Shredded Wheat Muffins

You know when you eat a box (or bag if you are in to malt-o-meal like I am) of shredded wheat, frosted or not, you always end up with a bunch of shredded shredded wheat crumbs. My kids like to call it magic dust and they will gladly pour the stuff in their bowls.

But my amazing friend Jenny gave me a better use for the stuff: Shredded Wheat Muffins.

I've made them twice now in two variations. I made an orange-cranberry muffin and an apple-cinnamon with streusel topping. I did have troubles with my muffins collapsing in the center. I'm not sure why. Should I add another egg? More baking powder? But regardless, they tasted great!

Jenny's Awesome Shredded Wheat Muffins

3 c Flour

1 + cup shredded wheat magic dust

2 T baking powder

2 t salt

1 c brown sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 c milk

1/2 c oil

Mix dry ingredients. In separate bowl mix eggs, milk and oil. Add to dry mixture and stir just until moistened. Fold in filling.

filling and spice

        Apple Streusel Muffin

        2 c chopped apple

        3 t cinnamon

        1/2 t nutmeg

        streusel topping (1 c brown sugar, 1 c oats, 1/2 c flour, 1 cube cold butter cut in, 2 t cinnamon)

        Cranberry Orange Muffin

        2 C chopped cranberries

        zest and juice from 1 orange

        Blueberry

        2 c frozen blueberries blended with 1/2 c yogurt

        2 t cinnamon

Spoon into muffin tins (don't overfill). Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

       

    

Meatless Mondays

What a great idea. Tom and I try to consume less meat. We aren't vegetarians by any stretch of the imagination, but we do try to be frugal with our meat consumption, especially red meat. I found this blog post about meatless mondays and a number of great meatless meal ideas.

So starting this week, we are going to incorporate meatless mondays into our menu planning. On Monday we had wild mushroom and cheese ravioli served with a simple romaine/spinach Simple, yet delicious. I am excited to try more meatless meals.

Hurray for Bountiful Baskets! With a fresh variety of fruits and veggies every other week (or every if you prefer), I am bound to have some great options for meatless meals.

What are your ideas for meatless monday?

Death Valley 2011

We recently went to Death Valley National Park for a race (race report coming soon). What a beautiful place! As desolate and remote as it is, Death Valley is spectacular. We camped for 2 nights withmy parents and aunt and uncle. We only had one day to explore, and beacuse it is so vast, we couldn't explore much. There are some spectaular sand dunes in the park. They just sort of rise out of nowhere. We had tons of fun racing down them. The biggest one was about a 2 mile hike, and after our race and a previous hike, we just decided to have fun on a mini one. The kids loved it!

We also hiked a beautiful slot canyon, Mosaic Canyon. It was short, but beautiful. The kids loved sliding and climbing.

James especially loved exploring. He is such a firecracker.

I can't wait to go back. I think we'd like to try it out again next year. The weather was ideal for winter (60s). The campground was awesome (a little oasis in the desolate desert), the race was amazing (great finishes for all involved), and the company was grand.