Now, the holidays are over and the gloom of January sets in. Gray days. Cold weather. I'm really not a fan, but did you know that January is national soup month? Yippeeeeee! Who doesn't love soup? I could eat it every day - seriously - even in hot weather. Soup is delicious and nutritious. You can get lots of veggies in one pot and that means you don't have tons of pots and pans to clean up after the meal. If you make the batch big enough, there are left overs (sometimes for days) and soup tastes better as it melds and meshes all the flavors together. Soup can also be frozen to enjoy at a later time. Mmmmm, mmmm, mm.
During the "post Christmas let down", some of the family came down with the grippe, the creepy crud. You know, the scratchy throat, hacking cough, runny nose misery. Kids, parents, Pawpaw and Uncle Ty. So Grandma whipped up a batch of home made chicken noodle soup, also know as Jewish penicillin. Yes, science has found that chicken broth has medicinal value in relieving congestion.
(www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/10/001018075252.htm). You can find a recipe for home made noodle soup on my blog post of September 17. We just finished up the last of this batch for dinner tonight. It is just perfect for these miserable January days.
To go along with the chicken noodle soup, I made a batch of fresh blueberry muffins. Super. Delicious. Blueberries are known as one of the super foods high in antioxidants and are also really good for our immune system. It's beneficial that they taste really good too.
Here is what you need to make these muffins:
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups unsifted all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 - 2 cups fresh blueberries (dust with flour so they won't sink in the muffin batter)
1.5 tsp vanilla
Topping: cinnamon sugar (2 Tbsp. cinnamon, 1 Tbsp. sugar)
preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Cream the softened butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix thoroughly.
Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the milk and vanilla. Add the flour dusted blueberries. (don't skip this step, it keeps the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins).
Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Fill each cup 2/3 full. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top. Bake 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center muffin come out clean.
Let me tell you, these hit the spot with that home made chicken noodle soup. They would also be delicious to serve for breakfast or brunch, or as an afternoon snack. If you have a muffin monster at your house, give these a try. It's a great way to start the new year.
Everyday Donna
Things to Remember:
If you reduce stress, eat a healthier brain diet [singling out foods like spinach,blueberries and salmon], get aerobic activity each day, that is going to protect your brain and possibly lower your risk for Alzheimer's disease or at least delay the outset,
