Homemade with a Twist

Cuter than Cubes

I have been making baby food the last couple of weekends.  It started off rather innocently last weekend with a batch of organic sweet potatoes, which Tiny loved.  So this weekend we stepped it up a notch,  got some gear (more jars and a steamer pot).  I baked sweet potatoes, acorn squash and butternut squash and steamed peas.  We have a lot of choices at the ready now.  I am still following the 4 day rule for introducing new foods so the squashes will have to wait a bit to get in the rotation.  I gave her peas last night and she wasn't quite sure what to make of them.  I like how bright they are.  We don't have any adequately sized ice cube trays so for the 1 oz portions I used silicon baking cups to freeze the puree overnight then put into zipper bags this morning.   They came out beautifully.  How cute are the little flowers?   

Run down to jog my memory-

3 cups of peas= 7 (2 oz portions)

3 sweet potatoes= 11 (2 oz portions)

1 med. butternut squash= 8 (1 oz portions)

1 lg acorn squash= 10 (2 oz portions) + 4 (1 oz portions)

Grand Total= 68 oz of yummy goodness.

The Muffin Man

  Do you know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Do you know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane?

Yes I know the muffin man,
The muffin man, the muffin man,
Yes I know the muffin man,
Who lives in Drury Lane.

I love having my little helper in the mornings.  It does take a bit longer to put things together but its a whole lot more fun.

Lemon Scented Blueberry Muffins (adapted from Joy of Cooking)

Combine in a large bowl and set aside:

2 c AP Flour

1/2 c sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

pinch of salt

1 tsp baking spice

1 tsp lemon peel (dried)

Combine in small bowl:

1 lg egg

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 c nonfat milk

Add wet ingredients to dry,  mixing until just combined.  Fold in 1 1/2 c fresh or frozen blueberries.  Divide among 12 greased muffin cups.  Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.  Bake at 400 for 13 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool 2-3 minutes before removing from pan.

Muffin Sunday

 

A new twist on an old favorite, Banana Cinnamon Bran Muffins:

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour

1/2 sugar

1 TBSP baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

2 c bran cereal

1 1/4 c skim milk

1 egg

1/4 c unsweetened applesauce

2 ripe bananas, mashed

Combine first 5 ingredients and set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, combine cereal and milk. Allow to stand until cereal has softened.  Add egg and applesauce and stir well.  Stir in dry ingredients until just combined.  Fold in bananas. Fill 12 medium muffin pan cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 F for 18 minutes. I like them warm with honey :)

Tradition

This weekend I decided to make a batch of my grandma's caramels.  I was a bit nervous to try the recipe at this altitude,  but thanks to fabulous instructions and some faith it turned out wonderful.  I dipped some apples and will wrap the rest.  My grandma would make these at the holidays when I was young.  She wrapped each one carefully in wax paper and we would try to make them last.

 

Socks Sunday

I have been going to Sunday morning knitting with a spectacular group of ladies for just shy of three years.  And now that I am 2000 miles or so away, I am missing my friends.  In the spirit I got up yesterday morning and made a smoothie, sat down with a movie and my knitting.  Notice the broken needle in the picture that happened just before bed last night.  I had already had one of the five split, so now I am down to three.  I will finish the heel and go find some new needles. 

I was fortunate to have gotten a great knitting and friends fix this week.  Several of the ladies were able to squeeze out some time to get together and I got a good deal of knitting in on the flights.  I am to the toe decreases on the Cherry Tree Hill socks for DH,  but I needed his foot for a final measurement before continuing.  The Dublin Bay socks got a good start. 

 

 

Mixed Berry Smoothie

½ cup Apple Juice

6 oz yogurt (I used cherry vanilla)

½ - ¾ cup mixed berries, frozen

1 tablespoon wheat germ

Combine in blender.  Mix until smooth.  Pour into fancy glass and enjoy!