Apple Cinnamon Yogurt Muffins: Taste Test Tuesday

Today I made Apple Cinnamon Yogurt Muffins. We went to the apple orchard and so I have a lot of apples to make into yummy food. I have been craving muffins (it's like cake for breakfast) so I decided I just had to make some!

Here's the cast of characters:

The Recipe: Apple Cinnamon Yogurt Muffins

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

1 cup grated Braeburn or Golden Delicious apple

1 container (8-ounce) low fat vanilla yogurt

2 large eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Method:

1) Heat oven to 350¦ F. Grease 24 3-inch muffin pan cups or line with paper liners. In large bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt, orange zest, and nutmeg. With pastry blender or fork, cut in 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter until mixture is crumbly.

2) In medium bowl combine apple, yogurt, and eggs; add to flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until centers spring back when gently pressed.

3) Cool muffins in pan 5 minutes; remove from pan and cool until able to handle. Meanwhile, melt remaining 1/2 stick butter. In small bowl, combine remaining 3/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. To serve. brush tops of muffins with butter and roll top in cinnamon-sugar mixture.

From: http://www.bestapples.com/

Here's what the dough should look like when you are done combining everything. A good tip I heard was overstirring batter for muffins makes them dry!! So, keep stirring to a minimum.

I prefer to use muffin tins because I think muffins are really hard to get out of the pan when you just grease them. But it's all about personal preference.

The finished product.....and boy were they good!!!!

Preston didn't even notice a camera in his face which I would say means he gives this 2 little thumbs up. And I can't even smile because my mouth is so full so I give them two thumbs up too!! When you see me next, I'm going to be like those ads on TV with those girls who have donuts instead of buttcheeks, except mine will be muffins!!

Funny Stuff............

Here's two Preston funnies that happened today:

1. I went out to the garage and was getting something in the freezer and I hear my little Preston yell from inside, "Stace............Stace!!!"

2. I was showing him pictures of me from elementary school and I said "Who's that?" and he said, "Horse!" I did not appreciate that! Haha.

Birthday Fun!

What a weekend! We had lots of fun for Preston's 2nd birthday!! He had a good ole time and got to see all of his peeps....hehe. Here's some pics from the fun:

He had fun playing on this thing when we went to the mall with his Grammee.

Spending some quality time with his "Bapa"

Gotta love those cupcakes!! He licked the icing off of this one and then lost interest. There certainly must have been a mix-up at the hospital because my real son would have eaten the whole thing!! But he does have my squinty eyes.....................

He also got to go on a birthday carousel ride which he loved. It costs money to go each time and after his turn was over, he would keep running into the carousel to get on again. Little whippersnapper!! Doesn't he know his parents are cheap??

Happy Birthday Preston!!

Happy Birthday Preston! Today our little man is turning two years old! Time flies by faster than we even realized! For Preston's birthday, I've been working on redecorating our spare bedroom into Preston's new bedroom. Wes and I really wanted to make it a fun room where he will enjoy being. The new room also comes with Preston's birthday present from us....a Little Tykes kitchen. We hope he likes it! I know this is one of those times where the parent is way more excited than the child, but oh well!! I had so much fun decorating it and I'm sure Wes had fun with all of the manual labor...right honey?? So, here's pictures of our little Preston's new room!

Meet the Pres......

Hello, my name is Preston Isaac Cook and my nurse says I'm a milk-a-holic. I overheard my parents have a plan to cut back on the amount of milk I drink. Isn't that insane?? Don't they care about me and my needs?? I guess it was getting a little out of hand. Now I will have to actually eat some food. Why didn't anyone tell me that life was going to be this difficult? I don't think I would have come out of the womb if I would have known. On the other hand, that would mean I would have to share the womb with my brother or sister. Hmmmm....that doesn't sound so great either. I guess I'll stick to life. Pray for me in my recovery. Adios Amigos.

Preston

Taco Meat Seasoning: Taste Test Tuesday

Hello there, my faithful 2 readers, glad you stopped by. Do you ever get sick of buying those taco packets thinking that you can get a better tasting taco at Taco Bell? Well, because I am always looking for cost-effective alternatives to things and because I have gotten a lot of compliments on this taco meat's taste, I have decided to switch to making my own taco seasoning. I have found a great recipe at Allrecipes.com for "Restaraunt-Tasting Taco Meat."

