Brittany's PantryMini Corn Muffins
Brittany wrote this on 20 December 2010
buttermilk, corn, cornmeal, sour cream, whole wheat flour
These little gems are perfect with Indian Summer Chili. They are also good to whip up in the summer when you want a little something to go with a salad.
Mini Corn Muffins
Adapted from Bon Appetit Recipe modified 2/28/13
Mix together in a medium bowl:
1/4 c sour cream
1/4 c buttermilk
1 egg
2 T canola oil
Add:
1/2 c white whole wheat flour or all purpose flour
3 T cornmeal
1 T sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
Mix all ingredients just until combined. Do not over mix.
Fold in 1/2 c frozen corn, thawed
1 T chopped fresh dill, or 1 tsp dried dill (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly spray a mini muffin tin. Divide batter among the mini muffin cups and bake until puffed and golden, 9-11 minutes.
Like most northerners, I grew up eating chili. Ground beef, kidney beans, tomato based sauce, onions, spices, and if my Dad is making it, black olives. Now I like chili and my Dad’s recipe is exceptional, but any meal that I have to eat with a spoon (with the exception of cereal) isn’t my first pick. I am a meat and potatoes gal, through and through. I will eat soup and stew and I love to make them, but I will always pick something else if there is a choice. That is kind of too bad for me because soup is cheap, easy, convenient, and usually good for you. I would be a lot thinner if I loved soup as much as say, my Dad or my sister. It also freezes well, a fact that is pretty important to me.
When I was expecting my first child, I was doing crazy research online to find freezable recipes that I could make ahead of time. I wanted dishes that went beyond lasagna and casseroles. I froze beef fajitas, stuffed chicken, cookies, quick breads, coffee cake, whole spiced chickens, and of course, spaghetti sauce and soups. I came across this recipe by Rachel Ray and the ingredients sounded a bit odd for chili, but I tested the recipe anyway. It was a hit. The flavor is wonderful and you can throw the whole thing together in (you guessed it) less than 30 minutes! My version has morphed into something specific for our family, so change what you like. For example, a friend of mine loathes beans so she never adds them to this recipe. I love the taste and nutritional benefits so I include them. And they are pretty too! Speaking of nutritional benefits, this chili is fantastically healthy. As my Mother would say, its good for what ales you. Give it a try and you won’t be disappointed. Of course, you may have to make a double batch if you want any to make it into your freezer.
Indian Summer Chili
Adapted from Rachel Ray
This is quite awesome served with Mini Corn Muffins or Whole Wheat Cornbread!
I make this for company quite often. If I have the time, I make it several weeks ahead and then freeze the whole batch-just reheat and serve! Enjoy!
1 lb ground turkey ( I use 97 % lean)
2 T chili powder
2 T grill seasoning, any flavor, such as Montreal
1 T cumin
2 T Worcestershire sauce
hot sauce to taste
1 onion, diced
2 bell peppers, diced (I use 1 red and 1 green for the color)
1 bottle of beer
1 (14 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 c bottled BBQ sauce-the smokier the better!
2 c frozen corn
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
Brown the turkey in just a bit of olive oil. Add the next 7 ingredients and cook over med heat until the veggies just start to soften. Add the beer and cook for another few minutes. Add the tomato sauce and the BBQ sauce and let the whole batch come to a bubble. Let simmer for 5 minutes or so for the flavors to meld. Add the corn and beans and bring back up to a simmer. Taste for salt and spiciness.
The ultimate hot chocolate. It is true that I love tea, coffee, and a really fantastic apple cider. But if I had to limit myself to one hot drink for the remainder of my days, it would be hot chocolate. No surprise that a mocha is my favorite caffeinated drink! I have always loved hot chocolate. Maybe its the creaminess. Hmmmm… I don’t really know, but I never get sick of drinking it. And while I am perfectly happy with the individual packets that come out of the box, a certain event changed my life forever.
About 5 years ago, my husband and I were driving from San Diego up the coast of California for a wedding. We were with several friends that we hadn’t seen since the previous year when my husband got out of the Navy and we were a little wired. We stopped for brunch at this fantastic little french bakery and cafe. I have no idea what the name of it was (I am trying to research and figure it out) but it was split into two rooms. One side, the smaller of the two, was the cafe. It was lots of wood and random tables and chairs, but quaint and comfy. The other side was sorta long skinny with a table that ran down the length of the room. All pastries! Cakes, petit fours, breads, tarts, croissants, chocolate, puffs…anything you could imagine. Literally, hundreds of baked goods and confections. I am a sucker for a good bakery. Ah. Who am I kidding. I love the cruddy ones too. But this was incredible. The staff all spoke french and only our server and the woman behind the register at the bakery seemed to speak broken English.
But lets get back to the food.
And ooooohhh my goodness. The food…(drool, drool)
I ordered the Eggs Benedict and a Hot Chocolate. Little did I know these two things would forever change the standards by which I rate all other eggs benedicts and hot chocolates. The food I will cover in a different blog, as I haven’t the time and space to give it the proper praises. But the hot chocolate. *sigh* The chocolate was shaved from a block and hot milk was poured over top and stirred. I watched them whip the cream and generously cover the top of my mug with it, then shave more chocolate on top. When it arrived, I could have shared with everyone at the table and still had leftovers. It was HUGE! The milk was fresh-I swear they must have had a cow out back-and rich (no skim here people!) and the chocolate wasn’t too sweet, too bitter or too thick. Up till then, and since, I have not tasted anything even close to that.
So am I on the search for the ultimate hot chocolate? Yes and no. I mean, I really already found the best one. And while I would appreciate having unlimited access to my own french bakery (why are they so rare in the middle of Illinois?) that is not my reality. My reality is teddy grahams, cheerios, carrot sticks and sippy cups. I have no problem with cheap and easy. Hot chocolate that its…
So here it is. My newly created recipe for hot chocolate. I have been working on several different methods of making an at home, decadent, creamy, hot chocolate that is worthy. Not too complicated, not too labor intensive, and it has to be enough for our family of four. Currently, this is it. Rich flavor without much fuss and perfect for the season. I was out of whole milk on the day I experimented with this, so it isn’t in the recipe. That is what I would usually use to make a good hot chocolate but let the record show, I normally drink 1%. Use whatever combination tastes good to you. If you used only skim milk, it wouldn’t be as rich, but it would be quite healthy. Especially since this recipe uses cocoa powder; rich in antioxidants and flavor but without all the fat, sugar, and stabilizers in some chocolate. So indulge all you want! And support your local bakery. You never know when you might miss it.
Empty cup, waiting for the goodness.
Hot Chocolate #1
In a medium saucepan stir together:
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1/3 c hot water
Whisk constantly over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Keep stirring and boil one minute.
Add: 4 c of milk (I used 3 c of 1% and 1 c of cream or all whole milk).
Heat gently until it is hot and at serving temperature. At this point you can add whatever you like to flavor it. 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract, vanilla, ground cinnamon, instant coffee, maple extract, rum extract, orange liqueur. Pour into 4 mugs and serve. Top with marshmallows or whipped cream, if desired.
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