Apple Oat Muffins

I guess I am just a muffin kind of girl. They are fast. They are easy. They can be healthy.
They kind of feel like a treat, but healthy at the same time- kind of.

I think muffins make a good snack. These particular muffins aren't very sweet, but they still have great flavor. The streusel that I added gives them just the perfect touch of sugar-y crunch on top.
Because the apple is shredded, it is not as noticeable, which was a good thing for some people in my family. When I said I made apple muffins, my son was a little hesitant because he doesn't love muffins with chunks of fruit. Once he saw that the apple was shredded, he was in.
These were yummy.

Apple Oat Muffins slightly adapted from Good Housekeeping Magazine
2 cups oats (I used quick oats)
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 Tbls canola oil
1 egg, beaten
1 cup shredded granny smith apple

Streusel:
2 Tbls brown sugar
2 Tbls flour
2 Tbls oats
2 Tbls cold butter, cut in pieces
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degree F.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Blend wet ingredients with a fork in another bowl.

Stir in shredded apple to wet ingredients.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir just until moist.

Combine streusel ingredients in a small bowl, combining with fingers until it comes together.

Put batter in a muffin tin coated with cooking spray. Divide struesel evenly among muffin tops and gently press into batter (Make sure it sticks, so it won't just fall off!)

Bake for 23-25 minutes until muffins begin to brown and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

Easy Melon Sorbet and Watermelon-Strawberry Slush

I love summer. The heat doesn't bother me that much and I would definitely rather be hot than cold. I know there are many people out there who completely disagree with me and I happen to be married to one of them.
Anyway, the weather here in Georgia seems to have taken a turn for the hotter, which goes hand in hand with more humidity. The past week has been pretty sticky and hot.

This type of weather means that cold refreshment is absolutely necessary.

I saw this recipe/idea for Easy Melon Sorbet and the picture looked so refreshing that I went out and bought a canteloupe, a honeydew melon and a watermelon.

It turns out, it really was that easy. Not that making sorbet it difficult, but this one doesn't even include a simple syrup, so there are only a few steps.

I cut up my melons, froze them in a ziploc bag and then pureed them, the following day. I had to add a Tablespoon or 2 of water to each batch of melon, to help smooth it out, but my melons were so sweet and tasty that I didn't add any sugar to them.
We loved this easy frozen melon treat. I actually finished it of last night and it was so delicious.

The other little drink came about when I had some watermelon cubes and we wanted a frosty/slushy drink, so I decided to combine the watermelon with some frozen strawberries I had on hand and it turned out really delicious.

Easy and refreshing!



Easy Melon Sorbet from Martha Stewart Living
Enjoy this frozen fruit dessert without a lot of bother or even an ice-cream maker. All you need are a few fresh melons and a food processor.
First, cube a melon and freeze it in a food-storage bag.
When you're ready to make sorbet, place frozen melon in the food processor, and puree.
You may need to add water to smooth. Add sugar to taste, and puree again.
Serve immediately, or store in the freezer in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

Watermelon-Strawberry Slush by Mary Ann
4-5 cups watermelon cubes
2 cups frozen strawberries (or more, until slushy consistency is achieved)

Place watermelon cubes and frozen strawberries in the food processor or blender and process until blended and slushy. Pour into glasses and serve.
(I guess you could add sugar, but it tasted great without any)

CEiMB- Five Layer Mexican Dip

This week's CEiMB recipe is Five Layer Mexican Dip. It was chosen by Heather who blogs over at Mama Cooks. You can find the recipe on her blog or by clicking on the link at the bottom of this page.
The Five Layers in this dip are: 1- a delicious black bean dip, made in the food processor with garlic, cumin, and other things 2- corn/cilantro mixture combined w/ some of the leftover onion/garlic from layer 1, 3-mashed avocado with lime juice, 4-chopped tomato, jalepeno, and scallions, 5- shredded cheese.

