Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Muffins

These are AMAZING! I found the recipe on Pinterest.

Mix the filling and set aside:

8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3 T brown sugar

Mix the streusel topping and set aside:

4, 1/2 T flour
5 T sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3 T pecans (I used sliced Almonds)
3 T butter, cut into flour mix

Now for the muffin. Mix:

2, 1/2 c flour
2 c sugar ( I used a little less)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Add:

2 eggs
1, 1/3 c pumpkin
1/3 c oil (try applesauce)
2 tsp vanilla

fill muffin tin with 1 T pumpkin mixture, then 1 T cream cheese filling, and then 1 T pumpkin mixture. Top with streusel. My tins were slightly heaping over. They were completely filled. Then bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

Hummus

This recipe is from the Joy of Cooking. It has a lemony light flavor. I really enjoyed it. I sent it with the kids for school lunch as a break from sandwiches.

Cover in water and let soak overnight:

3/4 cup dried chickpeas

Drain and place in a pan. Cover chickpeas by 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for about 2 hours. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Transfer the chickpeas to a food processor and blend along with:

1/3 cup lemon juice
3 T tahini (I couldn't find this, so I added 2 T sesame seeds)
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp cumin
dash of salt

New Bread Trick

I tried something new when I made my wheat bread this week. Instead of letting the bread rise an hour and then letting the loaves rise on the counter I preheated the oven to 170 while I mixed the dough. When the dough was done mixing I put them into greased tins and turned off the oven. Then I put the loaves straight into the warm oven for 25 minutes. Then after 25 minutes I turned the oven to 350 and just LEFT THE LOAVES IN THE OVEN for another 30 minutes. They turned out moist and delicious and cut a lot of time off the baking process. Give it a try!

Mini Frittatas

Mix:

4 eggs
1/4 c half and half
1/4 tsp salt
any mix in you want (cheese, green onion, ham, shredded potato, peppers)

Spray mini muffin pan. Bake at 375 for 18 minutes.