Why complicate things?

Look at these gorgeous muffins I made the other day.

They tasted even better than they look and you know what? They're from a pre-mix with just a dash of creativity*** added.

So I got to thinking about how we like to complicate things and why. Is it because we want to be "perfect" or do we just over-analyse things?

Especially us women! We want to be Superwoman, doing everything from scratch, cooking a "perfect" meal every night, taking two hours to make an authentic dessert, (fill in the blanks) ________________________ and so on.

It's okay to use cake, muffin and cookie mixes. It's okay to ask your guests to bring a dish instead of stressing and trying to do it all yourself. It's okay to say no if you don't want to go to a function. You get the picture...

So now, especially as we go into the Christmas season, try and simplify your life.

Make a To Not Do list for this period and stick it up on your fridge so you are constantly reminded.

P.S. These are the Golden Cloud muffin mix and I thoroughly recommend it.

I've used the Vanilla, Chocolate and Savoury mixes and they are all good. The other day when I stocked up with some more I practically raved to a mother and daughter in the baking aisle.

***This recipe is Vanilla Muffins and I added a 100g Cadbury Caramel Chocolate slab which I roughly grated into the mix. It gets messy in preparation(with all the chunks) but the end product is oh so yum when all that chocolate melts during the baking process. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spiced Muffins

I know I said I wouldn't bake muffins for awhile but I had a lot of pumpkin and it's been cold here which is perfect baking weather!

I found the link to this recipe on a blog somewhere, added it to my Blog Recipes to Try list which is in my Household Organising File. The original comes from http://www.freequickrecipes.com/.

Ingredients
1/3 cup butter or margerine
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda (bicarb)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C)
2. In a large bowl, cream butter with brown sugar
3. Beat in eggs, then pumpkin and milk
4. In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, spices, salt and baking soda (bicarb)
5. Add to the creamed mixture
6. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes

And this is the beautiful and tasty result....it smells absolutely delicious when it's baking

What do you do when you have to use up something in your kitchen?