A recipe from the bench

Apple-Oat Muffins
Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2003 Copyright 2002

2 cups shredded peeled McIntosh apple (about ¾ pound) I used Gala
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) carton plain low-fat yogurt I used vanilla Activa
1 large egg
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place apple on paper towels, squeeze until barely moist. (I missed this step but the Gala apples weren't very watery so I don't think it mattered.) Light spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir with a wire whisk. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, oil, vanilla, yogurt and egg; stir well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in apple.
3. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Remove muffins from pans immediately; place on a wire rack.

Yield: 1 dozen Per muffin:190 cal, 3.9 g fat, 4.5 g pro, 34.6 g carb, 1.9 g fiber, 20 mg chol, 238 mg sodium, 96 mg calcium

This was one of those scavenger recipes. I had two apples in the bin, for who knows how long. Apples are quite the hearty fruit, aren't they? They last forever. Anyway, I had those apples and two days in a row my son insisted he wanted yogurt but only took one bite before changing his mind. So instead of tossing the uneaten yogurt I made use of it in this recipe. I also had some quick oats that my husband brought home once when I sent him out for oatmeal without specifying the old-fashioned variety. Generally I prefer the old-fashioned variety for eating and baking.

These muffins had a different texture than the other muffins I've been making. They were sticky and kind of spongy. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I really didn't prefer it right away. But these muffins stayed moister for longer than most other muffins which counts for a lot since a batch of muffins lasts about a week around our house.

I didn't like that these used all white flour. I've made a few other apple-oat muffins that were stronger, nutrionally.

I actually made these two weeks ago but I never got around to posting about them. Last night I didn't make anything new. I picked up a few marinated boneless pork roasts for $1.49/lb last week. I wouldn't touch these at full price but I'm all over them for $1.49/lb. They aren't anything to rave about, taste-wise (these were Garden Herb flavored) but what I like about them is that they're practically indestructible. Even though they're lean, I can put one of these in the crockpot without worrying about it getting tough and dry. I can slice and grill one for quicker cooking too.

Nobody answered yesterday's Question of the Day so I'm not straining my brain trying to think of another one. Have a nice weekend!