I Don't Know the Muffin Man, but I Have his Recipes

Do you know the Muffin Man?  Neither do I, but after this week, I'm fairly certain I have all of his recipes.  Due to the fact that we got snowed in, and I was out of cereal, bagels, and all ready-made breakfast foods, I spent several afternoons/evenings mixing up muffin batter so there would be something for breakfast each morning.  The Raspberry Muffins pictured above were made from wild red and black raspberries we picked last summer on our mountain and stored in the freezer.  I'm so glad we still had them.

Raspberry Muffins

Mix 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Make a "well" in the center and add 1 beaten egg, 1 cup milk, and 3 Tablespoons oil.  Mix until moist.  Then add 1 cup berries and gently fold in.  Fill greased muffin pans and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  Makes a dozen.

OK, we didn't have the chili for breakfast, but these Corn Muffins I've blogged about before are also great in the morning for breakfast, especially when warmed with some butter.  The recipe can be found here in one of my September posts.

These little Breakfast Muffins are filled with all kinds of good things and are more filling than they look.  Made with peanut butter, oats, and chocolate chips, they're not only good for you, but they taste delicious too.

Chocolate Chip Breakfast Muffins

Slightly beat 1 egg; beat in 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 cup vegetable oil.  Blend in 1 cup oats, 1 cup chocolate chips, and 1/3 cup peanut butter.

Combine 1 cup flour, 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.  Add to wet mixture and stir until just blended.  It will be lumpy.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 16 minutes.

I know I've blogged about these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins at least once before, but they remain the all-time favorite in my house.  I mean it when I say they have turned pumpkin haters into lovers time and time again, and this recipe makes a lot of muffins.  You can even freeze them for later use.  This recipe can be found within my blog here in a post from October, of course.

If you're taking a stroll on Drury Lane this week, maybe you can see if the Muffin Man has any new recipes and send them my way.

A Good Day for Chocolate Lovers

We had a very cold Valentine's Day weekend up here in the Allegheny Mountains.  It was the perfect time to stay indoors in front of a warm fire, watch some movies, and consume chocolate.  The bags of Dutch Pantry chocolates above were a gift from my boys and husband.  These are locally made and are some of the best dark chocolates I've ever had.  The hazelnut truffles are one of the recent additions, and the dark chocolate amaretto cordials are my all time favorites.  Go to https://dutchpantrygifts.com/ to see the selections and to shop.

The high on Saturday was 12 degrees with a windchill of -7.  It got even colder that night with dangerously low windchills.  I am so glad that we don't have any goat kids or lambs due right now.

 Even our beagle spent the weekend inside with us...after a bath with lavender shampoo, that is.

Saturday afternoon I decided to make the kiddos some Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate.  Swiss Miss has come out with a dark chocolate variety that we've found to be really good.  One of my best friends gave us some homemade salted caramel sauce as a Christmas gift that is fantastic.  Along with using it as dip for apple slices, we have also loved it on top of vanilla ice cream.  We decided to drizzle it on top of cocoa with whipped cream and see how that tasted.

Oh my gosh, it was delicious!  If I can convince my friend to share the recipe, I'll write it in a future blog post.  We're brainstorming all kinds of ways to use this caramel sauce.  The only problem is that we're getting near the bottom of the jar.

I also pulled out an old recipe for Cocoa Pudding Cake and whipped that up in the afternoon as well.  Since it's chocolate, gooey, and warm, it seemed perfect for this cold weekend.

Cocoa Pudding Cake

First, sift together 1 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Next, add 1/2 cup milk, 2 Tablespoons oil, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.  Mix by hand until smooth.

Pour this batter into an 8 inch square greased cake pan.

Now combine 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and 1 3/4 cup water.

Pour this over the cake batter in the pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.  Warning: it may bubble up in spots and drip into the bottom of your oven.  It's a lot like lava cake.

