Spinach-Salami-Cheese Muffins

A photograph of what seemed like spinach-cheese muffins had been torturing me all day, and by lunchtime, I decided I would burst if I didn't get to eat it soon. Since there was a bunch of spinach leaves in the refrigerator, the time between thought and action was amazingly low!
I took a recipe from the Internet, adapted it to suit what I had in the kitchen, and came up with something I am sure to use again.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Couple of slices of salami cut into strips
Handfull of melon seeds (walnut might be better, but I had only melon seeds at home)

Method
Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Lightly grease 12 cup muffin cups.
Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl.
Stir the melted butter, egg, milk, spinach, cheese and salami together in a large mixing bowl until evenly blended. Slowly stir in the flour mixture to form a batter. Spoon about 2 tablespoons into each muffin cup. Sprinkle the melon seeds on top
Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 25 minutes.

Grab a cup of coffee. Enjoy!

Carrot-Zucchini Muffins

It is the last day of the school holidays, and I wanted to make something a little memorable for the kids. Carrot-zucchini muffins sounded perfect- something different, yet loaded with goodness.
Unfortunately, though, the kids both binged on biscuits an hour before lunchtime, and didn't exactly enjoy these as much as I hoped they would. But they were good, and I am definitely tempting them with it again, before giving up.

1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cooking oil
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 cup grated zucchini
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup white whole what flour (or all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup wholewheat flour

1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon 

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Prepare a pan with 9 standard muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, salt, and egg. Add zucchini, carrots, and cinnamon powder.

Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the batter. Stir until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Let the muffins rest for 10 minutes before placing them into the oven.

Bake the muffins until the edges are lightly browned and they feel firm if gently pressed, about 18 to 25 minutes. A cake tester inserted into the center of a muffin should come out clean. Cool muffins in the pan for 10 minutes; transfer to a rack, and cool completely.

Mac cheese spinach

Many months back, I saw a recipe for Mac & Cheese Muffins and liked it enough to save it on Pintrest. It could not, however, be done on a microwave, so it remained pinned for many months. When I finally made it, I loved it. I made it with the pasta left over from last night's dinner (by incorporating an egg, pouring into a muffin tin and baking), but the recipe is for making it from scratch.

200 gms penne pasta
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cornflour
2 cup milk
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 tbsp cheese, grated
1 bunch spinach, washed and cut
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg

1 egg white

2 tbsp chopped walnuts
 

Method:
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Pour cold water to stop further cooking, drain and keep aside.
Heat the butter in a pan, add the garlic and when the aroma fills the room, add the spinach and saute till most of the water is released and evaporated. Remove from pan and keep aside.
In the same pan, bring the milk to boiling.
When the milk is slightly warm, use some of it to make a paste with the cornflour.
After the milk comes to a boil, add the cornflour paste, stirring constantly to ensure no lumps are formed. Add salt and pepper, and 4 tbsp cheese. Turn off the flame.

Beat the eggs well, and incorporate into the sauce.
Mix the spinach and the broken walnuts with the pasta, and add the white sauce. 

Pour into greased muffin tins, spread cheese on top, and  bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 minutes.