Friday, December 30, 2016

Mix It Up Friday - December

from Tracey G

Here it is again! Another Mix It Up Friday! One of my favorite things we do - because while it's always fun (usually, lol) to bake from scratch, there's something equally fun about a mix as well! I love trying them and seeing if they can pass for homemade, even if it's not my intention, that is always my underlying ulterior motive, lol. I may not even do it consciously, but that's always something I'm looking for regardless. So far, King Arthur Flour has yet to disappoint!

Every mix I have tried would pass the homemade test, and this one this week is no exception. The Essential Goodness Cinnamon Sugar Puff Muffin Mix is wonderful! It really does remind me of a cinnamon sugar doughnut! I think there is just the right combination of nutmeg (once again they are putting one of my favorite spices to use!) and cinnamon in the muffin that combines wonderfully with the cinnamon sugar topping.

The extra ingredients you bring to the party for the muffins are eggs, butter or vegetable oil and milk. The only additional ingredient needed for the coating of cinnamon sugar is melted butter. Since I am watching my cholesterol intake these days, I used the vegetable oil option in the muffin mix instead of the butter, and they were still yummy as can be. I imagine the butter would add an extra layer of flavor (or just that little something you can't quite put your finger on), I do hope to try that variation one of these days, lol. And the other thing I did, was only dip the tops of the muffins in the cinnamon sugar mix. That is because I used foil liners for the muffins, and didn't feel like peeling them all off for the coating, lol.

 So, bottom line is this is another winner in the Essential Goodness line of mixes from  King Arthur FlourAnd don't forget, that for every Essential Goodness mix purchased,  King Arthur Flour will donate the cost of a meal to Feeding AmericaAnd that's something you can feel good about!


If you're like me and have limited places to shop, you can purchase any of the Essential Goodness mixes right from King Arthur Flour's website. Here's a link right to the purchase page: Cinnamon Sugar Puff Muffin Mix


from Kris B



My taste buds and the scale say that I have had enough sweets lately.  I was surprised to discover that King Arthur Flour carries soup mixes.  The Indiana Harvest Sausage and Lentil Soup Mix is manufactured by Frontier Soups and sold by King Arthur Flour as well as on the company's own website.

As Tracey said, most of the time we are committed to cooking from scratch. but every now and then it is handy to have a "mix" on hand.  The Indiana Harvest Sausage and Lentil Soup is described as a hearty meal and has a made from scratch flavor.  The "mix" contains the lentils and a spice packet.  So really, the convenience is in not having to forage through the spice rack and measure everything out.  The package instructions call for you to brown and add a pound of Italian sausage,  broth, three diced zucchini, and a couple of cans of petite diced tomatoes.  Since this was my first time to try this mix, I made it exactly as was instructed, but now having done that and eaten it, I can see the potential for lots of variations.



Though the name is sausage and lentil soup, I think that the Italian sausage could be omitted and vegetable broth substituted for the beef broth without compromising the overall flavor of the soup.  And, as is the case with almost any soup homemade or otherwise, whatever vegetables that you happen to have on hand could be added.  The next time I make this, I am going to try adding some spinach and or kale.

I do have a warning...this recipe makes A LOT of soup!!!  The package says 8-10 servings.  I'm not sure what they consider a serving size, but Weber and I had a dinner and two lunches with generous portions, plus I froze several containers for lunches once I go back to school.  It's a good thing we liked it! lol!

And what goes with soup?  Of course...a nice loaf of hot out of the oven bread!  I made the Everyday Whole-Grain Bread from the King Arthur October Bakealong Challenge.

I have not seen this soup mix in any of my local grocery stores, but as I said above, it is available on their King Arthur Flour website.  It is the prefect meal for these cold winter days ahead!


*****

On a completely different note,  we want to let you know that this will be our last post to Pixels, Plates, and Lols.  No, we did not have a falling out over crumbs and drips or no crumbs and drips in our food photos, or over Times verses Arial (We both have that argument with Blogger!), or PS over LR.  All is good with us!  With a new year comes  new things.  Watch for new things from us with the dawning of 2017  We love all of you who have followed us from the beginning or who just stop by occasionally.  
Please don't go away!  we will be right back!  

Until then, drink lots of coffee, take lots of photos, and laugh, laugh, laugh!


We wish all of you and those you love a happy and healthy new year!

XOXOX Tracey and Kris


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