Applesauce Bran Muffins

We have made lots of applesauce this year (still have a little more to go) so Mom sent me this recipe. I left her comments at the bottom. I made these the other day and we ate them up quick. They are SO good!

Applesauce Bran Muffins

1 ¼ cups flour

1 cup bran

½ cup sugar

1 tbls. Baking powder

¾ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp salt

¾ cup applesauce

¼ cup milk

¼ cup oil

1 egg

Fill 12 baking cups 2/3 full; bake 18-20 min at 400 degrees. Raisins, fresh
or frozen berries may be added.

I usually double this. I like breaking them up in a bowl and eating them
with milk, like cereal. They freeze well, if you want to make a large batch.

Cheesy Chicken Bake

I got this recipe off of a friend's recipe blog, and I had to share it. Check out the picture (and her blog) here. She has a lot of recipes we've used lately like Taco Lasagna and Cowboy Casserole...all of which have been added to my menu collection. I did however modify this recipe (see bottom to see my modifications).

Cheesy Chicken Bake

1 pkg. (6 oz.) Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1-1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces (or use canned chicken)
1 pkg. (14 oz.) frozen broccoli florets, thawed, drained
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1-1/2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

HEAT oven to 400ºF.
PREPARE stuffing as directed on package.
COMBINE chicken and broccoli in 13x9-inch baking dish. Stir in soup, milk and cheese; top with stuffing and a little more cheese.
BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is done and casserole is heated through.

Note: Instead of stuffing mix...because I'm too cheap to buy it and because I try to do a low sodium diet in our house...I made my own. I used this recipe for the stuffing:
3 c. soft bread crumbs
1/4 c. melted butter
2 Tbsp. chopped onion
1/4 tsp. sage
1/4 c. water

I also added 1 teaspoon of Chicken Bullion after doubling the recipe. I would only add 1 1/2 teaspoons if I quadrupled the recipe however.

Next time I make this I will quadruple the stuffing recipe. This time I only doubled/tripled...didn't measure 100%.

I also used canned chicken because it's Sunday and I was trying to keep the meal simple. Next time however we are going to grill chicken to put in it.

Salsa

8 cups chopped or pureed tomatoes
2 cups chopped onions
3 cups chopped green peppers
1 cup chopped Anaheim peppers
1 cup chopped Hungarian hot peppers or Banana peppers (I omit these)
1 ½ cups chopped Jalapenos
1 cup (canned) chopped green chilies
3 TB salt
¾ cup chopped cilantro (or less)
¼ - 1/3 cup minced garlic
½ cup brown sugar
3 cups white vinegar
12 oz. tomato paste

Combine all ingredients and simmer for 3 hours to thicken and allow flavors to blend. Put in sterilized pint jars and process in hot water bath for 30 minutes. Makes about 10 pints.

Rachel's note: I don't use the Hungarian hot peppers or the banana peppers, but if you like your salsa with more kick more power to you. Also, when I made this recipe I made a double batch (16 cups of chopped tomatoes, etc) and only ended up with 13 pints, not 20. Very flavorful salsa!!!!