Chobani Blueberry Vanilla Muffins

Poor Tony.  On mornings when I am running short on time, the kitchen looks like a mini tornado went through it.  I have no idea how I didn’t hear my alarm – I know I switched it from a CD to wake me up to the radio, but it was the same time.  All I know is that I had to pick up pies for my bosses birthday on my way to work, and in order to get to work on time, I needed to leave exactly 16 minutes after I woke up!

No problem!  I had a few things going in my favor.  I had already made the blueberry muffins the night before as a birthday breakfast treat.  One of my bosses favorite dishes I make is my Chobani Chicken Tikka Masala.  I had already made the rice the night before, but the chicken had been marinating overnight and still needed to be cooked.

• 7:29 – wake up
• 7:30 – put cast iron skillet on high
• 7:31 – wash face, brush teeth, put in contacts, brush hair (skip shower)
• 7:33 – put chicken in hot skillet
• 7:35 – get dressed
• 7:37 – stir chicken, add jalapeno and cumin and tomato sauce
• 7:39 – turn on Keurig
• 7:40 – make coffee in to go cup
• 7:41 – pack up the muffins, rice and gym clothes, put in car
• 7:44 – put cooked chicken in container (figuring I am going to heat it up and finish the cooking process at lunch)
• 7:46 – in car ready to pick up pies – whew!

I was doing great on time, until I got to Bakers Square and my pies weren’t ready.  I had ordered them online the day before.  The place was empty too and they were just disorganized, no one had a key to the register.  After my speedy morning, I ended up being 10 minutes late.   Oh well, I had excuse – I had pies!

So here is another version of my Chobani Blueberry Yogurt Muffins.  The last recipe, my recipe instructions sucked ass, so I decided to rewrite it.

Chobani Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Zest Sugar Crunch Topping

• makes 12 muffins
• each one 214 caloires, 5 fat, 177 mg. sodium, 37 carbs, 1.2 fiber and 4.7 protein

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons room temperature butter,
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 6 oz. container of Chobani vanilla (or blueberry)
• 2 cups frozen (or fresh) blueberries, tossed in 1 tablespoon flour

Topping:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup chopped slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon of flour

Heat oven to 375.  Spray muffin tin with Pam.  In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Add in vanilla and mix well.   Add in yogurt and mix. 

Add in flour, baking powder and salt.  Then add the milk.  Lastly, toss in the blueberries and mix the blueberries by spatula or spoon so you don’t break them in the mixer.

The dough is going to be SUPER creamy – no worries.  Mix the topping ingredients together, and divide evenly over the top of each muffin.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven.

I wish I had a better picture of these, but they got rave reviews – I think the lemon zest in the topping made these. #winning!

I actually thought I might not be able to work out yesterday.  We were short a secretary, and it was just busy.  I finally got my window at 1:15!

My workout inspiration for yesterday?  My step-son Joe.  Last week he posted this workout on Facebook.

This is what I posted after I saw it:

• Beth Hills Velatini What incline are you at on this Joe??
• Joe Velatini Full incline!

   

• Beth Hills Velatini You are a bad ass!! (and secretly I will try this!)

   

• Joe Velatini You will have an ass of steel!
•  
•  

I had a much shorter window because it was so late and I was already hungry when I got to the gym.  I ended up doing just under half the workout – 32:31 minutes at 15% incline at 3.8 mph – I did exactly two miles.

I imagined Dolvett from the Biggest Loser saying “don’t touch my machine!”  It was hard not to hold on, but I did it.  Not sure I could have done the whole 65 minutes, but it’s a goal to work up to!   Thanks for the inspiration Joe – I love you!

So lunch was the chicken tikka masala – I was disappointed that I forgot the cilantro, but it was still delicious.  Since I marinated the meat overnight, the spices almost made the chicken look like chicken thighs!  My boss loved it, and I also gave her roasted brussel sprouts on the side, since it’s her favorite vegetable.

Mind you, this is the boss that didn’t even acknowledge my birthday, but I decided to take the high road.  The old saying “do to others what you would have them do to you.”    And I had made enough to give to two other attorneys, one of whom is my other boss who can handle the heat and sent me an email that just said “That was fantastic.”  I need to make this more often!  I’ve even made a tikka masala soup with cilantro and shrimp if you want to check that out.  I just love the flavor profile of this dish – so complex.

I had plans on making homemade pasta for dinner last night, but we just got a replacement for our water filtration system (we have well water) and I had to get under the sink to screw some stuff in.  By the time we got finished with that, it was on to Plan B.  Penne pasta with sausage in a butter garlic parmesan sauce.

I cooked the sausage on the side, let it cool, then cut it into slices.  I cooked the pasta and drained it.  In the pan for each serving, I melted 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and let that cook for about 2 minutes.  I added half the pasta, 1/2 the sausage to the butter mixture in the pan, cooked another minute, then plated and sprinkled with a teaspoon of Parmesan cheese.

The only difference I did to my plate was add spinach and crushed red pepper to my butter mixture.

I ended up eating only half of this, it was really filling.  And garlicky!!  I am morphing the leftovers into lunch for me and my boss today.

So it’s WI Wednesday!  Last Wednesday I was 170.6.  Today?

Minus 1.2 thank you very much!  Not bad considering I didn’t work out from Friday through Monday.  I also need to pay more attention to sodium, keep up with my water intake on the weekends too.  But I am happy to be in the 160’s again!

Alright, I have to log off, it’s getting really stormy and thundering so I need to shut off the computer.  Happy Hump Day – make it a great day!