Apple, oat, walnut muffins

First and foremost, pardon this nasty, blue-tinged picture. Gah! So annoying! Had to take pic with my cell phone as my digi cam was drowned in aqua a few weeks ago. What a rip. Hope to get a new one in the coming weeks... til then... smurf tinted pictures will have to do!

Apple Oat Walnut Muffins

• 2 apples peeled and cored, diced finely
• 1 cup of walnuts chopped coarsely
• 1 cup of kefir (or yogurt)
  
• 3/4 cup of brown sugar
• 2 cups of organic wheat flour
• 1 cup of old fashioned oats
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp all spice
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp of sea salt
• 1/2 stick of butter at room temperature

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a bowl combine the egg, brown sugar, and kefir. Set aside.
3. In another bowl mix the dry ingredients: flour, oats, spices.
4. Add the dry ingredient bowl to the wet mixture.
5. Fold in the apples and walnuts.
6. Pour into muffin tin sprayed with Pam
7. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with brown sugar and sugar crystals.
   
8. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 and then reduce the heat to 400 and bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9. Cool in tin for 5 minutes and then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Serve warm with lashings of country fresh cream butter.

This recipe emerged from 2 left over apples that were sitting on my counter. Diced apples in the muffins adds such a lovely texture- moist and fluffy. You can use this recipe to also make a fabulous cranberry, walnut, oat, and apple bread. Simply add 1 cup of chopped dried cranberries to the mixture and pour into a greased bread pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 and then lower the heat to 400 for 10 more minutes. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


Enjoy!
Xoxox <3>Udo

So Many Posts!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!! Weeeee!!! Oh how I've missed you all!!!! Hrmph. I've made so many delicious fun treats these past few weeks and I haven't been able to post about a single one of them because my Sony Cybershot took a tumble with my water bottle in my LV a few weeks ago (funny story- not really) BAH!!!!

Now y'all know I don't like to post anything without pretty pictures and lord knows that last post I did on the Pieroghi Casserole was bad enough (took that picture with my cell phone). I'm hoping to hit a holiday sale over the next week or two, grab a new Cybershot and get back on the Udo Bandwagon!

Here's what we've missed lately from Chateau Udo:

• pulled pork sandwiches on pretzel bread with homemade coleslaw and cranberries
• a whole roasted free range chicken served on organic cous cous with holiday stuffing
• Christmas cookies out the wazoo (tadales, italian pepper cookies, thumbprints, etc.)
• whole grain apple, oat, walnut muffins
• whole grain apple, oat, walnut, cranberry bread
  

and in the non-food aisle:

• handcrafted jewelry (for Christmas presents)
• handcrafted soaps (for Chrismas presents)

Ah well... all the more reason to bake again over the holiday break! And while the holidays might be over for some - for others they are only just begingging!!! YAHOO! Get ready to gear up for January 6th (the second Christmas) a.k.a. Epiphany in Italy given by our very own La Befana the Christmas Witch! Weeeeee!!

Xoxox <3>Udo

Udo's Famous Pierogi Casserole

Casseroles? Naught things those! But what the heck- its the holidays and it's so easy to make or take! I made this casserole for a work function today. Prepared everything the night before, layered it, refrigerated it and then stuck it in the oven for 40 minutes when I got to work the next day. It was a big hit! If you like Pieroghi you will FLIP OUT over this dish... if you don't like Pierroghi- you must try this- the texture is incomparable and the taste is extraordinary!

Udo's Oh So Good Pieroghi Casserole

• 1 box of instant mashed potatoes
• 1 bag of wide egg noodles
• 10 large onions diced (yes - 10! don't freak out it's actually quite subtle once cooked)
• olive oil to taste and to sautee the onions in
• sea salt
• black pepper
• 2 packages of Cracker Barrel Vermont Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese (white)
• milk for the mashed potatoes
• buttah (that's butter) country fresh cream butter! (use in sauteeing and in the mashed potatoes)

Directions:

1. Prepare the bag of noodles as directed. Drizzle olive oil over so they don't stick. Set aside.
2. Prepare the box of potatoes as directed. Slice in a few tablespoons of butter. Set aside.
3. Dice the onions and sautee (in batches if necessary) in butter and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. Shred the cheddar cheese using the largest slot on a hand held shredder. If you use a smaller shred slot the cheese will become too thin and will clump together. Use the biggest slot.

Layer the ingredients from the above steps in a casserole dish as follows:

• mashed potato
• onion
• noodles
• cheese
• onion

Repeat the layers ending with cheese and onion on top. Cover with foil and refrigerate until you are ready to cook or cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes at 350 - until cheese looks melted and gooey. Serve warm. So yummy!!

Enjoy!

XOxO <3>Udo