Here it is:

Restaurant-Style Taco Meat Seasoning


PREP TIME
10 Min
COOK TIME
30 Min
READY IN
40 Min

Servings 10

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 1/2 tablespoons corn flour
4 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 1/3 pounds lean ground chuck
1 cup water

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, combine the corn flour, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. Stir in the paprika, cumin, garlic salt, and sugar. Blend in the onion, bouillon, and ground red pepper, stirring until all spices are well blended.
Crumble the ground chuck into a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until browned. Remove from heat, rinse meat with hot water, and drain water and grease from beef.
Return meat to skillet, and pour in seasoning. Stir in water. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until most of the liquid has cooked away, about 20 minutes.

So there you have it.....easy easy. You could also make your own packets and store them in your pantry in Ziploc bags for convenience! That's what I'm thinking of doing.

Hope you didn't miss the pictures too much! Preston has had the flu so you probably don't want to see a picture of him!! Poor little dude.

Eighties Night....and I'm Feeling Right!

So, on Wednesday night, our friends Scott and Kristin and Wes and I all headed to Castleton (sans kids) to party the night away at the Melting Pot. They were having a special promotion where if you dress up in all 80's clothes, you get their 80's pricing and you get a special gift.

Well you know Wes and I have done a lot less for a good deal so this sounded like a lot of fun! The Melting Pot is a fondue restaraunt where you cook all of your food at your table in the fondue pots. Boy was it good! By the end, you practically had to roll us all out of there because we had eaten so much!

Here's Wes and I trying our best to look 80's. I was kinda glad that by the end of the 80's, we were only 9 years old!!

And here's our friends Scott and Kristen looking very retro. Scott got a lot of compliments on his Karate Kid headband too!

Yikes!

Sometimes I feel like I'm a waitress at a restaraunt with very naughty patrons!!!

Meet the Pres......

If you know Kyle McCarthy, you know he's one funny guy. Well, he suggested that we start up a feature on here called "Meet the Pres" where we share funny stuff about Preston. Our first installment comes from the victim himself....Pres' Dad Wes:

Hi everybody. It's me, Wes. Today after getting home from work and eating dinner with the family, Preston asked to go play outside in our backyard. I opened the door for him as he flew out into the yard with all his yard toys. Our back patio had some weeds that were starting to grow in the cracks, so I decided to pull each one of them out by hand since I knew Preston would enjoy being out there for a while anyway. I was hunched over on both of my knees and putting my weight on one arm while pulling the weeds with the other hand. After getting halfway done pulling out the weeds I suddenly felt a cool sensation at the top of my butt crack. Although this felt somewhat soothing, I knew something was happening that shouldn't be. I looked up behind me to find my little son, Pres, was using his sandbox shovel to pour a scoop full of play sand down my pants! He looked so innocent as he ran off to his sandbox again. I stood up laughing at what he did while sand poured "Down Under" and down my legs and out the bottom of my pant legs. I shook for a few seconds trying to release the trapped sand from my jeans as I saw Preston walking back to me with his ever-so-steady hands as he carried another large scoop of sand. Let's just say I didn't let him achieve what he did before, but he and Stacy definitely had a good laugh about what he did. I now have had a shower and am feeling much better!

Meatball Sandwich: Taste Test Tuesday

How about a Meatball Sandwich??


Here's our cast of characters

Here is the recipe, taken from Allrecipes.com:

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 French baguette
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pinch salt, or to taste
1 (14 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
4 slices provolone cheese

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, gently mix by hand the ground beef, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and egg. Shape into 12 meatballs, and place in a baking dish.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cooked through. Meanwhile, cut the baguette in half lengthwise, and remove some of the bread from the inside to make a well for the meatballs. Brush with olive oil, and season with garlic powder and salt. Slip the baguette into the oven during the last 5 minutes of the meatball's time, or until lightly toasted.

While the bread toasts, warm the spaghetti sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. When the meatballs are done, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the sauce. Spoon onto the baguette and top with slices of provolone cheese. Return to the oven for 2 to 3 minutes to melt the cheese. Cool slightly, cut into servings, and enjoy!

Here's the meat balls before they have been formed....appetizing isn't it??

Here is what they look like right before they are about to go back in the oven for the final time.

The Meatball Lowdown: These were really easy to make. This is also a great meal to make if you have leftover spagetti sauce you need to use. When we make spagetti we only use half the can, so we always have leftover.

There are a lot of steps but they all make sense and are easy to follow. I had a problem with my spices because I have Italian bread crumbs and so I debated how much, if any, italian seasoning I should put in. Well I guess I put in too much. Wes said that he kept having bites that had too much spice in it. Oops! I also had a problem because my garlic press has disappeared!! So I had to press garlic on my own so needless to say, it didn't come out great.

Wes and Stacy's Score:

Wes: 4....too much spice, but overall was a good meal.

Stacy: 4.5 I thought it was pretty good. Maybe my scores are higher because I have to make all the stuff, I don't know!! But I did think we could have used more sauce.

Final Synopsis: If you are buying all of these ingredients for meatball sandwiches, save yourself some money and get a footlong at Subway! :)

Progress on the Room

Well, we got a lot accomplished yesterday! Wes being the burly guy that he is, painted the whole room by himself while I put together Preston's toy box that we got at the Goodwill.

Anyway, here's the pictures of the progress we made:

Did you know you can find stuff at the Goodwill that comes from Target?? I got a Target brand toy box at Goodwill for $14.99 (in picture above) and Target has the same exact same one for $50! The only reason it made it to the Goodwill is because the box had been opened. Can you believe that?? And see the nightstand in the picture? I got that at Goodwill for $8.99...and the exact same one is online at Target right now for $39.99! So, when you go to Goodwill, keep your eyes open and learn Target brand names and you might score yourself a great deal!!

And see the headboard?? Yeah...$3 from a garage sale!!

Have I got a tip for you!!

I read a lot of frugal message boards and blogs so I have heard of this tip, but I had never actually been able to pull this one off. We were at Meijer and I ran into one of my friends from the neighborhood and she told me to head straight to the deli counter at 8:30 sharp. This is when they put all of their deli meat from the day up for half price. So, Wes and I hurried over and sure enough, there were about 30 1/2 lb. packages of deli meat for .77-.90 cents a piece! The good stuff too! Jennie-o-yeah! So, we got two packs of ham and two packs of turkey for less than $4. I don't even know how much a pound of deli meat goes for these days, but I know it's at least $4-6. So, there you go, my frugal tip for today!!

Let the Room Makeover Begin!

There really hasn't been too much going on over in our neck of the woods. Hope you guys have had a good weekend! Well, the work is about to begin on Preston's new bedroom. First we're going to paint and put up a border. Then we're going to put up all of the accessories and get the bed all set up.

Our plan is to get the room done and then introduce it to Preston but keep him sleeping in his crib until about 2 months before Baby #2 is born. Hope it works out...I will give you the details. Here's my fear: he will start getting up in the middle of the night, invite some friends over and raid the fridge all while I'm asleep in my room. There's a comfort in knowing he is asleep in his white prison. Oh well, I guess he's has to grow up sometime!

But I will post pictures as we go along with the room redecoration so you can see transformation.

Here's the room before:

Comments!

I know of at least one person who will be happy because now you can comment on my blog without having a Gmail account. So, let the comments flow!!

Journey/Heart Concert

Once in a while, Wes and I like to let our hair down and do something out of the ordinary. Tonight was one of those nights! We went to a concert at Verizon Wireless; Cheap Trick, Heart and Journey. Now, we're not experts on the bands music, but we knew some key songs so we thought it would be fun!

Here's some highlights:

1. We didn't realize it, but I guess it's a given that if you are at a concert, you should drink at least 5 beers a piece! (We only drank four a piece though.......just kidding!!)

2. Cheap Trick is really old, but they have cool guitars. They had a 12 or 16 (I can't remember) string guitar and also a guitar that was like 5 guitars in one! We didn't know any of their songs though. Oops.

3. Heart was wonderful. Those girls sure can sing! I was inspired by how great they can sing and also play guitar. They are definitely talented.

