Raisin Bran Bread

This recipe doesn't go along with the theme, but I tried it out the other day and I thought it was really yummy!

2 cups raisin bran cereal, divided
1 1/4 cups skim milk
1/4 cup margarine, divided
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar (I used honey)
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white and 1 cup whole wheat)
1 TBSP Baking Powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 TBSP sugar

Preheat oven to 350*. Mix 1 1/2 cups of the cereal, the milk and 2 Tbsp of the margarine. Let stand 1 minute. Add egg and the 3/4 cup sugar (or honey), mix well. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon until well blended. Spread into a 9x5 loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. Mix remaining 1/2 cup of cereal, remaining margarine, and 1 Tbsp sugar (I left the sugar out) until well blended; sprinkle over batter. Gently press cereal mixture into batter. Bake 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins

Here is the original website where this recipe is from. They are really good and healthy for you, Lucas also likes them a lot. I recommend that you read through her instructions before you bake them.

http://pinchmysalt.com/2008/01/25/whole-wheat-orange-spice-muffin-recipe/

Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup flax seed meal (ground flax seeds) ( I didn't have this so I added 1/3 C. more flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange zest
1/3 cup neutral flavored oil such as canola, vegetable or grapeseed
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees; grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper baking cups. Zest and juice 2 or 3 medium oranges, measure out juice and zest; set aside. Chop and measure walnuts; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, flax seed meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Using a wire whisk, blend ingredients together very well. This is your dry mixture. Set it aside.

3. In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, buttermilk, orange juice and zest, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. This is your wet mixture.

4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir with a wooden spoon just until all the flour has been incorporated. Make sure to scrape up all the flour from the bottom of the bowl as you are mixing. Once you no longer see any pockets of flour remaining, gently fold in the walnuts.

5. Using a large spoon or an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin cup almost to the top. Divide any remaining batter between the cups so that they are somewhat equal. Put the muffins in a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes. Check to see if they are done by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin. If the toothpick comes out clean, they are done. If not, let the muffins bake an additional 2 minutes and check again. When muffins are done, let cool on a wire rack for five minutes then remove muffins from pan and let cool completely on the wire rack.

recipe notes: I suggest using King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour if you can find it. For best zesting results, use a microplane grater. I used two oranges to get the correct amount of juice and zest but you may use more or less depending on the type of oranges. If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can make your own: 1 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. ground ginger, 1/4 t. ground nutmeg and 1/4 t. ground cloves. Mix it together then scoop out one heaping teaspoon to use in the recipe. Mandarins, tangerines, or other sweet citrus may be used in place of standard oranges. Melted butter may be used in place of oil if desired.

French Bread

This is my friend Kristen's recipe. This makes four loaves so if you want you can freeze half or just half the recipe if you don't need as much.

* 5 C. hot tap water
* 4 T. Yeast
* 8 T. Sugar of 1/2 C. honey
* 4 tsp. salt
* 1/4 C. oil
* 12 C. flour

1. Mix ingredients, make dough stiff and let raise
2. Roll out 1/2 of dough like a jelly roll.
3. Cut rolled out section in half to make two loaves.
- repeat with other half of the dough
4. Place on greased pan dusted with cornmeal.
5. Make diagonal slits in the top of the loaves about 2 1/2 in. apart
6. Brush loaves with cold water and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional)
7. Bake @ 400* for 10 min, turn down oven to 350* and bake for 20 min more.
- To make crisp crust, half way through baking time, brush bread with cold water again.

Pizza Roll- Ups

* 1 loaf frozen french bread, Italian bread dough or all purpose dough ( I used the homemade french bread recipe I just put on here and it was sooooo good, I definitely recommend using that if you have the time)
* 1 package of pepperoni
* 1/4- 1/2 C. of spaghetti sauce
* 2 C. grated mozzarella cheese
( I didn't add these since I thought there would be enough spices but you are welcome to try it)
* 1 T. fresh parsley
* 1 tsp. Italian herb seasoning

1. Thaw dough if frozen and roll out into a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.
2. Spread spaghetti sauce over dough
3. Put pepperoni, mozzarella cheese and seasonings on top.
4. Roll dough length wise like a jelly roll and cut into 1 inch sections
5. Cook on cookie sheets sprayed with nonstick spray
6. Bake for 20-25 min @ 400*
7. If freezing allow to cool and place in zip lock bags

CHIPS AHOY!® Banana Muffins

20 CHIPS AHOY! Cookies, coarsely crushed, divided
2 medium ripe bananas
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp. oil
1-1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Remove 1/2 cup of the crushed cookies; set aside for the topping. Mash bananas with fork in large bowl. Add egg, milk and oil; mix well. Stir in combined flour, sugar and baking powder just until moistened. Stir in remaining crushed cookies.

SPOON evenly into 12 medium muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle with reserved crushed cookies.

BAKE 20 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers come out clean. Serve warm or cooled.

Peach Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 (15 oz) can sliced peaches, drained and chopped

DIRECTIONS
In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine the eggs, oil and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened (batter will be thick). Fold in peaches.
Fill muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

This week: MUFFINS!

This is a recipe my mom used to make all of the time when I

was little, and now I make it for my kids and they LOVE it!

Cinnamon Muffins

In a bowl, stir together:

1 1/2 Cups Flour

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

1/8 tsp. Salt

In another bowl, mix:

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup melted margarine or butter

Combine the two together and mix well. Pour into a muffin pan with paper liners and bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes. After they are out of the oven, immediately remove from the pan and dip the top of each muffin in melted margarine and then roll in a mixture of 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar.

Chicken and Rice Burritos

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 3/4 cups long grain white rice
• 1/2-1 (1oz) packed taco seasoning
• 1 3/4 cup water
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1/3 cup green onions chopped
• salsa
• guacamole
• shredded cheese
• tortillas

In a large skillet, place chicken, rice seasonings, water and tomato sauce. Bring mixture to boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, or until most of moisture has been absorbed. Add chopped tomato and green onions and stir to combine evenly. Place filling in tortillas and add desired toppings and roll burrito style!