Oatmeal Muffins with Dates, Cranberries, and Pecans

Go figure - posting for two days in a row. :)

So, I found this recipe on a blog that I follow called The Brown Eyed Baker, and I had to try it. I LOVE anything with oatmeal, and I'm trying to develop that in my kids, too. Plus, I thought this would be a quick, easy, and healthy breakfast for school mornings. Dillon, 6, really liked them - he ate 3. :)

I made one adjustment. I used half while flour and half whole wheat flour, and I did not pack the brown sugar (the original recipe did not specify either way). Also, I think next time I may chop up some dark chocolate and mix it in there, too. Mmmmmmm . . . .

Oatmeal Muffins with Dates, Cranberries, and Pecans

1 cup traditional rolled oats

1 cup all-purpose flour ( I used half all-purpose and half whole wheat)

½ cup light brown sugar (I did not pack it, but since it didn't specify - your choice)

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup finely chopped pecans (or walnuts)

1/3 cup chopped dates

1/3 cup dried cranberries (or raisins)

4 ounces (½ cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper baking cups.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir in the pecans, dates and dried cranberries. In a separate medium bowl whisk together the butter, buttermilk, egg and vanilla.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a rubber spatula to gently stir together just until the ingredients are mixed and moistened.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the muffin pan for a few minutes and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Watermelon Juice

I know I already posted this picture, but I didn't include the recipe.
My sister-in-law, Stephanie made this for all of us on the 4th of July. The kids loved them, and some of the adults added a little rum to ours to spice them up a bit. Next time I make it, I will probably blend it with some ice for a slushy kind of texture (probably do the rum thing again, too).

6 c. of cubed watermelon, blended
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. pineapple juice
one can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed

In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar and bring to a rolling boil, and simmer for 1 minute.
Strain the watermelon puree (I use a collander lined with coffee filters). Blend together the sugar mixture, watermelon, pineapple juice, and lemonade.
Serve over ice.

Blackberry Cobbler

I bought some fresh blackberries from the farmer's market. I was trying to figure out what to do with them, and I remembered that Daphne has a easy and fabulous cobbler recipe on her blog, Food Junkie from Texas.
Needless to say, it was great. Especially with Blue Bell Vanilla Bean ice cream. :)

Peach Glazed Chicken

We had a couple of peaches, and I love using fruit in my cooking. So, I decided to make a glaze for grilled chicken.
I pureed a couple of peaches, added some ginger, salt, pepper, honey, and rosemary (all to taste). I processed all that in the food processor until I got it to the texture that I wanted. You could probably reduce this down over the stove as well. Then I simply poured it over grilled chicken breasts.
It was sweet, but not too sweet, and so simple. Everybody really enjoyed it.

Sweet Blueberry Cornbread

I love cornbread and I love blueberries, so when I found this on the Paula Deen website I had to make it. Of course, I tweaked it a little bit to make it healthier.

We ate it for breakfast drizzled with a little honey. The kids really liked it. I loved the texture and I was surprized at how well blueberries and cornmeal complimented each other.

Daphne has this on her blog, too. She used blue cornmeal instead of yellow. I will definately be trying that next time. :)

Sweet Blueberry Cornbread

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)

2/3 cup sugar ( I used helf sugar, half Splenda)

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten (I used Egg Beaters)

1/3 cup canola oil

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup fresh or fresh frozen blueberries

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8” square baking pan (I used a 9x13 pan) with non stick baking spray and set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, corn meal, baking powder and salt. In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, oil and butter. Add to flour mixture to wet mixture and stir just until blended. Gently fold in blueberries.
Pour into prepared baking pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. Serve warm with butter.

Baked Peach Pancakes

We got some fresh peaches from a local orchard, and I wanted to make some kind of pancake with them. I LOVE using fresh fruit in my baking - especially breakfast. So, I did an online search for some ideas, and I found a Weight Watchers recipe for Baked Peach Pancakes. It's more like a cobbler, but not anywhere near as sweet. So, it's perfect for breakfast or brunch. My kids really liked it. I got a great compliment from Dillon, "Mom, you're the best cooker. Even my teacher says so." Okay, I had to brag a bit. ;)

I changed up the recipe a little bit here and there, and I really like the results. Next time, though, I will probably use more peaches - cover the bottom of the 9x13 with them. Alll the nutritional info did not come from me. It was included with the recipe, and I have no idea if it's correct or not. Plus, with all my changes, it's probably not the same anyway.


Baked Peach Pancakes






Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

2 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches (3 medium)
6 eggs (I used Egg Beaters)
1 cup flour ( I used Whole Wheat flour)
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk (I used buttermilk)
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt




Preparation


1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. Spray 2 1/2 quart casserole or 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.
3. Melt butter in baking dish in oven.
4. Beat eggs slightly in large bowl with wire whisk.
5. Beat in flour, sugar, salt, milk and almond or vanilla extract until smooth.
6. Stir peaches into butter in baking dish. Return to oven 2 or 3 minutes until sizzling.
7. Pour batter over peaches.
8. Bake about 20 minutes or until puffed and golden.
9. Serve with warmed Peach preserves or Maple syrup, if desired.

WW POINTS per serving: 8

Nutritional information per serving: 344 calories, 18.3g fat, 1.4g fiber

Breakfast with Aunt Daphne

My sister-in-law has been visiting this week, and she went home today. :(

But, before she left this morning, we made breakfast (of course). She went blueberry picking yesterday, so we decided to make blueberry pancakes. Yum Yum. I made up the batter last night and put it in the fridge. Then, this morning we added the blueberries and cooked up the pancakes. I have to say they were great. I cut up some strawberries and some cantalope (bought from a local produce stand) to put on the side. Great summer time breakfast!!

Of course, my two little guys had to help. So, on with the aprons and chef hats and we had two very eager assistants. They wanted to put the blueberries in the batter and help with the fruit - they really ate more fruit that they helped with. Everyone had fun cooking together, and afterwards, eating together. Dad even came in from working on the "Man Cave" to eat with us. :)

Here is the finished product. Blueberry pancakes with strawberries and canalope. Don't get too impressed, the pancakes were started from Heart Smart Bisquick that I jazzed up a bit. I added cinnamon, vanilla extract, and a bit of Splenda to the mix. Plus, instead of eggs, I used Egg Beaters. Hey. at least I attempted to keep them healthy! :)