Waste Not, Want Not Muffins

These muffins are quick and simple and quite nice as they are if you don't have leftovers to spice them up. Add your leftovers (fruit, cereal, corn, ham etc) and they become something really special. And best of all you're not wasting a single thing!

Ingredients:
2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup sugar*
1/2 cup applesauce (you can use tinned baby apple or sieved stewed apple)
1  egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract*

Method:
Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees Celsius. Mix the applesauce, egg and milk together. Combine the flour and sugar and add the wet ingredients. Stir to just combine. Now add the leftovers and gently stir through. Spoon into muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes.

*Note: for savoury muffins leave out the sugar and the vanilla extract.

Leftovers to use:
Brown bananas
Cereal crumbs (Weetbix, muesli, Sultana Bran, rolled oats, Crunchy Nut etc)
Cold porridge
Sweet biscuit crumbs (shake out the cookie jar)
Jam (add the milk to the jar, put the lid on and shake)
Sad apples, pears, plums, peaches etc diced or grated
Dried fruit
Nutella (scrape out jar, mix into wet ingredients)
Coconut
Dregs from flavouring bottles (caramel, strawberry, chocolate - mix into wet ingredients).
Peas, corn and carrots
Diced cold meats
Grated cheese and pickles
Chive and cheese

Use your imagination and see what wonderful muffins you can create and put a stop to kitchen waste.

From the April 2011 Cheapskates Journal