Superb Streusel topped Pumpkin Apple muffins

Yes this recipe is a hit... absolutely superb if I do say so myself! It is sooo moist because of the chunks of apples and a little healthier than the average muffin recipe. Sometimes I play around with the oil and flour mixing applesauce and whole wheat in to add a little extra nutrition... but this time I just left as is. Want a fabulous fall breakfast? MAKE THESE!

Superb Streusel Topped Pumpkin Apple muffins

2.5 cups flour
1.5 cups sugar
1 heaping TBLS pumpkin pie spice (making your own is super easy if you have non on hand like me!)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup oil
2 cups peeled, chopped apples  (Granny smith are my favorite in these!)

Streusel Topping:
2 TBLS flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 TBL butter

Mix all dry ingredients together in medium sized bowl. In another bowl add eggs and beat lightly. Add pumpkin and oil, mix well. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix just until moistened... don't go crazy and over mix or you will end up with rock hard muffins! Fold in apples. Mix steusel ingredients with a fork (or pastry blender if you are fancy... I don't have one so I use a fork) until mixtures resembles coarse crumbs.

Pour batter into paper muffin cups until 2/3 full, top with steusel mixture and bake for 20 mins in 350 degree oven. Enjoy!

Little Miss Gabbie

Is 5 weeks old and continues to amaze me everyday! She started rolling over before she even turned 2 weeks old! Shes just recently started smiling and just last night started "talking"... it was so cute! Time is going by way too quickly!!! Heres a few of the pictures I've taken over the past couple weeks...

One week old!

One month old!

5 weeks! Up close and personal

 Little Princess in her tutu onesie... from Aunt Stacey and Uncle Joe :)

Big yawn...

DONE taking pictures! LOL!

Gabrielle Marie

I know I know! It's been literally forever! I will just go ahead and say I am never going to be some AMAZING blogger! Especially now that our baby girl is here! Yay! :D

Gabrielle Marie was born on August 22nd... she weighed in at 8 lbs 2 oz and 20.5 inches long... such a peanut compared to her big brothers! She is the most bald, and obviously the least chunky... but her cheeks have a nice amount of pudge to them! We are working on it :) And as you can see, she enjoys being pampered! She laid back and relaxed during her first bath! I see many Mother/ daughter pedi's in our future ;)

Room for a girl :)

So, my task over the next couple of weeks is going to be decluttering my house! In Japan, we lived in a small 850 sq ft home, so needless to say, we didn't keep much! I loved the simplicity of not having a house full of clutter! Now that we have 1800 sq ft, we have somehow managed to fill every closet and garage with things that never get used. Somehow we have gone from few things more than the essentials, to complete overload! (Well, in my opinion anyway!).

Anyway... once I get rid of all the stuff holding me back I want to decorate for the baby. Now, being a first time mom of a girl :D :D :D I want some opinions on which direction to take this in :) So let me know which one ya'll like the most...

black and white
tulip crib set
pink medallion
princess

Have a great night! :)

Black Bean Burgers :D

 Mmmm... just looking at the picture makes my mouth water :) When Mike and I lived in Japan we went through about a month of being "vegetarian". It was fun... well, most of the time! haha. This is one of our most favorite vegetarian recipes that we still continue to make often... it is VERY budget friendly, heart healthy, and easy on the waistline as well! The boys both thoroughly enjoy these and eat them up just as they would any other burger :)

 The cast of characters....

So heres the recipe....
Spicy (but not TOO spicy) black bean burgers
1/2 green pepper (a little more or less depending on how much you like the taste of peppers)
1/2 medium onion
1 16 oz can of black beans
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 egg
1 TBL. chili powder
1 TBL. cumin
1 tsp hot sauce (I like Cholula Chili Garlic, but we have made them with no hot sauce and they are just as good!)
1/2 c. oatmeal (or breadcrumbs, but breadcrumbs have absolutely no nutritive value)

Preheat griddle to about 350-375. Rinse beans and mash with a fork. Use a food chopper or processor to finely chop onion, garlic, and green pepper. Be sure to drain some of the juice from the pepper, or else you may need to add more oatmeal to your burgers. Beat egg and add. Stir in spices, hot sauce and oatmeal and mix thoroughly. Place on griddle by spoonful and shape into a good patty size. Allow to cook for about 5-8 minutes per side depending on thickness. We like ours pretty thin :)

Place on a nice multigrain bun and top with cheese and claussen pickles mmmmm. Really, it has to be claussen pickles. There is no substitute. The boys really like these with ketchup. Mike and I prefer them with A-1 but from this point you can do your own thing ;D  
Enjoy!

So.... Its... A..... BABY....

GIRL

Yup thats right... I was trying to get some pictures up from my cell phone, but it wasn't cooperating! Little baby girl has some LONG legs though! She must be built just like Mamma :)

I have to admit... I CRIED when I found out! I mean I have been praying for a girl since Jackson was born... but the Lord has truly answered! I feel blessed beyond belief and I just still can't believe that the Lord would allow me to have a little girl! Thank you Lord for answered prayers!

Hashbrown Casserole

I tried a new recipe this weekend for our SS class, hashbrown casserole. I've tried quite a few different recipes, but never really found one that I liked very much... until now! A couple people asked for the recipe, so I decided to put it up :) Enjoy!

Hash Brown Casserole:

1 32 oz bag of hash brown potatoes ( I used cubed, but I think shredded would be great!)
1 16 oz container sour cream
8 oz diced ham
2 cans condensed cream of potato soup (Yes, it HAS to be cream of potato!)
2 cups medium cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp or so black pepper
dash of onion powder (or chopped onion)
about a cup of Parmesan cheese

Throw the potatoes, sour cream, ham, soups, cheddar cheese, spices in a bowl and mix together. Spread into a lightly greased 9x 13 pan and bake at 375 for about an hour, or until bubbly. Easy peasy and OH so cheesy. :) haha, yes I know... I'm such a nerd!