It's been so long that...

I had to log into blogger manually! So why the long silence? Well it hasn't been intentional. I guess things got busy at work and I got busy with some spring cleaning which turned into some home renovations... It started out with some "Pineapple Grove" paint....


And then continued on to the busted old couch we bought from the salvation army in December...


And has spiralled out of control (?) with some reupholstering using shower curtains...

But such lovely shower curtains!

Once the apartment is back in order and I can take some nice photos, I will be sure to go into full details of each project, but I wanted to get us back on track with this Orange Marmalade Muffin recipe from the good ol' Pioneer Woman:

Can't go wrong with brown sugar sprinkled on top!


This makes a great treat for breakfast- not too sweet and plenty filling.

Good Morning Muffins

From The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Makes 18 muffins

• 4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup shortening (can use 1/4 cup shortening with 1/4 cup butter)
• 2 cups orange marmalade
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs, beaten

Topping:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon plus
• 1 teaspoon melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Sift together flour, sugar, and baking powder. Place in a mixing bowl.Use a pastry cutter to mix in shortening (or butter/shortening if desired).Mix marmalade, orange juice, and vanilla in a small bowl. Pour into dry ingredients.Beat eggs and pour into the bowl.Mix all ingredients together gently, using fewer than 10 large strokes.

In a small bowl, mix topping ingredients.

Fill muffin pans with batter. Sprinkle 1 heaping teaspoon of topping ingredients over each muffin.

Bake for 20 to 22 minutes until done. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Eat warm or at room temperature.

Yum!