Muffin Monday: 5 Yummy Breakfast Muffins

*** Skip the coffee shop muffin, make your own, save some money and save a whole lot of calories too.





From Denny: Here are five tasty muffin recipes to tantalize your taste buds, changing up your morning routine. They also come with calorie counts, ranging from 171 to 283 calories for each muffin. That sure beats the usual coffee shop muffins that often weigh in at a whopping 700 calories each!


All-Bran: Our Best Bran Muffins

Yield: Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups regular all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups Kellogg's All-Bran cereal

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

1/3 cup soft shortening or vegetable oil


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Set aside.

Measure All-Bran cereal and milk into a mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Let stand 1 to 2 minutes or until cereal is softened. Add egg and shortening. Beat well.

Add dry ingredients to cereal mixture, stirring only until combined. Portion batter evenly into 12 greased 21/2-inch muffin-pan cups.

Bake about 25 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.

Per muffin: 171 calories, 4 grams protein, 8 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 25 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 20 milligrams cholesterol, 223 milligrams sodium






Applesauce-Oatmeal Muffins

Yield: Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

MUFFINS:

1 1/2 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup fat-free milk

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 egg white, lightly beaten

TOPPING:

1/4 cup Quaker Oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)

1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon margarine or butter, melted

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 medium muffin cups with paper baking cups or spray bottoms only with cooking spray.

For the muffins: Combine oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl; mix well. In a medium bowl, combine applesauce, milk, sugar, oil and egg white; blend well. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir just until ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix. For the topping: combine all ingredients in a small bowl; mix well. Set aside.

Fill muffin cups almost full with batter. Sprinkle with reserved topping, patting gently. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool muffins in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan and serve warm, if possible.

Per muffin: 180 calories, 6 grams fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 140 milligrams sodium, 31 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams fiber, 4 grams protein - Nutritional analysis from quakeroatmeal.com






Basic Muffin Recipe

From: Shirley Coleman, Baltimore International College, published in the Baltimore Sun

Yield: Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup melted butter or salad oil

2 eggs (slightly beaten)

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla (or another extract)

added flavoring: 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions:

Place all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.Combine all liquids in a separate bowl. Mix the liquids into the dry ingredients. Add the blueberries. Mix until just combined; do not over mix. Batter will be lumpy. Fill greased or paper-lined cupcake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before removing them from the pan. Serve warm.

Per serving: 213 calories; 4 grams protein; 9 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 30 grams carbohydrate; 1 gram fiber; 56 milligrams cholesterol; 272 milligrams sodium






Blueberry-Yogurt Streusel Muffins

From: Anne Byrn, published in the Baltimore Sun

Yield: Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

MUFFINS:

vegetable oil spray (see note)

1 package (18.9 ounces) blueberry muffin mix

1 container (6 ounces; 3/4 cup) yogurt of choice

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and patted dry

TOPPING:

1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon butter, at room temperature


Directions:

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mist the bottoms of 12 muffin cups with vegetable oil spray. Set pans aside.

Prepare the muffin batter: Remove the package of blueberries from the muffin mix and set it aside. Place the muffin mix in a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center. Place the yogurt, eggs and vanilla in a small mixing bowl and stir with a fork. Combine and break up the egg yolks.

Pour the yogurt mixture into the well of the muffin mix. Stir the wet and dry ingredients together with a wooden spoon until just combined, 20 strokes. Pour the reserve blueberries into a strainer, rinse them under cold, running water and drain well.

Fold these blueberries into the batter along with the fresh blueberries. Stir another 10 strokes just to combine. The batter still will be a little lumpy. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each prepared muffin cup, filling it three-quarters of the way full. Set the pan aside.

Prepare the topping: Place the brown sugar and flour in a small bowl and stir together. Add the butter, mashing it with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. With your hands, sprinkle a heaping teaspoon of this topping onto each muffin. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake until muffins are lightly golden and just spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 20 to 23 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for minutes.

Run a dinner knife around the edges of the muffins, lift them up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips, taking care not to disturb the streusel. Place the muffins on a wire rack to cool 15 minutes. The muffins are ready to serve.

Note: Anne Byrn recommends using a vegetable oil mister (an empty pump that can be filled with fresh vegetable oil) rather than commercial vegetable oil sprays.

