Venison Wild Rice Soup

We are not hunters in general. This year my son decided he wanted to learn how to hunt. Luckily, we have a few good friends that are avid 'hunters'. He is learning many lessons about conservation and land management in the process. Well, he also got his first deer this fall. That means, we have a bit of venison to eat. I have never cooked with venison before, so this year will be a year of learning and experimenting in the kitchen.

So, tonight I made venison wild rice soup. I think it turned out relatively good. My hubby liked it too. As for kid friendly, my middle child that is most adventurous of the 3 ate it well. My son ate just the meat - with the sauce wiped off. My youngest wouldn't touch any of it (yes, she is going to be hungry tonight). In general, my kids are rather picky, so you will have to judge kid friendliness of this recipe.

Family rating: 3.25 of 5

WARNING: you may want to half this recipe - we had a ton left over. I will be cutting it in half next go round. But, if you have a big crowd, go for it!

2 lbs venison stew meat
4 cups chicken (or beef) stock
4 cups water
1 package long grain wild rice
1 cup wild rice
3 TBSP onion flakes
2.5 cups dry milk
2 TBSP corn starch
3oz cream cheese
4 oz light sour cream
salt/pepper to taste (~1 tsp each)
garlic salt to taste (~2 tsp)

In the beginning...

I just threw everything (expect the last 4 ingredients) into a large pot, mix. Bring contents to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer for 1-1.5 hours. You can add some more water or stock if you want to thin it some. Cook a little longer if you want it thicker. At the end, I put in the last 4 ingredients. The meat was wonderfully tender. I only cooked for about an hour. If I let it cook a bit longer, the wild rice would have curled nicely and had been more tender. You may need to adjust the liquid. Next time...

The end result...

Parmesan Knots

This recipe is from the Frank family. If you are interested in a recipe that is not all sugar, you are in luck! These little babies are always requested by my husband. They really could be used any time of year - but for no specific reason, we only make them at Christmas time. Most of the Frank family wonders why, but no one ever breaks from tradition. Well, this year, I broke from tradition! I just made some this past weekend - and they were devoured.  


Recipe:

3 cans Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits

1 1/2 cups oil

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon oregano ( I sometimes use less if I'm using the powdered)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon parsley flakes

Cut each biscuit into thirds.

Roll and stretch each piece into long round strip and tie into a knot.

Bake as package directs...until golden brown.  As soon as the knots are out of the oven put them into the oil mixture to soak up the flavors.

Drain then on a cookie cooling rack set on a paper bag lined jelly roll pan.

These can be made ahead and frozen.

To serve:  Warm in the microwave or they can be reheated in the oven at 350* for 10-15 minutes.

Pretty Party Cookies

This is a Carson family recipe. If you like chocolate and marshmallows, this is for you. I have also heard these called stained glass chocolates.

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 stick butter
1 bag colored mini marshmallows
aluminum foil

1. Melt butter and chocolate in the microwave. Stop every 30 seconds or so to stir.
2. Fold in marshmallows until fully covered.
3. Make 2 sheets of foil about 15"long for each. Dump half the mixture onto each foil sheet into a log. Fold foil around mixture to seal in a log formation.
4. Refrigerate for a few hours until firm. Slice and enjoy. These don't have to be refrigerated but are less messy if they are cold.

This is seriously simple and yummy! These are also great for birthdays.

3-layer bars

These are from the Frank family and are my hubby's favorites. These are time consuming, only because you have to keep waiting for things to chill. This is a good one to do in steps and make other simple cookies in between steps.

Mix together in a bowl:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup finely chopped coconut ( Bakers flaked coconut works well)

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Mix together in a double boiler:

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter (don't substitute)

1 egg, slightly beaten

Cream butter, sugar and egg.  Cook in double boiler until egg is cooked and slightly thick (5-6 minutes).  Pour over crumb mixture.  Mix well and press into a greased 9"X 13" pan to form first layer.  Chill for an hour or so.

Mix together:

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup butter softened (don't substitute)

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Spread on crumb layer.  Chill again until powdered sugar layer is firm.

Melt:

7  Hershey bars (I usually use milk chocolate chips) (original recipe called for 5 cent Hershey bars) and spread over powdered sugar layer.  Chill and cut into squares.  Store in refrigerator.

