Today, Mama shares one of her recipes with us! Take it away, Mama!

Today I am bringing you a recipe for some wonderful muffins.  They have little nuggets of golden deliciousness in every bite.  But first, I’d like to tell you how I came to have this recipe.  If you are a regular reader of Southern Plate stories, you know that both Christy and I have had accidents that broke both our legs. I broke both of mine in 2004 and Christy’s accident was last year.  Now you may think the odds are that very few people have that happen to them.  But before I was in my accident, a friend of my ours had a terrible car accident that broke both her legs. When she found out about my accident, she traveled over 100 miles to visit with me and give me hope.  She was the one person I knew who could answer all my questions.  I remember that my number one question was, “Will I ever wake up in the morning and just get out of bed without having to think about it?”   She assured me that I would and I have!  I may never be “as good as new” but I’m just proud to be here and grateful for every day I have.   Her visit with me meant so much, more than she will probably ever realize.  I only hope that I have been able to convey that to her.

When she came to our house, not only did she bring hope and some things to make me more comfortable, she also brought two baskets of wonderful muffins.  Muffins are one of my number one favorite treats. Christy feels that way about cookies.  As I have told you before, I am a bread lover and muffins are the dessert of breads, literally. I am always on the lookout for a new and delicious muffin recipe.  It is one of the first sections I go to in every cookbook I look through.

These muffins are great to have on the weekends when you just want to sit and relax before starting the day or for a brunch with an omelet or fruit salad.  I have made them the day before and reheated them in the microwave and they are just like fresh from the oven.  Don’t be surprised if the dough doesn’t look like normal muffin batter.  It is much thicker but turns out with wonderful results.  They would be equally good with dried peaches.  If you are a muffin lover like me, please give these a try.  I know you will not be disappointed.

This is the line up for our delicious apricot muffins.  We will need dried apricots, water, sugar, butter (or margarine), sour cream, flour, baking soda and salt.

Chop apricots with a sharp knife and soak in boiling water for 5 minutes.

In mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.

Add sour cream and mix well.

This is what your mixture will look like after you have mixed in your sour cream. 

I could have left this picture out but it wanted to be included so much!

Combine flour, baking soda and salt.

Pour dry ingredients into batter mixture and fold in until well combined.

Drain apricots and pat dry with paper towels.

Dump those apricot nuggets into your batter.

Now isn’t that so pretty?

 Like little sunshine pieces just waiting for you to taste.

Stir to incorporate the apricot pieces.

Line muffin tin with papers and fill 2/3 full.  I had 15 muffins instead of the 12 but that gave me three to eat with no guilt!  If a recipe makes extra, the extra should be for the cook to enjoy.  At least, that’s my way of thinking today.

Bake in a preheated 400 degrees oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

Slather with butter, eat, and enjoy!  Have a wonderful day!

Never let a stumble be the end of your journey. 

~Unknown

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I’ve always thought that Christmas should be in February. December is so soon after Thanksgiving, plus December 25 is barely even winter. We take down all of the pretty decorations just in time for “real” winter to hit. Now it’s cold and dreary… and blah. Wouldn’t it be better if we still had Christmas to look forward to?

The again, as sad as I am that the holidays are over I’m more than ready to get back into a normal routine. I’m completely exhausted from all of the running around that we had to do last month. And my pants are uncomfortably tight from eating too many Christmas cookies. Bring on the healthy food! This month, I’m going to try to really focus on healthy, delicious, and easy recipes – the kind that you won’t mind throwing together when you don’t really feel like cooking.

Let’s start with this Red Curry Eggplant and Kale Over Cauliflower “Rice.” Thai curries are some of my favorite meals this time of year – there’s something about spicy red curry and coconut milk that really warms you to the core. In addition to traditional ingredients (chicken breast, red bell pepper, onion) this version is loaded with extra vegetables, like eggplant and kale. They give the curry tons of texture and I love the slightly sour flavor that the eggplant adds.

Instead of serving this curry over rice, I served it with finely chopped, seasoned cauliflower “rice.” I’ve been on a major cauliflower kick lately (I’ve gone through three of them this week!) and I loved the way the “rice” came out. It’s only takes a few minutes of chopping (a few seconds if you use a food processor) and adds a nice nutritional boost to this dinner.

I’m sharing the recipe over on Love Bakes Good Cakes, so head over there to learn how to make my Red Curry Eggplant and Kale over Cauliflower “Rice.” Jamie is having a series of guest bloggers share healthy recipes all month, so be sure to follow along and check out the #EatHealthy15 hashtag on social media.

We’re also giving away a Ninja Supra Kitchen System! This thing looks amazing, and I bet it would be great for helping chop the cauliflower for my curry or for mixing up one of the the chocolate peppermint green smoothies that I posted yesterday. Enter using the Rafflecopter Form below. Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway