Grocery store bargains

A few months ago, I was introduced to Five Dollar Dinners. I'd like to say I'm good at saving money at the grocery store, but wow! I'm always so impressed at what Erin comes up with for only five dollars!

Each week, she posts about her grocery shopping trip and takes a picture of everything she bought and explains how much she spent. I'm always so intrigued by this, especially because she uses the same grocery store chain that I do. While we don't live in the same area, a lot of the sale prices are the same, so I like to get tips from her when I can! :)

I thought I would post about some of the great deals I found during our shopping trip today. I was quite excited about a few of them! Hey, everybody needs a hobby! This is mine.

Stop laughing.


Bought today at Kroger:

• Two loaves Healthy Life bread, on sale for $1.39/loaf, plus $0.35 off coupons, which doubles to $0.70 off (two coupons means I bought two loaves of bread) = $0.69/loaf of bread
• Bisquick pancake mix, regular price of $3.59, with $0.60 off Shortcuts e-coupon, plus $0.50 off coupon, which doubles to $1 off = $1.99 for the box (40 oz.)
  
• Dole salad mix, on sale for $1 {with what I assumed was a $0.75 off e-coupon, but apparently was for a different flavor... maybe? Going to have to look into this...} = $1/bag of salad... FAIL. Thought it was $0.25!
• Yoplait Greek yogurt cups, on sale for $1, plus $0.45 off coupon, which doubles to $0.90 off = $0.10/yogurt cup!!
• Two packages of hummus, on sale for $1 each (regular price is 3.99!)
• Dawn dish soap, marked down to $1.39?!?, plus $0.50 off coupon, which doubles to $1 off = $0.39 dish soap!
• No Sugar Added Del Monte fruit cups, marked down to $1.39, plus $0.75 off coupon = $0.64 (This is the kind of thing I won't usually buy because individual packages are almost always more expensive... but for sixty-four cents, it'll be handy to grab and go!)

The last item pictured is this trail mix from the produce section. I never EVER buy these unless I have a coupon, but I love me some trail mix! It ended up being on sale for $3.99 (regular price is $4.49) and I had a store coupon for $0.75 off, making this good and healthy snack $3.24. Not too shabby, considering how spendy these "specialty" mixes typically are!


Last but not least of my good deals today -- two whole chickens for $0.98/pound. Every once in a while, I like to make a roast chicken in the crock pot. It's so moist and delicious, but I absolutely DETEST the clean-up! However, when I wanted to make a roast chicken a few weeks ago (and use up some of my produce drawer for flavorings), I bit the bullet. I threw some things together and was very pleased with the honey citrus chicken that resulted. I was not pleased, however, when I got home from the store and realized the bag was leaking chicken juices all over my kitchen. Yuck! So, it went straight into the crock pot for dinner the following night. Because it wasn't done cooking until it was time for me to go to bed, I just stuck it in the fridge overnight and sliced it up the following day. I could not believe how much easier it was slicing the bird COLD rather than freshly cooked! I feel like I always waste so much meat when I'm trimming it off while still warm... like it's hard to tell what's good meat and what's yucky parts. By letting it sit in the fridge overnight, I could get entire chicken breasts and tenderloins off whole, and just sliced them up from there. So easy! I also felt like I got a TON more meat off of it than usual. It was enough for dinner for three PLUS a small Pyrex dish full of leftovers that were frozen (which are going to be chicken enchiladas tonight... yum!). So I'm going to try that method again and just freeze the meat in bags this time. I'll just pull a bag out as I need it.

TWO CORRECTIONS:

1. The price for the whole chickens was $0.88/lb., not $0.98. Even better!
2. After posting, I filled out a dispute form at Shortcuts about the coupon that wasn't applied to my bill today, and I already received a response. They've credited my account with $0.80 (five cents higher than the value of the unused coupon), which will be applied to my next grocery bill. Woo!
   

A quick breakfast treat

Last week, I attended our church's moms group, and I was among those whose turn it was to bring breakfast. At nine o'clock on a weeknight, I didn't really feel like running to the store to buy ingredients for something tried-and-true... especially when American Idol was coming on. :) This is what I threw together with ingredients on-hand, and it seemed to go over pretty well!


Refrigerated crescent rolls. We had a package leftover.


Cream cheese. Oh, how I love thee!


