Spiced Peach Muffins....and a few freezer recipe links!

TWO recipes on the blog in one week?!? That's a record for me lately.  Usually the only time I bake these days is when I am taking a meal to someone, or if I am getting paid to make cupcakes.  :)  I have really been trying to stock our freezer with meals, snacks and breakfast food the last couple weeks.  Although I have had a better pregnancy than the last two, there are still some very rough days.  I can't tell you how awesome it is to have home-cooked meals to throw in the oven so my family can eat well if I'm not up for cooking.  When I first mentioned this freezer idea to Landon he thought I was crazy and that all the meals would be freezer burnt.  Last night while eating his baked spaghetti, he said "wow honey, this freezer meal idea is fantastic".  Men.

Here's what's in our freezer right now and some links to a few recipes!

Pioneer Woman Sloppy Joes - I made these with turkey and froze in individual portions.  I also froze some leftover hamburger/hotdog buns to pair with these! It's perfect to make Landon a hot sandwich when he gets home from work.  It's one of our staple recipes.

Baked Spaghetti  - Just penne noodles (cooked), homemade meat sauce, cheddar and parmesan cheese Bake at 350 until warmed through!  This is always a kid favorite around here.

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole - love this recipe - I also layered white rice on the bottom of the dishes before layering the casserole.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos - Another staple - I usually leave the onions, cilantro and green salsa out for the kids.  I made a double batch of these and we are tearing through them.

Spiced Peach Muffins - I'm a Georgia Girl at heart.  I miss a lot of things about that place, but I really miss the peaches.  My mother-in-law was so nice to pick all of us sisters up some peaches from Porter.  They are amazing.  About as close to Georgia peaches as you can get here in Oklahoma, so naturally I just had to make some peach muffins.  These are spiced - which Landon wasn't a huge fan of, but you could omit the allspice and nutmeg to suit your taste.  I really enjoyed these - they tasted like a peach pie/cobbler right out of the oven!

Spiced Peach Muffins

King Arthur Flour

(makes 20-24 muffins)

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon allspice (optional)

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon (if you leave out the other spices, you may want to add extra cinnamon)

2 eggs

3/4 cup canola/vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups milk

4 peaches, diced

granulated sugar for toping ( i used raw turbinado sugar)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375  Grease (or line) muffin pans.

Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, brown sugar and spices into a large bowl.  Stir in the eggs, oil and milk.  Gently fold in the fruit.  Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until done.  

Enjoy!!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola

Can you tell I've been home a LOT since I have been posting so many recipes?  I really was craving granola with my greek yogurt yesterday, and this was very quick and easy to whip up!  Our whole family loves it, and since it's made with honey/agave nectar instead of sugar it makes a "better for you" snack or topping! 

Peanut Butter Granola

What you'll need...

1/3 cup peanut butter 

1/3 cup honey/agave nectar (i used a combo of both)

2 cups old fashioned oats

1 teaspoon vanilla

chocolate chips, raisins, craisins, white chocolate chips....whatever you want to add in!

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper

Melt the peanut butter and honey (or agave) in the microwave at 30 second increments until melted.  Poor over the oats and coat completely with the mixture.  Spread on a baking sheet.  Bake for 10-15 minutes until the oats are golden on top, stirring them up halfway through.

Allow the granola to cool and ENJOY!

Our Olympic Celebration & Caramel Popcorn Recipe

We celebrated opening ceremonies by having our own Olympic games.  The girls had a BLAST - it was fun to see them "compete"!

Here they are - getting ready to run the "Rug Dash" babies in hand!  Winner was the best out of 3!

The girls competed in basketball, soccer, running, weight lifting and bean bear throwing.  Everyone won a gold medal, and their prize was caramel popcorn!  They LOVED it!  Have I mentioned it has been in the 100's lately?  Yesterday it was 111.  I will cook anything as long as it requires the grill, crockpot or microwave.  So, I was looking for a quick and "oven-less" recipe for dessert, and stumbled across this microwave caramel popcorn recipe on Allrecipes.  It was amazing, so I wanted to share with you!  I changed the heating times just a little bit to avoid scorching!

Microwave Caramel Popcorn

recipe from allrecipes

Ingredients:

2-3 bags of popped popcorn

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. butter

1/4 c. light corn syrup

1/2 t. salt

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. baking soda

Directions:

Pop the popcorn, pick out the kernels, and place in a large brown paper bag.

In a 2 quart casserole dish (not smalled so it won't bubble over and make a huge mess!), combine the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, salt and vanilla.  Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes, take it out and stir.  Return to the microwave for 1 more minute.  Remove and stir in the baking soda.

Pour the mixture into the brown bag.  Roll the top down and shake!  Microwave the paper bag for 1 minute.  Remove, shake and microwave for one more minute.  Dump the popcorn onto wax paper and cool.  Enjoy your crunchy, caramel popcorn!

No-Bake Healthy Energy Balls

Just HAD to post this quick and easy recipe for you all...it's been a while since I have posted something new! Whenever I get the urge to whip up a batch of cookies...I just grab one of these little balls from the fridge to fight the urge. :O) You can change the ingredients to fit your needs or whatever you have on hand. My kids LOVE these..and I love that they are all natural with no added sugar! Hope y'all are having a wonderful New Year!

No-Bake Energy Balls

Adapted from Smashed Peas & Carrots

Ingredients

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut or almond butter (the 2nd time I used chocolate almond butter and LOVED them)

1/3 cup honey or agave nectar

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, chopped dark chocolate, or NO chocolate.

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix everything together in a bowl until it is blended well. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Roll into balls and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. ENJOY without feeling guilty. :O)

Healthy Chewy Granola Bars

Marybeth sent some yummy treats. SO thoughtful.

My friend Marybeth gave me some YUMMY granola bars as a house warming gift a couple weeks ago. They were SO good I have made them twice since then. I love all the ingredients in them. They are made with coconut oil, which I love baking with! I have used it to make rice krispy treats, and you would never know the difference! Thanks Marybeth for such an addicting recipe! Visit her blog here for cute inspiration and great recipes.

Healthy Chewy Granola Bars

Ingredients:

1 c peanut butter (i used natural chunky)

2/3 c honey

1/2 c coconut oil

2 c oats

2 c total of coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and flax seed (or make it your own!)

Chocolate Chips or Chopped Dark Chocolate

Directions:

In a medium size pan melt together the peanut butter, honey and coconut oil.

Remove from the heat and add in the nuts, oats and coconut.

Place in a 8 x 11 pan (or something similar) and smooth down the top. Sprinkle with coconut and chocolate.

Chill until set and cut into bars. Keep these stored in the fridge and ENJOY!