Bran Muffins

 
We love these muffins and it has been a long time since I have made them.  Brandon asked me to make some to take for work, so here they are!  They make 12 BIG muffins that taste AWESOME!

Ingredients

1 c. raisins
1 t. water
2 1/4 c. All-Bran Original cereal (5 ounces)
1 1/4c. flour(6 1/4 ounces)
1/2 c. whole wheat flour (2 1/2 ounces),
2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2/3 c.brown sugar (4 2/3 ounces)
3 T. mild molasses (or light)
1 t. vanilla extract
6 T.butter (3/4 stick), melted and cooled
1 3/4 c. plain whole milk yogurt 

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray standard-sized muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Combine raisins and water in small microwave-safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap, cut several steam vents in plastic with paring knife, and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Let stand, covered, until raisins are softened and plump, about 5 minutes. Transfer raisins to paper towel-lined plate to cool.
3. Process half of bran cereal in food processor until finely ground, about 1 minute.
4. Whisk flours, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to combine; set aside.
5. Whisk egg and yolk together in medium bowl until well-combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add sugar, molasses, and vanilla; whisk until mixture is thick, about 30 seconds. Add melted butter and whisk to combine; add yogurt and whisk to combine. Stir in processed cereal and unprocessed cereal; let mixture sit until cereal is evenly moistened (there will still be some small lumps), about 5 minutes.
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and gently mix with rubber spatula until batter is combined and evenly moistened. Do not over mix.
7. Gently fold raisins into batter.
8. Using 1/3-cup measure or ice cream scoop, divide batter evenly among muffin cups, dropping batter to form mounds. Do not level or flatten surfaces of mounds.
9. Bake until muffins are dark golden and toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out with a few crumbs attached, 16 to 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
10. Cool muffins in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving

Biscuits

I decided to throw some biscuits together tonight to go along with dinner.  These were quick, easy, and flaky.

 Ingredients

2 cups flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 T. sugar
1/3 c. butter
1 c. milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually stir in milk until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.  (I did this using my food processor and pulsing it until it was ready.)
3. Turn out onto a floured surface, and knead 15 to 20 times. Pat or roll dough out to 1 inch thick. Cut biscuits with a large cutter or juice glass dipped in flour. Repeat until all dough is used. Brush off the excess flour, and place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.
4. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges begin to brown. 
5. Brush with a little extra butter if you want them to remain soft, and enjoy!

Valentine's Day Treats

Aiden and I made these together for him to take to his preschool class. We popped up some popcorn, threw in a little salt, then melted some Candiquick and poured it over top. After we got the popcorn all nice and covered, we threw in some peanut butter m&m's and then let then dry for awhile on a baking pan. Once it as all ready to go, we filled up these bags and attached our Angry Bird's valentines. We are certain that any preschooler will love this treat!

Denver Omelet Strudel

Trying something new right now. We joined a what's for dinner list and now we get sent an email every week with recipes to make. As we are picky, I'm sure we won't want to try ALL of the recipes, but this is to help get us out of our normal food rut that I'm sure EVERYONE understands! This recipe was for a brunch item that we decided to have for breakfast this morning. It was kind of fun. I think next time I'll use a different colored pepper so that my boys might actually try it instead of tearing the whole thing apart to eat just the eggs, the ham, and the puff pastry....

Ingredients

1 puff pastry sheet - thawed according to package directions

1 T. butter

1/2 bell pepper

1 c. diced ham

6 eggs

1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese

 salt and pepper

grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Whisk 5 eggs and 1 egg yolk with salt and pepper.  Keep remaining egg white for later.
3. In a skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add pepper and saute until tender.
4. Add ham and continue to cook for 1 minute.
5. Add eggs and cook until they are done.
6. Open puff pastry.  You will see that it is folded in thirds.  Cut about 8 "wings" at an angle on both outer panels.
7. Spread eggs evenly over the middle panel and top with cheddar cheese.
8. Starting at the top, Alternate each "wing" over the eggs.  When finished, it will look like a braid.
9. Brush top with remaining egg white and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
10. Bake for 15-20 minutes until nice and golden brown.