Per serving: 221 calories; 4 grams protein; 6 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 36 grams carbohydrate; 1 gram fiber; 46 milligrams cholesterol; 230 milligrams sodium






Bran Muffins


Yield: Makes 9 large or 12 medium muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Post Grape-Nuts cereal

1 cup sour milk

1 2/3 cups sugar

1 large egg, well beaten

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour


Directions:

Soak Grape-Nuts in milk until soggy. Add, sugar, egg, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix thoroughly. Add flour and mix only enough to moisten flour. Fill greased large or medium muffin pans about 2/3 full. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes to 30 minutes for medium muffins, or until golden-brown.

Per serving (large muffin): 283 calories; 5 grams protein; 1 gram fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 63 grams carbohydrate; 1 gram fiber; 26 milligrams cholesterol; 316 milligrams sodium

Tester Laura Reiley's comments: "These are sweet, dense, deeply nutty flavored muffins. It's the cereal that adds the hearty taste of bran. You wouldn't know it's Grape-Nuts, but those little nuggets add to the texture, giving the finished muffins a denseness that's very appealing. "You needn't sour the milk, but if you want to, add a few drops of lemon juice to a cup of milk and allow it to sit at room temperature for an hour. Like lots of bran-muffin batter, the batter can be kept, tightly covered and refrigerated, for up to a week."



*** Photo of bran muffin with tangelo fig compote topping by norwichnuts @ flickr



*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets - news, politics
The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology
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Beautiful Illustrated Quotations - spiritual quotes, philosophy
Poems From A Spiritual Heart - poetry
The Healing Waters - health news
Dennys People Watching - people in the news
Dennys Food and Recipes
Dennys Funny Quotes - humor

Muffin Monday: Coconut Muffins

*** Check out this simple easy recipe and enjoy a sweet breakfast or afternoon snack.





From Denny: While reading the news online I found myself over at The Baltimore Sun newspaper online database. So I went poking around to see what kind of recipe database they kept. So many newspapers online have gone to only featuring restaurant reviews and few, if any, recipes available. When I travel to an area the first thing I often do is research the local newspaper to get a feel for what people like to eat.

The easiest way to understand other people is to enjoy their food culture. Turns out this newspaper had a decent recipe archive - though devoid of photos. When that happens I go looking over at Flickr Creative Commons area for a photo that would look similar - sometimes I get lucky and it's exact! :) Anything is helpful to better visualize the finished product.

This recipe would make for a fine weekend brunch or lazy hot summer afternoon snack. Enjoy!


Coconut Muffins

From: Food section of The Baltimore Sun newspaper online

Yield: Makes 12 small muffins

Ingredients:

1 scant cup sugar
4 tablespoons ( 1/2 stick) margarine (or butter though it will increase the calories)
2 eggs
2/3 cup flaked coconut
1/4 teaspoon coconut extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Cream sugar and margarine, then add eggs one at a time, blending between each addition. Add the remaining ingredients. Divide evenly between 12 muffin cups. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Tester Laura Reiley's comments: "I baked mine slightly longer, about 25 minutes, until the muffin surface would spring back from my touch. The resulting muffins are sweet, deliciously coconutty treats, good for a snack or for breakfast. You can change the level of sweetness by which kind of coconut you choose - an unsweetened shredded coconut will yield less-sweet muffins; the sweetened angel-flaked coconut produces sweeter, moister muffins. For a really decadent treat, these would be good frosted with chocolate or topped with some kind of tropical fruit jam."


*** Similar version of coconut muffin, photo by yomi955 @ flickr


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets - news, politics
The Soul Calendar - science, astronomy, psychology
Visual Insights - photos, art, music
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations - spiritual quotes, philosophy
Poems From A Spiritual Heart - poetry
The Healing Waters - health news
Dennys People Watching - people in the news
Dennys Food and Recipes
Dennys Funny Quotes - humor

Muffin Monday: Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins

*** Chocolate and cheese together in one muffin. Does Life get any better?




From Denny: This muffin is a star any time of day. It has sweet goodness, chocolate awesome and the protein of cheese. Color me into the breakfast corner with this winner! :) And its versatile: For this muffin you can use ricotta cheese or small curd cottage cheese if the ricotta is not easily available.

It's been fun to explore the bed and breakfast inns behind these recipes. Each one is a surprise from the last one visited. I've been thinking about how to help the economy with blogging about these inns. Muffin Monday is quickly becoming a brain child for stimulating and growing our economy. By promoting these bed and breakfast inns, who are small businesses, we can help our economy because it keeps jobs here. Small business is the engine upon which the economy has traditionally run. Keep them strong, rejecting the big businesses whenever possible, and we can restore our healthy economy.

