Saturday, October 10, 2009

Ham and Cheese Corn Muffins

I'm always looking for freezable, portable breakfast ideas for Joe, and I thought I hit the jackpot when I found the Oatmeal Breakfast Clafoutis. However, man cannot eat oatmeal breakfast clafoutis forever, and this recipe from the October 2009 Cooking Light looked like a good, savory counterpart. Joe has enjoyed them so far and likes the heft that the cornmeal gives the muffins as well as the zing that the ground red pepper and green onions add. The ham helps keep him satisfied, which is great since sometimes he can go 7-8 hours between when he eats breakfast and his lunch break. They freeze and defrost beautifully. I did sort of "unhealthify" these, and my changes are reflected below. These would also go well beside chili or another hearty soup.

Ham and Cheese Corn Muffins
source: Cooking Light October 2009

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
1 1/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
2 eggs
3 tbsp canola oil
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
1/2 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1/2 cup diced ham
Cooking spray

Preparation
  1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
  2. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, salt, and red pepper in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Form a well in the center of the mixture. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, egg, and oil. Pour into well in flour mixture, stirring until moist. Do not overmix. Gently fold in cheese, green onions, corn, and diced ham.
  3. Coat 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray and spoon batter into each well. Bake at 350-degrees for 23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan and place on a wire rack to cool.

5 comments:

SoundsLikeCanada said...

Those look awesome. It'd be a great way to use up left over holiday ham...you know, at Christmas and what not.

Lisa said...

These sound like a portable breakfast to me - ham, cheese and cornmuffin all rolled into one! YUM YUM!

Dani said...

Oh, thanks for posting these! I did bacon/egg/cheese/biscuit muffins thingers and DH looooved them, but I want more variety for pre-made grab-and-go breakfasts.

Macaroni and Cheesecake said...

What a great breakfast alternative! I love that you have all the protein in a muffin. Thanks for posting!

sutros said...

A good story

GK Chesterton: “The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.”

Voila: www.tastingtoeternity.com. This book is a poetic view of 30 of the best loved French cheeses with an additional two odes to cheese. Recipes, wine pairing, three short stories and an educational section complete the book.

From a hectic life in New York City to the peace and glories of the French countryside lead me to be the co-founder of www.fromages.com. Ten years later with the words of Pierre Androuet hammering on my brain:

“Cheese is the soul of the soil. It is the purest and most romantic link between humans and the earth.”

I took pen and paper; many reams later with the midnight oil burning Tasting to Eternity was born and self published.

I believe cheese and wine lovers should be told about this publication.

Enjoy