Blueberry Muffins

Well another muffin recipe from Happy in Dole Valley....we sure are on a muffin kick and we sure all loving it.

So if you are in the mood for some easy blueberry homemade muffins then you have to try this recipe.

Blueberry Muffinsmakes 18 muffins

3 c. flour
1 c. Sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 t. sea salt
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. melted butter
1 c. milk
1.5 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen, coated w/ 1 T. flour)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease muffin tin with coconut oil.

2. Measure dry ingredients into a large bowl and mix together.

3. Mix melted butter together with eggs and milk.

4. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened (don't over mix your muffins!).

5. Gently stir in floured blueberries; fill muffin cups 3/4 full.

6. Bake 20 minutes. Cool slightly in pan; remove to rack to cool

So after they cooled slightly we put a little bit of butter in the center and oohed over them. They were perfect. My girls do not even like blueberries and they loved these.


Many thanks to Happy in Dole Valley!

Friday Note Taking

Not really anything big to note here....but I thought I would recap our week.

• The sun was out all week so much so that I got very sunburned at the pool on Wednesday.
• Now it is cold and drizzly....I am so confused.While still nursing a sunburn!
• Abi and I did a little bit of muffin cooking together. I had a lot of fun doing that with her.
• The girls got to sew again this week. They enjoy just getting to fiddle around and make their own creations.
• I met with a new endocrinologist this week. I think it went well. 
• We only have a few weeks left of school.
• I should have already started school work today but I am still in my PJ's and the girls are snail hunting outside.
• I have been online at the Pioneer Women Website getting inspired by some yummy recipes.
• So I have made my meal plan for the weekend and next week.
• I get excited over meal planning...I think because I look forward to real meals.
• Watching the HBO Special "Weight of the Nation".....all I got to say is wow! If you can watch it you should.
• Looking forward to a three day weekend with the hubby! Its not till the weekends that we get to spend time together.
• OK I am off to clean my kitchen so I can mess it up again.....just the way it goes!

Oh My Muffin!!!!

Well I was looking at one of my favorite blogs on Monday and decided to take on the task of making some of the muffins she writes about on her Muffin Monday posts.....oh my!!!! I don't know why I have waited this long to try out her recipes. So I stocked up on some ingredients and Abi and I worked in the kitchen together yesterday after school. Our first attempt was at the Snickerdoodle Muffins....Heaven!!!! Now at the blog Happy in Dole Valley she and her family have taken on a more healthy approach to eating and what ingredients go into their foods....so I did have to do minor revisions to the recipe because I am still just a basic flour and sugar gal.*we have made changes to what things I am making vs buying in the store...but I have not gone full organic yet*

I know you will enjoy these as I did....my hubby said they reminded him of scones....if that helps. on a side note I know many of you have gone gluten free....and if you have been baking and experimenting on your own with GF then I am sure you can turn this into a GF recipe as well.

Snickerdoodle Muffins
makes 12  BIG muffins

2/3 c. butter, softened
2/3 c. sugar (Happy in Dole Valley used 1/3 c. Rapadura and 1/3 c. organic)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 c. Flour (Happy in Dole Valley used  whole wheat pastry flour)
1 T. baking powder
1 t. sea salt
1 c. milk

Topping:
1/4 c. butter
1/2 c. organic sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F and grease muffin cups with coconut oil or a non stick spray. In a large bowl, mix together butter, sugar, and eggs. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and milk and mix well. Using an ice cream scoop, fill muffin cups with batter. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan for several minutes before removing muffins to wire rack. Prepare topping mixture by melting butter over low heat, then stir in sugar and cinnamon, mixing well. Spread topping onto muffins and enjoy!

AMAZING! We all loved these. Please follow my links in this recipe to find the original and other fun muffin recipes.

Thanks for Stopping by!

 

Rory's Projects

We finished a couple of projects last night that Rory has been needing to finish up. The 4H State Program had 2 community service projects that you could do this year and they needed to be completed by State Day. So Rory finished her 12" block a few weeks ago. That is going towards the Wounded Warriors Project and then we had to get her Pillowcase done. This is for the Million Pillowcase Project for Children with Cancer. They give these special pillowcases to children in hospitals with cancer. 

