Thrifty Thursdays: A Recipe

It all starts so innocent. You wake up and want a delicious treat, but don’t feel like making anything. “A trip to the coffee shop every once in a while isn’t going to break me,” you tell yourself. Soon enough, you find yourself getting that coffee and muffin every morning, and before you know it, your bank account is empty. No, your identity wasn’t stolen. You spent it all on those breakfast trips!

Ok, that might be a little drastic…but you get the point. I used to love going to coffee shops for the experience more than the coffee and muffin. I never really had a sweet tooth until I got pregnant, but I loved how bustling it was and all the conversation that was happening. It was a common place to see your friends, and my favorite coffee shop in Sacramento had a sweet back patio.

With my little one, the coffee shop trips are a lot less common, and I usually stick to making coffee at home. I also found a way to have a treat every morning – and not have to pay anything for it! No, I have not taken to shoplifting. I just make a dozen of muffins every week, silly!

I usually stick to my favorite blueberry muffins from Sally’s Baking Addiction, but since my mom let me borrow her America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book, I have a new muffin contender: the Lemon-Blueberry Muffin. I tried looking up the recipe online, but you need a subscription to get it, so I will share my version here:

Here’s what you need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
• 1 cup sugar (I did half organic sugar/ half honey)
• 1 tblsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup whole or low-fat plain yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 8 tblsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled (You can find butter substitutes from The Gracious Pantry and you can buy organic butter)

First, you want to whisk all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Then, you want to mix the yogurt and eggs in a separate bowl (if you are using lemon, add 1 tsp of grated lemon zest to the yogurt mix). Add the yogurt mix to the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the butter. If you are adding blueberries, you should toss them with flour first so they won’t sink in the batter. I just learned this. That’s why I love this book. Then mix them in the batter.

Set your oven for 375 deg and grease a 12-cup muffin tin. The book says to grease a 1/3 cup measure, to equally portion the batter. I just used a cookie scoop and did two scoops per muffin cup. However you want to do, just make sure it’s all mixed together good. Or else the texture will be inconsistent, and you will find yourself back at the coffee shop.

Bake them for about 15 minutes then rotate the pan and bake them for another 10 minutes. They may need a little longer, but my muffins were perfect after 25 minutes. Stick a toothpick in and if it comes out clean or with a few crumbs, they’re done. If it comes out sticky, they need a little more time.

You can purchase the baking book on Amazon and you can subscribe to America’s Test Kitchen to find more delicious recipes. Have a favorite breakfast recipe to share? Post the link in the comments and share on your social media sites! Stay thrifty, my friends.

My February Wishes

Beautiful balloon photo from AC Photo. Words by me

Wow, that first week of school was brutal. It made me question if I really wanted to be in design school a couple times. But, I stuck it out, completed all of the crazy assignments I had and now I’m ready to conquer another week. Also, if I dropped out, I would have to pay back all of my college loan now – so that’s a surefire way to keep me in school. I see why they do that now.

The more that I think about it, the more I realize how similar that is to running your own business. Or anything, really. When you put all of your time and effort into something, when you truly believe in and want to accomplish something, you stick with it. When you invest money, or you are borrowing money (bank, school, parents, friends) and you have to pay it all back immediately if you just back out, you stick with it.

I have stuck with the things that are most important to me, and I have let go of things that would not be the best for me now. Maybe sometime in the future, but definitely not now. So, I am finally focusing on the things that matter, and I am fearless in pursuing what I love.

I have categorized each aspect of my life I need to focus on, and here’s what I want to accomplish this month:

Blog: The transfer to a self-hosted site is happening on the 15th and I could not be more thrilled. I need to organize my blog better and get rid of what has little or no importance at this point. This transfer is the perfect time to let go and start fresh. I will have a couple sponsors when I move over and I’m hoping to be at ten by June. So my goal for this month is just to get my new site up and running and add the sponsors I do have.

Vox: The fundraiser is happening in May. We have the time and place set, now I just need to come up with a name, and start working on all of our promotional stuff. We need to visit local businesses and get the community involved. So, this month I will focus on spreading the word.

Sweet Mariposa: We are going to get a booth at the Vox fundraiser and we have a couple other shops who want us to vend at their Second Saturday street walks, and maybe even sell a few items in their stores. So, this month we’re focusing on adding to our inventory. I hope to get at least one new item in the shop each week this month. I also have a few people who want me to sell things for them on eBay, so this will be the perfect way for me to get more comfortable on the site.

Pampered Chef: I would love to get four parties under my belt this month, one each week. I already have three people who want to host, I just need one more. This is going to be the perfect way to get me cooking and baking more, and to get me used to talking to a bunch of people at one time. I’m used to writing – not talking – to a large number of people at once.

Health : My mom and I started a new health challenge (I will talk more about this tomorrow), and our challenge for this week is no drive-thru. This should not be too hard for me, except for when it comes to my coffee. I must admit, when I’m driving, I have a problem with going through Starbucks to get my coffee fix. This will motivate me to go find more little coffee shops in town and not depend on the drive-thru Starbucks that’s just down the street. When I lived downtown, it was easy for me to just walk to a little coffee shop to get my fix, but here…it’s a little harder. I make my coffee at home, too, but I like a little pick-me-up when I’m out and about.

So, this should be good for the month. I’ll be writing more about each of these in detail during the week, I just need to remember to stick with what I love, and let go of the rest. It will save me time and unnecessary stress. What are you working on this month – what are your goals? Share them in the comments and on your social media sites. If you wrote about it, share the link with me so I can see! It’s a wonderful way to check yourself, and get support from others.