Custom Muffins (with Variations)

This recipe started its life as Blueberry Muffins.  Then I tried some variations.  And then I came to realize you can do a lot with the basic muffin batter, so I'm calling it "Custom Muffins" now.

Hopefully, that's not too pretentious.

No, pretentious would be something like, "Completely Awesome Customizable Muffins with {insert trendy ingredient}."

And.... back to the beginning:

So... blueberries were 99 cents for a six ounce container.

What the heck do you do with blueberries? I've always been a blackberry person.  But I can read recipes online as well as the next person...actually, I can do that better than the some people.... but wow, try finding a quick and easy recipe that doesn't involve using a mixer or making 24 muffins.  Next thing you know you'd be out picking the blueberries...

I had to adapt, I used two different recipes and came up with these:

I put down a towel so you wouldn't have to see my icky counter tops.

CUSTOM MUFFINS

1/2 cup milk
1 egg white
2 Tablespoons and 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon extract*
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup fruit*

Topping*


Heat oven to 375 degrees F.  (350 if you're using a dark non-stick pan)
If they don't get nice and golden brown on top the first time, try 400 the next time.

Why do recipes always say to "preheat your oven", you're not heating before you're heating it...  and not you're not going to heat someone else's oven...

Grease a 6 cup muffin tin.  Not 6 cups in volume, but a pan with six wells in it.  Like this one, but take the label off.  

This is Baker's Secret Basics Premium Nonstick 6-Cup Muffin Pan It's pretty good, and was less than $8.  Amazon or at the grocery store. "Non-stick" isn't really, but they are easier to wash.  Wilton makes a decent one, too, and it costs less.  Wilton Recipe Right 6 Cup Regular Muffin Pan


I saw one for a toaster oven, too, but I don't have the link.   Any pan that will fit in your toaster oven will work, there's nothing magical about the one that says it's for toaster ovens. 

This is my pan when using the homemade Pan Coating.  Brush it on lightly. 

In a medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients.   If you are using dried fruit (like raisins), stir them into the flour mixture.  Make sure they separate and get coated with flour.

In a small bowl, or better yet, use a glass measuring cup and save washing another bowl. Measure the milk, then add the egg white, extract, and oil.    Mix up with a fork.

Add to dry mixture and gently mix the batter with only a few strokes.

If you're using fresh (or frozen and thawed) fruit, toss it with a tablespoon of flour, in a zip lock bag is easiest.  Fish them out of the flour (don't dump the whole bag in) and add to batter, stir gently.

Coating the fruiut with flour helps to suspend the pieces in the batter so they don't sink to the bottom.  

Spoon batter into cups.  Fill them almost to the top.  Sprinkle with topping.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, serve warm with butter.

*NOTES AND HINTS:

This can be doubled to make 12 muffins.  Use 1 whole egg if doubling.

The oil is actually 1/2 of 1/3 cup, which is 2 & 2/3 tablespoon.  I use a tablespoon to measure and eyeball it.  It's not chemistry class, it doesn't have to be exact.


As you can see in the picture, I used paper cupcake liners... but the muffins stuck to the paper.  So, either oil the paper cups a little, or grease and flour the muffin cups, or use Baker's Joy or pan coating.


NOTES ON CUSTOMIZING AND VARIATIONS:

1.  Vanilla extract and raisins.  (Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon to the dry mix)  Top with cinnamon sugar mix.
2.  Orange extract and dried cranberries. Top with plain or decorator's sugar.
3.  Lemon extract and blueberries or raspberries.  Top with decorator's sugar.
4.  Vanilla extract and blueberries, top with cinnamon-sugar.
5.  Vanilla extract and dried cherries, top with plain or decorator's sugar.


The usual ratio of cinnamon to sugar is 1 Tablespoon cinnamon to 1/2 cup sugar.  I keep some in a shaker to make cinnamon toast.  Adjust this to suit your taste.

When using fresh berries,  Rinse and dry the berries.   They don't have to be bones-in-the-desert dry, but dry enough to not make paste when you toss them with the 1 tablespoon flour.  I usually use a zip lock sandwich bag to shake them up. 


Blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries freeze pretty well.  Which is good, because $3 for 6 ounces is too much, get them while they're in season and cheap.  Spread them out on a cookie sheet and freeze.   Then put into freezer bags, 1/2 cup at a time if you like.  They get a little juicy when they thaw out, but not a lot.   Just pat them dry with a paper towel and you're good to go.

Here's a new hint about berries! Frozen Berries and how to use them in muffins.

There are a lot of fancy sugars out there, but I got this at the supermarket:

Or use plain sugar,  or none at all.

Baking Pan Coating

Pan Coating

This is so easy... and cheap.   I keep repeating over and over.... never, ever use cooking spray (Pam) on your baking pans.  Especially non-stick pans, it takes a nuclear explosion to remove it.

If you really want to spray and go, use Baker's Joy, but any spray tends to pool up in the bottom if you're spraying a muffin/cupcake pan.

This coating is so easy to use, and the last muffins I made slid out of the pan with no effort at all.

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/3 cup flour

Mix well, use a mixer or a food processor.  Store in a container in the fridge.   Brush it on the pan with a pastry brush.  When you take out of the fridge, stir it a little.  When it's all gone, throw the container away and start over!   (I use a cheap store brand plastic container with a snap on lid.)

This makes a full cup (duh) which is enough to last a year, and it probably won't keep that long, unless you're making dozens of muffins every day.   You can make a smaller amount, just be sure to use equal portions of oil, shortening, and flour, and you'll be fine.

HINT: Get a silicone pastry brush.  One of the best things I ever bought. The bristles don't get out of shape, you can use it on a hot skillet, and it washes up like new in the dishwasher.



Yep, that's an affiliate link. If you buy that, I might get a quarter. I promise not to spend it all in one place.

Ummmmm

Cornbread

I've tried other recipes, from Southern Living to The Pioneer Woman, but nothing beats my mother's recipe. She probably got this from her grandma, or off the back of the corn meal box... or both.  In fact, I know it's the recipe from Alber's Corn Meal, but without the sugar.  

Scroll down for the scaled down version.

CORN BREAD

1 cup Corn Meal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten

HEAT oven to 400°F. 

Sift together meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.

Combine milk, oil and egg in small bowl; mix well.

Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until blended.

*Melt 2 Tbls. butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet. Pour in the batter, and spread out evenly.

BAKE for 20 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. 

You can bake this in an 8 inch square or round cake pan, just be sure to grease it first. I did that for years, since I thought cast iron was nasty, and hard to take care of... but Mr. Giddy was pining for cornbread the way both our mothers used to make, so I relented and a bought two skillets. I bake it the full 25 minutes in the 8 inch skillet. If you want more crust and less bread, use a 10 inch skillet and start with 20 minutes and then test it.  

There's a big myth about cast iron... that you can't wash it with soap.  Uh, yes, you should wash it with soap.  Just don't scrub it with an SOS Pad.   The seasoning on a cast iron skillet is not just the oil, it's polymerized oil.  (Polymerized is when the oil gets baked on... and it lasts nearly forever, takes a nuclear detonation to remove, and if you don't believe that, you should see the sides of my stainless steel fryer....)

CORNBREAD FOR TWO


We love this cornbread, but we always have some leftover, and it usually gets wasted.   So, I searched for a smaller pan with the idea of cutting the recipe in half.

Isn't this cute?

It's a 6.5 inch cast iron skillet. Got it on Amazon, of course, but Walmart has them sometimes.

This wasn't quite ready, I gave it a few more minutes.   It should get a little more golden on top, and the top usually cracks open a bit.


So, here's the deal:

CORN BREAD FOR TWO

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2.5 Tablespoons vegetable oil*
1 egg white
1 Tablespoon butter

Mix the dry ingredients together and a medium bowl.

Mix the milk, egg, and oil together, and add to dry ingredients.

Stir it all up, you don't have to beat it smooth, just make sure it's all moist.

Melt the butter in the skillet, then pour the batter in.  (set it on a burner at medium heat, but watch it!)

Bake at 400 F for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cut in four pieces and serve with butter.

*It's really 2 Tbls + 2 Tsp, which would be 2.67 Tablespoons... you can eyeball this.  Just fill the tablespoon twice, then the third time just fill it halfway.   Trust me.

You can also bake this in a 6 inch cake pan, start with 20 minutes and test it.  It'll take a little longer because it's taller in the middle.

