Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe is one I found on muffinrecipe.net the other day and made them for breakfast for the family. They loved them. I obviously tweaked the recipe but this is the original recipe. The link to the web page is at the end.



Pumpkin Muffins ingredients list:
2 medium eggs.
3 cups of flour.
1 cup of brown sugar.
1 cup of milk.
1 cup of canned pumpkin.
½ cup of unsweetened applesauce.
2 tablespoons of white sugar.
4 teaspoons of baking powder.
1 teaspoon of salt.
1 teaspoon of cinnamon.
1 teaspoon of nutmeg.
1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.
¼ teaspoon each of cloves, allspice, ginger.

Instructions for Pumpkin Muffins:
Mix all of the ingredients.Fill sprayed muffin tins almost to top.Bake at 325°F for about 25 minutes.Makes about 15 muffins.
www.muffinrecipes.net/pumpkin-muffins.html is the like to the website

Cold Day Soup

I made this today. It was good enough to eat. lol The thing about homemade soup from my house is that I typically just empty the fridge into it! lol It's never the same way twice.

1 lb of hamburger
1 lb of pork (We had pork steak left over)
1/2 onion
3 stalks of celery with leaves (and all the leaves out of the center of the bunch)
2 turnips
3 small cans tomato sauce
2 Chipotle pepper bullion cubes (don't ask-they were on sale and I liked them so I keep buying them)
2 cans of Great Northern beans (I used left over beans I made yesterday from dried beans)
Seasoned salt, pepper and garlic to taste

Dice onion, turnips and celery. Brown hamburger (and other meat if not already cooked) in pot your going to put the soup in. Add chopped vegis to browning meat. (Why dirty up extra pans) Drain grease off meat and put back in pot. Add everything else and water if more liquid is needed. Simmer on low for about an hour and enjoy.

Spanikopita Biscuits

I probably spelled that wrong and I certainly couldn't be expected to say it right, being a hillbilly and all but these are yummie! I stumbled onto a recipe for biscuit swirls on a yahoo group called everything from scratch which obviously got my attention! (I don't know who added the recipe, all it had was a user id) I didn't have the things that the recipes called for so I went on a search to see if I had something else I could put in them. I found spinach and cheese! yummm! These were a hit with everyone in the family!

2 cups of plain flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup of shortening
1 cup buttermilk
1 can of spinach (you could probably use frozen-this is just what I had on hand)
4 slices of Provolone Cheese (again, this is what I had on hand-grated or sliced cheese of any kind would work)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a bowl and mix. Cut in shortening and add buttermilk just as you would for biscuits. Turn out onto floured surface and knead lightly 10-12 times. Then pat out to about a 1/4-1/2 inch thick rectangle and let sit. Then open can of spinach and drain. I also squeezed all the liquid out between my hands until there was no more liquid. Then I put the spinach in a small bowl and took paper towels and put on top and pressed into the spinach to get all the excess water out. I didn't want it to make the biscuits doughy from being too moist. Maybe it was over kill. I layed slices of cheese ontop of the dough long ways and then put the spinach on top. I rolled them up like a jelly roll. Long ways and then sliced them about 1/3-1/2 inch thick and baked them in the oven at 400 for 15-20 minutes until they were browned. They were all eaten!

S'mores Pie

This is a new invention that I created for my daughter who loves s'mores more than anything!

1 graham cracker crust
2-12oz packages of milk chocolate
1 bag of mini marshmellows

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds or so. Pour into pie crust & top with marshmellows. Bake in oven at 400 degrees until marshmellows are browned. Yummie-or so I'm told. (she doesn't share s'mores too well!) I guess I'll get some on our next camping trip! lol

Mamaw's Famous Pound Cake

This recipe almost caused a war in my family when my grandmother (mamaw) died. I remember as a child watching my grandmother sit at the kitchen table (now my kitchen), writing out these recipes in this notebook that I now have sole posession of. Everyone loves this pound cake! It was written down when I was a kid and I can see where my mamaw had written in different measurements beside the original amounts. I think it's genetic. I adapt almost every recipe I use! I thought this would be a great recipe to add here. The page for the pound cake is stained and browned and more than well used. More so than any other recipe in this book. These precious ones are now in sheet protectors!