Almonds (any nut you like would work here).


Strawberry jam, canned last summer.


Open your crescent rolls... and please don't be alarmed if this happens.


Even if you find pieces of dough halfway across your kitchen on a rug somewhere. Or if you continue finding those dried out dough pieces for the next two days. It's okay.


Smoosh the rolls into the bottom of a 9x13 pan, and don't worry if it doesn't look pretty. No one will see this part. I sprinkled a little cinnamon and sugar on the dough, and then baked at 375 degrees for about ten minutes (until it's somewhat "firm" to the touch).

Spread the cream cheese on in a thin layer (it will be melty since the crescent dough will still be hot, but I found that helped it spread a little easier). Next goes a layer of strawberry (or whatever flavor) jam. Apple butter would work nicely as well here! Continue baking at the same temperature for another twenty minutes (give or take a few). Don't be concerned if your jam looks runny when you pull it out of the oven... it will set up as it cools.


I had toasted a couple handfuls of almonds and chopped them up. Sprinkle them on top while your jam is still hot. Cut into squares and enjoy!

I was a little nervous bringing a complete and total experiment to a social gathering, and when I walked in to see all kinds of delicious-looking treats, I felt even more unsure! When I was asked what my breakfast was (someone thought it was a cobbler), I laughed and said that it was just what was in my fridge, and that they shouldn't feel obligated to eat it if it wasn't terrific. :) But I'm relieved to say that it was tasty, though a bit on the "sweet" side for my personal taste. The strawberry jam was definitely the most strong flavor, and I was really glad I'd added the almonds on top. Nevertheless, I brought home a nearly empty pan, and was even asked by two moms for the recipe. :)

Complete

Complete.

I enjoyed the Eat From the Pantry Challenge, and successfully completed three out of my four goals. It's that pesky budget that I didn't do so well with. However, it's better to buy things when they're on sale and stock up, rather than to wait to buy them when they aren't on sale and spend more money in the long run... so, whatever. Overall, I'm happy. I did like the challenge of using things already on hand to base my meal-planning on, and I'll have to continue that trend in the future... even though I probably won't be spending under $150 a month for groceries!

EFTP Challenge: Week #4 Plan

The last week of January has arrived! This challenge has been harder than I thought in some ways, but not so bad in others. It's kind of a fun challenge to think of what I already have and see if I can put it to use in new and different ways, but I didn't succeed so well on the budget. However, I still think that I've done okay saving money in the long run by buying things as they are on sale, when I have coupons for them, etc. If I totaled up only what we consumed this month and no more, I'd have probably come in under budget anyway... or let's believe that I would. :)

The menu for the last week of January:

Monday 1/25 - spaghetti, broccoli, garlic bread
Tuesday 1/26 - chili dogs (using leftover chili), french fries, cottage cheese
Wednesday 1/27 - chicken fried pork chops*, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls
Thursday 1/28 - hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, baked beans
Friday 1/29 - crunchy garlic chicken*, baked potatoes, fruit
Saturday 1/30 - chicken cordon bleu, twice baked potatoes, green beans, rolls
Sunday 1/31 - tacos, fruit (plans changed last Sunday, so we'll eat this meal this week)

* denotes a new recipe I'm trying

EFTP Challenge: Week #3 Plan

Halfway through the month!

We're still doing well on goals 1, 3, and 4... it's just that darn budget that hasn't complied so well.

Yep, I'm over-budget. Already. And we're only halfway through the month. I concede defeat on that one. It's that darn 10 for $10 sale at our grocery store!

However, I haven't bought anything that we have not or will not use, and I really don't think I've bought things at unreasonable prices, either. For instance, between the sale and coupon-doubling, I bought a brownie mix last night for 20 cents! I guess, if nothing else, I've learned that I'm probably doing okay on our normal grocery "budget." As is, I would expect to spend approximately $50 for a week's worth of groceries. Which really isn't bad when you think that that comes out to about $7 a day for three people, or $2.38 per person per day. Not bad.

Otherwise, we're still on track. Oh, and the chicken and dumplings meal was terrible. I won't be making it again. Maybe I did something wrong. "E" for effort, though! :) I liked the honey BBQ pork recipe, but would probably add a bit more liquid and/or sauce to cook it in next time, as they ended up a little on the dry side.