But you'll end up with this.  It's like a brownie/chocolate cake with a liquid chocolate inside.  This serves 8-9 and is only about 250 calories/slice with 4 grams of fat.  So it's really not too bad for you.

It's looking like our President's Day is also going to be cold and quite a bit of snow is likely.  I was all ready to start decorating for spring once Valentine's Day was over, especially since Punxutawny Phil  did not see his shadow this year.  But it looks like our winter isn't over yet and my snowmen decorations will stay out a little bit longer.

Have a great week, Friends!

How to Make Your Own Baking Mix & What to Do With It

For years, I purchased pancake mixes or Bisquick from the grocery store until I rediscovered this recipe for baking mix.  This is easy to make and will store in your refrigerator for a long time even without the artificial preservatives you see in the ready-made mixes.  I've adapted this recipe from the original found in La Leche League's Whole Foods for the Whole Family cookbook, which can be found at LLLI or at any of the major bookstores.  I'm also including a few of my family's favorite recipes incorporating the baking mix.

Baking Mix

Combine 4 cups flour (white or whole wheat or a combo) with 3 Tablespoons baking powder, 1/2 Tablespoon salt, and 1 cup dry milk powder.  Cut in 3/4 cup vegetable oil or softened butter until the mix is crumbly.  Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

Recipe 1: Drop Biscuits

Stir 1 cup milk or water into 3 cups Baking Mix until moistened.  Add some shredded cheddar cheese and Italian herbs and mix together.  Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Recipe 2: Waffles 

Beat together 3 cups Baking Mix with 2 cups milk or water and 2 eggs.  I use an old-fashioned hand mixer, but you could also use a blender.  Pour into waffle iron.  Makes 8 or 9 large waffles.  This recipe also works for making pancakes.

Recipe 3: Crustless Quiche

In a blender combine 1 1/2 cups milk, 1/2 cup Baking Mix, 3 eggs, 1/4 cup melted butter, and a dash of pepper.  Blend for 15 seconds.  Pour into a greased pie pan.  Sprinkle crumbled cooked bacon or leftover chopped ham or shredded imitation crab meat on top of egg mixture.  Add 1 cup of shredded cheese (either cheddar or Swiss) and gently press the meat and cheese below the surface with a fork.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean (sometimes it takes longer than this.)  Let stand for 10 minutes.

Recipe 4: Coffee Cake

Beat together 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, 2/3 cup milk or water, and 3 Tablespoons melted butter.  Stir into 2 cups Baking Mix just until moistened.  Spread batter into greased 8" square pan.  In a small bowl, mix 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, 1/4 cup Baking Mix, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 Tablespoon butter until crumbly.  Sprinkle over batter.  Bake at 400 degrees 20 minutes.

Since I am not a morning person until I've had a cup or two of coffee, I usually mix up the coffee cake the night before and put it in the refrigerator until the next morning.  Likewise, I either do the same for the other recipes or I make them for lunch or dinner instead.  I use the crustless quiche recipe quite a bit this time of year since I need a number of meatless recipes during Lent.  After using this baking mix faithfully over the past few years, I can honestly say I've had no need to return to the commercial boxed mixes in the store.  Just keep it replenished and in the refrigerator at all times, and you'll have it on hand whenever you need it.

Simple Valentine Treats to Make With Your Peeps

I know this sounds un-American, but while most of the country was preparing for the Super Bowl, my children and I spent Saturday creating Valentine treats.  Some things were inspired by Pinterest, but others were my traditional sweets.  Everything is super simple to make and requires little time and few ingredients.  All of it was well-received.

Valentine Pretzel Treats

This is one I did find on Pinterest and was a huge success because it is colorful, bitesized, and only requires 3 ingredients.  Simply put square pretzels (I used the butter flavored ones) on a cookie sheet, and top each one with a Hershey's Hugs chocolate.  Place in a 300 degree oven for about 2 or 3 minutes until the Hugs have softened, but not completely melted.

