Cheesy Bacon Breakfast Muffins

These are a really great way to start the day. Not only do they taste great, they are packed with protein and fiber. The cheese also gives you calcium.

This makes 12 muffins.
You will need a 12 regular size muffin cup pan. Grease the cups.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/205 Celsius.

Ingredients:

2 cups oat flour
1/4 cup flax meal
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt-optional
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3 strips bacon
extra oil, as needed

In a skillet, fry the bacon until as done as you like. Remove and drain on paper towels.
When cool, crumble.
Pour the bacon grease into a measuring cup. You want 1/4 cup so it you don't have that, add a little oil or extra bacon grease to get the right amount.
Set aside.
In a mixing bowl: mix the flour, flax meal, baking powder, and salt.
Pour in the bacon grease and stir to distribute it evenly. It will clump some, but as long as it has been mixed throughout the flour that's fine.
Stir in the cheeses and the bacon.
Beat the milk and egg together in another bowl and stir into the flour mixture. 
Divide the batter evenly between all the muffin cups.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden and the tops spring back when lightly touched.
Loosen in pan, but let them sit for a few minutes.
Turn out and serve.

Great warm or room temperature.

Due to the lack of gluten in these muffins, they do not rise quite as high as regular muffins made with wheat flour.

To make your own oat flour: grind oats in a food processor or spice grinder. I use my spice grinder. I can't do as much at a time, but I can get a finer grind than I can in the food processor.
You can also buy oat flour in the grocery store or online.

Brands Can Matter

Sometimes foods don't turn out.
We can't always pinpoint the reason.

It could be the oven temp.
It could be the pan.

Or it could be the ingredients.

All brands are not the same.
Two brands can seem to have the same ingredients and the right amount, but they can change how things turn out.

Butter is a good example.

One brand may melt easier than another brand.
They may taste similar, but when baking, foods don't turn out the same way.

If one melts faster and you are making cookies,
the butter will leak out more before the cookies set up.

They may spread a little or a lot.

You may end up having to use more flour to account for the difference.

I have used a lot of different brands over the years.
It is always nice to take advantage of a sale or coupon.

But, my advice is that the first time you make a recipe, use the brand that works best for you.
That way, you know how the recipe should turn out.

Au Gratin Potatoes

 Potatoes and cheese- does it get a lot better than that? In my opinion? No. It's especially great to warm you up on a really cold day.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/ 190 Celsius
You will need a 2 quart baking dish with a lid.

4-5 medium-large potatoes

Cheese Sauce-
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon diced onion OR 1 teaspoon onion powder, optional
1 Tablespoon flour
dash salt
dash pepper
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or a cheddar cheese blend

Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling

Peel and slice the potatoes fairly thin. About 1/8" or a little thicker is good.
Put the slices in the baking dish.
Make your cheese sauce-
Melt the butter in a small pan over low heat.
Add the diced onion and cook til soft, if using. This will take a few minutes.
Next add the salt, pepper, and flour.
If you didn't use the onion, but are using the powder, add the powder with the salt, pepper, and flour.
Raise heat slightly, continuously stirring until the flour/butter mixture is bubbly.
Add the milk and keep stirring until the sauce is bubbly and thickened.
Turn the heat off and stir in the cheese until melted.
Pour the cheese sauce over the potatoes.
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top of the sauce.
Cover with a lid and put in the preheated oven.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
After 45 minutes, check the potatoes, by poking with a fork.
If they are tender, the dish is done. If they seem a little solid, cook for another 15 minutes and test again.

Remove from oven and serve.
Serves 4-6.

The thicker the potatoes are sliced, the longer they take to cook.

Enjoy!

Chicken Fajita Pizza

 This is a great pizza. It's a favorite in my house. Instead of the traditional tomato sauce, you use salsa.

You will need an 11"x15" jelly roll pan, greased.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit/220 Celsius.

Ingredients:

Pizza crust
2 Tablespoons cooking oil
2-3 cups chopped skinless, boneless chicken meat
2 cups sliced yellow or white onions
1 cup sliced green peppers
1 cup sliced red peppers- If you don't have red, just use an additional cup of green.
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup salsa- Use whatever heat you prefer.
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack, mozzarella, or cheddar-jack cheese


Make the pizza crust dough
Bake the crust for 6-8 minutes.
Saute the chicken in the cooking oil until no longer pink.
Add the onions and peppers.
Sprinkle with the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt.
Stir and let cook until the onions and peppers are tender. This will take about 5 minutes.
Spoon the chicken and vegetable mixture over the hot pizza crust.
Top with the salsa.
Add the cheese.
Bake in the preheated oven for another 15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.

Serve. This is enough for 4-6 people.

If you want, you can make 2- 12" round pizzas using the same amount of crust and dividing the toppings between the two crusts.

Enjoy!

It's a Tip About Dishes

Do you have any baking pans or dishes that are stoneware and say microwave safe?

Well, they are, but they aren't.

If they have unglazed feet-or a section that is plain pottery- you could have problems with them cracking.

The reason is because water absorbs into the unglazed stoneware and when you put it in the microwave, the moisture heats up and pops and possibly causes cracks or breaking.

The best way to solve this problem is to make sure you don't soak the pan or dishes in water.

If it needs soaked, pour water into it.
Don't set the whole dish into the water.

Gingerbread Cookies

Making gingerbread cookies is a tradition in my house. Usually my nieces and sister come down and if they can't, it is just me and my daughter.
We have a lot of fun.

I usually mix the dough up a day or two before baking and stick in the fridge, but you can just make it a couple hours before and it still works out.

Ingredients:

3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon  cloves
3/4 cup brown sugar
12 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg

Soften the butter in a large mixing bowl.
Add the brown sugar and cream.
Add the molasses and egg and beat until well blended.
Add the baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and mix in.
Gradually add the flour and mix on low speed until well blended.
Take the dough out the the bowl and pat into a disk. This makes it easier to roll without cracking.
Cover with plastic wrap or put into a covered container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

To bake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/175 Celsius.
Take the dough out of the fridge and let rest for ten minutes. You might want to just roll out half the dough at a time.
Flour your counter and roll out the dough. If you want thinner, crisper cookies you need 1/8 inch thick. If you want thicker, softer cookies you want to roll out to 1/4 inch.
Cut into whatever shapes you want.
Bake for about 10 minutes. A little less for smaller cookies, a little more for larger cookies.
If you want them crip, the cookies need to be firm to the touch.
If you are wanting softer cookies, take them out a little before that and they will finish cooking after removing from oven and they will still be soft. 
Let cool and decorate as you want.

Depending on size and thickness, you may get up to 19 dozen.
If you make them larger and thicker you will get about 3-4 dozen.

If you roll them too fat, they have a tendency to poof out and lose some of their shape.
Use unsalted butter. If you use salted, don't use the salt.

Baked French Fries

Who doesn't love french fries?

Sometimes they can seem a little greasy so this is a great alternative. They taste great and are really simple to make.

You will need a large baking sheet.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit/230 Celsius.

You will also need a large bowl.

Ingredients:

4 medium size potatoes

2-3 Tablespoons olive oil

salt to sprinkle

pepper to sprinkle

Peel your potatoes and cut them into fries between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick.

Add the sliced potatoes to the big bowl and add the olive oil.

Mix the fries and oil to make sure all the pieces are coated well.

You don't need lots of oil, just a light coating is good.

Lay the fries out in a single layer on the baking sheet.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Put in oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Turn the fries over, sprinkle with the salt and pepper, and bake another 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve.

Serves 4-6 people.