Mini-Donut Muffins

I recently acquired a couple of mini-donut pans. I bought mine from Avon, but I've seen them online as well, so I know they're out there. The fun thing is that the recipe that came with the pans, (for "Old Fashioned Buttermilk Donuts") makes really delicious little cinnamon donuts that remind me of The Forks in Winnipeg and The Exhibition, where we used to buy little mini cinnamon donuts. I reasoned that this recipe should work with regular mini muffin tins, so I tweaked it a bit- cutting down the recipe for a start (the original makes about 6 dozen of the things), and have come up with this manageable facsimile. They are very quick to mix up, and can be baked and ready to serve in about 30 minutes. I hope you try them. Not just for little children.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, ground cloves (optional) and ground cinnamon
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 Tablespoons butter or hard margarine melted

Topping:
2 Tablespoons butter or hard margarine, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325*F. Lightly grease 1 & 1/12 mini-muffin pans.

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves and first amount of cinnamon together.

Mix buttermilk, egg and first amount of melted margarine together in another bowl; stir into the dry ingredients.

Fill each greased muffin tin about 3/4 full. Bake for about 15 minutes, until muffins are lightly browned and spring back when lightly touched. Allow to cool 3-5 minutes, (until you can handle them) then remove from pan.

Topping:
Put butter (melted) in a small bowl. Mix sugar and cinnamon together in another bowl. Dip tops of slightly cooled muffins in the butter, and then in the cinnamon/sugar mixture to coat the tops.

Makes about 18 mini-muffins.

Egg-In-A-Hole

This is just eggs and toast kicked up a notch. Good for the day after the toaster breaks,  for special breakfasts or just to mix it up a bit. 

You will need: an egg, a piece of bread, a cup or cookie cutter, soft (or softened) margarine or butter, oil/spray oil for the pan/griddle, salt and pepper.

What I do: Punch a hole in the middle of the bread. I use either a glass/cup that fits nicely within the parameters of the bread's crust OR a cookie cutter: heart shape for Valentine's Day, Tree for Christmas, Shamrock for St. Patrick's Day etc.

Heat your frying pan or griddle as for pancakes. Not too hot.

Butter both sides of the bread and the cut out piece.

For a soft yolk egg, place buttered bread (with the hole) and the cut out piece in/on your pan. Cook the bread with the hole until it's lightly browned- just lightly. Turn the bread over & spray the pan where it shows through the hole in the bread (or drop a small piece of margarine/butter in the hole) so the egg doesn't stick. Break the egg into the hole. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Cook this second side (with the egg in the middle now) until it's well browned. Flip the bread & egg, and cook the first side for a short time to cook the top of the egg and finish browning the bread. MEANWHILE, keep an eye on the toast/cut out piece. Cook both sides until nicely browned.

For a harder yolk egg, place buttered bread (with the hole) and the cut out piece in/on your pan. Spray the pan through the hole in the bread (or drop a small piece of margarine/butter in the hole) so the egg doesn't stick. Break the egg into the hole. Season with salt and pepper if you like. Cook the bread and egg until bread is nicely browned. Flip the bread and egg over, and cook the second side until the bread is toasted and the egg is cooked. If the bread is getting brown but the yolk is still too soft, lower the heat and/or cover the bread & egg with a pot lid. Remember to keep an eye on the cut out piece! Just toast it on each side until it's nicely browned.

Fun Sandwich Ideas

Whether it's for a picnic, a fun lunch at home or something to make that school lunch a little more exciting, try mixing it up with the sandwiches. Just a little extra time is well worth the smiles. 

COOKIE CUTTER SANDWICHES

 A simple way to make special days more special. Look for holiday shaped cookie cutters in the baking pan aisle at most department stores or at specialty shops like Nutters- hearts for Valentine's Day and "just because", a shamrock for St. Patrick's Day, a tree for Christmas... Little shaped sandwiches are an easy way to make lunch more fun. 

