Just another Catholic mom

With two growing girls (okay, technically three, but one's strictly on the "mama milk" at the moment) I hear at least one whining "I'm hunnnngry" at given moment throughout the day (unless, of course, we're in the middle of eating, and then it's usually "I'm fuuuullll"). Since money is tight and most snack food from the store is highly processed and devoid of any real nutrition anyway, I cook most of our food from scratch.

For snacks, one thing I like to do is make up muffins most mornings (usually every other morning at least). They're quick to make, they travel easily, and I can sit a plate on the table for the girls to snatch muffins off of whenever they like.

Here's a few of my favorite muffin recipes-

*Note* I use whole wheat flour and raw sugar often. It takes trial and error to determine what they're best in. For example, I wouldn't use them in the donut muffins, but they're a wonderful substitute in the oatmeal muffins, and they're great in zucchini muffins. Raw sugar is not nearly as sweet as refined white sugar, and whole wheat flour has a grainier texture and a fuller, more earthy flavor. I like to use extra finely ground whole wheat flour so that I can use it more often. If you're not used to raw sugar and whole wheat flour, it's best to only substitute for half; so if the recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, use 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose.

Basic Muffins (very versatile! Add shredded zucchini or carrots, mashed banana and nuts, whatever you have on hand)

1/4 C oil
1 egg
1 C milk
1/4-1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP baking powder
2 C flour

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine oil, egg, milk, sugar, and salt. Mix well. Add in baking powder and flour, mix gently till moistened. Spoon into greased muffin tins, about half full. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Oatmeal Muffins

1 C oatmeal
1 C buttermilk (or, mix 1-2 TBSP lemon juice into regular milk and let it stand a few minutes)
1 egg
1/2 C sugar
1/3 C oil
1 1/4 C flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine the oatmeal and milk, mix, and let it set for a few minutes while the oatmeal absorbs some of the milk. Add egg, sugar, and oil. Beat with a whisk. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix gently until moistened. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.

Donut Muffins pictured above (surprise, surprise, these the family favorite!)

1/3 C shortening
1/2 C sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 C milk

Topping-

1/2 C sugar (the orginal recipe called for powdered, but we prefer granulated, good either way, though!)
1tsp cinnamon (or more if you like)
1/4 c melted butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Mash shortening and sugar (I use a pastry cutter). Add egg and whisk till smooth. Add flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add milk and whisk till smooth. Drop into greased muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes. Let cool.

While they're cooling, melt the butter in a bowl. Mix the sugar and cinnamon. Once the muffins are cool, dip the tops in the butter, and then in the cinnamon and sugar mix. Try not to scarf them all down as you do this. It's hard. They're really good.

Variation- Jelly donut muffins

Prepare as above, however, spoon half the batter into the muffin cup, put a tsp of jelly on top, then cover with the over half. Bake the same, and for the topping, wait till completely cooled, dip in melted butter, and then in plain powdered sugar. (Jelly is good in the basic muffin recipe above as well. It's yummy, though don't expect a big glob after baking, it kind of melts into the muffin. Very good, though!)

Magic Muffins (this was off the side of a Malt-O-Meal box, I just made them tonight and daddy and the girls loved them!)