Cheddar-Apple Muffins

 Charley The Muffin Man

Muffin #1 - Cheddar-Apple Muffins

       So, when I adopted my pup from the SPCA of Texas in Dallas, in January, his shelter name was Muffin. However, he is most definitely not a "Muffin". His name is Charley and his very, first name is "Charley The Muffin Man". His Instagram page his @charleythemuffinman. This series of muffin recipes are for him. This recipe is in one of my favorite cookbooks. The Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook published in 1996. It is one of the first cookbooks which I bought for myself. I used Colby-Jack cheese in lieu of plain cheddar, because that's what I had. I couldn't really taste the cheese in these muffins and I wished there was more flavor. Consider adding a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg or serving with cinnamon-sugar sprinkled on top. That said, I liked these muffins; they had a good texture. Try them and let me know what you think. Modification(s) in italics. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup finely shredded cheddar or Colby-Jack cheese (2oz)

1/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

2 tbsps sugar

2 1/2 tsps baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 beaten egg

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup cooking oil

3/4 cup finely chopped, pealed apple

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease twelve large muffin cups (2 1/2-inch muffin cups) and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cheese, rolled oats, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and set aside. In a separate medium-sized bowl, mix together the egg, milk and oil. Mix liquid mixture into the dry mixture. Stir until combined; the batter should be a little lumpy. Spoon mixture into muffin cups so that they are about 2/3 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack for five minutes and remove from pan. Serve warm with butter and cinnamon-sugar if desired. 

Charley The Muffin Man and 
Cheddar-Apple Muffins

Appetizer 22 - Old Bay Potato Skins

 The Year of Appetizers

Appetizer #22 - Old Bay Potato Skins

    This recipe is another creation of mine.  Add as much Old Bay seasoning , green onion, cheese and sour cream as you like.  Enjoy! 

Ingredients:

3 large potatoes, washed 

old bay seasoning

cheddar or colby-jack cheese, shredded

sour cream

green onion, chopped

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake potatoes until softened (you can easily poke the potato with a fork). It's a fine line, but you don't want the potatoes too soft. Remove from oven. Cut potatoes lengthwise into wedges.  Gently scoop potato from skin, leaving about 1/4 inch or so of potato on the skin. Save the scooped potato in a small bowl and use as you wish in another recipe. Lay potato wedges on a baking pan and sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning on top of potato skins. Top skins with cheese and sprinkle with more Old Bay if you wish. Bake skins until cheese is melted. Remove from oven. Cool slightly. Serve hot topped with sour cream, green onion and add another sprinkle of Old Bay if you like. Enjoy!

Old Bay Potato Skins

Old Bay Potato Skins

Pie Number 17 - Onion Pie

 The Year of Pie

Pie #17 - Onion Pie

    This savory pie comes to us from Back To Basics: Home-Tested Recipes from A to Z. This book was originally published in 1991 and my copy is from the 1992 third printing. This pie has a lot of cheese (1 lb!!). I love cheese and I do like cooked onion, but overall, with all that cheese it was too much for me. If I made this again, I would definitely use half of the cheese called for. There is no seasoning in this, so use whatever you like. Salt, pepper, spicy seasoning or your favorite seasoning. I say go ahead and try this, but you might want to start out with 8oz, not the full pound. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups crushed butter crackers (I used saltines)

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced onion

1/2 cup melted margarine (or butter)

1 1/2 cups milk

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 to 1 pound Colby Jack shredded cheese

parsley flakes (optional)

chili powder (optional)

Directions:

Place cracker crumbs in the bottom of pie pan. Saute margarine or butter. Spoon sauteed onion over the cracker crumbs (You may want to drain the liquid/melted margarine/butter, before adding onions on top of the crumbs). Heat milk, then cool (This step made no sense to me, so I didn't heat for very, long). Add eggs and cheese to milk. Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or until custard is set. Scoop onto a plate and sprinkle with parsley flakes and/or chili powder. Yield (The original recipe says this serves 6, but it was a lot; I think it's more like 8)

Onion Pie

Onion Pie

Onion Pie