Breakfast for your Muffin

I love themes. I thought it would be fun to do some holiday recipes. We'll start off with Valentine's Day. Treat your Sweetie to one of these delicious muffins. Sorry, it's late.

White Chocolate Chunk Muffins - For your honey with a sweet tooth.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) plus 2 Tablespoons butter, melted

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups chopped white chocolate

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease 12 jumbo (3 1/2) inch muffin pan cups.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, butter, eggs, and vanilla until blended.

Stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Fold in white chocolate. Spoon into prepared muffins cups, filling 1/2 full.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Serve warm or cool completely.

Jake's tip: Cut it open and smear it with cream cheese. Yum!

Makes 12 large muffins

Ham & Cheese Corn Muffins - For those who prefer a more savory muffin

1 package (about 8 ounces)corn muffin mix

3/4 cup chopped deli ham

1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese

1/3 cup reduced fat milk

1 egg

1 tablespoon mustard regular or Dijon

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease muffin pan

In a medium bowl, combine muffin mix, ham and cheese. In a 1-cup glass measure, beat milk, egg, and mustard. Stir milk mixture into dry ingredients; mix until just moistened.

Spoon into prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 or until light golden brown. Remove muffin pan to cooling rack. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Jake's tip: Cook up an egg, cut the muffin in half and enjoy your muffin sandwich.

Optional: In a double batch, we've also added canned diced green chiles

Makes 9 muffins

Chili Beef with Greens and Corn Casserole

One thing I love about cooking is unexpected combinations. In this case it is the flavor of chili-spiced ground beef mixed with the earthy flavors of collard greens. The results speak for themselves!

Ingredients

• nonstick cooking spray
• 12 oz. extra lean ground beef
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• ¼ cup low-sodium salsa
• 1 cup fresh or thawed corn kernels
• 3 oz chopped collard greens, about ½ inch pieces (1 cup packed)
• ½ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup (1 oz.) shreddedsharp Cheddar cheese
• tortilla strips / crushed chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat a 12 inch skillet over medium heat and cook beef, stirring constantly, until no longer pink. Add chili powder, cumin, and salsa; cook and stir 1 minute and remove from heat.

Coat 8x8x2 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Place corn and collards in bottom of pan and toss to blend. Spoon beef mixture evenly over all, cover tightly with foil and bake 25 minutes or until collard are tender. Serve, topping each serving with 2 tablespoons sour cream and 1 tablespoon cheese. Garnish with tortilla strips.

The Best Caramel Brownies ever!

A few years ago, I would get together with some ladies in the neighborhood for a weekly brunch. I planned themes for our brunches. One week, it was family favorites and Aubrie Ivie brought this delicious recipe to share with us.

Ingredients

• 1 German Chocolate cake mix
• 7 Tbs melted butter or margarine
• 1/3 C evaporated milk
• 1 cup of chocolate chips
• 50-60 kraft caramels
• ½ C evaporated milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 325. Mix together cake mix, butter and 1/3 C evaporated milk. Pat ½ of the mixture into the bottom of a 9” x 13” pan. Bake for 7-8 minutes.

In a separate microwavable bowl, combine the caramels and ½ C. evaporated milk. Melt mixture in the microwave, stirring every 1-2 minutes until smooth.

Remove the cake from the oven & sprinkle chocolate chips over the top of the baked cake. Pour the caramel mixture over the chocolate chips. Sprinkle the remaining cake mixture over the top. Bake for another 18 minutes. Cool and serve.