4. Journey was also great. It's really neat because just recently they got a new lead singer who they discovered off of YouTube. He is from the Phillipines and he is a dead wringer for the old lead singer (in voice, not looks). He was an amazing singer and he had so much energy! He bounced all over the stage and Journey made sure he earned his money because he sang like 20 songs!

All in all, it was a great, lively concert with lots of drunk people and lots of good music!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken: Taste Test Tuesday

We finally have got a great recipe for you!! Both Wes and I give this recipe 5 stars!! And it's so easy! You will feel like you don't deserve such good food after only cooking for about 30 minutes! And when you hear the title, you will think fat, but this is actually a healthy pick according to Kraft. Without further adieu....here it is!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken in Cream Sauce

Here's what we are going to be using!

The recipe is from Kraftfood and you can click on this link and find the full recipe:

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/parmesan-crusted-chicken-in-cream-91371.aspx

I didn't use exactly the brands they wanted me to use because I'm cheap, but if you feel you must (Sandy, I'm talking to you...) then go for it!

The Ingredients:

2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked (I used a box of Rice a Roni I got for free at Kroger)
1 can (14 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
6 RITZ Crackers, finely crushed
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
2 tsp. oil
1/3 cup PHILADELPHIA Chive & Onion Light Cream Cheese Spread
3/4 lb. asparagus spears, trimmed, steamed (We used broccoli instead of asparagus)

How To:

COOK rice as directed on package, using 1-1/4 cups of the broth and 1/2 cup water.
MEANWHILE, mix cracker crumbs and Parmesan cheese on plate. Rinse chicken with cold water; gently shake off excess water. Dip chicken in crumb mixture, turning each piece over to evenly coat both sides. Discard any remaining crumb mixture.

HEAT oil in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook 5 to 6 min. on each side or until golden brown on both sides and cooked through (165°F). Place chicken on serving plate; cover to keep warm. Add remaining 1/2 cup broth and the cream cheese spread to skillet. Cook on medium heat just until mixture comes to boil, stirring constantly. Simmer 3 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring frequently. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with the rice and asparagus.

Notes on this recipe: I only made 3 chicken breasts and I almost ran out of breading so you may have to make more than the recipe calls for. Also, once the chicken was done, I put it in the oven at 175 degrees while I finished up everything else because I was afraid the breading would get soggy if I covered it with foil. Also, the cream sauce took about 5 minutes to thicken, not three, so don't lose heart!

Here's the pics of us cooking it "Kraft Style"

Here are the chicks before they were going into the frying pan.

Tip: Just let the chicken cook and don't move it around too much or you will lose some of your breading!

And here's the finished product......

I'm hungry now! If you guys make it and like it or even if you don't, leave me a comment! I would love to hear how it turns out for you.

Mums the word.......

Hope everybody had a great weekend! Wes and Preston and I went to the Pendleton Fall Festival on Saturday during the day and got to look around downtown. It's quaint and there's lots of stuff that people haul out of their shops to sell, but it's fun. I had heard from Kelly D. that this is a great place to buy mums, so we got two big mums for $5.50 a piece. Seemed like a pretty good deal to me!

After we got them, Preston tried to eat one of the flowers on the mum and ended up spitting them all over himself. Haha. I can't get him to eat very many vegatables but he'll eat mums? Hmm..go figure. Maybe our next Taste Test Tuesday recipe should include some mums.

But I need some support. I have been told by my usually supportive husband that I will probably kill the mums by not watering them. Okay, I did kill the plants on the porch from this summer from lack of watering but I mean, come on. Give a girl a chance. So, anyway, if you see me, call me or email me.....remind me to water the mums. Together we can keep them alive!

Case Solved!!

Okay, I really didn't think that the case of the disappearing baby book would be solved this quickly, but it has! Fortunately, Preston has been proven innocent, so I guess we will wait on his admission to military school for now. Anyway, the baby book is alive and well so now I can show you pictures of the littlest Cookie.



I will warn you that the pictures are pretty bad because our scanner is on strike so I had to take a picture of a picture. You can imagine how well that turned out! But here little Cookie is anyway! And make sure you note how much he looks like Wes!

Did I mention they were terrible quality?? Oh well, you get the point, there's a baby in there!! :)

Everyone have a great weekend!!

