Homemade Belgian Waffles

A couple of weeks ago, I took the time to make up some homemade waffles to have in my freezer and to give to my parents so that they had something different for breakfast other than cold cereal.

I noticed this morning that stash that I have in my freezer is just about gone!  I am going to need to think about adding to it in the next week or so. I love having things like these in the freezer because it makes for an easy quick breakfast for my kids.

Here is the original recipe:
Money Saving Mom's Favorite Whole-Wheat Waffles

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup oil or melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

This recipe makes 6-8 waffles. Crystal made comments about using water for some of the milk and also using fruit puree for half of the oil needed for the recipe. So I decided to tweak the recipe based on her comments along with making a triple batch.

Here is my tweaked triple batch recipe: 

2 cups white flour
3 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup + 2 TBSP sugar
3 TBSP baking powder
6 eggs
3 cups 2% milk
2 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup canola oil
3 tsp. vanilla

Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Pour batter onto lightly-oiled waffle iron and bake until done.  The triple batch makes 18 whole waffles.

To freeze, Let them cool completely and then stick 5-6 in each freezer bag.  I usually separate the waffles into the four sections so it easier for my kids to grab just 1/2 a waffle to heat up.

To thaw, just pull them straight out of the freezer and heat in the microwave, in the oven or in the toaster.  My kids put them in the toaster(on the 3 or 4 setting) and then in the microwave for about 20 seconds.

This post is linked to: 

• Food On Fridays at Ann Kroeker’s!
• Friday Feasts at Mom Trends!
• Foodie Friday at Designs By Gollum!
• Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge!

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

My two oldest boys are in the Junior High youth group at our church and this past Sunday was my turn to take in a snack for the whole group of teens. So I asked my guys what they wanted me to make for taking in to share.  Their response: "homemade cinnamon rolls!"  I thought to myself that it was doable because I had all the ingredients to make them however, I didn't want to take too much time doing LOTS and LOTS by hand!  So I pulled out my recipe book that came with my bread machine and found a cinnamon roll recipe!  I was able to make four batches of cinnamon rolls over the course of two days and those batches made enough to feed about 25 teens and youth leaders along with my family of 7!!

I remembered not to work the dough to much and not spread it out too thin before putting on the filling and rolling up the dough!  They were able to rise and looked wonderful!!

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp. warm milk (80°)
1 large egg
3 cups bread flour
3 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. butter or margarine
2 tsp. bread machine or active dry yeast

Place ingredients in the bread machine according to the machine's manual.  Program for DOUGH.  When it is done, roll dough out to about a 15x10 inch rectangle.

Spread 1/3 cup softened butter over dough. Sprinkle 1/3 cup sugar(I used brown sugar), 2-3 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 cup chopped nuts(optional) over the softened butter.

Roll up the dough with the long side of the dough. Cut with a knife or with dental floss(preferred way!).  Place rolls in a 9x13 greased pan.  Let rolls rise in the pan for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until double in size.

Bake in oven at 375° for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown.

While waiting the rolls to cool and if desired, mix up the frosting: 1 cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tbsp. milk and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Drizzle over the rolls. Enjoy!  Makes 12 rolls.

Notes: To warm the milk, I put it on my microwave for 45 seconds on high power. The measurements for the filling is approximate because I just spread and sprinkled the filling ingredients to cover the dough decently.  Flossing the rolls makes for much nicer rolls!!  I poured the ingredients for the frosting into a ziploc sandwich bag and then "kneaded" the bag until the ingredients were mixed thoroughly. Then I clipped a bottom corner to drizzle the frosting onto the rolls.

This post is linked to:

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed with Grace!
• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!
• Tuesdays at the Table at All the Small Stuff!

Buttermilk Pancake Mix

Last Friday, I took my parents grocery shopping to help and show them how to save money on their grocery bill. They seem to have forgotten how to savings shop now that most of us are grown and out of the house.  Now that my parents are retired and on a fixed income, it is important to me to help them work with what they have and find ways for them to eat healthy on their income rather than relying on restaurants for their meals.

