New By Me: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

I have a camera again!!! After a couple of weeks of cameraless existence, thanks to an investigative toddler, I have a shiny new camera, so now I have no excuse not to blog. Especially since we're snowed in. Are you snowed in? Apparently a lot of the country is, especially those of us in the south.

Being snowed in always makes me want to bake. I don't know if it's a primitive need to ensure there is food for my family, or if pregnancy is making me nest a few months early, or if I just like baking and snow days actually give me a chance to do so. Probably some combination thereof. Anyway, I woke up this morning, and I wanted something warm and baked for breakfast. I opened up my handy-dandy Better Homes & Gardens cookbook (my go-to cookbook for basic recipes), checked their muffin recipe, assessed the contents of my kitchen, and decided to modify the recipe. I ended up with Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins.

I honestly don't know what came over me. I usually prefer to try a recipe before changing it around. But it worked, so I shouldn't complain.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Muffins

1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. oats (I used quick, old-fashioned would probably also work.)
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 T. ground cinnamon
1 beaten egg
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. oil
1 1/2 t. vanilla
3/4 c. chopped apples

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together and make a well. 

Mix egg, milk, oil, and vanilla together in a separate bowl. 

Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix just until there are no more dry spots. Mix apples in gently.

Put in 12-cup muffin pan (the cups will fill about 3/4 of the way) and bake at 400 for 18 minutes or until they look done (the original recipe said "golden" but the batter is kinda brown, so that doesn't work :)

   

Conclusion: At first I wasn't sure how I felt about these, because they're not as sweet as muffins you get from the store. But the more I ate them, the more I felt like this wasn't a bad thing. They're not super-sweet, but the sweetness is there, and the flavor is lovely. If you want your muffins sweeter, you might try upping the sugar to 1/2 cup. However, the recipe as-is met with the whole-hearted approval of my picky toddler. She ate one warm from the oven with butter and has snacked on the cold ones all afternoon.

Strawberry Lemonade - New by Me

Sunday I had company coming over. The husband and I had decided before Christmas that we needed to stop buying pop (soda for those of you in different regions) because a) it was bad for us, b) it was expensive, and c) our toddler daughter is fast approaching the age where she will no longer take "This is Mommy's/Daddy's, you can't have it" for an answer, and we don't want to start her down the road of caffeine addiction when she still hasn't turned two. So, no pop in the house.

But company was coming. And I wanted something sweet to drink and to serve them, but not something full of powdered chemical bleck. So I fiddled around, looked up some recipes online, and came up with the following, which worked surprisingly well.

Strawberry Lemonade


1-2 c. fresh or frozen strawberries (I had frozen, because it's January)
1 c. lemon juice
1-1 1/2 c. sugar or other desired sweetener (adjust to taste)
water

In a blender or food processor, process strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar until well combined. Pour mixture into a 2 quart pitcher and add water to fill line. Stir well to dissolve. Serve cold.

Conclusion: Yummy! The seeds from the strawberries give it a bit more substance than you're used to having in lemonade, but once you get used to your drink having a texture, you don't even notice it, and this way you're getting the fiber from having actual strawberries. It was a lovely pink color in the pitcher, too: I'll try to take a picture next time I make this. I can't wait to try this with a mixture of fruit: Strawberry-Peach Lemonade, Strawberry-Mango Lemonade, etc.

Have any of you ever given up pop or other unhealthy drinks? Did it last?