Stonyfield Farms/Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt Makes for Yummy Recipes

Have you heard of Stonyfield Farms and/or had some of their wonderful organic products?  They have things ranging from kid's on-the-go yogurts to smoothies, milk and Greek yogurt.  I love that their products are all organic.  I recently received a wonderful package from them with a great (big) reusable shopping bag as well as some coupons to try their Oikos Greek Yogurt.  Thanks Stonyfield!  I have to say that while I don't really like eating plain yogurt (yes, I've tried adding fruit!), they have other flavors in the smaller size containers, like blueberry, vanilla and honey.  These are great tasting and most of all I love baking with them.  I have been using yogurt in place of butter and oil for a while now--mostly in muffins and quick breads.  I'm excited to try it in other recipes.  So far, it's great.  I should have kept better track of the things I've been making with the Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt, but here are just a few things. 
I week or so ago, I made these Pumpkin Pecan Pancakes when we had breakfast for dinner.  They were great.  I used the Oikos Greek Yogurt as this recipe called for plain yogurt.  I also replaced the sugar in these with agave nectar.  These pancakes were good, although the recipe does not call for any wonderful spices that go with pumpkin, like cinnamon and I did add some myself.  I did not take any pictures of these pancakes.  Does anyone else have a really hard time when they're making breakfast, getting everything done all at the same time?  I don't know what it is, but my timing stinks when I try to  make bacon, eggs, hash browns and pancakes.  Oh well.  The kids just wanted to eat, so I didn't take any pictures.  You'll have to picture a stack of yummy orange looking pancakes with butter and syrup dripping all down them yourself.  Better yet--make them!  And if you do, try Oikos Greek Yogurt.  I used plain, but vanilla or honey would be great, too.  And I'll bet the blueberry Greek yogurt makes some killer blueberry pancakes!
This Fresh Mango Bread that I recently posted for Tuesday's With Dorie and changed lots of things to make it a little bit healthier--I also used plain Oikos Greek Yogurt in place of some of the fat.  That was some GOOD quick mango bread!
THEN I recently made some really good Peanut Butter and Honey Banana Muffins--and of course I used the Oikos yogurt in it.  These muffins were de-licious!

Did I mention I also threw some mini chocolate chips in them?  Yep, that much better!  These muffins were pretty darn healthy.
Peanut Butter and Honey Banana Muffins (with chocolate chips), by Katrina
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup quick oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy protein powder (can be omitted--just bumping up the protein a bit)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
a good pinch of salt
1/4 cup natural peanut butter (I used Smuckers creamy)
2 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Oikos Organic Greek Honey Yogurt (it's fat free!)
2 small ripe bananas, mashed (about 3/4 cup)
1 large egg
1/4-1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (you decide)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray desired size muffin tin with cooking spray (I almost always make mini muffins!)  In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, protein powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Whisk together and set aside.  In another bowl, combine the peanut butter (if it's cold, microwave it for 20-30 seconds in a small bowl), honey, oil, yogurt, egg and mashed banana.  Combine well.  Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just to combine.  Stir in the chocolate chips, if using (and why would you not?)
With a small cookie scoop, fill each muffin tin.  Bake for 12-14 minutes.  Cool for 3 minutes in tin, then remove to wire rack and just see if you can wait until they are completely cool to eat one.  Makes 24.

I made half without the chocolate chips, but wish I'd have just pit them in all of them.

I forgot until looking at my pictures that I had a little too much to fill the 24 mini muffin tins, so I made four muffin top cookies.  Just as good!

Thanks for the great, organic Greek yogurt, Stonyfield Farms!  Check out their website on the link above.  I'm sure you'll see more from me that I've made using the yogurt.
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Since we've been on the subject of breakfast, I made baked oatmeal last Sunday.  I hadn't made it before and had seen others and wanted to make my own.  Of course, I used one of my favorite things--BANANAS!
I have eaten this oatmeal for five days now (finished it today).  Scott had some on Sunday and liked it.  No one else here will eat oatmeal--crazies!  I thought the bananas baked in it would "go bad", but they didn't.  I loved this and really liked that each morning all I had to do was warm some up with a little milk.  Here's my baked oatmeal.
Banana Pecan Baked Oatmeal
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup 7 Grain hot cereal (optional--but I love it!  You could use any or just add another 1/4 cup oats, or flax meal, wheat germ, bran, whatever.)
1/4 cup agave nectar (or brown sugar, sugar, try honey)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1  1/2 cups fat free milk
2 small bananas, mashed
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4-1/2 cup pecans, chopped (or walnuts)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly spray an 8x8 inch pan with cooking spray.  In a medium sized bowl, combine oats, 7 Grain, salt, and baking powder.   In another bowl, combine agave, milk, egg, vanilla and mashed banana.   Combine the wet with the dry ingredients.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Add chopped pecans to the top and bake for another five minutes to toast them.
 
I stir mine together with some milk, but I love the "bite" it has to it as I don't like my oatmeal to be mush.  I even usually add about a tablespoon of Grape Nuts for that extra crunch to the top of my bowl of oats and I love fresh berries.
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On a slightly funny note, Scott is in 5th grade, 5th--think back to when you were in 5th grade.  Do you remember the teachers taking the girls into one room and the boys into another to have "the talk"?  Scott had the privilege of getting that wonderful health lesson in school today.  Boy, they really save it for the end of the school year, there are only 3 days left!  What is funny to me is that they gave the kids a little small, sample size deodorant.  At first Scott didn't want to have anything to do with wearing deodorant.  Kevin talked with him about some of the things they discussed in class and "cleared up" anything he wondered about.  Then he encouraged him to try the deodorant.  We've really been trying to talk to him about better hygiene lately (not that he stinks, he doesn't, but it's about time he starts showering daily and such--my boy will be 11 next week!).  Kevin got Scott to put on some of the deodorant and it was cute and funny to me to then see him the rest of the evening tonight carrying the deodorant around like it was some great prize he'd won.  Parker was even mad and jealous that he didn't get that at school.  Soon enough, bro, you're only in 1st grade!  It's Old Spice and quite potent.  It would really be funny to smell his classroom tomorrow and realize how many of the boys are wearing their new deodorant!  (Scott would kill me if he knew I just put this on the blog--but someday in the far off distance, he'll look back and we'll all joke and laugh about it.) ; )