I went back and forth about making this recipe, mainly because I have 2 tomato haters and 1 avocado hater in my family and didn't know how it would go over.
I decided to make it for a family dinner that we were going to because then there would be more mouths to fill and hopefully more people that would like this dip.
I didn't love it. Sorry. I am not going to lie to you. I wanted to really like it, but it was just ok.
I liked the black bean layer and I would have rather eaten that with the chips.
The corn/cilantro layer just didn't fit. I don't love frozen corn-not a big fan. Don't get me wrong, I love fresh corn on the cob, but not so much the frozen kernels.
I just didn't appreciate all the layers together.

That's not to say that there weren't those family members who loved the dip. There were some. They liked it so much that they were gifted the leftovers :)

Go check out the CEiMB Blogroll to see what everyone else thought about this one!

Recipe for Five Layer Mexican Dip

Meditteranean Layer Dip

Growing up we frequently enjoyed 7 Layer Dip at family get-togethers and parties.
There are many different variations on this recipe, but ours was usually as follows- refried beans on the bottom, a packet of taco seasoning or taco spice blend mixed with sour cream next, then guacamole, chopped tomatoes, sliced olives, shredded cheese, and sliced green onions.
Serve it with tortilla chips and it makes a fantastic appetizer and/or snack.

I saw a recipe for the same type of layer dip in a magazine over the holidays, but the flavors and ingredients were Meditteranean instead.
I didn't follow the recipe, but I did see the idea, so it's not like I just imagined this up completely on my own.

I put this together and served it with pre-made whole wheat pita chips. I usually like to make my own pita chips, but because of time, I bought pre-made this time.

I started off with hummus as the bottom layer, then a thin layer of plain fat-free greek yogurt, sliced fresh spinach, chopped roasted red peppers, chopped tomatoes, chopped cucumber, sliced black olives, chopped green onions, chopped fresh parsley and then, crumbled feta over the whole thing. I finished it off by squeezing fresh lemon juice over the whole thing and boy, did we have a winner of a dip!
We actually ate this for lunch and everyone in my family loved it.
I love all of these ingredients and flavors anyway, but combining them in this way was really great.
I had to remove the tomatoes from the section my hubby ate, but he liked it once I took those off.

I scooped all the leftovers into a plastic container and ate them as lunch for a couple of days.

This would be a great appetizer for a party or a great lunch/snack, so throw it together and see what you think!


I didn't really measure the amounts when I was throwing this together. I just layered the ingredients and topped each layer with the next, by the amount that looked good.

Meditteranean Layer Dip inspired by a magazine, put into play by Me
hummus
plain fat-free greek yogurt
sliced fresh spinach
chopped roasted red peppers
chopped cucumbers
chopped tomatoes
black olives
chopped green onions
feta
chopped parsley
fresh lemon juice

On a platter or plate, spread a thick layer of hummus.
Top this with thin layer of greek yogurt, spreading almost to the edge, but leaving a 1/4-1/2 inch of the hummus uncovered.
Next add a few handfuls of sliced fresh spinach.
Top the spinach with the chopped peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, green onions, and parsley.
Sprinkle the desired amount of feta cheese over top and squeeze the juice from 1/2 or 1 lemon over the entire dip.
Serve with pita chips.
Refrigerate leftovers, if any.

Oats and Buttermilk Snack Cake

Like I mentioned yesterday, steel-cut oats are a versatile grain. I bought a large bag of them and had lots of recipes I wanted to try out. This snack cake was one of them.
You soak the oats in buttermilk overnight and then mix up the cake quickly. The texture of this cake was really interesting and everyone loved it. The flavor was great too.
I made my own oat flour by throwing some oats in the food processor and grinding them up and also threw some chopped walnuts on top for a little decoration and added crunch.
I made this for an after school snack and it was a hit.

Oats and Buttermilk Snack Cake from Cooking Light

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup steel-cut oats

1/2 cup oat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg

Cooking spray

1 tablespoon powdered sugar (optional)

Combine buttermilk and oats; cover and refrigerate 8 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Lightly spoon flours into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg; beat until well blended. Stir in oat mixture; beat until well blended. Add flour mixture, beating just until moist.

Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Cut into squares. Garnish with powdered sugar, if desired.

