Okay, after much thought and tasting, the cream cheese in those muffins does not do the muffin justice. I think the following cream cheese recipe should be used as a replacement. Let me know if you try it, and what you think. The original cream cheese chunk just does nothing for the muffin.
8 oz. soft cream cheese
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
Mix that up, then place a tsp. full in each muffin before baking. That should be better!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Extreme Makeover - BLOG edition!
Hope you all enjoy the new look... Thanks to Dana for helping me tweak. I used http://thecutestblogontheblock.com/ They have the cutest backgrounds! To put them in your blog, first change your template to the "minima" template, it's really basic. Then go to the page elements area, and add a gadget. From that list, select the "add HTML" or something like that, then insert your code from the background you picked. Have fun!
It smells like fall!
Okay, so I can't really smell it, but if I could, I'm sure that my house smells like fall right now. It is a shame I am the only one around besides the boys, because there is no one to enjoy the delicious smells of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and apples wafting around this place! We went to church this morning (I'd give it a B+ or so... Wayne was a little difficult. Oh! The sermon was great, I wasn't grading that part!) and then had Tyson and Breanne for coffee while Weston napped. We then packed up and went to Grandma Silves' birthday party. I debated whether or not to go, but decided it was worth the effort and work for Grandma. Tyler is working, and it is just hard to go with two little kids by myself, and then on top of that it was at 1pm, which is nap time in these parts! It's not even a question of skipping naptime, there is no way. The boys desperately need it, and it's not fair to them otherwise. As it was, we made it until 2pm, and then packed up and came home, where they went straight to bed. Ahhh *Sigh* I digress..... I then spent the afternoon baking. Why? Well, the excuse was that I have Christ Group tonight and need to bring something, but the real reason is that I LOVE TO BAKE. When I was young, baking was my assigned household "chore" and Tara was in charge of cooking. (Needless to say, after we got married, I had to learn to cook and Tara had to learn to bake!) So, I baked TWO new recipes... Pumpkin cream cheese muffins, and apple cake. The first recipe I got online, and is supposed to be the same as the ones that Starbucks carries, the second I got from my good friend Mindy. Judging from the taste of the batter for each... "shmuck-lucka" as my Auntie Shelly would say! Feast your eyes on these folks~!
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
8 ounces cream cheese
chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
· Preheat oven to 350.
· Put the entire brick of cream cheese on a piece of wax paper and shape it into a long log.
· Put it in the freezer while you mix and fill the pans, up to an hour.
· Unwrap and cut with a sharp knife so each cream cheese disk equals 1-2 teaspoons. If the cream cheese disks are too big around, cut thick slices and then cut them in half. This lets you push it down into the batter easier.
· Mix all ingredients together (except cream cheese and nuts).
· Fill muffin tins (greased or paper cups) half full.
· Put cream cheese disc in the middle, pressing down.
· Sprinkle with 1 tsp chopped nuts.
· Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin part (do not touch the cream cheese!).
Apple Bread
3 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tbs. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 cups chopped apples
1 cup chopped nuts
Topping:
2 tbs. sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
· Preheat oven to 325
· Mix wet ingredients, then add dry.
· Place in two greased loaf pans
· Sprinkle with topping
· Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 10 minutes
· Let cool, best the next day
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
8 ounces cream cheese
chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
· Preheat oven to 350.
· Put the entire brick of cream cheese on a piece of wax paper and shape it into a long log.
· Put it in the freezer while you mix and fill the pans, up to an hour.
· Unwrap and cut with a sharp knife so each cream cheese disk equals 1-2 teaspoons. If the cream cheese disks are too big around, cut thick slices and then cut them in half. This lets you push it down into the batter easier.
· Mix all ingredients together (except cream cheese and nuts).
· Fill muffin tins (greased or paper cups) half full.
· Put cream cheese disc in the middle, pressing down.
· Sprinkle with 1 tsp chopped nuts.
· Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the muffin part (do not touch the cream cheese!).
Apple Bread
3 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tbs. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 cups chopped apples
1 cup chopped nuts
Topping:
2 tbs. sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
· Preheat oven to 325
· Mix wet ingredients, then add dry.
· Place in two greased loaf pans
· Sprinkle with topping
· Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 10 minutes
· Let cool, best the next day
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Check, check, check!