I was excited she took part in making both of these. It is good to think about others and to remember others in the projects you can create and not just ourselves. I am so proud of her and her excellent work. She sure is coming along in her abilities and skill with the sewing machine!

The Garden

The Garden has been partially planted. We have a very narrow yet long raised bed on our patio. It runs east to west and only the east end gets enough sun. So we use the west end to store a few plants/herbs that can not take the heat...and do much better in the shade. My Lemon Balm is loving the shade. So we planted today by seed (because I can not find them in starter packs) beets, lettuce, chard, beans. Then we are using the topsy turvy system to plant squash and tomato's. Hopefully we can figure those out. We got those because I can hang them on the patio in the sun. So wish us luck! We used a high nitrogen based soil. It has composted manure and hay in it....its free from the mushroom farm up in Escondido. So I know the plants will love the extra healthy soil....then in 2 weeks I will fertilize with my fish fertilizer. Since I started so late our harvest of seed plants wont be here till middle of the summer....but that's okay. I got some great news yesterday...I will be helping in the girls school garden starting this month and though the summer. I am so excited. They have a wonderful and beautiful garden. I can not wait to help out and to have the girls help out. Yay!!!!
So I hope to seed sprouts in 7 days from now....hopefully.

May Already!

Officially it's May! Yikes!!!! In the next month and a half lots will be happening. I am excited!!! I have been thinking about the changes taking place this summer....every time I think about Rory being 9 it just blows my mind! She is almost done with 3rd grade and so so ready for 4th grade....I remember 4th grade being one of my favorite years....I hope I can make it that way for her too. And we are trying to get her into Jr. Lifeguards with the City of San Diego this summer....yikes. Is my baby actually old enough to be swimming around the ocean and working her tail off for 4 hours a day for a month straight??? I guess we will find out. With Hubby's background in Life guarding he says she will be fine...still the "mom" in me worries. Abi will be joining the swim team up at the YMCA. We decided she needs to work on those swimming skills before doing any heavy ocean swimming. I am so happy that we have two "fish" for daughters!!! I am also trying to plan ahead for Abi and my birthday...they are 7 days apart and well if Rory is in JG's then we wont be leaving town like I originally intended so we will have to come up with something else fun for the both of us!!!! Abi is very ready for 2nd grade! Her reading is coming along great and her writing has turned a corner....we can actually read it now! I was nervous about our 2nd grade teacher leaving...she is due at the end of June and has officially told us she will be back for the beginning of school. We are all so excited...she is so wonderful! I know we have to finish out the year strong but its so hard when you just want to start summer now....but we will do it. Rory is reading her "hardest level" book of the year and I can tell she is struggling with keeping up but she is hanging in there. So we work on school everyday and even today we took the morning off and will be working this afternoon on school.  Mother's Day is next week....any big plans? Nothing here...we are just going to be chillaxing...last year I wanted to go the beach and Pizza Port....we did even though it started to rain on us...maybe we will try that again??? Not sure.  So lets finish this school year strong and get to Summer!!!!!

6 month ~ Time to Reflect

Well its been just over 6 months since we made major changes in our lives..moving home & office, renting out our primary home and renting a place for us....downsizing. So I wanted to take the time to reflect on the last six months and think about all these changes...good and bad!

• I am definitely driving more since our life still is in Escondido.
• But I don't mind
• I am so thankful we were able to rent out our house
• Hoping that we can find a new renter or renew this tenants lease when the time comes this fall
• I love how much we have saved moving into a smaller place
• Our SDGE bill is next to nothing
• We don't pay for water (yay)
• The bummer is the girls want a bigger room, but this is a learning experience for them
• But all of our belongings fit
• We are not crowded at all
• We have great neighbors in both neighborhoods(we miss our old neighbors)
• I am so thankful for all the new friends the girls have met and play with each weekend! That makes my heart happy.
• It does not take very long to "clean house" more time for other fun stuff
• It has made us get our priorities in order....God, Family and then everything else!!!!

God has blessed us with this amazing opportunity to catch-up and clean-up at the same time. We are so thankful for all He has blessed us with and continues to bless us with. He is so faithful! I can honestly say I can find only Joy in moving and downsizing. Not once have I regretted it or questioned God in it. Trusting in the Lord can be hard but He is so faithful when you do. We have another year and a half here and I honestly can say that is a good thing....maybe more time if we renew. Life is good....God is Good!