Monthly Archives: October 2011

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Posted on October 27, 2011 by

I have really been on a muffin kick lately.  I found this recipe for oatmeal muffins on Epicurious and had to give them a try.  I modified the recipe a little bit to accommodate the ingredients I had on hand.  I had 2 very ripe bananas on hand that were at the use-immediately-or throw-away stage, so I dropped the blueberries and used the bananas.  I also swapped out the buttermilk for regular milk.

The ingredient swaps worked out beautifully!  These muffins were sooo very tasty!  They tasted like banana bread crossed with an oatmeal cookie.  I served them with honey butter and everyone when back for seconds and thirds!

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Prep time: 10 minutes – Cook time: 25 minutes  - Makes: 18 muffins

  • Nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • 2 1/3 cups quick-cooking oats
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans (about 2 ounces)
  • 1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons wheat bran bran
  • 2 tablespoons wheat germ
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 very ripe bananas, smashed
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray. Set aside.

Place oats and next 9 ingredients in large bowl and stir together with a fork or whisk.

Place bananas in a medium bowl and smash.  Add milk, oil, egg, and vanilla to bananas.  Whisk to blend.   Pour mixture into large bowl with oats and flour.  Mix.  Stir in 1/3 cup boiling water and let stand 5 minutes.

Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups (about 1/4 cup of batter per muffin).

Bake muffins 20-25 minutes or until fully cooked. Cool 10 minutes. Turn muffins out onto rack; cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Incoming search terms:

  • banana oatmeal muffins
  • oatmeal muffins epicurious
  • oatmeal muffin
  • wholewheat banana oat muffin
  • banana cooked oatmeal muffins
  • stand muffin
  • oatmeal banana muffins with honey
  • oatmeal banana muffins epicurious
  • oatmeal banana muffins
  • oatmeal banana muffin milk
Posted in breakfast, brunch, muffins, whole grains | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Monster Smoothie

Posted on October 26, 2011 by

I am firm believer in teaching kids to eat their veggies in their normal recognizable form.  It is the only way to develop the health habit of eating veggies.  That said, I am not above sneaking in a few extra veggies in unexpected places along the way as well.

For today’s recipe I used spinach to create a fun green “monster” smoothie.  This smoothie is actually an ordinary banana smoothie with a little bit of baby spinach thrown in for color.  Don’t let the green color scare you – you can’t actually taste the spinach at all.

I served Monster smoothies with Batty Chicken Salad and Pumpkin Soup this weekend to rave reviews.  Give them a try and let me know what your family thinks.

Monster Smoothie

Prep Time: 5 minutes (plus time to freeze the banana) – Makes: 1 smoothie

  • 5-8 baby spinach leaves
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 (6 oz) container vanilla yogurt
  • 1 frozen banana, cut into 5-6 pieces
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 cup crushed ice
Place spinach leaves, milk and yogurt in a blender and blend on high until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients and blend on low until smooth.  Serve and enjoy.

 

Incoming search terms:

  • nutella green smoothie
  • spinach nutella smoothie
  • a little bit of everything smoothie
  • green monster smoothie nutella banana
  • green monster smoothie nutella
  • freezing green monster smoothie
  • can you freeze a green monster smoothie
  • green smoothie with nutella
  • how to freeze spinach for smoothies
  • nutella green monster smoothie
Posted in banana, seasonal recipes, smoothie | Tagged | Leave a comment

Curried Pumpkin Soup

Posted on October 21, 2011 by

This time of year the weather is turning cooler and my thoughts turn to delicious hot soup.  No wimpy canned soup will do, I want a bowl of something savory and homemade.

This week I made a nice pot of pumpkin soup with a savory hint of curry.  I love pumpkin soup because it is super easy to make if you start with canned pumpkin and go from there.  Just make sure you buy pure 100% pumpkin puree not the canned pumpkin pie mix.

If you are looking for a fun Halloween meal think about pairing this soup with yesterday’s recipe a salad topped with wonton crisps.  Both are easy dishes that go really well together.

Curried Pumpkin Soup
Prep time: 10 minutes  -  Cook time: 20 minutes  -  Makes: 6 servings

  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 leeks, white and light green parts diced
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 6 cups homemade vegetable broth or 48 oz container low sodium chicken stock
  • 2 (15 oz) cans 100% pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup fresh orange juice
  • 8 oz heavy cream (1 cup)
  • salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Optional Soup Garnishes:

  • sour cream
  • toasted pumpkin seeds
  • a dash of smoked paprika
  • diced granny smith apple cubes
  • chopped fresh cilantro

Heat a medium soup pot on medium high heat. Add olive oil, diced leeks and garlic salt to pot and sauté for 5 minutes or until leeks are soft.

Add flour and curry powder to leeks and sauté for 1 minute.

Add vegetable broth, pumpkin puree, brown sugar and orange juice to the pot. Whisk together and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes to thicken the soup.

Reduce heat to low. Add heavy cream. Stir to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into serving dishes and top with optional garnish if desired.

 

Other Seasonal Recipes You Might Enjoy!

Honey Orange Roasted Chicken

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Incoming search terms:

  • pumpkin soup
  • soup recipes using canned pumpkin
  • Curry Pumpkin Soup
  • pureed pumpkin soup recipes
  • halloween meal ideas
  • recipes soup canned pumpkin
  • pumpkin soup curry leeks orange
  • pumpkin pot soup
  • pumpkin orange soup canned pumpkin
  • picture of a plate of pumpkin and beans and chicken soup
Posted in seasonal recipes, soup | 1 Comment