Today, I am ashamed to admit, is my first FULL day at home with the boys in quite awhile. Work has been pretty busy. Not that I work full
days or anything, I just work for a few hours a few days in a row! Needless to say, this little mama was excited to be home today! We had a 1 month photo shoot for Maddie (and yes, the lighting is no longer my enemy, but not quite my friend either. I would classify our relationship as friendly acquaintances right now. Now I am working on slicing and freezing apples, vacuuming and cleaning, painting a wood board to mount my vinyl, "Blessings, count your blessings!" to, and I just hung my mirror that Tyler got me for my birthday. Seriously, I asked for a mirror for my entry way, and Tyler picked the most beautiful, amazing, gorgeous mirror, and then got a STEAL of a deal on it! I could not ask for more in a husband. He was amazing yesterday. I love my birthday, because more than even the every day, he makes me feel so special and loved. Doesn't it look amazing!
Okay, now I'm off to finish more projects. I am going to be soo tired by tonight, but I'll fall asleep with a smile on my face knowing all that I accomplished. (FYI - I have now gone TWO weeks without a to-do list, can you believe that! I am trying to slow down and enjoy the moments, and be a little less driven my busyness. Go me!)
Friday, October 3, 2008
Happy Birthday to ME!
What a lovely, lovely day. I wish that I could have my birthday every day. My husband takes off of work so that he can stay home and spoil me, and watch our kids so that I can go to lunch and do a little shopping (scrapbook shopping, that is!) Oh, and how great is it to have a two year old who goes shopping for you? When Tyler and Wayne got home, I asked Wayne if he bought Mommy a present. After he said, "Uh-huh!" I asked him what he got me,.... and he told me, "A book!" How great is that! :-) I love my boys and my family dearly, and am so grateful to them for going out of their way to make my birthday special. Mission accomplished!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Homework!
For photography class, we have homework to do! Our assignment was to turn in 10 photos that captured motion. What does that mean? SHUTTERSPEED! We are working in shutter priority mode on our cameras, and the goal is either to STOP MOTION or to CAPTURE MOTION. Here are 5 of the pictures that I took, I'll try to explain a little about each. Have I mentioned that I love this class? However, it only makes me realize how clumsy I am with all this! Mindy and I went to practice today, and an hour flew by in the blink of an eye. I felt bad though, half the time she was asking me a question, I couldn't answer/wrap my brain around it because I was so involved in my own "How the heck do I..." thoughts! Next time, I will be a better friend!
This is how my auto settings captured the pictures... So I had to go manual!
This is the new and improved shot, after a few adjustments.
I love this picture... Note that the rocks are sharp, and th water is smooth? You get the effect by slowing your shutter speed down (I left mine open for 10 seconds) and using a tripod. Cool, huh?
Same idea here, but neat that the greenery is in the foreground.
Okay... Rather than slowing my shutterspeed down, I wanted to STOP MOTION in this picture. So... I cranked my shutterspeed as fast as I could given the lighting. Wayne, thankfully, was in the mood to please, and so when I asked him to jump, he did! Take a look at the look on his face! Too funny.
This is how my auto settings captured the pictures... So I had to go manual!
This is the new and improved shot, after a few adjustments.
I love this picture... Note that the rocks are sharp, and th water is smooth? You get the effect by slowing your shutter speed down (I left mine open for 10 seconds) and using a tripod. Cool, huh?
Same idea here, but neat that the greenery is in the foreground.
Okay... Rather than slowing my shutterspeed down, I wanted to STOP MOTION in this picture. So... I cranked my shutterspeed as fast as I could given the lighting. Wayne, thankfully, was in the mood to please, and so when I asked him to jump, he did! Take a look at the look on his face! Too funny.
Cool New Tools
So these are my new, cool tools! The first one is from Tupperware. It is one of their "forget me not" collection, and actually hangs on the shelf of your fridge so you don't forget about something (a 1/2 onion, tomato, etc.) The next one is the Swiffer extension duster. Seriously, I had a cob-web issue I was not proud of, and this got the problem taken care of without me having to pull out a step ladder! Last, the Zyron sticker maker. If you have a Cricut, this thing is a lifesaver! You put anything into it, the thickness of a nickel or less, and it makes it into a sticker for you!
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