Brain Food Muffins For State Testing Week

That dreaded week is finally upon us...Stat Testing Week. My kiddos loathe it, especially Nash who has to endure three entire hours of it each day. We're always being told to get them to bed early and give them a healthy breakfast this week. I have to admit, I'm not normally very good at that, but it is something we've been working on. I did whip up a small batch of egg burritos to freeze on Monday morning, but there wasn't enough for the whole week. You can find my egg burritos here.

I had recently come across a recipe in my inbox from Martha, you know Martha Stewart? They are called Crumb Cake Muffins and they made my heart skip a beat with their oatmeal crumb topping. But you know me, I can't leave well enough alone and I had to go and health them up. I have no doubt Martha's muffins would be great just the way they are, but I needed something with a little more fuel. I have to say, I quite enjoyed the way they turned out. I already surpassed my quota for the day by eating two! You can find Martha's Crumb Cake Muffins here.

Brain Food Muffins

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Crumb Cake Muffins

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees-makes 1 dozen

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped candied ginger, or a few shakes of ground ginger {1/4 teas}
• 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 1 1/2 cups mixture of half whole wheat and half all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 heaping tablespoon of wheat germ
• 1 heaping tablespoon of flax seed powder

• 1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
• Vegetable-oil cooking spray
• 1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries {fold in after batter has been mixed}

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, ginger, flour, and melted butter, and stir until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat the muffin tins with cooking spray, and set aside. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, wheat germ, flax powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl, and stir to combine. Place buttermilk, applesauce, and vegetable oil in a medium bowl, and whisk to combine. Stir into flour mixture until well combined. Fold in egg whites. Fold in blueberries.
3. Place 2 heaping tablespoons batter in each muffin tin. Sprinkle with a generous tablespoon of reserved topping; press gently to adhere topping to cake. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before serving.

I've Been Featured @ The Casual Blogger Community

While I have been knee deep in baking and candy making the last few days, I neglected to check my email. When I did this morning, I found a little surprise. Yesterday I was featured at The Casual Blogger Community. You can read it here. 

I have some great things to share with you next week. I'll have a candy making and painting tutorial and lots of cupcake and cake photos. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a

          

         Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day-Sarcasm At It's Finest

Ughhh, Mother's Day. If it weren't for my own Mother-in-law sending me a card in the mail yesterday I'm not sure I would have remembered at all. My exact response when opening her card was, " Oh, F*#@!!! Yep, that's not even a common word used in my vocabulary, but I have lots of "mom's" to pay tribute to and some of those tributes will have to be mailed. So, as soon as I'm done typing, I'm off to go card shopping.

While I will have the sole responsibility of doing the Mother's Day shopping, my own husband and children should be doing the same for me. Now, in a perfect world I would not be receiving any flowers from my husband, nor would I be forced to solitary confinement in the morning waiting for the dreaded breakfast in bed. Don't pretend you like it. Breakfast made by a 9 and 13 year old can be...well, cold for starters. What, too harsh? Don't get me wrong, I adore the effort of  my children. They truly want nothing more than to pamper me. So Mother's Day turns out to be another day of mothering. Another day of putting our own wants and feelings aside to make our kids feel good. But that's our job, and I am accepting and do it knowingly.

However, back to the perfect world. {I can write about this freely because my husband and children don't read this!} I would love it if my husband or son could learn how to make coffee. Or if they just new what I liked from Starbucks, that would be nice. I like Grande Skinny Caramel Macchiato's. Hot in the morning,  iced in the afternoon.

If I am drinking regular coffee from home, I only like 1/2 and 1/2 in it. Just fill the coffee pot with water to the 3 line. Pour it in the back of the machine. Use a coffee filter, located in drawer below the machine and add two scoops of coffee. Coffee is right next to the machine in that canister marked "coffee." The scoop is in the canister. Press brew.

I don't like flowers from my husband. It's one of those, "I didn't have time or the desire to think of anything else and this was easy." It's such a cop-out gift. I know because it's what I've decided to do for my MIL this year! I'm not much of a breakfast eater. So with the coffee how about bring the Sunday paper? And how would I like to spend my day? ALONE! Doing some shopping maybe, or just in bed watching movies all day. Then we can meet up later for dinner like normal. You guys can cook if you want as long as I don't have to do the dishes. Or I'll even cook, but again, no dish duty. Hey kids, I would love it if maybe the house could be straightened up and your rooms too while your at it.

Last thing...I know it's a stretch but, we're still in the perfect world remember?

