Yummy Prairie Honey Oatmeal Muffins

This recipes comes to you from the Canadian living magazine June 2006, but I actually found the link for the recipe on their site so here it is http://www.canadianliving.com/food/prairie_honey_oatmeal_muffins.php
My kids and husband loved these muffins. They all said that I should make more.  I made a few changes to the recipe to cut down on the fat and add a little more nutrition, so here they are.  I used 1 cup of milk with 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to make the buttermilk, for the 1/3 oil I used unsweetened applesauce and a little bit of coconut oil. Instead of brown sugar you can sub in palm sugar (aka coconut sugar) or a little bit of agave nectar.  For the topping on some I used raw cacao nibs, some I put a few chocolate chips on the top, and the rest I sprinkled with unsweetened flaked coconut.  Tomorrow I am going to mix up another batch and set them into the muffin cups and freeze them raw so when I would like to have a fresh batch of muffins ready in the morning I can just take out the frozen batch set them in the muffin tins and put them in the fridge to thaw out over night so their ready to bake in the morning. Yum.

Eat like an Egyptian

Today we had an enjoyable visit with my in-laws, sister-in-law.  For a worldly experience for the kids I thought it would be fun to try some new recipes.  The menu consisted of, Kusherie (Egyptian Rice and Lentils) which was very tasty, Beef Kabobs, Hummus with Pita, Rotisserie Chicken with a cumin, garlic and coriander rub under the skin, grilled potatoes with parsley, garlic and minced onions and a veggie grill with zucchini, sweet potatoes, onion, tossed in a tomatoe paste, with cinnamon sticks for flavor.  For dessert I made an apple crumble with cardamon seed to spice it up.The kids loved the chicken, pitas and potatoes. I wanted to take some pics but the camera's battery was dead.  I've listed the links and recipes for some of the dishes..
Kusherie :http://www.food.com/recipe/kusherie-egyptian-rice-and-lentils-134402

Beef Kebabs with Cinnamon Clove Rub
* 2 pounds beef cubes (or lamb)
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger
* ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* Onion wedges
* Splash of Lemon juice
Prepare the grill (don’t forget to spray with oil before the fire is lit.) Combine ingredients, cumin thru garlic in a dish or plastic bag. . Toss the meat cubes in the rub, either in the plastic bag or roll the cubes in the dish then add the splash of lemon juice and toss again. Let marinade for at least 1 hour. Put on sticks and grill.


Hummus
1 can of chickpeas (19 oz) rinsed
2 garlic cloves minced
3 tablespoons of Tahini (sesame seed paste, you can find it in any grocery store)
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
cumin to taste
1 roasted red pepper from a jar. (optional)

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and mix until smooth.  Add a little water to thin out mixture if needed.