Corn & Pickles

...no, sadly, that is not the latest pregnancy craving craze!  Those two vegetables, are in fact, the only two (besides green beans) that my kiddo will eat!  Lucky me!  Because of this, I spend a good amount of time trying to hide veggies in his other food (primarily pancakes).  If you have the same problem (like I suspect a few of you do), here is a good recipe to sneak in some pumpkin, some fruit (if you sub applesauce for the oil), and a whole bunch of fiber!  I make these a lot, and they get gobbled up in no time! Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins
(Recipe from Rogue River Rendezvous, 1992)

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup vegetable oil (or sub 1/2 cup with applesauce)
1 cup bran cereal or 1 1/2 cups bran flakes
6 ounces chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour and the next 8 ingredients (through sugar), and set aside.
-In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs until foamy; add pumpkin, oil, and cereal, mix well.  Add to sifted flour mixture, stirring only until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips & nuts.  Spoon evenly into greased muffin tins.
-Bake for 30-40 minutes; cool completely before removing.