Pumpkin Cream Cheese Streusel Muffins

Have you ever bought pumpkin pie mix thinking that you were getting pure pumpkin? Yep, that's me. But with a mish-mash of a couple of recipes, I found a way to use it. The would be perfect for breakfast since it's not too sweet.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Streusel Muffins

One 8-oz package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg white
1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup quick oats
1 Tbsp brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 1/2 cup flour (I used half each of regular and whole wheat)
1 cup quick oats
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup Libby's pumpkin pie mix
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line twelve muffin cups with paper baking cups, or spray bottoms with cooking spray.

For Cream Cheese filling:
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and confectioners sugar for 3 minutes. Beat in 1 egg white and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Set aside.

For Streusel topping:
Sift together 1/4 cup oats, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice. Add 1 Tbsp melted butter and mix gently with a fork.

For pumpkin mixture:
Sift together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, spices, and baking soda in a large bowl. Combine pumpkin pie mix, milk, oil, and egg in a medium bowl; blend well. Add the dry ingredients all at once, stirring only until moistened; do not over-mix.

Fill muffin cup 1/3 full with pumpkin mixture, then a dollop of cream cheese filling, and another scoop of pumpkin on top. Sprinkle a small spoonfull of streusel topping; patting gently. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

I've gone B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Well, I'm tired of banana bread. You can only make SO much of it, ya know? So, I found a new way to use up my browning 'nanas and, OH MAN, it is GOOD!

Here's the recipe I found at Week of Menus. I used Hershey's cocoa powder and a mix of both mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and regular white chocolate chips (which I measured by eye so I probably put more in than what the recipe calls for!). Enjoy this warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and it's heavenly!

Chocolate Banana Cake

(from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle)
Makes one 9 X 5 inch loaf or a 9 inch round (serves 8-10)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of 9 X 5 inch loaf pan or 9 inch round pan.

Sift together flour, coca powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using paddle attachment beat butter at medium speed until creamy, about 1 minutes. Gradually beat in the sugar and beat at high until well blended, about 2 minutes. At medium speed, beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla extract and mix at low speed until blended. Add the flour mixture at low speed in three additions, alternating it with the sour cream in two additions. Remove bowl from the mixer stand and stir in the chopped chocolate. Scrap batter into the prepared pan and smooth top with spatula.

Bake cake for 55 to 65 minutes (loaf pan) or 45 to 50 minutes (round pan), until a cake tester into the center comes out clean (except for any melted chocolate.)
Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Unmold cake onto the rack, turn right side up and cool completely.

Blueberry Bread

As you may (or may not) know, I really enjoy baking. I mean, seriously. In fact, I think I like the baking part more than the actual eating part. Unless it's chocolatey.... Then I'll be licking the bowl before I wash it! (Lindsay, yes, I did what you think I did with the leftover frosting from the cake I made you this weekend!)

Anyways, I love trying new recipes too. Here's a new one for Blueberry Bread that I found on Buns In My Oven. I used the blueberries I had frozen over the summer. It's not too sweet so it would make a really good breakfast bread.

Blueberry Bread

• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease the bottom of two 8 or 9 inch loaf pans.

In the bowl of your mixer, add sugar, milk, applesauce, oil, and eggs. Mix well. Mix in the remaining ingredients except for the blueberries and mix until combined. Fold in the blueberries.

Pour in the loaf pans and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

If you want it to look pretty with the oats on the top, sprinkle it on before you bake it. Most of it will stick, and you can just gently shake off what doesn't.

Long time, no see!

It's been quite some time since I've updated! Since then..



Austin's head has really been rounding out nicely! We're still seeing the physical therapist every two weeks, and she measures his head to see how symmetrical it is. She takes two measurements and figures the difference between then. When we first started seeing her, there was an 8mm difference. At our last appointment two weeks ago, it went down to a 7mm, so this is good!



On this cute little round head of his, he's got an adorable smile. This boy will smile and GIGGLE with hardly any encouragement at all! It melts my heart! His favorite time ever is bathtime. I'm still bathing him in the little baby tub on the kitchen counter, but once he can sit up, I'll be moving him to the big tub because he makes a MESS! He kicks and splashes and laughs up a storm!



My Ethan... Somehow Grandpa W. got him on the subject about who made him. He said he came from God, who lives way up high in heaven. Further questioning him, he then said he came from rescue heroes, because that's what he is - a rescue hero. He is such an imaginative character!



