Apple Streusel Muffins

I had a few apples that I didn't really care for eating fresh (they were a little too soft for my taste).  So I baked them!  These muffins are amazing.  Deliciously sweet and tender.  I haven't (yet) joined the pumpkin craze so baked apples is what really screams fall for me.  Yum.  My whole apartment also smells amazing. :)

I don't bake much... and when I do I usually (mostly) follow a recipe.  This one combined my normal blueberry batter with a streusel topping (and some extra spices that I like).  The batter was a little thicker than my normal blueberry batter because of all of the apple in these.  I was a little nervous that they would be dry but they were perfect.

Jeremy doesn't usually like cooked fruit but he actually enjoyed these muffins.  As he said, you can see the apple, but it doesn't feel like you're biting into one when you eat the muffin.  However, we don't need two dozen muffins sitting around so my coworkers are getting a nice treat tomorrow. :)

Hope you enjoy!

Recipe (makes 24 muffins):
3 medium apples (whatever baking apples you prefer), peeled, cored, and diced (1/4" dice)
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
4 1/2 c. c. AP flour, divided
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. light brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon, divided
1/4 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
4 tbs. margarine or butter

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray muffin cups with cooking spray or line with paper cups.
2. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 c. flour, brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon.  Cut in the margarine or butter until fine crumbs form (this is the streusel topping).  Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Beat milk, veg. oil, and eggs.  Add apples.  (I beat the eggs together and then peeled and diced the apples.  If you peel and dice the apples too early they will brown on you.  Doesn't change the taste, but it won't be as pretty.)  Add remaining cinnamon and nutmeg and stir to combine.
4. Add remaining flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Mix until just combined.  (Don't overmix.  It's ok if you still see a little bit of flour, it will bake out.  Overmixing will create a tough muffin.)
5. Spoon the batter evenly into muffin cups (mine were about 3/4 full).
6. Evenly divide the streusel topping among the muffins (around a tablespoon on each muffin).
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and they're golden brown and delicious.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Remove the muffins to wire wracks (run a knife around them if you didn't use paper cups) and allow to cool completely (or eat them right away like we did... hot but yummy).  Enjoy!

Turkey Meatballs with Spicy Tomato Sauce

Jeremy specifically requested that I write this recipe down.  It was very good so here it is!

I made a pound of whole wheat spaghetti for this and topped it with some grated asiago cheese.  I got 21 meatballs out of the recipe below (I probably made mine a little big... you can get more than that).  I some of the leftover meatballs in the fridge with the leftover spaghetti.  The rest are in some of the sauce in the freezer.

This sauce had a nice spicy tomatoey flavor.  It's also a vegan tomato sauce for anyone who cares... Clearly doesn't matter to me since I served it with turkey meatballs. :)

The sauce made plenty to coat the entire pound of pasta and then some.  I probably have enough sauce for another pound.  I will definitely be making this sauce again.  It was so easy to make and so tasty!  I don't often buy jarred spaghetti sauce and now that I've come up with this recipe, I may stop altogether... assuming I have time to make this and keep it in the freezer.

I put the meatballs in the oven and then began making the sauce.  The meatballs were done before the sauce.  Since I wasn't quite sure how long the sauce would take, I didn't start cooking the pasta until the sauce was finished.  You could certainly speed the meal up by making them all together.  But we still ate at a normal dinner time even with me not being entirely efficient. :)

I want to note that I use the lowest sodium
tomatoes I can find so adjust your seasoning appropriately.

Bad lighting... good food. :) 

Turkey Meatballs:
2 1/2 lbs. ground turkey (I had 90% lean)
2 tbs. olive oil
1 c. breadcrumbs
1/2 c. skim milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.  Roll the mixture into golf-ball sized meatballs (roll lightly... don't squeeze them) and place them evenly spaced on a couple baking sheets.
3. Bake for 35-40 minutes until cooked through.

Spicy Tomato Sauce:
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
2 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 c. white wine (I had a chardonnay, but any dry white will work)
1/4 c. olive oil
4 big garlic cloves, minced (about 1/4 c. garlic)
1 medium spanish onion, diced
1/2 tbs. red pepper flake
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. thyme
1 tbs. sugar

1. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large saucepan.  Add red pepper flake and stir until the oil is slightly red from the pepper.
2. Add the onion, garlic, salt, and black pepper and saute until tender, 5-7 minutes.  Add the wine and scrape any stuck bits off the bottom of the pan.  Add the tomato paste and stir to mix it evenly throughout.
3. Add the rest of the tomatoes, sugar, and herbs.  Simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  (If it's too thin, simmer longer. Mine was ok at 30 minutes.)