Scope Creep

When my projects threaten (or actually do) spread out so as to involve the majority of our resources, time, and energy, Mama calls it "scope creep." And she says I'm having that now.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

See, our annual Groundhog Day party is this weekend and I've been planning the menu for awhile, as you may recall.

But it's changing again. I'm thinking of adding so-called Bohemian coffee cake, orange biscuits (to replace french toast casserole), creamy breakfast couscous, and a batch of muffins (probably 1/2 strawberry, 1/2 chocolate chip). That's in addition to sherried eggs and hashbrown casserole. Plus punch and other drinks. And Mama thinks I'm going overboard, that we'll have too much food, especially because guests always generously bring dishes as well. But I either like or want to try or want to share all of those. Bud and Sis would only eat the muffins, as would, I imagine, all the other kids. Mama must have the savories, which don't interest me much. The couscous is WW point friendly. And the coffee cake is just plain good. And who can resist orange biscuits??

So what to do?

At least I have a few more days to figure it out, do the shopping, and start the cooking!

But I'll include some of the recipes here (and here) so you can help decide . . . .

-=-=-=-=-=-

Orange Biscuits

1 can refrigerator biscuits

½ stick oleo

2/3 cup sugar

½ cup orange juice

Melt oleo and sugar; add juice and coat biscuits. Bake at 350°F til brown (15 minutes).

Gommie Hungry

-=-=-=-=-

Bohemian Coffee Cake

1 cup oil

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup whole milk plus 1 tablespoon vinegar added)

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients. Pour into greased and floured pan (I think it's 9 x 13). Bake 1 hour at 350F.

teaching colleague in Texas

-=-=-=-=-=-

Creamy Couscous Breakfast Pudding

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup whole wheat couscous

pinch salt

3 cups fat-free milk

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/4 cup fat free egg substitute

1/4 cup toasted wheat germ

3/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

Bring the water to a boil in a heavy saucepan over high heat. Stir in couscous and salt. Reduce heat and simmer until the water is absorbed, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Cover and let stand about 5 minutes.

Whisk milk, sugar, and zest into couscous. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking frequently to break up any lumps. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Whisk together 1/2 cup of the couscous and the egg substitute in a small bowl. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring, until the pudding is thick and creamy, about 5 minutes longer.

Stir in wheat germ and vanilla. Serve topped with almonds.

WW Momentum Cookbook (3 pts per 3/4 cup w/o almonds)

-=-=-=-=-=-

All-Star Muffins

3 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose or cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons butter

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

(Note: the KA cookbook mentions all sorts of add-ins, approximately 2 1/2 to 3 cups of whatever you desire)

Preheat oven to 400F and lightly grease 16 muffin cups or use paper liners.

In medium bowl, whisk flour, powder, soda, and salt, then set aside.

In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy and almost white in color. Scrape down the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated, then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed just until the batter is smooth. Fill muffin cups and bake 18-24 minutes , until tester comes out clean. Remove from oven, cool for 5 minutes, then remove from pan to finish cooling on a rack (muffins left in pan with become touch from steaming).

(1 basic muffin, 274 calories)

The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion All-Purpose Baking Cookbook (Hi KA blog reader! You always stop by when I include your company's name, so I'm dropping you a note this time. Hope it's okay that I included the recipe here. I'm excited that I found the unbleached cake flour at one of the local stores; can't wait to try these muffins).