PB&J Muffins

This was inspired by Paula Dean -she's my aunt in my head.  But I tweaked a basic muffin recipe on my own.

Fun story about today.  I made three batches of muffins.  Two dozen were blueberry with lemon and one dozen of these pb&j muffins.  It wasn't until I was typing up the recipe for this post that I realized that I had forgotten the sugar...in all three batches!  That's my epic cooking fail of the day.  I like to say that if you can read you can cook because most recipes will not lead you astray.  I guess today I just can't read.  :) 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins

1 1/3  cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
Jam or jelly of choice

Grease or line with paper cups a muffin tin (twelve 2.5 inch)
In a medium bowl combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Make a well in center of flour mixture, set aside.
In another bowl combine egg, milk and oil.  Add egg mixture and peanut butter to flour mixture.  Stir until just moistened and the peanut butter is mixed.
Spoon batter into the muffin cups to about 1/2 full.
Top with aprox a teaspoon of jelly or jam.
Fill cups with the rest of the batter so that the jam is encased in the batter.
Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 mins.

Serve warm with a tall glass of milk.  :)

Enjoy!

Grand Granola

I get up at 5:00 a.m., so breakfast really shouldn't be a problem. But five in the morning is my only time when the phone's not ringing and nobody needs me and I have time to just sit and read my scriptures and ponder.
So this is one of my favorite "there's-a-delicious-nutritious-breakfast-already-in-the-pantry-so-I-don't-have-to-feel-guilty-that-I'm-not-in-the-kitchen-"making"-breakfast" recipes. In fact, I use it so much, my cook book opens right to that page.


Grand Granola



2 cups rolled oats, quick-cooking or old fashioned
1/2 cups slivered almonds
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup honey or molasses
2 cups raisins (I let my family add these if they want to their own bowls)

In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Melt butter or margarine and honey together in a small saucepan. Pour over dry ingredients, and blend well. Spread on a baking sheet. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven , and add raisins. Store in an air-tight container. Makes 6 to 7 cups.

Note: Diced dates, dried apricots, cherries, cranberries or blueberries may be substituted for the raisins. Cashews, walnuts, pumpkin seeds or other nuts may be used in place of the almonds. I always double this recipe and I keep the same cooking time. So if you aren't doubling, yours may turn out a bit more toasty than mine. :)

from: "The Natural Nine: Cooking with Whole Grains" by: Lorraine D. Tyler