I want this:

It's a Cricut Cake Machine. They sell them at Michaels. They run about $220 I think.

It's the real world and I love you husband, and I love you children. I will love anything that you do for me, because in reality, it really is the thought that counts. Besides, you all give me the best gifts every single day. I am so grateful for my life and my family and I should be celebrating you!

Teacher Appreciation Week Schedule of Events

If you have kids in school you will be celebrating their teachers sometime this month for {TAW} Teacher Appreciation Week. I adore Chloe's teacher and she has had such a difficult year I really want to make next week special for her. In my opinion she deserves so much more than anything I can prepare, but I hope the children's effort will have an impact. I'm the room mom, so the responsibility falls on me.

I have been working all day on planning out each day for her next week. Monday, I'll decorate her door with cute notes from her students. I will pre-print some cardstock that I will cut with a large scallop punch, with something like "Mrs. Jacob's is special because....". I'll be sending them home later this week for the kids to fill in the blank and return Monday morning. Tuesday each student brings in a single flower to form a bouquet, Wednesday they will each bring in a piece of candy, Thursday a piece of fruit and Friday a picture or hand-written letter. In addition to coordinating gift giving for the whole class, Chloe and I have a few special gifts to give her as well, like bringing her lunch, a Barnes and Noble giftcard, and the note card holder below.

There are so many fabulous gift ideas floating around Blog Land. I've picked two that suit my needs. I was asked to make cupcakes for the teacher luncheon and I have decided on these from Apple Caramel  Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream from Tidy Mom.



I also chose this super simple and cute handmade note holder from Domesticated Lady. She has lots of great ideas for TAW, so I would encourage you to stop by her blog if you need some inspiration.

Giverslog is also a great blog to visit anytime you are in need of gift ideas. That's what her blog is all about, after all!

As if TAW didn't keep me busy enough, I also have FOUR custom baking orders this week. That would be a record for me. Maybe next time I learn how to say NO, there's a thought. But, I do like a challenge and I will get some good photos for the portfolio. I'm sure I'll be posting the photos next week.

Separately, I have to mention that Chloe got the game ball at one of her games last week. It's pretty cool that not only is she the only girl on the team, but she plays really important positions like first base and pitcher. Oh, and she's a power hitter too! Her game ball was well deserved, but she also had a really incredible game this Saturday, maybe her best ever. I'm so proud of her. I'm always hearing other parents talk about what a great player she is. On Saturday even parents and kids from the opposing team were complimenting her play. Parents always ask me where she gets her talent, she gets it from me of course! That might be a stretch. Either way, it's a real thrill to watch her!

Have You Met Quinoa?

Quinoa could be considered a super food from everything I've been reading! I'm sure you've heard by now about all of the benefits of this seed. Yep, it's a seed that is most often typecast as a grain for it's tender fluffy texture once cooked. It's actually a seed from a plant that is related to spinach, beets, and chard! Everything you've heard seems to be true. It has a ton of health benefits. It's a complete protein, meaning it contains all 9 essential amino acids, it's easy to digest, and is chock full of vitamins and minerals. One of my favorite things about this "whole grain" is that it is a good source of magnesium, a mineral I find that is often overlooked and forgotten. I've been upping my dietary intake of magnesium to combat my migraine headaches.

I'm thrilled that this ancient nutrient is becoming a more mainstream health food. Thus, it is becoming ever easier to find tasty recipes for it. I suppose it is an acquired taste, but well worth the effort. My kiddos weren't thrilled with the recipe, although they did eat it. I have committed to cooking it at least once a week. I was re-inspired to pull this couscous look alike out of the pantry from a new book I bought today. I browsed the pages at Barnes and Noble today and came home and bought it on my Nook. Yay, one less cookbook in my cabinet! It's called Pretty Delicious by Candice Kumai. I made her Quinoa Pilaf that is a mixture of  quinoa, toasted almonds, dried fruit, and basil, dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Although it was served hot at dinner, I suspect it will be just as tasty served cold. I LOVED it, the kids don't really like nuts or dried fruit so their distaste was to be expected.

There are so many options and advantages, I urge you to Google more about it. I Googled "benefits of quinoa." I'm sure "quinoa recipes" would also garner great results. It's not only healthy, but it's quick to make, taking only about 15 minutes. Remember to rinse it thoroughly before cooking and enjoy it hot or cold, in cereal, or even in the form of ground flour, sprouts, or pasta.

I'm eager to try new quinoa recipes, so feel free to leave a link

in the comments section if you have one to share.