As soon as they come out of the oven, place a dark chocolate Valentine colored M&M in the center.  I couldn't find a good way to do this without getting messy.  It was a bit too tedious for my smaller children.  Maybe using a pair of tweezers would be a good idea.

Just look how cute these turned out.  The Hugs eventually firm up once cooled and the treat is no longer gooey.  Perfect for classroom parties or just to have at home.

Raspberry Filled Sugar Cookies

These heart shaped cookies are something I've been making for years.  Sometimes I fill them with creme frosting, but this time I used Smuckers Natural Raspberry Fruit Spread.  Simply roll out your favorite sugar cookie dough and cut out with heart shaped cookie cutters.  For the top cookie, cut a smaller heart out of the center and bake everything in the oven according to the directions.  I used refrigerated Pillsbury sugar cookie dough and baked them in a 350 degree oven for 11 minutes.  After they come out of the oven, let cool for a minute.  Then spread the jam on the solid hearts and sprinkle powdered sugar on the cookies with the center cut out.  Place the tiny heart shaped cookies aside.

Then, place them together like a sandwich, and you've got pseudo healthy Valentine sugar cookies.  Yummy!

All those little heart shapes you cut out of the cookies above can be covered in frosting and decorated by the kiddos.  Our favorite butter cream frosting can be found here at my blog post from last July.

Some easy treats that aren't sweet are these Town House heart shaped pretzel thins with a piece of cooper cheese on top---in the shape of a heart, of course.  Cucumbers are also easy to slice and push a small metal heart shaped cookie cutter through.  Somehow even raw veggies are more appealing to children if they're in a different shape.

Valentine Floats

To make some pink non-alcoholic beverages, I used some vanilla ice cream, cranberry Sierra Mist, whipped cream, and maraschino cherries to create Cranberry Floats.

Just put a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream in the bottom of each glass, add the soda, and top with whipped cream and a cherry and straw.

The only problem was that the whipped cream and maraschino cherries kept sinking into the foam before I could get a good picture taken.  Didn't change the flavor though.  The kids definitely want me to make these more often.

Finally, since I've gotten into seasonal chalkboard art on my front porch, the snowman was erased, and a Valentine theme was created.  Although, it's looking like we might get more snow here in a few days.

Now doesn't this look like more fun than watching a football game?

Have You Seen Little Boy?

A few weeks ago when the children were out of school for the day, we sat down to watch a movie together.  As I was searching Netflix for something that looked appealing and worthwhile, I stumbled upon this movie Little Boy.  It appeared to be safe enough for all family members, and it had 5 stars, so I decided to give it a try.  Little did I know then that it would top any other movie I have seen in a very long time.

Despite what the mainstream critics say, I thought this movie was incredibly moving, inspiring, touching, and not at all offensive---and we are Catholic.  The synopsis can be found here at Wikipedia, but I'll try to give you just enough information to leave you intrigued.  Seven year old Pepper is small for his age, but his father has always built him up to be as powerful and capable as a super-hero.  When his father is shipped away to fight in WWII, Pepper wants more than anything to bring his father back home.  Influenced by his older brother, he believes that his father's deployment is the fault of all the Japanese.  There just so happens to be a Japanese-American in their town who is hated by most of the residents, especially Pepper's older brother.  A series of events occur, and Pepper hears this Gospel verse at Church: "For truly, I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move hence to yonder place,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you."---Matthew 17:20.  Inspired by that and an awe for a certain magician/super-hero, he is filled with faith that he can bring his father back home.  Whenever he speaks to his parish priest, however, he is told this will not happen as long as he has hatred in his heart.  He is then encouraged to become friends with the Japanese-American, Hashimoto.  Along with this, he is also given an important list to follow, which happens to be the Corporal Works of Mercy:

To feed the hungry;

To give drink to the thirsty;

To clothe the naked;

To harbour the harbourless;

To visit the sick;

To ransom the captive;

To bury the dead.