Several ways to make cookie cutter sandwiches: 

-make soft filling sandwiches (jam, honey, processed cheese spread, peanut butter, egg salad, etc.,) and then punch out shapes with the cookie cutters. Either discard the edges, save them for your lunch, or cut them into little "mini-sandwich bites" for a snack for the kids. 

-use the cookie cutter to punch the bread and the harder fillings (luncheon meat, cheese, etc.,) into shapes and then assemble them after the shapes are cut out.

-use the cookie cutter to punch the bread into shapes, and then spread the filling of your choice on the cut out shapes. This way saves on filling wastage. The bread edges can be used to make a bread pudding or to dry out for bread crumbs or croutons.

You can also try cookie cutter toast shapes for breakfast with the porridge, or fun-shaped "egg in a hole" to start the holiday off first thing! Use your imagination to turn any day into a celebration.

ROLLED OUT SANDWICHES

This was a favourite at our house. The kids used to like making their own. I also found that the kids ate more lunch when the sandwiches were rolled ones- the child who had a hard time eating a whole, two slices of bread sandwich could eat four or five rolled ones.

Simply take a slice of bread and trim off the outer crusts. Using a rolling pin, roll the bread flat. Now just spread the bread with your child's favourite filling, and roll the flattened bread into a "jelly-roll" sandwich.

Try: jam, peanut butter, cheese spread, honey, luncheon meat and cheese slices,  banana spears with peanut butter or pickle spears with cheese spread. 

Anything goes, really, as long as you can roll it up with the bread, and the filling's not too thick so it doesn't ooze out the ends.

For lunch boxes, I'd wrap each one in a bit of plastic wrap or put them tightly in a sandwich bag with the air carefully pressed out.

RIBBON SANDWICHES

These were my favourite Tupperware party leftovers when I was a kid. It's just a stacked sandwich cut into strips. For the more adventurous types.

Use a combination of white and brown bread to make more contrasting "ribbons" if you like. Basically make a 3-5 decker sandwich with different fillings for each layer. I always like a layer of egg salad, a layer of cheese spread and one of "flakes of ham" spread. You could turn peanut butter and jam into a ribbon sandwich, or make it peanut butter, honey and banana. 

Make your triple or quadruple decker sandwich, different fillings between each layer of bread. Trim off the crusts if you like. Cut the sandwich into three or four strips. That's it. Not for children who like all their flavours separate.

I would suggest filling combinations of jam, peanut butter and jam; peanut butter, banana and chocolate chips or chocolate sprinkles; cheese spread, ham flakes (mixed with mayonnaise a bit of green relish and a squirt of mustard) or ham slices and bread and butter pickles; strawberry jam, strawberry cream cheese and strawberry jam; egg salad, cheese spread and bread and butter pickles.

Twisted Peanut Butter Muffins

The Fall '10 What's Cooking (Kraft Foods magazine) came the other day, and there was a recipe for peanut butter muffins that I thought looked good. As I lay in bed this morning I contemplated these muffins for breakfast, and decided that plain peanut butter muffins might be a bit boring. "What goes with peanut butter?" I asked myself. Bananas, chocolate, and jam sounded good to me, so I mixed up a batch of muffins and divided the batter three ways to try them all! I think my favourite is peanut butter and jam. They were quite delicious for breakfast, still warm, with coffee. Yum!


Twisted Peanut Butter Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (Kraft light) crunchy peanut butter
1/4 cup hard margarine
1 cup skim milk
2 eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 375*F and prepare a 12 cup muffin tin- grease, or line with paper liners.

Mix flours, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in peanut butter and margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (as for making biscuits or scones). Add milk and eggs, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. (batter will be lumpy)

Peanut Butter & Banana Muffins: add a large, not over-ripe banana, cut into small chunks. Gently stir in banana pieces to distribute them evenly throughout the batter. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until risen and golden brown on top. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack and cool completely before storing in airtight container.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins: add 3/4 cup chocolate chips to batter, stirring gently to mix them in. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until risen and golden brown on top. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack and cool completely before storing in airtight container.

