Egg, Cheese and Cornmeal Muffins

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Cook time: 17 minutes
Yield: 8 muffins
Calories: 241 per muffin
Adapted from: Better Homes and Gardens recipe for Bacon-and-Egg Muffins (http://www.bhg.com/recipe/bacon-and-egg-muffins/)


 Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2.5 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Grease 8 muffin cups; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar and baking powder.
4. In another bowl, combine milk, vegetable oil and eggs; stir into flour mixture.
5. Fold in cheese, then ladle mixture into muffin cups.
6. Bake for 17 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Daycare mornings are a bit of a rush in our house; by the time I'm sitting at my desk at 8 a.m., a lot has already happened!  These muffins make things easier and reduce our reliance on the Tim Horton's drive-thru!

Apple Muffins

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 18 minutes
Yield: 14 regular muffins or a ton o' mini muffins
Calories: 394 per muffin
Source: Better Food for Kids


Ingredients

• 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
• 1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 apples, unpeeled and coarsely chopped
• 1.5 cups plain yogurt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda and cinnamon; mix well.
3. In another bowl, combine apples, yogurt, oil and eggs; mix well.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring until just moistened without over-mixing.
5. Spoon into greased muffin tins or paper muffin cups.
6. Bake for 18 minutes for full-sized muffins or 10 minutes for mini muffins.

These muffins have always been a favourite of Charlotte's - and they're super easy to make.  Charlotte likes to help with the mixing!  The recipe book indicates a 15-minute prep time, but clearly these people had their apples chopped, their brown sugar flowing smoothly and no toddler drama to contend with during the process!  I have tried adapting the recipe a little, substituting a cup of raspberries or blueberries for one of the apples.  The muffins are a lot more moist with berries added to the mix!

Apple and Shrimp Curry

Total time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Calories:  306 per serving


Ingredients

• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1/8 cup butter
• 1 clove chopped garlic
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 large apple, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 tbsp flour
• 1 package frozen shrimp

Directions:

1. Cook rice according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, heat butter and add garlic; cook until lightly browned.
3. Add water and bring to a boil.
4. Add tomato and apple
5. Separately, blend ginger, sugar, curry powder, salt, pepper and flour.
6. Add enough cold water to form a paste, then stir into boiling mixture.
7. Add shrimp and cook for 5 minutes more.
8. Serve over rice.

I first made this dish ages ago when I first moved out of my parents' house and needed to somehow feed myself!  I love this dish because it's quick and delicious - in the time that it takes to cook the rice, the curry will be ready to serve on top of it.  It's my go-to recipe when I have to feed guests on short notice or with little time to prepare.

Quinoa Pizza Bites

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Makes: approximately 40 bites
Calories: 35 per bite
Source:  adapted from www.soveryblessed.com


Ingredients

• 2 cups quinoa
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp dried basil
• 1 cup chopped pepperoni slices
• 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

1. Bring quinoa to a boil in four cups of water; reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Preheat oven to 350.
4. When quinoa is cooked, stir it into the mixture.
5. Distribute mixture into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup to the top and pressing down gently to compact.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

My mum first turned me on to these delicious little snacks and completely won me over at first bite - all the taste of pizza in one healthy little morsel.  They have since become a staple in our house; we usually have a bag of them in the freezer to throw into Charlotte's lunchbox on days when I'm not quite sure what else to do.  The recipe here differs from the one on the soveryblessed.com website only in that I've substituted dried basil for fresh - I always have dried basil on hand, but not fresh.  As well as being a great lunchbox item, these make for great appetizers too.