Muffin Wednesday: Peanut Butter

It's Muffin Wednesday! This week, I tried Peanut Butter Muffins from my book of 500 recipes. It had few ingredients and was simple. They had good peanutty flavor, but Brad and I felt they were really dry. I thought homemade strawberry jam might help.

2 c flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 1/4 c milk
1 egg
3 T sugar
1/2 c peanut butter

Preheat to 400
Muffin tin, paper lined

1. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Make a well in the center.

2. In a blender, combine milk, egg, sugar and peanut butter. Cover and blend until thoroughly mixed. Add all at once to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Do not over mix.

3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin, filling cups 3/4 full. Bake in preheated over for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

:)

Who Dat!

2010 Super Bowl champs!!!

Edison Butte - Edison Shelter, January 2010

Since Brad and I had so much fun at the AC/DC Shelter, we decided to return the next day to the sno-park and check out the Edison Shelter, which is a shorter loop with less elevation. Because of an injured ankle, Michael and Kendra opted for snowshoes. Jacob, Lindsey, Brad and I stuck with XC skis. The Nordic area has dedicated trails, so we went our separate ways and met up at the shelter. Previous visitors left a warm fire and a plastic sled. We took turns lunching by the woodstove and sledding down the hill outside the shelter. It soon turned into a game: Sled down the hill. Try to get the farthest before wiping out. (maybe try no-hands!) Try to avoid the snowballs flying at your head as you walked up the hill. We laughed and laughed and laughed, feeling like little kids on a snow day.

M&K returned the way they came and snapped this picture of the snow under the clearing sky. The skiers continued the XC loop, and about halfway back, we spotted what looked like a stone bridge next to the trail. Upon closer examination, we realized that it was a lava tube.
Obviously, it had to be explored! After some spelunking, we continued through the woods, stopping along the way to cruise off piste. The trail was good, covered in about 5 inches of fresh snow from the day/night before. However, the warm weather and spotty sun quickly melted the piles of snow from the tree branches, causing water to rain on our heads. Trade offs, I guess.

Because of our side trips, M&K beat us to the parking lot. But they weren't bored... they were busy burying J&L's car in snow and building this beauty on the hood: Within minutes, another snowball fight broke out, with giant globs of powder flying through the air. The 5 inches of fresh snow on top of the plow mounds made for amazing snowballs... or snow chunks. I nailed Jacob really good, and he retaliated by coming after me with the entire snowman. I still have nightmares of the snowman attack! Lindsey hid behind the car eating snacks, but we eventually noticed that she wasn't there and brought her back into the mix.

I have not had that much fun in a very long time. We played like kids. We laughed until I almost wet my pants. We drew strange looks from "civilians." It was truly an epic snow fight.

The weekend also brought good food, stimulating conversation, Tomb Raider, movies and books. And what better way to relax: I've said it before and I'll say it again. I have wonderful, amazing, caring, hilarious friends. I am truly blessed. :)

Edison Butte - AC/DC Shelter, January 2010

Thanks to my very generous aunts (thank you!!!!!!!), we spent another snowy weekend in Sunriver, relaxing, hanging with friends and playing in the snow! Michael, Kendra, Jacob and Lindsey joined us for the trip to Rio de Sol.

First, Brad and I explored the Edison Butte Sno-Park, a newer trail system on Forest Service Road 45 just south of the Cascade Lakes Highway junction (just before Mount Bachelor). Rain fell as we unloaded the car, but as soon as we reached the trailhead, the precipitation turned to snow! We set out for the AC/DC Shelter, a 5.5-mile loop with about 500' of elevation. We soon learned that the cumulative elevation was MUCH more than 500', with the trail rolling over snow-covered lava beds. One guidebook accurately described it as "undulating." Because of the narrow, winding and nearly continuously rolling trail, it was difficult to get any glide. Still, the snow was nice and the scenery was beautiful as we made our way to the picturesque shelter. The woodstove was stoked when we arrived, so we ate our lunch inside the toasty building. We'd arrived on the Direct Current trail and decided to continue the loop and return on the Alternating Current trail. The AC trail was less windy (and downhill!), allowing great coasting. We ventured off piste several times when smooth, powder-covered slopes called our names. The snow was perfect for practicing off trail - very forgiving. I think I only bit it once the whole day! It snowed the entire trip, making for a spectacular adventure.

:)

Birthday Bonus: Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars

Because it's Sue's birthday, I had to make an extra-special treat (Since I would have made Wednesday muffins anyway). Thanks to Lindsey, I recently found this amazing-looking treat on eat me, delicious. I had to give it a try... for Sue... and for the students.
The recipe included the brownie base. But since I already have a tried-and-true, top-secret brownie recipe that I love, I used that instead. Then I layered on the rest like it said:

Topping Ingredients:
1 package (10 1/2 ounces) mini marshmallows
1 1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
1 c smooth peanut butter (I accidentally came home with chunky... didn't seem to matter)
1 T unsalted butter (I only had salted)
1 1/2 c Rice Krispies (I think I added more... closer to 2 c)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.

Make brownie batter. (check out the original recipe if you want that info) Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and even with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.

Remove the brownies from the oven and immediately sprinkle with the marshmallows. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.

While the brownies are baking, place the chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat, add the cereal and mix well. Allow this to cool for 3 minutes or so.

Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Chill in refrigerator before cutting. Makes 12 3×3-inch bars.

******
This is SO rich that I cut into bite-sized pieces. Without milk to wash it down, 3 x 3 could kill you with chocolate overload!

I also had trouble with the chocolate topping layer. Because of the thickness, it sorta ended up in a big pile in the middle instead of nicely spread out over the entire pan. And because everything underneath was gooey (melted marshmallows and hot brownies), spreading it afterward was nearly impossible. I did my best, but it ended up swirled and uneven. But really, that's just presentation... the finished product was YUMMMMMMY! Next time, I'd be careful to pour it out more evenly over the pan.

Compliments from the students warmed my heart. This was easy and very good. VERY rich. Make sure you have milk at home before attempting.

:)

Muffin Wednesday: Esther's Famous Poppyseed

This Muffin Wednesday is also Sue's birthday!!!! YAY! I tried Esther's Famous Poppyseed Muffins from the book of 500 recipes. I personally don't like poppy seed, so I haven't tested them. But they have simple ingredients and went together easily - two pluses in my book!

Brad thought they were maybe heavy on the poppy seeds. Another taster thought there was a strange mystery ingredient - not bad, just different. But there isn't. Hmm.....

Preheat to 425
12-cup muffin tin, paper lined

1/4 c vegetable oil
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c poppy seeds
1 c sour cream
1/4 c milk
2 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

1. Cream oil, sugar and eggs. Add poppy seeds, sour cream, milk, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir until moist and still lumpy. Mixture will be quite thick and heavy.

2. Spoon batter into prepared tin, filling to top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

:)

Detention

(You can click to make it bigger)

:)