Baking Goodness

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this blog and I love her frugalness (is that even a word? LOL). She manages to feed her family of 4 dinner for a whomping $5 per meal...most nights. I humbly bow to that.

Anyways, one of her recipes that we've just fallen completely in love with is her Fruit and Veggie Muffins. I've made these up for snacks. I love that they only take about 10 minutes of my time, they are healthy, and I am sure I'm saving money because we still have 2 packages of Goldfish crackers sitting in the cupboard from when Mark went shopping 2 weeks ago -- that NEVER happens!

As I just made up a batch I thought I'd share the recipe.

Fruit and Veggie Muffins

1 cup flour
3 tablespoons oil *
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup mashed or grated fruit or veggie **
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. In bowl, combine eggs, oil, sugar, and the fruit or veggie. Whisk. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Mix until it forms into batter. Add nuts. Pour into muffin cups. Mini muffins bake 8-10 minutes. Regular muffins bake 15-20 minutes. Tops will turn golden. Cool on rack. (These freeze beautifully. Thaw in just 10 seconds in the microwave or a few minutes on the counter.)

* Oil: if doubling recipe use 1/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup applesauce.
** Fruits and Veggies: 1 cup mashed banana, 1 cup banana and 1 cup strawberries (doubled recipe), 1 cup grated apple (add 1/2 cup raisins - optional), 1 cup squash and 1 cup grated apple (doubled recipe), 1 cup grated carrots (add 1/2 cup raisins - optional), 1 cup peeled and grated zucchini, 1 cup blueberries, or 1 cup of any other veggie you like...just mash or grate them up.