Coming Tomorrow- Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal and Banana Blueberry Muffins

Mini Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Has anyone seen these cute little sweet peppers at Costco? My kids have been gobbling them down by the handfuls. They look kinda tricky, like they might be hot, but they are not. They are so sweet and crunchy. The perfect size for snacking.
As I was watching my daughter down her 10th pepper in a matter of minutes, I thought that these would be really cute as an appetizer or snack stuffed with something yummy.
I always have garbanzo beans and I happen to have some roasted red peppers in the fridge, so I threw this hummus together in a flash. I cut some of the stems off of the peppers and cut out the few little seeds and then spooned some hummus inside, but just grabbing the pepper by the stem and dipping it in the hummus worked well too.
Just furthers the idea that mini makes everything betteR!

Red Pepper Hummus from Cooking Light

1 red bell pepper (I used 1/2 cup of jarred roasted red peppers)

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon tahini (sesame seed paste)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (19-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained

1 garlic clove, quartered

Preheat broiler. Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 10 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel. Place bell pepper and remaining ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth.

Coming Tomorrow- Ginger Tea Cake, 2 ways

X-Balls

These are kind of like edible playdough. You can mess around with it, roll it and then pop it in your mouth. The kids loved it and I thought it was pretty tasty as well.

X-Balls
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup + 2 Tbls dry powdered milk
1/2 cup + 2 Tbls powdered sugar

Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix with a spoon, spatula or hands until all ingredients are mixed in and combined.
Make shapes or balls. Eat!

Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

I think I have made every banana bread that Cooking Light has ever developed, now. I was just dealing with overripe bananas last week, but someone bought more overripe bananas because they were cheap. Oh well, just another excuse to make a delicious treat! I love Cooking Light's quick bread recipes, because they always turn out so moist and scrumptious. This one was no different- quite tasty!

Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)

1/2 cup egg substitute

1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.
Place sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add banana, egg substitute, and yogurt; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist.
Place chocolate chips in a medium microwave-safe bowl, and microwave at HIGH 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Cool slightly. Add 1 cup batter to chocolate, stirring until well combined. Spoon chocolate batter alternately with plain batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Swirl batters together using a knife. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Homemade Animal Crackers

I saw this recipe on one of my favorite websites, The Cookie Cutter Shop and thought it would be a fun one to do with the kids.

I added some orange zest and cardamom to the dough and we glazed it with a powdered sugar, freshly squeezed orange juice, and orange zest combination.

Animal Crackers

1/2 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup buttermilk
(1). Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grind oats until fine using a blender or food processor.
(2). In a medium bowl, stir together the blended oats, flour, baking soda and salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your fingers until the butter lumps are smaller than peas. Stir in the buttermilk and honey to form a stiff dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch in thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto cookie sheets.
(3). Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, until edges are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

Makes about 60 crackers

Coconut-Lime Mini Bundt Tea Cakes with Lime Glaze

So I had some coconut milk leftover in my fridge and was looking at my fave cookbook, Baking; from my home to yours-Dorie Greenspan and had an idea. Why not make a little something sweet? This is one of the versions of her Coconut Tea Cake. She mentions that you can add any citrus zest to the sugar and then add a little of that citrus juice to the coconut milk mixture. I went for coconut and lime.

One of my favorite things that Dorie does throughout this cookbook, is how she mixes the sugar with the citrus zest and tells you to rub them together until it is moist and aromatic. It smells so good and is so pretty!

I halved this recipe because I only had a little coconut milk and also used a mini bundt pan because half the batter wouldn't fill a regular bundt pan. The result was a tiny cake that was delicious and tasty! I glazed half of them with a powdered sugar, lime juice and zest combo and left the other ones plain- They were great both ways!

Coconut Tea Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk (stir well before measuring)

1/2 stick(4 Tbls) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces

4 large eggs, preferably at room temperature

2 cups sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tsp dark rum (optional, but so good) I used 1/2 tsp rum extract

3/4 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened or sweetened) toasted, or not

Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-10 inch Kugelhopf or Bundt pan, or use an unbuttered silicone pan. Don't place the pan on a baking sheet- you want the oven's heat to circulate through the inner tube.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.