Buckeyes

This is a Carson family recipe and is a favorite of just about EVERYONE that ever tries them. Basically it is a homemade version of Reese's  PB cups. And really - can that ever be bad?

Warning, the original recipe makes a TON. I always half this recipe.

2 lb Peanut Butter
1 lb Butter
3 lb Powdered Sugar

2 bags semi-sweet Chocolate Chips
1 stick paraffin



1. Line cookie sheets with wax paper. I like to use 2-3 smaller sheets instead of one large. Comes in handy when dipping.

2. Melt butter. Mix with Peanut Butter and Powdered Sugar. Form into balls. Place on cookie sheets. Refrigerate overnight (or 2 hours).
3. Use a double boiler and melt chips and paraffin.  Dip each ball into chocolate mixture (I use a spoon as my candy dipper broke and I have yet to replace it)- covering 3/4 of each ball. (you can also just cover the whole ball, it just won't look like a buckeye.) Return to wax paper. Refrigerate. I take one sheet out at a time to keep balls chilled as long as possible.

The amount of chocolate always seems to be too much for just this recipe, but works great if you are combining with the Coconut Indulgences and 3-layer bars.


If you are wondering why these are called buckeyes - it is because they look like the nut from a buckeye tree. But really, most regions have no idea what a buckeye tree looks like. Here is a little info. See, you do learn new things every day. :)

And, if you missed it, I have also used this recipe at Halloween time to make eyeballs. Always a big hit.

Coconut Indulgences

This recipe if from the Frank family - but has become one of MY favorites. No one else really likes coconut like I do - so I must be REALLY careful when making these. I try to give a lot of them away - although at times it feels like I am giving away a child. Ok, maybe not the separation is not THAT bad, but I really do love these.

5 ounces condensed milk

1 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (14-ounce) package sweetened flaked coconut

3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the condensed milk, powdered sugar and vanilla extract.  Stir well until thoroughly incorporated and smooth.  add the coconut and stir well to combine.

With a tablespoon, scoop out portions of the candy mixture onto a a baking sheet.  With wet hands, roll the candies into rounds.  Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

In the top of a double boiler or metal bowl set over a pot of simmering water, melt the chocolate chips.  Dip the coconut balls into the chocolate and roll to coat completely.  Shake off the excess chocolate and place on a rack set over a baking sheet lined with waxed paper.  Let air dry or refrigerate to harden.  store in a cool place.

Note:  You can add a 1/4 to 1/2 bar of paraffin wax to the chocolate to make the dipping easier and the candies shiny. 

I make all the buckeyes and these beauties and just do one round of dipping. This year, once I was done dipping, I added a bag of milk chips to the left over chocolate and used that on top of the 3-layer bars. Yes, I am all about conserving energy and supplies - but it is more about doing fewer dishes.

7-up biscuits

Yep, I've made them too. YUM!

There are a ton of recipes out there, all a little different. Of course, all have Bisquick. I had no Bisquick in the house. Bummer. So, to Google I went to find a way to make my own Bisquick from scratch. Yes, I wanted the biscuits that bad. Again, there are a million recipes out there, all a little different. So, I decided to just wing it and see what happened.

Homemade Bisquick:
http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-bisquick-mix-69051

I also added 2 TBSP sugar, as most of the other recipes used sugar. Although, not sure it matters. I will probably omit it the 'next' time I make this - assuming there is a next time. Yes, it's good, but it takes time. Just depends on how desperate I am.

I used my food processor to cut the shortening into the flour. You have to do this in stages, unless you have a massive sized machine. Then I just kind of mixed it all together.

Biscuits:
4 cups Bisquick
1 cup 7-Up
1 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup butter

Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Put butter in a 9x13" pan. Put pan in oven to melt butter. Don't over cook this, burned butter is no good. :)

Mix everything else together. The dough will be wet. Put some flour on the counter. WARNING: the next part is messy. Grab about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of dough (I just guessed here). Roll dough in flour lightly and form it into a ball. Place in the pan. Repeat to make 12 biscuits.

Bake until golden brown approximately 10-15 minutes, depending on your oven.

And when they come out, you really should wait a FEW minutes so you don't burn your mouth. But, if you are anything like me, have a glass of water on hand and just bite and swig at the same time. Yeah, I am not very patient.

I will be working on a slightly healthier version - to see if I can keep the same great taste and texture but reduce the calories and fat while increasing the good stuff.

