Tag Archives: shopping on a budget

A Great Snack for Fall: Cranberry “Brownies”

21 Sep

Alex’s favorite new snack.

Yesterday morning, as I was debating which fall dessert recipe to post for today, Alexandra came up to me and said, “Mom, when are you going to make that snack again?”

“Which snack?”

“You know…The One.  In the bag. The one you made us.”

Well, that narrows it right down, right?

Actually, the thing that clued me in was when she said, “In the bag,” because this particular snack was so yummy I cut them up and put them in baggies for the kids to take in their lunches the day after I first made them. They all loved them and I knew this new recipe was a keeper for sure.

So there it was. The snack. In the bag.

That’s what I should have called today’s post.

I tried this recipe a couple of weeks back when I was absolutely starving late one night and even though I was so starving, by the time it finished I was too tired to eat anything and I went to bed. It’s from a cookbook that Alexandra actually got for me for Christmas at last year’s Holiday Shoppe at school and it is the first recipe I’ve tried from it. The cookbook is called “Home Cookin'” and is an AT&T employee cookbook. The recipe is credited to Joan E. Dill.

Although it says “Brownies,” they are actually not chocolate based.

And yes, I still made them.

It also said in the recipe, “or Apple” so I actually did both. I used craisins and apples.

I’m going to make them again this weekend probably because Alex is having a serious craving for them, apparently.
CRANBERRY BROWNIES (or APPLE)

Craisins and apples are a great match for fall.

INGREDIENTS

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 cups cranberries or cut up, peeled apple
1/4 c. water

DIRECTIONS
Cream butter and sugar.
Beat in egg.
Sift flour, soda, baking powder and cinnamon together.
Add to creamed mixture with vanilla and blend well.
Add water, as needed to help, as mixture will be thick.
Mix in cranberries (and/or apples).
Spread in greased , floured 8×8 baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until center is set.

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What’s For Dinner Wednesday: Easy Garlic Chicken

19 Sep

This recipe got a thumbs up from all five of us, which is a rarity! Even the leftovers went quickly!

Last week I was on Facebook when a friend of mine posted a very simple recipe for garlic chicken. I absolutely love garlic, and I love brown sugar, which it called for, and I even had all the ingredients for the recipe already. I decided to make it the very next day. She had gotten the recipe from Food.com and you can see the recipe here. It was called Easy Garlic Chicken, and I love Easy as much as I love Garlic and Brown Sugar.

Originally, when I saw the cooking temperature, 500 degrees, I asked whether or not that was too high, but it wasn’t. We cooked ours at that temperature and we actually had to use the entire 30 minute cooking time because our very large chicken breasts were still partially frozen in the middle. We also differed from the recipe by using bone-in, with skin, rather than boneless, skinless. Every so often I like to mix it up a bit and buy bone-in breasts.

A side of sauteed asparagus and brown rice completed the meal. I’d definitely make this again and I encourage you to give it a try too!

EASY GARLIC CHICKEN

It was tempting for me to keep tasting the brown sugar rub. Very tempting.

INGREDIENTS

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons brown sugar
3 teaspoons olive oil
DIRECTIONS
1) Preheat oven to 500°F and lightly grease a casserole dish.
2) In small sauté pan, sauté garlic with the oil until tender.
3) Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar.
4) Place chicken breasts in a prepared baking dish and cover with the garlic and brown sugar mixture.
5) Add salt and pepper to taste.
6) Bake uncovered for 15-30 minutes.

We couldn’t wait for these to be done, the whole house smelled fabulous the entire time they were cooking!

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Couponing Update: Back on the money-saving wagon

17 Sep

I had 3 BOGO coupons and $10.75 in manufacturer’s coupons so that I got almost all of these razors for free, and earned $10 in EB on to boot!

Last week I mentioned that after taking most of the summer off (not spending, but not saving either), I was now ready to begin couponing again. I had such an amazing money-saving week that I just had to share it with you today.

My first (and only) couponing stop: CVS.

