Buttery Yummy But Not Pretty Blueberry Muffins

 

 

Good Morning!  It's a rainy Monday here in PA.  A good day to sit with a cup of coffee (or tea if that's your thing), flip through a decorating magazine and indulge in these muffins!   I found this recipe a few months back and after making them a couple times, have decided this recipe is a true keeper.   Mine don't come out as pretty as I'd like but I'm a messy baker so that could be why.  They still taste great though!

 

 

Be sure to use grease proof liners for these beauties, as you can see I didn't and the paper cups lost their pretty.  I increased the amount of blueberries by about a handful.  How's that for a measurment?   Enjoy!!

 

 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins/

 

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose 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 fresh blueberries 1/2 cup white sugar 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup butter, cubed 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2.	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.
3.	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.
4.	Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Bird Nest Treats

Happy Spring everyone!!   In honor of getting through a snowy winter, I made these bird nests for the kids to eat.   So easy and super adorable. 

 

 

All you need is a box of shredded wheat, milk chocolate chips and chocolate Mini Eggs.   Add about 4 cups of shredded wheat to a large ziplock bag and crush it up till it's nice and shredded.  Melt the chocolate (I used a whole 11.5 ounce bag) in the microwave in 20 second intervals, stirring in between each time you take it out.  

 

When your chocolate is good and melted start adding the cereal.  I found it was easier to add the cereal to the chocolate a little at a time and stir until it is all coated and you can't see the cereal color anymore.   Also, my cereal measurement is kind of approximate.  I used the very precise "eyeball it" method on these. 

 

Scoop a tablespoon of your mixture into cupcake liners and use the back of the spoon to make your nest shape. 

 

 

Press a few mini eggs into each nest and let set.  You can pop them in the fridge for a bit to harden faster.   I don't like coconut in my desserts but I'm sure you could add some of the shredded variety in with the cereal if that's your thing.   

 

Easter is almost here, which means warm weather is coming soon I hope!  

Granola Take 2

Okay I'm probably boring you right now with two granola bar posts but I made the new ones yesterday and wanted to post before I forgot. They were a hit with the kids! I did replace the raisins in the recipe with chocolate chips. My kids just will not eat raisins. You could probably starve them for a week and they still wouldn't touch them.


The recipe calls for quite a bit of oil which isn't a big deal for the kids but for us adults that are watching our calories, there are suggestions in the comments for replacing it with peanut butter, applesauce, etc. to cut down. They are more like dessert than granola bars.

You can find the recipe HERE . Enjoy!!

Granola Bars

Lately I've been trying to replace much of the prepackaged food we eat with homeade. It tastes better and cuts down on the amount of preservatives the kids eat. Also, it makes me feel dumb when I eat things with ingredients that I can't pronounce. The kids have stolen enough of my brain cells, I don't have many more to spare.



This week I tried these granola bars and while hubby and I loved them, kids weren't too thrilled. They are more of the Kashi variety than the Quaker type. I found another recipe that I hope will be more kid friendly and I'll post that one too assuming it's not a complete disaster.

I can't remember where I found this recipe, I believe the Food Network:

Granola Bars

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed (I used less)

1/2 cup toasted wheat germ

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup honey

1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 8x12 baking dish.

2. Toss the oatmeal, almonds and coconut together on a cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

3. Reduce oven temp to 300 degrees.

4. Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the chocolate chips, apricots and cranberries and stir well.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool 2-3 hours before cutting.

* I lightly pressed them down again when they came out of the oven.

* Cook longer for a more crispy bar, shorter for a chewy bar.