It is humorous at times to see how Little Boy completes these merciful deeds and crosses them off his list, and it is inspiring and touching to see how he does indeed try to move mountains with his faith.  His determination, fortitude, and extreme faith end up affecting all those around him.  He continues on even when others make fun of him and tell him it is hopeless.  At one point near the end of the movie, he is faced with what he believes is a choice to let go of one dream for the sake of a friend.  Just when you think the movie's plot has ended, there is a final twist that leaves you inspired and full of hope.

Little Boy was released in 2015 and is now on DVD and Netflix.  I would definitely watch it again as long as I had a huge box of tissues beside me.  This is a tearjerker almost from the beginning, but I seem to cry over these movies more easily than the rest of my family.  I was moved by the film and found it refreshing over the massive amounts of shallow, superficial, cynical tripe that dominates the screen these days.  It also prompted some good historical discussions about the plight of the Japanese Americans in the United States during World War II.  My children were unaware of their story, for the most part. Needless to say, I highly recommend this movie as long as you're aware that tissues are probably in order, and if you're like me, your eyes might be puffy for a good hour or so afterwards.

A Whirlwind of a Weekend

What a weekend!  From a visit from the tooth fairy to hurricane simulators to book fairs and a kickoff for Catholic Schools Week, a lot was squeezed into a few short days.

The excitement in our family began when our youngest lost her front tooth at school (with some help from a teacher) and the tooth fairy visited early Friday morning.  Our daughter not only left her tooth on the windowsill Thursday night (it's too difficult here to locate a tooth under a pillow), but she also left a post-it note and marker so the tooth fairy could write to her.  In addition, there was a mystery bag filled with something white and squishy.  When I inquired about it, she said it was a cotton ball soaked in water so the tooth fairy can clean her tooth more thoroughly.  I love the imagination and wonder of this little girl.  I'm not looking forward to all our little ones growing out of this stage of life.

Friday afternoon the children and I took my future daughter-in-law shopping, and then we met my husband, his parents, and our grown son at a local brewery/restaurant to celebrate his 23rd birthday.  We had lots of food, sampled some good beer, and had some fun looking through a stack of baby pictures of our eldest son that his grandmother found in a trunk at her house.  He looked so much like one of his younger brothers when he was little, and he is looking so much like a younger version of his dad now.

Saturday morning we got up and drove out of town to their cousin's birthday party that was held at the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg, PA.  What a fun, interactive, educational place to spend hours on a Saturday afternoon.  Our children were all over the place, but the most popular area seemed to be the hurricane simulator where you could walk in and experience 91 mph winds and have your hair and belongings blown all over the place.  Since I had actually spent time styling and spraying my hair that morning, I passed, but my kids went in there over and over again.  I couldn't get any good photos because they were constantly moving and every picture was blurry, I'm sad to say.

Our youngest isn't just a tooth fairy fan; she's also an artist.  She took up a lot of time on this piece of graffiti art that I was surprised to find later.  She's still young enough to write something like this in front of a bunch of little boys and not be at all embarrassed.  Those little boys waiting in line behind her were quite patient because she took that spot for a very long time.

After getting home late Saturday night and dropping into bed, we awoke early Sunday morning to get to Church to kick off the beginning of Catholic Schools Week.  Two of our children sang with the choir at Mass, and then while my husband and kids had doughnuts and drinks, I helped out at the school's Scholastic Book Fair.  My job was to answer questions, tidy up, and bring out more items.  We'll all be there numerous times throughout the week.  After the book fair and open house shut down for the day, three of us returned to Church for a second Mass because two of our sons were scheduled to be altar servers.

When we left the second Mass at 1:00, the sun was shining and the temperature was in the fifties.  Our foot and a half of snow and ice from Jonas was melting away.  Even though we had homework and studying and laundry and blogging, we had to get out in this beautiful, spring-like weather.

The boys got out their bikes while the rest of us walked behind with our beagle...

...and one of our cats tagged along too.  Sometimes all four of our felines walk behind us and cry when we get to the bridge that they don't like to cross.

