Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Tips for Tuesday - Make Ahead Muffins

When I first started my extreme couponing journey a year ago, I loved the thrill of getting things for free or really cheap. However, when I really looked at what I was buying, it was a lot of junk food or unhealthy food. I really didn't want to be feeding this to my growing children. I wanted to feed them nourishing food for their growing bodies.

We were spending way too much on food, since we were now on a single income.  I needed to also stay on a strict budget. When I was looking at what I could do, I knew I needed to cut back on the grocery budget. When I was a single mom a few years back, my daughter and I survived on $20 a week for all our meals. I thought I would try to do the something similar with a family of five. I would spend $10 per person per week for my grocery budget.

I like the fact of buying muffins in the package and opening them up and pouring a few ingredients in then baking them. Ta Da you then have muffins. I also realized in order to provide better food I needed to get back to the basics and start cooking more things from scratch. I was staying at home now, so I had the time right? So I thought. I was just as busy if not busier. How could I provide good food and save time?

I remembered my "Joy of Cooking " cook book had a recipe for making muffins by listing the dry ingredients then telling you what to add to make variations of these muffins. Here is the simple recipe and a few variations you can use:

1 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour (I use whole wheat, I haven't noticed to much of a difference)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Sugar
2 Teaspoons double-acting baking powder (I use a little more, since I use whole wheat)

I simply make a few ziplock bags with these dry ingredients in there. Then I have a little print out of the wet ingredients:


Dry Ingredients for Muffins:
Beat in 2 eggs
2-4 Tablespoons butter melted
3/4 cup milk

Combine all the ingredients and bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

Blueberry or berry muffins add:
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup berries

Pumpkin:
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup Pumpkin

Then I have my own prepackaged muffins I can whip up whenever I want. 


I must say the best gift for a new bride would be "Joy of Cooking " cook book. It is very educational and has a recipe for just about anything you would want to make.  



Learn couponing strategies by reading my

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Do you have any great time saving tips? How do you save time during the week?

3 comments:

  1. I have come to wonder about that too. I'm not an extreme couponer, but I try to use them as much as I can. I noticed I was giving into cheap junk that, although did provide me with a lunch (or sometimes a dinner) or just a snack, it was still junk. So now I still try to use coupons a lot, but I make sure that the coupons I do keep are for good things. I'll still get junky food if it's for near free on rare occasions! I'm not a bride (or groom for that matter), but I'm interested in that book. I don't cook as much as I should from scratch, but I'd like to.

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  2. Thanks for following Monica. I am following back too! I love your site.

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  3. Hi Amy,
    What a great Muffin recipe, they look so warm and delicious. Hope you have a great week and a special Valentine Day. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and come back soon!
    Miz Helen

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