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Early Bird Muffins

01/22/2012

I think I may have just won the breakfast lottery....I am sick and tired of giving my kids the same ole breakfast morning after morning --waffles, pancakes, toast, cereal or oatmeal -- it is time for a change. I found a recipe for Morning Glory Muffins on AllRecipes.com, but ended up changing almost everything about the recipe to fit the ingredients I actually had on hand....I was very skeptical as I shoved the muffins in the oven to bake, hoping I would end up with something somewhat edible....what resulted was nothing short of a-mazing. And, healthy to boot! Here's what I came up with:

(sorry for the poor lighting...it's raining here today and I am majorly lacking natural light)

Early Bird Muffins
Makes about 21 muffins (I know an odd number...)
Oven 375 Degrees

Ingredients:

2 cups of Flour
1 1/4 cups Sugar
1 Tbs. Cinnamon
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Apples, peeled, cored and chopped
1 Banana, peeled and chopped
1 cup Raisins
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Apple Sauce
1/4 cup Vegetable Oil
1 Tbs Vanilla Extract

Topping:
1/4 cup Almonds, chopped
2 Tbs Wheat Germ
1/2 T Cinnamon
1/2 T Brown Sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients, stir to combine. Next add the remaining ingredients, stir to combine....now, I know somewhere in bake-land I am committing a mortal sin by telling you to just dump everything in a bowl and stir....but that's how I do it, because I don't have the patience to do it any other way :)

For the topping, pour almonds into a food processor and chop to desired consistency. Combine chopped almonds and remaining topping ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.

Line muffin pan with baking cups and spoon muffin batter into individual cups. I filled mine almost entirely full...this is the one circumstance when I feel a big muffin top is a good thing ;) Next, sprinkle topping mixture over muffin batter. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

I am so happy that these turned out as well as they did! They will definitely be on a regular breakfast rotation from now on...I think my toaster will thank me :)

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Beeswax Coil Candle

01/18/2012

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I received one of the greatest Christmas gifts from my sister-in-law this year! A Beeswax Coil Candle -- I LOVE this thing!

I've always loved lighting candles, but I guess my love began to wane a few years ago when it seemed that the candle market was completely saturated with 'smelly candles' -- you couldn't find a candle that didn't wreak of peonies, petunias and yes, even my freshly laundered underpants....that's when I, and my nose, decided we needed a break. Fast forward a few years....At last! My love has returned! A gloriously SIMPLE, beautiful candle that does nothing but shed a bright, warm hue!

Actually, it does more than just that....it is a 60 hour burning candle that self-regulates its burn time! Yep, all you have to do is 'pull' the coil through the clamp (each inch of coil burns for one hour) to the desired length = time, light and when the flame reaches the clamp it will extinguish!! Brilliant! No more having to remember to blow out the candle, no more splattered wax, no more smells!

Curious? Just Google 'coil candle' and you'll get a ton of hits for this little gem -- where to buy, how to use, different designs, etc. I have been lighting mine in the evening while I do dishes -- turn the kitchen lights off (don't worry, this baby is bright), turn some tunes on...it actually almost (almost....) makes chores romantic....ah, what motherhood will do to a gal :)

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Roasted Tomato Soup and Spinach Chips With Cheese Panini

01/15/2012

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Another wonderful recipe to share with you! We actually had this for dinner tonight, and it was so good that I couldn't wait until tomorrow to share it! The following recipe is adapted from one I found over at SmittenKitchen's Blog -- I made some preference changes and added a few of my own 'twists' -- hope you enjoy!

INGREDIENTS: (MAKES 2 GENEROUS PORTIONS)

8-10 Roma Tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 Tbs Olive OIl
3 cloves of Garlic, unpeeled
Onion Powder
Italian Seasoning
Black Pepper
Salt
Pinch of Sugar
1 cup Chicken Broth
Handful fresh Spinach Leaves

4 slices of Sourdough Bread
4 slices of Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Lay halved tomatoes, face up, in a shallow baking pan. Sprinkle onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper over tomatoes to your taste. Drizzle olive oil over seasoned tomatoes.

Wrap unpeeled garlic cloves in a tight tin foil packet. Place packet in the pan with the tomatoes. Roast the tomatoes/garlic in oven for 1 hour.

Remove tomatoes and allow to cool slightly. Unwrap and peel the roasted garlic. Add tomatoes, peeled garlic and 1/2 cup of chicken broth to a blender. Puree to desired consistency.

Pour pureed tomatoes into a pot over medium low heat. Add a healthy pinch of sugar and remaining chicken broth, more broth if you prefer your soup thinner.

While soup is staying warm. Add a handful of fresh spinach leaves to the same pan you used to roast the tomatoes. Stir the leaves to coat with the remaining olive oil. Broil on high until leaves are wilted and crisp....watch out! It happens fast!

For the cheese panini: I used my George Foreman Grill (yes, we still have one of those...and it is the BEST panini press!) Spread olive oil on one side of each of the sourdough slices. Place two slices of bread, olive oil side down, on the heated grill. Top each piece with two slices of cheese. Top the cheese with the remaining slice of bread, olive oil side up. Close the grill and cook about 3-4 min until nice and toasty!

Mmmm, Mmmm Good!

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A New Year, A New Quilt!

01/09/2012

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Does everyone else feel like they have been wandering in a fog for the last week?? I'm sure it has nothing to do with the end of the holiday mayhem....

Anyhow, I managed to crank out my first quilt for 2012!

And if you'll excuse me, I must say that I am very proud of this one!! I professed my love of houndstooth a couple of posts ago, and the end result of this quilt has me floating on cloud 9! Just look at those grays and yellow together! ....And the houndstooth! It makes my heart melt....

Guess I'll get back to trying to find my way out of this fog...surely, there's a vacuum and some clorox wipes out there desperately calling my name....

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A Year In Review

01/02/2012

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Can you believe it's 2012 already!? 2011 was an amazing first year for The Spotted Lamb! Thank you to all of you for giving me the motivation to begin, and continue on with, such a fun and rewarding adventure! I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store! Here is a look back at this past year: