I spend a lot of time in my kitchen. You wouldn’t know it from this blog necessarily, but I love to cook. So when the United Dairy Industry of Michigan asked me to create a breakfast recipe using dairy, I was all “GAME ON!!” And then on Sunday while I was watching other (mostly childless) people celebrate Cinco de Mayo, it hit me. Tres Leche Muffins. What is more dairy than that?

Tres Leche cake is a traditional Latin American cake that is soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk and whole milk. I meshed together a few recipes and decided rather than use anything in a can I would make my own version of the canned dairy products. The final result would be perfect to take to a brunch or gobble up standing over the counter in your home (I’ve heard).

Tres Leche Muffins

1 1/2 c. milk + 1/3 c. milk (I used whole milk)

1 1/3 c. sugar (divided)

1/2 c + 3 T. butter (divided)

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. almond extract

2 eggs

2 c. flour (I used a whole wheat/ white flour mix)

2 t. baking powder

1/3 c. heavy whipping cream

3/4 c. slivered almonds (divided)

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix 1 1/2 c. milk and 2/3 c. sugar together in a saucepan. Bring to a low simmer over medium-low heat, stirring often. When the sugar dissolves completely, turn the heat down to low. Stirring frequently reduce by half (this takes a bit of time and needs careful watching so as not to scald the milk)

Once reduced, whisk in 3 T. butter and vanilla. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl beat together 1/2 c. softened butter and 2/3 c. sugar. Add almond extract and eggs. Stir in flour, baking powder. Measure out 1/3 c. of your cooled milk mixture and add to the bowl along with heavy whipping cream. milk, flour, baking powder and 1/2 cup of the almonds until just combined. Don’t overmix.

Divide batter into muffin cups or liners filled 3/4 full. Sprinkle tops with remaining almonds.

Bake 15-20 minutes until light golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes and drizzle each muffin with the with rest of the milky sauce from your saucepan.

The best part of this recipe is that it is also part of a little United Dairy Industry of Michigan competition. All of the bloggers that spent time in Ann Arbor are creating recipes and the one with the most repins wins. I will let you know where you can repin from next week on the Just Jilly Facebook page and begging for votes will commence. Stay tuned!

A few weeks ago I headed over to the east side of the state for food. It is about the only thing that might get me to the other side of the state (ba dum dum). And it was worth the drive in every single way.

Bloggers like to eat. And talk. And take pictures (Thanks for the pic Jen)

Let me just say when the United Dairy Industry of Michigan invites you to a cooking class you say yes. Because there will be an abundance of cheese and heavy cream. You can never go wrong with cheese and heavy cream (unless you are lactose intolerant. then you have my sympathies).

Me learning “knife skills” while making buttermilk ranch dressing from scratch

I watched and learned from some amazing chefs. And I learned a lot of great things about Michigan Dairy products. If you have read this blog for any length of time, you know I am passionate about sourcing as much of our food as I can locally. And I buy the bulk of our dairy products directly from small farmers. But I also was happy to know that most of the dairy I buy locally in the store is also from local Michigan producers.

My teams creation: a Spring Salad with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing (it was AMAZING)

First I will tackle some big questions we tossed around over dinner. No artificial sweeteners are added to your milk. Apparently there has been some misunderstanding about this, but there will never be anything added to your milk without it being clearly labeled. Rest easy. Also cows are treated with antibiotics when they have the equivalent to mastitis, but those cows are not milked with the other cows. Milk is highly tested to make sure it is antibiotic free.

I’m not sure what I am learning here but I think I am thinking, just let me eat!!

I was actually really excited to meet a Lansing area dairy farmer, who in addition to being hilarious, was so open and honest with all my questions I peppered her with. She is passionate about being a dairy farmer and is the fifth generation in her family to do so. She doesn’t know it yet, but I am bringing all my friends to visit her farm this summer.

Our chef making Salted Caramel Pots de Crème (ZOMG!!)

Most importantly I learned that milk is packed with nutrients. Many of which we are deficient in it. Would you believe that milk has as much vitamin D as salmon? Or as much potassium as a banana? Or as much calcium as 10 cups of raw spinach (that’s a lot of spinach!)

