Treasure Bran Muffins

Charley The Muffin Man 

Muffin #2 - Treasure Bran Muffins

    I have a friend visiting from out of town and made these for breakfast. I thought they turned out pretty yummy, even though I accidentally put two eggs in the batter, and I would definitely make these again. The recipe is in the Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese Cookbook, published in 1981. The original recipe calls for raisins, but you could substitute cream cheese. It also doesn't call for nuts, but a small amount of finely chopped nuts would work.  My modification is in italics. 

Ingredients: 

1 1/4 cups bran cereal (I used bran flakes which I crushed up a bit)

1 cup milk

1/4 cup oil (I used vegetable oil, but you could use canola oil

1 egg

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

8 oz cream cheese (Philadelphia brand or whatever brand you have)

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl place your bran flakes and pour the milk over top. Soak for two minutes. Add oil and add, mixing well.  Add flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix until just moistened. I combined all of my dry ingredients in a small bowl and mixed them in all at the same time. Fold in the raisins and spoon batter into greased and floured muffin pan, filling each cup about 2/3 full. In a medium sized bowl, blend the cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and one egg, until well combined. Drop tablespoons full of the cream cheese mixture on the batter in each cup (I put more than a tablespoon and still had cream cheese mixture leftover). Bake for twenty-five minutes. Remove from oven, cool slightly, remove from pan and serve. 

Treasure Bran Muffins

Chocolate Chess Pie

 Chocolate Chess Pie

    This yummy pie is in The Pink Lady Cook Book, a third printing in 1979. It is super easy to make. I would definitely make this again. Try it! I think you'll like it. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 stick butter or margarine (the butter would be best), melted and cooled

2 whole eggs

3 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

5 1/2 oz evaporated milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

whipped cream (optional)

ice cream (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Thoroughly combine cooled butter, sugar, eggs, cocoa powder milk and vanilla. Pour mixture into pie shell. Carefully place pie into oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Serves 8. 

Chocolate Chess Pie

Chocolate Chess Pie w/Powdered Sugar Decoration

Chocolate Chess Pie Slice

Chocolate Chess Pie with Chocolate Habanero Ice Cream

Casserole #12 - Ham and Noodle Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #12 - Ham and Noodle Casserole

    I really loved this casserole from Treasured Southern Family Recipes, published in 1966.  I added garlic powder, a sprinkle of parsley flakes and had to use cream of chicken soup in lieu of cream of mushroom soup. I'm happy to say that the cream of chicken soup worked really well with this.  I used macaroni noodles, but you could use rigatoni, bow-tie, or egg noodles. My modifications will be in italics. 

Ingredients:

2 tsps salt

4 oz noodles (macaroni, egg, bow-tie or try your favorite)

water

2 tbsps butter

1/4 cup chopped onion (I used closer to 1/2 cup, because I wanted to)

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1 1/4 cups diced, cooked ham

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (I used cream of chicken and it was good)

1/2 cup milk

1 tbsp chopped pimento

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

parsley for decoration, if desired

1/2 cup grated cheese (the original recipe says American cheese; I used Monterrey Jack)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Fill a large pot about half full with water. Bring to a boil and add salt and noodles. Boil rapidly until al dente. Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes while you finish with the other ingredients. While heating water to boil, melt butter in a saucepan. Add onion and green pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the ham and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Heat soup with milk, ensuing they are well combined. Stir in pepper, pimento and garlic powder. Thoroughly drain noodles and return to saucepan. Pour soup mixture over noodles, add ham and veggie mixture and stir until well combined. Pour mixture into lightly greased 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese, place in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes or so. Serves 4 - 6.

Ham and Noodle Casserole

Ham and Noodle Casserole

Charley The Muffin Man is so jealous!

Cucumber 'n Onion Salad

 Cucumber 'n Onion Salad

    This is a quick little salad I decided to make on the spur of the moment. It's from the Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese 100th Anniversary Cookbook. The book was published in 1981.  Although I forgot to mix the cream cheese with the cream cheese, and then add the onions and cucumber, it still turned out good. I did also add pepper and dill to the recipe (those modifications will be in Italics). This recipe makes about two servings. You could easily double this recipe. It is perfect for a hot day. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

3 oz Philadelphia cream cheese (or other brand) softened

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 tsp celery seed (add more if desired)

dash of salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1/4 to 1/2 tsp dill 

1 cup peeled cucumber slices, sliced thinly

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion rings

Directions:

Mix cream cheese, sour cream and seasonings until well combined. Stir in cucumber and onion, mixing lightly. Chill until ready to serve. Makes about two servings.

Cucumber 'n Onion Salad