Until next time, increase your exercise to help counteract these little lovelies.

Jill

Homemade Laundry Soap

I don't know about you, but man - my laundry mountain is getting crazy big by this point in the week. So, I thought this might be a good day to share with you my homemade laundry soap. Yeah, I am getting a little crazy with all this homemade stuff. I doubt it will last - or be consistent. Just something that is fun to do from time to time. If I can save money and have time to do it - of course I will.

There are tons of recipes out there, again I tweaked mine a bit - more with a method than ingredients.

What is needed:
2 bars FelsNaptha laundry soap
1 box washing baking soda
1 box borax
1/2 container scent crystals (optional)
1 container to hold finished soap (I have used my empty Tide box for most of the soap and the empty scent crystal container works well for what sits next to my machine.)
1 kitchen garbage bag - to mix everything


I have a family of 5 and average 7 loads of laundry a week. This recipe lasts us 4-5 months. 

What to do:
Cut the bars of soap into thirds.

1. Microwave each piece separately on a piece of parchment or wax paper for about 45 seconds.  It will expand and form 'clouds'. Once it is done expanding, you can stop the microwave. NOTE: You may want to set your microwave for something like 2 minutes and just wait to see how long it takes to stop expanding. That will give you a better estimate of how long it will take with your microwave. 

(soap bits pre and post microwave) 

1. Put each piece into a large mixing bowl to cool. Do this for all the bar soap. Let it all sit for about 30 minutes - or until it is COMPLETELY cooled. Seriously - wait.
2. Mash the soap with your hands. It will turn into a powder.
3. Add all ingredients to the trash bag and mix. I just tied it closed and moved the whole thing around for a few minutes.
4. Pour into your storage container.

And that is it! You only need to use 1-2 TBSP per load - but I pretty much always use 2 TBSP. And yes, I use this in my HE front load washer. It does not sud, so it works great.

There are also recipes for liquid versions. I haven't tried those yet as I tend to like powder soaps better.

Enjoy!

Semi-Healthy Banana Bread

I LOVE banana bread. Like most of my baked goods, I always strive to make them at least a little bit healthier than the original recipe. Every little bit helps. I have seen recipes that say you can use all whole wheat flour and it is yummy. Well, I disagree. The texture and flavor are all wrong - when what you are expecting is a fully loaded piece of banana bread.

I have a standard recipe I have used for years. It came from a school fundraiser recipe cook book (Brown School Sampler - 1995). The recipe I really like is called Grandmother's Banana Nut Bread. I have made several tweaks to increase the whole grains and of course have omitted the nuts as my kids don't like nuts in things. I have also played around with the fat content in this recipe. Since there is only 1/4 cup to begin with, I usually don't bother. You can substitute up to half of the fat with a non-fat yogurt and still have a decent texture.

So, when I have bananas that look like this:

I know it is time to make some bread!

1/4 c shortening (or 2 TBSP shortening plus 2 TBSP yogurt)
3/4 c sugar
1 egg
2.5 TBSP milk
1/2 TBSP cider vinegar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 SMALL bananas
(a total of 2 cups 'flour' is needed. The exact combination is not as important as the ratio of white flour to everything else. I would not use any less than 3/4 c white all purpose flour. The rest just depends on what I have on hand.)
3/4 c all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 c wheat germ
1/4 c quick oats
optional: you can add nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc

Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
Mix everything together. If you don't have a mixer, you can certainly mix everything by hand, but you will want to mash the bananas first.

Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. Sometimes I run into the problem of the top getting dark before the loaf is done. I check at the 30 minute mark and if it looks like it is getting dark, place foil loosely over the top of the bread. 

Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

Until Later...

Low Sugar Strawberry Freezer Jam

I think I finally have a Strawberry Jam recipe I really like! AND, it is a freezer jam that is LOW in sugar. BONUS! In general, I prefer freezer jams because they retain the fabulous fresh flavor (say that 5 times fast) of just picked fruit. However, there are not many recipes out there for freezer jams using the low/no sugar pectin. Last year I made a variety of jam recipes ranging in sugar amounts. I found the full sugar recipes taste more like sugar than fruit. AND, since I am dealing with too much sugar in our diets, I really wanted to use a low or no sugar recipe.

