Peanut butter chocolate chip muffins

I'm not sure which I love more, the marriage of peanut butter and chocolate or the marriage of caramel and chocolate.  Both combinations are heaven to me.  I also love making muffins.  They are quick and simple and perfect for freezing and packing in little one's lunches.  When I found these peanut butter chocolate chip muffins on Pinterest, I just knew that I would be baking in the near future.

I realized that I had everything on hand already, so I whipped up a batch.  These muffins did not disappoint.  My partner in crime at work, Allison, was just as smitten as me after her first taste.  I feared that they would be more of a cupcake than a muffin, but they really are a more of a muffin and the not too sweet with the chunks of chocolate and just yum!

Here it is:
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2/3 cup brown sugar
6 T butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky, creamy, whatever you prefer)
2 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used huge chunks, the original recipe called for mini, so again, personal preference)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar.
In the bowl of your mixer (or another large bowl) combine butter, peanut butter, eggs, and milk until smooth.  The peanut butter may remain a little clumpy and that's ok.  Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture until just combined (you do not want to beat muffin batter too much).  Fold in chocolate chips.
Scoop batter into paper lined muffin tins filling about 3/4 full.  Bake for 17 - 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

I couldn't help myself and had to try one right out of the oven.  The melted chocolate and warm peanut butter was amazing.  Although warm and melty is my preference, Allison prefers them at room temperature and claims that they were even better the next day.  Enjoy!

Original recipe adapted from kaitlininthekitchen.com

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

I had two predicaments.  The first was that Jason just bought a bag of apples that Collin promptly threw to the floor, so now I have an entire bag of badly bruised apples.  The second was that my beloved MIL accidentally picked up plain oatmeal packets instead of the flavored that my kids prefer.  I could only think of one solution - bake muffins.  I have to admit, it was a wonderful decision, so I am excited to share.

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
Adapted from Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins at food.com

Muffins:
1 1/2 cups oats (quick or old-fashioned, I used quick)
1 1/4 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsweetened applesauce*
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 egg
(I also added some chia seeds to sneak in a bit more nutrition)

Topping:
1/4 cup oats (quick or old-fashioned, again I used quick)
1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Heat oven to 400.  Line 12 medium muffin tins with paper cups.  Combine oats, flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda.  Add applesauce, milk, brown sugar, oil, and egg.  Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Fill muffin cups almost full.

For topping combine ingredients.  Sprinkle evenly over batter.

Bake 20 - 22 minutes until deep golden brown.  Serve warm.

*I made applesauce.  I just peeled and diced the apples, added a bit of water, and simmered for 1-2 hours over low heat.  It was still a little chunkier than I prefer, so I hit it with my submersion blender.

These muffins are delicious.  I can't even explain the topping.  I tasted a bit before baking and was unimpressed, but after it caramelized and bonded with the oats, it is just amazing. 

Problems solved!

Making food for babies and people older than babies

Oh dear, sweet blog, I swear that I haven’t been ignoring you. I really just haven’t had anything to report.

I am still making baby food, but realized that the era will be coming to an end in the near future. The little man prefers feeding himself tiny bites with his fingers and is desperate to use the spoon (or at least have enough control over it so that he can wave it in the air or bang it on the tray or do whatever else he wants with it). So, my days of pureeing are numbered. I am a little sad, as this made me feel more of a part of my son’s nurturing where I feel that I miss out on so much.

There is an upside to not making baby food – I can focus my efforts on making food that the entire family can enjoy. I really want to make my own bread. I would love to get my husband away from the white Wonder bread and I have been dreaming up yummy combinations that I can’t wait to try. Hopefully I will have the time and the tools to begin this project soon. I am also anxious to try canning my own spaghetti sauce and pizza sauce. I have daydreams of a weekly family night involving the entire family making homemade pizzas together and watching a movie together afterwards. Of course my child will have to be a little older to help out and appreciate a movie, but that’s why they are currently daydreams. Making and canning my own pizza sauce will help make this dream easy and doable, plus give us a fresh from the garden taste in the middle of the cold Ohio winters.

I have been buying mostly organic groceries for a couple of months now. Cheese and meat has been an obstacle, because of cost and availability. Luckily our Farmer’s Market has an organic cheese stand that is wonderful. It takes all of my power to not spend my entire paycheck there. Unfortunately it is only available during the Farmer’s Market, so the off season will still be a challenge. I still can’t find a good solution for meat, so I have been serving vegetarian meals a couple of times a week. Eggs were also costly, but availability was easy. I thought eggs were going to break me, but luckily I have a co-worker that has chickens and has been selling eggs to me at a much more reasonable price. I have become pretty proud of my organic pantry.

 We are still undergoing the slowest move in the history of moves. This is not only draining our energy, but also our bank accounts. Fixing and replacing to make the new house livable has come before any green changes that we would like to make. So, sadly, I have not begun to compost or recycle or do anything else that I want to do in the new house.I really didn’t expect the move to stall my green efforts so much. I plan to continue to make little changes whenever I see the opportunity and the funds and hope that some of my bigger changes can come into effect by the end of the year.