One item that my Mom was wanting to get from the store was some kind of already made boxed pancake mix. So we went over to aisle to find a box and found that none of them were on sale and I do not cut coupons for those types of things as I make mine from scratch so I didn't have a coupon to share with them either. I also found with doing some quick mental math that I could put together a pancake mix from scratch for cheaper than a box mix!(Just for the record, a 28 oz box of regular Bisquick when not on sale is almost three dollars!!!)

I told my Mom that I would take the time to get out my buttermilk pancake recipe and do up the dry ingredients so that she could have some pancake mix!  She already had eggs, and buttermilk in her fridge so this would help her use those items up as well.

Today, I finally took some time to do up some pancake mix for her.  First I took my recipe and divided it back down to a single batch of pancakes. Then I measured out all the dry ingredients and canola oil and then blended that together with my pastry blender. After I had mix blended well, I measured it to see how much total the dry ingredients were so I knew how much mix was needed for the amount of egg and buttermilk that was called for in the recipe.

Here is the final results that I am going to give to my Mom:

Buttermilk Pancake Mix

1 ¼ cups flour

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 tbsp. veggie oil

Mix together with a pastry blender. Store in a sealed container for up to 6 weeks. You can put the mix into the freezer for longer storage.

To make pancakes:

1 ½ cups pancake mix

1 egg

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

Mix together. Cook on griddle until golden brown.

Add-in options:

½ cup frozen blueberries

½-3/4 cup chocolate chips

This post is linked to:

• Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!
  
• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace!
• Tuesdays at the Table over at All the Small Stuff!

Homemade Bagels

I have tried many different bagel recipes over the last couple of years and I think I finally found one that I can handle and do without too much difficulty. I love the fact that my kids can help do these as well so it doesn't take all day to make them. If there is any left after a couple of days, I slice them and then put them in the freezer so they are an easy pull for a breakfast.

I got the recipe originally from my friend Debbie but I have taken the time to tweak it a bit for my family.

BAGELS

1 cup water or thawed frozen juice concentrate (can also use potato water if you kept some from when you cook pototoes, or boil one potato in 2 c water and measure out a cup)

1 Tbsp or package yeast

1 Tbsp honey

4 cup flour(you can use part or all whole wheat flour)

1 Tbsp salt

1 egg

1 egg, separated (reserve yolk for egg wash)

3 Tbsp oil

1. Proof yeast in 1/2 cup of water and 1 Tbsp honey. How to proof the yeast...In a small bowl, proof the yeast with a tablespoonful of sugar or honey, and very warm water. "Lukewarm" it's called - I always thought that meant barely warm but actually it means almost hot. Run the water over the inside of your wrist - it should feel warm but not unbearable. Stir the three ingredients together and let sit about five minutes. Here's why you do it in a small bowl: if it doesn't froth and bubble, but dissolves and lies flat or doesn't dissolve at all, you've either killed it or failed to activate it. Dump it out and begin again. This way you've only wasted a bit of yeast rather than a bowlful of flour, etc.
   
   
2. Add 1/2 cup of liquid, salt, egg, egg white and 2 c flour to the yeast once it is proof. Stir.
   
   
3. Add additional flour till dough isn't too sticky and can be kneaded and knead 8-10 minutes by hand or with mixer.
   
   
4. Let dough rise till doubled.
   
   
5. Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a large pot and preheat oven to 425°.
   
   
6. Punch down dough, knead a little and divide into 12 pieces. Shape into bagels. Instead of rolling it out and joining to seal ends - I find they fall apart too easily that way. I roll them into a ball, flatten it, and then make an opening in the middle with my fingers, stretching the dough carefully as I do so.
   
   
7. Let stand about 10 minutes on oiled surface.
   
   
8. Use a slotted spoon to slide each bagel into pot of boiling water. Do NOT crowd. I do them in my wok and found that I can get four at a time in the water. Boil 2 minutes on each side, then place carefully on greased baking sheet (they will be very slippery!)
   
   
9. Egg wash: Mix egg yolk with 1 tsp water and brush on each bagel. Sprinkle with coarse salt, poppy or sesame seeds or minced onion, if desired.
   
