What's Cookin' - Muffin Donuts

I was working out one day and was watching the Food Network.  They were showcasing favorites restaurants and their dishes.  They showed a muffin donut that looked so delicious that I knew there had to be a recipe out there.  Sure enough, I found one and it is one of my new favorite treats to make my family.  It's easy and so yummy!


Muffin Donuts
(This makes 24 mini-muffin donuts.  Double this recipe for regular muffins)

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or 1 Tbsp fresh ginger root
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
•  --------
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin tins.

2. Mix sugar, butter and nutmeg (or ginger) together.

3. Stir in milk.

4. Stir in baking powder and flour.

5. Pour batter in muffin tins.

6. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

7. Mix sugar and cinnamon together, set aside in small bowl.  In another bowl set aside melted butter.

8. When muffins are done, dip in melted butter, then cinnamon sugar mixture.  Set on cooling rack.

**I accidentally made this with fresh ginger root and it was so good.  Love those happy accidents!**

Neighborhood friends

We are so lucky that our daughter has several friends her age in our neighborhood.  It has been so much fun watching her play with other children.  It's been great for her socially, too.  Sharing is so hard when you are only 3!

Organizing-Calendar

I have a planner that I write down all my appointments, meetings, days off of school, etc.  My husband has his own planner (one I give him every Christmas that has our little girl's picture on it).  So we are both pretty busy.

 I while back I found a magnetic dry erase board with a calendar.  I simply fill in the month and days for just one month.  I then write all the appointments, classes, days off, etc on the calendar and at a glance we both know what's going on each day.  It really helps keep us organized and both aware of what's going on.  It's also helpful that it's a dry erase board as things have a way of being rearranged often.

What's Cookin' --Homemade BBQ Sauce

We have an endless debate in our house about sauces -- pizza, spaghetti, barbeque, etc.  Eventually we come to a compromise.  I recently made this barbeque sauce and while it's not really my husband's tastes, it is mine.  It's easy to make and can be used in many recipes.

Homemade BBQ Sauce
(Adapted from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook)

2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp chili powder (I use less)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I use less)
1 cup ketchup
5 Tbsp light or dark molassess
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard (I use French's Yellow)
1 tsp Tabasco (I use less)
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in large saucepan.
2.  Add onion and cook until softened.
3. Stir in garlic, chili powder and cayenne for about 15 seconds.
4. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer for 25 minutes. Sauce should thicken.
5. Cool to room temperature before serving.

**You can adjust how spicey/hot you want this by adding more or less chili powder and cayenne.**

I have used this for a dipping sauce with grilled meat and then used the remaining sauce with a pork roast in the crockpot for pulled pork sandwiches.

Saving Money--Dryer Sheets

Here's a really simple tip to save a little money.

When using a dryer sheet, tear it in half.  You really only need half to do the job and you end up saving twice as much money on dryer sheets each year.

Twinkle Try

Our 3-year-old gets so upset when we ask her to "try" to use the bathroom before we leave the house.  The tears flow and the voice gets loud.  A couple months ago I tried a new techinque to make it a little less anxiety bound.  I ask her to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while she tries to go.  If she has to go, she normal goes before the song is over.  If not, then she probably doesn't have to go at all.  So, when she gets louder when we ask her to try, I calmly say -- oh, just do a Twinkle try.  It makes life a little easier.

Organizing Computer Time

I do a lot on the computer every day from checking e-mails to reading blogs to racking up points from certain sites.  Recently I realized there was a lot of things I delete and don't even look at and time was being wasted.  Here are some ways I've maximized my computer time.

• Google Reader;  Subscribe to all the blogs you like to read in Google Reader. Then set the view to "List."  Then all you have to do is read the title of the blog and decide if you want to read more.  We don't have a Rite Aid or CVS by us, and scrolling through those posts (even on Google Reader) in "Expanded" view took time.  

• Delete/Unsubscribe:  If you sign up for a online newsletter each time you request a coupon or promotion, you e-mail can get pretty saturated.  I usually just delete majority of e-mails I get.  I have been unsubscribing to all e-mails that I usually delete anyway.  This should open up more time.

• Set a time limit: Now that I'm home for the summer, it's easy to hop on the computer between things or waiting for our little one to get ready, etc.  I've put time limits on how much time to use the computer.  I guess do what works for you here.

• Survey/Points Sites:  I've taken a lot of surveys over the years.  I've also been part of many sites that give pennies for reading e-mails.  I now have just a handful of these I do every day.  I like the ones I know pay out and actually accumulate to something. I greatly dislike sites that I do a lot of work for and then don't qualify.  My favorites are Pinecone surveys ($3 per survey), My Points, Swagbucks, E-Rewards and  Panda Research.  

• Decide if it's worth it.  Just evaluate everything you do online and see if there is anyway of minimizing your time.