Breakfast Muffins

So I've given this new muffin recipe a few test spins and I think it's a keeper.  It's a pretty basic muffin recipe and the best part is that you can add ANY fresh fruit you have.  The first time I made it all I had was apples, so I made apple muffins.  And they were great!!  Then I made them with blueberries.  And today I got really creative and made ........... wait for it ............ apple blueberry muffins.  Ok, that's not creative at all, but they were really good.  So here's the recipe - hopefully they'll make their way into your kitchen for breakfast.

1  3/4 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1  1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c. milk
1 egg
1/3 c. butter, melted
1/4 c. applesauce
1 c. fresh fruit

In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Add milk, egg, butter & applesauce; mix until ingredients are moistened - Do not overbeat.   Stir in fresh fruit.  Spoon batter in 12 greased muffin cups (or use paper liners - my preference)  Bake at 400 for 20 min or until muffin tops spring back when touched.

The original recipe did not call for applesauce, but they were a touch too dry for me.  So I added just a little all natural unsweetened applesauce and they turned out perfect!!  Happy baking :)

pizza night

We love pizza in our house.  Well, to be more accurate ... Chris loves pizza!  Much more than me, but I do enjoy a good slice as well.  Tonight we made homemade pizza.  We've tried this in the past with store bought crusts and they've been ok.  But I've started making my own and  they are soooooo much better than Pillsbury.  Here was our creation from tonight:  Canadian bacon, pineapple, black olives and LOTS of cheese! 

Here's my crust recipe so you can have your own pizza night:

1 C. warm water

1 pkg (or 2 1/4 tsp) dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

3 C white or wheat flour  - (I used 1 C. white and 2 C wheat so it didn't get too dry)

2 T. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

Mix the yeast, sugar and water, stirring to dissolve the yeast.  Let it rest 5 minutes.  Add the other ingredients.  Knead the dough on a floured board, adding more flour until it's not sticky.  Place in a bowl and cover, letting it rise from five minutes to two hours.  (I let mine sit for about 15 minutes and it turns out perfect!)  The longer you let it rise, the more bread-like the dough will become.  Punch down the dough and shape in to a large pizza crust.

I also added about 1 T. each of oregano and garlic salt to the dough before letting it rise.  It smells amazing and makes the crust extra yummy!  You can either divide the dough into two crusts (which makes two 'thin' crusts) or use it all for one pizza - making it thicker.  We've tried it both ways and I prefer the thicker crust.  But you can decide.

Top with any ingredients you like and bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes.  I've also loosely calculated the cost  and depending on the toppings you use, it only cost $4-6 per pizza.  The crust itself is only about $.99.  It's about the cost of a frozen pizza, but tastes SO MUCH BETTER!

It was a good team effort.  It was also a slightly momentous occasion as this was Brooks' first time eating pizza!  What did he think??

Well, considering he was shoveling it in by the handful, I'd say he liked it :)

Plus, he at TWO whole pieces!  Like father like son,right?