Butter and Honey

Pumpkin Surprise Muffins - - YUM!

I bought this last year and have not been disappointed in any of the recipes I've tried.  Grabbing it off the shelf, I start leafing through and come to a dead stop at the word "pumpkin."  I love pumpkin and we don't have it a whole lot so immediately this is high on my list!  I glance through the ingredients and - WOW! - I actually have everything that is needed.   I'm happily heading to the kitchen to get started and the children start asking questions:  "What kind of muffin are you making?"  "Does it have chocolate in it?"  "How long will it take?"  :-)   "I'm going to make Pumpkin Surprise Muffins!" I say cheerfully.  "Ugghh." says one.   "Can we move away from the gourd family?" says another.  LOL!  "But they're Pumpkin Surprise Muffins!" I say again.  "Trust me, you'll love them!"

So, guess what?   They LOVED them!  They loved them so much that this morning they asked me to make them Again!   Are you curious now as to what the surprise is?  A little square of cream cheese and a dollop of apricot jam in the center of each muffin.  Too, too good! I hope you enjoy -


Pumpkin Surprise Muffins   
from Taste of Home Muffins & Quick Breads

Preheat oven to 400F.  Grease muffin tin.

Cut 3 ounces of cream cheese into 12 cubes.  Set aside.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon EACH salt, nutmeg, ginger

Mix above dry ingredients in bowl.

2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sour cream
6 Tablespoons butter, melted
3 Tablespoons apricot preserves

Mix above wet ingredients in a separate bowl.

Pour pumpkin mixture onto flour mixture and stir (from bottom to top) just until ingredients are moistened.  Fill prepared muffin cups half full with batter.  Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each muffin and top with 1 teaspoon of apricot preserves.  Top each muffin with remaining batter.  Sprinkle with sliced almonds and/or sugar, if desired.  Bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Our Favorite Kabob Marinade

Favorites: Popover Pizza

I'm cleaning out my old blog and posting some favorite posts here.  This one was originally written in February of 2007.  I hope you enjoy!

Not a lot of time for dinner tonight so I made one of our favorite's, Popover Pizza.

A really simple recipe and easy to double, which I do so that we can have some for lunch tomorrow!

This is from The Southern Living Cookbook that I borrowed from my mom about 11 years ago.  I hope she doesn't want it back anytime soon.  ;-)  As always, the first time I make a recipe I follow it exactly.  Then if it is good enough, we tweak it and make it our own - so what follows is essentially the Southern Living recipe with a few little changes made by the children and I.

Popover Pizza

• 1 lb. mild italian sausage
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 15 oz. jar pizza sauce
• 1 sm. can of mushroom pieces, or 1 cup fresh mushrooms sliced
• 1 15 oz. can olives, sliced
• 2 cups shredded mozzerella cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. milk
• 1 T. vegetable oil
• 1 c. flour
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

Cook sausage, onion, and garlic in large skillet until meat is browned; drain fat.  Add sauce - after pouring sauce from jar, add about 1/4 c. of water to jar and shake to get remaining sauce then add that to the skillet also along with mushrooms and olives. Stir well and simmer 10 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, beat eggs, milk and oil in bowl until foamy.  Add flour and salt, beating with wire whisk until smooth.

Spoon meat mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 dish, then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Pour batter over meat mixture.  (Yes, it is very thin and looks like nothing at all, but trust me - it will be wonderful!)  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Bake at 400F for 30 mintues, or until the top is puffed and golden brown.  Cut into squares and serve hot.   Serves 6.

NOTE:  This is just a great basic recipe that you can adapt to fit your family.  Whatever you may like on your pizza, go ahead and put it in!  When I double this, I add 1 lb. ground beef and 1 lb. of sausage to stretch the sausage.    I cook the meat mixture all together but mix the crust ingredients separately so that they are equal.  You could also add spaghetti sauce and some diced tomatoes (without the olives) for a more Spaghetti-type dinner.  And the crust on this is so easy and delicious that I can imagine it poured over any kind of meat/vegetable mixture - like chicken and broccoli with cheddar cheese.  Delicious!

Favorites: Peanut Butter Muffins

I'm cleaning out my old blog and posting some favorite posts here.  This one was originally written in February of 2007.  I hope you enjoy!

Who wouldn't love to wake up to these? 

It was a wonderful morning, I got everything done on my Morning Routine (FLY Lady) including making something yummy for our breakfast.  The morning set the tone for the rest of the day and wouldn't you know it, the children got all their schoolwork done, plus chores, a walk and a few little fun extras -- AND we had a good dinner that was cleaned up in time for some great company that came over!!  It was a great day!  Do you think if I make muffins tomorrow that it will go just as nearly-perfect?   (I have to say nearly-perfect because Dear Son 3 always tells me, "No, Mom, nothing is perfect except God.")

Try baking these tomorrow morning and see how your day goes!  ;-)

Peanut Butter Muffins   

Heat oven to 400F.  Get out 1 egg to warm to room temperature.  Butter Muffin tin.

In small bowl mix:  1 3/4 cups flour,  1 T. baking powder,  1/2 t. salt

In large bowl:  whisk egg until lightly beaten.  Whisk in 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, whisking until thick and smooth, about 2 minutes.  (This is a very important step.  It really aerates the batter making very light, melt-in-your-mouth muffins.)   Whisk in 1/2 cup peanut butter until smooth.  Whisk in 1 1/4 cups milk,  5 T. melted butter,  1 t. vanilla.

With wooden spoon, gently stir in flour mixture, being careful not to overmix.   Spoon into buttered muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes.  Allow the muffins to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing them from the tin.

Corn Tortilla Chicken Lasagna

I've made this twice now, and while it is a bit time consuming to put together, it makes two 9x13 dishes and is so delicious it's worth it.

For your consideration and enjoyment!

Corn Tortilla Chicken Lasagna

• 36 corn tortillas
• 6 cups cooked, cubed chicken breast (about 3 lbs.)
• 4 cups pinto beans
• Three 16 oz. jars of your favorite salsa (I use La Victoria: one mild red, one mild green, and one medium red -- use what you like. )
• 4 cups sour cream
• 15 oz. can ripe olives, sliced
• 3 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack Cheese
• 3 cups shredded Cheddar Cheese

Prepare two 9x13 in. baking dishes with non-stick spray and arrange 6 tortillas in each dish; then top tortillas with 1 cup chicken, 2/3 cup pinto beans, 1 cup salsa, about 9 evenly spaced dollops of sour cream, 1/2  cup Jack and 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese.  Repeat layers two more times, adding the sliced olives to the third layer before adding the cheeses.

Cover dishes and bake at 350F for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and sides are bubbly.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.  Makes two, 12-15 serving casseroles.