Friday is here and a big storm is brewing.  Exactly what we need around here….pffft.  I am not a big fan of snow storms, but I am definitely not a fan of them on the weekend.  Let’s try and get cheered up with a wholesome muffin recipe.

I adapted a recipe from eatingwell.com on the baking day as the kids like muffins and I thought it would be something quick and easy to make.  All be it, they were very easy to make, I didn’t find they had a lot of flavor at all and I am not sure why. 

All the ingredients were fresh but I just found they were BLAH.  The texture was a little tough as well which may be attributed to me possibly over mixing the batter but I don’t even think I did that.

Let me know your thoughts as to why these muffins were just not “ZESTY”.  Don’t worry though, I ate them all but it just felt like I was eating air.

Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 1/2 Cup sugar
• 1 Cup nonfat buttermilk, (I just added a tablespoon of lemon juice to skim milk for the same effect)
• 1 Tbsp. Canola oil
• 3 Tbsp. Unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 Egg
• 1 Tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 Cup white whole-wheat flour, or whole-wheat pastry flour (see Shopping Tip)
• 1 Cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tsp. baking powder
• 1 Tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 Tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (not thawed) blueberries

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 large (1/2-cup) muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper liners.
2. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest from the lemon in long strips. Combine the zest and sugar in a food processor; pulse until the zest is very finely chopped into the sugar.
3. Add buttermilk, oil, applesauce, egg and vanilla and pulse until blended.
4. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk mixture and fold until almost blended.
5. Gently fold in blueberries. Divide the batter among the muffin cups.
6. Bake the muffins until the edges and tops are golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
7. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
8. Serve warm.
9. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Make ahead tip – Wrap each in plastic and freeze in a freezer bag for up to 1 month. To reheat, remove plastic, wrap muffin in a paper towel and microwave on High for 30 to 60 seconds.

Orlando Update

Remember a couple of weeks ago that I mentioned we were going to Disney world and I posted a accommodation question for you asking for guidance and suggestions.  Well I received numerous emails and comments ( which I am very grateful for ) but one of the emails stood out to say the least.  I received an email from Danica over at Danicasdaily.com that went a little something like this:

HI Z,

You are going to Disneyworld ~ FUN!!!!  I have a few suggestions for your for places to stay in Orlando and an idea for you/your family.  We own several time shares that are AWESOME and definitely better to stay at when you have a family.  They are more like condos with full kitchens, bedrooms, great pools and fun activities kids/adults on site too.  I could go on for days on why we LOVE our time shares so if you have any questions, just ask away.

I had a proposition though….Since you know I LOVE the work you did on Friends For Weight Loss and I have been wanting to revamp Danicasdaily.com since my search sucks, want to do a swap?  I can give you one of our Time Shares if you give Danicasdaily.com a makeover??  What do you think?

She continued in the email by providing us numerous resort options and locations and letting us pick the destination.  Both Mrs Zesty and I could not believe our eyes as we read the email and we were very grateful.  We spent the rest of the evening looking at the resorts ( emailing questions) and we finally decided on STAR ISLAND RESORT.  Have a look below at some of the pictures from the resort as we are super excited to get there and have fun.

To wrap up, all 4 of us are very thankful for both Danica and Jay’s enormous generosity.  Have a super Friday and I will see you all at the first of the week.

Take care

zesty

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Welcome to the first installment of the Valentines treat week at ZestyCook.com.  Before I get started please do not forget to sign up for the great giveaway of Grill Charms.  The contest will run through the day tomorrow and then I will announce the winners on Thursday’s post.

I have been craving homemade muffins without a huge amount of oil.  I recently picked up a new box of granola (fiber and flax) so I thought I would incorporate that into a basic muffin mixture with some apples.  This is what I came up with.  A delicious muffin, moist on the inside with a little crunch on the outside from the granola.

I was really impressed with the texture of the muffin, although I did find that maybe the apple was a little “BLAH“.  Next time, maybe I will add some flavor to the apple before hand.

Ingredients

• 1 Large Apple (Peeled and Cored)
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 2/3 Cup All-Purpose Flour
• 2/3 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 Tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 3/4 Cup Granola
• 4 Tbsp. Canola Oil
• 1 Large Egg (beaten)
• 1 Cup Skim Milk

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 12- hole muffin pan.









2. Place the apple and half the sugar in a bowl and set aside for 5 minutes.



3. Sift together remaining sugar, flour(s), baking powder, cinnamon and salt.



4. Stir in granola (reserving some for top of muffins).



5. In a small bowl, beat together remaining ingredients.  Stir this liquid into the dry ingredients and lightly stir together.



6. Divide the mixture among the holes in the muffin pan, filling each about 2/3 full.



7. Top with remaining granola.
8. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly brown.
9. Remove the muffins from the oven and turn out immediately onto a cooling rack to cool.
10. Serve warm or at room temperature.



11. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When mixing the dry ingredients with the wet – be sure not to over mix, lumps and some flour still showing is OK.  If you over-beat the batter, the muffins will be flat.

This was a really fun recipe to play around with.  What do you think of the pictures? I think I may have finally figured out how to focus in the front and blur in the back with my camera.  I am pretty excited.  Have an awesome Tuesday!

I think tomorrow’s special treat may make you smile.  I can’t wait to share it with you.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Friday everyone!  Another week is almost over… crazy isn’t it.  I thought I would share with you a simple muffin that you can make when you need something sweet in a hurry.  I made these a few weeks ago and they are actually pretty tasty.

These muffins are very flexible.  You can mix it up by switching the nuts to pecans as well as adding some of your favorite dried fruit in them as well.  Dates would also work really well.  This one is super easy and a great Sunday morning treat for the house to wake up too.

Ingredients

BOWL #1:

• 1 1/2 Cups flour
• 1/2 Cup sugar
• 2 Tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 Tsp. salt
• 1/4 Cup shortening
• 1 egg (well beaten)
• 1/2 Cup milk

BOWL #2:

• 1/4 Cup brown sugar
• 1/4 Cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. flour
• 1 Tsp. cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp. butter, melted

Method

1. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl.
2. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles crumbs.
3. Mix egg and milk together, add all at once.
4. Stir just until moistened.
5. Combine brown sugar, nuts, flour, cinnamon and melted butter.
6. Place 1/2 batter in greased muffin tins or liners (I opted for liners).
7. Sprinkle nut mixture over 1/2 batter, then top with remaining batter. (I save a little nut mixture to sprinkle on top too.)
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Zesty Tip: When baking any cake like batter – always keep an eye on the cooking process but try not to open the oven door during the allotted time.  If you feel you oven may be too hot – reduce the baking time by 2 minutes and be sure to check the batter with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean.  If it does, you are good to go.

Let me know your favorite kind of muffin! I know I am going to hear a lot of pumpkin responses but let me hear them all – it will be fun!  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Take Care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty