Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins

by Belinda Thayn // December 19, 2011 // No Comments

Christmas is creeping ever nearer, and I am sure you are planning the menu. But what about all the leftovers? Here’s a great recipe for all that cranberry sauce you will have left over. I have to give big credit to www.twopeasandtheirpod.com for this recipe. If you want to see the original post check out their site. When all the family went home after Thanksgiving all that was left in my fridge was homemade cranberry sauce. I had no idea what to do with it! It was a delicious sauce, but without turkey to pile it on, it wasn’t going anywhere. Then I found this recipe and it was amazing! Save this one for a post-Christmas breakfast!

Yield: 6 large muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 C. sugar

1 T. orange zest

1/4 C. canola oil

1 large egg

1/3 C. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 C. fresh cranberry sauce (about 2 tablespoons per muffin)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease well. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. Rub in sugar and orange zest together; whisk into dry ingredients.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk canola oil, egg, milk, and vanilla together.

4. Incorporate the wet ingredients into flour mixture. Add slowly and gently stir. The batter will be thick.

5. Place half the batter a the bottom of six muffin cups. Spoon about 2 T. of fresh cranberry sauce on top of the muffin batter. Top muffins evenly with remaining muffin batter.

6. Bake muffins for 15-17 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool on a rack.

Pumpkin Pancakes

by Kara Thayn // December 1, 2011 // No Comments

These delicious pancakes are especially good in the fall, for Christmas breakfast, or a regular day of the week–pretty much ANY TIME! Our nieces stayed with us over Thanksgiving and they gobbled these up! No pun intended…

Ingredients:
2 Cups Flour
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon
3 tsp Baking Powder
2 Eggs
1.5 Cups Evaporated Milk
1/2 Cup Pumpkin (we use canned–refrigerate unused portion for later)
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Vanilla

1. Sift together all dry ingredients.
2. Add all wet ingredients and stir until well incorporated.
3. Bake in 6″ diameter rounds in a frying pan or on a griddle over MEDIUM-LOW heat. We make ours using a griddle and set it to 325.

Serve with apple sauce (pictured above), maple syrup, whipped cream, or whatever seems good to you!

*Halves easily.

Source: My aunt, Eileen

~Kara

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

by Jamie Hancock // October 27, 2011 // 3 Comments

Simple and good, not to mention a GREAT way to get rid of those blackening bananas that are sitting on the counter. Did I say “Blackening”? I meant, *ahem* “Overly brown” because bananas would NEVER get black on MY counters.

Ingredients:

1 C Sugar

1/2 C Shortening

1/2 tsp Salt

2 Eggs

3 mashed bananas

2 C Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 C Mini Chocolate Chips* (optional). I used regular chips in this recipe and you can see they sink a little. Mini chips don’t sink, but I didn’t have any, ok? sheesh… 🙂

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Cream together sugar, shortening, salt and eggs until smooth and creamy.

3. Add Bananas, flour and baking soda. Mix well.

4. Add your chocolate chips (if you so desire) and stir until evenly incorporated.

5. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 70 – 80 minutes or until springy to the touch.
6. Cool thoroughly and dump out.

* We also use nuts in addition/place of. You may omit them or use one or the other.

Source: My Aunt, Janae

~Kara

Broccoli Soup with Homemade Croutons

by Mica Martin // October 22, 2011 // 2 Comments

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped (I used a handful of large baby carrots)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons AP flour
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup cream

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add broccoli, onion, carrot, salt, and pepper and saute until onion is translucent.

2. Add flour, cook for a few minutes or until flour has changed to a light brown. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.

3. Simmer uncovered until broccoli and veggies are tender (about 15 minutes). Add cream. Use an immersion or countertop blender to puree soup. If using a countertop blender you’ll have to puree soup in small batches.

4. Return soup to pot and add additional salt and pepper (if needed). Serve hot with homemade croutons.

Croutons:
day old french bread (I used ciabatta)
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut bread into cubes and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Spread seasoned cubes onto a jelly roll pan and bake for about 15 minutes, turning once.

*This soup makes only 3-4 servings. I would double or triple the recipe for a family.
*If you don’t have french bread you can use any bread you have on hand for the croutons. I’ve used regular white, wheat, and multi-grain sandwhich bread as well as french and ciabatta. ALL of them taste good!
Source: FoodNetwork.com

Absolute Mexican Cornbread

by Kelsey Teague // October 1, 2011 // No Comments

I once found a recipe for Mexican cornbread in the very first “real” cookbook I ever received: “The I Don’t Know How to Cook Book” my mother gave me before going off to college. It was delicious. For some reason when I wanted it again I couldn’t find the book (even though I had the recipe marked just a few days ago) so I looked it up online; this recipe, I dare say, may be the exact same…

Ingredients:

1 C butter, melted

1 C white sugar

4 eggs

1 (15-oz) can cream-style corn

1/2 (4-oz) can chopped green chile peppers, drained {I used the whole can. And it is my personal opinion that Old El Paso is the best brand for this product.}

1/2 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

1 C all-purpose flour

1 C yellow cornmeal

4 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in cream corn, chilies, Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese. {I wasn’t able to find shredded Monterey Jack cheese in its own bag but thankfully Borden has a mixture of cheddar and Monterey Jack, which makes this recipe that much easier!}

3. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to corn mixture; stir until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into center of the pan comes out clean.

Yields however many servings you can get according to how you cut it–out of a 9×13 baking dish.

This cornbread is a great side dish for Mexican Chicken Stew!

Source: Submitted to Allrecipes.com by Judy Spence

Sugar-n-Spice Pumpkin Bread

by Jennie Jones // September 21, 2011 // No Comments

This bread is delicious and one of our families’ favorites. It works well as a muffin, freezes well (4-6 weeks max) and makes 5 medium loaves or two large regular loaves.

