Blueberry Muffins

So, I was wanting to make something easy to eat for breakfast when we went to the Chalk Creek Hot Springs with Kim and Rachel and their families and I thought blueberry muffins would be perfect. So, I went to my tried-and-true cook book of all the recipes I've saved and used for years now and...nothing.

Hm.

I looked in the church cookbook that I love...nothing.

I knew I'd made blueberry muffins before, but I'd thought I'd used a recipe. I guess I'd only used box mixes.

I found a recipe that looked delicious.

The ingredients:

3/4 C. milk; 1/4 C. vegetable oil; 1 egg; 2 C. flour; 1/2 C. sugar; 2 tsp. baking powder; 1/2 tsp. salt; 1 C. fresh, canned (drained) or frozen blueberries. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

I did not use the mixer for this recipe because I didn't want to over mix the batter and have the muffins be dry.

In a large mixing bowl, add the milk, oil and egg.

Whisk them together.
Then add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Stir until it is blended. It'll be lumpy and that is ok.
Now it's time for these guys.
I love blueberries. They are so pretty and deliciously tart.
Add the blueberries to the mix and gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
Divide the batter into your muffin pan.
I had a little bit left over, so I used my mini-muffin pan. They're Julia sized.
Now, I love a streusel topping on blueberry muffins. If you do not, just skip the next few steps.

In a small mixing bowl, add 1/4 C. flour, 1/4 C. packed brown sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon and stir.
Add 2 Tbsp. of firm butter to the mix...
and either using 2 knives or a pastry blender, cut the butter until it is pebble-like.
Sprinkle one Tbsp. of the topping on each muffin.
Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes. Make sure and lick every last bit of batter off the spatula.
Viola! Look at that little guy. He's so scrumptious.
I enjoy a little honey on my blueberry muffins. Mmm...
The muffins turned out perfect. They weren't dry and the blueberries were the star of the show instead of just a supporting cast member. I will most definitely be using this recipe for blueberry muffins from now on since it was so simple and yummy!

Enjoy!!

Pumpkin Bread

Do you remember last year when there was a canned pumpkin shortage?

And everyone was freaking out that they may not have pumpkin to make their pies and other dishes in time for Thanksgiving?

Well, I do. So, this year, when I saw it in the stores, I may or may not have squealed with delight when I saw them on the shelves and may or may not have grabbed an indecent amount and threw them into my cart while laughing a delirious laugh of joy.

Regardless of what might have occurred at the grocery store in front of my youngest and complete strangers, I am happy to say that I made pumpkin bread for us yesterday. The house smelled heavenly and Elisabeth reminded me that I didn't even make this bread last year. I then told her about the pumpkin scare of 2009. She had nightmares.

The ingredients:

3 1/2 C. flour; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 2 tsp. baking soda; 1 1/2 C. brown sugar; 1 1/2 C. sugar; 1 C. oil; 4 eggs; 1 1/2 tsp. salt; 1 tsp each of nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon; 2 C. of pumpkin. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Start by dumping the flour into your mixing bowl. Oh, what's that? Why yes, that is a new Kitchen Aid mixing bowl I'm using. My favorite sister-in-law gifted me this for my birthday. It has measurements on the side and a spout. I lurve it.
Then add the baking powder...
the baking soda...
the sugar...
Oh, hi, Julia. I see you've gotten into the winter wear. You look lovely.
the brown sugar...
the salt...
the nutmeg...
the cloves...
and the cinnamon.
Mix them together.
Now, in a separate bowl, dump the can of pumpkin. (Do you see me in the bowl? Peek-a-boo!)
Add the oil to the pumpkin and mix together.
Mix together the pumpkin to the dry ingredients.
Mix well.
Then praise the beautiful color of the batter and go ahead and take a lick. It's wonderfully delicious.
This makes enough for two loaves. So, generously grease two loaf pans and pour in the batter.
Cook for 50-60 minutes until it looks like this and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
Oh my goodness, look at that bread.
This bread was perfectly pumpkin-y and moist. My girls have almost eaten half a loaf on their own. It's such a simple bread to make (you know, once you've located the pumpkin at the store). And it makes your whole house all warm and smell like fall.

Enjoy!

Scrambled Egg Burritos

I love a good breakfast. I also love a good breakfast for dinner. That's why this recipe called to me. Plus, I had all the ingredients handy, which is always a plus when meal planning.

This recipe is from Rachel Ray's magazine. My friend has a bunch of RR's cookbooks and magazine menus and has lent them to me. I heart friends that share recipes. It really is a requirement in order to be my friend.

The ingredients:
eggs; sour cream; jalapenos; corn; 1/2 of a red pepper; bacon fat; cilantro; bacon; tortilla shells; salt; pepper; cheddar cheese.


The nice thing about this recipe is that it is very loosey goosey. You want can make as much of this as you want or as little. You can add your own special twist to it. You could go insane!!!! I love those kind of recipes that invoke the loss of your sanity.

I would like to show you these eggs. I think I have mentioned before that my friend Rachel has 8 chickens. These chickens are fabulous because they lay these delicious eggs. Love.


Oh, and I must show you this:
It's my bacon fat. Yep, I have a whole jar of it. I don't remember who/what/where, but I became obsessed with having my own jar of bacon fat for cooking. So, I started collecting it and now I have a full jar. And this is the first recipe that called for bacon fat and I was so excited!!!! Evan was concerned over my excitement of using bacon fat. I think sometimes he worries about me.


Okay, enough of my ramblings. Let's cook!

Preheat your oven to around 375 degrees. We're cooking our bacon in the oven, you see. I find this way of cooking not only way easier, but also better for my clothes which are thankful to not have grease splattered all over them anymore. Take a cookie sheet and cover it with foil. Then place the bacon on it. Throw it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your bacon.
Next, take 3/4 C. of sour cream and put it in a small bowl.
Add one tsp. of jalapenos (unless you like the spice and then add more).
Stir. You will be using this when we put our burritos together later.
Now, let's slice this red pepper.
Good job!
And now it's time for the bacon grease!!!!!!!! Take one tablespoon...
and throw it in a warm skillet.
This corn is for our side dish, so use as much as you'd like. I think I used 12 oz. Once the bacon fat has melted, toss in the corn.
And the red pepper slices.
And the cilantro. Of course you can use fresh cilantro, but Evan bought me freeze dried cilantro and I love it. This is about 1/4 of a cup.
And another tsp. of jalapenos. I actually ended up using more because I do like the spice.
Stir until the red peppers and corn are cooked through. Then put in a dish and set aside.
Now, take more of that glorious bacon fat (FYI: you can always use the bacon grease from the bacon you're cooking if you are not a dork and do not have a jar of bacon grease in your refrigerator) and add two more Tbsp. to the just cleaned off skillet.
Scramble as many eggs as you'd like to have in your burritos (I used 6) and toss them onto the bacon grease.
Scramble.
Hooray! The bacon is done! And look, more grease to refill my jar with!!!!!
Now, let's build our burritos. Take a tortilla shell.
Add some cheese.
Some scrambled egg.
A dollop of your spicy sour cream.
And some bacon slices. Then wrap it up and cut in half.
And, VIOLA!, you have scrambled egg burritos.
Here's the inside. Yum...

We all loved these. No one was a big fan of the corn side dish. It was kind of bleh. Next time I plan on serving it with hash browns or fruit or something else more "breakfasty". But, the burritos? They were wonderful!!! Next time I might add pepper or mushrooms. Or different cheeses!! Both girls loved them too. And, the leftovers warmed up very nicely the next morning. It's an easy dish I will definitely be making again!