My hubby and children have claimed these muffins are "the Best". I looked at several recipes before I decided to try this one. The topping makes it. Sorry, I forgot to take a photo.
Pumkin Cheesecake Muffins
This recipe claimed to make 2 dozen muffins, but I got about 18 muffins from these ingredients.
Filling:
1 (8 ounce) cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
3 tbsps sugar
Topping:
5 tbsps sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans
3 tbsps butter, melted
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Muffins:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
Heat oven to 375º. Spray muffin pans with Pam. You might also use paper liners, but spray the liners.
In a bowl, mix the filling ingredients together and set aside.
In another bowl, mix the topping ingredients together and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.
In another bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin, oil, and vanilla together.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the pumpkin mixture in. Mix with a fork until well moistened. Do not use an electric mixer because the muffins will get over mixed.
Evenly divide half the batter between the 24 muffin cups. Place 2 teaspoonfuls of the cream cheese mixture on top and then divide the rest of the batter between the cups covering the cream cheese as best you can.
Sprinkle some of the pecan mixture over the top of each muffin.
Bake until golden ~ about 20 to 25 minutes. Insert a toothpick in center to check for doneness.
No long story about why I haven't blogged in FOREVER-My dear daughter is preparing for the Nutcracker and we have been traveling an hour to practice almost every weekend.
I have tried some great recipes lately. If all works with my computer today, I will share some great fall recipes.
My husband is in the Rotary Club. Each year the club in our community sells apples as a fundraiser for community projects. Everyone in our community looks forward to the apples arriving. We start looking for great recipes as soon as we order our bushel.
Apple Cake Recipe
3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups raw apples, peeled and chopped fine
Sauce:
1 cup packed brown sugar (for sauce)
1/4 cup milk (for sauce)
3/4 cup margarine(1 -1/2 sticks) (for sauce)
Mix oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour, salt, soda. Add to first mixture. Fold in pecans and apples. Bake in tube pan at 350 for 1 hour.
For the sauce, mix and cook ingredients 3 minutes after it begins to gently boil, stirring constantly. Pour over hot cake while cake is still in pan. Let cake cool completely before removing.
This is a picture of the cake after I poured the caramel sauce over it. Once the carmel sauce soaks in and the cake cools you may remove it from the bundt pan. Moist and delicious!
More recipes will be posted this week. Enjoy!
After an awesome summer vacation, we just started back to school on what must have been the hottest day of the year. Next Friday we will cheer on our favorite football team in the first game of the season. I cannot believe we are doing all of these things in this extreme heat! It might be time to rethink this back to school schedule. Shouldn't we still be lounging by the pool.
In the last few weeks my sweet little girl lost her first tooth. Her visit from the toothfairy earned her $5. With that money burning a hole in her pocket, she promptly convinced her Daddy to take her to the local department store. I sometimes question the fashion sense of the buyer this company employs, but it is nice to have a department store in our small town. Armed with five dollars and a daddy that can be charmed by big hazel eyes, my sweetie set out to find something fabulous. When I arrived home on that afternoon, I was almost blinded by the bling-a pink and white stripe top adorned with a heart of silver glitter. This t-shirt was topped with a hot pink sequin vest. I can't believe all this for just -$5. For some reason I can't post pics today, but you can just imagine-we are raising a gypsy. Just wait until you see her outfit for football.
The first week was hectic, but everyone seems to be adjusting. My son just started middle school. He is really excited about taking his elective classes. Let's just say he is a bit of an eager beaver. I apologize to his teachers-he will email you with his newest ideas for anything related to your class. My daughter absolutely loves her class. I am so excited everyone is so excited about learning.
In the past week I have not cooked much more than hotdogs. I promise with a full week ahead tto do some cooking this weekend, but first I plan to enjoy an afternoon at the Pond (we do not swim in the pond).
A recent conversation with a friend got me thinking about how we (society) always look to place blame or fault on others. We see it each and every day. Last night one of the few television shows I watch was interupted by the President as he spoke about the pending day of reckoning for payment to creditors. He and his party are blaming the Republicans and the Republicans are blaming the Democrats. None of us have clean hands. We have stretched ourselves too thin and we need to fix it.