PB & J:  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Add a teaspoonful of strawberry jam* to the centre of each muffin-cup of batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until risen and golden brown on top. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack and cool completely before storing in airtight container. *cut down calories/carbs and increase fibre by adding a cup of chopped fresh or frozen strawberries.


Nutrition Facts (as supplied by Kraft Canada, for plain muffin made with light peanut butter) 
per muffin: 200 calories, 9g fat, (1.5g saturated fat) 30 mg cholesterol, 270 mg sodium, 26g* carbohydrates, 2g fibre, 11g sugars, 6g protein.
*add 2.5g carbs (for 28.5g carb) to PB&Banana muffin
*add 7g carbs (for 33g carb) to Chocolate PB muffin
*add 2-5 carbs (for 28-31 carb, depending on the jam you use-check the label) to PB&J muffin. Strawberry pieces will add about 1g carb per muffin.
*you can lower the carb count further by using Splenda artificial sweetener instead of sugar. Try 1/3 cup instead of 1/2 cup sugar. 

Light Peppernuts

A Christmas family tradition from Grandma Friesen. They are small, round cookies that are especially delightful with coffee. My theory is that cookies like this became a Christmas holiday treat because of all the chilling and freezing involved. In the days before refrigerators and freezers it would have been difficult to make these in the summer. Definitely worth the trouble.

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup hard margarine
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon mace (substitute nutmeg if you can't find mace)
1/4 teaspoon ground star anise (or 1/8 tsp anise extract)
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sour milk or buttermilk
4 cups all purpose flour

In medium sized saucepan, bring sugar, corn syrup, margarine, cloves, ginger, mace and star anise to a boil. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

To cooled syrup mixture add egg, baking soda and milk. Mix in flour. You will have a very stiff batter/ very soft dough.

Refrigerate/ chill for half an hour, or until dough is firm.

Roll the dough into strips; I use a large plastic spatula to scoop out a "hand full" of dough, then quickly roll it into 1 to 2 inch diameter strips. If the dough feels too sticky, rolling it on a large plastic container lid has been successful, and the odd time I've been in a hurry and have tried rolling dough before it's chilled enough, actually rolling it WITH the spatula ON the plastic lid has worked.

Place dough strips on a waxed paper or plastic wrap lined cookie sheet, and place cookie sheet in the freezer. (If I plan to bake peppernut cookies a few at a time, I will wrap each strip of dough in plastic wrap and when they're frozen, I'll put the frozen strips in a freezer bag)

Freeze strips until hard, then remove, one at a time, and slice the strips into 1/4 - 1/2 inch pieces. Place 1/2 inch apart on a greased baking sheet, and bake at 350* F. for 5-8 minutes, until golden brown.

Immediately remove cookies from baking sheets to paper towel covered counters. I've found this to be my best bet for cooling cookies, as they're too small to stay on a cooling rack.

When cooled, store in airtight containers or storage bags.

Makes an Extra Large Freezer bag full (38cm X 46cm bag- the ones that come in a box of 10).

Oatmeal Muffins Your Kids Will Eat

These Company's Coming Muffins & More Banana-Oatmeal muffins have been twigged a bit. The substitutions qualify it as a lower fat, higher fibre, no-sugar-added breakfast or snack break. And besides all that- they taste really yummy.

1 cup (250 ml) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (125 ml) whole wheat flour
1 cup Roger's Porridge Oats
1/2 cup Splenda, artificial sweetener
2 teaspoons (10 ml) baking powder
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup (125 ml) peanut butter (to keep sugar lower, use a natural peanut butter or Kraft No Salt-No Sugar added Peanut Butter)
1/4 cup (50 ml) skim milk
3 over-ripe mashed bananas
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup raisins
1 medium apple with peel, cored and chopped

Preheat oven to 400* F. (200*C)

*Kitchen Aid method: Into large mixer bowl put: eggs, peanut butter, milk and whole bananas. Mix on lower speed until all are blended and fairly smooth.

