Pumpkin Streusel Muffins And A Couple Handy Tips

In order to keep up with my self imposed goal of baking and cooking more from scratch, I have been trying to bake several recipes at the same time. It is more efficient to bake several things at once while the oven is already preheated, baking supplies are already out, and the kitchen is already a mess (at least in my case!). For instance, if I am going to bake bread, I will mix together and knead the bread dough. While it is rising I will whip up a batch of muffins (doubling it, so half  can go in the freezer for quick breakfasts or lunch box treats) or cookies (also doubled,  because if word gets out that cookie baking is going on at the Tightwad household the kid's friends will always show up to "help" us eat them!). The warm stove top (from the heat generated from the oven) is great for letting bread dough rise, and using the oven efficiently  reduces energy waste.
A couple days ago, I was going through the refrigerator finding odds and ends that needed to be used up. I came across an almost empty jar of home made applesauce and half of a leftover baked butternut squash. Muffins popped into my head. Since I was already planning on baking a batch of cookies, I thought muffins would be a great addition, too. Muffins and quick breads are a great way to used up leftover cooked carrots, squash, over ripe fruit, or odds and ends. I looked through my new cook book  "The Taste Of Home Baking Book" (thank you Dear Hubby).

In it I found a recipe for Pumpkin Streusel  Muffins. I tweaked the recipe a little bit so that I could use up the leftover applesauce. I also doubled the original recipe to have leftovers to freeze. Here is what I came up with.

"Pumpkin" Streusel Muffins

(makes about two dozen muffins)

1/2 cup butter (or shortening), softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups pureed butternut squash (you can also use canned pumpkin, or cooked, mashed carrots)

1/2 cup applesauce ( or add 1/2 cup more pumpkin to the recipe)

1 cup buttermilk (or sour milk, or plain yogurt, or sour cream)

4 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup molasses

4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon salt

STREUSEL TOPPING:

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour

4 1/2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into twelve small sections

(Combine flour and brown sugar in a bowl. cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. I just mix it together with my clean hands.)

1. In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
2. Add squash, applesauce, buttermilk, molasses, and mix well.
3. In a medium bowl combine flour , baking soda, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
4. Gradually add flour mixture into wet ingredients until just blended (the batter will be lumpy).
5. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.
6. Sprinkle streusel topping over batter. 
7. Bake at 375 for 20 - 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.
8. Cool on a wire rack. Cool at least 15 minutes before eating.

HANDY TIP #1: I love streusel topping, but it is notoriously messy. I discovered that if you put a round cookie or biscuit cutter over the top of  muffin before you sprinkle the crumbly topping it will go on the top of the muffin batter and not all over the pan and counter (and the floor, if you are like me!)

HANDY TIP #2: Watch for paper cupcake/ muffin liners on clearance racks and at Dollar Stores. You can some times find them cheaper than at the grocery store. If your not picky about the design you can get them for pennies. I didn't think the Troops would mind snowman faces on their muffins and I scored these for $.43 a 75 count package ( or $.005 a piece).

Frugal Pumpkin Pie

One of my goals for 2011 is to completely cut out food waste. I must confess that I throw out a leftover or two every week, and this has given me no end of guilt! Throwing out  food is just like throwing money in the garbage (or compost heap). I am confessing my sin (one of many) to you in the hopes that I will now feel accountable for my wastefulness. Tonight I made my first step. I have a fridge full of odds and ends (who doesn't right now). Included in the miscellany, is half a cooked butternut squash, a cup of leftover candied sweet potatoes, and 3/4 of a quart of egg nog, and a couple of refrigerator pie crusts. I got a stellar deal on eggs at the grocery store last week ($4.82 for 5 dozen medium eggs), so I have quite a few eggs right now. After weighing my options I decided to whip up a couple of Pumpkin Pies using up my leftovers. Pumpkin Pie is a favorite at my house. Child #3 can eat one all by himself....if I let him, so I am fairly certain they will be eaten in short order!

For any one who would care to try my concoction here is the recipe. I adapted my tried and true Pumpkin Pie recipe out of the Better Homes and Garden's New Cook Book.

Frugal Pumpkin Pie

(makes two pies)

2 single unbaked pie crusts

3 1/2 cups pumpkin, butternut squash, or sweet potatoes (or any combination that equals 3 1/2 cups)

1 cup sugar (or 3/4 cup Splenda)

1 table spoon pumpkin pie spice

4 large eggs (or 5 medium eggs ) slightly beaten

1 1/2 cups evaporated milk ( I used egg nog in place of the evaporated milk)

Mix together pumpkin, sugar, and pie spice. Add in beaten eggs and mix until well combined. Slowly mix in evaporated milk and continue beating until thoroughly combined. Divide pumpkin mixture between to unbaked pie crusts. Bake at 375 for 50 - 55 minutes; until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate after completely cooled.