I had been very close to earning $5 in Extra Bucks from the CVS Beauty Club (for every $50 you spend you earn $5 back in EB) for most of the summer, but since I wasn’t buying, I wasn’t earning. Last week after I’d cut all my coupons I was ready to save. I desperately needed a particular make up item from L’Oreal. It was a $10 item but I had a $2 off coupon and I’d get my $5 Beauty Club EB for the purchase as well. However, when I saw the circular for CVS I saw that if you spent $10 on any L’Oreal items you’d earn $3 in EB this week.

Even better.

I also noticed when I cut my coupons that I had several copies of a particular coupon that was Buy One Get One Free for Gillette razors for men and also for Venus razors for women. In addition to the BOGO coupons I also had four $1 off coupons for the Gillette razors and two $3 off coupons for the Venus razors and I had a CVS store coupon for 75 cents off the Venus razors too. You can combine CVS store coupons with manufacturer’s coupons and you can also use $$ off coupons with BOGO coupons.

When I saw the CVS flier however, I realized that if you spent $30 on Gillette products you got $10 back in EB. So I was going to be buying four packs of men’s razors and two packs of women’s and using all my coupons to get almost all of them for free, but I’d earn $10 in EB to boot.

I was out of Zyrtec. I had a $5 off coupon and I’d earn $4 back in EB.

It was a banner week, to say the least.

Here’s how it worked out:

1) Four packs of Gillette Razors $7.99 each, ($32) two packs free with BOGO coupons ($16 off), $4 more off in manufacturer’s coupons (down to $12 for four packs of four razors) and an additional $10 back in EB at the register.

2) Two packs of Venus Razors $8.50 each ($17) one pack free with the BOGO coupon ($8.50 off), $6 more off in manufacturer’s coupons (down to $2.50) and another 75 cents off with my CVS coupon (down to $1.75 for two packs of four razors).

3) Zyrtec $18.99 for 30 pills, with $5 off from my manufacturer’s coupon (down to $13.99) and an additional $4 back in EB at the register.

4) L’Oreal makeup $10.99 with $2.00 off from my manufacturer’s coupon (down to $8.99) and an additional $3 back in EB at the register. By the end of the week I’d earned another $5 back in Beauty Club EB because those Beauty Club bucks take a few days to process.

All this plus a case of water, a bottle of vitamins and a canister of wipes, all for free with my $22 in EB earned at CVS this week. You can’t go wrong with Extra Bucks!

TOTAL SPENT: $36.73 (for makeup, six packs of razors and Zyrtec)
TOTAL SAVED: $37.75

TOTAL EB EARNED: $22.00

What I got with my EB:
One case of water
Four packs of Nature Valley Granola Bar and Granola Thins snacks (on sale 2 for $5 plus I had $1 off three)
One can of CVS brand “Lysol” wipes
Four bottles of laundry detergent
One bottle of vitamins (on sale B1G1 1/2 off and I had a coupon $1 off one).

During the week I also utilized coupons for other non-grocery/household items.

For example, I took advantage of the Payless Shoestore BOGO Half Off sale plus the $4 coupon per pair of shoes they give you when the store you’re at doesn’t have the size you need to get two pairs of dance shoes for my daughter for $31 instead of paying $47.

We also ate out at the Olive Garden restaurant over the weekend, using a “Kids Eat Free” coupon for two of our kids’ meals and a $25 gift card from my father-in-law for my birthday, to get the rest of our meal for just a a fraction of the cost of what it would’ve been for five of us to eat out.

A great week, don’t you think?

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Baked Zucchini Fries

12 Sep

I have had lots of requests for the Baked Zucchini Fries recipe ever since I posted this photo from the Washington DC Kids’ State Dinner.

I’ve had a lot of requests for this recipe for Baked Zucchini Fries, ever since I posted this photo on my blog and on Facebook recently. It being zucchini season, it’s a perfect recipe to make at the end of the summer, and really throughout the year.

We actually made this recipe at the end of the summer ourselves, using a garden zucchini. They were delicious and they were easy. We used the recipe in our new The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge cookbook that epicurious gave us at the White House dinner. The recipe comes from Sydney Brown, age 11, from North Carolina. She submitted it with her winning Homerun Meatloaf Burger recipe as the side dish to accompany the burgers.

There are so many recipes in this cookbook that I want to try out, and slowly but surely I’m trying them one at a time.

This was a perfect summer meal!

We had our fries with oven baked chicken, garden tomato salad, and green beans. Don added a dip on the side for the fries which consisted of a mix of mayo and cocktail sauce.

