Pecan Pie MUFFINS?!?

 OH MY!!   I found the greatest recipe for pecan pie fans (me!)!  It makes 12 muffins and 1 is a suggested serving.  That didn’t happen.  I ate 3 of them!!  It only takes a few ingredients.  Make sure you use the foil cupcake liners.  The paper ones stick and so do the silicone ones. I learned the hard way so you don't have to.  Make sure you have a big glass of milk ready to go with it.  Get ready to say, "May I have another, please?"

Pecan Pie Muffins

 

1 cup of chopped pecans

1 cup of firmly packed brown  sugar

½ cup of self-rising flour

2 large  eggs

1 stick of melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350° and place foil-baking cups in muffin pans.  In a large bowl, mix together the pecans, brown sugar and flour.  Beat the eggs very well. Pour the eggs and melted butter over the dry ingredients and mix to combine.  Spoon the batter into cups ⅔ full and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

 

Oh Baby!!!

 Here is a quick and easy treat for the Fall.  Guess what the best part is!  It tastes like the nougat filling inside a Baby Ruth candy bar!  You could add in some milk chocolate chips for the full fledged goodness of a Baby Ruth. 😋  All you need is a can of cocktail peanuts, a bag of candy corn, and a ziploc bag.  

1 cup cocktail peanuts

1/3 - 1/2 cup candy corn

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, if desired

Pour into a ziploc bag and mix well.

THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT!!!  Grab a handful and enjoy!!

B-B-Q in a Cup

 When my kids were little, it was sometimes hard to find foods they would eat.  This recipe is something they would always eat!  The funny thing is now it's my granddaughter's favorite food!  She turned 12 last month and asked her mom to make them for her party.  I was thrilled to know that this recipe has now been enjoyed by 3 generations!  Wait a minute.  That really makes me sound old.  Oh well, it is what it is.  The grands will be coming for a few days next month and I'll be making these for them.

Bar-B-Cups

1 lb. ground beef

Barbecue sauce to taste

1 Tb. minced onion

2 Tb. brown sugar

1 10oz. flaky biscuits

Shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray 10 muffin cups in a cupcake pan with cooking spray.  Brown the ground beef, drain, and chop up.  Return the meat to the pan.  Stir in the barbecue sauce until everything is coated well.  Stir in the onion and brown sugar. If the mixture looks a little dry, add a little more sauce.  Cook for another minute or two until everything is well mixed.  Place one biscuit in each muffin tin and firmly press the biscuit into the bottom and up the sides.  Spoon in about ¼ cup of the meat mixture into each biscuit-lined cup.  Top with shredded cheese.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown.  Cool for a minute and remove from the pan.

*To make ahead, prepare as directed, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.  Bake as directed.

**Make these in mini muffin tins and use them as an appetizer.

Peachy Memories

When my kids were small, there was a restaurant close by called Po' Folks.  Most of them have closed, but the few that are left are now called Folks.  When you ordered your food at the Po' Folks restaurant, you had a choice of biscuits, corn muffins, or peach muffins.  YES!  PEACH. MUFFINS.  They were so good!  They would bring a basket full of muffins for the table to share.  Each bite was like a little visit to heaven on Earth. 

 I have some great neighbors.  Today one of them brought us a dozen fresh peaches!  Hubby brings them in and asks if I'm going to make a peach cobbler.  I told him that peach muffins come first.  There are plenty of peaches left to make a cobbler ... tomorrow.  As I type this, I am waiting for the first dozen to come out of the oven. I can't wait to eat one (or two).  I hope mine are as good as the ones in my memory.  I'll let you know in a few minutes.

Update:  These are really good, but they don't have the sticky sweetness on the outside that Po' Folks had.  Hmmm.  Maybe I should sprinkle the tops with sugar when they come out of the oven.  I'll try that on the next batch that comes out.  Next time, I might mash the peaches instead of dicing them.

