Blueberry Muffins

The boys and I are in the Kansas City area this weekend for a big Geocaching picnic.  Since we would be eating many meals out during our time away, we decided to bring our own muffins, yogurt and fruit (our hotel doesn't have a free breakfast.  boo.)  This is the second time I've made these blueberry muffins and this recipe is a "make again." I found the original recipe in King Arthur's Flour 100th Anniversary cookbook, and also on their website. (King Arthur's Flour basic muffin recipe)  I changed it up a little bit (does that surprise you???)  Enjoy~

Blueberry Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup fat free, plain yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 egg

1 egg white

1 t. vanilla

1-1/2 c. blueberries

Preheat your oven to 500°F.

Blend together the dry ingredients as long and as vigorously as you want.

Beat the liquid ingredients together -- yogurt, oil, vanilla, and eggs -- until they are light. If you have a 2-cup liquid measure (one with a lip above the 2-cup mark) it makes mixing the liquid ingredients very easy.

Spoon the blueberries into the flour mixture and mix until the blueberries are coated with flour.  This will help the blueberries stay afloat in the batter and not sink to the bottom while baking.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Take a fork or wire whisk and blend the two for 20 seconds -- no more! The secret to light and tender muffins lies in this final blending. It's OK if you've left some lumps that look as if they want more stirring; they really don't. So, no matter how hard it is, resist the impulse.

Fill cups of a lightly greased muffin tin two-thirds to three-quarters full. Place muffins in the oven and immediately drop temperature to 400°F*. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until muffins test done. Yield: 12 muffins, 24 mini-muffins, or six "crown" muffins.

Awful Waffles (they're not really awful at all, I just like how awful rhymes with waffle!)

So once every few months, JP gets a "Rule Day."  When it's Rule Day, he gets to make the rules and decide what to do, where to go, what to eat, what to watch on TV, etc.  All within reason, of course.  When he was planning his Rule Day, immediately JP thought of skydiving.  Um, no.  I nipped that one in the bud.  (Which, is one of my favorite sayings...if you don't know what it's from, watch here!  Even if you know Barney, you should watch this video.  It cracks me up!)  I also put the kibosh on a few other things like visiting grandparents in Maine (sorry, 1 day is just too short to make the trip!)

So what did JP decide to do?  We went out to eat for lunch at JC's 1950's Diner (instead of Smash Burger...we're waiting for Papa to come home from Iraq to go there!)  We also rented a Muppet Movie and the Ghost Buster's Wii game.  We're planning a trip to the playground...the "train park" on Ft. Riley and for supper tonight, guess what we're having??  That's right, Awful Waffles (but they really aren't awful!)

I think it was my dad was the one who came up with "Awful Waffles."  Update:  I now know why my dad nicknamed them "Awful Waffles."  I guess I'd forgotten this...  It is a pain in the A&& to clean the waffle iron...it's an awful mess.  But don't let that stop you from making these!  They are soooo gooood!  Awfully good!  :)

So here's the recipe for Waffles.  It's from adapted from "The King Arthur 200th Anniversary Cookbook."

Hearty Waffles

1/2 c. wheat germ
1/2 c. oat meal
1/4 c. sunflower seeds
1 c. whole wheat flour
1-3/4 c. unbleached flour
1/4 c. Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal (if you don't have this, you can use 1/4 c. cornmeal instead)
1 t. cinnamon
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda


5 T. honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
2 T. vinegar
scant 2 cups skim milk (put vinegar in measuring cup and add milk to equal 2 cups)
2 cups plain, fat-free yogurt
1/4 c. applesauce
1/4 c. olive oil


2 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen)


Stir the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients together.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture.  Stir until just mixed.  If using fresh blueberries, fold the berries in.  


Prepare a waffle iron.  Preheat, spray with cooking spray (remember to spray top and bottom!) and use an ladle to spoon batter onto waffle iron.  If using frozen blueberries, sprinkle a few on the batter once you spoon it onto the waffle iron.  A waffle usually cooks in 2-4 minutes.  