Stop mixer and add: flours, Oats, Splenda, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix slowly, (with pulsing motion for the first minute or so) until dry ingredients are blended. Stir in chocolate chips, raisins and apple.

Grease, or line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Put muffin pans in preheated oven. Reduce heat to 350*F (180*C) and bake for about 20 minutes. Until centre of middle muffin bounces back to the touch and/or a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

*Non-Kitchen Aid method: In large bowl, mix together flours, Oats, Splenda, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the centre.

In a second, smaller bowl, mash bananas, then add eggs, peanut butter and milk. Mix with electric mixer or by hand until well blended and fairly smooth. Pour into the well in the dry ingredients.

Mix until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips, raisins and apple.

Grease, or line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Put muffin pans in preheated oven. Reduce heat to 350*F (180*C) and bake for about 20 minutes. Until centre of middle muffin bounces back to the touch and/or a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Basic Pancakes

A good, basic scratch batter. You can kick it up by replacing the oil with applesauce and adding a half teaspoon of cinnamon and a finely chopped apple, or make blueberry pancakes by adding a cup of blueberries, or- use your imagination!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tablespoons oil

Preheat your griddle, skillet or frying pan. (I use a flat griddle- one that lays across 2 burners on the electric stove, or a 10 inch skillet, and I turn the stove to setting "3" or "4" out of 10.)

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a small mixing bowl, beat together egg, milk and oil.

Gently mix the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir just to combine. Mixture may be a little lumpy, and that's alright.

Lightly grease the griddle/ skillet and spoon batter onto hot cooking surface. (I use a gravy ladle for spooning the batter, at about 1/4 cup batter per pancake)

Cook on first side until bubbles form on the uncooked surface of the pancake and the top gets dull looking, and loses it's shine. Then flip pancakes over and cook until the second side is brown. (just give them about 3 minutes , then check the bottom by flipping one over to see how brown it is getting.)

Serve hot with butter/ margarine and syrup or jam.

Makes about 12 - 4 inch pancakes.

Gingerbread Men

This recipe is a kicked up version of the "Gingerbread Figures" recipe found in the Company's Coming For Christmas: Holiday Magic For Your Table cookbook, by Jean Pare. I love the spices in these cookies, and I was happy to find that a sugar- reduced version was as good as the original recipe. You can decorate with a minimal amount of icing, or try adding raisins and nuts for faces and buttons before baking. I hope you enjoy this rolled cookie recipe that your diabetic kids can help you make! This is one time they can have their cookies and eat them too. Just don't eat too many, and keep an eye on the blood sugar- remember that molasses has as many carbohydrates/ sugars as the same amount of sugar or honey.

1/2 cup (125 ml) hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup (125 ml) Splenda, artificial sweetener
1/2 cup (125 ml) fancy molasses
1 large egg yolk
1 cup (250 ml) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (150 ml) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon (5 ml) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) salt

Frosting:
1 large egg white
2 cups (500 ml) icing sugar

Cream butter, Splenda, molasses and egg yolk together until light.

Add next 9 ingredients. Mix well. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour. Roll out. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters. Arrange on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350* F for about 5 minutes (for small/3 " cookies) up to 10 minutes for larger cookies, until lightly browned. Cool.

To make frosting: beat egg with with as much icing sugar as needed to make a frosting that holds its shape. Pipe icing outlines around gingerbread shapes. Large baby bottle liners work well for this. Just fill the plastic liner, cut a small hole in one corner and use as an icing bag.

Curry Beef Wraps

Inspired by our English friend Toni, this ground beef dish is a winner. I have found that 1/2 pound of ground beef per person is a good gauge. Temper the seasonings to your own taste; use these as a guideline.

