Pumpkin Spice Muffins

There are a ton of pumpkin muffin recipes out there.  I tried to find one that was kind of healthy, but not so healthy that they tasted bad.  These muffins were really good have less sugar and oil than a lot of muffins I found.  If you wanted to make them more dessert-like, you could make cream cheese frosting to top them!

 Served with eggs

 I mixed my dry ingredients the night before, then all I had to do was mix my wet ingredients into the dry

 Wet and dry ingredients

 I like to do different toppings!

 Very yummy

Pumpkin Spice Muffins
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup oat flour (blend oats in blender until flour consistency)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp. butter cut into pieces
1 heaping cup pureed pumpkin
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup raisins or chocolate chips (I used golden raisins in half of the batter)

Toppings of choice:  granola, chocolate chips, oats, cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 400.  Grease 12 muffin tins.  Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.  Cut butter into batter and mash until it is crumbly.  In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg and vanilla.  Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture.  Add raisins and fold until mixture is gently combined.  Pour into a greased muffin pan.  Top as you desire.  Bake for 25 minutes and allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes.  Frost with cream cheese frosting if you wish (really good by the way).

This is how I ate them leftover!

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal

I didn't eat very much pumpkin stuff last year and this year I am making up for it.  I made Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal this morning and it was very good.  If you have never tried baked oatmeal it is kind of like oatmeal and breakfast cake collided.  I have made baked oatmeal several ways and this is now one of my favorites.  The recipe itself is not very sweet but if you like it sweeter, you can add more sugar.  Instead of adding more sugar, we just did yummy toppings.

 I topped mine with peanut butter, maple syrup and pumpkin granola

 Fresh out of the oven

 I divided ours into four so we each got a full serving of oatmeal

Enjoy!

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
(4 big servings or 6 small)
2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (optional but pretty tasty-could do nutmeg and ginger)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. brown sugar (or more if you like it sweeter)
1 egg, beat
1.5 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup chopped apple (or raisins-I used apple but would like to try raisins or chocolate chips)


Preheat oven to 375.  Combine the dry ingredients including brown sugar.  Combine the wet ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the dry.  Add chopped apple and stir well.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until center is set.  Allow to cool slightly, cut and top with favorite toppings.
Topping ideas:  peanut butter, any nut butter, granola, syrup, honey, chocolate chips
Adapted slightly from Kath Eats

Have a good weekend everybody

Pumpkin Madness

I am loving all the pumpkin goodies on the shelves.  My Mom and I went to Trader Joe's this week and they have all things pumpkin.  We got really excited and stocked up.  We are talking pumpkin spice chai, pumpkin granola, pumpkin butter, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pancake mix, pumpkin coffee...you get the point.  We didn't get all of these things but we are enjoying the pumpkin granola and coffee.  This is a great chance to talk about the pumpkin smoothie I have made a lot lately.  I have been enjoying it for breakfast and really enjoy it.

Smooth, creamy and delicious

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp peanut butter (approx.)
1 tsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. chocolate carnation or nesquick
sprinkle cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
5 ice cubes
1 large ripe frozen bananas

Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.  Enjoy

Morning Change Up

I have a lot of recipes to blog so get excited.  As you know I have been really off and on with blogging over the past couple of months.  I have had a lot going on and decided there was no need to have extra pressure to blog.  Over that time I have kind of stockpiled the things I have been cooking, so now I have lots to blog about.  I plan to blog one recipe a post to keep it simple. 
      Back to my morning change up!  If you didn't know, I drink a smoothie almost every morning.  I take Metamucil and flax (to help my stomach) I prefer to blend them in a smoothie rather than drink them in water.  This has been working for about 4 months, but last week I felt the need to change it up.  I have been craving pumpkin (and had some leftover pumpkin in my fridge) so I made pumpkin pancakes!  They turned out so yummy, plus they are moist and filling.  The best part is how easy they are to make-check it out.

 

 Topped with peanut butter, bananas, mini chocolate chips and cinnamon sugar

About 5-6 minutes on the griddle total.

A great way to start the day!

Easy Pumpkin Pancakes (for 1)
1/3 cup just add water pancake mix (I used Kodiak mix)
1/3 cup water
1 tsp. Nopalina Flax
2 Tbsp. pumpkin puree (approximate measurement, it is the plain pumpkin)
Sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon

Basically I made the mix according to the package, adding the pumpkin, flax, and spices before I stirred it all together.  Lightly oil a griddle and cook until bubbles start to pop (about 4-5 minutes) then flip.  Top with your favorite toppings.
*I like to keep my weekday breakfasts on the healthy side so I didn't use syrup.  I topped mine with peanut butter, bananas, a few mini chocolate chips and a sprinkles of cinnamon sugar.  I am not one to skip out on syrup but these were really good without it:)  Hope you enjoy them as much as me.
Other topping/batter ideas:  These would be really good with walnuts or pecans, topped with butter and syrup for a weekend breakfast.  Also they would be good topped with granola.