Changes To This Week's Menu And A Yummy Dessert

I have decided that I am a Plan B(or C or D) kind of gal! I have good intentions of being organized and keeping it all together, but life in veritably gets in the way!  I had every intention of following my menu to the letter, and it went pretty well until Monday night when I discovered someone had eaten the sausage that I had left in the fridge to put together the Sausage Biscuit Casserole. I threw frozen chicken breasts in the Crock pot for Tuesday's dinner (I did cook extra for Thursday's meal. Score a bonus point for me!), but that robbed Wednesdays mashed potatoes, causing another last minute substitution (are you starting to see a pattern here?).Making one substitution has led to a major Trickle Down effect. Therefore, the revised menu for this week's menu will be as follows ( Hopefully!):

Monday:

Went off without a hitch

Tuesday:

Chicken Fricasee

Mashed Potatoes

Steamed peas

Pineapple slices

Wednesday:

Meatloaf 

Cheesy scalloped potatoes(recipe coming soon!)

Green Beans

Pumpkin Pie Dessert (a new recipe I needed to try out before Thanksgiving!)

Thursday:

BBQ chicken sandwiches

Leftover cheesy scalloped potatoes

Lime jello with pears

Leftover Pumpkin Pie Dessert

Friday:

Hopefully Date Night

Kid's are eating Corndogs and Macaroni and Cheese (still from a blue box)

Saturday:

Spaghetti with meat sauce (cubing up the leftover meatloaf in the sauce)

Garlic Bread (we ate biscuits with the soup on Monday, so that I could make extra for the casserole that I didn't get to make. GRRR!)

Green Salad

One good thing came out of this, though. I tried a really fabulous pumpkin recipe! I have a family party next weekend that I need to make a dessert for. I found this recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks, Better Homes and Garden's 9x13 The Pan That Can. This dessert also made great use of a lot of basic pantry staples. It tastes very similar to Pumpkin Pie without the work of rolling out a crust; plus it feeds a crowd with little effort. Just half the recipe if you don't need to feed an Army. The family gave it a two thumbs up!

Pumpkin Pie Dessert

1 (29 oz) can of pumpkin (or 2 1/2 cups)

1 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 

(I substituted 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice for the above)

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs, beaten

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk 

1 package (2 layer size) yellow cake mix

1 cup chopped nuts (I used chopped almonds)

3/4 cup melted butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, spices, and salt. Mix until combined. Add in beaten egg and mix until just combined. Gradually stir in the evaporated milk. Mix until it is thoroughly blended. Pour pumpkin mixture into a greased 9x13 cake pan. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture. Evenly sprinkle nuts over dry cake mix. Drizzle melted butter evenly over cake mix and nuts. Bake for 50 minutes until edges are firm and top is golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack, and then chill for at least two hours before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator. You could easily omit the nuts if they are an issue.

Spiced "Pumpkin" Chocolate Chip Bars

This week I have been trying to use up my pantry stockpiles, garden, and Bountiful Basket produce. I have done fairly well. I did go to the store for milk, eggs (Winco had them on sale for $3.24 for 5 dozen medium eggs), butter( I had coupons so I got 5 boxes for $1.73 a box), dill, and garlic (to make dilly beans). We have been having above average temperatures for our area, and my garden has reacted accordingly. I have a bazillion tomatoes that decided to ripen (all at the same time), more green beans (hence the dilly beans), jalapeno and green peppers galore! Tomorrow I will be in the throws of salsa making!

I have still been sharing a weekly Bountiful Basket with my sweet friend. The last couple of weeks our basket has contained sweet potatoes and butternut squash. I personally, like to eat both vegetables all by themselves with butter and brown sugar. However, it is the general consensus of the rest of the troops, that this method of consuming squash and sweet potatoes is a crime against nature. I can usually get Dear Hubby to eat them this way (if only to set a good example), but the Jr. division will have none of it. There has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth when either item is placed before them. So, I have taken to disguising them in soups, casseroles, and baked goods. I found this recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip bars in the Taste Of Home Cookies cookbook.


I loved that it called for applesauce (an item I have massive amounts of in my storage room) instead of oil. The applesauce also makes them incredibly moist. It calls for 4 eggs, but you could substitute egg whites for part of the whole eggs. Splenda could be substituted for half of the sugar if you want to "healthify" it even more. The original recipe does not call for chocolate chips, but I added some in. Chocolate makes the world go round, after all.

Spiced Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

2 cups all purpose flour (of 1 cup all purpose flour and 3/4 cups whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
(or omit the above four spices and add 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice)
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups pumpkin (or squash) puree
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips

In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients, set aside. In another bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin, and applesauce; mix well. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread into a greased 15x10 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes.

I am loving the fact that I substituted pureed sweet potato and butternut squash for the pumpkin. Nobody is the wiser either. You can substitute cooked, pureed sweet potatoes or winter squash in any baked good calling for pumpkin, including pumpkin pie! I have been doing this little trick for years! The recipe was a hit! My family (and the kid's friends) have been devouring them. They have made a nice addition to packed lunches this week, too.