Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

 INGREDIENTS:

2 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

3 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. cinnamon

3/4 t. allspice

1/3 c. vegetable oil

2 eggs

3/4 c. canned pumpkin

2 c. fresh/frozen chopped cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sift together dry ingredients

Whisk together oil, eggs, and pumpkin

Combine dry and moist ingredients, then fold in chopped cranberries.

Spoon into greased muffin tin. (Makes 12)

Bake 20-25 minutes. 

These store well in the refrigerator.

They are one of my favorite breakfast muffins!

(Disclaimer: I didn't make this recipe, but I don't remember where I found it. So, I'm giving it out, but remember, it's not mine originally.)

Baked Oatmeal

I've had a lot of requests for this recipe, so before we jump in, I want to give full credit. 

This delicious recipe was perfected by my Mother and Sisters-in-Love. They make good food. 

Here is what the recipe looks like in my cookbook:

Snazzy, right? The left column is for a smaller batch, but I always make the right hand column, for a nice big batch to last a while.

My favorite version is made in a 9-qt. casserole dish, with rolled oats. 

(The recipe calls for quick oats; I just use the Walmart brand of rolled oats. Strictly preference.)

Ready to amaze your taste buds? Good.

1: Combine all dry ingredients in your dish (seen here is my 9-qt.).

(You can use a 9x13 dish as well, but you'll probably want to mix in a separate bowl then put it in your dish)

2. In a glass measuring cup (I use a 4-cup one for space), whisk together your eggs and oil.

Nice and fluffy:

3. Then dump in 1/3c. peanut butter.

 and mix it up.

 I like using a whisk for this part because it breaks up the peanut butter smoothly and combines everything well. This works great with chunky PB, too!

4. Now dump that into the dry ingredients

 then use that same measuring cup to add 1 1/3c. milk to everything.

5. Mix everything together well.

6. Cook it! 

My preferred  version (because it's Scott's favorite way to eat it, and it's fast) is to microwave the stuff.

With the rolled oats I use the full 12-minute time slot. With quick oats 9 minutes is sufficient. 

Covering is optional, just make sure to start with less time and work up if you're not sure how long. Don't leave any gooey spots in the middle, and don't let it dry out.

I'm making this sound super complicated, and it's not.

7. EAT IT. 

We like ours with a little milk.

Bon Appetit!

That is not posed. She really did take a bite and make the perfect picture.

Because...

if you don't lick the plate, how else do you get all the ketchup?

To Eat an Avocado

My favorite way to serve an avocado is to put the most amazing blend of flavors together with it.

First, get a puff pastry sheet from the frozen section of your grocery store. Thaw it according to package directions. This is very important, because improper thawing will affect the quality of your final product.

Next, lay out the puff pastry sheet and cut it into equal(ish) squares. 

On half the squares, smear some cream cheese, top with finely chopped avocado, and a dollop of your favorite chunky salsa. (The more runny your salsa, the messier this becomes.) Make sure to leave plenty of room around the edges!

Finally, take an empty square and use it to make the roof of the pocket. Crimp the edges. However you do it, seal those edges as best you can. It takes practice, and sometimes stuff oozes out. Not a big deal, you just don't want all your toppings to end up all over your baking sheet. 

Cook at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Then enjoy.

I enjoy them so much that this picture was taken as I was ready to finish the last pastry. Which is why there isn't much left. Oops. 

**Note: The size of these can be whatever you make them. Although you get more filling and less pastry if you make them 4"x4" rather than 2" squares. Experiment and adjust to your taste.

Breakfast

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes, from Pioneer Woman

 Ava loved them, Lucy didn't. Lucy more tolerated them.

 Breakfast was pretty silly today.

And really, isn't this one of the best faces on earth?!

 Ava was loving the sticky syrup, and reciting "If You Give a Pig a Pancake".

Her version: "If mommy gives Ava a pancake, she will want some syrup to go with it."

 Love this smile!

 And the funniest: "take silly pictures, mommy!"

 After I asked where her nose was:

 My wonderful little 1-year-old:

Happy breakfast eating, everyone! 

Layers

Turkey,

provolone,

tomatoes,

purple onion,

lettuce,

on rye

spread with mayo

and dijon mustard.

Color on your plate makes food that much more appealing-

and this sandwich did not disappoint.

Quiche

Quiche (English pronunciation: /ˈkiːʃ/; keesh) is a savory, open-faced pastry crust pie with a savory custard filling of cheese, meat and vegetables. The quiche is sometimes regarded as the savory equivalent of custard tart.

SAUSAGE QUICHE

With green pepper and onion for extra flavor and nutrition, it was a big hit for supper tonight!

Supper 2/27

Tonight's recipe was a winner! Found in a cookbook we picked up at TJMaxx (also sold on Amazon.com), it brilliantly combines vegetables with massive amounts of cheese for incredible flavor.

Tortillas toasted, topped with swiss cheese. (The recipe called for pitas, which I didn't have. The tortillas substituted well.) Then mashed avocado. Then tuna salad with grated carrot and swiss cheese in it. Then more cheese on top, sprinkle on some thyme, and toast again.

It was so good!

Blueberries

Supper and Smiley Faces

We picked this book up at TJMaxx last weekend.

The recipes are easy and healthy (packed with vegetables), and the price is right!

I've been getting back into meal planning, and I'm working on the price breakdown per meal after shopping with a strict ingredient list.

Tonight was Roasted Cauliflower with Pizza Burgers. The secret to making the meat stretch was black beans and shredded carrots.

It was delicious!

And the Husband's system for rewarding Ava's good behavior (I love that he came up with this) :

If Ava rudely tells Lucy "no" or whines, or displays bad attitudes she gets frowny faces. 5 frowny faces equals a quiet time in her room to think about good behavior and kind actions.

Her good manners translate into happy faces, which are rewarded with good consequences. Tonight she had 5 (!!!!!) happy faces (full quota for rewards) and got to watch a Thomas after supper.

(I should mention that it is NOT easy for Ava to maintain 5 happy faces. She is 2, after all.)

She's been doing better. Less whining and shouting "no" every time Lucy so much as looks at her, and more singing songs to the little sister, telling her stories, playing peekaboo, and generally being sweet and congenial.

It's pleasant.

Shoes, Pink, Blue, and Food

She was wearing shoes here. It took close to 10 minutes to find all the outerwear, and put it on. She wanted to come in after 2 minutes outside. I hear parents everywhere empathetically nodding and smiling.
She likes to put shoes on, too. Or try, anyway.

....................................................................................................

There's some very cute babies that hang out here during the week.
I love the pink Lucy and the blue Riley. Aren't they adorable?

Every photo shoot should have an efficient props coordinator.
Does "widdow man" feel left out?

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I made these sweet potato fries and chips.

Most had salt and pepper, and one batch was made with brown sugar and cinnamon. (Those are my favorite. Sometimes my sweet tooth is irrational.)

And supper tonight: Salmon patties and acorn squash.
This picture demonstrates a few things:
1. Disproportionate patties result when I make one and then scrape out the leftovers and put together a tiny last pattie.
2. These look much more delicious when cooked.
3. I use olive oil and butter to fry them thanks to Pioneer Woman. SO delicious.

The squash was yummy tonight! I cut in in half, scooped out the seeds and discarded them, then turned the two halves upside down in a baking dish with a little water. I think it was 400 degrees for 1 hour. Then I righted them, scored the sides and put in a little butter and brown sugar and left them in the oven until the patties were done. To serve I mixed the cooked squash in a bowl before dishing it out.

Food is so fun to cook and eat, and I don't mind the clean-up either!