Apple Oatmeal Muffins

 This is a modification to the banana, apple, oatmeal muffins. It was well received.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup flour 
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 medium apples finely diced

Preheat oven to 425 convection bake. Butter muffing tins.

Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately.

Mix together, then fold in apples. Bake for 22 min, cool 5 min in pan.

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

This is recipe was modified from http://www.food.com/recipe/apple-oatmeal-muffins-38059

Ingredients 

• 2 eggs 
• 3/4 cup milk, almond milk, ...
• 1/2 cup peanut oil - or use 1/4 butter, 1/4 oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour - I used a little whole wheat as well 
• 1 cup uncooked thick cut oats 
• 1 1/2 mashed ripe banana, milled
• 1 Tbs baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp  ground cinnamon  
• 2 medium or 3 small apples,  -cored, peeled and chopped

Directions

    1. Preheat oven to convection bake at 425 degrees F. 

    2. Grease 2 mini muffin tins.

    3. In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs; add milk and oil, stirring until just blended.
    4. Add milled banana and stir.
    5. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a small bowl

    6. Chop apples
    7. Stir dry ingredients into liquid mixture, mixing until only just moistened (do not over mix).

    8. Gently fold in the apples.

    9. Spoon batter into the muffin tins, dividing evenly among the cups. I used medium sized cookie scoop.

    10. Bake in preheated oven for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. rotate pan half way through.

    11. Cool in pan 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling.

    12. Serve warm or cool; store unused portions in an airtight container.

Granola

One of the down-sides of moving from SFO was leaving some of the foods we loved. After being spoiled by the wonderful granola at Arizmendi Bakery, I have set out on a quest to re-create this marvelous taste treat. Inspired by the tasty homemade granola our neighbors have shared, I have tried combining the ingredient list from Arizmendi with the proportions and directions from a neighbor's recipe. I'm sure this will be an evolving recipe.



6 cups thick-rolled oats
3/4 cup golden raisins
1 cup pumpkin seeds
2 cups pecans
1 1/2 cup sweetened coconut (not sure I should be using sweetened)
1/2 cups sunflower seeds (not in Arizmendi recipe)

3 tbs rice bran oil
1 tbs butter
1/4 cup molasses
1/4/cup honey (light - like clover)
1/8 cup dark brown sugar

Preheat oven to 300℉.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Warm oils and sugars together in microwave so they will blend with oats. Pour oil/sugar mixture over cereals and mix well. It doesn't seem like enough, but it will eventually cover the oats.

Divide granola between 2 pans and spread out evenly. Bake for approximately 50 min, or until lightly browned, stirring after 20, 30 & 40 minutes.

Stir several times as it cools to break up any clumps. Store in airtight containers for up to 1 week or refrigerate for longer storage. Freeze for up to 2 months.

Oatmeal

This was blatantly copied from a Whole Food recipe, but resized and adjusted a bit for my preferences.

A perfect way to start a day of healthy eating! And who would have thought that a bowl of oatmeal could provide over half of the daily value for those hard-to-find omega-3 fatty acids as well as 109% of the daily value for manganese. Enjoy!

Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes Ingredients: 1-1/2 cups water dash salt 1/2 cup thick rolled oats 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 cup dried cranberries 1/4 cup chopped walnuts 1 TBS ground flaxseeds 2 tsp blackstrap molasses or dark brown sugar milk or yogurt

Directions:

1. Combine the oatmeal, water and salt in a small saucepan and turn the heat to high, stirring, until the water is just absorbed, about 10 minutes. 
2. Add cinnamon, cranberries, walnuts, and flaxseeds. Stir, cover the pan, and turn off heat. Let set for 5 minutes. Serve with milk and molasses.
3. Serves 2