   
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

To make other flavors:

• Cinnamon-Raisin: I have added 1-2 Tbsp. cinnamon and 1/2-3/4 cup raisins to the dough.
  
  
• Strawberry: thaw frozen strawberries--save the juice from thawing and use as part or all of the water. Mash a few strawberries(around 1/2 cup) to put in the dough.
  
  
• Blueberry: thaw frozen blueberries and use juice from thawing for part of the liquid. Put in 1 cup blueberries.
  
  
• Cinnamon/Sugar: skip the egg wash and when they come out of the oven brush with melted butter and then roll in a cinnamon/sugar mixture.

This post is linked to:

• Frugal Friday at Life As Mom!
• Food On Fridays at Ann Kroeker’s!
• Family Recipe Fridays at Vanderbilt Wife!
• Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge!
• Friday Feasts at Mom Trends!
• Foodie Friday at Designs By Gollum!
• Fearless Friday at Home Ec 101!

Fresh Strawberry Muffins

Tis the season to have LOTS of fresh fruit in the house, however, I have several family members that will not eat many fresh fruits--maybe an apple or banana if I am lucky! Which means that when I have fresh fruit in the house it might take a while for those us who like fruit to eat it.

I had purchased 3lbs of strawberries a couple of weeks ago on price drop at Meijer for 99¢/lb. My oldest son and I are the only ones that eat the strawberries fresh and so I chopped them up and we ate some of them fresh. After a few days though they started to get a little mushy so I decided to use them up before they went bad and make some fresh strawberry muffins for the first time.

I used Nancy's fresh strawberry muffin recipe as my guide and went to work creating a yummy healthy muffin!

Here is my recipe:

Fresh Strawberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup margarine, softened

2 eggs

4 cups flour (2 cups white, 2 cups wheat)

4 tsps. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups chopped strawberries

6 tsps. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to butter mixture. Add sour cream and vanilla. Gently stir in strawberries. Scoop batter into muffin pans. Combine sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over muffins. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 dozen.

Notes: I made 2 dozen muffins and 1 small quick bread loaf. Allow to cool before eating! As you can see from my picture above, they are a bit crumbly if you try to eat them right out of the oven!

This post is linked at:

• Fearless Friday at Home Ec 101!

Mom's Zucchini Bread

Looking for something to make with all that zucchini or crookneck/yellow squash that is coming out of your garden???

I have got a yummy recipe for you!! It is my Mom's Zucchini Bread recipe and it is very moist and delicious! If you don't want yellow or green flecks in your bread, just peel the skin off the squash.

Mom's Zucchini Bread

3 cups flour
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cup sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cup grated zucchini
1 cup nuts(walnuts are best!)

In a large bowl, combine sugar, oil and eggs. Mix well. Add zucchini. Combine dry ingredients; add them to the wet mixture, mix well. Pour into two greased and floured 9in x 5in x 3in loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 60 minutes or until bread tests done.

Notes: These can easy be done as muffins too! Either use paper liners or grease the muffin tins. Also bake at 350° for half the time(30 minutes). This bread or muffins freezes wonderfully!

This post is linked at:

• Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge
• Friday Feasts at Mom Trends!
  
• Food on Fridays at Ann Kroeker!
• Foodie Friday at Designs by Gollum!
• Frugal Friday at Life as Mom!
• Family Recipe Fridays at Vanderbilt Wife!

Blueberries, Blueberries!!!

It is not quite blueberry season in my neck of the woods, we just are starting strawberries!!!

Blueberries are an excellent source of antioxidants and just overall great to eat!! As a child, I remember going with my mom and siblings to the blueberry patch every year!! We would go and get what seemed like TONS of blueberries in just a couple of hours. Yes, there was times when I would eat more than what I put in my bucket but hey isn't that what going to the blueberry patch is all about at least for kid anyway!

Once we got our blueberries home, my mom and I would spend time washing some and picking out the bad ones before putting them in freezer bags or 5 qt ice cream pails(which we would put a couple of pieces of paper towel in the bottom to help soak up the moisture).

Once we got some in the freezer to use later on in the year we would set out to start the process of making blueberry jam!! Ohhhh was that yummy!! I miss those days of canning and perserving fruits and veggies with my mom.

We would eat them over ice cream or make baked goods with the blueberries that we picked each year!!

Here are couple of the tried and true recipes that we did with our "in season"/fresh blueberries!

Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup blueberries(fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.




Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening(or butter)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups blueberries(fresh or frozen)

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
Mix topping ingredients separately from batter.

Preheat oven to 375°. Mix all cake ingredients together in order given. Pour batter in 13x9 pan Sprinkle topping on batter. Bake 45 to 50 minutes.

This post is linked at:

• In Season Recipe Swap at Tammy's Recipes!
• Recipe Swap at The Grocery Cart Challenge!

Easy Banana Cookies

Do you have a few ripe bananas sitting on your counter that are too ripe and turning mushy sitting on your counter??  Have you ever wanted something other than just muffins or bread from those bananas?  How about making cookies!?!?

Cookies are kid friendly!  Cookies are great for on the go breakfasts or snacks!

Easy Banana Cookie Recipe

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter (softened)
2 eggs
2 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Add butter and mix well. Add lightly beaten eggs, mashed banana and vanilla. Mix well. Drop by teaspoonfuls on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 375° for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Notes: These cookies are easy to do and also easy to alter by using whole wheat flour or oatmeal for the some of the flour. Also a nice addition is walnuts or chocolate chips or both! 

This post is linked at: 

• Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace!
  
• Kitchen tip Tuesday, over at Tammy's Recipes! 
• Tasty Tuesday at Forever, Wherever
  
• I am Blissfully Domestic at Blissfully Domestic!

Ultimate Recipe Swap---Breakfasts

Breakfasts at my house are pretty much routine.  Each day of every week is pretty much the same which can help to make things simple and frugal!  This month is "hot breakfast month" and with Happy Housewife's hot breakfast month challenge,  I have been diligently working at collecting some new recipes to work at adding to our breakfast repertoire.  Now this week, FishMama's themed recipe swap is Breakfast so I decided to share a couple of family favorites. And then check out other links there in the hopes of finding some more recipes to add to my "to make & try list".

I am going to share my breakfast sandwiches recipe. Around my house we called them "Mom's McBiscuits" or "Mom's McMuffins"! (for my faithful readers I have shared this before)

" Mom's McBiscuits or McMuffins"

1 tube of Grands Biscuits, baked (85 cents)
1 dozen eggs, cooked ($1.19)
6 slices bacon, cut in half and then cook(54 cents)
5 slices American cheese(55 cents)
2 sausage patties (42 cents)

I made these this morning here is how I put them together. I baked two tubes of biscuits last night for dinner. We ate one for dinner, the rest I cooled and put in a ziploc bag. I also went ahead and cooked a pound of bacon and a package of 8 sausage patties. Before I cook the pound of bacon, I cut the bacon strips in half. Before I cooked the sausage patties, I took the time to flatten them so they looked like mini, thin burger patties(you can see them in the pic below in the container on the left).


Then this morning I took the time to cook the eggs. I just cooked them on the stovetop(scrambled them and then let them set some before turning so I would end up with big egg patty that I cut up to fit on the biscuits) or you can do it like what Mandy does for cooking your eggs instead of cutting them into strips like what she does I would cut them into squares.

So now that everything is cooked for the sandwiches, it is just a quick assembly line. Cut the biscuits in half. Put a 1/2 slice of cheese on one side of the biscuit(I usually fold the whole slice to make 4 squares and then put 2 squares on one sandwich). Put a egg patty on top of the cheese(this will help melt the cheese on the sandwich and help to make it so the egg doesn't fall off the biscuit). Then put your choice of meat on top of the egg. Top with the other half of the biscuit and Voila! A yummy inexpensive breakfast sandwich!! This morning I made 6 Bacon McBiscuits and 2 Sausage McBiscuits, hence the list of ingredients! Only 3 were eaten this morning, the other 5 were individually wrapped and put in the fridge for later consumption!

You can also make these sandwiches with a package of 6 English Muffins($1.00). The sandwiches would cost 62 cents each instead of 44 cents. And you would only get 6 sandwiches instead of the 8 sandwiches with the ingredients listed above.