Salted Pots de Crème i.e.. the most amazing dessert I have ever had

I had amazing time, actually learned some great cooking skills and recipes (I will be making that dessert and salad again and again), met some great bloggers and was super impressed with the United Dairy Industry of Michigan. I will be back later this week with a dairy inspired recipe to share.

To thank us for participating we were provided with a great gift bag. And I am excited to offer you the same gift!

You will receive:

• Mac & Cheese: More than 80 Classic and Creative Versions of the Ultimate Comfort Food
• A gorgeous Michigan wood cutting board and cheese knife
• And a cheese making kit (I am so excited to try my hand at making mozzarella!!)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

disclosure: I received gifts to thank me for my attendance. All opinions are my own.

I am going to get on a very quick soapbox. You can do with it what you want.

I don’t know where you live but judging from Facebook and Twitter I am going to assume you aren’t getting a whole lot of rain there. We are dry as a bone here and every time they forecast rain it seems to pass us by. I think we have had like 1/2 inch of rain since June. It is crazy. Add the heat in and it hasn’t been the best summer for grass, plants or my makeup.

We are in the third year of our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and I am shocked, although not really, by the amount of food we are getting. I am not saying that to slam my CSA. I love the farmers and know from their emails how hard they are working. This is why we join a CSA. To support the farmers for better or worse.

So can I be bold and say

It is wrong to buy your produce in a supermarket and not the farmer’s market.

I understand there are reasons why some people can’t do the farmer’s market. Access being the biggest one. Convenience is another. And cost may be another (although I think that is a major misperception).

But if you can and you aren’t lets remedy that immediately shall we. Not only will your taste buds thank you, but the family of a farmer will too.

Something about spring coming makes me crave certain flavors. There are the obvious ones like asparagus that is finally in season, but to me one of the best flavors of spring is lemon. And lately I cannot get lemon and poppy seed off the brain!

McCormick Spices was kind enough to send me some of their products and so I headed over to their website for some inspiration. They have a lovely recipe on their site. But I didn’t want to use cake mix so I decided to use that recipe as a jumping off point and kind of do my own thing. They turned out so good I can’t wait to share the recipe with you.

Lemon Poppy seed Muffins

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 T. baking powder

1 1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup oil

3 eggs

2 T. poppy seeds

1 T. lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients together until just moistened with either electric mixer or spoon. Line muffin tin with liners and fill with batter 2/3 full. Bake 18-24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Makes 24 muffins.

These got the thumbs up from even the pickiest eater in our family. We had them tonight with a frittata and bacon for our favorite nighttime meal, BRINNER. But they would be a great dish to take to a brunch, shower or for a hostess gift.

I have mentioned before my love of Pinterest (you ARE following me right?). McCormick Spice is running a really fun Spring Pin-spiration contest where you can win some great pries. Here are all the details:

First you will need to follow McCormick Spices on Pinterest. Poke around their board and pick a recipe you want to try. Take a picture of your finished product and follow the instructions above to enter.

As part of your entry, you will create your own spring themed board on Pinterest. I actually have the coolest board that is a collaborative board with some of the best bloggers around. So you will for sure want to follow our Eat Your Way Through Spring board.

I find myself using Pinterest more and more for  inspiration when I cook and I know I will be using both these boards throughout the spring. And now that I know I can make up my own recipes (thank you ridiculous amounts of time watching Food Network) there is no stopping me!

What is your favorite recipe for spring?

I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for McCormick. I received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Last week I had three emails in my inbox from farmers. One was from a farmer we are ordering a 1/4 cow from telling us our meat would be ready this week. One was from the farmers who run our CSA updating us on what is going on around the farm. And the last was from the coop I get the bulk of our meat and dairy from telling us the ordering cycle was open.

Three years ago I would not have known what any of those things even were. Now I like to joke that we eat like total hippies. I truly am stunned by how much differently we eat the more we know about our food system in America.

With stories of pink slime, antibiotics in our food, and tainted veggies I think people are getting more and more concerned about where the food comes from. The more I learn about our food, the more I want to know exactly where it is coming from. This obviously isn’t always possible, but buying a large portion of our food from farms is one way we do the best we can. And buying it from farmers I “know” has the added benefit of keeping my money local which is really important to me.