Just because the politicians have sold out to Big Business does not mean the regular American has to follow their wrong lead. So, next time you are traveling for business or pleasure, take a little time and find a bed and breakfast inn instead of the usual hotel. The prices are comparable, many times they are a better buy. And it certainly is a more sociable and welcoming atmosphere than the usual impersonal hotels. Try a little social consciousness along with a great recipe! :)

This innkeeper has a sense of humor and names their rooms: The Hide N Seek, The Spelling Bee, The Graduate, The Honor Roll, The Schoolmaster, The Schoolmarm, Miss Edna's, The Prose, Dick & Jane's, The Show 'n' Tell, and, of course, Teacher's Pet.





From the website: Located in the quaint village of Rocheport, Missouri, the School House Bed and Breakfast Inn provides premium accommodations in a restored historic 1914 building that served as Rocheport's public school from 1914 to 1972.

The School House Bed + Breakfast has ten distinctive guest rooms, each decorated in beautiful antiques with luxury sheets, spa-quality linens, goose down duvets and featherbeds. Light from the large schoolhouse windows, covered with plantation shutters, softens shades of pinks and yellows and dramatically deepens bold plums and greens. Each room in the bed and breakfast is accented with a few reminders of the building's simple past. First- and second-floor rooms have 13-foot ceilings with original hardwood floors, eight-foot windows and ceiling fans.

The B + B's two secluded third-floor rooms, created from the school's original attic, have gothic doors and skylights for star gazing.


School House Bed & Breakfast Inn
504 Third Street (Third & Clark Streets)
Rocheport, Missouri 65279

Phone: (573) 698-2022
email: innkeeper@schoolhousebandb.com

'Stay in Class!' at the School House Bed and Breakfast in Rocheport, Missouri.



*** Remember to support small business in your area and when you travel. Why stay at a Big Business hotel as you travel when you can stay in a more home like atmosphere of a bed and breakfast inn? The prices are comparable, the people friendlier and your stay will be memorable.


Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins

From: School House Bed & Breakfast Inn

Yield: approximately 18 muffins

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup ricotta cheese (or small curd cottage cheese)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/3 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup canola oil
Cooking Spray


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, chips, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl mix cheese with eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Whisk in milk and vanilla until blended. Fold cheese mixture and oil into flour mixture until just blended. Spoon approximately 1 cup batter into each muffin cup.

Bake 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans immediately and cool on a wire rack. These are delicious and moist, like cheesecake.



*** More Muffin Monday recipes:

American Revolt: How You Can Break Big Business, Big Banks, Big Insurance, Big Oil, Big Lobbyists

Muffin Monday: Egg, Ricotta Cheese, Sun-Dried Tomato Breakfast Muffins

Muffin Monday: Sour Cream Walnut Cinnamon Muffins

Muffin Monday: Pina Colada Muffins

Muffin Monday: Polynesian Bread or Muffins, Gluten Free Pineapple Muffin

Muffin Monday: Savory Feta, Roasted Pepper Basil Muffins From Sur La Table

Muffin Monday: Banana Praline Muffins, White Chocolate Banana Bread



*** Photo of Starbucks version of the chocolate cheese muffin by Kaunokainen @ flickr


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

*** Come by for a visit and check out my other blogs:

The Social Poets
Dennys Global Politics
The Soul Calendar
Visual Insights
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations
Poems From A Spiritual Heart
The Healing Waters
Dennys Art Sanctuary
Romancing The Chocolate
Comfort Food From Louisiana
Unusual 2 Tasty
Dennys Blog Feeds
Dennys Funny Quotes
Ouch Outrageous Obnoxious And Odd

Muffin Monday: Polynesian Bread or Muffins, Gluten Free Pineapple Muffin

*** Muffins to enjoy in the summer heat!




From Denny: On my trek to find bed and breakfast recipes I ran across this one today using pineapple, coconut and carrots. That certainly qualifies for the unusual combinations all in one muffin! This is a large recipe set up for making bread loaves. Just use the same batter and make into muffins. Because of the pineapple that can be very wet, you might need to bake a test muffin to check how much more time is needed to bake it than the usual 20 to 25 minutes for a normal muffin.

Included is a little bit about the bed and breakfast with a link to their website. This one is in Florida and they listed the latest news about the oil spill impact. According to them, as of today, they have not been affected on their beach area. This is quite the awesome place where you can rent normally priced rooms all the way up to swanky villas by the day or the week.