To reheat the sandwiches, stick the whole sandwich in the microwave for 20 seconds!

Side note....These can be frozen too!! Just let them cool and double wrap! You can put a frozen sandwich in the microwave and heat for 30-40 seconds! or you can let it thaw in the fridge and then heat for 20 seconds in the microwave.

**prices are figured using sale prices for the items used, or bulk pricing as in the case of the cheese slices**

The other favorite around here is Buttermilk Pancakes. I make these at least once a week and the extras once cooled go into freezer for a quickie breakfast. 


Buttermilk Pancakes(it makes a triple batch!)
3 eggs
3 ¾ cups buttermilk
6 tbsp. veggie or canola oil
3 ¾ cups flour(I usually use 1 3/4 cup whole wheat + 2 cups white)
3 tbsp. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. salt

Mix altogether. Cook on griddle till light brown.
**these freeze very well!!* 

Notes: sometimes I will add blueberries or chocolate chips to the batter for something different.

Looking for more breakfast recipes, head over to Life as Mom!

Looking for more frugal ideas, head over to Frugal Friday over at Biblical Womanhood!

Looking for more recipes, head over to the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap!

Scrumptious Sunday--Strawberry Muffins

I love these muffins because they are versatile in that you can change the kind of berries and yogurt you use in the batter!  I have done these using blueberry yogurt and blueberries. I have also done blackberries with raspberry yogurt. You can also use frozen berries not just fresh. 

Strawberry Streusel Muffins

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup strawberry yogurt
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
• 
  
• STREUSEL TOPPING:
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons cold butter

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine eggs, yogurt and sour cream; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in strawberries. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.      For topping, combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over batter.      Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen. 

For more scrumptious recipes, head over Happy to be at Home!

**photo courtesy of Taste of Home

Recipe Swap--Signature Dish--Jewish Coffee Cake

Today is the Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as a Mom.  She is asking us to share our signature dish. The first thing that came to mind when I was thinking "signature dish" was a recipe that I got from my Mother that I love to make for my family.  I don't make it very often because it is a little bit on the expensive side to create.  My hubby loves it so much that he will ask for this or something chocolate when he needs to bring something to a work function.  It is called Jewish Coffee Cake!   I am sure where the "Jewish" part came from in the name but at any rate it is great to eat with a cup of tea(or coffee--I don't drink it!) for a breakfast or afternoon snack.  I have seen similar recipes that just call this dish--"sour cream coffee cake".

½ lb. butter (or 1 stick margarine & ½ cup butter)
6 lg. eggs (or 4 duck eggs)
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups sour cream
2 cups sugar
4 cups flour (3 cups white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla (not imitation)

FILLING:
1 cup nuts, finely chopped (pecans are the best!)
½ cup dark brown sugar (can use light brown sugar as well)
1 tbsp. cinnamon

Mix filling ingredients together; set aside. To prepare coffee cake, cream together butter and sugar; add vanilla. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Mix well. Alternate cake mix with filling in a bundt pan. Bake at 350° on bottom rack 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Notes: If you use duck eggs, do not use chicken eggs too!! Using fresh eggs and sour cream the cake will rise over the pan!!! So you will need to be careful when baking, I usually put it on the top rack in the middle of the oven and only bake the cake. You can use all margarine and no butter with this recipe as well. I have used 1 cup of plain yogurt and 1 cup of sour cream for the 2 cups of sour cream. I have also used cottage cheese that I have put through the blender with some lemon juice and buttermilk. (home made sour cream! lol)

For other signature dishes, head over to the Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom!

**originally posted October, 2007

Oatmeal Muffins

OATMEAL MUFFINS 

This is a quadruple batch, should make about 40 muffins, depending on size. I got this recipe from a friend a while ago.  I love making these muffins up because I can have a variety of muffins in very little time. Paula asked me if these freeze well...the answer is yes they do!!  I allow them to cool completely and then stick them in a ziploc gallon size freezer bag and stash away in the freezer. Something else that I have done is take the time to individually wrap the muffins and then stick in the ziploc freezer bag so it is just an easy pull for sticking in a "on-the-go lunch". 

