Muffins...

Need I say more? LOL I've been trying to make good, homemade muffins for the past week. I tried and tried but every recipe just stunk. Finally, I found an old email from the SHS group and VOILA! I now have two different kinds sitting in the freezer! How great is that! I have made blueberry/orange and peanutbutter/chocolate chip. I plan on making one batch of each kind so that the kids have a healthy breakfast or snack in the freezer anytime they need it. These will hopefully replace the not so healthy cereal and frozen waffles that the kids have been eating.

Here's the recipe if you would like to try it...

Muffins from Judy in Texas on the Support4homeschool group:

5 cups flour (use up to two cups whole wheat, crushed cereal, packed rolled oats if desired)2 to 2 1/2 cups sugar (use the higher amount if fruit is sour, you may also use all or part br.sugar, You can substitute half or more of sucrolose for the sugar if counting carbs)1 tsp salt1 tsp baking soda1 Tbs.(3 tsp) baking powder2 cups buttermilk, or reg. milk soured with 2 Tbs. lemon juice (I think that buttermilk makes the most tender muffins and is low fat to boot.You can use part yogurt for the milk as well and eliminate the lemon juice.)1 cup vegetable oil or melted butter ( you can substitute 1/2 cup apple sauce (one snack cup size) for half the oil. I have tried all apple sauce, but the muffins become a bit tough if you don't keep some of the oil.)3 eggs2 1/2 to 3 cups berries or cut up fruit pieces (you can make red -white- and blue by using 1/2 blueberries, 1/2 either raspberries or strawberries and 2 cups of white choc chips)Place dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to blend.Place wet ingredients (oil, eggs, milk ) in blender container and blend well.Make a well in dry ingredients in bowl, add wet mix from blender and pour into well. Stir gently to mix, add fruit and fold and stir in. Do not beat, batter should be a bit lumpy. Over stirring muffins makes them tough. This will make 24 to 30 muffins depending on size of pans. Spray pans with pam,(I don't like to use the paper liners, the muffins tend to stick to them and you don't get the nice crust that you get if you bake them in greased pans) fill almost to the top and sprinkle with and of the following: sugar, cinn.sugar, chopped nuts and sugar, coconut, rolled oats and sugar etc.Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min. The are done when they spring to the touch. Take out and cool 5 min in pans, then pop out (use a knife run around each cup to lift out) onto cooling racks. I freeze these in Ziplocs for quick breakfasts.Apple cinnamon: Use 3 - 4 apples (just peel and cut in chunks and throw in blender with wet ingredients, don't over process, or chop by hand), 2 tsp cinn. and 1 cup chopped pecans.Apple raisin - same as above but add 1 cup raisins (plumb first by covering with liquid and nuking for a couple minutes. I like to used part rolled oats with the apple muffins and sprinkle the tops with a little oatmeal and sugar.Carrot raisin - same as above but use 5 or 6 carrots chopped in blender with wet ingredients instead of apple. Add 1 cup chopped nuts if desired.Carrot raisin pineapple - Same as above but add one large can crushed pineapple and reduce milk to 1 1/2 cups.Strawberry - cut up 3 cups strawberries and mix inStrawberry - white chocolate, same as above, but add 1 cup white choc piecesStrawberry pecan - same but add 1 cup chopped pecansTollhouse - add 2 cup choc chips (1 12 oz bag - I like to use the mini chips) 1 cup chopped nuts, walnuts or pecans, use brown sugar and add 2 tsp vanilla.Banana - Reduce milk to 1 cup - add 5 or 6 bananas to blender - add 2 tsp vanilla and 1 cup nutsBanana/Strawberry 1- same as above but fold into batter, 2 cups cut up strawberries.Banana/Strawberry 2 -Add 1 cup strawberries to the blender with 4 or 5 bananas. Stir 2 cups of cut up strawberries into batter. Banana/Strawberry 3 Follow either banana or banana strawberry 1, but add 1 pkg strawberry jello to wet ingredients.Banana Choc chip - same as above but add 2 cups mini chips and 1 cup nuts if desired.Blueberry /Orange - one of my favorites! Peel the orange skin off one orange in very thin pieces using a potato peeler and put in the blender with the other wet ingredients. Remove the white peel remaining on the orange and cut orange into 4 or 5 chunks. Pick out the seeds and put the chunks in the blender. add the remaining wet ingredients reducing milk to 1 3/4 cups, if you are using regular milk do not add lemon juice. Blend well. Proceed as directed stirring in 2 1/2 to 3 cups blueberries.Cranberry Orange - Same as above (no blueberries) except add 1 1/2 dried cranberries (plumped in microwave by covering with liquid and nuking for a couple minutes). Can also add 1 cup chopped nutsOrange Pineapple - Same as above (no blueberries) but add 1 large can of crushed pineapple and reduce milk to 1 1/2 cups.Hawaiian - Same as above but add 1 cup coconut - sprinkle tops with a little coconut.Peanut Butter and Jelly - This is for the kids, into blender container put milk, 1 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky, you can add extra chopped peanuts if you like) and only 1/3 cup oil. Use 4 eggs and mix as usual. Fill muffin tins 1/2 full and put 1 tsp jam or jelly in center of each cup. Fill with batter almost to top and bake as usual. Chopped peanuts sprinkled on top is a nice touch.

Enjoy!

Lisa