For each pound of ground beef use:

1 medium clove of garlic, minced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon beef bouillon powder
1/2 - 1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon citrus & pepper seasoning
1/2 can condensed tomato soup

sliced or diced tomato, cucumber, green, red and/or yellow peppers
shredded lettuce
grated cheese
Plain yogurt, ranch dressing or sour cream if desired
2 whole wheat tortillas per person

Scramble fry ground beef in large skillet. Add garlic, onion and spices and cook until meat is browned through. Drain off fat, then add tomato soup. Simmer until meat filling is thick, liquids having been reduced/ boiled away.

Meanwhile, prepare vegetables and cheese. Putting each topping in its own dish is a nice way for everyone to add what they like to their wrap.

15 minutes before serving, wrap tortillas in foil and warm in 350*F oven.

Pass the meat filling and toppings. Roll up the wraps to enjoy.

Hippy Bars

This started life as an Oatmeal-Raisin bar... but I needed something with tons more fiber and protein that would be a good snack for summer treks. I'm very pleased with it. If you're allergic to peanuts, try substituting mashed banana or unsweetened applesauce for the peanut butter. These bars have a lot of fibery substance and a wonderful flavour. I found powdered soy protein at our local Nutter's; look for it at a health food or bulk store. If you can't find any, or want to leave it out, try adding the 1/4 cup all purpose flour that I took out when I added the protein powder.

50 ml (1/4 cup) hard margarine
50 ml (1/4 cup) no salt/ no sugar added peanut butter
125 ml (1/2 cup) corn syrup or honey
250 ml (1 cup) quick (not instant) rolled oats
125 ml (1/2 cup) Red River cereal
500 ml (2 cups) Rogers 9 Grain cereal (scroll down a bit)
125 ml (1/2 cup) Splenda, artificial sweetener
175 ml (3/4 cup) Compliments 5 Fruit Medley (raisins, cranberries, dried blueberries, and cherries) or other chopped dried fruit
1 sour apple, cored and diced (with peel)
150 ml (2/3 cup) bulk protein powder
2 eggs
10 ml (2 teaspoons) vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*F. Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray.

In microwaveable bowl, combine margarine, peanut butter and corn syrup. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes, or until melted together.

While the syrup cools a bit, mix together the cereals, Splenda, fruit and protein powder.

Mix egg and vanilla into syrup mixture. Stir well to blend.

Add dry ingredients to syrup. Stir to combine, until cereals are well coated with syrup. Firmly press into the foil lined pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from oven, and invert pan onto a large wooden cutting board. (Place the board on top of the pan, then use oven mitts to flip the pan over onto the board.) Carefully lift pan off bars, and remove foil. Let cool 5 - 10 minutes, then cut into bars with a long knife. Makes 24 bars. Store in airtight container.

Per Bar:
155 calories, 5.3 g total fat, .55 g saturated fats, 17 mg cholesterol, 33 mg sodium, 8 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 8 g sugars, 3 g fiber, 21 mg calcium.

Easter Egg Coloring

Having an Easter Egg emergency? Can't find a Coloring Kit? Don't sweat it. Make your own egg dyes with liquid food coloring and vinegar. Let the kids help, and turn it into a lesson on primary and secondary colors! Much more fun than a silly old box with tablets!


In coffee mugs, combine:

1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 cup boiling water
20 drops of food coloring

To make blended colors, start with the lighter color, and add the darker color one drop at a time until you achieve the desired shade.

For Orange, start with 20 drops of yellow, add red one drop at a time.
For Purple, start with 20 drops of red, add blue one drop at a time.
For bright, vibrantly colored eggs, leave eggs in dye for a long time.
To make pastel eggs, leave eggs in dye for a short amount of time.

Dried color should not rub off.

Easy Fruit Dip

This is an old standby that has been around for a long time. So easy a child can do it! Turns cut up fruit pieces into something special.

Simply mix together equal amounts of Cool Whip whipped topping (or dairy whipping cream whipped) and fruit yogurt.

Serve with cut up, fresh fruit- banana, pineapple, apples, strawberries, peaches and pears are especially good. Leave smaller fruit and berries whole, and cut larger fruit into bite sized pieces.

To keep it good and good for you, use Cool Whip Lite or 95% fat free, or a sugar-free variety if you can find it, and low fat or no-sugar-added yogurt.

