoon oregano

1 bay leaf (no not crumble)

Salt

Peppers

Green peas optional
Chicken (a boob or two)
1-2  Sausage (I like chicken apple sausage)

In pan cook the chicken and sausage.  Take out of pan and lay aside once cooked.  Then add and cool onion, bell peppers, and garlic in olive oil for about three minutes.  Add the rest of the spices. (I’ve been known to add taco seasoning when I don’t have all the spices this recipe calls for… just saying!)

Add the beer and chicken broth. Bring to boil.  Add rice (I used brown rice cause that’s all I had in my cupboard) and bring to boil.   Turn down heat and cook on low for about 40 minutes.  Add cut up chicken and sausage to rice.  Garnish with Cilantro and  EAT!

If you are wondering, I did spill the beer as I was pouring it into the pan!  This is the second recipe, I’ve spilt beer!  

Cooking with Homebrewed Beer: Chicken Fajita

YUM, YUM, YUM!

Note:  I am not a chef.  I love reading recipes and coming up with my own. I cook what I know my family will eat!  I also eyeball everything…  exact measurements aren’t my forte.  And I use what I have.  Oftentimes I look in my fridge and throw something together or substitute ingredients because I don’t have what a recipe calls for.  As a result, my meals always come out a little different each time I make them! Please let me know what you think…  if I need to add or take away!  I’m learning too!!

What you’ll need:

1-gallon size baggy

¾ cup of homebrewed beer

1 pound or so of Chicken (or any meat)

Eyeball about 2 Tlbs spoons of Soy sauce

Eyeball about 2 Tlbs spoons Worchester Sauce

Garlic

A wee bit of olive oil

Throw all of this into the gallon size baggy, and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.  (Try not to spill the beer while pouring it into baggy, I’m always spilling the beer…in EVERY recipe, and I swear I’m not drinking!)

While it’s in the fridge, start cutting up:

1 yellow onion

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

Add this to the baggy when through.

After about an hour of everything marinating in the fridge, take out just the chicken, sprinkle it with a little salt and pepper, and cook it on both sides until done.  Then add the veggies and add a little of the beer marinade.  Cook for about 6 minutes until veggies are tender.  Make sure you heat up corn tortillas.

On a plate place the warm tortillas, scoop up the fajita mixture and add garnish with any of the following:

Jalapenos

Cilantro

Sour Cream

Salsa

Avocado

Enjoy!  Let me know of any changes/additions that need to be made!

Recipe: The Best Pancakes in the Whole World!! (And they're made withOatmeal!!!)

Now that's a strong statement, "The Best Pancakes I'm the Whole World!!" But it's the truth! I'm not one for homemade pancakes! They tend to be thick and too dry for me.  I envision myself looking like a dog trying to get peanut butter off the roof of my mouth when I eat them! So I've been sticking to a boxed mix, preferring Krusteaz. But last weekend, while camping with the fam, Aunt Sharon broke out with THE BEST PANCAKES EVER!!!! Homemade, from scratch, the moistest (is that a word?) pancakes! So here I introduce you to ....homemade Oatmeal Pancakes!!!

Ingredients for about 12 pancakes:

2 cups of oatmeal

2 cups of buttermilk

3 eggs

2 Tbs sugar

4 Tbs oil

1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Step 1: Soak oatmeal in buttermilk over night!

Step 2: Mix dry ingredients!

Step 3: Add in wet ingredients including oatmeal mixture!

Step 4: Cook

Step 5: Eat and Enjoy! And please let me know what you thought of this recipe!!