Apple Cinnamon Bran Muffins

(I got this from my friend Melynie)

Mix and set aside to cool:

4 c All bran cereal

2 c boiling water

Cream together in large bowl:

1 c vegetable oil (or substitute applesauce)

2 1/2 c honey

4 eggs

Add and mix well:

2 T baking soda

2 t salt

4 c buttermilk

cooled bran mixture

7 c whole wheat flour

4 T cinnamon

4 1/2 c finely chopped, peeled apples

2 1/2 t nutmeg2 1/2 t cloves

Yield: 13 cups batter

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 min.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

4 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)

A small splash of vanilla extract

1 large coffee mug (microwave safe)

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Stir in the milk and oil. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Cook for 3 minutes in the microwave at 1000 watts (the cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed). Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate. Can serve 2.

Hawaiian Chicken

Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups pineapple juice
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions:

Spray slow cooker with non-stick spray. Mix the ingredients & pour over chicken in slow cooker. Cook 4-6 hours on low or until chicken falls apart easily. Shred & serve over rice with your choice of steamed vegetables (I love it with zucchini & squash). (If you prefer, you can use pineapple in addition to the juice. My family hates pineapple, though, so I just use the juice for flavor).

Pretend Like It's the Weekend

Here's a recipe our family loves and that I can tell you right off the top of my head. I've never been a bananas or a pancakes lover, but I really do love these banana pancakes. We always make a double batch and then stick some in the freezer for quick heating later in the week.

Brainless Banana Pancakes

1 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 c milk
1 banana
1 tbsp sugar

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside. Mash banana in medium bowl, mix in milk and sugar. Whisk banana mixture into dry mixture. We've found these cook best on our griddle rather than right on the stove. They are great with butter and real maple syrup, or garnish with fresh fruit.

A few good ones...

Thanks for the invite Katy! I love finding good recipes:). Here are a couple to get things started:

Crispy Orange Beef--Okay so this is not one you'll want to make every day for obvious health reasons, but it is very, very good and much fresher and cheaper than buying take-out. I found it in a daily email from Allrecipes on this past Conference Sunday and we just happened to have everything we needed to make it. A couple of adjustments:
1. If you want to have enough sauce so you can serve it over rice and have the rice adequately sauced, then double that part. Make sure you cook it long enough so it becomes a glaze-like consistency; you may want to add a smidge of corstarch.
2. We like to eat a lot of veggies in this house, so after cooking up the meat and draining the wok of oil, I added back a little oil (I always add in sesame oil in asian cooking) and stir-fried a whole bunch of thinly sliced veggies--carrots, celery, onion, green onion, pea pods, broccoli, etc., until tender-crisp and then set them aside. I added them back into the sauce with the meat and cooked until heated through just before serving.
3. Make sure the beef is completely coated in the corn starch, that you cook it in small batches, that it gets well-browned and crispy before removing from the oil (I use a slotted spoon), and that you lay it to drain on paper towels. A deep-fryer would probably work even better if you have one. All of these things will ensure that you get crispy orange beef and not slimy orange beef;).
Serve it with egg rolls, steamed rice and a salad.

Chocolate-Crusted Chocolate Tarts--I have made these for a few baby showers and when we've had people over. There are a couple of different steps, but they are really quite easy to make. I make them in my silicon muffin pans, and that really aids in the removal of the tarts after baking. I usually use honey flavored with seedless raspberry jam ( about 2-3 tsp of jam in the honey) and Ghiradelli 60% cacao chocolate chips (b/c I am a bit too cheap to spend $10 on truly DARK chocolate for this dessert), and they are always a hit.

If anyone tries these, let us know what you think--did you like it, did it turn out, did you make any adjustments to the recipe?

Happy eating!

Back to blogging...but not in the conventional sense

Okay, yes, I created a new blog even though I've sworn off blogging. I know, I know. In my defense, though, this blog will mostly likely not include any pictures of my family or cute stories about my kids (probably). So, you might wonder, what in the sam hill is this thing even going to be about? (I heard someone use that expression the other day and I've been dying to use it ever since!) Let me explain...

I recently figured out that I LOVE to cook. I also really enjoy baking. I'm not claiming any expert status or special talent here. I just really enjoy it. Nowadays, when babies are in bed or when I have a few free minutes at home (HA!) I'm poring over recipe books. I don't have any special cooking/baking equipment--although my Amazon Wish List has several items that are for that far-off day when I get my gourmet kitchen; if anyone feels like spending money on me let me know and I'll link you to my list--but I thought it would be fun to use a blog as a place to document menus, recipes and pictures of what I'm cooking...or thinking about cooking. I also thought if anyone else was interested, I could add team members to the blog and we could ALL share the yumminess in our lives! So...any takers?

Anyway, if you want, check back in anytime you'd like to see what's happening in my kitchen!