The Ball pectin is what was available to me here, so that is what I am using. I started with the recipe for no sugar jam on their label - as is. I suspect if you have really sweet berries, this would work well. I ended up using 1TBPS of sugar in this first round. I added it while in the cooking stage. I tasted as I went and found it needed sugar to balance out the tartness. I probably could have added more sugar. The jam is fine and we will finish eating it, but since this is a cooked recipe, I wanted to keep experimenting.

Last year I tried this recipe. Mine did not set - but then none of mine set last year, so likely it was user error. So this year, I came up with a solution that is somewhere in between the cooked version from Ball and the recipe I tried last year. The result is a big success! At least it is to me. :)

One tip I learned - work with small batches. Yes, that is written on the label of the pectin, but I missed that previously. Ooops. Probably why things failed last year.

I have found, I like using my food processor to 'mash' the strawberries. I know, I know - most other recipes will tell you absolutely do NOT use a food processor. Well, I like the texture. Small to medium bits of strawberries without the stringiness I get when I hand mash. I like to use the pulse function to get the right texture. Do Not puree the strawberries, we are making jam, not baby food. :) Also, don't do all the berries at once. I do 3-4 rounds to get the 2 cups.

What you need:

• 2 cups processed strawberries
• 1.5 TBSP low sugar pectin
• 1/3 cup 100% apple juice concentrate
• 2 TBSP sugar (This is flexible and can be omitted entirely if your strawberries are nice and sweet, or you can add more if you have really tart strawberries.)
• 3 - 8oz Jars - prepped as per jar instructions (either boil for 10 mins to sterilize or run through the dishwasher)
• sauce pan
• metal strainer
• spatula

Pour the strawberries into a metal mesh strainer. Catch the juice - I like to use the sauce pan I will be cooking the juices in (let's not dirty more dishes than necessary). Use the spatula to mush things around a bit to get as much of the juice into the sauce pan as necessary.

1. Combine the strawberry juice, pectin, and juice concentrate in the sauce pan. 
2. Bring to a rapid boil. Hard boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
3. Add strawberries and sugar to taste.  Stir all together.
4. Pour into jars. Clean the rims, put lids on, finger tighten. Let cool. Put in freezer.

Yes, it is a bit more work than other recipes, but combines the best of both worlds. And look at that mess!!! Luckily, it cleans up fast. 

Are you ready to make jam?! I hope to use this base recipe for other fruits this year too. I will let you know how it goes. 

Until next time...

Jill

Homemade Peanut Butter

I have tried several rounds of homemade peanut butter. After the first round, I thought 'well, that was fun but I doubt I will do it again'. I was wrong. The second round was much better and the third round has been the best. There are TONS of recipes out there. I got the idea from Pinterest here. Just peanuts - sounded intriguing. Nope - definitely NOT what I was looking for. You know how PB tends to stick to your mouth - well, multiply that by a thousand. And, well I am use to store bought which a bit more sweet. So I did a little experimenting and added some white sugar and some coconut oil. This made it edible, but grainy.

The second round I used honey as the sweetener and again coconut oil to help smooth out. This was good. but the flavor was not quite what I was looking for. If you really like all natural type stuff, this is probably perfect for you. I still need a little more of the refined, not good for you, sugar flavor. I know - crazy, but true.

This round, I used corn syrup and coconut oil. The good news, I needed much less sugar in this recipe as opposed to the honey version. I have actually started to prefer this to the store bought. BUT, they are different. Do not think you are getting store bought texture or flavor. You are never going to get the smoothness like a creamy PB in the store - at least I have not been able to. Maybe with a bit more experimenting. Instead it is more like a cross between crunchy and smooth - which I really like. You can see the texture  here. And yes, it is almost gone and I finally decided to write this post and take pics. :)

So, I case you are interested in how I made mine, I will share.

1 container of salted dry roasted peanuts. (I don't remember the size, 12-14 oz I think) - the one that is $2.88 at walmart - for the off brand.
2-3 TBSP coconut oil (FYI, it is solid at room temp)
3ish TBSP corn syrup

Put peanuts in the food processor. Let her go for several minutes. Wait until it is smooth - or the texture you want. Adding the other ingredients will make it so the peanuts don't get any smoother. Then, add the oil and sugar to taste. This is REALLY forgiving. I play with it until I like the texture and flavor, so the above amounts are an estimation.