Pour the coconut milk into a small saucepan, add the butter and heat until the milk is hot and the butter is melted. Remove from heat, but keep warm.

Working with a stand or hand held mixer, beat the eggs and sugar in a large bowl at medium-high speed, until pale, thick, and almost doubled in volume, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and the rum, if you're using it. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and stopping just when the flour disappears.

Keeping the mixer on low, add the coconut, mixing only until it is blended, then steadily add the hot milk and butter. When the mixture is smooth, stop mixing and give the batter a couple of turns with a rubber spatula, just to make certain that any ingredients that might have fallen to the bottom of the bowl are incorporated. Pour the batter into the pan and give the pan a few back and forth shakes to even the batter.

Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until cake is golden brown and a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool for 10 minutes before unmolding onto the rack to cool to room temperature.

Coconut Lime Tea Cake: Rub the grated zest of 2 limes into the sugar before beating it with the eggs; add the juice of 1 lime to the coconut milk and butter. Keep the dark rum or replace it with Malibu coconut rum.

Dorie's Pumpkin Muffins

I am the first to admit that I have a problem. I make something one day and then I want to compare other recipes for the same item and so I do! Of course, I wanted to try Dorie's take on Pumpkin Muffins and no one is sorry I did. They are absolutely delicious- the texture is great, not too dense, the flavor is wonderful- they disappeared (Mostly because of my teenage brother :)

Pumpkin Muffins from Dorie Greenspan's Baking from my home to yours

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon (I used 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground cardamom)

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of ground allspice

1 stick (8 Tbls) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup moist, plump golden raisins (I use regular raisins)

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

About 1/3 cup unsalted raw sunflower seeds, for topping (I used pepitas)

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds on a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed until soft. Add both the sugars and continue to beat until light and smooth. One by one, add the eggs, beating for a minute after the eggs are incorporated, then beat in the vanilla. Lower the mixer speed and mix in the pumpkin and buttermilk. With the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients in a steady stream, mixing only until they disappear. To avoid overmixing, you can stop the machine early and stir any remaining dry ingredients into the batter using a rubber spatula. Stir in the raisins and nuts. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle a few sunflower seeds over the top of each muffin.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the pan, then carefully remove each one from its mold and finish cooling on the rack.

We enjoyed ours plain, but Dorie suggests a little butter and a lot of orange marmalade or apricot jam.

Zucchini Muffin Taste Test

Carrot-Zucchini Muffins vs. Lemon Glazed Zucchini Quick Bread (muffins)






I like comparing recipes for the same type of food and doing taste tests.


Today it was zucchini muffins. My younger brother loves muffins, so I thought I would ask him to be the judge.


The first recipe featured oats, skim milk, and carrots. In the second recipe I substituted whole wheat flour for 1 cup of regular flour and baked the batter in jumbo muffin tins instead of a loaf pan.


Carrot-Zucchini Muffins from Betty Crocker Healthy Heart Cookbook
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup skim milk
3 Tbs canola oil
1 egg
1 cup finely shredded carrot
1/2 cup shredded unpeeled zucchini

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 12 muffin tins, with cooking spray or line with paper cups.


2. Mix flour, oats, brown sugar,baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in milk, oil, and egg all at once just until flour is moistened. Fold in carrots and zucchini, Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.


3. Bake 16 to 21 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove from pan. Serve warm



Lemon-glazed Zucchini Quick Bread from The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (can sub. 1 cup whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/4 cup canola oil
2 Tbls grated lemon rind
1 large egg
cooking spray
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 Tbls fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine zucchini, milk, oil, rind, and egg in a bowl; add the flour mixture. Stir just until moist.

3. Spoon batter into an 8*4-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray (or muffin tins, half baking time). Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

4. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice; stir with a whisk. Drizzle over loaf.

I think the results were a tie- some preferred the quality the oats added to the first muffin, others the nuttiness the wheat flour added to the second. Try it and you can decide for yourself!