Hamburger Steak for Two

I call this "Hamburger Steak that's Actually Good" because it is.  I've never been a fan of hamburger steak, I figured if I was going to eat a hunk of hamburger it was going to be on a bun with cheese...  I have eaten some terrible hamburger steaks that were like endless chewing of dry hamburger.... *shudder*

It tastes better than it looks, not that it doesn't look pretty tasty!

HAMBURGER STEAK FOR TWO

1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 egg
1/4 + 1/2 cup cracker crumbs*
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder**
1/4 teaspoon onion powder**
1/8 teaspoon (dash) ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon oil

Mix together meat, egg, 1/4 cup cracker crumbs, and seasonings.

 Mix it up good.  Use your hands, it's easier.  Just don't tell anyone.

Divide in half and form into patties.  This is were waxed paper comes in handy.

Press some cracker crumbs into the meat. 

 Then use the wax paper to flip the patties over onto a plate, where you can press some more crumbs into the other side.

 Cover the meat with the wax paper and refrigerate for a half-hour or so.  This keeps the patty from falling apart when you handle it.

Wash your hands with soap after handling raw meat!    And don't wipe your meaty hands on a dish towel and then use it later.   If you can't reach the soap and water in between steps, use a paper towel.

Add the oil and butter to a skillet and heat over medium-high heat.  If it smokes, it's too hot.

Just look at that happy butter!

 And just look at those patties, snuggled up in the skillet.  To give you an idea how big they are, that's a 10 inch skillet.

 Cook them about 3-5 minutes on each side.  Don't let them get black.  Overcooking makes them dry and nasty.

My side dishes weren't quite done yet, so I put them on plate and covered them up with anohter plate to keep warm.

Serve with hot noodles, or mashed potatoes, and gravy.   You can make good gravy with a can of cream of mushroom soup with a little (about 1/4 cup) water and some beef boullion granules.  Or open a can of Heinz beef gravy.   It's really good, and on sale it's only $1.

* For easy cracker crumbs, put about 2/3 of a sleeve of saltines in a zip lock bag.  Crush with a rolling pin, a glass, or just use your fingers.   If you use unsalted crackers, and you really shouldn't, you might need to add salt to the meat mixture.

** Garlic powder and onion powder are the pretty much the same as granulated garlic or onion. 

Retro Macaroni Salad

Let's go back to the 50s and 60s...  well, I was born in the 50s, but I don't remember them.  But my mom used to make macaroni salad for BBQs, or picnics at the coast (the beach to most people, but my folks, especially my dad, always said we were "going to the coast.")

And here's my mom and me at The Coast.   (Ft. Bragg, California)

I'm giving you that picture because my mom is so pretty, and because I don't have a picture of the macaroni salad...

If you have some irrational aversion to Miracle Whip, then stop reading right here!   You could probably make this with mayonnaise, but it wouldn't taste the same.  Mayo has a lot more fat and a lot less zing.    It's OK for sandwiches, but not as salad dressing.

Be sure to cook the macaroni in salted water.  The Italians say that pasta water should be "as salty as the sea."    Wait here while I go to California and check on the ocean...

OK, I'm back.  "Salty as the sea" means it tastes salty, but not enough to bring tears to your eyes.

Salad macaroni is best, or small shells.  In a pinch you can use elbows.


1960s Macaroni Salad

8 ounces (dry weight) macaroni
1 cup Miracle Whip
3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 medium cucumber**
1 ripe tomato***
Salt & Pepper

Cook the macaroni in salted water until tender.  Drain, and rinse with cold water.

Peel the cucumber, and quarter it lengthwise.  Scrape out the seeds and slimy part.  Cut into bite size pieces.

Dice the tomato and drain off some of the juice.

Mix the Miracle Whip and the apple cider vinegar together until smooth.  (a wire whisk works great)

Mix everything together, and salt and pepper to taste.   Cover and refrigerate.  It tastes better the second day.  I like to add the pepper after it's on my plate.

** It's hard to say how big of cucumber to use.  Remember that a really fat cuke has a lot of slime and seeds in the middle.    A smaller one is better, use two if you want more cuke pieces.  "Snackers" cucumbers are perfect.

***We're not crazy about tomatoes, and I didn't have one when I made it today, so I used a two ounce can of sliced black olives, drained and rinsed.   A half a carrot, finely grated, is nice and adds a little color! 

If you do use a tomato, drain off the juice and slime.  Cut the tomato vertically, and pull the slimy insides out with your fingers.  Don't be squeamish, it's fun!