Store in a jar with a tight lid in the fridge. I have read this lasts up to 2 months in the fridge - mine doesn't last that long. Also, it gets hard when stored in the fridge. I have to pop mine in the microwave to soften. I usually do about 20 sec at 50% power.

Note: You can also use a veggie oil, but you will have oil separation and have to mix every time before using. This does not happen with the coconut oil since it is solid at room temp - which is why I use it.

Pumpkin Carrot Cake

Who doesn't like cake? I LOVE it!  And, since yesterday was my birthday, I just HAD to make one. There are times it would be nice just to have one show up in my kitchen - poof. But, I am pretty particular about my desserts - I don't like most store bought cakes. I would LOVE the cakes from the bakery, but the budget does not allow for that (and really I am too cheap to not feel guilty about spending that kind of money on a cake). Good thing I like to bake!

This year I wanted something other than white or chocolate cake. Time for something different. But, I was not in the mood to spend tons of time baking. Off to Google and Pinterest I went, in search of cake, exactly what kind I was not sure. It did not take long for me to decide  - pumpkin cake. YES! But not just any pumpkin cake. I wanted stuff in it. A roll would have been good - but too putsy for the day. Then I cam upon this recipe. Yes, this is what I wanted to try.

Healthier Peanut Butter Bars

I know I have mentioned several times that I love to bake. I also, OBVIOUSLY, have to be careful not to bake so much that I gain a million pounds. Plus, I do like to attempt to make the desserts at least semi-healthy so I am not filling my family with completely empty calories.

Peanut Butter Pie Makeover

Doesn't this look good???

I love peanut butter pie. Unfortunately, they are SOOOO not good for you. Loaded with fat and sugar. I have done a bit of a makeover with the recipe. It is still NOT 'healthy' but it is a TON better than the original. And well, I like to indulge from time to time (ok, everyday - but I am working on that).

Greek Yogurt - rosa pasta sauce

This is a new love of mine. I am finding soooo many uses for this in cooking to help reduce calorie and fat intake in our diets.

Tonight, I made this pasta recipe for dinner - minus the shrimp. Thanks to back to her roots for the photo and recipe inspiration.

Strawberry Cupcakes - Round 2

We had our second soccer party yesterday. So, I decided to give the strawberry cake one more try. This time - without the jello. I wanted something a little more natural tasting. Boy, did I find it! This is the second soccer party I have taken these little jems. Everyone has asked for me to share the recipe - so here it is.

Mayonnaise: a love-hate relationship

I love mayonnaise. Don't you? Too bad it is NOT good for you. High calories, high fat, some even have sugar added (which actually did surprise me a bit). BUT, I have found a way to enjoy mayo by cutting the calories and fat drastically! YAY!!!

Do you want to know my not so secret, secret?

Non-fat Greek yogurt!

You can cut the mayo by HALF and add half non-fat Greek yogurt in place of the mayo. The taste is still GREAT!

So, that's really it. Egg Salad. Potato salad. Pasta salad. Whatever. Just be careful, all of these items still tend to be heavy on calories, but at least now you can add more good stuff and less bad stuff and still enjoy!

Now, I will give you 2 of my favorite recipes. You can adjust based on your favorite recipes.

Egg Salad for one
(because no one else in my family likes it).

One whole hard boiled egg
One hard boiled egg white only
1 TBSP Mayonnaise
1.5 TBSP Greek Yogurt

Just mash it all together with a fork and serve over a bed of lettuce. I do prefer to have an egg salad sandwich, but in the interest of not eating carbs all day long, I have found I actually like it on a bed of lettuce. I am happy for small victories.


Cracker Dip
I like the recipe using Lipton Vegetable Soup &Dip mix and mostly follow the recipe on the back of the box. Here are my changes...

1 package dip mix
4 oz non-fat sour cream
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
10oz frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)

Mix it all together. If it sits for several hours in the fridge it tastes better.

This went to school last week with a package of wheat thins (reduced fat of course). When serving to a bunch of women who are concerned about calories, I try hard to make signs so they know to try it. BUT, I always feel funny doing this - will they actually try it? The answer for this go round - yes, they did and they loved it!

Let's hear it for Greek Yogurt! Hip hip hooray!

What do you plan on making with Greek yogurt?