It seems none of these bed and breakfast recipes come with any photos. While I was searching for a photo over at Flickr this photographer also included a link to a gluten free pineapple muffin. You might want to try the recipe and see if you like baking wheat free.





From: Harrington House Beachfront Bed & Breakfast Inn
5626 Gulf Drive • Holmes Beach, Florida 34217-1666
Phone (888) 828-5566 • (941) 778-5444 • Fax (941) 778-0527

From the Inn: Come savor intimate charm and casual elegance of Harrington House Beachfront Bed and Breakfast Inn, one of Florida’s most highly rated Bed and Breakfast Inns located on a tranquil bit of paradise known as Anna Maria Island. The stunning sunsets, soothing rhythm of waves on the white sugary sand beach, and warm hospitality – combine to create that perfect getaway.

Tropical surroundings and serenity top the list of amenities. Savor a new breakfast selection every day from our collection of recipes prepared by our own professional chefs. Relax in the living room, a gathering place where visitors become friends.

Anna Maria Island — Oil Free Beaches

We have had a number of calls about whether we have seen any impact from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and are grateful to report:

· There is no local impact from the oil spill.
· Our beaches and destination are open for business.
· We are in no imminent danger of being affected.


Polynesian Bread or Muffins

Makes: 4 Loaves

Ingredients:

5 Cups Brown Sugar
6 Cups flour
2 Teaspoons Baking powder
2 Teaspoons Baking soda
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
Dash of salt
2 Teaspoons Lemon juice
5 Eggs
1 Cup oil
1 Cup Sour cream
13.5oz Can of coconut milk
3 Cups of dried cranberries
4 Cups of crushed pineapple -- 2 Cups drained / 2 Cups not drained
3 Cups Shredded coconut
10 oz. Shredded carrots

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in the bowl. Spray non-stick spray on standard size loaf pans. Line just bottom of the loaf pan with waxed paper. Divide batter into each loaf pan. Cook for one hour -- 350 degrees Check after one hour by poking it in its center with a toothpick or piece of spaghetti (If the toothpick or spaghetti comes out clean it's done, if not, cook longer as needed.)



*** Even if you don't have a problem with gluten, wheat flour does tend to make us swell with excess water retention if we eat it three times a day every day. A nice break from the usual is to try a gluten free muffin.

Check out:

American Revolt: How You Can Break Big Business, Big Banks, Big Insurance, Big Oil, Big Lobbyists

Wheatless Wednesday: Fruit-Sweetened Pineapple Muffins Put the “Fluffy” Back in Gluten-Free

*** Check out: Muffin Monday: Pina Colada Muffins

Muffin Monday: Banana Praline Muffins, White Chocolate Banana Bread


Gluten free pineapple muffin Photo by cavitt @ flickr



*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

Muffin Monday: Mushroom Dill Muffins From Louisiana Mushroom Farm

*** Check out a savory muffin using your favorite mushroom.





From Denny: Here in Louisiana most people never gave much thought to farming mushrooms. OK, I thought about it and people thought I was crazy. Well, turns out there are some other crazy people who thought it was a great idea too. After all, it doesn't take up a lot of room and it's a crop that grows in the dark. How cool is that? Yes, I also have a science blog. It really shows sometimes. :)

Well, Johnnie and Cheryl Santangelo of Independence, Louisiana, pressed ahead and now three years later they are the proud owners of the only mushroom farm in Louisiana. And do they have some yummy recipes too! After all, mushrooms are the ultimate brain food and what a delicious way to feed our brains.

"We started at zero," remembered Johnnie Santangelo. "Neither Cheryl nor I knew anything about mushrooms. Absolutely nothing! All we did know was that there was this old mushroom farm that has sat abandoned just down the road from our home. Years ago, it had been land my dad had leased for cattle. We were looking for investment property and this looked like it."

Johnnie and Cheryl both teach at Loranger High School. He is an agriculture teacher and she is the assistant principal.

"Yeah, like weeds and trees and vines that we had to hack away with machetes just to be able to open the doors of the buildings," said Cheryl. "Once inside, we found the only thing growing there were water moccasin snakes. I was terrified and not about to go in there.

Explaining the history of the previous owners of this mushroom farm, "The place had been run as a mushroom farm by a man from Pennsylvania as an investment for another man in New Orleans. At some point, the two men had a disagreement and the man who was running the farm, just walked away from it and left everything. The people who were left behind didn’t know anything about mushrooms so the place was just locked up. Just as it was.