Another important thing to me is that our kids understand that food isn’t grown at the grocery store. That sounds like an odd thing to say but I would venture to say that a lot of kids don’t know that their hamburger comes from a cow. That their veggies are grown in giant piles of black dirt. And that cheese shouldn’t be flurescent orange. My kids once asked me where the lamb they were eating came from…… (they’re really smart, I promise)

It is pretty awesome to be able to have direct conversations with the people growing my food and meat. I know who handles it, how they handle it, what they feed it, and how it gets to me. In the case of my CSA I even get to help harvest it.

How important is it to you to know where your food comes from? How important is it to you to have conversations with the people who grow your food? Now thanks to the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance website FoodDialogues.com and Facebook page you can do just that!

I checked out their Facebook page in preparation for this post and loved the dialogue going on about GMO’s (genetically modified organisms), labeling, organic vs. natural, factory farming and more. If you don’t have access to farmers in your community and you are concerned about what is going on with our food system I think this is a great resource.

The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance wants to get the word out about this great resource. They also want to offer you a fabulous giveaway. One reader will win a Crock-Pot Programmable 6-Quart Slow Cooker and 2 reusable designer shopping bags from Envirosax (I am so in love with these sacks and use them everyday. I have even written about my love for them before).

To enter the giveaway leave a comment about what concerns you have about our current food system. The giveaway is open until Sunday, April 15th to US residents only. Winner will be chosen at random and notified via email. Good luck!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored but HELLO, I get to talk about something I am super passionate about. So obviously all opinions are my own. While I was compensated for my time, I did not get the fabulous prize package. Maybe you could share?

As I mentioned earlier this week, The Motherhood has partnered with Costco and the National Pork Board to promote National Pork Month. I was assigned with the task of creating a pork recipe with Kirkland Signature Boneless Sirloin Tip Roast. And there is like a contest against other pork recipe creating bloggers. Don’t think I haven’t taken to talking smack on Twitter.

I don’t post recipes much for two reasons. One, I can’t take a decent food picture to save my life. And two, I don’t really create recipes. I follow recipes like nobody’s business. And if I do say so myself, I am an awesome cook. But although I am getting better, I pretty much believe recipes are made to be followed exactly. Creativity in the kitchen isn’t my strong suit.

But thankfully I married a man who never met a recipe he didn’t alter drastically. He is also one of those people who can open up our fridge, spot 3 seemingly unrelated ingredients and make something awesome. Well except when he attempts baking. Despite SEVERAL disasters he still does not believe me when I tell him baking requires a recipe.

So when I told him that we had this challenge and that I would look for some recipes for inspiration, he was appalled. WE WOULD NOT BE CONSULTING ANY RECIPES. He would come up with something all by himself. ALL BY HIMSELF!!!

I would be annoyed but MAN what he came up with was amazing.

First we need to get on the same page with terminology. One of our favorite things to have for dinner is breakfast food. This is know as brinner. Mmmmm…….brinner. So if you like brinner then you will love a roast that tastes like you are eating breakfast. You’ll see that he invented a dry rub that transforms the roast with flavors like that of breakfast sausage, and it’s paired with a sweet chutney that has apples, syrup, and bacon in it. BACON. It’s pig with a side of pig!

Brinner Roast with Apple Maple Chutney

• 3 T. ground roasted fennel seeds
• 1 T. salt
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1 t. dried rubbed sage
• Boneless Sirloin Tip Roast
• 12 redskin potatoes
• 3 strips of bacon
• 4 apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
• ½ t. cinnamon
• 4 T. maple syrup

Mix together the first four ingredients. Apply rub evenly to outside of pork roasts. Brown roasts in pan on all sides.

Wash and halve the potatoes. Place in the bottom of the crockpot. Place roast on top of the potatoes.

Cook on low for 8 hours.

30 minutes prior to dinner, cook bacon and chop it into small pieces. Simmer apples and bacon in approx. 3 T of bacon fat until apples begin to break down. Add cinnamon and maple syrup and simmer on very low heat for five minutes.