Strawberry Jam - an experiment

Strawberry season is about done for us. I made lots of jam. YUM. I had only ever made the full sugar versions before, and this year I wanted to try something different. An experiment. Can I get away with no sugar? Is there a middle ground that will work best?

Well, I tried 4 different recipes. Yes, 4! All freezer jams because I like the fresh taste they tend to have - and I am too lazy to do all the cooking and canning required for regular jam.

Second - I will say - ALL 4 batches failed to set. I have never had this happen before. So, obviously I did something wrong. Unfortunately, I have NO idea what! I did not create any of these recipes, so I will trust that they actually do work usually and that I just did something wrong. I will comment on flavors and what we liked best as a family.

First batch - full sugar. 4 cups of sugar to 2 cups of strawberries. YIKES! Not so much on the healthy side. I thought this just pretty much taste like sugar. Too sweet for me. Kids and hubby think it is fine.

Second batch - I will call it the half sugar version. The company called it low sugar - which is a stretch for me. It is indeed lower in sugar than the full sugar versions, but NOT low sugar. I used the standard recipe on the low sugar pectin package. Better in flavor than the full sugar version, but still has a LOT of sugar - something like 3 cups sugar to 4 cups strawberries.

Third batch - Low sugar version. Recipe found here. This is my favorite for regular use - sandwiches, pancakes, etc.

Forth batch - Non-sugar version. Recipe found here. This is my second favorite. For regular use, I wanted a little more sweetness - but this is MUCH preferred to the full or even half batches I tried. My kids will eat all 4 versions without noticing. YEAH! This recipe is my favorite to use in my cupcakes (post coming soon). I also prefer this as a topping on ice cream. No need to add more sugar to these already sugar blasted items. This adds a great bright strawberry flavor.


And, just because I thought you would like to see a few more pictures and a favorite strawberry recipe....
Strawberry Shortcake:
semi-homemade biscuits
(Bisquick with a little sugar)

strawberry sauce
(strawberries in the food processor)

and homemade whipped cream
(whipping cream and a little sugar)

And no - this is NOT low sugar or low calorie. But it was oh so good!

The healthy version of this - one bite.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Cake

Yep - still working with strawberries. We have a few more weeks - so just humor me.

I have a post almost ready to show about eating out. But, can't seem to get the photos right.

So, until then...

Picking with the kids was fun. Still planning on going back at least one more time.

I had the craving for strawberry cake. I found this recipe and thought I would try it. I decided to do half with my regular buttercream frosting for the kids and the other half with cream cheese frosting and some no sugar jam (for ME!!)

This is how it turned out. YUM.

Mine...

The kids...

I must say, next time, I think I will try without the jello - or maybe half the jello? I found the cake base to be a little too sweet.

Do you have a favorite strawberry cake recipe?

Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin mini muffins - plain

 Large pumpkin muffins (not jumbo) with raisins and walnuts. YUM!

These are my FAVORITE muffins. Healthy? Well, partly. I use whole grains, pumpkin, reduced fat - but they still have plenty of fat and sugar. Don't make these too big (although the structure can handle it and the original recipe made these jumbo muffins). I just try to make them smaller to help control calories.

3 cups flour (I use 1 cup white flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup ground oatmeal - sometimes this varies depending on what I have on hand. If all you have is white and whole wheat flour, don't go less than 1/2 white flour or you will notice a difference in flavor and texture.)
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice

1 cup sugar
1 stick butter + 2 TBSP (cool room temp about 68deg)
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup fat free yogurt

Preheat oven to 375 deg. F.
Combine 1st 5 ingredients in a separate bowl.
In Mixer: Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
Add eggs, one at a time until incorporated.
Add the pumpkin. It will look like this...

Add 1/3 the flour mixture.
Add 1/2 the yogurt.
Add 1/3 flour mixture.
Add remaining yogurt.
Add remaining flour mixture. It will look like a thick cookie dough...

Put liners in the muffin tins.
Fill cups 3/4 full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. You may need to rotate pans halfway through cooking (depending on your oven).
Makes 15-18 muffins.

You can add to these muffins - I like to mix in raisins, shredded carrots and nuts. Just don't add too much - they are healthy, but do add calories. My kids really like these with mini chocolate chips. If I eat those - they are for dessert!

This is a pick of raisins and walnuts added to the dough. Yes, it looks just like chocolate chip cookie dough.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I do!