He started preschool and is really liking it. We walk across the street twice a week to his 'school', which is a lady's house. There are 5 other boys in the class between 3 and 4 years old, and let me tell you... They can get WILD!



My new work schedule has been working out amazingly well. For me, anyway. :) I work in the office 3 days a week, and then from home 2 days on the preschool days. I don't know how I would survive if I was in the office 5 days a week.. This week will be a 4 day in-office week, and let me tell you, I am exhausted! I start my day after getting up the 2nd or 3rd time since going to bed, get everybody ready, pile out of the house, loaded down with everyone's stuff to the point where I barely fit through the door. Hit the daycare, then off to work! After work, I pile home with everything, package milk, wash bottles, make dinner, eat dinner, clean up, bath time for each boy, bedtime for each boy, bedtime stuff for me, and CRASH! And it all starts over again the next day, with barely enough time to sit and breath between tasks! My work-at-home Tuesday's and Thursday's save my sanity! And also give me an opportunity to spend some real time with my boys and Bill without all the other stuff in the way.



Also, some exciting news... We're planning a trip to Kansas in July or August 2011! What's in Kansas, do you ask? A long awaited wedding!!! Yes, FINALLY, Adam and Andrea are getting married!!! I'm so happy for them!

Help! HELP!

I entered a contest on the local Channel 2 News and I was one of the 3 finalists chosen for a Scrap-Off! The three of us were given the same materials - papers, ribbon, brads, chipboard, etc, even photos, which were of the News team - and we had 30 minutes to complete a 2 page layout. 30 minutes in scraptime is crazy because most of us scrappers take MUCH longer than than to complete a page! We were allowed to bring adhesive, scissors, paper peircer, pens/markers, and a paper cutter. And to top it all off - we were all on air! Not just like 'walking on air', but they did this during the noon newshour and we were all on TV!

So... ready, set, SCRAP! About 5 minutes in to it, the girl next to me ran out of adhesive! Yikes! So I shared mine with her. (Awww, aren't I a good sport?) And she so kindly shared her chalks with me so I could color my plain chipboard. Afterwards, the other girl to the other side of me was so sweet as to bring me and the other girl a TON of scrap stuff from her stash! It was so thoughtful of her! (Yes, we call our 'stuff' our 'STASH'. Every scrapper has a Stash.)

Channel 2 promptly put our layouts online and opened up voting, which will go until August 25th at 12:30pm. You have to register to vote, but it only take a minute (and you can check a box to choose not to receive marketing stuff from them), and... get this... You can vote ONCE PER DAY!

What does this mean? Get busy and get to voting!

(Pretty pretty please with 10 pounds of sugar and a barrell of cherries on top!)

CLICK HERE TO VOTE

P.S. I'm supposed to go BACK to Channel 2 for another TV appearance (said like I'm famous, hehe) on Wednesday, August 25th, at noon so they can announce the winner!

P.S.S. I reeeaaally needs your votes. I'm trailing behind! And the winner gets a HUGE gift basket full of $500 worth of scrap supplies!

One and two and Streeeeetch!

My little guy will be 6 weeks old come Monday. Wow! He's been doing great and is already 11 pounds! Ethan still thinks he's pretty neat too. He already has a brotherly nickname for him... Poop Machine. When Austin wakes up in the morning, Ethan will say, "Mom, go get the Poop Machine!".

Austin seems to have some slight torticollis though, which has caused some plagiocephaly. In other words.... A muscle or tendon in his neck on one side is tight or shortened, which has caused him to prefer to sleep and lay and generally favor that side and now his poor little head is a little mis-shapen. We've been working with him stretching that muscle/tendon though and giving him as much tummy time and time off his head as he can handle. So far, he's becoming more comfortable sleeping with his head turned to the opposite side, but we're still waiting for his head to re-mold. If his head is still pretty out-of-rounds at his 2 month appointment, we'll likely be referred to a specialist. Hopefully it 'shapes' up by then though! *Cross your fingers!*

Captured sweetness

A couple weeks ago when Austin was 3 weeks old, I had my old friend and co-worker from many years ago do his photos. She is so talented and, of course, had a handsome subject to work with. :) Here's a post on her blog with just a few of the pics from our session.

Lilac Photography