Meals for this week:

Monday 1/18 - meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls (no school tomorrow, and this sounds like a "homey" meal to make in the afternoon!)
Tuesday 1/19 - steak sandwiches with onions and peppers, french fries, fruit
Wednesday 1/20 - pancakes, eggs, breakfast sausage
Thursday 1/21 - chili
Friday 1/22 - cilantro lime pork chops*, cajun rice, rolls
Saturday 1/23 - homemade pizza
Sunday 1/24 - tacos, fruit

* denotes a new recipe I'm trying

EFTP Challenge: Week #2 Plan

One week down, three weeks to go!

This week was pretty successful, although I did end up making a last minute addition of chicken parmesan for lunch today, as our plans didn't happen the way I thought they would. No big deal! I chose what was easy to prepare and what was on hand, and only made a small amount (no leftovers).

Of the new recipes I tried, I realized the calzones were not all that different from ones I'd made in the past, so that was no huge improvement. I found cheesy chicken strips recipe in a cookbook I've had for a few years, but not made much out of yet. They were okay, but I'd probably add a little more seasoning next time, if I were to make them again. They were a bit on the bland side.

I personally LOVE the chicken fajita recipe I use, and could eat it on a weekly basis if my picky eaters liked Mexican. I cut chicken breasts into thin strips and marinate them (usually overnight, but even an hour or two ahead of time works just fine) in a mixture of one part soy sauce to two parts molasses. Sounds weird, but it's really good! My dad actually came up with that one years ago, but I've added it into our regular meal "rotation" lately. Saute the chicken with sliced onions and peppers, and serve on tortillas with whatever toppings you like. Leftovers are excellent, too!

As far as shopping for what I needed this week, I did pretty well. I bought milk earlier in the week, and also a yellow pepper for the fajitas. I don't believe I bought anything else for meal prep this week.

Where I'm concerned (and starting to think my budgetary goal of $150 wasn't quite as high as I felt like it was!) is that I've already spent about $100 in groceries this month. That DOES include about $45 in meat, which will be at least ten meals for us, maybe more. We're only one-third of the way through January, but I've spent two-thirds of my goal... so we'll see. I don't expect (and never did) to really trim the budget back that much every single month (after all, the goal this month is to use what you've already bought), but I can't help but think it's a nice effort to try it once. :)

Here's the meals I'm planning to make this week:

Monday 1/11 - baked penne, corn, garlic bread
Tuesday 1/12 - out to dinner
Wednesday 1/13 - honey BBQ pork loin with carrots and corn*, cottage cheese, rolls
Thursday 1/14 - rosemary chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, green beans
Friday 1/15 - chicken and veggies with dumplings*, baked potatoes?
Saturday 1/16 - lasagna, green beans, garlic bread
Sunday 1/17 - quesadillas, fruit

* denotes a new recipe I'm trying

I had planned to make orange chicken (a new recipe) and stir fry rice on Tuesday night, since my husband will not be home for dinner and that's the kind of thing he absolutely detests. But, my mother-in-law has offered to take Sassy and me out to dinner that night, so we took her up on it. I'm no fool.

I saw a recipe for chicken and veggies with dumplings that looks really good, but I'm a little concerned about substance for my meat-and-potatoes husband. The only "hearty" addition I can come up with is baked potatoes, but I would LOVE other suggestions if anyone has them! I'm not coming up with much... the meat, veggies, and "bread" (dumplings) are already in the main course.

I will have to make a quick trip for milk again, but other than that, I'm hoping not to have to buy anything else for this week's dinners. If chicken is on sale, I will buy some of that, though... I know we don't have enough chicken in the freezer at the moment.

A brief follow-up...

...to the previous post about price matching. I thought of a couple other things I did not mention. :)

While shopping, I try to keep all my price match items separate, if possible. It's much easier come check-out time to put all those items either first or last, and helps the cashier if I have all those items grouped together and can run through those prices (written on my list) at once. It's also easier on me to do it all at one time, rather than watching each item as it is scanned.

I'm not sure how this works on store brand items... never tried. :) I did, however, use this with produce last week. A store I am NEVER at was having a sale on mushrooms -- eight ounces for one dollar. I honestly hate mushrooms, but I bought four cartons and made cream of mushroom soup in my crock pot one day. I realized that, with the sale price, the homemade stuff was significantly cheaper than the canned! I froze it in Ziploc baggies, and have already used it in one recipe. I don't really expect to stop keeping at least one of those red-and-white cans in my pantry, but it's sure nice to know you can save a few dollars by making a homemade version with not a lot of effort.

