Do you know the muffin man?

I love these  measuring/prep bowls. I use them almost everyday. They range from 1/8 cup to 2 cups; full- and half-bowl measurement markings. There is even a 3/4 cup marking which a lot of recipes call for.
Mario Batali 5-Piece Measuring Prep Bowl Set, Pesto, $9.99

Oxo Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop, $12.59

Truthfully, I wasn't in the mood to make the muffins today either. But with the kids really wanting some and the veggies on their way out, I bit the bullet. I'm glad I did because it didn't take much time or effort and the kids have never been so anxious to eat veggies before. Now if I could apply this attitude towards exercising!

I'm very happy with my mini-muffin pan. It has a good weight to it and it's very affordable.
Cuisinart Chef's Classic Nonstick Bakeware 24-Cup Mini Muffin Pan, $15.95


Zucchini & Carrot Muffins

• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed tightly
• 2/3 cup  of vegetable oil (or 1/2 cup for lower fat, but not as moist)
• 2 jumbo eggs (large eggs are fine also, I just like more egg in mine)
• 2 tsp good vanilla extract
• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups of zucchini, shredded with skin left on
• 3/4 cups of carrots, peeled and shredded (as long as the carrots and zucchini add up to 2 cups, I wouldn't worry too much about being exact)
• 1/2 cup of toasted, chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

Line your muffin pans with the paper cups. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the oil, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients bowl and mix well. The batter will seem thick and difficult to stir at this point but the addition of the veggies adds a bunch of moisture. Fold in the shredded veggies until well combined. If you are using nuts, add them here as well. I will try it once my kids are a bit older.
Fill your muffin cups with the batter. This is where my cookie scoops come in handy!

Bake in the oven:
about 17 minutes for mini-muffins
about 20 minutes for regular muffins

Today's batter made 24 mini-muffins plus 3 regular ones.
When time is up, stick a toothpick in one and if it comes out clean then they are done.

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