Slice pork and serve with chutney.

We served it to some guests and they loved it. I couldn’t get enough. This will DEFINITELY be made again. Brinner!!

Now would you like to win a $25 Costco gift card?

Simply leave a comment with your favorite way to serve pork. The winner will be drawn on Thurs. Oct. 20th. Good luck!!

Disclosure: This post was compensated by The Motherhood, Costco and the National Pork Board. But the recipe is mine all mine. Okay…..my hubby’s.

My family has had a long love affair with Costco. I remember when I first discovered them back when I lived in Chicago. I felt like when I walked through the door angels began singing. It was awesome.

Then I had kids and the magic of Costco grew. I could buy all sorts of things in bulk. We could almost get a meal by walking around the all the free samples (and I was always suckered into buying something they were sampling). And then for our real meal we could all eat for next to nothing in the food court. Plus they are always playing some sort of kid’s movie in the TV section that can entertain my kids for hours. It is like Disney World in there.

It is honestly one of the only shopping places that I enjoy taking all my kids to. We make it an “experience.”

So when Costco and the National Pork Board partner together to celebrate National Pork Month it only makes sense that we celebrate with them. Each week at Costco, during the month of October, a different cut of pork is highlighted and on sale. This week the sale is on Kirkland Signature Boneless Sirloin Tip Roast making it under $1.75 a pound. That is not to shabby for the old food budget. Especially because I seem to always end up spending way more than I planned at Costco (not cause of the prices mind you, it is those darn samples- I am powerless).

Later this week the hubby and I (ok mostly the hubby) will be creating a great recipe with our pork in the crockpot and posting it for you to enjoy. I may also have a little Costco giveaway up my sleeve.

If you want to take advantage of this week’s savings feel free to head over to Costco’s “In the Warehouse” for preparing tips on how to prepare their feature cuts. Or check out PorkBeInspired.com for some great recipe inspiration.

Can’t wait for this big reveal!

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by The Motherhood, Costco, and The National Pork Board for sponsoring my efforts during National Pork Month!

I menu plan every week. And I do most of the cooking. But something happens in the summer and everything breaks down. I get lazy in my menu planning. I get even lazier with the cooking. I could blame the heat or the lack of routine. Or it could just be that I am super lazy and just hide it better during the rest of the year. Actually I am not sure I ever really hide the lazy.

Let’s go back in time a bit. When I was first married, pre menu planning, I used to drive my hubby nuts calling him at like 4:45 and asking him to pick up the 3 things I needed for the recipe I had found at 4:43 and decided to make for dinner tonight. He was DELIGHTED to spend the end of his day in the grocery store. Delighted.

So we don’t want to remind him of those days during my lazy days of summer. Partly because I have him fooled that I am a superstar wife. Partly because I have a Groupon expiring this week for a facial and the only time they can get me in is right at the kid’s bedtime. And we all know how delightful putting the kids can be. It ranks JUST under going to the grocery at the end of the work day.

So my summer trick is this. At 4:15 when you realize you haven’t planned dinner grab some sort of meat out of the freezer. Anything will do. Grab some sort of veggie from the crisper. Then when the hubby comes home from work you say, “Babe!!! You get to grill tonight!!!”

Men LOVE to grill right? I mean WAY more than the grocery store and bedtime. It is like a REWARD to come home and grill. There is fire and meat and…..well I would do it just to get outside and escape the children for a minute.

So let’s recap. I don’t have to cook. Hubby gets to play with fire. I get to get a facial post dinner. In the words of an amazingly wise philosopher, “I’m Winning!!”

Starting August 1st, when you watch the featured video on the Hillshire Farm Facebook page, you can download a $.55 Off coupon for any Hillshire Farm product. Then, if you post the offer on your Facebook Newsfeed or enter three friend’s email addresses, you will have the opportunity to upgrade to a larger coupon for $1 Off.  How’s that for another win-win? (P.S. Hillshire Farms meat is awesome on the grill)

This is the first in a series of four sponsored post for Hillshire Farms. I am being compensated for my participation in this campaign but as always all opinions and stories are all mine