Morning Muffins

Muffins are a quick and healthy solution to the morning rush.  These muffins are a delicious balance of the nutrients your body needs and will provide energy as you start your day.

Yield: ≈2 dozen muffins

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup dried apricots, diced about ¼”
• ¼ cup dried cranberries
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup wheat flour
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp. milled flax seed
• 1 cup oats
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp. plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 tsp. orange zest
• ¼ cup walnuts

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, place the dried apricots and cranberries in warm water for 15 minutes to soak
2. Combine flours, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, flax, and oats in a large bowl
3. In a separate medium bowl, combine the olive oil, egg, milk, yogurt, orange zest, and mashed banana
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir in the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon until just combined
5. Add the walnuts, apricots and cranberries (after draining off excess water) and stir to combine
6. Scoop into greased muffin tins and top with a sprinkle of oats
7. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 12 minutes
8. Enjoy for breakfast all week long!

Adorable Spring Skirt for Girls

Materials (for a size 2T):

• Adorable Skirt Fabric (birdies)—1 yd. by 9 ½”
• Adorable Ruffle Fabric (green polka)—1 ½ yd. by 5”
• Matching Rickrack Trim (pink)—1 yd.
• ¾” elastic—about 18—20” length

Directions:

1)   Fold and press ruffle fabric in half, wrong sides together.  You’ll have one folded edge and one raw edge

2)   Using a gathering presser foot or a regular presser foot with a basting stitch, sew along the raw edge of the ruffle at 5/8” seam allowance *do not backstitch!

3)   Adjust ruffle fullness to fit the fabric by pulling only the top thread very carefully

4)   Next, pin the ruffle to the skirt bottom, right sides together

5)   Sew a 5/8” seam carefully over the ruffles, removing pins as you go
6)   Serge or zigzag the raw edge

7)   Flip to right side and press the seam

8)   Pin the rickrack over the seam where you attached the ruffle to the skirt and stitch carefully down the center of the rickrack, keeping it aligned over the seam

9) Then, fold the skirt in half, right sides together, and pin along the side—this will become the back of the skirt

10)  Stitch a 5/8” seam and then serge or zigzag the edge

11)  With the skirt still inside out, fold and press a ½” seam around the top of the skirt

12)  Then fold down an additional 1” to create the casing, where the elastic will go

13)  Find the back seam of the skirt, and place a pin on either side, about 1” from the back seam.  The space in between the two pins will be left open so the elastic can be threaded through.

14)  Sew along the bottom edge of the elastic casing, close to the folded edge

15)  Attach a large safety pin to one end of the elastic and thread it into the opening

16)  Push the elastic through the casing, gathering the waistband as you go.  Thread the safety pin through all the way to the opening where you started.

17)  Next, take the elastic and overlap the edges by 1” and sew them together, backstitching a few times on each end.  (You may need to pull out and scrunch up the waistband tightly to give yourself some room to sew)

18)  Finally, while stretching the elastic and fabric flat, sew the opening between the two pins close to the edge of the elastic casing.

19)  Stretch the waistband in and out a few times to evenly space the fabric and voila! You have a cute kids skirt!

No time to make one of your own? See my Etsy page to purchase a skirt and/or a matching applique tee!

Decadent Double Chocolate Cookies

…A treat for any chocolate-lover! These rich, chewy cookies are perfect for dunking in milk, pairing with a cappuccino, or enjoying straight from the oven.  

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ¼ cups flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups chocolate chunks (milk chocolate, bittersweet, dark…whichever you like)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions:

1)   Cream the butter and sugars using an electric mixer

2)   Add the vanilla and eggs one at a time, pausing to scrape the sides and bottom of your mixing bowl

3)   Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda and add it gradually

4)   Next, add the cocoa powder

5)   Add the walnuts and chocolate chunks

6)   Scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets (or lightly greased)

7)   Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes

8) Enjoy

Testing 1 2 3

I have now entered the BLOGOSPHERE

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. After you read this, you should delete and write your own post, with a new title above. Or hit Add New on the left (of the admin dashboard) to start a fresh post.

Here are some suggestions for your first post.

1. You can find new ideas for what to blog about by reading the Daily Post.
2. Add PressThis to your browser. It creates a new blog post for you about any interesting  page you read on the web.
3. Make some changes to this page, and then hit preview on the right. You can always preview any post or edit it before you share it to the world.