Sheridan and Allen.

Apples. Oatmeal. Cinnamon. Breakfast. What better way is there to start the day?

• 1 3/4 cups oats (I used old fashioned)
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 apples, 1 chopped finely and 3 grated
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg (beaten)
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the dry ingredients and set them aside. Combine the remaining ingredients and fold the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Do not overmix.

Spoon muffin mixture into prepared muffin cups (cups should be about 2/3rds full) and add topping, if desired. (But why wouldn’t you?)

For the topping, combine the following:

• 1/4 cup oats
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Spoon a small amount on top of each muffin before putting the pan in the oven.

Bake in a preheated oven until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. In my oven it took about 18 minutes.

That’s right. Pepperoni.

If there’s one way to make sure Allen eats his vegetables, adding some sort of spicy meat product is it. He even went back for seconds. And claims it will be his lunch today.

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• sliced pepperoni, chopped into quarters
• 2 cans of white beans (rinsed) or a bag of white beans (soaked)
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, salt to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 cups chicken broth
• kale, stems removed and leaves torn into medium sized pieces

In a dutch oven, saute onions in olive oil over medium-high heat until they start to become translucent. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, and pepperoni. (I used the same amount of pepperoni that I usually use for a pizza.) Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the oils are released from the pepperoni and the mixture starts to smell spicy. Add the chicken broth, beans, bay leaves, thyme, salt*, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Drop the heat down to medium low and cover. Let it simmer for around 45 minutes, and then add the kale. Drop the heat to low, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes, until kale has wilted. Season to taste.

*How much salt you will want to add depends on the type of broth you use. (ie Low sodium broth means you’ll probably need to add more, whereas regular broth means you’ll want to add less.)