The PB&J Campaign

Peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches made it into Emily's lunch box and my brown-bag today. You might want to make them for lunch soon too! Want PB&J inspiration? Read about The PB&J Campaign. Here's what they say about eating a PB&J:

"Each time you have a PB& J you shrink your carbon footprint, 

you reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution,

you cut back on habitat destruction, and you conserve water"

I was like "Really? Nu-uh! How?" See what you think.

Apple Banana Cupcakes

It's been rainy and cool all week and the trees love it! While the mountains look like they have been dusted with confectioner's sugar, the leaves are starting to come out and the valley is beginning to turn green. Speaking of "green" here's how "Earth Day" week went...

Tuesday: My work asked me to talk about Earth Day and "going green" at a meeting. We watched some eco-friendly business videos (Starbucks Big Picture, McDonald's "Fresh Salad" Billboard, and Mario's Green Wall), I ran through a PowerPoint, we handed out "earth-friendly ideas" then our CEO led a project where we each planted herbs to grow at our desks.

Wednesday: I watched Food Inc. It's an important movie to see even though it was not an easy film to watch. Recommendations if your'e going to watch it? Go "sans" snacks. Have a tissue box handy.

Thursday: The Squirrel and I went to the kitchen where I grated apples, and mashed bananas (Squirrely was really only there for tastes of the fruit). The resulting cupcakes were really good! I hope you had a Happy Earth Day whatever you were doing!

Apple Banana Cupcakes
Note: I didn't tweak the recipe at all. It was perfect. Everybody liked these!

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used fresh grated)
2/3 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
2 apples - peeled, cored and shredded

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour 24 muffin cups, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and buttermilk. Beat in the flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in the mashed bananas and shredded apples. Fill each muffin cup half full.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Recipe Source: All Recipes, Apple Banana Cupcakes, by Barbara
MacGourmet Deluxe: 24 Servings | Carbs: 18.61 | calories 137

Dog Treats: Cheese & Beef Bouillon

The Squirrel is a good dog, and it's time he had some homemade goodness to call his very own.  Dog Treats I on All Recipes by "DoughMama" were just the thing, bringing him cheese, beef bouillon, milk, cornmeal, oats, egg... plus these treats were made at home, not shipped in from over seas. The Squirrel was a big fan, his tail was going like crazy when he had his first taste.

Dog Treats I  (*with my notes)

Recipe Source: All Recipes: "Dog Treats I" by DoughMamma

1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup *butter
1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten
3 cups whole wheat flour

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).  In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, butter, and boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes. Grease cookie sheets.
2. Thoroughly stir in cornmeal, sugar, bouillon, milk, Cheddar cheese, and egg. Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until a stiff dough has formed.
3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface, mixing in additional flour as necessary until dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Roll or pat out dough to 1/2" thickness. Cut with cookie cutter (I prefer bone shaped), and place 1 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. (*I had a small gingerbread man cookie cutter, so that's what I used.)
4. Bake 35 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Cool before serving. Store in a loosely covered container. (*I turned it up to 350 to finish baking)

Dog Treats

I bet you could turn these into peanut butter treats by omitting the bouillon and adding a couple of tablespoons of PB. Maybe I'll try that next time.

The Sweet Tooth Fairy

A little bakery called The Sweet Tooth Fairy opened recently in Draper. The shop is clean, the baked goods are pretty, and the service is good. I've tried the frosted sugar cookie which is yummy! It tastes like they use Vanilla from Mexico (which is good) but I haven't asked them. If you're in the area (the same parking lot as the Draper In-N-Out Burger) you might want to stop in and see this little shop for yourself!

101 East 12300 South, #100

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

Take Care, 

Suz

Crackered Eggs

I spotted an interesting looking recipe in The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham, which is delightful cookbook to browse. I decided to try the "Crackered Eggs" which use saltines, or in my case Zesta crackers.

Crackered Eggs
2 eggs
1 C milk
20 saltines
3 T butter
Pepper to taste

"Whisk the eggs and milk together thoroughly. Crumble the crackers and stir them into the mixture. let this sit for about 10 minutes. Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Pour mixture into the skillet, distributing the bits of cracker evenly over the bottom of the pan with a fork. Cook slowly for about 2 or 2 minutes or until the bottom of the  mixture is lightly browned. Using a large spatula, cut the round in two and turn over first one half and then the other. Allow to cook for another minute or two, until the other side has browned lightly. Sprinkle with pepper and cut into wedges."

Read Before Serving:

"...Serve the wedges with syrup, or spread lightly with preserves or have them plain with bacon or ham." --from the book

It's kind of like using crackers to stretch the amount of eggs used, like you would use crackers when making meatloaf. The texture was good, but the flavor was a little plain. We didn't use syrup or jam which was mentioned, and could have made a big difference. There's a piece leftover that I'll try with some jam with for lunch. I think I'd use a little less milk next time, maybe it's an altitude thing, to help it set up a little more.  Everybody agreed this would be good with omelet or quiche ingredients. 

Pg. 151, Crackered Eggs, The Breakfast Book, by Marion Cunningham

Update: April 21 - I made the Crackered Eggs again. I scrambled them this time and that worked out really well! I served it with syrup which turned out to be another step in the right direction! The consistency was like a German Pancake.