Frugal Recipes: Fruit or Veggie Muffins

Editor’s Note:  Many of us frugal homemakers are fans of buying discount produce for budget cooking.  Lots of frugal recipes can be made more healthy and stretched a little by adding previously frozen fruits or vegetables which were bought at a deep discount.  
A while back, we wrote an article about saving produce before it goes bad by either puréeing it and freezing or by cutting up into slices or chunks and freezing to use in cooking later.  Read more about how to save fruits and vegetables with this method and sneak healthy food into your recipes without your kids knowing!

Nessa is a full time wife and mother of two, living the small town life in rural Texas. She loves cooking everything from tried and true recipes to her own wonderful creations. Catch her blogging at Ramblings of a Texas Housewife and on Twitter @Nessa_TX.

Frugal Recipes:  Fruit or Veggie Muffins

This basic muffin recipe is one I’ve made countless times using all sorts of different fruits and even vegetables. It is one of those great recipes that you can use your imagination with.
I’ve made basic apple, mixed berry, and even strawberry banana muffins. This weekend I made zucchini banana muffins. Play with it until you discover what you like best.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons margarine or butter
• 1 egg

Directions:

1.  Sift dry ingredients together into large mixing bowl.
2.  Whisk egg, margarine, and milk together until well blended.
3.  Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients and mix until the ingredients are well combined.
4.  Here is where you make your additions. For zucchini banana muffins, I used 1 cup diced zucchini and 1/2 cup mashed banana. Grated, diced, and even slightly pureed fruits and vegetables work well in these muffins. I often add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon at this point as well. Add your additions, then mix batter until everything is just blended together.
5.  Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 full of batter.
6.  Cook at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Depending on what fruits you’ve added, these may take a little longer. Test for doneness as you would on a cake, by sticking in a toothpick. When it comes out clean, the muffins are done.