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| Coffee mug chilaquiles. |
Other than the extremely important watchdog role the Chicago Tribune plays in my community, the reason I keep my print subscription is the weekly Good Eating section. It pays off most weeks with new ideas for recipes, nutrition news and cooking techniques.
That said, I’ve not been paying much attention to the paper in the last few weeks because of health issues that have forced me to limit my diet to very low fat fare. But the restrictions have been lifted (I hope) and I’m back to reading and clipping recipes. Thankfully, my husband knew I’d be eager to catch up on my Good Eating reading, so he’s been saving the section for me.
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| Batter up. |
Turns out the April 11 edition, featuring “Coffee Cup Recipes,” was one not to miss.
There were four recipes in the piece and my kids and I tested two today. The first turned out to be my daughter’s self-made lunch:
Coffee cup chilaquiles
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
Salt, pepper
1 tablespoon sharp cheddar cheese [we used a shredded Mexican cheese mix]
5 tortilla chips
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| Finger licking good. |
1 tablespoon salsa
Sour cream, queso fresco, chopped green onion [optional for garnish]
Beat the egg and milk with a fork in a regular-sized coffee cup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add cheese and stir. Break 3 or 4 tortilla chips in small pieces to fit in the cup, add salsa and stir. Microwave, about 1 minute, 10 seconds. Garnish with a tortilla chip, sour cream, queso fresco and onion.
This was so easy to make I still can’t believe it. Best part though, besides the fact that my daughter devoured the dish, was that there was very little to clean up with this dish. It’s all mixed and served in a coffee mug. [Unless you’re me and dumped it out to check the consistency, then took a pretty picture of it.]
After our successful lunch, the kids moved on to the next recipe — caramel coffee mug coffee cake — for an afternoon treat. This was the more complicated (and required more mixing vessels) of the two recipes, but the one my children enjoyed the most from start to finger-licking finish.
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| All in the mug. |
Coffee cup coffeecake
Crumb topping:
2 tblsp dark brown sugar
2 tblsp flour
1 tblsp butter, softened
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch salt, optional
Cake batter:
1 tblsp butter, softened
1 tblsp dark brown sugar
1/2 egg (1 egg lightly beaten and divided)
2 tblsp sour cream
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| Fresh from the microwave. |
1 tsp maple syrup
Vanilla (a few drops)
1/4 cup self-rising flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoon apricot or other preserves [we used a spoon full of caramel ice cream topping]
For the crumb topping, pinch the ingredients with your fingers until crumbs form. For the cake, mix butter and sugar together in a large measuring cup until creamy; add egg, sour cream, syrup and vanilla. Beat until blended well. Add flour and cinnamon; beat until smooth. Pour half of batter into a buttered coffee cup, drop preserves (or caramel) into center, then top with remaining batter. Top with crumb topping, microwave about 1 minute 15 seconds.
My son’s favorite part was licking his fingers after mixing the crumb topping. Oh, and he really wants this to be his birthday cake. I hope we have enough mugs.
Virtual Farmgirl 