Peach Muffins

2 eggs

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

*2 cups flour / gluten free flour is another option

*1 tsp baking powder

*1/2 tsp baking soda

*1/2 tsp salt

2 cups fresh diced peaches (about 3 peaches)

1 Tb. sugar

Dice peaches and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of sugar over them.  Set aside.  Mix eggs, butter, sugar, vanilla, and sour cream. Sift dry ingredients and add peaches. Fold together until blended. Spoon in lined muffin pan. Bake @ 400 for 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle tops with sugar, if desired.  This recipe made 20 muffins.

*You can use 2 cups of self-rising flour, but if you do, leave out the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Essential Oils and Food

Some people may not know you can cook with doTERRA Essential Oils.  You can!  I wouldn't cook with any other brand though. doTERRA oils are Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade (CPTG) oils.  Plus you should only consume the ones that have a Nutritional Supplement on the bottle.  

Today I planned a class to teach others about the benefits of doTERRA Essential Oils and when I do that, I always have snacks.  One of the snacks I made was hummus with lemon and rosemary essential oil added.  It is delicious!  If you've never tried it, you should.  Another reason to try it is because it's SIMPLE and will be great snack for the hot summer that is coming.  All you need is a container of plain hummus, 1 drop of rosemary and 1 drop of lemon essential oil.  Place hummus in a bowl that is not plastic.  Mix well and serve with the chips of your choice, celery, or carrots. 

 If you'd like to learn more about essential oils, please contact me.  I love educating people on the benefits of essential oils!

Apple of My Eye

A co-worker told me how she added baked apples in her yogurt to make a healthy, fulfilling snack.  So I decided to try it and it was delicious!  I have started baking apples, mashing them up, and putting them in CarbMaster Vanilla yogurt (Kroger brand) for breakfast.  To make it a little more filling, I add in about two tablespoons of Kashi cereal.  I can mix it up before I go to bed so the morning isn't slowed down by making breakfast.  Plus, it's one less thing to think about before my brain starts to function.  Hubby tried it and he liked it too!  I bet this will become one of your favorites!!

Baked Apples

4 apples

½ cup of water

Cinnamon to taste

2 – 3 tsp brown sugar

Spray butter

Chopped pecans, if desired

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with Pam.  Peel and core apples.  Slice in half and place flat side of apple up.  Spray each apple half with 2 squirts of spray butter and sprinkle desired amount of cinnamon on top followed by a ½ tsp or so of brown sugar.  Top with pecans, if desired.  Pour a ½ cup of water into the bottom of the baking dish.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

For breakfast or a snack, mash one of the apple halves, add in 1 container of vanilla yogurt, and 2 tablespoons of Kashi. Stir well and enjoy.

Oh, Bananas!

I found this recipe on another person's blog and made a couple of changes.  She was using some types of flour I had never heard of.  I'm sure that using those types of flour are just as good and probably healthier, but I wasn't going out tonight to try and locate them.  We have had some snowy, sleety, rainy weather today and getting out tonight did not rank high in the things I needed to do.  These muffins are SO GOOD!!!  A couple of months ago, I had some bananas I didn't use.  I sliced them up, put them in ziploc bags, and put them in the freezer.  They worked GREAT!  I squished them up in the bags before putting them in the mixture.  So ... if you have some bananas that are going bad, don't throw them away!  Slice them up and put them in the freezer so you can use them later!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups of self - rising flour
3 over ripe bananas
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup of almond milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup of milk chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix first 5 ingredients together.  Mix well.  Add in chocolate chips.  Spoon into muffin tins.  Bake for  15-18 minutes until golden brown.  Cool completely and store in the refrigerator.

Easy Treat

 Need a quick treat for a party or unexpected gathering?  Try these.  The sweet and salty mix is good.  I know reindeer don't have green noses, but I didn't have a ton of M&M's on hand.  They're still good though!

Reindeer Noses

Small pretzels - twists, circles, or waffle
Hershey Kisses, unwrapped
M&M's

Lay pretzels out in a layer on a cookie sheet.  Top each one with Hershey Kiss and bake at 225 degrees for 4 minutes.  Remove from the oven and press the M&M on top of the Kiss.  Let cool to allow the chocolate to harden.