Saturday, August 25, 2012

Cards and Cooking

Hi, welcome to August's post! This has been the summer of the sickies - nonstop doctor appointments. Of course Avyn always provides more than his fair share, but the rest of us contributed too. In between playing taxi service and nurse, I've enjoyed experimenting in the kitchen and in my craft nook. Although digital scrapbooking still gets the lion's share of my creative time, I found that I really missed the hands-on papery stuff. So this summer I dived back in, dug out my paper supplies, and played!
I especially enjoy making cards that I can send to my family and friends. I get the fun of making them, and then the fun of giving something special and handmade! Win-win! Here's a few from the past couple of months:

Everyday Eclectic by Echo Park, Ranger Stickles in Silver and Tim Holtz Distress Stickles in Broken China, baker's twine

Simon Says Stamp May card kit

Random letter stickers, paper, and buttons from my stash; washi tape from Mindy Mae's Market


Hybrid fun! Second Chances and This is Me ATC backgrounds by Design by Tina, printed and mod-podged onto card base. Washi tape and old chipboard letters from my stash.


Lime Rickey 6x6 paper pad by Basic Grey, washi tape from Mindy Mae's Market, baker's twine from WRMK, Tattered Angels glimmer mist

Now for the cooking part - I tried out a new recipe yesterday that seems to be a huge hit with the kiddos. It's based off of these Toddler Muffins. I made one version almost identical to the original with a couple substitutions for ingredients I didn't have, and one version wheat/dairy/egg-free for Avyn. These came out so super moist, and Cai actually scarfed down three before I put on the brakes! He'll never know they're so healthy...

Ready to pop in the oven!

Toddler Muffins (regular)


Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, or to taste
2 large bananas, mashed
1 (4 oz) jar baby food squash
2 carrots, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oat bran (I used plain old-fashioned oatmeal)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I used cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 24 mini muffin cups or 12 standard muffin cups (mine ended up filling about 16 muffin cups - the amount will vary based on the size of your carrots and bananas and any substitutions you make).
In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the mashed bananas, squash, carrots, and eggs. Stir in the flour, oat bran/oatmeal, baking soda, pumpkin pie or other spice, and salt until just combined. Spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Store at room temperature for up to two days, or freeze.

Toddler Muffins (Top 8 Allergen-free)


Ingredients

1/2 cup coconut oil (or other butter replacement)
1/2 cup brown sugar, or to taste
2 large bananas, mashed
1 (4 oz) jar baby food squash
2 carrots, grated
1/4 cup applesauce
1 Tblsp ground flaxseed mixed in 3 Tblsp water (or replace the applesauce and flaxseed with your favorite egg substitute, enough to equal 2 eggs)
1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur gluten-free multi purpose flour)
1/2 cup gluten-free oatmeal or oat bran
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (again, I used cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 24 mini muffin cups or 12 standard muffin cups (mine ended up filling about 17 muffin cups - the amount will vary based on the size of your carrots and bananas and any substitutions you make).
In a mixing bowl, cream together the oil and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the mashed bananas, squash, carrots, and egg substitute. Stir in the flour, oat bran/oatmeal, baking soda, pumpkin pie or other spice, and salt until just combined. Spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Store at room temperature for up to two days, or freeze.

I plan to bake up more batches before our cross-country trip in a couple weeks to take for snacks. They also seem to freeze well. Delicious, and a great way to sneak veggies into my picky preschooler's diet! I hear that other veggies work well in this, too. Try different baby food varieties or fresh squash instead of jarred, etc. And if you find a particularly great combination, let me know!