3 C whole wheat flour
2 1/3 flour
3 C oats (quick or whole)
8 tsp. baking powder
4 eggs
3 C milk (I sub water often)
1 C oil
1 1/3 white or brown sugar

Add-in options:

Chopped apple
Chocolate chips
Raisins
Dried fruit
Chunk of cream cheese in each
Dollop of jelly in the middle

Bake at 400 for 20 min or until golden.

For other tempting tummy recipes and more; head over to Blessed with Grace!

For other kitchen tips, head over to Tammy's Recipes! This post is also linked at Blissfully Domestic

Scrumptious Sunday--Apple Cider Doughnuts

I found this recipe in a Taste of Home Magazine and just love it!  It is very flavorful! 

Apple Cider Donuts

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup apple cider
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Oil for deep-fat frying
• Confectioners' sugar, optional

In a mixing bowl, beat the first seven ingredients until thick, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in butter, then cider. Combine flours, baking powder and baking soda. Add to batter; beat just until blended. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Divide dough in half. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; pat to 1/2-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. doughnut cutter. Repeat with remaining dough. In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375° degrees. Fry doughnuts, a few at a time, for 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

I usually will make the dough at night and refrigerate it until I use it in the morning. 

For more scrumptious recipes, head over to Happy to be at Home.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread

I love pumpkin roll however, I don't always want to take the time to make one up! Well, I found a solution that is just as good! I call it Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread! I have taken the original recipe and added a cheesecake "filling" to it!

Here is the recipe...

3 1/3 cups flour(I usually do half white & half whole wheat)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
3/4 tsp salt
2 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
1 can(15oz) unsweetened pumpkin
2 egg

For cheesecake:
1-8oz cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar


Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour a loaf pans. Sift together first 5 ingredients; stir in salt.

Combine sugar, oil, and pumpkin in a large bowl; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg, beating until well blended. Gradually add dry ingredients, beating at a low speed until blended. Transfer batter to prepared pans.

In a separate bowl, mix up the ingredients for the cheesecake until creamy.

The bread batter is thick enough to create a channel down the center to pour in the cream cheese mixture.

Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until loaf is golden brown and a wooden pick comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 2 loaves

You can do this without the cheesecake filling and then use it in some pumpkin spice bread pudding!!

For other tempting tummy recipes and more; head over to Blessed with Grace!

For other kitchen tips, recipes and more; head over to Tammy's Recipes!!

Scrumptious Sunday--OJ Muffins

ORANGE JUICE MUFFINS

1 egg
½ cup buttermilk
1/3 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/3 cup margarine, melted
1 2/3 cups flour
½ cup sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Combine the egg, buttermilk, orange juice concentrate and melted margarine in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until batter is moistened but still lumpy.

Lightly spray 12 muffin cups with vegetable oil spray. Fill the muffin cups ¾ full with batter. Bake in a 400° oven for 20 minutes or until muffins are golden brown. Yields 12 muffins

Notes: Can use veggie oil instead of melted margarine. Can also make into bread loaves just adjust baking time.

Smelling like Fall!

Today the temps around here were in the high 30s! You look out my windows and you can see the leaves changing! You step outside and breathe in the crisp, cool air! Fall is definitely here in my part of the country!

So I am now getting in the baking mood! Today I focused on the pumpkin smell in my house!!


I made this awesome moist pumpkin bundt cake! It has a mild pumpkin flavor and just melts in your mouth! The kids had it for snack today hence the cake being half gone already!



Since I opened just a 15 oz can of pumpkin I didn't have enough for another "big batch" of something so I found a recipe for pumpkin muffins over at Hillbilly Housewife that only called for 1 cup of pumpkin! So I baked up that recipe! Of course, I changed a couple of things in the recipe! I didn't have quite a full cup of pumpkin to put in the batter sooooo I used 1/4 cup of cooked butternut squash along with 3/4 cup of pumpkin to get my 1 cup of pumpkin! I also did not use a 1/3 cup of melted margarine but instead used 1/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce!! The muffins will make a good compliment to breakfast in the morning!

Both of these recipes made my house smell soooo good and fall-like!

Go take a look at the many other Harvest or Halloween type recipes over at Life as a Mom or share some of your own!!

More of Sonshine's Fall Recipe Collection

Kitchen Tip Tuesday--Breakfasts

I explained a couple of months ago why I plan breakfast meals so I thought today I would share our favorite simple, healthful, and frugal breakfast ideas.

One of my all time favorites is hot, buttermilk pancakes with butter and syrup or with homemade blueberry syrup. If I don't do up blueberry syrup then taking and putting chocolate chips in the batter is yummy too! Not sure on the healthy value of the pancakes with chocolate chips but they are good!

I usually end up making these at least once a week, sometimes more! The leftovers get put in the freezer for the kids to pull out for a quickie breakfast.

Here is my Buttermilk Pancake recipe(it makes a triple batch!)
3 eggs
3 ¾ cups buttermilk
6 tbsp. veggie or canola oil
3 ¾ cups flour(I usually use 1 3/4 cup whole wheat + 2 cups white)
3 tbsp. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. salt

Mix altogether. Cook on griddle till light brown.
**these freeze very well!!*

Notes: sometimes I will add blueberries or chocolate chips to the batter for something different.

Just in case someone wants the recipe for blueberry syrup, here you go! I got it off Mr. Breakfast!

Blueberry Syrup(12 servings)
2 cups blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons lemon juice

In a 1 quart microwave-safe container, combine the sugar with the cornstarch. Stir in water, corn syrup and lemon juice. Add blueberries and stir.Microwave on full power for 5 minutes or until thickened (check after 4 minutes). Stores well in sealed container in refridgerator for a week. Best to reheat 45 seconds in microwave before using. This makes a great syrup. If you like it thicker or thinner adjust the amount of cornstarch by a teaspoon.

If you were to come and visit for the week other breakfasts that you might have at my house are....

Mom's McBiscuit/McMuffin Sandwich

Banana Bread

Kid friendly Muffins

French Toast

12 slices of bread (usually use Texas Toast)
4 eggs
1 cup milk
Mix eggs and milk together, dip bread slices in the mixture and put on a 350° griddle.

There would also be a couple of boxes of cereal to choose from as well since I get such great deals on them along with some fruit and milk!

For other kitchen tips or recipes, head over to Tammy's Recipes.


Orginally posted July, 2008

Kitchen Tip Tuesday--Muffins Galore

The last couple of weeks, I have talked about packable lunches and packable snacks. I hope those lists have helped you get ideas for the upcoming school year!

I have been working lately at getting several different varieties of muffins in my freezer for quick breakfast or snack pulls. So this week I want to talk Muffins! No it is not a foreign language but several(okay many) recipes that I love to do. I have talked about about muffins before, however, I haven't taken the time to share all my recipes! None of them are family secrets and I love having the recipes someplace other than my hardcopy in the kitchen just in case friends want the recipe.

There is soooooo many different kinds of muffins! Muffins are quick and easy to do, especially if you are using a muffin mix!

Muffins that are favorites around here are:

Banana

Pumpkin Muffins

2 c sugar
2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 c. oil
4 eggs
1 (15-oz) can of pumpkin

Mix together all dry ingredients first, then add oil and eggs. Once this is mixed well (it will be thick), add pumpkin. Put in 2/3 cup batter into well greased muffin cups or or greased wrappers. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 mins (my oven baked them just right at 18 mins). I iced them with Cream Cheese icing!

Pumpkin-oat Strusel

Chocolate/Chocolate Chip

Zucchini

Apple cider

Orange juice

Chocolate chip

Easy Bran

Blueberry

Strawberry

Cinnamon/Snickerdoodle

TOPPING
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

MUFFIN
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup fat-free milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) margarine or butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray bottoms only of mini muffin pan cups with cooking spray.

For topping, combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl; mix well and set aside.

For muffins, combine flour, oats, sugar and baking powder in large bowl; mix well. In small bowl, combine milk, egg, margarine and vanilla; blend well. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not overmix.)

