Apple Pie Muffins

Here is another recipe. I made these for our Thursday morning "muffin day" breakfast. Most of the boys each ate two and asked for a third. One of the boys said they were "horrible" but then ate his anyway. I think he just wanted to say "horrible". The original recipe called for some other type of topping but I didn't like how it looked so I used my own crumb topping recipe which is actually for pies but is also good on muffins or quick breads. This makes a double batch (24) but they freeze well. I froze some to save for our next muffin breakfast day but they didn't last... we already got them back out of the freezer and now they are gone.

Apple Pie Muffins

1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 t. vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups diced peeled firm tart apples (Granny smith)

Topping:
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup oats
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
3 T. butter or margarine

Make topping first by putting the first five topping ingredients in a small bowl and cutting in the butter. Set that aside until you need it. In large bowl whisk together brown sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, soda, and salt. Stir oil mix into flour mix alternately with buttermilk. Fold in apples, mixing just until combined. Spoon into greased muffin cups. Sprinkle topping over each muffin evenly. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 24 muffins.

*If you don't have buttermilk put 1 T. lemon juice or vinegar in a measuring cup. Add milk to the 1 cup line and let sit for several minutes. Then use as you would buttermilk.

Fresh Butter

We tried this simple "recipe" for our Thanksgiving meal and it was such a hit we'll be adding it to our annual traditions! But you don't need a special occasion to give it a try. Try it sometime with your kids just for fun or save it for a special Christmas dinner.

Fresh Butter

1-2 cups heavy cream

dash of salt

Place cream and salt into a jar with lid. Screw lid on tight! Shake jar until butter forms. Takes about 25 minutes or so.

We were about ready to give up when the butter suddenly formed. It will be a lump of soft butter in a cup or so of buttermilk. Be sure to save the buttermilk and make pancakes or biscuits!

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

by Robert Louis Stevenson

Lord, behold our family here assembled.

We thank thee

For this place in which we dwell;

For the peace accorded us this day,

For the hope with which we expect tomorrow;

For the health, the work, the food

And the bright skies that make our lives delightful,

For our friends in all parts of the earth and our friendly helpers . . .

Let peace abound in our small company.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Barn Cake

My fourth son just had his fourth birthday last week! I just had to share the cute little cake I made for him. I got the idea from Betty Crocker's website. It turned out even cuter than I expected and it wasn't hard at all!

The main cake is a barn and the leftover batter is used for cupcakes in the shape of a chicks, pigs, and sheep!

Thankful Tree

This week we are making a "Thankful Tree". After Bible time each day we are each going to say something we are thankful for and write it on a leaf. The only rules are you can't say the same thing as someone else and you can't say the same thing each day. After we've written our name and what we are thankful for we then take the leaves and hang them on the "tree".

The leaves are just some fall coloring pages I printed from the internet onto colored paper. I used red, orange, and yellow paper. The tree is just a branch stuck into a jar. I put dried corn into the jar to weigh it down and because it looks festive. You could use beans or rice too. I added a little bow to make it prettier as well.

The boys enjoyed helping me cut out and put the string through enough leaves to get us through Thanksgiving Day. It's a little bare right now but by Thursday it will have plenty of leaves! It's kind of a reverse of the trees outside!