Sugar Donut Muffins

I knew I had to make these muffins when Derk told me about how sugar coated donuts were his favorite. The recipe claimed that they tasted like fluffy donuts with sugar stuck all over them. So I gave them a try. And we both liked them. They did sort of seem like a donut, not too sweet, even with the sugar coating, and really easy to make. The original recipe said to brush the tops only of the muffins with melted butter before rolling in sugar, which I did, but then they sort of got gooey, squishy on top. So next time I'm leaving the butter out, because as you can see, the sugar sticks just fine without the butter.

Sugar Donut Muffins, makes 10

3/4 C sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (but I'm tempted to try cinnamon next time)

1/4 C vegetable oil

3/4 C milk (low fat is fine)

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Pour into egg mixture and stir to combine (will be lumpy and dry). Pour in vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract, and stir again. Don't worry, it will smooth out after a little bit of stirring. Divide batter evenly into 10 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

When muffins are done, carefully remove from the pan and roll in sugar. Cool on wire rack.

Boil in Bag Omelets

OK, so this is not a very sophisticated recipe, but it is low fat and super easy and kinda fun! My mom's friend taught her how to do these and this is one of my go-to meals when we are in a hurry. Enjoy!

For each omelet:

2 eggs, whisked together
Pour into a quart freezer bag then add any of the following:

ham, diced
grated cheese (you pick your favorite)
green onions, chopped (this gives the omelet a nice flavor)
frozen hash browns
mushrooms, sliced

Squeeze air out of bag and seal tightly. Place bag in LARGE pot of boiling water. After water returns to boiling, cook for 13 minutes. Open bag, pour omelet onto plate and serve!

I usually write the kids names on the front of the bag with a Sharpie so that we know who's is who's. (since they like different things in their omelets)

Sticky Buns

Normally, I don't like the short-cut cooking thing, but these are just so yummy I decided to use them as my first post. This recipe came to me from a former co-worker of mine, Debbie. They're extremely easy, and yummy for breakfast in the morning. Nice and butterscotchy, with nuts, and just the right amount of gooey-ness, as in not soggy. I think I'll just type it out in order of creating them, rather than listing ingredients.

Sticky Buns

-Put 1 cup of nuts (walnuts or pecans) on bottom of sprayed/buttered pan (I have used a bundt pan).
-Put 12 still frozen Rhodes dinner rolls in a single layer in the pan. Don't defrost rolls.
-Sprinkle 3/4 cup packed brown sugar over top of rolls.
-Pour 1 package of butterscotch pudding (not instant) over the top of rolls (use dry powder, don't make the pudding).
-Melt 1 stick of butter, and pour over top of rolls.
-Let sit in cold oven overnight.
-In the morning, bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees; simply turn on oven and let them bake. After 30 minutes, take out of oven, let sit for a minute, then invert onto a plate. And enjoy!