Muffins

I am not a creative baker. It's true, I don't follow all recipes to a tee (ok, most recipes) but I try to stick fairly close. I bought some pomegranate seeds at Fresh and Easy on daily special and I wanted to make some muffins with them. The only problem is I didn't want to use oil and I'm out of applesauce. If I didn't have to take the three boys with me, getting applesauce might not be that big a deal. Since I didn't feel like making a trip to the store, I started looking on-line for some ideas of what to do. That's when I came across the idea of mashed beans. The author of a blog post mentioned using mashed kidney beans, and that's what I decided to use. I combined a few recipes from my Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book and here's what I came up with. 

Oatmeal-Pomegranate Muffins

1 c. flour

3/4 c. oats

1/3 c. wheat bran (can use flour if you don't have this)

1/3 c. + 2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 beaten egg

3/4 c. milk

1/4 c. mashed kidney beans (I put some no-sodium canned kidney beans in the food processor and let it go until they were a goo. This is in place of the oil).

About 1 c. pomegranate seeds (I used a 5.3 oz container from Fresh and Easy)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease/line muffin tin. 

2. In medium bowl combine flour, oats, wheat bran, sugar, baking powder, and salt. 

3. In another bowl combine egg, milk, and mashed kidney beans. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients all at once (make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and dump the egg mixture in). Stir just until moistened.

4. Fold in pomegranate seeds. 

5. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake for 15-18 minutes (mini muffins take between 10 and 15 min.) or until golden brown a wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 min. Remove from muffin cups and serve warm.

*I would probably add 1 tsp. vanilla to this. I didn't because it wasn't called for, but I know it would make it that much more awesome. They have great flavor and are very mild. If you add just a smidge of whip cream (I gave the boys about a tsp. to dip their muffins in) it adds just the right amount of sweet.