Cappucino Muffins

This has been one of my favorite muffin recipes for a couple years now, as I love coffee and chocolate! I usually make them in a mini-muffin tin, rather than the regular size. Enjoy!



Cappucino Muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
2 tbsp. instant coffee granules
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl; set aside. In another bowl, stir milk and coffee granules until coffee is dissolved. Add butter, egg, and vanilla; mix well. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 375 for 17-20 mins. (10 mins. for mini muffins). Makes 14 muffins (4 dozen mini muffins).

Orzo-Stuffed Peppers

I ran across this brand-new recipe by accident. I hadn't made stuffed peppers in awhile, and I had never made them with orzo and sausage, either. It sounded like something Skippy (the hubby) would enjoy, so off we went:

ORZO-STUFFED PEPPERS (from an unknown magazine)
INGREDIENTS
4 large green peppers
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 cups spaghetti sauce
1 medium tomato, chopped (I omitted)
1 Tbsp. dried basil
2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (less if you don't want a kick!)
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Cut tops off peppers and remove seeds. In a large kettle, cook peppers in boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water; set aside.
Cook orzo according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the sausage, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Drain orzo; stir into meat mixture. Add the spaghetti sauce, tomato, basil, rosemary, and pepper flakes. Spoon into peppers.
Place in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheeses. Bake 5 minutes longer or until chesse is melted.

Survey says: Skippy and I loved the peppers! Super yummy, but we both agreed a bit less red pepper flakes would be good....it definately had some heat. Even Logan (our super-cute, super-funny 4-year-old son) enjoyed the "stuffed" part of it. The peppers themselves were a no-go for him, but green peppers are one of, like, 5 foods he refuses to eat. We will definately make these yummy peppers again! It's a keeper.