Here is Sydney’s recipe, just as she has it in the cookbook. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

1 large egg white

1/3 cup milk

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs

salt and pepper

2 large green or yellow zucchini, peeled, trimmed, and cut into strips (2″ long 1/4″ thick)

Place your zucchini fries on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 425 degrees.

DIRECTIONS

Combine the egg white and milk in a small bowl and combine the Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper in another small bowl.

Dip the zucchini slices first in the milk mixture and then in the cheese mixture. Shake off any excess, then move to the baking sheet and place in the oven.

Bake for 10-15 minutes at 425 degrees.

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Couponing Update: Happy National Couponing Month!

10 Sep

I had dozens of coupons booklets to go through this past week, coupons that had accumulated throughout the summer months.

I spent my summer not couponing, living off my coupon purchases that I’d stockpiled from January to June. I absolutely loved having everything here, not having to make any purchases of those stockpiled items all summer. There are some items I still don’t need to buy yet. But, it’s time to get back on the money-saving wagon.

In case you’re curious though, I had more than enough of the following items to get me through the summer:

Laundry detergent
Lysol Wipes
Toilet Paper
Sunscreen
Lipstick
Cover Girl Foundation
Zyrtec
Bug Spray
Shampoo
Conditioner
Shaving Cream
Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Frozen Waffles (I still have waffles in the freezer, we use them once a week in the school year but not as often over the summer)
Frozen Toaster Strudels
Deodorant

I was thrilled with how my stockpiling plan worked out and I plan to do the same thing for next summer too. In the meantime, I will continue to live off of the things that are left before buying more of them. There were also things I ran out of, like body wash for example, that I’d be more conscious of buying more of next time.

Five new beach chairs this summer…purchased with a combination of coupons and CVS Extra Bucks!

I also wanted to pass along a few different couponing tips for you, it being National Couponing Month and all.

First, remember that coupons are not just for food and grocery items. For example, see my five new beach chairs in this photo? Here’s the story behind them: we desperately needed new beach chairs this summer. We hemmed and hawed about spending upwards of $10 per chair for five new chairs, and we had seen some on sale for $8.99 that we were considering buying.

However, one Wednesday morning I went to CVS to buy my newspaper and lo and behold, they had a box of beach chairs right by the register on sale for $5 each, which was great. They’d cost us $25. But, it doesn’t end there. I swiped my card at the machine and out popped a coupon for $5 off a $20 purchase. I couldn’t believe it. Even better, I had $3 in Extra Bucks to add to my deal. So in the end, I got five chairs for $17. Much better than the $45 (plus tax) I’d been prepared to spend.

See the skirt? Two coupons made it completely free this past August. Every time I wear it, I think to myself, “This skirt was completely free.” Every time.

Here’s another great couponing example: My skirt in the photo to the left. It’s my new favorite skirt, you know why? Because it was free. Completely free. I walked out of the store with one skirt and never even opened my wallet.

And no, I didn’t steal it.

Bob’s Store near us sends out a $10 coupon each year for your birthday if you’re in their rewards program, which I am. At the same time that I had my birthday coupon, they also sent out a 25% off coupon in their flier. I put the two together, headed for the clearance rack and saw this cute little skirt in my size for $12.

Or free.

I had so many emails for free restaurant items for my birthday–appetizers, desserts, ice cream, etc., that I couldn’t even use them all. But, if I had, they would’ve all been free.

I have one last couponing tip for you before I end this post.

My super-easy way of sorting my coupons quickly as I cut them.

Several people have asked about the organizational part of couponing. I thought I’d share what it looks like when I’m cutting my coupons because of course, I have a system. After I’d labeled the tabs in my coupon holders alphabetically with my categories, I took a stack of index cards and put those same categories on the cards and put them in the same alphabetical order. Each time I cut my coupons I take out the cards and lay them on the table in front of me.

As I cut each coupon, I place it on top of the card of the correct category. This way, as I’m cutting, I am also sorting at the same time. Previously, before I thought of this system, I’d just cut and make a big pile of coupons and then one coupon at a time, I’d place them into my coupon holders. It took forever and I dreaded doing it. It didn’t take me long to figure out this simple system and it works well for me. Everyone has their own way of organizing their coupons so it may not work as well for you, but I’m passing it along anyway, in case it helps you.

