Orange Bran Muffins

I feel like a traitor to my in-laws, posting this recipe. Until recently, I never made any bran muffins unless they were Jim and Barb's recipe. But, now I found this recipe and it's my new favourite. *hanging head*

It probably makes it worse that it comes from the Nisly cookbook. *shoulders slumping*

But, they're so good, you have to try them. :)

Mix together:
1 1/4 cup wheat bran
1 cup toasted wheat germ (I don't have any right now, so I use bran for this)
1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp grated orange peel

Mix together:
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup oil
2 cups buttermilk (I use 1/2 plain yogurt, 1/2 milk)
1 cup boiling water
(I usually squeeze in a few squeezes of orange juice from the orange I scraped the peel off of...but the recipe didn't call for that.)

Combine 2 mixtures. Spoon batter into greased muffin tins, filling each 2/3 full. Bake at 350* 15-20 minutes. Batter may be stored in refrigerator for up to 1 month and used as needed.
Yield: 2 dozen muffins

Gran's Breakfast Pockets

Dough:
2 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3-4 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in water in large bowl. Let sit a few minutes, then add milk, oil, sugar, egg, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat well. Add enough flour to form soft dough. DO NOT KNEAD. Cover, let rise for about 1 hour.

Filling:
1 lb. sausage
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-2 cups shredded cheese
7 eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
2 1/2 cup frozen shredded hashbrowns, thawed

Fry sausage and onion, drain. Add hashbrowns, eggs, milk and seasonings. Cook and stir until eggs are set. Sprinkle with cheese. Keep warm.

Punch down dough. Roll dough into 14-16 7" circles. Top each with 1/3 cup filling and pinch edges to seal. Place on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350* for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

These freeze well. Thaw overnight and warm in 350* oven for 8-10 minutes.

Rhonda's notes:
I've always needed more like 5 cups of flour to get a soft dough. It does need to be really soft, but less than 5 just gives me a batter.
I can't get breakfast sausage here, so I mostly use seasoned hamburger. (I have a mild Moroccan seasoning salt that is great for this...actually tastes like sausage.) For anyone in Mada, I have also used the saucisse de volaille and it was ok.
I tried adding the hash brown potatoes one time and thought they were unnecessary.
Since I don't use the hash browns, I use about 9-10 eggs.
Rather than messing with circles, I cut my dough into squares after rolling it out (16 squares, about 1/4" thick). Then I put the filling on, and pull the corners up to the middle, and pinch the edges. The pinched edges make an X, if that makes sense. Then I flip them over onto the baking sheet, and they are a neat square. Let me know if that doesn't make sense.
I usually give them another 10-15 minutes of rising time before baking.
I'd love to try adding green peppers for me or mushrooms for Matthew, but since the girls eat them too, and I'm not going to make custom food for each of us, I haven't. :)

Grilled Pizza

Step 1: Make your favourite pizza dough.

Step 2: Start your charcoal now, if it takes you awhile.

Step 3: Chop the following, making additions or subtractions wherever you want to:

-tomatoes
-red or yellow peppers
-onions
-fresh mushrooms
-fresh basil
-minced garlic
-feta cheese
-salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (don't chop this, but rather add it!)
Combine everything, and pour a little olive oil over top. Mix it up and set it aside.

Grate a bunch of mozza cheese and put it in a separate bowl.

At this point, you can also open a can of pizza sauce if you are so inclined. We prefer it with a very thin layer of sauce.

Set up a "grilling station" outside by your grill. I brought out a pizza stone and rolling pin so that I could roll each pizza crust as I needed it instead of trying to get them all outside together or having to run back in every time.

When the charcoal is ready (not too firing hot, not too cold, just right), roll out a small pizza. I can fit 3 pizzas, about 6" across on my grill at one time. Roll them out with lots of cornmeal so they are easy to move around and don't stick to the grill.

Put the crusts on the grill and put the lid on. In a couple minutes, check them. Make sure they aren't burning. When they get big bubbles in them, flip them over.
Immediately spread sauce on, if you're using it, and then put lots of the veggie mixture on. Top with mozza. (Trust me, I don't think you'll miss the meat. If you think you will, just add some more cheese.)

Put the lid back on the grill. As soon as the cheese is melted, take them off and EAT THEM. Then make more, until you are either tired of making so many little pizzas, or you're stuffed from eating so many little pizzas.

Sidenote: We had this last night, and we had leftover tomato/garlic mixture. We ate it in omelets this morning, and let me tell you, next time I will make sure there is leftovers!

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

Mix together:
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup white sugar
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup + 2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp (heaping) baking soda
¼ tsp cloves
¼ tsp ginger
½ tsp nutmeg
1 scant tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

In a second bowl, whisk together the following:
1 cup milk
3 beaten eggs
½ cup melted margarine
1/3 cup oil
1 1/3 cup pumpkin (cooked and pureed)

Combine two mixtures thoroughly. Pour into a lightly greased 9”x13” pan and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until the center is set. Serve with milk. (This fed 6 with a little bit leftover.)

I had pumpkin baked oatmeal in a restaurant in Pennsylvania last year and have been thinking of it ever since. This is really close, except I think the restaurant’s version had pecans as well. Mmm. It’s so good.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding

3 eggs
4 egg yolks
3 cups whole milk
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
9 cups white bread cubes

4 tablespoons brown sugar

Mix first 10 ingredients together well with a whisk. Pour over bread and stir gently but thoroughly. Let set for 10 minutes. Pour into a lightly greased 9"x13" pan. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top of the bread mixture.
Place the pan into a larger pan and pour hot water into the larger pan till it reaches halfway up the smaller pan. (Does that even make sense?)
Bake at 350*F for 45-55 minutes or till puffy and browned. Cool for 15 minutes and serve with the following sauce.

Caramel Sauce:
In a small saucepan, mix together:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon rum

Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until slightly thickened. Let cool a few minutes before serving.

Makes about 12-15 servings.

I combined 2 recipes from allrecipes.com. Originally, there were mini chocolate chips in the bread pudding, but I didn't add them in and I think it would way too rich with chocolate. It's just perfectly rich without. :)

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Icing

Cupcakes:
Cream 1 cup butter till fluffy. Add 2 cups sugar; cream for 7 minutes. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg. Add 3 cups sifted self-rising flour, alternately with 2/3 cup pureed strawberries and 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp milk. (Begin and end with flour.) Stir in 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. Bake in paper lined pans at 350*F for 20ish minutes or until done. Cool cupcakes in pan for 5 minutes, then remove and cover with saran wrap till completely cool. Makes 18-20 cupcakes.

Icing:
Beat together 2/3 cup pureed strawberries, 1/3 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla and enough icing sugar to make a soft icing. Spread on cooled cupcakes.

My thoughts:
1. I did NOT cream the butter and sugar for 7 minutes.
2. I did use real butter.
3. I did like this recipe a lot, but didn't think it's the prettiest ever.
4. I overfilled my cupcake papers and it made a big mess in my oven, so don't overfill your papers.
5. Matthew was enthusiastic about the icing, and that means it is not everyday icing. :)