Blueberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 c blueberries

1 tsp sugar

---

1/2 c butter (I used soy butter, it works just fine)

1/2 c shortening

1 c brown sugar

1/2 c granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 c flour

1 c choc chips

Preheat oven to 350*.

Sprinkle 1 tsp sugar over blueberries & bake for 15 minutes.

Mix the butter, shortening, sugars until smooth.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs & vanilla, then add to the butter/sugar mixture.

Mix the dry ingredients well, then add (slowly) to the butter/sugar mixture.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Gently fold in the baked blueberries until well combined.

Drop spoonfuls onto a baking sheet, then bake at 350* for about 10-12 minutes.

Optionally, drizzle chocolate over the top to help with the look.

They're purple.

People seem to find purple cookies strange.

I find people strange.

In any event, the chocolate drizzled over them seems to make people not mind the color - they just see CHOCOLATE! ;)

Ginger Meatloaf Muffins

1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c ketchup
1.5 # beef

3/4 c bread crumbs
3/4 c milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 onion, chopped

Mix the ginger, sugar, and ketchup together in a small bowl.

Mix the beef (I actually used 1# beef & 1/2# of TVP (textured vegetable protein)), bread crumbs, milk, eggs, salt, pepper, & onion in a larger bowl. -Use your hands, you just can't mix a meatloaf well unless you get your hands dirty!

Fill all 12 muffin holes (is there a technical name for those?) half full of the meat mixture.
Evenly distribute the sauce on top of each loaf (use however much sauce you like).

Top each loaf with more meat.

(I used 2 muffin pans & just split the meat all up, topped half of the loafs, then plopped the other halves on top.)

Bake at 350* 30 min.

*You could just make 1 big loaf if you prefer.

A Little Different Tuna Casserole

Ingredients:
2 cans of tuna (whatever kind you buy, in water, in oil, whatever)
1 green bell pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups cooked rice (I cooked my rice with 1 onion. You can add the onion separately, or omit it.)
1 cup monterrey jack cheese (or whatever flavor cheese you have/prefer)

Dump all the ingredients in a bowl & mix well.
Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray, then dump the mixture into the dish & smooth it out.
Top with cheese.
Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.

Easy Sandwich Bread

I promise it's easy. It's also quick, which is how I cam up with the recipe. I needed some bread & I had 2 hours to have it complete. If I'm being honest, I was pretty shocked that this bread turned out. There's so much chemistry involved in baking that I'm always hesitant to mess with my own recipes, but if you never try you never create new stuff, right? So, here we go...

Ingredients:
1 cup minus 2 tbsp warm water
1 package of yeast
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp oil (corn or vegetable)
Approx 3 cups of flour (white, wheat, a combo, whatever you like should work)

Put the yeast in the warm water & set aside to bloom while you get the rest of the ingredients together.
In a bowl (a mixer is nice, but not a must) combine the salt, molasses, oil, 2 cups of flour, and the yeast/water.
While mixing, slowly add as much of the last cup of flour as needed. (Add flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.) It's really sticky because of the molasses, so it won't act quit like "normal" bread dough.
Form into a ball & leave it alone for 10 minutes.
On a floured counter top, knead for about 5 minutes.
Put the dough in a greased loaf pan & push it out to the shape of the pan.
Let the dough rise until doubled, 30-45 minutes.
Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.
Turn the bread out & let cool on a cooling rack.

Cheesy Corn Dog Muffins

Ingredients:
1 pkg corn muffin mix

1/2 c. milk

1 egg

1 c. cheese (any flavor)

2 hot dog wienies (or you could use chunks of ham, chicken, or even cooked ground meat)

In a bowl, combine the muffin mix, milk & egg.

Cut the hot dog wienies in 1/4th (length-wise) & then into small chunks.

Add the wienies & cheese to the muffin mixture.

Spoon the mixture into a mini muffin pan. (You could use normal size, but I can't tell you how long you need to cook it, just keep an eye on it.)

Bake at 350* for about 12 minutes.

That's it - you're done. EASY!

If you're making these just for adults, you can add 1 tbsp dry mustard to the mix for a little kick. I wouldn't do it if kids will be eating it though - they can be picky. ;)

Very Berry Pancakes

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs baking powder
1 1/4 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon (if you want it)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup berries (I used 3/4 c strawberries & 1/4 c blackberries)

Sift flour, salt, baking powder, & sugar into a bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg, milk, & butter.

Mix the liquid stuff into the dry stuff.

Gently fold the berries into the mixture & set it aside for at least 30 minutes. (The batter will get fluffy, to be real technical.)
Oil the griddle or pan you're gonna use & heat it over med heat. Pour 3-4 oz of the batter onto the griddle/pan.