Now that school is in session, I’m able to start keeping an eye out for sales and coupons on those items I’ve run out of so that I can start shopping and stockpiling again. I can’t wait! If I get any other great deals throughout the year, I’ll continue to keep you updated.

This photo goes with the one at the top of the page. The one at the top was my Still To Cut photo (hence the scissors) and this one was the Already Cut pile on the floor next to me. I was about halfway through. That shows you how many coupons I’d piled up over the summer. It only took me two hours to do what I had not done all summer, and I could quickly scan for expiration dates and items I was out of.

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It’s that time of year again: After School Snack Time PB Oatmeal Balls

7 Sep

I’m always on the lookout for healthy after school snacks. Pinterest is my new best friend when it comes to searching for them!

So we’ve eased into the school year. Short week last week, short week this week.

Per usual, I’ve already got one kid home sick today as I type this post, so we’re really back to normal here.

Summer is for sure over.

The upside to the end of summer: After School Snacks!

I don’t know about you and your kids, but mine come home ravenous from school and I myself, need a pick me up before I start to cook dinner. I like to put out a set snack so that I monitor what’s being eaten and so that no one is just picking through the fridge, eating aimlessly.

Enter the After School Snack.

At my house, the After School Snack also counts as Dessert. I don’t usually make a dessert at night for after dinner because I don’t like my kids to go to bed on a full stomach and Caroline in particular has trouble with her stomach, so I try to end the day’s eating for them with their dinner, at least during the school week. Weekends are a bit different.

Therefore, I don’t mind making a sweeter after school snack for them since it’s their dessert usually too.

With our new school schedule for Caroline, she’s home an hour before the other two girls, so she’s been excited to help plan or make the snack for them. Last week she got a kick out of serving it to them when they got home. We took a recipe for Peanut Butter Oatmeal Butterscotch Balls (no bake, no eggs) from Pinterest and instead of Butterscotch Chips, which we didn’t have, we used mini chocolate chips, which I like better anyway. They were a hit. All five of us liked them and they were quick and easy.

The recipe is originally from a blog called Tasty Kitchen and you can see the original post here.

The recipe, which was quick and easy, can be tweaked however you like it. You can add in different types of chips the way I did or sub in raisins, which I thought would be good too. It’s got lots of potential to be more than one kind of after school snack.

Try it out and see what you think! As usual, I worked with what I had on hand, so if I made changes, I’ve noted them below. I do the best I can with what I have.

INGREDIENTS

  • ¼ cups Whole Wheat Flour
  • 1-¼ cup Rolled Oats
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoons Salt
  • ½ cups Creamy Peanut Butter
  • ¼ cups No-sugar-added Applesauce (I had cinnamon applesauce and therefore didn’t need to add cinnamon to the recipe as it called for)
  • ⅓ cups Light Maple Syrup (minewasn’t light)
  • 1 Tablespoon Honey
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • ¼ cups Butterscotch Chips (I used mini semisweet chocolate chips)

Wet ingredients in one bowl, dry in the other, then combine and scoop into balls.

DIRECTIONS

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the flour, oats, cinnamon and salt; set aside.

Cream the peanut butter, applesauce, maple syrup, honey and vanilla in a large bowl until well-combined.

Add the flour and oats mixture and stir until combined. Add butterscotch chips and stir well.

Scoop about two tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball. Repeat with the other dough. Recipe makes about 16 dough balls.

Refrigerate or freeze and enjoy!

After a few minutes in the freezer (about 15) the snack was ready and Caroline was ready to show off what we’d made them.

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Val’s Zucchini Fritters

5 Sep

These zucchini fritters were easy to make and according to Val you can make them using almost anything including Swiss chard, spinach, broccoli or carrots, or any combination of the above.

It’s zucchini season. If you are someone who grows zucchini in your garden, then right about now you have lots and lots of zucchini. We are often those people, but this year our zucchini didn’t take. So when we were at my cousin Val’s house a couple of weekends ago we were lucky enough that she gave us some of the zucchinis that she and her husband Bob grew in their garden this summer. And, she gave us the most fabulous new recipe for zucchini fritters. We had them that night and we have since made them ourselves (when I say we, I actually mean Don made them) this weekend for a big cookout that we attend each year on Labor Day Weekend.

