Muffins from the past...

So we are doing our best to get back into a "routine" around here, but it is not very easy when you are cooped up in a room rather than a house that one is used to! We looked at a lot of houses this weekend, we browsed though at least 20 or so... this is the fun part, but I'm not certain we have come across "the one" just yet. It's too bad we couldn't take a kitchen here and a backyard there from some of the ones we did like and mash them together... isn't it always like that though?

I did bake a few snacks for our driving trip from the east coast to Minneapolis - one of them happened to be Jeff's favorite muffin. I first made them back in November of 2005 and I've baked these Cran-Apple Muffins probably a dozen times since then. It also received bonus points for using up more of the cranberries we had stashed in the freezer! They made the trip unscathed (aside from a few of them being eaten!) and the rest went into the freezer here to enjoy for the next week.

I have a list of new recipes that we made before we left to get posted, but between looking at houses and trying to get reacquainted with the area, I'm not quite sure we will be busting out many (if any!) new recipes until things settle down. Hopefully things will move quickly on the house front and we can get back to our normal schedule - wouldn't that be nice?

One of those new recipes I made a few days before we left was this Broccoli-Cheddar Salad with Toasted Pepitas. One of the reasons I wanted to make this salad was I could make it ahead of time and stash it in the refrigerator until the next day when we would have it. I gave it a taste after I tossed the ingredients together and it tasted good, but it was much better the next afternoon once the flavors had time to develop. Coating the crunchy broccoli is a generous creamy dressing made from mayonnaise mixed with plain yogurt to lighten it up - apple cider vinegar and a dash of sugar are also added for a sweet tang. To add a bit of color and texture to the salad, shredded carrots and finely diced red onions are tossed in with a good dose of Cheddar for a sharp bite. Right before serving, a handful of toasted pepitas add another crunchy dimension to this satisfying fresh salad. I've actually made this salad again since we've been out here - it is dead easy to toss together and takes just a couple minutes to get in the refrigerator the night before.

Recipes
Cran-Apple Muffins
Broccoli-Cheddar Salad with Toasted Pepitas