My Sister's Yummy Breakfast Muffins

This is my sister's recipe, I'm making it this morning, so thought I would share it. VERY delicious!!

Marion's Yummy Breakfast Muffins (makes lots!! I just filled a 12 cup muffin pan, a 24 cup mini-muffin pan, AND a 1/2 of a custard cup!!)

2 cups shredded, unpeeled apples
1 cup sugar
1 cup cranberries, chopped; or dried cherries or raisins (I also have dried figs, so I threw in a handful of those too)
1 c finely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 c shredded carrots
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup white flour (or it can all be white flour)
1 Tbs baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup canola oil

In a large bowl mix the apples and sugar, set aside. Grease muffin tins and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add cranberries, nuts and carrots to apple mixture, stir gently. Mix dry ingredients and add to apple mixture. Mix well. Stir in eggs and oil gently but thoroughly. Put batter in muffin tins and bake 25-30 minutes. Cool 5 min and remove to wire rack.

reusable grocery bag

reusable grocery bag, originally uploaded by jjlrdomom.

Thought I'd try making some different kinds of bags. For this one, the pattern was actually a plastic grocery bag, so this is the same style as that except that it's fabric and lined. I followed a great tutorial at Craftster. The stripey material is a top sheet that I bought at Saver's thrift store for $3.....a lot except that there was enough that I'll have 5 bags when I'm done! They're lined with some gauzy material that I had laying around (for years!)

Fun with the rice cooker

I wanted to make Jambalaya for dinner. Then I started thinking about the rice cooker my friend gave me to try out. Then I put those two thoughts together and hopped online to see if it's possible (I didn't get a book with the rice cooker, so I may be singing an old song here). Wahooooo!! You can make Jambalaya in the rice cooker!! Rather than posting the recipe I made up in my head (and haven't tasted yet), here are some links to some good recipes. Yay! I'm so happy!!!!
Jambalaya (several recipes, keep scrolling down for more)
and from Now Your Cookin' (this looked a little bland, but is what I started with and then added my own things)

Now you try it and laissez les bon temps roulette!! (Cajun for "Let the good times roll!")

grocery bag

grocery bag, originally uploaded by jjlrdomom.

My friend K got me hooked on making reusable grocery bags out of recycled stuff (check out her blog for more ideas on this). This one, much loved by the Pink Princess, is made out of bandanas. Now I have to make myself another one as she has claimed this one. For more views, check out my Flickr page by clicking on either link under the picture.

my favorite cinnamon rolls (fairly quick)

My friend Alicia, who swears she cannot make bread, shared her "no fail" bread recipe with a group I'm on. Then my friend Pegi adapted it to this wonderful cinnamon roll recipe which goes a little quicker than usual recipes and tastes just as good. For my addition to this great recipe.....for the cinnamon-and-sugar sprinkling, I mix together dry pudding mix, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Yum!!! And I use lots to make it really gooey and tasty!!

Pegi's Cinnamon Rolls ala Alicia's Bread Recipe
6 cup flour
2 T yeast
6 T wheat gluten
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups VERY hot water
2 T vegetable oil (butter does not do that great)
2 t salt


Mix it all up in your standing mixer. Mix until it is mixed, lol. Let it rest five minutes and then knead it for about 2 minutes in the mixer, of course. Let it rise 30 minutes, punch it down and divide in half.
Then roll it out to a rectangle, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with cinnamon, sprinkle with brown sugar, and sprinkle with raisins. Roll it up and pinch it shut then cut in halves until you get to 12. Put in pie plates six to a pan OR put all 12 in a 9 x 13 pan.
Let them rise in a warm oven for about 30 minutes, the bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. You can make a glaze of a little powdered sugar and water with some maple flavoring and put it on them when they are hot.
This recipe makes 24 so you can share with your neighbors!

If you'd rather do without the oil, check out this post on flax seed