Don’t Throw Those Oranges Away, Make This Instead

IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME

I'm definitely the person who overspends when they go to the grocery store. I have three adult boys that live with me; and I'm always trying to think of things that are good for them, that they just might reach for when they are in a hurry.

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TOO MUCH FRUIT

For example, I always seem to buy more fruit than what gets eaten before it goes bad. Case in point; Oranges and Bananas.  Today I was looking at my counter top thinking; darn it! Those oranges are too ripe for the boys to eat now. I might as well throw them in the garbage.

But then; the baker in me came out. If the boys aren't going to eat those oranges while they're sitting on the counter, then perhaps I can use the ripened oranges and make them some kind of muffin, preferably on the healthy side; and still make use of them. I just hate throwing away all that money in the garbage can. So here goes. Here's the recipe I found this week for my oranges.  You can also try this same recipe with other fruits and see what happens. I've also got ripened bananas sitting on my counter, so we may have both varieties of muffins this weekend. Plus...I can freeze the muffins, so they can be eaten any time.  Here we go.

ORANGE MUFFIN RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 3 Cups Flour
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon salt
• 1/2 cup or two sticks of softened butter
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup of orange juice, or in this case fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon or more of orange zest/ (I have a zesting tool, which makes it super easy to get just the right zest, but you can also use a butter knife, cheese grater or other creative idea to get your zest.
• OPTIONAL: Add bits of bacon.  Yeah! Why not. Get that zesty, sweet and salty all at the same time.

DIRECTIONS

• Heat oven to 400.
• Line muffin tin with muffin cups, or spray non stick Pam/flour/baking blend
• In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• Add softened butter.
• Add the remaining ingredients and mix well; but don't over mix. A little lumpy is okay.
• Evenly divide the batter between the 16 muffin cups. Or; if you want bite size muffins, you'll have a lot more. Decrease baking time, and get smaller muffin tin liners for your small muffin tin.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Everyone's ovens bake a bit different, so keep an eye on them and don't over bake.