You can also make these into pancakes if you'd rather not have "Awful Waffles."   Also, this recipe makes A LOT of waffles (or pancakes.)  Feel free to half the recipe to make a smaller amount.  I usually make the full amount and freeze the waffles in small packages.  That way, it's really quick and easy to have a healthy breakfast...pull them out of the freezer and pop into the microwave or toaster oven!  Enjoy~

I'll post pictures tonight, after we've make the Awful Waffles!

Update:  Here are some pics of our "Awful Waffles."  I made about 32 waffles with my waffle iron.  Don't they look awfully good???

Gingerbread Pancakes

Every morning this week, there's been a conversation in my house:

"Darling, what you would like for breakfast this morning?"  

"Pancakes." 

I put on my apron every morning and I whipped up a fresh batch of pancakes and waited on him hand and foot.  Cooking bacon, sausage, eggs, grits, oatmeal, toast, hash browns, French toast....

Oh wait...that's what he wished for.  Reality was a little different....  Let me start again.

 As I stumble to the coffee maker, I yell,

"JP, what kind of cereal would you like?"  

"Do I have to have cereal?"

Um, yeah.

"Can't you make pancakes?"

Um, no.  Maybe later.

And every morning he's eaten Cheerios, Rice Krispies or Raisin Bran...or a combination of the 3.

So tonight, I made pancakes for supper without telling JP.  As soon as he smelled them cooking, he came running to the kitchen to look.  I got a big hug and, "Mama, you're the best."

I found the recipe in my King Arthur 200th Anniversary Cook Book.  I didn't want plain old pancakes, so I opted for something different.

Gingerbread Pancakes


1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2-1/2 t. ground ginger
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. allspice
1/4 t. ground cloves
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 eggs
2-1/4 c. milk
1/3 c. molasses
1 T. oil


Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  


Beat the eggs and milk until they're light.  Whisk in the molasses and oil.


Blend the wet ingredients with the dry.  You can add more milk if you'd like the batter to be thinner.

Preheat a pan or griddle over medium/low heat.  


Pour the batter (I use a soup ladle) onto the preheated pan.  Turn the pancakes when the bubbles on the top surface pop and don't fill in.  The second side takes only half of the amount of time needed to cook the first.


Review:  These pancakes were awesome!  They had a strong gingerbread flavor, but not overwhelming.  We topped them with warm maple syrup and they were very good.  This recipe will become a favorite!  Enjoy~

If you haven't tried King Arthur Flour, you're missing out on the best flour!  They have a great cooking catalog, recipes and website.  I've even been to one of their cooking classes!  King Arthur also has wonderful cookbooks.

Amish Breakfast Casserole

I found this recipe for Amish Breakfast Casserole on allrecipes.com.  I made some changes to the recipe, but overall, it was pretty good, I would make it again, but with more changes.  The recipe calls for 1 pound of bacon and I only used 1/2 pound of center cut bacon.  I also used 3 c. of shredded 2% Cheddar cheese instead of Cheddar and Swiss.

Amish Breakfast Casserole (from allrecipes.com, submitted by Beth Notaro)
1 lb sliced bacon, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
6 eggs, slightly beaten
4 c. frozen hash brown potatoes (shredded potatoes)
2 c. Cheddar cheese, shredded
1-1/2 c. cottage cheese (I used 1%)
1-1/4 c. Swiss cheese, shredded

In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion until bacon is crisp.  Drain.  In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.  Stir in bacon mixture.  Transfer to a 13x9x2 inch baking dish.  Bake uncovered at 350* 35-40 minutes or until set and bubbly.  Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

My review:  I thought this was a little bland.  Next time I would add 1/2 t. powdered mustard, 1/2 t. black pepper, and a dash of Cayenne pepper.  I'd also add a chopped green pepper, and 2-3 sliced green onions (in addition to the chopped onion.)  I think diced ham would go well in this, as well as the Swiss cheese it originally called for.  The texture was good, I didn't think it needed any more eggs or cream as some of the reviewers suggested on allrecipes.com.  The cottage cheese made the casserole moist.  I also needed to cook the casserole for 50 minutes instead of the 35-40 minutes in the original recipe. 

Let me know what you think of this!

Happy cooking and enjoy~