Double Chocolate Cranberry Muffins

I couldn't wait to get home yesterday from work and get my comfys on;  -40C would make anyone want to get home, put on a sweater and turn on the stove.  I asked Aubrey if she wanted to help make muffins; she quickly ran over to the kitchen and was asking for her chair.

  I had bought my mom and my aunt these colourful measuring cups that will fit through the mouth of a narrow jar; I realized quickly that I in fact needed them too so I bought myself a set; Merry Christmas to me!  I was very excited to try them out.  I found them at winners; they even clip together which is very helpful for storage.

  I received raw cocoa powder and organic coconut sugar from my friend Cathy this Christmas; I was intrigued to see if I could use these ingredients to make a healthier kind of muffin that would still taste yummy.

We mixed:

2 very ripe bananas

2/3 cup coconut sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup coconut milk

To this mixture we added:

1 cup AP flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup raw cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

We mixed this up; just until combined and then added our garnish.

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup craisins (dried cranberries) 

 This recipe filled 16 large muffin cups. 
We baked these at 350F for 25 minutes.

Aubrey was a big fan; I have to say that they had a very pleasant taste.

My dad actually was the one that introduced me to Coconut sugar, it is very low on the glycemic index and is a good substitute for people with diabetes...probably not in a recipe with flour and chocolate chips but I feel good to even change out one refined ingredient for a healthier option for my family.

As I type;  the Weather Network says it feels like -42C outside...very chilly!

Snow day; perfect with a pot of soup!

Well, we had a great Christmas; a wonderful time with family and friends.  The time leading up to Christmas and this past week I have really felt the peace and hope that Jesus brings; the true meaning of this season.  It's been a very special time.

  

As we do every Christmas; we moved over to my parents house for 3 days.  It was a great time; the hustle and bustle of 9 adults and 2 kids under one roof was a wonderul kind of hectic.  However; once it was time for us to go home we were happy to settle back into the calm of our "norm". 

One thing Aubrey had been so patient for was her doll house from Grandma and Grandpa.  She had stared and even played with the big unopen box in grandma's lobby for the 3 days. The promise was when we got home it would be the first thing I'd tackle.  We had come home right before bedtime.  Jeff was at the Jet's game, I put Aubrey to bed and with the instruction booklet (yes booklet) in hand I turned on a Christmas movie and three hours later; Voila!

                                    When Aubrey woke up the next morning she was thrilled! 

 That morning we woke up to a mini-blizzard.  Looking out of the window it looked like we were in a flour-bowl.  Jeff got told not to come into work and that was fine with us.
Realizing we would all be home all day I quickly sprang into action.  Having just got home from being away I didn't have any real meal ideas in mind...so I thought SOUP; perfect! 

I grabbed my large dutch oven and started chopping.  I chopped up 2 farmer sausages from the freezer, 1 large onion, about 6 ribs of celery and 4 peeled carrots.  I sauteed this with olive oil.  Onions, carrots and celery are three of my staples; I usually have these in my crisper drawer for this very reason.  When you have nothing; you have something...soup or stirfry can be another few ingredients away.

As I was putting this together Jeff looked a little skeptical; I was moving quite fast and I do look a little crazy in the kitchen...note; no pictures!

To this I added a 1 Litre box of chicken stock (another staple), 1 packet of onion soup mix and about 1 Litre of water.    I threw in some frozen corn (another staple in my freezer) and a drained/rinsed canned of white beans.  I seasoned this with just salt and pepper and let it slowly simmer with the lid on.

We grabbed a plate of mid-morning snacks and went downstairs to watch Aubrey's newest beloved veggietales movie.

We had the most enjoyable time together; laughing, singing and even a little dancing!

 After a few hours the house started to smell wonderful.  We each enjoyed a big bowl of it for lunch; accompanied by a piece of homemade bread courtesy of my MIL.  I have to say, Jeff was very impressed!  It tasted so good....very Grandma Martin-esque.  I feel that the addition of onion soup mix is a great way to round out and bulk up the flavour profile in a short amount of time.  I will definitly be remembering this flavour trick!

Still recovering from a busy week at grandmas and a touch of the flu Aubrey needed "quiet time".  This is how I found her in her room; wrapped in her potty time book.  This is taking "hugging the toilet seat" to another level! 

Today I am back a work and am so thankful for a wonderful refreshing week off.

Yesterday I capped the whole week off with a movie night-out with my sisters.
I feel very blessed. 

Aubrey's Birthday...Month?!!!!!

This has definitely been the season of cupcakes and parties!  Aubrey's birthday is December 15th; this falls right in the middle of the Christmas craziness.  To try and avoid a little bit of the crazy and conflicting schedules of Jeff's work we had her family birthday party earlier this month.  Just so everyone is aware...it was still crazy busy!  I think next year we will celebrate her birthday in November!  As far as a birthday cake went; her request was chocolate cupcakes with colourful sprinkles.  I had been thinking of a theme for her parties and decided on Minnie Mouse; as this is her current love.

