Oatmeal Muffins

I've been mentally preparing for the start of school.  Last school year my wonderful husband got our son dressed, fed and drove him to preschool almost every morning since I was tending to our newborn daughter.  I know, I know...I'm spoiled.  This year, however, things are going to change.  My husband might not be working from home for much longer and he won't have the flexibility to execute our mornings as he had before.  I'm actually going to have to wake up and get myself and two children out the door and to a destination by 9am!  Yikes!  How do working parents do it?!  I used to have a job that required me to be there by 5am, but that changed after having my son.  Now I'm struggling to get out the door by 8:50am (we live a mile from the preschool).

So...in preparation for my future early mornings, I'm trying to be proactive and think of ways to get us out the door with minimal struggles.  Part of that preparation is getting a healthy, minimally process breakfast into my little guy.  This is my way of easing into Full-Day Kindergarten next year when I'll be making breakfast, packing a lunch and I'll be returning to the workforce full-time (maybe). 

So here's a nutritious breakfast that can be made the night before and frozen if desired.  It's packed full of ingredients you won't fill guilty about giving to your children.  This recipe is also versatile.  I used mini chocolate chips in mine, but you can use cranberries, raisins, butterscotch chips, etc.  Since these are not sweet, spices need to be used to add flavor.  Cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice...

My husband thought they were good, but he could tell they were "healthy" from the lack of sugar.  So there you go, sweeten it up however you'd like.

I should probably mention that I found this recipe on Pinterest.   

http://greenlitebites.com/2009/03/07/banana-oatmeal-cups-with-chocolate-chips/

Ingredients

• 3 ripe banana, mashed
• 1 cup milk (you can use vanilla almond milk for sweetness)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp mini chocolate chips + more for garnish
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp nutmeg

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2.  Mix all ingredients except the chocolate chips together, and let sit while you prepare the muffin pans.
3.  Spray a muffin pan and/or liners with with non-stick spray.
4.  Stir the chocolate chips into the oatmeal batter.
5.  Divide batter into 15-16 muffin cups. They should be almost full.
6.  Bake 25 minutes, you’ll see the edges just starting to brown and are firm to the touch.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

I'm feeling indecisive today. I prepared these amazing muffins late this morning and I love more than one picture that I took. I've included them all. Please tell me which one you prefer.

I love banana and I love chocolate. A few weeks ago I made some stellar chocolate banana spring rolls. Today I made a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com. After reading through other people's suggestions, I had my game plan. I love that in this day & age you can do more than flip through a cookbook. I always read other people's comments and check out the photos they post so that I can make it as perfect as possible the first time. With this recipe I've adapted the ingredients, as I do with almost all the recipes I find. I cut out the oil and substituted in applesauce and yogurt. I've also combined AP flour with some whole wheat flour. I'm so glad I did because they are fantastic without all of the guilt.

My preschooler was so excited to try one that he actually asked me to take his picture with them. After he tried them he gave them the "thumbs up"!

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup yogurt (plain, vanilla, or banana)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
  
• 3 medium bananas (1/2 thinly sliced for garnish, 3 1/2 mashed)
  
• 3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, applesauce, yogurt and vanilla.

2. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips.

3. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

*This recipe yielded me 17 muffins.

Enjoy!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-chip-banana-muffins-2/detail.aspx

Cheesy Ham Bubble Bakes

I've found a refrigerated buttermilk biscuit that I enjoy and that I prefer to use since it has no trans-fats. It's made by the Immaculate Baking Co. and they also make really great crescent rolls. They cost quite a bit more than your typical Pillsbury brand, but I feel its worth it.

I had some organic thick-cut ham in the refrigerator that I needed to use so I decided to try out Kraft's Cheesy Ham Bubble Bakes recipe. Three easy ingredients mixed together and placed in a muffin pan. Prep time was next to nil and the bake time of 20 minutes was worth it.

My husband really liked them. He couldn't speak highly enough of the actual biscuits. Thank goodness because this will be my justification for splurging on them from now on! He enjoyed the additional hardiness of simply adding ham and cheddar cheese. Since the biscuits are cut up, the cheese melts all over them and gets the diced ham to stick inside and on top. I made one without the ham and the cheesy biscuit was yummy - to put it simply.

Fast prep for a busy morning breakfast and a nice snack to grab and go. I'll definitely be baking these again, with no changes to the recipe.

Ingredients:

6 oz. Smoked Ham

3/4 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Directions:

HEAT oven to 350°F

1. CHOP ham; mix with cheese in large bowl.

2. CUT each biscuit into 4 pieces. Add to ham mixture; mix lightly. Spoon into 8-10 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray.

3. BAKE 20 min. or until puffed and golden brown. Cool 10 min. before removing from pan. Serve warm.

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/cheesy-ham-bubble-bakes-112588.aspx

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins

Continuing with my new found addiction to the website Pinterest, I found this recipe. I had fresh organic strawberries on hand and really wanted to give it a try. The recipe comes from the blog lululu at home http://lululuathome.com/2010/03/strawberry-and-cream-cheese-muffin.html.

They muffins aren't too sweet but they do take a little longer to make than muffins from a box. These are made from scratch, so you know they're going to ROCK!

Ingredients (12 regular-sized muffins):

Muffin

2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten

1 cup fresh strawberries, chopped into very small pieces

Cream Cheese Mixture

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat over to 350F. Grease muffin tin or line with muffin liners.

In a small bowl, mix together with a spoon the cream cheese mixture ingredients until smooth. Set aside.

In a big bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together milk, melted butter, vanilla extract and egg until incorporated.

Use a spatula, mix the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Fold together until combined. Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared tins, filling them no more than 1/2 full.

Scatter a few pieces of strawberry on top of each one.

Top it with a tsp of cream cheese mixture, a tablespoon of muffin batter, and finally a few more pieces of strawberry.

Bake the muffins for about 25 minutes, until they’re light golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes.