Odds and ends in the food of late. . .

Sorry I haven't been very reliable on blogging lately.  These last two classes I'm taking are brutal and take up all of my "free" time.  I will be so relieved when I'm done - only 2 more weeks.  I'm not sure what I'll do with myself!!  Golly, I'm excited!

I have made a few really good things lately that I'd like to take the time to share with you.

First, Apple-Raisin Bran Muffins.  Who'da thunk, right?  They're really good.

Fareway (our local grocery store) had their brand of Raisin Bran on sale 3/$5 a couple weeks ago.  So instead of opting for our favorite (Crunchy Raisin Bran), I felt the urge to go with this deal.  Eh, it wasn't my smartest idea.  This generic raisin bran lacks, well, the crunch!!  So, with three boxes of the stuff...I had to figure out something.  I didn't have to look far, though...the side of the box had a recipe!

Apple-Raisin Bran Muffins

1 1/2 cups Fareway Raisin Bran cereal
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I replaced the full amount with unsweetened applesauce)2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups finely chopped peeled (I didn't peel...still delish!) apples (about 2 small)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I left out - yuck!)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350º.  Spray regular-sized muffin pans or mini muffin pans with nonstick spray.  Combine cereal, milk, oil (applesauce), eggs, and vanilla.  Let stand 10 minutes (to soften cereal).  Stir to break up cereal; stir in apples and walnuts.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Add cereal mixture all at once to flour mixture; stir just until moistened.  Spoon evenly into prepared pans.  Bake 16-18 minutes for regular-size muffins and 10-12 minutes of mini muffins.  Makes 15-18 regular-sized muffins.

178 calories per muffin.

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Next up in my line up...a spaghetti bake recipe from my sister, Allissa.  One night while Wes & I were over there playing with our nephews, Allissa was telling us about what she had in the oven.  It did not sound good at all to me, to  be honest.  I love spaghetti...but why would you put sour cream in it?!  Well, when it was done, she plated it up for us and ... it was amazing.  So last week I finally made it for ourselves.

First, cook your spaghetti (or whatever kind of pasta you'd like) and mix with your choice of red sauce.  I used one box of whole wheat spaghetti and 2 jars of chunky mushroom Prego spaghetti sauce.  Put half of the spaghetti & sauce mix in a sprayed 9x13.

Top the spaghetti with slices of cheese (I think Allissa used mozarella, I only had Velveeta - worked fine - could probably be omitted if needed, as well), parmesan, shredded cheese, and a regular sized (...I don't know how many oz) container of sour cream.

Next, top with remaining spaghetti & sauce, more parmesan and shredded cheese.  Bake at 350º for about 20 minutes or until everything is all warm and bubbly.

Doesn't that look pretty awesome...?

Serve and enjoy!  The sour cream just makes everything, well, creamy and delicious.  I think next time I'll add some hamburger to please the Mr (though he didn't complain, I know he'd prefer some meat in his meal ♥).

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Wes & I have started a new ritual of pancakes and eggs on Sunday mornings.  While probably not the healthiest option, I love the routine of it.  Making my man a great breakfast and spending the time with him while we share it is worth the extra pounds I'm likely to put on.  (During our first 21 days of our health challenge at work I only lost 1.8lbs, but hopefully I'll do better from here on out.)

This morning, I decided to add another element to our pancakes and eggs....taters!

I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought I'd try it out - by 1/2ing it.

Basically you make your hashbrowns ...

Add eggs to the top (I beat mine first cuz Wes like broken yolks)...and some shredded cheese.  Then, put under the broiler for 5-7 minutes.

I thought it was good...but probably not something we'll add to our routine.

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For supper tonight, we thought we'd grill outside since it's a balmy 40º in Iowa!  Hey, gotta take advantage when ya can!  So, for supper we had TBones, scalloped potatoes, and sautéed zuchinni and mushrooms.

Zuchinni sautéeing...mmmm...

Mmmm...mushrooms...makes my mouth water!!

The veggies are all ready!!

The plate.  I think I'm getting a little healthier...because what I was most excited about was the sautéed veggies!!!!  :)

Alright...well this should make Kenz happy since she just gave me crap today about not blogging.  ♥