"My husband, my son Johnnie III and some others went in and cleaned out the buildings. We found everything just as it had been left 18 years earlier. I even found the first dollar that the original owner had earned and left behind. He just walked away from it. I framed that dollar bill along with the first dollar we made. To say the place we found was a mess would be a gross understatement.

"To be honest, I don’t think anybody even knew those buildings were there. But once all was said and done, we knew that we were going to grow mushrooms … and that we would be successful."

These educators and their son grow three types of mushrooms from two species: the grocery store familiar white button and the portabella. When the portabella are picked at an early stage and small they are labeled as creminis. If you allow the portabellas to grow and mature they are the coffee brown large umbrellas that almost have the texture of steak and will win over most meat eaters to veggies.

The production level these days for this farm is 18,000–23,000 pounds of mushrooms. That many pounds of mushrooms are produced in each room and each week all year long. Their profit line went from zero to $200,000 and growing in only three years. Sounds like my crazy idea was not so crazy after all. :) Congrats to Johnnie and Cheryl Santangelo.


Red Hill Mushroom Farm
51237 Mushroom Lane
Independence, LA 70443

Business Phone: (985) 878-0172
Fax: (985) 878-0172



Mushroom Dill Muffins


From: Johnnie and Cheryl Santangelo of Independence, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, owners of Red Hill Mushroom Farm


Tender, earthy mushroom muffins enhanced with dill. Serve along side soup. Use a mini-muffin pan for perfect little “mushrooms.”

Ingredients:

2 tsp. butter (or margarine)
2 cups chopped fresh white mushrooms
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. Baking powder
¾ tsp. dill weed
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. pepper
2 large eggs
10 oz. can of condensed cream of mushroom soup or your fresh mushroom soup
¼ cup melted butter (or hard margarine)
¼ cup milk
2 tsp. lemon juice

Directions:

Melt first portion of butter in large frying pan on medium-high. Add mushrooms. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are browned and liquid is evaporated. Let cool.

Measure next 5 ingredients into large bowl. Stir. Make a well in center.

Beat remaining 5 ingredients with whisk in medium bowl. Add to well. Add mushrooms. Stir until just moistened. Fill greased mini-muffin pan(s) 3/4 full. Bake in 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Let stand in pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to cool. Makes approximately 4 dozen mini-muffins or 12 large muffins.


*** Check out how Muffin Monday started: American Revolt: How You Can Break Big Business, Big Banks, Big Insurance, Big Oil, Big Lobbyists

*** Check out more recipe posts: Recipes: Muffin Monday and Cake Tuesday


*** Mushroom on steroids by miss karen @ flickr


*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

Muffin Monday: Savory Feta, Roasted Pepper Basil Muffins From Sur La Table

*** Try the unusual: a savory muffin for breakfast, lunch or dinner.





From Denny: We all love muffins. They are that little meal, that special little treat in the late afternoon. They are divine bits of Heaven. Sometimes, I would rather enjoy a savory muffin instead of the sweet.

The American breakfast can quickly become predictable with the usual suspects of eggs, bacon and toast. Banana bread with a little softened cream cheese is wonderful in the morning with eggs. But how about something totally off the wall different?

Feta cheese is a good protein source any time of day and mixes well with so many ingredients. You could even enjoy these muffins alongside those predictable eggs and bacon. This muffin has roasted peppers which are sweet of a savory kind. They would go well too with a soup or salad for lunch. Try them with roasted chicken for a dinner too.

For this recipe make sure to use only fresh basil as opposed to the dried version as they need the fresh oils to punch up the flavor of the muffin. If you don't have any fresh basil, the author recommends substituting a tablespoon of fresh thyme or a teaspoon of dried thyme in its place. Thyme tends to be a pungent herb even when dried.



Feta, Roasted Pepper & Basil Muffins

From: Sur La Table - The Art & Soul of Baking, Andrews McMeel Publishing, October 2008


Makes: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
½ cup (4 ounces) jarred roasted red bell pepper, patted dry and chopped into ¼-inch dice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
1 cup (8 ounces) buttermilk
¼ cup (2 ounces) olive oil
1 large egg


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°F and position an oven rack in the center. Lightly coat the muffin tin with melted butter, oil, or high-heat canola-oil spray. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the large mixing bowl. Set aside. In the medium bowl, stir together the feta cheese, roasted bell pepper, and chopped basil. Set aside.

Pour the buttermilk into the measuring cup. Add the olive oil and the egg and whisk together until well blended. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the well and stir gently with a spatula. Mix only until there are no more streaks of flour or pools of liquid and the batter looks fairly smooth. A few small lumps scattered throughout are fine—they will disappear during baking. Gently fold in the feta cheese mixture until evenly distributed in the batter.

Use the large ice cream scoop or 2 soup spoons to divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops feel firm and a skewer inserted into the centers comes out clean. Transfer the muffin tin to a rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Gently run a thin knife or spatula around each muffin to free it from the pan, lift out the muffins, and transfer them to a rack to finish cooling (careful, these are tender while hot). Serve warm.

When completely cool, the muffins can be stored at room temperature, wrapped in plastic or sealed in a resealable plastic bag, for 2 days. Reheat, wrapped in foil, in a 325°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until warmed through. The muffins can also be frozen for up to 1 month, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then sealed in a resealable plastic freezer bag. Thaw, still wrapped, for 30 minutes before reheating.


*** Check out how Muffin Monday started: American Revolt: How You Can Break Big Business, Big Banks, Big Insurance, Big Oil, Big Lobbyists

Photo by mccun934 @ flickr

*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!

Muffin Monday: 3 Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipes

*** Enjoy 3 quick and easy recipes for chocolate and coffee all wrapped up and baked into the goodness of a muffin.





From Denny: Muffin Monday just seemed like a natural when writing about food. What a great way to start off our work week! I wanted to see what the Bed and Breakfast Inns around America offered up in the way of muffin delights and found a real treasure trove.

If you happen to live in the area of this inn, or will be traveling there soon, you can check it out. Whenever I travel I like to check the menus of the hotel, inn or local restaurants and plan my excursions around the local food. The local cuisine is half the learning experience when traveling and tells you so much about the culture.

I found the last two recipes while researching a Creative Commons usable photo from Flickr. My fellow photographers definitely like to eat well and enjoy posting many of their favorite recipes. Whenever I get lucky and run across them I try to post those recipes as so many of them are fabulous. Enjoy baking!


*** Remember to support small business in your area and when you travel. Why stay at a Big Business hotel as you travel when you can stay in a more home like atmosphere of a bed and breakfast inn? The prices are comparable, the people friendlier and your stay will be memorable.


Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Muffins

From: Deacon Timothy Pratt Bed and Breakfast Inn c.1746
325 Main Street
Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475



Email: betterbedbreakfast@pratthouse.net



Ingredients:

6 T. butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
2 T. Instant Coffee
2 T. coffee flavored liquor (optional)
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 6-muffin pan. In large bowl, beat on medium speed: butter and sugar till light
and fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, disolve coffee granuules, and coffee liquor until blended.

In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternating with
milk, beating just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Divide batter among muffin-pan cups.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until centers spring back when lightly pressed. Serve warm.







William Shatner’s Cappuccino Chip Muffins

From: William Shatner, star of the Star Trek TV and movie series

Makes: 8-12 muffins (when you fill the tins up to the top you will get 8.)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg (room temp)
1 cup milk (room temp)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips or equivalent of other chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with flour-added cooking spray. For bigger muffins, spray 8 of the cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, espresso powder, cinnamon and salt.

In a medium bowl, whisk egg lightly. Whisk in milk, melted butter and vanilla extract. Make a well in center of dry ingredients and pour in milk mixture. Stir just until evenly blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

Divide batter among 12 or 8 greased muffin cups. Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.






Cappuccino Muffins

From: Taste of Home magazine

Ingredients:

Spread (filling)

* 4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Muffins

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup milk
* 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
* 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:

In a food processor (or using a hand mixer), combine the spread ingredients, cover and process until well blended.

Cover and refrigerate until serving.

For the muffins: In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir milk and coffee granules until coffee is dissolved.

Add butter, egg and vanilla; mix well.

Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full (Sprinkle with raw sugar...)


Bake at 375°F for 17-20 minutes or until muffins test done. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
I used 2tsp of expresso powder instead of the instant coffee and mixed it with the milk to dissolve, added a few extra shakes of cinnamon and extra choc chips. I also overflowed the vanilla flavoring, I baked at 370 for 18-19 mins … made 17 muffins. Very moist and delicious!

Serve with espresso spread.


*** Check out the origin of Muffin Monday recipes: American Revolt: How You Can Break Big Business, Big Banks, Big Insurance, Big Oil, Big Lobbyists

*** Photo by Laura HB @ flickr

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