Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

March 31, 2014March 31, 2014 / mikeysinmykitchen / 6 Comments

There is an unspoken rule whenever Mikey and I go to brunch and that is that I always have to get something sweet for us to share (although I’m usually the one who eats 90 percent of it). Whether it is a doughnut (a hip trend here in Chicago that I won’t complain about) a piece of coffee cake, a cinnamon role or a simple waffle…I always require something sweet to go with my coffee and eggs.

I grew up with an incredible Mom who always made us amazing breakfasts on Saturday mornings. I would wake up to the smell of pancakes or waffles and although I didn’t eat breakfast during the week, waffles were my weakness and I always found a way to make room for them on the weekend.

We also would have things like cinnamon rolls, monkey bread and coffee cake on occasion and I blame her for my obsession with all things gooey and cinnamon laced.

I wanted to try a new coffee cake recipe, but stick with the classic flavors and texture I love and was really pleased with the way this coffee cake turned out. My favorite is still this Classic Coffee Cake that literally melts in your mouth (and must be consumed warm), although I will keep this coffee cake recipe on the back burner as a quick and tasty brunch option.

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How To Make Brown Sugar

March 25, 2014April 30, 2014 / mikeysinmykitchen / 10 Comments

I went to make cookies this weekend and realized I was out of brown sugar!

I remembered hearing that you could make it with granulated sugar, so I did some research and discovered it was the easiest thing in the world to make! All you need is a little bit of molasses and granulated sugar. I needed a cup and a half of brown sugar for my recipe so I ended up using about 1 tablespoon plus a teaspoon of molasses.

Easy. Peasy.

Apparently it is still winter in Chicago and I am so grateful that I was able to get away to San Antonio with my Mom this past weekend. I’ll share some photos of our fun and more importantly, food, as soon as I can!

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Braised Cabbage & A St. Patrick’s Day Party

March 19, 2014 / mikeysinmykitchen / 3 Comments

Mikey and I love cabbage.

Braised, roasted or in a salad. It is one of our favorite vegetables. I think cabbage is super underrated and I recommend you try this recipe (or roast it) immediately!

I shared my corned beef hash recipe with you a few days ago and I wanted to share this braised cabbage recipe with you too as well as a couple pictures from our St. Patrick’s Day party. I didn’t take as many pictures as I wanted, but I’ll share what I have. I’ll also share the coffee cake recipe here on the blog as soon as I can!

For the party I wanted to focus on the color green (obviously), so I used green grapes and honeydew melon for our fruit. We also had a bowl of lucky charms and coffee cake for those who like a little sweet with their breakfast. I had some dill pickles (I needed about 5 more jars, everyone loved them!) and later pulled out some chips and salsa, peanuts and pretzels.

I also had Rolo’s (like a pot of gold) Mint M&M’s and Junior Mints. Because they are cute and delicious!

Recipe: Braised Cabbage

Makes 6 Servings

Ingredients:

1 Head of Cabbage

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Cup Chicken/Veggie Broth

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Peel off outer layer of cabbage and throw away. Cut your cabbage into quarters and remove and dispose of hard center core. Slice into 1 inch strips.

Place cabbage into a large pot with about 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Add broth and cook over med/low heat, stirring occasionally until cabbage has wilted and is a bit translucent. Salt and pepper to taste and serve warm with corned beef and hash or dice and mix into hash!

Corned Beef Hash

March 17, 2014April 30, 2014 / mikeysinmykitchen / 7 Comments

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Mikey and I had a St. Patrick’s Day party on Saturday and we served this traditional corned beef hash for breakfast. People started showing up around 10am and didn’t stop until 8pm. Needless to say this hash was a great base for what turned out to be a fun day filled with friends, games and copious amounts of Guinness and Irish whiskey. I mean, who doesn’t love a day that starts with Bailey’s in your coffee and ends with a messy apartment covered in Lucky Charm’s crumbs?

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Vanilla Bean & Salted Caramel Layer Cake

March 13, 2014 / mikeysinmykitchen / 9 Comments

I promised this cake was coming this week and I am so excited to share the recipe with you!

I made a salted caramel sauce with this cake and shared it earlier this week on the blog. It is amazing on ice cream or by itself…but wow is it great with this cake! The cake is a basic vanilla bean white cake smothered in two layers of caramel sauce and vanilla bean frosting!

It is super rich but the salted caramel helps balance it out. Because of the layer of caramel the cake also remains very dense.

I found this cake online and thought it looked amazing. It is easier than a typical layer cake because you don’t have to spend much time frosting it or evening out the edges or top.

You could adjust this style cake in so many ways with caramel, strawberry or chocolate sauce and any frosting you want!

Keeping my fingers crossed that this was the last snow here in Chicago! I hope you all have a great weekend planned. Enjoy celebrating St. Patrick’s Day!!