Jenni asked how long the whole organization process takes. It's a good question, and to be honest, I'm not sure if I have an exact answer! :) I usually organize in stages. I'll start by cutting out all my coupons for that week and looking through the ads, usually on Sunday afternoon. Then on Sunday night, I'll plan out my meals (generally based on what's on sale that week, what I have coupons for, and what we just haven't had in a while). I try to organize coupons and make out my shopping list that evening also, but it doesn't always happen. Sometimes that falls to Monday night, meaning I go shopping on Tuesday morning. It just depends. :) I would guess it takes around an hour from start to finish.

It's hard to fit everything in during the course of a day, week, or month! There are definitely areas that are lacking around here. I've spent the past three days trying to finish dusting my living room because I have a clingy little one who is apparently quite offended by a clean house. My vacuum cleaner is about as handy as as the toy vacuum that hides next to it in the closet (banished because it has too many little pieces that drive me batty). I fell off the exercise wagon months ago, but I'm too out of shape to run and catch it. But, this is at least one small area that seems to be working for me at the moment. :)

And with that, it's time to go clean the bathroom sinks.

EFTP Challenge: Week #1 Plan

Here's my plan for the first full week of January, and meeting my goals with the Eat From the Pantry Challenge!

Monday 1/4 - chili, cornbread
Tuesday 1/5 - calzones*, fruit
Wednesday 1/6 - sloppy joes, macaroni and cheese, broccoli
Thursday 1/7 - cheesy chicken strips*, baked potatoes, green beans
Friday 1/8 - chicken alfredo with broccoli (or spinach), garlic bread
Saturday 1/9 - chicken fajitas, homemade applesauce
Sunday 1/10 - family lunch out (no, I'm not cheating... a family member has a birthday :)

* denotes a new recipe I'm trying

So far this month, we've had:
Friday 1/1 - chicken parmesan bundles*
Saturday 1/2 - taco soup*
Sunday 1/3 - beef stew (which kind of flopped because I let it cook too long, and some of the meat disintegrated a bit... oops)

I really liked both the chicken parmesan bundles and the taco soup. My two-year-old wasn't thrilled with the chicken, which kind of surprised me, and she called the taco soup "chili" and ate a small portion. My husband didn't love the spinach in the chicken dish, but otherwise liked the meal. He wasn't a fan of the taco soup, which also surprised me because it was pretty close to chili, which he does like. I love my picky eaters, I love my picky eaters, I love...

Anyway. I looked through one of my cookbooks that I haven't pulled out in a while tonight, and bookmarked a few new recipes to try this month! The cheesy chicken strips recipe is from that book, and I was excited that I already had all the ingredients on hand, which is totally the point of this challenge... using what you already have!

Of all the meals I plan to make this week, I believe I have everything I need for them already. The only thing I really "need" to get at the store this week (I think) are things like milk, fresh fruit, and meats for meals to come. I do know I'll need to stock up on meats to put in my garage freezer, because there's no way we'd make it through the month if I didn't, or next week even. I saw the grocery store in town that I don't usually shop at (it's traditionally more expensive) is running a sale right now on "combo packs" -- large packages of beef, chicken, and pork that would feed our family for probably 5-6 meals for $20.

If anyone else happens to be blogging their similar efforts, please let me know! I would love to follow along and get some new ideas for recipes. :)

Eat From the Pantry Challenge

I don't tend to make New Year's Resolutions, but I have some goals I'd like to accomplish in the month of January. Most of them center around organization projects (and getting the half the contents of Toys R Us that have somehow landed in my house over the past month under control), but I came across another great idea last night.

It's the Eat From the Pantry Challenge. The whole idea is to shop as little as possible, and to use the items you already have in your pantry (or fridge, or freezer, or cabinets) for meal-planning.

I'm a fan of stocking up on things when they're on sale, when I have the right coupons, and (my newest addiction) using the price-matching policy that many stores have available. It's a little extra work, but if you can stay organized and on top of it, you can save a ton of money! I estimated that I saved around $50 on my last trip to Walmart by looking at other stores' ads ahead of time in order to price match, and using my coupons as usual.

