Blueberry Muffins

Dad turned 76 on Friday. Can you believe he still works full time? I wonder if that is part of his secret to staying so young.

Scott took this picture on the morning of Dad's birthday while they rode an ATV throughout the old homestead property in Scott County. Then, most of the family joined him and Mom for a night of spoiling. Mom made an amazing meal of lasagna, salad, bread, and a coconut birthday cake. The plan was for Dad to continue with the birthday festivities by going to my sister Jackie's tavern in Georgia for some more spoiling today (Sunday). So unexpectedly, Mom and Dad called me yesterday to say that they wanted to split the trip up and stay with me overnight. What?!? You don't know how rare that is. Mom has stayed with me quite a few times, but not Dad.

They just left, and we had a great visit. Since Steve is still in Orlando watching Stetson play basketball, it was just me, Keely, Mom and Dad who first went to dinner last night. I took them to Mount Vernon, a restaurant at the foot of Lookout Mountain. Keely and I shared a variety of vegetables, Dad enjoyed a "Whistle Stop BLT" made with fried green tomatoes, and Mom ordered fried chicken livers. Keely about died.

Keely: "Oh, Grandma! That is disgusting! I can't believe you're actually ordering that!"

I told her later that night that it is crazy to be hatin' on something that she has never even tried. She should have at least tried one as Mom used to make them for us kids growing up, and it was one of our favorite meals!

Keely: "If I told you to try goat toes, how would you respond to that?!?!"

OK, I don't see the comparison.

Before I could even think about what to serve for breakfast the following morning, Dad said, "Now don't be making us a big breakfast. I'll just have a piece of toast with some jelly and some coffee. That's it."

Nope. Don't think so. My bread nicely coordinates with my green Longaberger basket! Now what do I do? After they went to bed, I went to my "go-to" website, Southern Plate, to see if I could find something simple, tasty, and made with basic ingredients so that I wouldn't have to make a trip to the grocery store. I ran across a recipe for blueberry muffins that seemed perfect. . . mostly because it started with Bisquick.

I never buy this stuff. But when Steve saw pancake mix on my grocery list, this is what he came home with weeks ago. I personally don't think it makes very good pancakes and certainly mine look nothing like what is on the box, so now I'm wondering what in the world am I going to do with this? Now I know. Perfect!

The muffins turned out great. However, I modified the original recipe by adding a streusel topping. Delicious! I'll definitely be making these again!

Blueberry Muffins

Muffin Ingredients:

• 2-1/4 cups Bisquick
• 1 heaping cup frozen blueberries (not thawed, can use fresh)
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup sugar (I used Splenda)
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Streusel Topping:

• 3/4 cup brown sugar (I used Splenda Brown Sugar Blend)
• 3/4 cup flour 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions:
Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, mix blueberries with 1/4 cup of Bisquick. Set aside. (This is to prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.)
In a large bowl, place all other muffin ingredients and stir until well mixed, but still lumpy. Gently stir in blueberries. Spoon into muffin cups.

Mix all ingredients for the streusel topping until crumbly. Place on top of each muffin. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.