Ingredients:
4 eggs slightly beaten
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups canned pumpkin
2 TBLS pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour (whole wheat is yummy also)
2 cups chopped cranberries (optional)

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2/3 cup finely chopped nuts (optional) pecans or walnuts work best

Mix ingredients together in small bowl with a fork – set aside.

1. Spray bread pans with non stick spray
2. Mix first 4 ingredients until blended
3. Stir in all dry ingredients plus cranberries if you are using them until well combined
4. Pour into greased pans
5. sprinkle Topping over bread
6. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out “clean”
7. Remove bread from pans and cool on cooling rack

Source: Combined adaptation from my mom’s recipe and “The Hows and Whys of the Year Supply”

Banana Sour Cream Muffins

by Julie // September 12, 2011 // No Comments

These muffins have become an oft-requested breakfast item at my house. And they’re a great way to use up over-ripe bananas. This recipe doubles well, and you can freeze the muffins for future breakfasts or snacks. Just thaw them out the night before.

Ingredients:
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp. baking soda
2 large bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups flour (white, wheat, or combo)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with liners or spray with cooking spray.
2. Cream butter, sugar, and eggs until fluffy and well combined. Beat in sour cream, bananas, vanilla, salt, and baking soda until smooth.
3. Stir in flour, mixing only until blended.
4. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full (I find a large cookie scoop is perfect for this). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Turn out immediately to cool on racks.

Makes about 18 muffins

Source: The Hows and Whys of the Year Supply by Melissa Coombs

Better-than-Jiffy Cornbread

by Aubrey Wilford // September 9, 2011 // 5 Comments

This recipe was originally posted on a food storage blog that I follow. I loved it because it was easy, delicious, and gave me another opportunity to use my awesome wheat grinder (courtesy of my MIL).

The only change I have made is that I use my non-instant powdered milk and powdered egg (plus the requisite water) in lieu of the fresh ingredients so it can be made entirely from shelf-stable ingredients that I store in my 3-months’ supply.

Ingredients
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp non-instant dry milk
2 Tbsp dry egg powder (be sure it’s ‘whole eggs’)
1 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

1. Grind 1/2 cup popcorn kernels to make 3/4 cup cornmeal.
2. Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, dry milk and powdered egg.
3. Add the water and vegetable oil. Mix just until moist.
4. Pour into a greased, 2-quart baking dish.
5. Bake at 400° for 20 to 25 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean).

You can also bake these into muffins (~17 minutes) or mini-muffins (~10 minutes). We enjoy it especially with soups and chili (and, yes, I already have plans to share a couple of chili recipes with you as the weather cools off).

Source: FoodStorageMadeEasy.net

Copy Cat Cheddar Bay Biscuits

by Emily Sandridge // August 12, 2011 // No Comments

I love Red Lobster. I know it’s a chain, but still – I love eating there. One of my favorite reasons to go there is to get their amazing Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Thanks to the wonderful internet – I found a fabulous copy cat recipe a few years ago. These are made all the time in my house. They are so quick and easy to make. I promise they’ll become a go-to biscuit recipe in your house.

Red Lobster’s Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Biscuits:

2 1/2 cups Bisquick

4 Tbsp cold butter

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

3/4 cup milk

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Butter Glaze:

3 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line one cookie sheet with parchment; set aside.

2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter (I just used 2 forks). Don’t worry about mixing too thoroughly; there will be small chunks of butter in the mix about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and garlic powder. Mix by hand until combined, but don’t over mix.

3. Drop 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto the lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes in preheated oven until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn very light brown.

4. While the biscuits are baking, melt butter is a small bowl in the microwave. Stir in garlic powder and dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread the garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Pop them back in the oven for another 3-5 minutes. Makes one dozen.

Seriously – these take about 20 minutes from start to finish. Better go ahead and make a double batch – you know you’ll want seconds…

Source: www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/03/cheddar-bay-biscuits.html

Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

by Heather Moss // July 26, 2011 // No Comments

Originally posted on July 26, 2011.

These. Are. So. Good. I’ve tried a few different blueberry muffin recipes and so far this is my favorite. They are so moist (even without the crumb topping) and freeze well (you are going to find this is one of my favorite things!). This recipe makes 12 regular-sized muffins, but believe me, you’re going to want more than that.

Muffins:

1 1/2 C flour

3/4 C sugar

1/2 t salt

2 t baking powder

1/3 C vegetable oil

1 egg

2/3 C milk

1 C fresh or frozen blueberries (I usually add a little more-my children LOVE blueberries)

Crumb Topping:

1/2 C white sugar

1/3 C flour

1/4 C butter, cubed
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon

1. In a medium sized bowl the dry ingredients.
2. In a small bowl whisk the wet ingredients together.
3. Combine wet and dry mixtures. Stir just until incorporated, don’t over mix. It may contain small lumps. That’s not the end of the world-they’ll still bake up fine.
4. Carefully fold in the blueberries.
5. For the crumb topping mix the flour, cinnamon, and sugar in a small bowl. Cube the cold butter into the dry ingredients and mix with a fork or a pastry blender to form a crumb-like mixture.
6. Line your muffin tins with liners. Fill the liners 3/4 of the way full, then sprinkle with the crumb topping.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes (for regular-sized muffins).

**For the children I like to make mini-muffins. Bake mini muffins at 400 degrees for about 14 minutes or until golden brown.
Most of the time if I’m freezing these I don’t put the crumb topping on (and it helps cute back on some of the sugar-they’re plenty sweet enough on their own).

Source: Jamie Cooks It Up! blog