Sweet and Sassy Muffins with Faithgirlz!

Jensie's church group, The Faithgirlz, met the other day at my house. I knew exactly the lesson I wanted to teach them...
My object lesson entailed making these Sweet and Sassy muffins.



We started the meeting off with one of my favorite childhood bedtime stories. My mom, Bobi, used to read this one to me a lot. I must have needed to hear it FREQUENTLY! The story comes out of Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories.
This story is about a little girl, Carolyn,who is nice at school, but turns into "Number Two Carolyn" at home. By this I mean - she shows love and respect while she's away - but at home she sasses her mom (Sound like anyone you know?)



The muffins we made use the same batter and you just change the ingredients to determine if they are going to be sweet or savory. Just like "Number Two Carolyn" - you can determine if you are going to be sweet or sassy - depending on what you put inside.



Sweet and Sassy Muffins
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add egg, milk and oil to dry ingredients. Stir until just moistened. Do not overmix. Grease or line muffin tins with paper baking cups. Fill about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

Makes 10 to 12 muffins.

Add in's for Sweet:
1 cup blueberries,1 cup dried apricots, 1 cup chopped and peeled apples, 3/4 cup chopped dates, 1 cup mashed bananas, 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, 1/2 cup pecans, 1 cup flaked coconut, 1 cup chocolate chips, 1 cup peanut butter chips, 1 cup raisins, 1 cup shredded carrots, 1 cup drained canned pineapple.

Add in's for Sassy:
1 can chopped green chilies, drained
Small can whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup grated cheese (Cheddar, Muenster, Swiss, or Monterey Jack)
1/2 cup cooked and crumbled bacon
1/2 cup chopped green onions.

We added Chocolate chips to our sweet muffins and Bacon, Pepper Jack Cheese, and Green Onions to our Sassy muffins.
The girls loved making them and many even learned a lesson I hope...
"Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be" - Abraham Lincoln.

Bobi's Bites: Banana Bread!

How could it be, we did not eat all the bananas? Time passes too quickly, or maybe bananas just ripen too fast!
Time to use my Mom's recipe before it is too late. I have a new appreciation of bananas after "watching" them grow at my parent's home in Florida. It can take a long time for these gems to mature but once they do they all ripen at the same time and you have a huge stalk of bananas to not only eat but share with the neighbors. Note, the picture is just the very beginning but you will not be disappointed when the bananas are breakfast ready.

Banana Bread - Bobi's way
1/2 cup margarine (I use butter)
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
(Mix above ingredients well)
Add 2 to 3 ripe bananas (mix well)
Add following ingredients to above mixture and mix well
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cups nuts
This makes enough for one large loaf pan or 4 to 6 small loaves.
Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (For a large loaf pan bake 45 minutes or more testing with a skewer for doneness.)

Cheese Blini's - Robin Sue Style!

Years ago Robin Sue, from Big Red Kitchen, brought these unbelievably tasty morsels to my home. I ate a respectable amount during our get together, but as soon as we were cleaning up I crammed entire fist fulls into my mouth while I walked the plate to the kitchen sink. I HAD to have this recipe. She graciously gave me the recipe - which I quickly passed to my mother Bobi. She in turn makes these pieces of heaven on a regular basis - and always gets requests for the recipe. I told Robin to blog about them - and she didn't remember what I was talking about. How could she forget these perfect little treats? How could anyone forget these cinnamon sugar coated lumps of love?

Adapted from: Kraft Kitchens - 2005

GOOD & EASY
You can't miss with Cinnamon Twist "Blinis"

These Blinis are a great addition to breakfast or lunch and if you need a dessert you can take the Kraft Kitchen Tip and dip half of the Blinis in chocolate. Whenever you need a treat to go, these fit the bill, and so I am off and running with a platter of these to a meeting tonight. These might even work for book clubs or Bible studies. You can have these with bacon and eggs in the morning, or tea and coffee as a snack, they are winners anytime.


1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese softened
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
12 slices white bread, crusts removed
3 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar, vanilla and egg. In separate bowl, mix remaining 1/4 cup sugar with cinnamon and set aside.

Flatten each bread slice with rolling pin. Spread 1 side of each slice
evenly with 1 Tbsp. cream cheese mixture. Starting at short end, tightly roll up. Brush each roll with butter; roll in reserved cinnamon-sugar. Slice each roll into 3 pieces.

Place each piece, seam side down, on baking sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve immediately.

Kraft Tip: Finished, baked rolls can be dipped halfway into melted Bakers Dipping Chocolate.

FF + BB = GB

Field Trip Friends plus Beautiful Brunch equals Great Birthday!

So I turned 39 yesterday. Can I just tell you how happy I am to turn 39. I will be ecstatic to turn 40 and I will be in bliss when I am 79! Breast cancer at 36 puts many things into perspective - and let me tell you - birthday's are one of them. I remember when I was first diagnosed many of my friends were turning 40. I remember thinking "God - please just let me turn 40". The minute I prayed this I distinctly remember praying while I was in college "God - Please let me just get married and have a child in my lifetime". I realize now that I should have thought more long term with my prayers.
Insert NOTE TO SELF - HERE!