Our favourite is with strawberry yogurt.

Cinnamon "Salt" Dough

This is a craft dough recipe that might have come home from school with one of the children. This oven- bake dough makes very cool Christmas tree ornaments, gift tags or "car fresheners" that the kids can roll and shape themselves. Does Grandma have a miniature tree? Make her a set of tiny gingerbread tree ornaments! They'll look great and smell good too. Specialty kitchen stores like "Nutters" often have cookie cutters in many sizes.

1/3 cup cinnamon (75 ml)
1/3 cup all purpose flour (75 ml)
2/3 cup applesauce (150 ml)

Mix cinnamon and flour together. Gradually mix applesauce into cinnamon/ flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Use cinnamon/ flour mixture (equal parts) to knead into dough if it's very sticky or gooey.

Roll dough out on an un-floured board (or waxed paper) 1/4 inch thick.

Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Make a hole with a straw to hang. Decorate with whole cloves or allspice (to make eyes or buttons on gingerbread men), or wait until your shapes are baked, and then decorate with craft supplies and glue.

Bake at 225 * F for 2 hours.

You can give them a quick spray with a sealant, if you like, and they'll have a shiny appearance.

Tie with a ribbon pushed through the hole in the top.

Sparkle Paints

A very cool crafting recipe that I picked up somewhere. Make some Sparkle Paints together with your children, and then let them go to town with it, creating amazing Sparkle pictures, signs or designs.


Empty squeezable bottles (old school glue bottles are perfect)
Flour
Salt
Water
Tempera Paint Powder
Paper

Mix equal amounts of flour, salt and water.

Divide mixture into the empty bottles.

Add a different color of tempera paint to each bottle, and shake them well.

To use:
Squeeze the paint onto paper, creating a design, word or picture. Let dry. When the paint is dry, the salt makes the picture sparkle.

Alternatively, you can brush the paints on instead of squeezing them.

Homemade Alphabet Spaghetti

There was a time... back in the day... when my kids liked this better than the stuff that came in cans from the store... It's fairly quick and very inexpensive if you get your alphabet noodles from the bulk food section. Makes a big batch. This isn't an original-to-me recipe, but I can't begin to remember where I found it, it's been in my collection for so long. Give it a try- start about an hour before you want to feed the kids.


5 cups colds water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup uncooked alphabet noodle pasta
1 - 5 1/2 oz (156 ml) can tomato paste
1/2 cup milk
1- 2 tablespoons sugar ( to taste)

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and add bouillon cubes and noodles. Stir until bouillon cubes are dissolved and foam disappears.

Partially cover saucepan and simmer until noodles are tender, (about 40 minutes). Add tomato paste, milk and sugar, stirring well to blend.

Remove from heat, cover saucepan and let stand for 15 minutes (mixture will thicken slightly)

Serve warm.

Makes 4- 6 servings

Chocolate Chip or Berry Muffins

1 1/2 cups all purpose white flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup French Vanilla flavoured coffee cream
1/4 cup milk or water
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup chocolate chips OR blueberries (fresh or unthawed frozen), strawberry chunks or raspberries

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl. Stir in chocolate chips or berries. Make a well in the center.

In another bowl, mix French Vanilla cream, milk, egg and oil.

Pour milk mixture into the well, then mix gently only until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Divide into greased or paper lined muffin tins.

Bake at 375* F. for 20 - 25 minutes, til risen and lightly browned.

Yield: 8 large or 12 small muffins

Fish Cakes

I found this recipe in a Kraft "What's Cooking" magazine. Everyone liked it, so I've made it several times. Fairly quick, very tasty. The patties can be shaped ahead of time, and cooked just before supper.

Mix together: 1 package Stove Top Stuffing, 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 2 cans salmon (large bones and skin removed), 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup chopped green onion.

Cover, and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Shape into 12 patties, and fry in greased pan (sprayed with vegetable spray) at medium heat. Cook 3 minutes per side, turning carefully.