2 cups Sugar
1 cup shortening
1/4 cup butter
1 cup milk
6 eggs
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp butternut flavoring
3 cups plain flour

Cream sugar, butter and shortening together. Add eggs one at a time beating after each one. Add flour and milk then mix. Add salt, baking soda and flavoring and blend well. Bake in tube pan that is greased and floured at 350 for about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Southern Biscuit Muffins

This came from a cookbook years ago, then I adapted it to fit our tastes. The book was from sometime in the 1990's.

2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup shortening (or butter)
1 1/2 cup milk

Mix the flour and baking powder. Cut in shortening as with regular biscuits. Pour milk in bowl and mix with a fork. Spray muffin pan (or grease). Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full and bake in preheated oven on 400 for aobut 10 minutes.

Mashed Tater Add-ins

How many things can you add to mashed potatoes to make them different?

1. 2 garlic cloves, crushed
2. replace half the butter with sour cream
3. shredded cheese-any variety
4. Italian herbs
5. instead of butter use cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
6. Ham (or any sandwich meat you prefer)
7. mixed vegis-you know the kids are gonna hide them in it anyway!
8. Mushrooms and onions (sauted)
9. instead of butter and milk use stock or bullion cubes & water
10. And last but not least-Spice things up a bit with minced (or finely chopped) hot peppers

You can mix and match any of them or use other things. The possibilities are endless (ok not really but you get the picture) Our favorite is a combination of several of these. Potatoes are very versatile!

Crockpot Meatloaf

3 1/2ish pounds of ground beef
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups of breadcrumbs (you could use crushed crackers or even oatmeal)
1/4 cup worchestershire sauce
2-3 Tbsp seasoned salt (whatever type you prefer)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 large onion chopped very thinly (thick peices make the loaf fall apart)
8 oz cheese
Buttermilk as needed for moisture (sometimes the meat is dry and needs it)

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl except cheese then divide in half. Tear off about 2 feet of aluminum foil and tear in half long ways. Roll the two peices until you have strings (not too tight, you want them to be a little thick) put the "strings" in the bottom of the crock pot as a rack to hold the meatloaf out of the grease a little.

Flatten one half of the meatloaf so it will fit in the crockpot. (I do this on wax paper to make it easier to put in the crockpot) Make a little "ditch" in the middle and put the cheese in. It can be shredded or in slices-whatever you prefer. I've never used cubes but I can't see why it won't work. Pat out the other half of the meat and place on top of the first to cover the cheese. Pinch all around the sides to seal the cheese in and place in the crockpot on top of the aluminum foil. Drizzle the sauce from the previous post on top of the meatloaf. Put the lid on and turn the crockpot on high. It takes about 4 1/2 hours to cook completely. Then turn off the crockpot, take the lid off and let it sit for 30 minutes before you slice. (very important to keep it moist and in one piece)

Tips, Tricks, Hints & Thoughts:
My philosophy on meatloaf (soups & stews too) is to put whatever is in the fridge in it. I use whatever I have on hand to make it. I once added chopped raisins and mushrooms and it was awesome (adapted from a hamburger recipe from Rachel Ray I think) So add whatever you want.

Seasonings are a matter of taste. You can add any seasonings you like to most anything. Meatloaf is no exception. I add different spices depending on my mood. This is just a good basic recipe.

I have 2 crockpots that I use. One is a 7 quart that I made this meatloaf in and the other is I think 3 1/2 qts. I have a large family so the 7 quarts are needed to make a main dish for the family. I use the smaller one for side dishes. The big savings come with using the crockpot instead of the oven. The crockpot costs about 2 cents per hour.

I always buy meat on sale in bulk when at all possible. It has to be at least a dollar off the usual price before I buy meat. This keeps my budget in check for those times when I have to pay full price.

If you like using the crockpot check out this blog
http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com
She has been using her crockpot everyday for almost a year now and is posting her recipes and result on her site. There are a few that I want to try. Not all are frugal but most sound yummy.

Sauce for meatloaf

I found a recipe for a "ketchup" to put on top of a meatloaf while it bakes. By the time I got around to making the sauce I didn't remember the exact recipe and didn't have all the things I remembered being used. So I created my own adaptation from that memory. It is a bit like what goes into baked beans and is ohh so yummy!

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup mustard
4 Tbsp Worstershire sauce

Mix together and spread on top of meatloaf before you bake!

Country Biscuits

2 cups plain flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup shortening or butter
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening or butter then mix in milk until just mixed. Turn out onto floured surface and knead gently about 10 times then let sit for about 10 minutes. Pat out to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut with biscuit cutter of glass. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.