Christmas Baking

Tis the Season to be baking....falalalala, lalalala

So the list is done, and the baking has started...

Here's what my list looked like after just one day!

I've baked more since, but thought I'd share my sons comments while baking that first day, this is from my facebook post:

Sleepy just seriously asked me if he had to take the metallic wrapper off the margarine before putting the blocks in the mixer :-) ~ Guess I'm glad he asked ... lol

mmm...cookies...

 Well it's that time of the year, when I make sure that my oven is working properly :-)

(I got the snowman fridge idea off pinterest)

I love to bake so Christmas gives me an excuse to do more of it :-)

These cookies are from last weeks family decorating....we enjoyed the laughter and excitement that went along with icing each of these cookies.

Yummy ~ but what you don't see in this picture is my other table, the one that we decorated on :-)

~ Jesus is the reason for the season ~

~ melodiejoy ~

Master Mix for Bakers

I must share with you a recipe that I stumbled across years ago. It's a recipe that I have baked well over 100 times. (I'm not joking ~ I normally make a batch up for Sunday breakfasts)

This recipe has simplified my life more times that I can count!!

Are you ready????

Introducing:

A-B-C Muffin Master Mix

Click on the link above to go to the  recipe

I know it has about the most boring name ever...but trust me you need to give this a shot.

First you will need a massive bowl (I don't have 1 big enough so I use 2 large baking bowls and divided the ingredients evenly between them)

Then you mix up enough dry ingredients to make 10 dozen muffins.....yep  that's right 10 dozen!!!  

You will then divide them up and store them in your kitchen by mixes that will make 2 dozen at a time - the same size as those packaged muffin mixes you can pay a small fortune for at the store ~ I'm sure I've saved a lot of $ making these over the years!

Here's where it gets exciting...you can just add the basic wet ingredients (eggs, vanilla, water, and oil) and make ABC Muffins (which are a favourite to one of the youth in our church)

~OR~

you can add different ingredients to the dry mix (the recipe includes all these too!!!!) to make any of the following kinds of muffins:

1. Apple Muffins
2. Applesauce Muffins
3. Apricot Muffins
4. Banana Muffins
5. Blueberry Muffins
6. Bran Molasses Muffins
7. Butterscotch Muffins
8. Carrot Muffins
9. Cashew Muffins
10. Cherry Muffins
11. Chocolate Chip Fudge Muffins
12. Coconut Muffins
13. Cranberry Orange Muffins
14. Currant Muffins
15. Date Muffins
16. Eggnog Muffins
17. Fig Muffins
18. Fruit Muffins
19. Garden Fresh Muffins
20. Gingerbread Muffins
21. Granola Muffins
22. Grapenuts Muffins
23. Hazelnut Muffins
24. Incredible Cream Cheese Muffins
25. Jam Muffins
26. Kisses and Hugs Muffins
27. Lemon Muffins
28. Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
29. Mandarin Muffins
30. Maple Muffins
31. Marmalade Muffins
32. Mincemeat Muffins
33. Oatmeal Muffins
34. Orange Muffins
35. Peach Muffins
36. Peanutty Muffins
37. Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
38. Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins
39. Pear Muffins
40. Pecan Muffins
41. Pineapple Carrot Raisin Muffins
42. Pineapple Macadamia Muffins
43. Plum Muffins
44. Prune Muffins
45. Pumpkin Muffins
46. Rum Raisin Muffins
47. Sesame Seed Muffins
48. Sour Cream Muffins
49. Squash Muffins
50. Strawberry Muffins
51. Sweet Potato Muffins
52. Tropical Treat Muffins
53. Vanilla Muffins
54. Walnut Muffins
55. Wheat Germ Muffins
56. Yogurt Muffins
57. Zucchini Muffins

~OR~

If you have made these as many times as I have you can just add random muffin ingredients that you find in your kitchen, and mix it all up for tasty muffins!!!!

The recipe also includes 2 different toppings you can put on the top of your muffins or you can just leave the tops plain (which is what I normally do)

These muffins have never failed in our home!  I have not tried all the variant recipes above...but I have tried most of them, and they have all been GREAT!

a 2 dozen batch of any flavour of these go very quickly with the 6 of us (that's only 4 a piece)

A-B-C Muffin Master Mix

~ joyfully sharing a family favourite recipe ~

~ melodiejoy ~

Thanksgiving 2011

Yesterday the prep for Thanksgiving dinner began!!!!

 ~ well by prep I mean I took some stuff out of the freezer to thaw for a few days ~

mmmm ~ this will taste soooo good once it's all cooked

Best part is I got this turkey for free with the purchase of my groceries a few weeks ago!!!

Menu Plan for Monday Thanksgiving Dinner is: Of Course all home-made

• Turkey
• Stuffing (2 different kinds)
• Mashed Potatoes
• Veggies (I'm thinking corn and peas)
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• Jam for on the stuffing
• Gravy 
• Pumpkin Pies
• Strawberry-Rhubarb Pies
• Coconut Cream Pie
• Lemon Meringue Pie
• Punch - Coffee & Tea to drink

 ~ Joyfully thanking the Lord for His amazing blessings this year ~ 

~ melodiejoy~

Friends are to be Cherished

This was one of my friends on facebooks status today:

I think one of my friends should make brownies and come and have coffee with me this afternoon. 

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE ;-)

After laughing loudly ~ I took the obvious HINT

And mixed up my SECRET brownie recipe called

 Melodie's Brownies 

Baked them in the oven

(please note this is a Pampered Chef pan ~ it is not dirty ~ it just discolours over time as it's "seasoned")

And went for Coffee with my dear friend 

Joyfully Enjoying Friendship ~ Melodiejoy