Of course she had to help; this actually made it even more special!

We used my no fail chocolate cupcake recipe and used my pipeable cream cheese icing,  To make a Minnie Mouse-esque feel I used two large Oreo cookies to mimic ears and topped the whole cupcake with colourful sprinkles.  This was very simple to put together but had a great affect.

For her party where she invited 4 friends to come over for a Minnie Mouse inspired tea party; I decided Mini-Minnie Mouse cupcakes would be best.  Aubrey usually just eats the icing off of the large cupcakes but when they are mini she tends to eat the entire thing!

 

Since I made them mini; I used mini oreos.  This worked great as well!

 My wonderful neighbour Susie wanted to make something special for Aubrey so she made these Minnie Mouse inspired canvas banners that read "Happy Birthday Aubrey".  I plan on keeping these; we may even put them up every birthday. 

 Susie also helped me design and put together these loot bags and cupcake toppers.  She was definitely the master mind behind the design and showed me step by step how to put this all together. 

I purchased Minnie Mouse disposable plates, napkins and cups from Dollarama  which added a nice touch to the themed table settings.  My smartest purchase was a purple disposable table clothe.  I will definitely do this again; after the party was over I removed all of items I wanted to keep and the rest got rolled up in the table clothe and put in a trash bag.  This was very reminiscent of being at a Chinese restaurant; that was where my inspiration came from.

We did a few Minnie Mouse inspired crafts geared towards 3 year olds (with the help of their moms); decorate a bow for your party hat and decorate your Minnnie Mouse cookie to take home (thank you Heidi for the use of your cookie cutter!).  These crafts were quick, easy and kept the kids entertained.  I made cheese and ham stuffed crescent rolls and served this with apple and pear wedges, pickles, and crackers.  Simple was the name of the game.  The wonderful thing was that Aubrey actually enjoyed herself.  She loves pretty things so this was totally for her!  When everyone had left she looked at me and said, "Mom that was a great party!"....I'm so glad I can pass along my love for entertaining to my sweet girl!  

 This picture is of Aubrey the day after her real actual birthday; having a tea party with her left over birthday cupcakes.  Her birthday has been like a month long event.  I informed her after she ate this cupcake that her birthday was now in fact over!  "It's Jesus' birthday now", I said... we both agreed!

Carrot, Apple & Pear Spiced Muffins

We decided to bake up some muffins.   I had bought a huge bag of carrots, apples and pears.  So I thought I should use what I have!  I adapted a recipe I use often to fit the ingredients I had on hand.  I wanted to shred 4 cups of garnish; apple, pear and carrot.  This worked out about 2 pieces each.   

Aubrey mixed this up.

We threw in  about 3/4 cup of toasted coconut we had left over from another recipe.  I always love when I can use up leftovers!

 We zested one orange using our microplane and Aubrey juiced it using our handy juicer.  Those would be great stocking stuffers; people don't think of picking either of those items up for them selves and they are great kitchen tools.

 We incorporated this well and set this bowl of garnish aside.

 In our mixer we put 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, & 1 cup of brown sugar.

 We added 2 tsp of baking soda, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and a dash of all spice.

 We turned our mixer on low and allowed all the ingredients to mix well before adding our wet ingredients.

 To this we measured 3/4 cup of canola oil to add...which we spilt on the counter as it was being added and ended up running out of oil altogether.  So I gave her a peach fruit sauce to add which fell in the mixer.  This is Aubrey scooping the cup out of the mixer!  This is the fun that happens while baking with my almost 3-year old.  Trying to pass along a no-worries approach to cooking to her and just having fun being together.

 To this we added four eggs....Aubrey actually cracked these herself; with my help of course!  She was very proud of herself.

 At this point we mixed the batter with the paddle and made sure everything was incorporated well but didn't whip it too hard.  It should be pretty thick at this point; the garnish adds a lot of moisture to this recipe.

 I quickly mixed in the garnish we had set aside.

 Aubrey added about a teaspoon of vanilla.

 This is probably her favourite job; separating the muffin liners.

 She sang me a song while I filled the muffin cups.

 This recipe made 18 muffins.  This is a perfect amount for one recipe.  Enough to freeze, eat and share!

 

 375F for 22 minutes.  They rose beautifully and smelt delicious! 

For all of those moms out there trying to "get things done" this busy Christmas season I encourage you to take the time to spill some ingredients with your kids!  If I had made these muffins alone I would of probably been done a half hour quicker, my counter wouldn't have  had oil spilt all over it and my kitchen floor wouldn't be lined with cinnamon but I would of missed the memories I gained.  I need to slow down, be present and take time in; really cherish it.