Honey Oatmeal Muffin

Am I on a muffin kick, or what?  I can't seem to get enough of these hand-held goodies!  I did have a request to do a gluten-free recipe, so I'll be working that out this week, YUM.
These were tasty, and I even subbed the butter for applesauce.  They do end up pretty sticky when you make a change like that.  Overall, I liked them, and most important, so did my little grazer :)


Ingredients
1 cup oats
3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1/2 brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 & 1/2 cups plain (or vanilla) yogurt
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F
Cream together butter, sugar, honey, vanilla and eggs
Add yogurt and blend
Mix together oats, flours, baking soda and salt in separate bowl, blend well
Then add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir
Pour into well greased muffin tin.  Fill each cup almost to the very top.
Will make between 16-20 standard sized muffins

Zucchini Muffin Recipe

I guess I've been on a muffin kick lately.  I figure, they're easy, quick, yummy and you can eat them with your hands :) Plus, the little one loves them.

Here's the latest and greatest recipe to use up some garden veggies...(I know the pic isn't the best, but I don't claim to be an awesome photographer.  I just can promise that these are YUMMY!)


Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups grated zucchini (squeeze out excess water with hands once it's been grated)
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup raisins


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F
Beat eggs, butter, honey, sugar, and vanilla together
Add zucchini and stir well
Add all dry ingredients and mix until well blended
Fold in raisins
Spoon into well greased 12-muffin tin.  
This recipe makes 12 muffins, so just spread the mixture evenly in all the cups.
Bake for 20 minutes


These were delicious right out of the oven with butter....Mmmmmm....
Next time I might try to add some cinnamon or maybe even cocoa powder???

Apple Granola Muffins

It's been a couple of days since I made tasty treats for my little one.  It's always nice to have a break from Cheerios & Kix, agree?  


I have A LOT of apples that are hanging around, so I decided to put them to good use.  I think I'll need to make about 7 batches of these muffins in order to use them all up!  I don't think that will be a problem though since I made 12 muffins last night, and this morning there were only 4 left.


Here's the recipe:
Apple Granola Muffins

• 1 cup rolled (or steel cut) oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 melted butter
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 apple peeled, cored, and chopped
• 1 cup granola (for topping)

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat oven to 400 F
• Beat honey, brown sugar, eggs and melted butter in a bowl
• Sift oats, flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon together in separate bowl
• Add dry mixture to wet mixture slowly, while stirring
• Add applesauce, vanilla, milk and stir well
• Fold in chopped apple
• Grease 12-muffin pan VERY well (or use foil lined cupcake liners)
• Fill each space to just over 3/4 of the way full.  Then cover each muffin well with granola.
• Bake for 20 minutes 
• ENJOY!!!

Green Thumb? Let's Hope!

So, I'm trying my hand at making things grow!  All I want are some simple treasures for my kitchen...Cilantro (for chicken, pork, fish, mmmm), Basil (spaghetti sauce!) and Mint (for a yummy "Nojito").  Is that too much to ask?

We're on day two, and no signs of life just yet.  Birds have been visiting my porch.  Hopefully there are still some seeds left in my little containers!

Yummy "Nojito" recipe.  Thanks to Gina at Skinny Taste

Nojito
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 1 • Serving Size: 1 tall glass • Points: 0 pts with Splenda, 1 pt with sugar
Calories: 58.5 • Fat: 0.1 g • Protein: 0.5 g • Carb: 15.2 g • Fiber: 0.9 g  

• 10-12 fresh small spearmint leaves
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 7 oz sprite zero or club soda
• 1 tbsp sugar or Splenda
• crushed ice

In a cool tall glass, muddle the mint, sugar or splenda and lime juice. Add crushed ice and soda and stir well. Garnish with a lime wedge and a few sprigs of mint. Servewith a straw.

Plastic Lid Organizer for Kitchen

Today while putting away dishes, I was greeted by a waterfall of plastic lids.
I try and repurpose all of the plastic butter/sour cream containers that we use in the hopes of saving them from landfills. However, that good deed comes with a weighty price!

 After the cascade of lids, I decided to make them a safe haven. I did so out of a cereal box that I had been holding on to. I cut the cereal box, leaving about 4 inches at the bottom. Then from the part of the box I wasn't going to use, I cut a piece to place in the bottom to reinforce it. I used mod podge to cover the box and placed scrapbook paper on top of that. I also used mod podge on top of the scrapbook paper to finish it off.

FROM THIS......

 After all that, it turned out super cute. The lids are all happy being together and I am happy with a little less clutter!

TO THIS....

Oven Baked Grilled Cheese

For some reason today I really wanted a lunch suited for a 6 year old - grilled cheese and chocolate milk.
 I don't ever recall having that for lunch, but it sounded tasty. 

Since today is officially my first day home with 4 children (school's out:), I figured grilled cheese would be a super easy lunch to make....but wouldn't it be easier to make if I could fix them all up at one time?  So.....I did!  Why didn't anyone ever tell me about this?  They were golden, gooey and delicious!  I didn't even get to take a picture because everyone ate them up so fast!  Next time.  But they pretty much looked like this.....

So, I made the sandwiches and buttered the edges and the crust so that they wouldn't burn.  Put them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, turned the oven on to 450F, then baked all 6 sandwiches for 7 minutes total.  The tops and bottoms were done perfectly.

You may have to keep an eye on yours the first go 'round, since all ovens are different and yours may cook your bottom first, and you may have to flip them over.

Happy lunching!

Garden Veggie Spaghetti

I can't believe how good this sauce is AND how easy it was!  I packed so many veggies in this recipe, that I think the 3 tablespoons of brown sugar I added will be forgiven ;)

Ingredients

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 zucchini, grated

1 green bell pepper, diced

2 carrots, grated

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dried basil

2 tsp cornstarch (optional)
3 tbsp brown sugar

(3) 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes - Puree 2 cans in a blender

2 tbsp canola oil

Let's Start:

1. Over medium heat saute onions and minced garlic in canola oil until softened. (You can use olive oil if you like.  I don't like the chemistry that happens at high temps with olive oil)
2. Add the dried basil, garlic powder and onion powder and cook for about 2 minutes just to help flavor the oil.
3. Add the zucchini, carrots, and bell pepper and stir it up!
4. Then add the tomatoes and the brown sugar, stir well
5. Add the cornstarch (optional).  I like my sauce a little thicker, so I added it.
6. Let cook together over medium heat for 5 minutes, then turn down to low for another 15-20 minutes.

This makes about 50 oz of sauce - so be ready to package it up :)

Bored? Not anymore!

Last day of school!  Tomorrow, the madness starts!  Three school-age children (9 yoss, 12 yoss, 15 yosd) and a 1 yos.  *whew*  I believe tomorrow our plan is to make our summer schedule for the week.

And if your children are anything like mine, their favorite phrase is, "I'm booooored!".
Well, I've got an App...errrrr...solution for that.

Materials:

60 Craft Sticks - not popsicle sticks, the wider ones that look like tongue depressors (Target, $1.99)

10 oz glass jar (mine used to hold salsa - FREE)

Scrap book paper (8.5" x 11" book of paper from Michaels, $19.99 - used a mobile digital coupon too for 20% off)

I printed ideas for the sticks from ShabbyBeachNest.com (Thanks!) and I chose to only use the ones that the kids could do right away, using materials I already have on hand.  I didn't want them to chose an activity and then be disappointed that we are missing one component!