During the conversation with my friend, I made the same observation related to education. We were discussing how teachers are being blamed for much of what is wrong with the world. The government sees the problems with society and decides education can take care of these issues. They pass laws and pass them on to the federal and state levels which them pass these mandates down to the local systems which them pass them off to the teachers. Teachers then pass off this responsibilit to students. If we pass along the responsibility then we can never be at fault- it is always the fault of the person we passed it to. No one ever steps back and evaluates how these mandates help or hurt students. Nobody wants to take responsibility for putting something in place that is unreasonable or just doesn't work. Just look at No Child Left Behind- in 2014 every child in America will pass state/federally mandated test. If they don't it is NOT the federal government's fault for pushing through a law that was unreasonable nor did it provide necessary resources to even come close to making it happen. My new favorite mandates relate to Anti-Bullying. Educators now have the responsibility of policing and teaching kids that bullying is wrong. As parents we don't want to admit we have the ultimate responsibility for teaching our kids how to use cellphones and social networks without hurting people. We don't want to take responsibility for our lack of action when our kids misbehave.
As a society we have become very FAT. No way is this weight gain my fault. I can blame everyone excpet myself, but ultimately I make the decision about what goes in this mouth. This morning I watched one of the morning shows as a person from McDonalds positively promoted the new healthier version of the Happy Meal. The reporter interviewing the McDonald's representative asked "can't your company stop giving the toys"? We haven't gotten fat because McDonald's puts a toy in a Happy Meal. As much as I hate those darn toys, it is my responsibility as a parent to "JUST SAY NO". Even better I can choose not to go to McDonald's and instead cook a healthy meal of low-fat meat with healthy fruits and veggies. I work, my kids are busy and because of these choices we go to McDonald's sometimes. McDonald's has a variety of choices- I make the decision about what we eat. McDonald's have never forced me to order a biggie fry or drink.-
We all make choices and it is past time we take responsibility for our own actions. I had to complete a survey yesterday related to another law passed by my state legislators. The survey asked for me to suggest the "soft skills" employers most desire. The word RESPONSIBILITY would have covered everything- from showing up everyday, on-time -to cell phone use -to initiative. Taking responsibility for one's actions just about sums up everything an employer expects.
Still watching morning shows and now they are blaming COSTCO for our "impulse buys".....
In just a couple of weeks the kiddos head back to school-way too early in my opinion. I would love to go back after Labor Day like many friends in the north. Hope you are enjoying your summer.
Homemade Mac n Cheese
For several weeks my daughter has begged me to make macaroni and cheese. She did not want Easy Mac or Kraft from the box. Last night she and I had some alone time so I decided to have her help me. She was so proud of "her" macaroni and cheese. She even got a fist pump from her Daddy- Yummy! As a southern girl I have tasted and attempted several recipes for this dish. The recipe I have developed is based on a combination of other recipes. Hope you enjoy! This makes a large pan-perfect for a large family gathering. Divide this recipe to make for a smaller crowd. We will be eating leftovers and sharing with our friends and neighbors.
16 oz macaroni
1/2 stick butter (real.butter)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tap salt
1/2 tap pepper
4 cups milk
16 oz grated cheddar cheese
4 eggs
1/2 stick butter
1 sleeve Ritz cracker crumbs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil macaroni according to directions on the box (I used Muellers). Drain and rinse the macaroni in a colander. Combine next five ingredients in a large saucepan-cook on low until butter melts. Add grated cheese. Stir until sauce appears to be a rich and creamy cheese sauce. Beat four eggs in a small bowl. Add to cheese sauce and wisk until combined. Add cooked macaroni to the cheese sauce. Spray a 9"x12" pyrex dish with non-stick cooking spray. Transfer macaroni and cheese sauce from saucepan to pyrex dish. Melt 1/2 stick of butter and combine with cracker crumbs. Top the macaroni and cheese mixture with the buttery cracker crumbs. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes-1 hour. Allow to sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.
We started our celebration late Thursday afternoon. As soon as our little sweetie's dance class was over we made the road trip to my parents house. My parents live in a community with a large military base and I must say this community celebrates the 4th like it should be celebrated. We gathered with 30,000 or more others to kick off the holiday. I am so glad my children got to see F-16s fly over during the National Anthem. The concert we enjoyed was being filmed for the armed forces television broadcast for today. Wynonna, the headliner for the evening, put on an awesome show. My daughter thought she was so good she should try out for American Idol (we thought that was too cute). After the show we enjoyed the best fireworks display I have ever witnessed. Truly the best way to start this holiday weekend. If you have never celebrated the 4th with the armed forces you should give it a try. Tonight we will continue celebrating, but on a much smaller scale in our little town. One of my former student's band is entertaining folks at the recreation department fields, but first we will attend the dedication of one of the fields in honor of the former recreation department manager. Hope you enjoy celebrating your independence today!
Posts
