This bran muffin recipe produces light and moist muffins. Most store-bought bran muffins are dry and dense. This is also a recipe that I have cut in half from the original recipe. It gives two people more than enough to enjoy muffins for a month or so. The mix stays in the fridge for up to 6 weeks.

! cup All Bran Buds (Kellogg’s is my go-to)

1 cup boiling water.

1/2 cup melted shortening..

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs (beaten)

2 Cups Buttermilk*

2 1/2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups Bran flakes

Boil one cup of water and add to a bowl with the bran buds. Let sit while you mix the first ingredients.

Mix the cooled melted shortening, eggs, sugar and buttermilk. (See note below for making a buttermilk substitute)

Add the soaked bran buds to this mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet ingredients slowly. Once all is incorporated, add the bran flakes. mix well. Let sit for a couple of minutes to allow the bran flakes to moisten. Pour this finished mixture into a plastic storage container and cover, removing all the extra air. Put in fridge and let set for 24 hours.

Grease muffin pans and ladle out the amount you want to make the number of muffins that work for you. I usually make 4 at a time as then I am not turning the oven on every day. Bake at 400 degrees for about 18 to 20 minutes depending on size of muffins you are making. You can check the doneness as you would a cake using a toothpick. Remove from oven and muffin pan. Enjoy!!

• Buttermilk is expensive and if you are making a batch of muffins as I have listed above, you will be left with 2 cups of buttermilk. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t use buttermilk very often. So, I make my muffins using a substitute to buttermilk.
• I put 2 tablespoons of white vinegar in a 2-cup measuring cup. Then add enough milk to bring the measurements to the 2-cup line. Another words, you want only 2 cups of liquid to add to the mix. So, it is 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and milk that is 2 tablespoons less of 2 cups. Email me if you have questions about this (McPatty317@gmail.com).

I found this recipe for Blueberry Muffins after I picked 8 quarts of Blueberries. This is just one recipe I tried, but it is the best. I found that it was a recipe put on by Auntlynnie that was used by her Grandma. No idea who Auntlynnie is, but thank you to your Grandma.

This recipe was supposed to yield 12 regular muffins but since I use muffins as an all-in-one meal, I make them large and get only 6.

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened Unsalted Butter.

1 1/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Salt

2 eggs

2 Cups Flour

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 cup Buttermilk

1 pint (2 cups) fresh or frozen Blueberries. rinsed, drained and patted dry.

2 Tablespoons White sugar (I mix in 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon).

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place rack in middle of oven. Spray muffin pan liberally on top and use muffin liners. If you are making large muffins, it is best to wipe cups with Crisco.

In a large bowl, cream butter, 1 1/4 cups sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Don’t rush this step. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Mix 1 3/4 cups of flour with baking powder. I use a whisk to be sure it is all mixed well. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk until well incorporated. Crush 1/4 cups of the blueberries and stir into the mix.

Toss the remaining blueberries with the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. By doing this, when you stir them into the wet mixture it is supposed to make them stay even in the muffins. It has never worked for me. They always seem to fall to the bottom of the muffin. But it doesn’t affect the taste.

Stir these floured blueberries into the mixture. Do this gently so the berries are not broken.

Scoop the mixture into the well greased muffin pans. Sprinkle the sugar/cinnamon mixture on top of each muffin until it is gone. Place on the middle rack of the pre-heated muffin and set your timer for 25 minutes. Check muffins with a toothpick and add 5 minutes to your timer if needed. Toothpick should come out clean. and tops should be golden brown. Enjoy!!

I always have dry Buttermilk in my pantry. If you use this, follow the directions on the can. 1/2 cup of buttermilk needed for this recipe should be:

1/2 cup water mixed with 2 Tablespoons of dry buttermilk.

Be sure that the mixture is mixed well with no lumps before being added to the recipe.

Are you always rushing out the door in the morning? Getting kids onto the school bus? Hurrying to be sure that you are at your desk on time? Maybe the dog needs to get to his vet appointment and you just haven’t had time to eat anything for breakfast. Maybe you are a person who just can’t eat anything in the morning until you have had time to relax a little. Here is the perfect answer. You can make these on a weekend or the night before and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days wrapped in saran wrap.

8 ounces of cooked ham, finely chopped. (1 3/4 cup)

1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper (You can use green if you prefer the taste).

1 cup finely chopped onion

8 eggs

2 Tbls. water

1/4 tsp salt (or eliminate it if ham is salt enough for you)

1/8 tsp. pepper

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12 – 2 1/2″ muffin cups or line them with paper liners.

Stir together ham, peppers and onion in a large bowl.

Spoon 1/4 cup of this mixture into each muffin cup.

Whisk together eggs, water, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Spoon 2 1/2 TBSP. evenly over ham mixture in each cup. Cups will be full.

Bake until knife inserted in middle of muffins comes out clean. About 18 to 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and run a knife around edges of muffin. Transfer muffins to a wire rack and allow to cool. You may want to try to reheat in a microwave when removing from fridge. I usually try for about 22 second. Just enough to take the chill off but not re-bake the eggs.