Tender Oatmal Cups

link to website of recipe shared by Eva

• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups 

  milk (any kind)

• 1/2 cup 

  unsweetened applesauce (or other fruit purée, such as mashed banana or canned pumpkin)

• 1/4 cup 

  nut butter or 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter or coconut oil

• 1/4 cup 

  maple syrup or honey, or 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon 

  vanilla extract

• 3 cups 

  old-fashioned oats

• 1 teaspoon 

  baking powder

• 1 teaspoon 

  ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon 

  fine salt

• 1/2 cup 

  chopped nuts, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, coconut flakes, or chocolate chips (optional)

• 1/2 cup 

  raisins or other chopped dried fruit (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oven and grease muffin pan: Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 350°F. Coat the wells of a standard 12-well muffin tin very well with cooking spray.
2. Mix the wet ingredients: Place the eggs, milk, applesauce, nut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth.
3. Add the dry ingredients: Add the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and fold with a rubber spatula until combined.
4. Fill the muffin tin: Divide the oatmeal mixture among the muffin wells, filling each one up to the top.
5. Top the muffins: Sprinkle the muffins with the nuts and dried fruit if using. Gently press the toppings into the batter.
6. Bake until golden: Bake until slightly risen, dry on top, and golden-brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
7. Cool for 5 minutes: Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a knife around each muffin and remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes for Tender Baked Oatmeal Cups

It’s hard to overstate how adaptable this recipe is. Keep the number of eggs, the amount of

liquid, and the measure of oats the same, and you can tinker with the other ingredients,

making these an ideal vehicle for using up small amounts of pantry ingredients.

Here are some of my favorite combinations.

 Use pumpkin purée and top with chopped dried apples and pumpkin seeds.

 Use mashed banana and top with dried blueberries and chopped walnuts.

 Top the oatmeal cup with mini chocolate chips and plump dried cherries.

 Swap the almond butter for cashew butter and top with chopped cashews and dried

mango.

 Just made some with apple sauce, maple syrup, and topped with chopped unsalted

nuts (peanuts, cashews, almonds), dried apples and dried sweetened cranberries. I

used salt-free peanut butter, salt-free baking soda, and only a 1/4 tsp. salt to meet our

low-sodium needs.

 These are good--tender & chewy. Nice alternative to cooked oats. I used coconut oil

and a mix of dried blueberries and pumpkin seeds as my add-in.

 I made these. Very yummy. I mixed in slivered almonds and dried tart cherries. I also

made half in a muffin top pan because......well, more crispy edge of course. Next time I'll

make them all in the muffin top pan.

 I omitted the sugar as ee64I also increased the baking powder (I use aluminium free

baking powder) to two teaspoons to increase the rise. I saved some of the nut butter to

drizzle on top over nuts and toppings to give the a roasted/toasted feel. Turned out very

good.

 Made these with mashed banana, walnuts and dried dates.

 I have tried many different oatmeal cup recipes. I really liked this one. I love how it's

more tender and not dry at all. I used brown sugar, applesauce, almond milk, chocolate

chips, and chia "eggs". If you find them bland, I would just add a bit more sweetener

• and a bit more salt.

Pumpkin Hummus

1 15 ounce can chickpeas

1 15 ounce can pure pumpkin

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1 lemon or 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 pinch dried parsley

Directions:

in a food processor or blender, combine all ingredients until smooth.

(serve with these)

Pumpkin Fluff

1 small tub Cool Whip

1 small can pumpkin

1 small box vanilla instant pudding

 

Mix together. :D

 

yummy with Nilla Wafers, apple slices, or I'm sure about anything!

Roasted Pumpkin

“So easy and you don’t have to measure a thing…but I’ll include a tip on how to easily cut up pumpkin.  This is also is delicious with butternut squash, our favorite!”
 
1 pumpkin or squash (Any size that works for your family)
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Fresh chopped thyme (You may use dried but fresh will be more flavorful)
 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
 
This is the hint that will make the pumpkin (or squash) easier to cut.  Take a sharp knife and randomly pierce the pumpkin all over…like you do with potatoes before baking them.   Also cut off the top of the pumpkin if there is a stem.   Place the pumpkin in your microwave.   The cooking time will vary depending on the size of your pumpkin.  Begin with 2-3 minutes and then carefully remove it from the microwave and attempt to cut down the sides of the pumpkin, removing the skin.  (If the pumpkin still seems to be too hard, continue to cook in the microwave for a few additional minutes at a time.)
 
Now that the pumpkin is easier to work with - Use a heavy, sharpened chef's knife and cut off about ¼ inch from the bottom of the pumpkin in an even slice. Then cut off about a ¼ inch from the stem end.  This will stabilize the pumpkin as you cut down the sides to remove the skin.
 
Once the skin is removed, cut the pumpkin in half and begin to remove the pulp and seeds with a large spoon.   Next, lay the pumpkin halves, cut side down on the cutting board for stability. Working a section at a time, cut the pumpkin into slices and then cut each slice into the desired cube size, about 1 inch.
 
The hard work is done!  Place all the cubed pumpkin into a baking dish that allows for most of the pumpkin to lie in a single layer.  Pour olive oil, salt and pepper over the pumpkin and mix well, coating all the pumpkin cubes.  Put the baking dish into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 45-55 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You may need to bake a little less or a little longer depending on the amount you are cooking and if you like your pumpkin softer or more crisp.
 
Once the pumpkin reaches your desired doneness, stir in fresh chopped thyme while it’s still hot and serve.
 

Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

‎6 ounces whole wheat penne pasta

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup nonfat milk

1 teaspoon margarine

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pinch ground cloves

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1 pinch ground cinnamon

1 pinch ground ginger

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions

1.Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the penne, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.

2.Heat the pumpkin puree, chicken broth, milk, margarine, onion powder, black pepper, salt, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger in a large skillet over low heat until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in the drained pasta, and toss with the Parmesan cheese.

Pumpkin-Apple Streusel Cake

Apples

· 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

· 4 cups diced peeled cored Granny Smith apples (about 4 large)

· 3 tablespoons sugar

· 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cake

· 11/2 cups all purpose flour

· 1 cup (firmly packed) golden brown sugar

· 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin

· 1/3 cup sour cream

· 2 tablespoons sugar

· 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

· 1 teaspoon baking soda

· 2 large eggs

· Vanilla ice cream

For apples:
Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples; sauté until apples begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add sugar and cinnamon and sauté until golden brown, about 3 minutes longer. Cool.
For cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan. Combine flour, brown sugar, butter, and salt in large bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until mixture resembles coarse meal. Set aside 2/3 cup of mixture for topping. Beat pumpkin, sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, spice, and baking soda into remaining flour mixture, beating just until smooth. Beat in eggs. Transfer batter to pan. Scatter apples evenly over top. Sprinkle reserved topping over apples.
Bake cake until topping is golden brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool cake in pan on rack 20 minutes. Run knife around pan sides to loosen cake. Release pan sides from cake. Transfer cake to platter. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream.

Mini Pumpkin Tarts

3 packages (15 tarts each) prebaked frozen mini pastry shells (we used Athens Mini Fillo Shells)

1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

2 cups (plus extra for garnish) frozen whipped topping, thawed

1 teaspoon (plus extra for garnish) pumpkin pie spice

1 (3.4-ounce) package cheesecake-flavor instant pudding and pie filling

Mint leaves (for garnish)

1. Remove the shells from the freezer and let them thaw at room temperature for 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine the pumpkin, whipped topping, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl, whisking until smooth. Add the pudding mix and whisk until smooth and thick.

3. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the filling into each of the shells (you can also pipe the filling with a pastry bag or a plastic sandwich bag with one corner snipped off), then top the tarts with whipped topping, a sprinkling of the pumpkin pie spice, and a mint leaf, if you like. Makes 45 tarts.

   picture by Family Fun Magazine

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/2 cups milk

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1.	In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt in a separate bowl. Stir into the pumpkin mixture just enough to combine.
2.	Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 egg

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Mix ingredients until moist, should be lumpy. Fillmuffin cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle 1/4 tsp sugar over batter in eachcup. Bake 18-20 min at 400 degrees. Remove from pan immediately.