Yesterday, Brian and I ended our evening with a very fall-themed open house.

Brian’s mom is a dental hygienist and loves to plan parties and decorate.  One of the offices she works at has a new dentist on staff, and the entire team wanted to welcome her to the office by throwing her a little open house gathering.

Kate did such a cute job on the decorations!  And the food was delicious.  My favorite item on the spread?  Smoked salmon.  It was so tasty!

 Probably the best part of the decorations were these pumpkins Kate made.  Aren’t they adorable?

 It was a great way to end the day.  I loved being able to see a dental office different than my office at home, and I think Mandy (Dr. Miller, the new dentist) really felt welcomed by the team.

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Now, onto some baking 😉

This past weekend while I was at home, I wanted to do a little food prep for Brian.  Brian loves a quick grab-n-go snack or breakfast, and I love making little treats.  The relationship works out nicely that way!

As I was perusing through my parent’s pantry, I noticed a box of Jiffy mix.  I feel like my mom always has a box of this stuff on hand, and I remember making biscuits, pancakes, breads, shortcake, and you name it from that mix on a regular basis.

 My brain started thinking…what could I make for Brian with this stuff?

 I looked in the fridge and noticed Mom had fresh apple cider and apples…Apple Cider Muffins.

 At the time, this recipe was a complete experiment, but it turned out great!

Apple Cider Muffins

Yields:  12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Jiffy baking mix
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1 apple, chopped
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cloves