Corn & Bacon Muffins

Corn? Again?

Yup but this time is has some bacon and honey tossed into it.   You can never go wrong with bacon, it is loved by all!

I was recently asked to make some cupcakes for a 1 year old’s birthday and in the process of researching what cupcakes I was going to make I borrowed the book “500 Cupcakes” from my friend LT.  This little book is FULL of lovely cupcake and muffin recipes.  Too many to count….well 500 of them but you know what I mean.

I don’t know if I can bear to part with this little book, but I have to.  It was a V-day gift from her husband, so I will just have to get one of my own.

While I was scanning the book I found this recipe for corn muffins.  It also had a variation with italian sausage added, but I was all out of italian sausage.  I decided that sausage’s sister bacon would work just as well.  I also decided to substitute half of the sugar with some honey….yummy….honey.

First I cooked 6 strips of thick cut bacon in the oven.  I laid them out on a baking sheet with a cooling grid and baked them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until crispy.  Let the bacon cool, pat off any excess grease with a paper towel and dice.  You want a heaping 1/2 cup of bacon. Set aside until ready to use.

Leave your oven at 350 degrees.

In a small bowl combine all your dry ingredients and whisk together until well combined.

In the bowl of your electric mixture, using a paddle attachment stir together all your wet .

Add the corn meal mixture and bacon to the wet mixture.

Stir together until just combined.  Try not to over mix.

Grease a muffin pan with butter or non-stick spray.  Spoon the batter into each mold, dividing up evenly.  The mold will fill almost to the top.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Now I don’t know about you but this is the only kind of muffin top I have actually ever wanted, the other kind is evil and unfortunate.  The ironic part is that the “evil” muffin top can be brought on by too many of the “good” muffin tops.  Does that make the “good” muffin tops, ultimately “evil” muffin tops or can that make “evil” muffin tops “good” muffin tops?  No that isn’t possible….is it?

Are you still there?  Did I loose you?

Hello….*tap* *tap*

Sorry I got lost in my own brain there for a moment.  It can be dangerous.

Regardless these muffin tops are good and delicious!  I mean they have bacon in them for heavens sake….hello!

These muffins are more on the cornbread side then cakey side.  They are more southern then northern, if you know what I mean.  You can have these in the morning, warmed up with a pad of butter and a cup of coffee and with fall on our heels, these muffins would be awesome with a bowl of chili.

Print Recipe

Corn & Bacon Muffins (adapted from 500 Cupcakes) (1 dozen muffins)

• 2 1/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cup corn meal
• 1/4 sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup cooked thick cut bacon, diced (about 6 strips)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Lay 6 strips of thick cut bacon on a baking sheet with a cooling grid and baked it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until crispy. Let cool, pat off any excess grease with a paper towel and dice. You want a heaping 1/2 cup of bacon. Set aside until ready to use.

Leave your oven at 350 degrees.

In a small bowl combine all your dry ingredients, flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder and salt, whisk together until well combined.

In the bowl of your electric mixture, using a paddle attachment stir together all your wet ingredients, egg, buttermilk and honey.

Add the corn meal mixture and bacon to the wet mixture.  Stir together until just combined. Try not to over mix.

Grease a muffin pan with butter or non-stick spray. Spoon the batter into each mold, dividing up evenly. The mold will fill almost to the top. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.  Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes and transfer muffins to cooling rack.

Not Everything is a Success: Breakfast Pizza

This seemed like a good idea and I still think it is a good idea, but this attempt was not a success.

This week we have family visiting us all the way from Florida and they drove!  Yes they crossed half the country and spent approximately 23 hours in a vehicle to come and see Obed and I, we are that special.  Because I suspect that we will be spending most afternoons out of the house, I decided that this week is going to be all about breakfast.

I wanted to try something different so I though a breakfast pizza qualifies as different.

Let me say that I do not blame the recipe or the idea of eggs on pizza for the failure of this dish, I blame myself.  My first mistake was that I was on the phone with my mother while I was preparing the pizza.  Because I was on the phone, I forgot to oil the pan, did not read the instructions correctly and had the oven at the wrong temperature when the pizza went into the oven.  The result of these mistakes was a pizza was glued to the pan and eggs that literally turned to rubber, not pleasant.  My final mistake was buying a cheese that I was unfamiliar with. I expected the cheese to have a nice gooey stretch, instead we got gummy clumps, not cool.

There were two things about this pizza that were good, the crust and of course the bacon.  How can you go wrong with bacon?   I however refuse to feel defeated, I will try this pizza again, read the directions thoroughly and stay off the phone.   Apparently I cannot chew gum and walk at the same time, but I knew this already.

Simple Carbonara with Sage

This weekend was a very busy weekend and I didn’t get a chance to do my usual baking.  By Sunday night we were both exhausted and I needed to get dinner together quick and easy.  I was also low on groceries because we didn’t get a chance to make it to the grocery store.   

I think everyone can agree one of the easiest things to make for dinner is a pasta dish.  At first I thought I w0uld do a simple spaghetti with meat sauce but I had no tomato sauce and no ground beef.  So scratch that idea.  Then I thought about a quick Alfredo, but I had no cream cheese or whipping cream. UGH!  I really need to go to the store.   That is when I saw the chicken stock and the eggs.   I then found some bacon, onions and a lonely chicken breast. 

This is when I decided that carbonara was what we were having for dinner.  It’s simple and easy which means my butt could be on the sofa a lot sooner then later.  I decided to toss some sage in just because it’s Fall and it’s my kitchen so I can do whatever I want.    It was a good call, I really enjoyed it and Obed loved it.  He went back for seconds and thirds. 

Was it healthy?  Probably not since the base of the sauce is bacon fat and egg yolks, but when you are exhausted and everything including your hair follicles hurt, who really cares?   I ate my bacon fat/yolk based pasta and enjoyed it and I suggest you do the same!

Print Recipe

Simple Carbonara with Sage  (adapted from Linda’s Italian American Kitchen)  6 Servings

• 4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped
• 2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil, plus more if needed
• 1 large yellow onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large chicken breast, diced into 1 inch cubes
• 4 sage leaves, minced
• 1½ cups hot Chicken Stock
• 1 pound cooked linguine
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Coarsely ground black pepper
• salt to taste

Bring 6 quarts of salted water to the boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, until the bacon is lightly browned but still soft, about 6 minutes.

Measure out 3 to 4 tablespoons of the bacon fat, add the onions, garlic and chicken and cook until onions wilted but still crunchy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the stock, bring to a boil, and adjust the heat to a simmer. Add sage and cook until the liquid is reduced by about half.

In the meantime, stir the linguine into the boiling salted water. Return to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta, semi-covered, stirring occasionally, until done, about 8 minutes.

Ladle off about a cup of the pasta-cooking water. Drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and pour in the sauce. Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, stirring to coat the pasta with sauce. Check the seasoning, add salt if necessary. If necessary, add as much chicken stock or pasta-cooking water as needed to make enough sauce to coat the pasta generously.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the egg yolks one at a time, tossing well after each. Add the grated cheese, then the black pepper, tossing well, and serve immediately in warmed bowls.

Lazy Woman’s Dinner: Almost Carbonara

Almost Carbonara

It’s a new work week, it’s stinking HOT and I am tired.  What do I make for dinner when I get home?   I wanted to make something effortless and quick, because I did not feel like hanging out in my poorly ventulated kitchen.

Drain 3 cups of cooked pasta.

Also I had been nursing the headache from H-E-double hockey sticks and just was not in the mood to do anything that required any kind of real effort. In summation I was tired, sweaty and I had an 8 ton elephant sitting on my head.  Do you know what it’s like to have an 8 ton elephant on your head and a yappy dog that won’t shut up?  Not pointing any fingers. *nodding towards Buster*

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Creamy Angel Hair Carbonara with Chicken

Creamy Angel Hair Carbonara with Chicken

Now I do not usually do step-by-step photos of my cooking, and don’t expect this to be a regular thing, because it is very time consuming.  I read some blogs that practically, every post has step-by-step photos, and they post almost daily.  Some of these bloggers have children and they still do step-by-step photos. (Pioneer Woman, Kayotic Kitchen, The Kichenista and Noble Pig to name a few) I have to give them props, serious kudos, because it is just me, Hubby and 3 dogs and I cannot imagine doing this more then once a week.  However for this post I thought I give it a go. Although my photos are not quite up to par with theirs yet, this is my homage to those fabulous foodie bloggers that take the extra step and effort to give us visual step-by-step directions on how to make their fabulous dishes.

This dish turned out great and I managed not to burn anything while I ran between the stove and the camera, while dodging doggies that insist on hanging out in the kitchen.  Although the dogs do come in handy when I drop something on the floor, helps with the clean up process.

This was creamy and delicious, a perfect family dish.

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A Two Bite Breakfast: Bacon & Eggs in Toast Cups

Bacon & Eggs in Toast Cups

• 6 slices of bread
• 6 slices of bacon
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheese
• salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin pan with butter non-stick spray.

2. Using a cookie cutter, cut circles out of bread slices about 3 inches in diameter. (I confess I do not have a cookie cutter so I use the lid to my tub of orzo pasta and just cut around the edges ;D)

3. Take bread circles and press them into the muffin pan, set aside.

4. Heat a large skillet on medium-high. Cook bacon on the skillet until partially cooked but still pliable, about 3 minutes.

5. Shape bacon strips into the toast cups, fill with 1 Tbs of shredded cheese. Place in the oven for 5 minutes, allowing the bacon to toast just a little more. Remove from oven.

6. Crack your egg and separate out most of the egg white. Drop eggs into the cups, sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. Place back in the oven and cook until white begins to set, about another 8 – 10 minutes.  The yolk should be creamy.

7. Remove from oven when done and pop out using a spoon, serve warm.

Enjoy!