I think this challenge can blend really well with what I'm already doing to save money. I do like to plan my meals ahead of time for the week, but I've gotten away from doing that in these past couple holiday months. It's also hard to plan ahead when you know so many things are going to come up at the last minute (Christmas visitors, impromptu holiday get-togethers, visiting relatives, etc.), but now that January is in full swing, I'm really excited to get back to my normal routine of planning out our dinners.

January also happens to be the busiest month for my husband. He works long days and most Saturdays this month. He also happens to be a huge basketball fan, much to my dismay, so this is also a month when he tries to squeeze in a few games here and there, meaning dinners are sometimes rushed or eaten away from home. While I know a plan is just that -- a plan -- I'm going to attempt it anyway, and just know that I'll have to go with the flow sometimes. And, on nights he might not be home for dinner, I'm looking forward to trying some recipes that he might not be as much of a fan of. I'm seeing orange chicken and stir-fry in my future this month. :)

So, here's the challenge! You set your own goals, based on what you expect to work for your family. See the link for some ideas of what others are doing!

My goals for this month in the EFTP challenge:

1. Make only two "big" shopping trips during the month for groceries. Things like milk and produce may be purchased as needed in between.
2. Stay under a budget of $150 for grocery bills this month. It sounds like a lot, but I've actually cut what I would normally expect to spend by 25%. Of course, I traditionally buy a little extra of certain things to stock up if I see a good sale on a product we use frequently... so all bets are off if the store is having some ridiculous sale that truly will save us money in the long run. :) But, I hope to be able to do it, and I think I might be able to cut back on some of the "snacky" stuff... and by eating from the pantry, of course!
   
3. Try at least one new recipe a week. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, but it's really easy to get in a rut with cooking. I already met this goal both last night and will meet it again tonight... new recipes both nights!
4. Post a recap weekly to let others know how I did! I've fallen WAY out of the routine of blogging from what I used to do, and that's okay... but I think it might give me a sense of accountability if I know someone else will be reading about it... even if it's just two or three others. :)
   

So, those are the goals! I hope to be able to meet them, and I'm honestly excited to see how I end up at the end of the month.

Now, off to do some meal-planning for the week! I'll come back and post our menu later.

Who else will take the challenge?!

I'm making yogurt in my crock pot!

Woohoo! I'm excited. :)

I'm recently addicted to this blog, written by a mom who took on the challenge of using her Crock Pot every single day for a year. A YEAR! I'd come across it somewhere or another months ago, but with the shift in seasons comes a whole new set of meals I look forward to preparing. There's something wonderful about throwing a mix of ingredients into the stoneware, smelling it come together all day long, and having a slow-cooked, homey, cozy meal at the end of the day with little preparation.

I love using my Crock Pot, but we tire of roast, beef stew, and chicken and noodles pretty quickly. So, when I saw that Stephanie has a cookbook out now, I got very excited! I sat in Barnes and Noble last week for over an hour perusing through her book. (I had nothing else to do while waiting for the faulty brake light switch in my car to be switched out.) So many recipes, and such unique ones at that! Sure, there's definitely things that won't work for our family, but lots of them will... or I'd be willing to try it at least!

I've already made her Pumpkin Spice Lattes (in keeping with the pumpkin theme) and Peppermint Mochas (which is what I'd really order in Starbucks). I made her Brown Sugar Chicken for dinner last night, and was QUITE excited about the leftovers for lunch today... until I found out Jimmy John's had $1 subs today, so we had that instead. I'm looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow though! (And the more I talk about it, the more I want to have a pre-dinner snack right now...) I'm planning to make Cream Cheese Chicken this weekend to have awaiting us when we return from taking Sassy trick-or-treating a little early.

And right now, I am making YOGURT in my Crock Pot! Really! If it turns out as well as the recipe says it should, I will be thrilled! Sassy is going through a stage that she would eat yogurt at every meal, and those little individual YoBaby cups get expensive! There is absolutely nothing expensive that goes into making it, and if I can whip up a big batch in one day that will last us about a week to a week and a half, it will totally be worth it.

I'm looking forward to trying out many more of these recipes. My cookbook has been ordered!

A pumpkin convert

I'll admit -- I don't love the flavor of pumpkin. I love the look of them. I love the smell of them. I love the "seasonal" factor about them. But not so much the taste.

