Ikea Wrapping Paper

In my effort to be more environmentally friendly I wanted to think of a new way to wrap holiday gifts this year. Yes, I reuse gift bags...I've done the "funny pages" thing. But this year we moved from Seattle to Maryland right before the holidays and outfitted our new house with Ikea furniture so I saved all of the instructions that come with the furniture and the idea was that my 2 sons could color them. Well they weren't interested so hubby and I sat one night and did it ourselves and the result was fantastic. I made the flower gift tag labels out of cardboard, which we also had plenty of because of the move.

Muffins

Everyone loves muffins and with this recipe it can't get much simpler. I love using whatever I have on hand and mixing it up a bit from traditional muffin ideas. Of course you can make these for yourself and your own family but I also like to make my own gift baskets and I use these muffins with the "morning-after" theme. When I'm invited to say a New Year's Eve Party I'll bring the hostess a basket filled with "morning-after" goodness: muffins, bottle of headache relief pills, small bag of coffee/tea and a jar of homemade jelly. ( I don't make jelly but I like to buy them at craft shows and farmer's markets). I've also given this as a birthday gift, it's perfect for the person who has everything. Of course I take out the headache pills and add a journal or book. Ok on to the recipe!

Muffins

2 to 2 ½ cups grain
1 cup milk
Up to ½ cup fat
1 egg
Up to ½ cup sweetener
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
Up to 1 ½ cups additions

Bake @400 for 20 mins

Grain: white flour or oatmeal. Whole-wheat flour for only 1 cup.

Fat: ½ cup vegetable oil or 4 tablespoons melted butter or use peanut butter

Sweetener: use 2 tablespoons to ½ cup sugar or substitute up to ½ cup honey and decrease milk to ¾ cup

Dry Additions: nuts, sunflower seeds, raisins.

Moist Additions: blueberries, chopped apple, shredded carrots.

Wet Additions: pumpkin puree, applesauce, mashed sweet potatoes.