This cookout that we attend is big and it’s been going for 40 years. You can even read about it here. The menu has evolved over the years and every so often a new menu item is added in. I can tell you now that Val’s Zucchini Fritters will be returning to the cookout next year. Additionally, all of my kids liked these, so it’s a recipe all five of us liked, which is rare.

From the printout Val gave me, I can see that the recipe she uses is originally from Simply Recipes. You can see the original recipe that she gave me, here. Valerie said the most important thing to remember is to squeeze the zucchini, or whatever vegetable you’re using, until there is as little moisture left as possible.

Here, from Simply Recipes is the recipe for Val’s Zucchini Fritters, great for an appetizer before dinner or to go along with dinner:

Zucchini Fritters
Ingredients

  • 1 lb of zucchini (about 2 medium sized), coarsely grated
  • Kosher salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 scallions, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup grape seed oil or olive oil
  • Sour cream or plain yoghurt

Directions

1 Salt the zucchini with about 1 teaspoon of salt. Try to remove the excess moisture from the zucchini by either squeezing the liquid out with a potato ricer, or by squeezing with paper towels. (The original recipe calls for putting the zucchini in a colander set in the sink to let it drain for 10 minutes after salting it. I think it works much better to use a potato ricer.)

2 Whisk egg in a large bowl; add the zucchini, flour, scallions, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Mix to combine well.

3 Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook fritters in two batches. Drop six mounds of batter (2 Tbsp each) into the skillet. Flatten slightly. Cook, turning once, until browned, 4-6 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with salt. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve immediately, with sour cream or plain yoghurt on the side.

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Pineapple-Banana Cake

31 Aug

It’s rare that we like cake to begin with, but this one we all loved!

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but no one in our house really loves cake, as in a birthday cake type of cake, with the exception of Lemon Cake and Boston Cream Pie which we adults choose for our birthdays, but we recently had a cake that we loved so I thought I’d share it with you today.

My parents had come for dinner and my mom had volunteered to bring dessert, saying she had a new recipe for a Pineapple-Banana Cake she thought we’d like. The recipe is not her own, she credits Roberta Grundy for passing it along to her. (Thanks Roberta!)

Well we gave it a try, and we all loved it! It wasn’t too sweet and the flavors of the pineapple mixed with banana was delicious and perfect for the upcoming fall season. I encourage you to give it a try!

PINEAPPLE-BANANA CAKE
BY ROBERTA GRUNDY
INGREDIENTS

*Grease and flour two layer cake pans
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 package Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix
1 eight ounce can of crushed pineapple NOT drained
2 medium bananas, mashed (approximately one cup)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup canola oil or vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

Combine ingredients and mix together on low for one minute.
Scrape sides of the bowl and continue to mix for two more minutes on medium until well blended.
Pour into greased and floured pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30-33 minutes until cake springs back.

See that little layer of frosting in the middle….yummy!

FROSTING

Roberta uses Betty Crocker frosting mix, beaten by hand and adding in 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1 ts. vanilla, but you can also choose to make your own vanilla frosting, adding in the cinnamon and vanilla as well.

Optional: sprinkle with nuts

Serves 10-12 approximately

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Macaroni Casserole by Grace

29 Aug

Last week I was so thrown off by our whirlwind trip that I actually typed my What’s for Dinner Wednesday post on Thursday.

And I thought it was Wednesday for most of the day.

I guess that’s what happens when you travel Sunday/Monday rather than Saturday/Sunday. It’s like having a Monday holiday and then you’re all thrown off for the rest of the week.

This week, I think I know what day it is and I’m pretty sure that it’s really Wednesday this time, so I’m going to try again.

Today’s recipe is from the cookbook that epicurious compiled with all of the winning healthy lunchtime recipes in it. You can download your own copy of that cookbook with just one click, here.

We have tons of cookbooks but it seems like we always love getting a new one. Of course this one was extra, extra special and we’ve been pouring through it, already trying out new recipes.

The first full day we were back, the girls had already made a mental list of all the things they wanted to make from this cookbook, which was almost everything in it. However, it wasn’t a grocery shopping week and we didn’t have everything for the ingredients for most of the recipes. We did find a couple though, and today’s is the first one we made, that first Tuesday we were back. I was still so tired from the trip that I could hardly focus on anything that day, so I was glad to have a healthy recipe that also involved all three kids in the kitchen. They each had a job making this recipe, so that was a tremendous help to me. We had to make some minor adjustments to incorporate what we did or didn’t have on hand, but overall we had enough of everything to make it work.

Everyone gave this recipe a thumbs up and I’d definitely make it again.

MACARONI CASSEROLE
By: Grace Ratchford, Wyoming
Age 12

Everyone actually liked everything in this recipe. That’s a rarity when you’re cooking for a family of five.

INGREDIENTS

8 ounces whole wheat elbow macaroni (we didn’t have wheat this time)
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup of 1% milk (we had skim)
2 and 1/2 cups of shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (I didn’t have kosher, I used regular)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 organic turkey hot dogs, boiled and cut into bite sized pieces (I didn’t have organic, but they were turkey)
1 small bunch broccoli, steamed and cut into bite sized pieces (I used a bag of frozen broccoli florets)
1/2 cup crushed cornflakes
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Everyone had a hand in making this recipe, which I think is what made it extra delicious!

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.

2. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Drain in a colander and rinse with cold water until cool.

3. In the same saucepan over moderate heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and stir for one minute. Gradually add the milk and cook, whisking until hot and thick. Add the Cheddar cheese, salt and pepper and whisk to combine. Remove the sauce from the heat and add the noodles, stirring well to combine. Stir in the hot dogs and broccoli.

4. Transfer the noodle mixture to the greased pan and sprinkle with cornflakes and parsley. Bake until bubbly, about 20 minutes, and serve.

This is a great recipe for lunch or for dinner! Thanks Grace!

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Farewell to Summer and Hello Chocolate Chip Muffins

27 Aug

Goodbye Summer! See you next year!

Summer has come to an end.

For us, school begins tomorrow, so even though officially it’s still summer on the calendar, it’s all over. In my mind, summer really ends when Don starts back to work full time, the second week of August. So it’s been over for a while, really.

I can’t complain. He has lots of days off in the summer, I have lots of days off in the summer, we do lots of fun things in the summer, we had an AMAZING opportunity this summer that really changed our lives, with the Kids’ State Dinner trip.

So I can’t complain, but I’m still sad to see it go. I still kinda want to cry as I think of the school year beginning again. I’m not ready to let it all go.

I *really* love summer.

Caroline is starting middle school, Elizabeth’s going into fourth grade and Alexandra into second. It’s going to be a busy year, a different year with them in two different schools on two different schedules. I’m sure it’ll take some getting used to.

And so, though it’s Monday and I usually post my “What We’re Doing for Fun This Summer” posts on Mondays, I can’t today, because I’m sad that summer is ending.

What I can do though, is share a new recipe with you.

Each year on the first day of school I make muffins for breakfast the night before. It’s a busy morning on the first day, hectic, and we also have a special tradition where my parents come up to see the kids go to school, just as my grandparents did  each first day of school when I was younger.

This year I’ve made several new muffin recipes and I’m not sure which two kinds I’ll be making for tomorrow’s first day, but I tried a new recipe for chocolate chip muffins last week. It might be in the running. I could use a chocolate chip or two about now, I think.

I found this recipe last week on Allrecipes.com when Alexandra asked for Chocolate Chip Muffins for breakfast. It said, “Easy, quick and good,” and I was sold. It was indeed all of those things and I’d make them again for sure.

Maybe for tomorrow morning.

The first day of not-summer.

CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

I got to use my mini chocolate chips which were part of my birthday gift from my mother-in-law, Mary Lou, the ones she got me from Hershey Park, in this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 3 tablespoons white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Grease bottoms only of 12 muffin cups or line with baking cups.
  2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, chocolate chips, and salt; mix well. In a small bowl, combine milk, oil and egg; blend well. Add dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy.)
  3. Fill cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops of muffins before baking with a combination of 3 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoon brown sugar.
  4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 1 minute before removing from pan. Serve warm.

    I loved the sugar/brown sugar topping on the tops of these muffins. It was light but still sweet and crunchy.

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