Freezer baking! Muffin edition!

I was talking about this on facebook yesterday and people seemed interested.  One person even said they would read a blog post if I did one.  It is hard for me to do posts like these because I don't really think about what I'm doing....I just do it!  I tried to take pictures but that didn't go so well...partly because when I'm cooking I forget to take pictures and partly because I just have so much "help"  but I did get a few.

So this is what I did.  We like to eat muffins of all sizes and varieties.  I use them for breakfasts and for snacks.  I do not always feel like making muffins first thing in the morning.  So I make lots of muffins and freeze them.  They thaw and warm up nicely in the micro.  So today in just under 2 hours I made 2 double batches of muffins.  I make some regular sized muffins (2 plus fruit or yogurt=breakfast).  And I make mini muffins (2=snack).  This (with the few that I have left from my last baking frenzy) will be enough to last me about a month unless I get a wild hair to make another flavor...

Ok, where do I get these recipes?  The 2 I used today (recipes included at the end) were from Country Baking by Gooseberry Patch.  One is peanut butter muffins and the other is Oatmeal.  Both are yummy. Of course, I very very rarely follow a recipe exactly.  And today was no exception.  I will publish the original recipe and then share my changes.

But first....here are a few pictures I did take!  

My little helper putting the liners in the muffin tins.  To freeze I ALWAYS use a paper muffin liner.  Makes cleanup easier and freezing nicer. 

Finished oatmeal muffins.  I did not get as many as I'd hoped for from this double batch. 

Peanut butter muffins.  YUM!

OATMEAL MUFFINS

1 T lemon juice
1cup milk
1 cup quick cooking oats
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar , packed
1/2 cup shortening, melted
1 cup flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda

 Add lemon juice to milk and let stand at room temp for 5-10 minutes.  Soak oats in milk mixture for 1 hour; then add egg and beat well.  Blend in brown sugar and add cooled shortening.  Sift flour with baking powder, salt and baking soda.  Combine with oat mixture and stir by hand 20 strokes.  Fill greased (or paper lined) muffin tins 2/3 full.  Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

And for my changes.  I double this first of all.  Except I only bump the brown sugar to 3/4 cup and they are plenty sweet.  I also use 1/2 whole wheat flour.  And replace the melted shortening with melted butter.  Adding a teaspoon of vanilla is nice too.

PEANUT BUTTER BREAD

3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 t vanilla
1 3/4 cup milk
2 1/4 cup flour
4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

In a large bowl, blend together sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla.  Gradually pour in milk; mix well.  Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; add to peanut butter mixture.  Spread batter into greased 9X5 loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

My changes-  I double the recipe and use half whole wheat flour.  Other than that the only change is to bake in muffin tins (greased or with paper liners-PICK paper liners).  They took about 25-30 minutes but I just check every couple minutes after 15...toothpick should come out clean.

So for freezing just let them completely cool (COMPLETELY COOL!!! or your bag will fog up and then freeze and it is icky).  Bag them in gallon freezer bags labeled with the variety and the date.  And freeze!  Pretty simple.  I accidentally undercooked a batch the last time I did this and although they are fine they do not freeze as nicely so make sure they are fully fully cooked and the top isn't shiny (does that make sense?)

To eat from frozen; take whichever muffin you want...or one of each because the kids all want something different (another reason I like doing this this way)...pop them in the micro for a few seconds and eat warm.  YUM!!!

Kids in the Kitchen

The kids have been in the kitchen with me as long as they have been able to stand on a chair and see.  Sometimes they get to help...sometimes they only "supervise."  The decision is based largely on how much mess I feel like cleaning up or how quickly I need to get whatever I am cooking on the table.  When they were younger, they helped only with "cool" stuff, as in no helping near the stove.  I even got them their own "child knives" from Pampered Chef so they could chop (aka hack up) fruit and veggies.

Recently, we've taken Kids in the Kitchen to a new level.  The Prince and the Knight have prepared meals for our family. 

The Prince recently made us all pancakes.  He did the flipping and everything and  he burned no more than I usually do.  I wish there was more to say but he really just did it by himself.  And they were yummy!

Prince is working to flip those pancakes.

Measuring and pouring each so that they are the same size!

The Knight made eggs and toast (as sous chef, I did the toast).  He scrambled eggs and cooked them in the skillet.  Then because I don't eat scrambled eggs if I can avoid it (and because I am Queen afterall), he made my eggs to order.  I like them over-light or as we call them "dippy eggs" because I dip my toast in the runny yolk!  YUM!!  Anyway, he was SO proud of himself and did a great job.  He did have some trouble getting my dippy eggs out of the pan so my yolks weren't all that runny.  But I didn't send them back.  :)  However, I was so busy as sous chef working on the toast that I didn't get any photos.... :(  next time.

Not to be outdone, the Page had to have his turn.  He must keep up with his older brothers.  So, I put him to work.  Now, he isn't really quite old enough for making pancakes or eggs so we went with something more his style and speed.  He made us choco-banana pudding pops.  We do not use instant pudding so he made regular cooked pudding on the stove and then he cut the bananas with a butter knife and put the slices in the bottom of the cups.  I poured the cooked pudding into the cups.  They are in the freezer now and we are waiting "patiently."  

I made marks on the banana with the knife and then he cut them on the marks.  Good job!

Sticking the popsicle sticks in each banana slice!

He got tired of stirring the pudding "continuously" but was still more than willing to ham it up for the camera.

Taking the kids in the kitchen makes cooking take much longer and clean up take much much longer but the kids love it and learn so much.  And my future daughters-in-law will thank me for raising young men who get work in a kitchen, right?!?!