When Sassy was on baby food, I made almost the entirety of what she ate. She very seldom had the store-bought stuff, not because I'm against it, but because I had been hearing for months about how easy it was to make your own babyfood. And it was -- and cheap, too! I figured out that I spent HALF what I would have had I bought the regular stuff on the shelves at Walmart.

Pumpkin was one of the foods I was really excited for Sassy to try, and although she didn't love it at first, it did grow to become a favorite. It's a fairly versatile food, actually, and we tried all different combinations. For a while, pumpkin and blueberry was a hit, though it doesn't sound appetizing to me!

Now that she's almost two, she's significantly more picky with what she will and will not eat. I was really curious to see if she'd groove on pumpkin again this year or not. And since I really cannot STAND the smell of canned pumpkin, and since I remembered the ease of making my own pumpkin puree, I tried it again this week. Seriously, the hardest part is cutting through the pumpkin. Once you accomplish that, you're golden!

If you've never tried it before, all you need to do is cut the pumpkin in order to scrape out the seeds (which I saved for later and roasted, if you like that kind of thing). Put the pumpkin face down (though I've heard face up works just as well) on a lined baking sheet. (The natural sugars caramelize in the oven, so unless you want to be standing at the sink scrubbing pumpkin juice off your baking sheet, break out that aluminum foil!) It's not a terrible idea to prick the skin with a fork or a sharp knife a few times, just to let some of the steam escape if you're roasting skin-side up. Roast at 350 degrees for about an hour, or until you see that the skin is puckered. The "meat" of the pumpkin literally will fall away from the skin when it's done. Throw it in a food processor, add a little water for consistency if needed, and voila! Homemade pumpkin puree that is ready to go into any number of fall recipes!

Coincidentally, I made pumpkin spice muffins with some of my puree.

One pie pumpkin yielded approximately 35 ounces of puree... definitely cheaper than buying it canned!

And as an aside... letting your toddler play with a pumpkin awaiting its roasting fate? Good idea.

Letting your toddler get so attached to said pumpkin that she runs screaming in the other direction when she sees THIS come out of the oven?


Bad idea. Please note this accordingly.


Anyway. Ice cube trays are a great way to store the fallen comrade -- uh, pumpkin puree.


I found these nifty trays last year that came with lids. They're made by Oxo. When your food cubes are frozen, just pop 'em out...


...and store them in a freezer bag.


And here's a helpful hint: it's easier to write a label on the bag before you add the contents. Next time I'll follow my own advice. See? You're smarter already just from reading this blog post. I should write a book.


I pulled out a couple of cubes to defrost in the fridge overnight to add to Sassy's oatmeal for breakfast the next morning.


And the best part about the trays? Dishwasher safe!


I wanted to use some of the fruits of my labor (is it still considered "labor" if it's really no effort at all?) by trying it out in pumpkin spice muffins. Now, I told you -- I'm not big on pumpkin flavor. But stick with me. Oh, and for super easy measuring, each cube is one ounce. I needed a cup of pumpkin puree, so eight cubes went into this cup to defrost in the microwave.


Dry ingredients included flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar (that was kind of an accident), baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.


By that time, the puree was defrosted.


Add the pumpkin, along with some milk.


Two eggs.


I beat them in the measuring cup I used for the pumpkin. Because I'm a fan of not dirtying more dishes than are absolutely necessary.


Crisco and vanilla go in also.


The batter was a little runny...


...so I added a little more brown sugar. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I love experimental baking.


Muffin cups. Because, again, the dirtying dishes thing. This way, all my muffin pan needs is a quick wipe-down. By the way, does anyone else's muffin pan (or baking sheet, or casserole dish) look like this? Oh, for the days when everything was nice and new and perfectly clean. So anyway... fill the muffin cups with the batter.


And then some of the batter goes and does this. So much for the clean pan, right?


It's a really good thing I used those muffin cups so my pan didn't get messy, huh? Sprinkle some cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg (or whatever combination of seasonal spices you like) on top, and bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.


And they come out beautiful, golden brown, and smelling YUMMY! My oven smelled like a giant Yankee candle.


And then there's this one. How interesting. But he was delicious!


Pumpkin spice muffins... even if you don't love pumpkin flavor, try them out! I've had three.