Flip when the edges get "solid". You don't ever want to flip pancakes more than once or they'll get tough.

Granola!

When it finally occurred to me that granola is "just" oatmeal (yes, I was slow about realizing that) it dawned on me just how much money I was wasting buying it. Even if I did buy it from the bulk bins. So, I have been on a quest to not only create the perfect granola recipe, but also the perfect granola bar recipe. The quest for the perfect granola bar is still going, but I may share some of the creations so far. Luke has enjoyed most of them at least. The granola recipe I am giving you is open to variety - the sky is the limit. It's sooo yummy like I do it, but I'm giving you a few suggestions if you want to change it up.

Now for today's recipe - Granola!
You can double or triple this recipe if you want, but this is a "basic" amount, if you make it weekly-ish.

Ingredients:

2 cups oats (NOT the instant or quick oatmeal stuff, the good old OATS that make oatmeal (and cookies, and muffins, and breads, and bars...)

2 tbsp butter (or oil if you prefer - weirdo!)

1 tsp cinnamon (not everyone like cinnamon as much as I do, you could cut it in half or even omit it)
1/2 tsp vanilla (or any other liquid flavor - maple, coconut, almond...)

3 tbsp (packed AND heaping) brown sugar

2 tbs honey (or agave nectar - and peanut butter or tahini should work too!)

----

Preheat the over to 300*.

Put the oats in a bowl (big enough to mix the other stuff into).

In a skillet (you should hear my son say that word - HILARIOUS!) on the stove, mix the butter, cinnamon, vanilla, brown sugar, and honey while heating over med-low heat.

Keep stirring & heating until the mixture is pretty liquidy (I don't think that's a word, huh?) & the sugar is starting to dissolve. Don't cook it too long or it might start to crystallize.

Pour the liquid into the oats & stir until they are well coated. It might seem like there isn't enough liquid - just keep stirring!

Spread the oat mixture on a cookie sheet/pan. I prefer to line it with parchment paper for ease of removal & clean up. :)

Cook for 30-40 minutes total. Be sure to stir the mixture up at least once (every 10 minutes is ideal, but I live in the real world...).

Oh - did I mention - make this right before you have company. Not because you're gonna share, but because it will make your house smell really good!

Once it cools, the granola will be crunchy & yummy & ready to eat! ...OR... you can add nuts, dried fruit, or whatever else you like to it, then eat it. (Dried cranberries + walnuts are my favorite addition.)

I'm baaaaack!

I've been cooking like crazy lately. I'm working hard at cutting out processed foods so I'm busy perfecting everything from granola bars to cookies to crackers. I'm obsessed with growing a healthy family and that means making a lot of kid (and husband) approved foods that aren't full of high fructose corn syrup, chemicals, and words I can't pronounce. I probably won't include as many pictures as I used to, and my layout may not be as consistent, but I will share all I can when I can. Stay tuned... first up will be MUFFINS! Yum!
Now, I'm off to go eat some of those muffins. ;)

Strawberry Blueberry Muffins

This recipe will make 8 "normal" sized muffins.
Muffin Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup vegetable (or canola) oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk (I use whole, but you can use whatever you have in the fridge)
1 cup fresh blueberries

1 cup fresh strawberries (or 2+ cups of whatever fruit you like)

----
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Use muffin cups or spray the muffin pan really well. This is a really sticky batter.

Mix the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.

Mix the oil, egg and milk together.

Mix the wet stuff with dry stuff.

Fold in berries. Be careful! Too much manipulation will hurt the batter and it will break the berries. Fold nicely!

Throw out anything you ever learned about only filling the muffin cups 1/2 to 3/4 full. Fill them to the top. All the way. It will be okay. I promise.

--------------------

Topping (optional, if you want to cut calories skip it!):

1/4 cup sugar (white or brown will work, use whatever you like most)

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (more or less to taste)
----

Mix ingredients together.

*The butter needs to be room temp.* (wanna know a secret? I NEVER put that much planning into my baking, so I stuck the butter in the microwave at a low temp (3) and nuked it for about 15 seconds.)

Mix with fork, I just do a mush/chop combo until it's all combined & lumpy.

Sprinkle it on top of the muffins.

Don't add too much or you'll weigh the muffins down, but don't add too little or you'll miss out on the yummy goodness! ;) This recipe should make just enough for the 8 normal sized muffins you have. If you're making bigger or smaller muffins, I'm not sure how the recipe works out so just be careful.
Bake for about 20 minutes. At least check it at 20 minutes, add a little more time as needed but don't burn it. Your house is gonna smell soooo good, you don't want to miss out on eating these!