Busy, so Make Muffins

Last week was a busy week and then I went to a family reunion this weekend. It was such a good time. We mostly just visited and played with the babies (Madilynn, 7 mos. and Natalie, mos). We also played Wii! It was fun. I liked bowling and tennis the most. I wish we had longer to visit, but everyone has jobs they have to get back to. Maybe we'll get to see each other before next year. Anyway, I haven't done much cooking. I did roast some chicken last week. It's super easy. Just get some bone in, skin on chicken breasts, rub it with herbs and some olive oil (I even added some balsamic vinegar), then place the breasts on a roasting tray. Bake for about 30 minutes in a 400 degree F oven.

Yesterday I decided to make some muffins and remembered a cookbook I haven't tried yet...my new Fresh Everyday from Sara Foster. I found the pumpkin muffin recipe that I had seen earlier and pulled out my can of pumpkin. These were easy to make and made much more than the 12 "large" muffins she claim. Her large must be bakery large. I got 12 muffins, 12 mini-muffins, and four muffin tops. The result is a nice, spicy, not-too-sweet pumpkin muffin. I think that these would be a little better with brown sugar instead of regular and maybe even some molasses. I'll be freezing most of these to use later. Because pumpkin is so healthy for you, this is my entry to Sweetnick's ARF Tuesday. Drop by her site and check out the other great recipes that are sure to be there! Pumpkin Muffins adapted from Fresh Everyday

3 cups AP flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

6 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp (I used margarine)

2 large eggs

1 15-oz can pumpkin puree

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups golden raisins (I used craisins)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare muffin tins. Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together. In a separate bowl, stir the sugar, butter, and eggs together. Stir in the pumpkin, milk, and raisins. Pour this into the bowl with flour. Stir until just moistened but not more than necessary. Using a 1/3 cup measure (or ice cream scoop, this is what I use) fill the tins to just below the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly touched. Cool for a few minutes before turning out of the tins. Serve warm with butter.