Friday, September 30, 2011

Pumpkin Muffins

I have been ready for fall for a few weeks now and it seems the weather may be deciding it is time too. Last week we were still in triple digit weather and this morning it was cool enough to open the windows, so I am enjoying fresh air and the sound of birds chirping. Fall to me is a time to celebrate Pumpkins (and many other things) so I decided to make Pumpkin Muffins last week.
This recipe came from Joanna at This Southern Girls Nest, she was a guest blogger at Random Thoughts of a SUPERMOM and that is where I found this wonderful recipe. She made a loaf of bread and a few muffins, I made all muffins and I used Splenda instead of sugar. My muffins turned out very dense and they were super yummy!

All the ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 tsp cloves (I used pumpkin pie spice because I did not have cloves)
2 tsp cinnamon
3 cups sugar ( I used about 1/2 cup Splenda)
1 cup butter
3 eggs
16oz can pumpkin puree {not the pumpkin pie blend}

What do you do:
Combine the sugar…butter and eggs in a large bowl. Cream them together.
Add the pumpkin and mix until combined.
Toss in your cinnamon and cloves.
Add 1 cup of flour at a time letting the mixer combine one completely before adding the other.
Add to your greased loaf pans {2} or to your muffin cups. Or both. We always make one loaf and 12 muffins.
Bake at 350 degrees. Now if your doing the loaf you’ll bake it for an hour. If your doing muffins..you’ll bake at 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.


Baby Girl even helped :)


Pumpkin Cookies

These pumpkin cookies were so good, nice soft airy cookies. They are great with milk, as a matter of fact my hubby is not so crazy about my pumpkin addiction because he does not like pumpkin as much as I do (crazy I know) but he poured himself a glass of milk and ate almost a dozen at one time. If you are not big on sweets these cookies are great without any glaze/topping but the white chocolate drizzled on top kicks it up a notch or two.

Pumpkin Cookies
Adapted from: Very Best Baking
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick butter (room temp)
1 cup Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease baking sheets.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt in medium bowl. Beat sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until well blended. Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

BAKE for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle white chocolate over them.
These cookies do not spread, they pretty much keep their shape, the pic on the left is before being put in the oven and the pic on the right is done.

Original recipe says this makes 36 cookies but I got 60 small cookies(about 2 or 3 bites).


Monday, September 26, 2011

Menu Plan 9/25/11-10/1/11

Wow, it has been awhile since I have done a menu plan, I am happy to get back to it.

Sunday-Beef, Bean and Cheese Nachos
Monday- Spaghetti and Meatballs with green beans and garlic bread
Tuesday-King Ranch Chicken(using Sticky Chicken) with salad
Wednesday-Chicken, Mushroom, Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Thursday-Breakfast for dinner
Friday- Leftovers
Saturday-Grill something
Sunday- Bobby and I will be at the Cowboys game so not sure, the kids will eat at my parent's house

Well I hope I can stick to this plan, I know when I do it makes things so much easier! What is on your menu this week?
To see more Menu Plans check out I'm an Organizing Junkie