My beautiful friend Julie was silly enough to find 3 friends who all have birthdays within a week of each other. She had us all over to her beautiful downtown home. With the help of our other friend Mary - she put on a wonderful brunch.



The weather was 70 and sunny and with a table setting like this....you just knew it was going to be a great day!



Of course Meredith, our Field Trip Mascot was invited. Who else could we blame for all the eaten Fractured Prune doughnuts?



Julie is one of my friends who shares my love of cooking. Look what she does with her Kitchen Aid mixer. Each season brings a new "costume" for her well used friend. At Christmas the reindeer antlers and red nose "supervise" the cookie making.



I think when you are young, your heart longs for a Best Friend; but as you grow older and wiser - you come to realize - the more the merrier! I thank God for all the friends He has put on my path. I am continually learning from all of them and I hope I get the chance to live to 79 so I can just keep collecting them.

Thank you Julie and Mary for making # 39 worth repeating - Let's do 39 again next year!

Sausage and Boursin Breakfast Casserole

The other day, as I was cleaning out my cheese drawer in the fridge, I discovered a package of Boursin cheese about to expire. My love of Boursin cheese goes beyond words so letting something that delectable go to waste would go against every fiber of my body. I quickly scoured the rest of my pantry to see what I could whip up.



I spotted the 2 day old loaf of french bread on my counter and hoped I would have a frozen "log" of sausage in my freezer - Score - I did!



I love a "Breakfast" dinner and knew if I threw all these things together - they couldn't be bad!

Rindy's Breakfast Casserole
1 loaf french bread, cubed
1 sweet onion, chopped and fried till just starting to carmelize
1 pound sausage, I prefer HOT (spicy that is)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
pepper to taste
1 cup cheddar cheese
5.2 oz Boursin cheese
2 cups milk
5 eggs



Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9 by 13 pan. Cook sausage in pan and drain grease. Cook onion in skillet till just carmelized. Cube french bread and place pieces in bottom of dish. Spread 1 cup of cheddar cheese over bread and dot with the Boursin cheese. Put sausage and onions over mixture. In separate bowl, mix 2 cups milk with 5 eggs. Pour over entire casserole. Cover and let this sit for at least an hour - or overnight. Bake for 45 minutes in 325 oven.



I hope your family loves this as much as mine did! Enjoy!

Baked Eggs: Eggs Squared!

My daughter turned 9 this past weekend. I remember when her older sister was turning 5 and thought to myself - I can't believe I have a 5 year old. Now I have an 11 and 9 year old - and I am still in disbelief! How do they keep getting older while my hubby and I manage not to age?
Unfortunately, I know I am just kidding myself. I actually had a friend come over the other day who had not been to my new home. I was giving her the tour when she spotted a wedding picture of me and my hubby. She asked who the couple was in the photo. Not what a girl wants to hear - trust me. I said it was me and the hubby and she just laughed. (That's not a good sign - is it?)
One recipe that HAS stood the test of time is this recipe for Baked Eggs. Jensen, my newly 9 girl, asked that I make these for her birthday breakfast. The morning of her birthday I went to go wake her for school and this is what I found! Needless to say - I could have eaten THEM for breakfast and been totally satisfied!



This recipe was given to my mother from my grandmother, Anna Mae, years ago. It has been a family favorite ever since. Who doesn't love cheesy egg goodness first thing in the morning? I hope you love it as much as we do!

Baked Eggs
1 cup Bisquick
1 1/2 cup Cottage Cheese
1/2 pound cheddar cheese, grated
2 tsp. dehydrated chopped onions
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
6 eggs beaten
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp. melted butter
Put melted butter in 9 x 13 dish. Mix all ingredients together and pour in baking dish. Bake at 350 for 45 to 55 minutes.



To have a perfectly "Well Rounded" meal - add Big Red Kitchen's Pancake Squares and some bacon and you have one great birthday breakfast! Don't forget to smother your whole plate with Maple syrup!

Quiche Craving!

The day Robin Sue and I did our "2 Cheap Chics" Blog we started our excursion with a wonderful lunch at a little outdoor cafe in Reston. The Quiche I had that day (pictured above) was probably the best quiche I have ever had. That one little piece (Ok it was the size of my head) probably had enough butter in it to kill a cow - but it was AMAZING! I haven't really stopped thinking about that wonderful slice of heaven, and so I decide to quench my quiche craving by making one for my family dinner.



I dug through my recipes and decide on one that always comes out creamy, cheesy and plain old perfect. Don't be afraid when you see mayonnaise on the ingredient list - it helps to make this ham and cheese dish rich and wonderful!

Creamy Ham and Cheese Quiche

1 (9-inch) Pie shell, thawed
2 cups shredded sharp cheese
1 cup chopped ham
1/4 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 375. Toss together cheese, ham, and onion. Spoon into pie shell. Whisk together remaining ingredients until well blended. Pour over ham and cheese mixture. Bake 45 minutes, or until golden and knife inserted into center comes out clean.



It hit the spot on that warm October night - but I look forward to hitting that little lunch spot again some cold November afternoon!