You can form the patties into fun shapes for kids- fish or triangles or squares... just to be different!

Cinnamon Buns

I have changed the original (from Company's Coming Breads) enough that I am comfortable sharing it. Give these a try- they're worth it! HINT: My friend Janet sometimes makes her cinnamon buns just before bed, and lets them rise slowly in the refrigerator overnight. I've done this when I have two empty shelves, and it works a treat. In the morning take the buns out of the fridge. Turn on the oven, and while the buns warm to room temperature and the oven heats up, you go have your shower- or make the coffee, or whatever! When the oven is ready, pop in the buns and away you go. Hot fresh cinnamon buns for breakfast, without having to get up at 5:30 in the morning! (freezing them for later works too!) It's good to note that these are fairly quick buns, with only 1 rising time. When I'm using my Kitchen Aid mixer I can have them mixed up, risen and baked within 2 hours. If they are too hot to ice and it's time to eat, just tip the pan over onto a large serving platter, call them "sticky buns" and serve them hot without icing. (trust me, no one will miss that extra bit of sugar!)

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 (1/4 oz/ 8 g) Active dry yeast (about a tablespoon)
1 large egg
1/3 cup cooking oil
1/2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 cups (approximately) all purpose flour

FILLING:

1/4 cup butter or hard margarine, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. cinnamon

SYRUP:

1 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup butter or hard margarine
1 Tbsp. corn syrup/ golden syrup

ICING:

3/4 - 1 cup icing sugar
1/8 cup butter or hard margarine, softened
1 1/2 Tbsp. milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Line 2- 9 x 13 inch baking pans with foil. Spray foil with cooking oil spray.

Stir granulated sugar into warm water in large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over top. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir to dissolve yeast.

While yeast is proofing, mix the filling ingredients together, and measure the syrup ingredients into a small saucepan.

Mix in eggs, cooking oil and salt. Work in enough flour to make a soft dough; til dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, and isn't sticking to your fingers. Turn out onto floured surface. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each part, one at a time, into a 9 x 12 inch rectangle. Spread each rectangle with half of the filling, then roll up from the long side. Let the rolls rest while you make the syrup.

Melt syrup ingredients together in small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar and blend well. Syrup should be smooth and un-separated, like caramel sauce*. (if it starts to boil, remove from heat or you'll find the syrup turns to hard candy on the bottom of your cinnamon buns) Pour the syrup into the two prepared pans, dividing it equally between them. If you like Pecan-cinnamon rolls, sprinkle toasted pecans (about 1/2 cup per pan) over syrup.
*if the butter hasn't blended in, it doesn't really matter; just make sure you divide it carefully to get melted butter and caramel-ly sugar as even in the two pans as you can.

Cut each roll into 12 equal (approximately 1 inch) pieces. Arrange cinnamon rolls over syrup in pan.

Cover with a tea towel. Let stand in oven with the light on (or in a warm place) for about 45 minutes, til doubled in size. Bake at 350 *F for 20 - 25 minutes. Drizzle with icing. (If you ice while warm, they'll have a nice glazed look. If you want to see the icing, wait til they're cooled) If you're making pecan buns, you might like to forgo the icing, and turn hot, baked buns out onto sheets of foil to cool (so the syrup and pecans are on the top)

Yield: 2 dozen cinnamon buns

NOTES:

Cinnamon Buns have become our traditional Christmas Morning breakfast. I often place the rolled buns (without syrup- I increase the filling by 1/2 and give them lots of icing instead) into Tree or Snowman shapes.

To make "individual" Christmas Morning Cinnamon Bun Trees I'll divide the dough that would make 12 buns into 4 parts before rolling it out. Each 1/4 of the dough gets rolled and spread with filling, then cut into "mini" cinnamon buns.

