Many Ways With Corn Muffins

Do you ever get tired of fixing the same meals over and over again? Are you in a cooking rut and want to yank yourself out of it?

The easiest way I've found to experiment with new tastes is to add different flavors to something you already make and like.

Case in point: we love cornbread at our house. But having the same pan of the same cornbread mix too many times makes us not like it so much anymore. Instead, we've decided to doctor up the old standby and give it some new life.

This recipe is adapted from one I found in a magazine a couple of months ago. The major difference is that I used a box mix to make the cornbread while they wanted me to make it from scratch. Lately I do not have the time nor the energy to do this, so out came the box of Jiffy mix. If you don't have some of these on hand at all times...shame on you!

Cranberry Streusel Corn Muffins
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line or spray nine cups of a muffin tin.
2. For streusel topping, combine 6 tbsp all purpose flour, 1/2 cup light brown sugar and 1/4 tsp allspice. Then cut in 1/2 stick cold butter until well combined.
3. Prepare cornbread mix as directed.
4. Fill each muffin cup 1/2 way with batter, then top with 2 tsp whole berry cranberry sauce. Top liberally with streusel mix.
5. Bake about 15 minutes, until edges are brown and they are done all the way through.

There are probably a hundred and a half different ways to adjust cornbread to fix your taste, personal preference or the season. Try one of these combinations next time:

* shredded Mexican blend cheese and chopped green chiles
* shredded cheddar cheese and chopped cooked broccoli
* shredded or grated Parmesan cheese and diced red, yellow and green peppers
* finely cubed cream cheese and chopped green olives
* cottage cheese and chopped scallions
* shredded mozzarella cheese, pepperoni slices and Italian seasoning
* shredded Muenster cheese, chopped bacon and diced tomato

Then this plan of attack can cross over into other foods: What can you do differently with your pasta sauce? How can you update your favorite cookie recipe? Is there something you could add to your slow cooker meals? Experiment, have fun and enjoy reaping the benefits of trying something new in the kitchen this week!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit...
Read more