Spiced Baked Oatmeal

The Recipe's Story

Fall is just around the corner. It is my favorite time of year. I get to watch the leaves change, the weather in Seattle is crisp and cool, apples are ripe, and I get to look forward to the holiday season. I won't decorate for fall until September 1st but that does not mean I can't start cooking like fall. Though it was a Monday morning I decided to make a special breakfast. We use a Baked Oatmeal recipe from the lodge where we were married. It has a lots of special memories and it taste like a hearty northwest breakfast should. Normally I make this with cinnamon and put homemade applesauce over the top but this morning I opted for pumpkin pie spice. My little jar has cloves, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. The house smelled like the season I anticipate and this was a huge hit with my husband.

The base of this breakfast is oatmeal which  has a wide array of health benefits. It is a good source of protein, complex carbohydrates and iron. It is high in fiber and contains magnesium, manganese and iron. It is also a very good source of copper, selenium and zinc as well as B vitamins. Milk and eggs give you protein and the milk calcium. Just one teaspoon of cinnamon, which is found in the pumpkin pie spice, gives you 28 mg of calcium, almost one mg of iron, over a gram of fiber, and quite a lot of vitamins C, K, and manganese. It has also been shown to help stabilize blood sugar.

Spiced Baked Oatmeal

2 cups oatmeal
1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup 2% milk
2 large eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan.

2. In a medium bowl, mix ingredients together. Pour into prepared baking pan.

3. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm or cooled for soft baked snack.

Servings: 9
Calories: 163 per serving

Lemon Ricotta Muffins

The Recipe's Story

I am a huge fan of Italian. I dream of traveling to Italy, enjoy cooking and eating Italian, my favorite artist is Italian and I married an Italian. Well, my husband is only one quarter Italian but I scored the last name that comes straight from Italy. I frequently look at recipes from Giada De Laurentiis because she makes Italian cooking so easy. She has a recipe for Nonna's Lemon Ricotta Biscuits and these Lemon Ricotta Muffins are a knock off. The original are amazing but I don't keep almond extract or almond slivers in the pantry so I made a little switch. I exchanged almond extract for vanilla, cut the almond slivers on top and, I use extra lemon because I wanted a stronger flavor. We eat these for breakfast or as a healthier sweet treat over coffee cake.

These muffins were originally called a biscuit because they are dense from the cheese. They have a mildly sweet, very lemony flavor and make your home smell amazing. Using mostly Ricotta cheese over butter gives you lower fat protein, vitamin A, riboflavin and vitamin B12. In addition you get calcium, selenium, zinc and phosphorus. Lemon juice aids in digestion by triggering the liver to make more bile. Pick these muffins over your store bought ones. They are a much healthier choice with a hidden health benefit of ricotta.

Lemon Ricotta Muffins

2 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c granulated sugar, plus more for sprinkling

1/2 c unsalted butter at room temperature

1 T grated lemon zest

1 c whole milk ricotta cheese

1 large egg

1 1/2 T fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir ingredients to combine.

2. In a large bowl beat 1 cup sugar, butter, lemon zest and ricotta cheese until combined. Beat in the egg, lemon juice and vanilla extract until fully incorporated. Add the dry ingredients a half cup at a time and stir until just blended.

3. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle some sugar over the muffins. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until the muffins are a light gold on top. Cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Servings: 12 muffins

Calories: 237 per muffin