R Week- Food

R week was a great one for food!

As I mentioned during T week, I had hoped to make T-shaped pancakes but never did. I gave R-shaped pancakes a shot, but they were a huge flop, so I made normal ones. Then the thought hit me that I could just make an R on each pancake with chocolate syrup. Perfect! Next time I attempt to make letter-shaped pancakes, I will need to make a thinner batter and dispense it from a squeeze bottle of some sort. Trying to do it with a spoon just doesn't work for most letters.

I made a batch of Six Week Raisin Bran muffins as well. My mom made this recipe often growing up. It makes a huge batch so you can just bake as many muffins as you want at a time and store the rest of the batter in the fridge for up to six weeks. The flavor of the muffins gets even better as it sits, so when I think ahead, I make the batter several days before I want to bake the muffins.

They are amazing right out of the oven, but also stay moist for a couple of days in a container or zip-top bag. I like to eat them any time of day with butter or cream cheese.

Six Week Raisin Bran Muffins

1 (15 oz.) box raisin bran cereal (the kind with "crunch"/granola is good too)

1 quart buttermilk

1 cup canola oil (vegetable would work too or part coconut oil, part canola)

4 eggs, beaten

3 cups sugar (I usually use about 2 cups)

5 cups flour

5 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons salt

Crush cereal in bag then pour into a large bowl. Add buttermilk and mix. Let soak for 5-10 minutes to soften cereal. Mix in oil and eggs, followed by sugar, then dry ingredients. Mix well. Bake immediately or store batter in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to six weeks. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 400*F for 15-20 minutes, until browned and toothpick comes out clean.

Some time ago, I had seen an episode of the Rachael Ray Show when she made Ridiculously Good Chicken Riggies. It looked delicious, so I wrote down the name as something to try. R week finally prompted me to make it. I figured you can't go wrong with pasta, chicken, mushrooms, peppers, and a little cream. We were not disappointed. It was a great change from the regular pasta and red sauce and will definitely be on the menu again soon.