Simply satisfying steak sandwiches cut into quarters for little mouths to manage. 


Made with love for mum and everyone else to enjoy,  Apple Honey Crumble Muffins

For the past two weeks I’ve had a welcome reprieve from making school lunches because my children have been on term break. However with 1 child returning to school tomorrow and another 3 on Wednesday, I found myself peering into the pantry and fridge, my mind leap frogging over various other meals in an effort to concoct an appealing array of lunch box options. 

Despite my best efforts, I simply CANNOT manage making school lunches in the morning. I have tried. I have failed. The morning slips away, I forget to do something essential like feeding the dog, or packing someone’s instrument, or including the fruit salad so carefully diced, or I slice through my finger in haste. It all comes down to volume. And with 4 out of my 6 children currently attending school, the bench space alone means lunches MUST be made the evening prior. I prefer to even leave this task to the end of the evening, once the kitchen has been cleared of clutter, dinner dishes and little ones.

I have written previously about the advantage of using leftovers to make legendary lunches. I had this in mind as I prepared this evening’s dinner of speedy, healthy barbecued steak sandwiches, packed with fresh salad vegetables, Jarlsberg cheese and gherkins. We had languished over our breakfast and lunch, which had been generous, so a light dinner option was in order.

By making just that little bit extra, I piled toasted wholemeal bread high with lettuce, cheese and lean beef minute steak for my son Jovan to munch on at school tomorrow. I also tucked an Apple Honey Crumble Muffin into his lunch box, along with fresh fruit, dates, a juice and water. 

My daughters Jana and Eva prepared the mixture for these Apple Honey Crumble Muffins this afternoon. As I fed baby Maksim, I gave my girls an on-the-spot verbal cooking lesson by explaining from my perch the recipe and method. 

Involving children in cooking a type of dish they enjoy eating is an excellent way to pass on valuable skills and an appreciation of home cooking. I’m certainly not suggesting inviting them to “help” with every meal, that’s not practical especially during the busy school and working week. However school holidays and weekends do provide an opportunity for a bit of fun in the kitchen. By the way, my girls did a marvellous job and it was lovely sitting down for a spot of afternoon tea with a moist, textured muffin made by someone else…for a change. 

Apple Honey Crumble Muffins makes 16 large portions

Ingredients

2 large eggs
4 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
100 ml light olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Granny Smith apples peeled and diced into 1 cm pieces
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup white chocolate chips or chocolate buttons (I used Cadbury Chocolate Melts)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
1.5 cups self raising flour

Crumble Topping
Ingredients
1 heaped tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Combine all of the ingredients and set aside until needed. 


For the muffins...Preheat the oven to 200 degrees conventional setting. Line your muffin pan with muffin cases. 

Add all of the WET ingredients including the apples to a mixing bowl. Stir together until combined. 

Add all of the DRY ingredients to the above mixture including the chocolate. Stir until just combined, taking care not to overwork the batter in order to avoid stodgy muffins. 

Place tablespoonfuls of batter into each muffin case. Sprinkle the crumble topping over each muffin. 

Place in the oven for about 20 minutes until cooked through and the top is an appealing golden brown.