Friday, September 23, 2005

Meet the "Muffin Girl"

Today is one of those slow days… at a regular check up appointment I found out last week that I now have hypothyroidism, and two days ago started taking the medication.
I know that my body is still adjusting in order to properly function, but all this hormone action is kind of getting me down.
So, no special cooking today… it was “leftovers day” for lunch, and I have no idea what I am going to make for dinner.
Although not much cooking is going on, I woke up early this morning and baked some muffins for breakfast!
I am posting today one of our favorite and easiest muffin recipes. I call them “Oatmeal Muffins”, as that is simply what they are.
I copied the base for this recipe in one of my first visits to the local library, when I first moved to the US, however it was a while ago and I have no idea which book it came from.
I am a declared “Muffin Girl”, I really, truly adore muffins! I bake muffins every week, and my muffin pan is for sure the most used bakeware in my kitchen.
And by muffins I mean homemade muffins, not the commercial stuff loaded with sugar, white flour, and all those fake flavorings. I like the tender muffins we make at home, full of real flavors, with oatmeal and fruits, whole-wheat flour and cinnamon, the ones that invades the whole house with the sweetest and most wonderful aroma while baking. Muffins are delicious, can be very nutritious, and are warming and comfortingly good for you!
And I guess I have passed my passion to both my boys at home. You can bet that at least one muffin is eaten at our house everyday!
Give this recipe a try, it is super easy and will not disappoint, I promise!

Ana

Matheus took a picture of his breakfast today! (quite nice pic, huh?!)








Oatmeal Muffins
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups flour (I use 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup whole wheat)
1/2 cup sugar (I like brown sugar)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 eggs (or 4 egg whites)
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and raisins. In another bowl mix milk, egg whites, oil, and vanilla. Make a well in center of dry ingredients, add milk mixture, and stir just until combined.
Pour batter into 12 muffin cups greased with cooking spray (or oil). Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Notes: the raisins are optional and can be omitted. I have made this recipe in numerous different ways by substituting the raisins with chocolate chips, fresh blueberries, one grated apple, dried cranberries, and chopped dried apples. As with most muffins these freeze extremely well. As soon as they cooled a bit I pop the leftovers into a zip bag and into the freezer they go. And then, every morning we just microwave them for 30 seconds to have warm homemade muffins for breakfast!

11 comments:

Joe said...

Nice muffins =) I make them quite frequently as well.

Tyanne said...

Hi, I started following your posts recenlty, and I made your oatmean muffins last night,and reheated them this morning for our breakfast, they were so good. Thanks for the great recipe.

Ana said...

Hey Joe, these are such good muffins, and so versatile!

Tyanne, I was very happy to see your coment today! I am glad you are enjoying my blog, and even more that you liked the muffins!! It is one of my most repeated and favorite recipes, very easy and so good! And as I said, you can always "play" with it a little bit, with different add ins and adjusting it even more to your liking!

Ana

Anonymous said...

Good day!!! Wow, the oatmeal muffins are gorgeous. I made them when you first gave me this recipe and they are definitelly beautiful. Little Matheus has very steady hands, doesn't he?What a good little picture he took.Reading your blog has made me hungry so I shall go and bake some more now.
Catch you later!!

Anonymous said...

hermana! postei a foto dos docinhos do casamento no flog de comida!!!! da uma olhada depois tahhh???
Beijinhos, amo vc! estou morrendo de saudade!!!!!
Ana

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm, off I go to buy some oatmeal and try your wonderful muffins!!

Cate said...

Sorry to hear about the hypothyroidism. I was diagnosed with it 8 years ago, so if you need anyone to talk to, feel free to drop me a line. It's a bummer for sure, but once you get the right meds/dosage, all will be right.

~~my~~ said...

wow, those are nice muffins. I copied it and add in my recipe list Ü

By the way, what did you put for topping?

Ana said...

Hi ~~my~~!
I sprinkled rolled oatmeal on top! (the same I used inside the muffins!)
Ana

Kathleen said...

Hi Ana! Happy Birthday! Wow, your muffins are so beautiful! I'm jealous because I had a muffin disaster recently! I need some of your muffin magic. I can't decide on trying this recipe or the millet or ... there are so many great ones to pick!

Kathleen

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