Mix Em' Up Muffins

This is a fun recipe to adapt to whatever you happen to have on hand or what sounds yummy. There are several variations of muffins that work, the banana is my favorite.

Banana Muffins:

4 mashed ripe bananas

1/3 c. sugar

1/3 c. oil

1 egg

3/4 c. whole wheat flour

3/4 c. white flour

1/4 cup wheat germ

1 tsp. soda

1 tsp. B. powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. chopped walnuts are nice to add.

Mix the wet ingredients, and the sugar, blend well. Mix remaining dry ingredients. Stir both mixtures together until just combined. Pour into a muffin tin prepared with cooking spray. Bake at 350º for 20 min, or until tops spring back when poked.

Variations:

Pumpkin Spice

Subst. 1 cup pumpkin puree for bananas. Add 1 tsp. cinnamon, and nuts if desired.

Apple Oat

Subst. 1 cup applesauce for bananas. Add 1 diced, peeled apple and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Subst. 1/2 cup of the flour with oatmeal and sprinkle a tsp. of oats on each muffin before baking.

Blueberry Yogurt

Subst. 1 cup vanilla yogurt for bananas. Use all white flour, add 1 cup frozen blueberries to the flour before mixing.

My next experiment is to make a cranberry orange batch of muffins.

Also, you can adjust the wheat flour/white flour ratio to whatever you like. The wheat germ is for added Vitamin E and folic acid.

Tasty Thai Pumpkin Soup

Wow it's been waaaay to long since I posted a recipe! Finding myself with a little less time these days, but to make up for it here is a really great soup for fall. This soup has unexpected notes of fresh ginger and coconut, and is not spicy, but leaves a gentle tingle on your tongue. It tastes like gourmet, but is really very easy to make. I was surprised how nice the pumpkin went with the Thai flavors, makes me think about using it in a curry... So if you want something a little different try a bowl of pumpkin soup to warm you up this fall.

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 celery rib, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 32 ounces canned pumpkin puree
• 2 inch piece fresh grated gingerroot
• 1/2-1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2-3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 Tbs. soy sauce
• 2 Tbs. creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 13.5 oz can unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Saute onion and celery with olive oil. Add coconut milk, red pepper flakes and grated ginger. Heat, stir in pumpkin and remaining ingredients except for cilantro, simmer for 10 min. Add chopped cilantro,stir to combine. Using and immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Or, blend it in batches in your blender. Serve with crusty bread.

*note: the final step to this soup is the tasting: balance the saltiness with soy sauce, add more or less of the veg. broth, and make adjustments till you are happy with it.(Also, I didn't have the sesame oil and it seemed Ok.)

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I have made this recipe twice in the last month. It is so good. I like pumpkin pie, but after making this I think it has been replaced in our house. Those we shared it with loved it and begged for the recipe.

You should really try it this holiday season! Wow your guests at Thanksgiving.

Follow this link to: Allrecipes