Man, there’s been some good eatin’ goin’ on around here!  Let me see if I can summarize it all…

• Ham & Gruyere French Bread Pizza – Yum.  Super easy.  The gruyere was a little pricey, and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it with the strong smell.  But it was very good.  I might opt for a little cheaper fontina, swiss or baby swiss next time.  Delicious!
• Deconstructed Lasagna – More or less the ingredients of lasagna, but without the work.  The red sauce was AMAZING, probably due to the red wine.  (Tip, we don’t drink much red wine here.  I bought the little 4-pk of bottles, perfect for the occasional use.)  The white sauce was good, but I might add more garlic and stir in more parmesean.  It need a bit more flavor.  We used whole wheat lasagna noodles, and it was EXCELLENT, and fairly easy!
• Powerball cookies – Easy, quick, fun kid recipe.  Not too bad for you.  I subbed ground flaxseed meal for the wheat germ.  They were tasty little bites!
• Blondies with Chocolate Chips and Walnuts – Wow… these were awesome.  I’ve not enjoyed blondies before, but these were amazing!  I even used all whole wheat flour with no problems.  Cut them small so you can have 2 without feeling bad 🙂
• Crockpot Fried Chicken – I actually didn’t use the crockpot bc the chicken wasn’t thawed early enough.  But baked in the oven, this was tasty.  I’m anxious to try it in the crockpot, my best friend in the kitchen!  Oh, and this blog is full of amazing crockpot recipes!

Ok, I’ve got bread in the breadmaker, and Josiah’s in the kitchen playing with his rice bin, and I hear rice pitter-pattering across the floor, so I’d better go see how big the mess is.  Thank goodness it’s just a quick sweep to clean up!

It’s rare that I find a recipe that will be my “standby”. I’ve shared my Best Buttermilk Pancake recipe, that has become a new standby. I love homemade blueberry muffins, and I’m always trying new recipes. Recently, I found a delicious recipe (that I’ll share another day) that had pretty much set itself in as my new standby muffin recipe. But… while I was in Chicago visiting Michele, she made this fantastic recipe (originally found at Allrecipes.com). These are moist, full of flavor, sweet, nutty, with lots of possibilities for subbing/changing things (check out the reviews on the Allrecipes.com page for ideas), as well as super easy. I’ll be making a double batch tomorrow to freeze for quick and healthy breakfasts. These are a definite new muffin standby!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 1/4 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin pan, or line with paper muffin cups.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, oat bran, quick-cooking oats, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently stir in the blueberries and walnuts. In a separate bowl, mix together the mashed banana, buttermilk, egg, oil and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and mix just until blended. Spoon into muffin cups, filling all the way to the top.
3. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly touched.

Notes: I didn’t have wheat germ, so I substituted ground flaxseed meal. It was great… and it’s full of very good stuff for you. I also topped them with a bit of crumbly brownsugar/butter/oat/nutmeg/cinnamon mixture. Not necessary at all, but it was a nice little sweet touch.

Ok, I’m back on the blog 🙂  My dad left Monday, and my mom left today.  I’ve moped around missing them most of the day today, and it’s time to get moving… starting with dinner.

My friend, Michele, who we visited in Chicago 2 weeks ago (and I hope to post pictures tonight!!!), introduced me to orzo pasta, with a great recipe for Mushroom Orzo.  Tonight I came up with my own version, using what was in the kitchen.  Ta-Da!

Skillet Orzo

• 2 T butter
• 1/4 yellow onion, diced
• 2 cups orzo pasta (Trader Joe’s… you know my love for them… has a good, 2cup bag for 99cents)
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups leftover chicken
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 bag frozen broccoli

Melt butter in skillet and saute onion until soft.  Add pasta, and saute for a few minutes.  Add chicken broth, and simmer for about 6 minutes.  Add frozen broccoli, and simmer for 5 more minutes.  Add chicken, and stir in parmesan cheese last.

We haven’t eaten yet, but I’ve tasted it, and it was good!  Enjoy!