Bake these specially shaped buns on a greased, foil lined cookie sheet. If you're baking them ahead and freezing them, wrap them lightly in the foil then pop them into a freezer bag. Take them out the night before and let them thaw on the counter overnight.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Definitely a family favourite! Easy to halve or double. These freeze well. We've also shaped the dough into one or two large rolls, wrapped it in plastic wrap, then placed it in a freezer bag in the freezer. They can be sliced, and baked frozen as per instructions as needed.

1 cup hard margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour (enough to make a stiff dough that can be rolled into balls)
2 cups chocolate chips

Cream margarine and sugars together. Add eggs, then the rest of the ingredients as listed. Scoop dough into balls with an ice cream scoop or large spoon, and drop onto greased cookie sheets, a few inches apart. (12 on a 9 X 13" sized pan) Bake at 350*F for: 10-12 minutes for larger cookies, 8-10 minutes for smaller ones. Remove to cooling racks to cool.

Yield: 4 dozen large cookies.

Variations:

Mini Rolo Cookies are awesome- substitute Mini Rolos for Chocolate Chips. For best results, bake cookies on cookie sheets lined with greased aluminum foil or parchment paper. When cookies are baked, slide foil off pan and allow cookies to cool completely before removing them from the foil.

Smarties or M&Ms work well in place of chocolate chips.

Easter Bunny Cookies- if you have an abundance of Easter chocolate, coarsely chop it and use it in place of chocolate chips.

Christmas Sugar Cookies

A fun way to spend a rainy afternoon with young children. Put on the aprons, fire up the oven, get out the cookie cutters and icing- and have fun!

1 cup (227 g) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups (450 g) granulated sugar
4 eggs
2-4 Tablespoons (30-60 ml or about 1/4 cup) milk, divided
2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
5 cups (575 g) all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons (20 ml) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
(colored sugar, nuts & candied fruit for decorating as desired)

In large bowl, beat butter & sugar til light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 2 Tbsp of the milk and the vanilla til smooth. In another large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt til light and thoroughly combined. Gradually beat flour mixture into butter mixture. If dough seems dry add another tablespoon or 2 of milk. Gather dough into a ball and divide into 8 parts. Wrap each part in plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. The dough may also be frozen and later thawed in the fridge.

When ready to bake, remove dough from fridge one package at a time. Preheat oven to 350*F. With floured rolling pin, roll dough to 1/8 " thickness on a generously floured board. (*I find that if I flour the board, then sprinkle the top of the dough with a bit of flour and roll the dough with a piece of waxed paper between the dough and the rolling pin that I don't need as much flour and the cookies are lighter) Cut dough into desired shapes, transferring to a lightly greased baking sheet. Re-roll and cut scraps. Decorate cookies on baking sheet with colored sugar, nuts, candied fruit or sprinkles before baking, or decorate with icing when baked and cooled. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or til lightly browned. Transfer to baking racks to cool. Store in tightly covered container for 2-3 weeks.

Each ball makes about a dozen cookies, depending on the size and thickness of the cookies.

NOTES:

-It's easy to make half or a quarter recipe, if 8 dozen cookies overwhelms you, however the dough is also very freezable, so you can make up the whole recipe and put the plastic wrapped dough that you don't want to bake into a freezer bag and toss it in the freezer. To enjoy fresh cookies all season, just thaw the frozen dough in the fridge and roll and bake as directed.

-I use this same recipe for Christmas, Easter, St. Patrick's Day- don't be deceived by the name; they're excellent Sugar Cookies, not just for Christmas.

-As each of my children started school, I made it a special project to bring cookies to their Kindergarten class once. I used this recipe then made giant round cookies (I think I used a large margarine lid... I'm sure they weren't the size of an ice-cream pail lid!) Then I iced them and personalized the cookies, one for each child, using a contrasting color of icing to print his/ her name. Sometimes I did them for Halloween'en, and put a pumpkin candy on each one beside the name, maybe once at my child's birthday, but it was always an exciting treat. Children love to see their name on things, and are at an age when many of them are just learning to print their own name. It was while doing Kindergarten cookies that I discovered that "Christopher" may well be the longest name in North America!