Even our older daughter pulled herself away from Pinterest long enough to start training for spring track which will begin in a month.  What a change this busy warm weekend turned out to be from the last when we were all snowed in up here with Jonas.

I can't wait to see what February brings.

How This Cat Threw Out My Back

When I described our weekend with Snowstorm Jonas in my last blog post, I left out the part about our pets and my back.  We took pity on our four "barn" cats and the beagle and let them in for the day while the snow fell and the winds blew outside our farmhouse.

If we don't let them in, the cats and chickens line up on the back porch railing and stare into the kitchen window looking hungry, cold, and pitiful.  I put my foot down with the chickens and other livestock, however.  They must stay outside in the barn.

After playing outside with our children and running the best she could through over a foot of snow, Tippy was content to lie on the kitchen floor in front of the warm coalstove for hours.  She didn't mind the mess of boots and gloves drying all around her.  She was quite well-behaved except that her hound smell permeated every part of the kitchen, but she can't help that.

  But this black cat, Star, is our favorite; or should I say, he WAS my favorite pet.  He is big, fluffy, gentle, the best mouse hunter, and a survivor.  He stands up to loose dogs, brings his prey to the other feline residents, always waits until the other cats have finished before he eats a morsel, and takes the least comfortable chair if he is allowed inside the house.  He even stands at the door and meows when he needs to go outside.  His only flaw is that he hates to use the bathroom in the snow.

On Saturday afternoon, as the snow was winding down and my husband was outside shoveling and making paths for the younger children to go sledding, I was making a hearty beef stew in the crockpot.  Star began walking around me, looking up into my eyes, and being restless.  I gave him water, but he didn't want that.  I gave him food, but he didn't want that either.  I opened a cupboard door to retrieve a measuring cup, and he tried to walk into the cupboard.  I realized he needed to go outside, so I opened the front door and called for him.  He looked me in the eyes, turned around, and ran the other way.  Before I knew it, he sneaked behind the dining room door where the childrens' backpacks were hidden out of sight, and I heard our daughter yell, "No, Star. Noooo!"

As I realized what he was up to, I rushed to the backpacks and lunged forward to grab the cat squatting there, and then I felt it.  Something pulled in my low back, and I could not move.  Our daughter grabbed the cat and put him outside as our teen son cleaned up the mess he made on the brand new backpack and the floor, and I was paralyzed on my hands and knees next to it all.  I felt most undignified, but I couldn't stop laughing at the hilarity of the situation.  Had I really just thrown out my back because this cat would not willingly use the bathroom in the snow?  Really?  It took five minutes, two teenaged children, and a dining room chair to successfully get me back up on my feet.  Even then, I couldn't stand up straight.  For the rest of the day and night, I could only walk very slowly, hunched over, with the assistance of two people.  Lying flat on my back was the only relief I got from the pain.  I went to bed that night with a heating pad, a muscle relaxer, and some ibuprofen wondering if an ambulance would be able to get up our snow-covered lane because I was certain I could never get in and out of our SUV.  I couldn't imagine going another day without a visit to the hospital emergency room.

Believe it or not, after a restful night's sleep, with the exception of a snap and shooting pain at one point when I tried to prop myself up on an extra pillow, I awoke the next morning pain-free.  I was able to get out of bed and walk downstairs on my own.  As the day progressed, I became more mobile and the tight muscle in my back gradually loosened.  As the weekend ended, I felt almost back to normal, and except for a little twinge every now and then, I have been fine ever since.  Our six-year old believes that is due to all her prayers Saturday night.  I certainly did my own share of praying too since I knew I would need to be able to drive children around and do tons of laundry all this week.  I have thanked God numerous times and breathed many sighs of relief that my mishap was short lived.

While I definitely believe in the power of prayer, I'm also not willing to tempt fate.  I'm afraid Star has been banned from the house for the foreseeable future.  Or at least until the next major snowstorm.  Perhaps I should just invest in a litter box.