The Case of the the Disappearing Baby Book

In case you hadn't heard, the Cook family is going to be expanding. We have a little one on the way that is due to arrive around March 11, 2009. We are so excited, at least most of us are!! I got a baby book started and everything. I started putting in information like when I found out I was pregnant, heart rates of the baby and even two pictures of the little guy (or girl) from the ultrasound. She/He looks like Wes by the way.....haha okay maybe it's a little early to tell.

Anyway, this baby book has DISAPPEARED!!! I have not been able to find it anywhere. I'm beginning to suspect that "big brother" Preston might have something to do with this. I decided to do some investigative work.

Here he is after I found him sneaking around......looks pretty innocent huh?

Once he realized I was on to him, he said something like "C'mon man, I wouldn't steal the baby book...."

He quickly realized that I suspected him so he faked being shocked but then confessed the whole thing after a round of tickle torture. He said he put the baby book in the toilet and flushed it to kingdom come.

I can only hope that his brother or sister will understand that I had good intentions of keeping records of their birth! *

*And if anyone sees my baby book, please give it back to me. Preston never needs to know.......

Broccoli Cheese Soup- Taste Test Tuesday- Part 2

Our main meal tonight was Cream of Broccoli-Cheese Soup

Here's the ingredients.

The recipe is from "Country-Quick and Easy"

(I cut the recipe in half since we can't eat that much soup!)

Cream of Broccoli-Cheese Soup

1 c. onion chopped 1/2 t. garlic powder

1 T margarine 5 c. chicken broth

8 oz pkg. egg noodles, uncooked 10 oz. pkg frozen chopped broccoli

6 c. milk 12 oz. shredded cheese

In a large stockpot, saute onion with garlic in margarine over medium heat until the onion is clear. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add noodles; cook for 5 minutes. Stir in broccoli. Cover and cook for 5 addtl miutes. Stir in milk and cheese. Heat slowly, stirring until cheese melts. Do not boil. Makes 6-8 servings.

Bringing the broth and garlic and onions up to a boil.

My mother-in-law said I need more pictures of myself on here, so here you go!

I chopped up my broccoli into little bits because you know me and vegetables!! They still are good for you, even if they are tiny, right??

Here's the finished meal....I even broke out the special plates!

Review: Okay, everything looked and smelled beautiful, but the soup had a small problem. When you put the cheese into the soup, you put it in right after the cold milk. Well, our cheese didn't melt very well so it made it kind of grainy. So, I would tweak the recipe and say that you should heat up the milk before you add the cheese.

Wes- (he's kind of getting a food critic split personality) He gives this a 3.5 due to graininess. But he did ask for seconds. I refused though because he didn't deserve them!! Haha.

Stacy- I liked this better than Wes. If you tweak the recipe like I said below, I think it would be really yummy. I give this a 4.

If you try it, let me know what you think!!

Dinner Rolls: Taste Test Tuesday- Part One

Double-Quick Dinner Rolls

Here is our ingredients: salt, sugar, flour, egg, yeast and water. Pretty easy so far, huh? Here's the recipe from one of the church cookbooks I have:

1 c. warm water

1 pkg. active dry yeast

2 Tbsp. sugar

2 1/4 flour

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

2 Tbsp. soft shortening

In bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Stir sugar, half of flour and salt into the yeast. Beat with spoon until smooth. Add egg and shortening. Beat in rest of the flour until smooth. Scrape sides of bowl and cover with cloth. Let rise in warm place until double in size, about 30 minutes.

Grease 12 muffin cups. Stir down raised dough; spoon into muffin pan, filling cups half full. Again, let rest until dough reaches tops of muffin cups, 20-30 minutes. Bake 15-20 minutes in 400 degree oven.

Here is the dough all combined and ready to raise.

Here is the dough after it had raised for 30 minutes.

Here's my little babies after they had raised and were ready to be cooked. I let them raise a little higher than the recipe said because I like fluffy rolls.

Here's the finished product. Don't they look good??

Review: These were beautiful in their looks, but they were a little dry! Anyone have any ideas of how to solve this problem? If so, leave a comment. They were defnitely edible, just not like the kind you get in the restaurant.