Tidbits From Our House

Fall is slowly giving way to winter. We had frozen precipitation falling from the sky the other day.

Here is a recipe that I've made a time or two this fall.

Pumpkin Spice Cake

 Mix together:

2 c. mashed pumpkin

3/4 c. vegetable oil 

2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

Then add:

 2 c. flour

1t. salt

2 t. soda

2 t. baking powder

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. ginger

1/4 t. each of cloves, nutmeg, allspice

Pour into a 9x13 pan and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350.

And then I like to frost with either a sugar crumble, or caramel frosting, which is:

1 stick of butter

1/4 c. milk

1 c. brown sugar 

Mix together and heat until the sugar is dissolved. And DON'T let it boil (learned that the hard way one time). 

Then take it off the heat and add 2 c. of powdered sugar, and beat in well. Let it set until it's cool (don't stir again), and then spread over your cake or cinnamon rolls or whatever.

      So those are my fall recipes. Speaking of cinnamon rolls, I'm going to make myself hungry for some if I think about it too long. I suppose I should make a pan and send them to work with Clark sometime. 

    Today I read the book "Safely Home" by Randy Alcorn. And I've also been reading "He Chose The Nails" by Max Lucado. Both are very thought provoking reads.

    I'd post pictures of the little man's new look since his haircut, but I guess we haven't taken any yet. Hmm. Clark is coming home to figure out what and where the funny smell from the dryer is. I'm wondering if something somewhere didn't get a little too hot. Not a good feeling. 

The Best Blueberry Muffins

We had these for breakfast this morning. I think this is the best recipe I've ever found.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons baking powder (yes, really, use that much)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup granulated brown sugar or white sugar (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and sugar. In another bowl, combine butter, egg, and milk and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and with a spatula, stir until just combined. Do not beat or over mix; it's okay if there are lumps in the batter. Gently fold the blueberries into the batter.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tray, filling each cup about 2/3 full. (It's more like fill the cups 3/4 to all the way full. The batter will be VERY stiff.) Bake for 10 minutes and remove from the oven. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the granulated brown or white sugar and return the muffins to the oven to bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes (again, optional, I bake for 20-25 minutes and skip this step), until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool for about 10 minutes in the pan before turning the muffins out.


I'd like to try these with whole wheat sometime and see how well that works and if Clark would like them.