Applesauce oatmeal muffins

Are you a "sugar in the morning" type of person?  I certainly am.  I'm always craving something sweet when I get out of bed in the morning.  But I also try to make breakfast my healthiest meal, since it sets the course for good eating choices throughout the day.

I think muffins are the perfect package of sweet and healthy. And one muffin (in a regular size tin) offers instant portion control.  I like to bake up a batch of muffins on the weekend, then keep them in the freezer, so I'm not tempted to eat the entire batch at once. When breakfast time rolls around, I just take a muffin out the freezer, then pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds.  Instant breakfast!

A thoughtful co-worker passed along a recent clipping from the Omaha World Herald that featured reader-submitted muffin recipes.  Over the next few weeks, I'm going to try these recipes out for myself and share them with you. Because we all deserve a sweet start to the day!

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Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
From Omaha World Herald

• 1/2 C. butter (1 stick)
• 3/4 C. brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 C. flour
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 C. applesauce
• 1/2 C. raisins
• 1 C. quick cook oatmeal
• 1/2 C. nuts

Cream butter, sugar and egg until fluffy; mix dry ingredients and add alternately with applesauce.  Add raisins, oatmeal and nuts.  Mix well. Spoon into 12 paper-lined muffin cups.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Feel free to add dried cranberries, chopped dates or even chopped apple.

Aerogarden: Month 4

OK.  One last Aerogarden update for the year.  I'm down to the last two weeks of fertilizer packets, and then I'm going to put these Aerogardens away until December rolls around again.

Of the three herb pods, the thyme is the last one left.  It's actually been thriving now that it doesn't have to compete with the dill.  It's grown bushy and tall.

I had to trim the petunias back a couple weeks ago because they got too leggy and were bumping up against the grow light.  I also was having a tough time keeping them well watered.  They were sucking up a bowl of water every two days!  When I couldn't keep up with the watering, the petunias started to wilt.  I still have one of the three petunia pods that's doing pretty well, thanks to the trim I gave it to promote blooming.

Hope you've enjoyed watching these Aerogardens grow over the winter months.  Now let's head outside and get our summer gardens ready!

Not according to plans

Happy Easter, everyone!  I'm enjoying the day here at home with my hubby.  For weeks, I've been planning my Easter day menu.  I went out and bought the best ham I could find.  I decided to baste the ham with a glaze made from my homemade apricot jam, which I tried last year to great success.  Unfortunately, I left the ham in the oven a little too long, and I ended up burning the apricot glaze on the ham.  I'll spare you the picture -- it wasn't pretty. 

I also tried my first-ever attempt at deviled eggs.  They looked pretty, but didn't taste all the great.  So I'll spare you that recipe, as well.

My garden plans also have been on hold.  We've had every-other-day rain showers for the last couple weeks, and temperatures dipped into the low 30s earlier this week.  Needless to say, the seeds I planted in early April just aren't growing.

And if the weather wasn't challenging enough, I'm also battling the rabbits.  The little buggers have already eaten the cauliflower and broccoli plants in my garden, except for one I managed to save with a make-shift cage. 

Unbelieveably, the rabbits have also eaten my tulip bulbs.  I've been planting tulips for a couple years now, and I've never seen a rabbit eat the leaves off a tulip.  Thankfully, the rabbits haven't touched my mini-tulips, so there's a little early season color to brighten up my garden.

Oh, and I probably shouldn't mention this -- it even makes me quesy, but we've also been overwhelmed by garter snakes that have taken residence underneath our backporch.  Needless to say, it makes me a little nervous to be out in the garden, knowing that a snake might cross my path.

So it's been an odd couple weeks -- between the weather and the wildlife.  I'm hoping things turn around and go my way again soon.