Fill muffin cups two-thirds full. Sprinkle topping evenly over tops of muffins.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool muffins in pan on wire rack 5 minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm. 3 DOZEN

I don't know why put I just can't bring myself to try muffins that have sausage or some other kind of meat in them! Has anyone tried ones like this before?

Do you have a favorite muffin recipe?? I would love for you to share!! I love having a variety of muffins in my freezer. I love making up a variety plate/platter of muffins for hubby to take and share at work, or for those summer potlucks that I need a dish to pass, or even for Christmas gifts to relatives or neighbors!

Remember...instead of always doing loaves of quick bread make the bread into muffins sometimes regular muffins, or sometimes mini muffins for a quick freezer pull snack or breakfast!!

For other kitchen tips, recipes and more, head over to Tammy's Recipes

Berry Smoothies

2 cups cold milk
1 container (6 oz.) strawberry low-fat yogurt
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Brand Strawberry Flavor Gelatin
1 cup frozen mixed berries
2 biscuits POST Shredded Wheat Cereal, crumbled

PLACE all ingredients in blender; cover.
BLEND on high speed 15 sec. or until smooth.
SERVE immediately.


My kids love Frosted Mini Wheats and usually at the bottom of the box there is at least a whole bowl of mini wheats that are nothing but crumbs! When the cereal is done, the crumbs get dumped because no one will eat them! However, after reading this recipe, I know what to do with the crumbs from the bottom of the box!!! PUT THEM IN A SMOOTHIE!!!! My goodness, why didn't I think of this sooner!

Hummm....wonder what other cereal crumbs I can save and use in smoothies??!!! Cheerios?! Bran Flakes?! Honey Bunches of Oats?! Oh the possibilities!!

Strawberries Galore!

Here in the upper Midwest, it is starting to be strawberry season, finally!! I love strawberries! I love strawberry jam, strawberries and ice cream, strawberry muffins, strawberry desserts, chocolate dipped strawberries and even strawberry smoothies!

Since strawberries are now the "in season" fruit around here, I am going to share a few tried and true strawberry recipes.

First off, my friend, Marcy posted some strawberry recipes that she has tried, like her "Berry Freezer Jam". I haven't tried making strawberry jam myself but her recipe looks very similar to the one that my Mother used to make when I was growing up! It looks yummy, so do the other two recipes! Thanks Marcy for sharing!

One of my favorite magazines, Taste of Home, has several cool summer treats linked on their homepage! The treats are all some that I have done and they are very good!!

Another recipe that I have tried from Taste of Home is Strawberry Muffins...

Ingredients:
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup fat-free plain yogurt
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled (I have even used canola oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups coarsely chopped fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries

Directions: In a small bowl, combine the first four ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, yogurt, butter and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in strawberries. Fill muffin cups coated with cooking spray or lined with paper liners two-thirds full. Bake at 375° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

One other muffin recipe that I have tried that my kids seem to enjoy is these fun Strawberry Muffin Cones...

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 carton (6 ounces) strawberry yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
15 ice cream cake cones (about 3 inches tall)
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon shortening
Colored sprinkles

Directions: In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients. In another bowl, beat eggs, yogurt, oil and strawberries; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Place the ice cream cones in muffin cups; spoon about 3 tablespoon batter into each cone. Bake at 375° for 19-21 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely. In a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip muffin tops in chocolate; decorate with sprinkles. Yield: 15 servings.

Notes: These muffin cones are best served the same day they're prepared. Muffins can be baked in paper liners instead of ice cream cones.

Don't have time to make strawberry jam, what about making some strawberry butter!! Yummy on some wheat english muffins!

The best dessert using strawberries is my no-bake cheesecake instead of using pie filling for the topping using fresh sliced strawberries! I recommend that you make the cheesecake and then serve the fresh strawberries on the side or put the strawberries on the cheesecake when you are ready to serve it.

Lastly, a dessert that I am going to be making this year is my friend, MJ's Strawberry Trifle!! It sounds sooo yummy and it is also a no bake type dessert for the "dog days of summer"!

For other frugal tips, recipes, or resources, head over to Biblical Womanhood!!