Is it Friday yet?

One more day of relaxation (if you can call it that!) and I start my new job on Monday. I took my board exam today and realized that I'm not the only one who felt sick when I left. I didn't feel like I slam-dunked enough questions, which worries me.

Nevertheless, I have to wait for the results to come back, and I'm not going to worry until then. Baking is a great stress reliever for me. When I came home after the test, I baked an Imperial pound cake and cleaned up some strawberries so I can take them over to IC tomorrow for coffee with the St. Boniface folks. At least, that should be fun.

Bubba and I had a great time last night making blueberry muffins (his favorite). I also made some good bran muffins, with a few blueberries and dried cherries thrown in (a/k/a the "berry-cherry" muffins"). Both of these recipes came from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (2000). Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg (you can substitute 1/4 cup EggBeaters if you'd like)
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil (I use canola)
3/4 cup blueberries
1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel (optional)

Grease 12-2.5 inch muffin cups or line with paper baking cups and set aside.

In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of the mixture and set aside.

In another bowl, combine the egg, milk and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir until just moistened. NOTE: if you stir too much, the muffins get tough! Batter will be lumpy. Fold in blueberries and if desired, 1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups filling 2/3 full.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove from muffin cups. Serve warm. Makes 10-12 muffins.

Low-Fat Berry-Cherry Wheat Bran Muffins

1 1/4 cups wheat bran
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup applesauce
1/2 cup skim milk
1/3 cup honey (NOTE: I didn't have any, so I used brown sugar)
1/4 cup EggBeaters
1 tbsp cooking oil (I used canola)
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Spray bottoms of 12-2.5 inch muffin cups with nonstick spray (Pam, etc.) or line with paper baking cups and set aside.

In one mixing bowl, combine wheat bran, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/4 tsp salt.

In another bowl, combine the applesauce, EggBeaters, milk and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir until just moistened. NOTE: if you stir too much, the muffins get tough! Batter will be lumpy. Fold in blueberries and cherries.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups filling 2/3 full.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove from muffin cups. Serve warm. Makes 12 muffins.