Applesauce Muffins

Here is another recipe from the "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook written by Jessica Seinfeld. I made these muffins and Kirk, the boys, and I loved them. They were really yummy. It is a great way to get vegetables into my kids (and their parents).

Topping:
2/3 c. old-fashioned oats
1/4 c. firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 T. transfat- free soft tub margarine spread, melted

Batter:
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. old-fashioned oats
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c. nonfat (skim) milk
1/2 c. butternut squash or carrot puree (I used carrot)
1/2 c. firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 c. vegetable or canola oil
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 400 degree. Coat a 12-c. muffin tin with cooking spray or mine with paper baking cups. To make the topping, stir together the oats, suagr, and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in the margarine. To make the batter, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl or zipperlock bag and stir or shake to mix. In a second bowl, mix the applesauce with the milk, vegetable puree, sugar, oil and egg with a wooden spoon. Add the flour mixture slowly, stirring until just moistened. Do not overmix - the batter is suppose to be lumpy. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and sprinkle with the streusel topping. Bake until the topping is lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the muffins, 18-20 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto a rack and serve warm or cold.

As I said, all but my daughter liked them. I just saw this cookbook at Walmart for $10. Happy Cooking!

Macaroni and Cheese

A few weeks ago, Jessica Seinfeld was on Oprah. She has done a cookbook using purees. I was really intrigued by the idea and I took some of her recipes off Oprah's site. I have tried a couple - I would love to have her cookbook - there was one that the family liked really well and one they didn't. I am going to share both of them with you eventually. The one that didn't work out was her mac and cheese. Her recipe uses real cheddar and I have always used Velveeta. I am sure the cheddar is better for you than the Velveeta, but my family is used to the Velveeta taste. So the last time I made mac and cheese, I made it my way and just added the puree Jessica's way. It was tasty - and my family didn't know that they were also eating butternut squash as well.

I don't have any measurements - I just add until I think that it looks right.

Velveeta
1/3 c. Butternut Squash Puree
2 T. Flour
2 T. Butter
cooked Macaroni (I cook about 1/2 of a 12 oz bag)
milk

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour. Mix it in until it starts bubbling and let it cook for a minute. Start adding the milk and whisk it together until the lumps are out. Add enough milk until it looks like the mixture would cover the amount of macaroni that you have. Add the cheese and the puree. Let it melt together. Add the macaroni. I also add cut-up hot dogs for my husband's benefit. As I am typing this up, I am feeling bad that I don't have more exact measurements. Next time I make it, I will try to figure them out, and change this post.
Purees are easy to do. Just cook the fruit or vegetable that you want to puree. Then puree it in a blender. You can freeze it or refrigerate.