Pizza Muffins

I originally made these pizza muffins as part of the menu for my youngest son's 3rd birthday party in school.
I had wanted something popular with kids, something that's already portioned and easy to distribute, and something that can be in kid portions.

I got the recipe from an issue of Yummy magazine, and tweaked it to suit my taste.

I think these pizza muffins are also good as baon for both schoolers and their parents. :)  It's also a quick snack you can whip up if you have surprise guests, or something your kids can make by themselves. :)

What's In It?

2 cups flour
¹⁄₄ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cheddar cheese, cubed
1 cup sour cream (1 cup milk with 1 teaspoon vinegar)
2 eggs
¹⁄₄ cup butter, melted
¹⁄₂ cup bell pepper, finely chopped
¹⁄2 cup sweet-style pizza sauce
¹⁄₂ cup shredded quickmelt cheese

Toppings: Small slices/bits of Italian Sausage, Salami and Ham


 Kitchen Conjugations:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together sour cream, eggs and butter until smooth. 
2. Add in flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Stir until all the flour and sugar have dissolved.
3. Stir in cheese cubes, Italian seasoning and diced bell pepper.
4. Spoon mixture into muffin cups, until three-fourths full.
5. Spoon a tablespoon of pizza sauce on top of each muffin, top with shredded cheese and other toppings of choice.
6. Bake at 200C for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean. 
7. Cool on on a wire rack and remove from molds.

Enjoy!

I bought these disposable foil tins from Japan Home, P88 for a pack of 12 tins.

Starbites Cake Pops

One night in April 2014, apart from the Espasol, I also made Brownies...but from a mix. I don't know why, but while I followed the box instructions to the letter, the brownies didn't turn out as I expected...they were more 'cake' than brownies...more crumbly than fudgy. Fail! 

So I crumbled the cake, stuffed it into silicon molds and turned it into cake pops. Presenting...'Starbites.'

You could do the same for stale cake and similar cake fails. :) I think this is a good idea for kiddie parties or bring-to-school goodies to share. It's also a quick pop-in-the-mouth sweet tooth craving. :)

What's In It?  

Two pouches of Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix + water + vegetable oil + 2 eggs, mixed and baked according to package directions.

Multi-colored M&Ms or Nips

Kitchen Conjugations:

Crumbled the cake and pack them into silicon molds. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the cake pops to set.

Unmold and top with M&Ms.

I think this would also be a good base for a Rocky Road cake pop. :) For that you only need to put marshmallows and nuts and maybe drizzle with sugar glaze.

 

Pineapple Upside Down Muffins

Oh wow! I made these muffins and took this picture on March 11, 2008, started this post but never got around to publishing it.  Incredible! The little boy in the picture is now a young man! This post is FIVE YEARS late!  Now I don't even remember the story behind the making of the muffins. :(  Sigh.

What I do remember, judging by the look of the muffins:

1. I had leftover Pineapple Tidbits and decided to use that in addition to the pineapple slices I also had left over.

2. Since I used my trusty Turbo Broiler instead of a conventional oven (because that's all I had back then), some of the muffins rose unevenly, making it hard to turn them upside down.

3. Since I decided to use leftover Pineapple Tidbits I had to scale down by baking the batter in muffin cups rather than a regular cake pan (because the bits would look less pretty on a regular pan than pineapple slices would).  Upon closer look I realized that I actually used llaneras for leche flan instead of regular muffin cups.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN MUFFINS

What's In It?

CAKE
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup milk powder (I used Birch Tree)
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil

TOPPING
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 can (8 oz.) pineapple tidbits in juice, drained (about 3/4 cup)
9 maraschino cherries, halved

Kitchen Conjugations:

Make the cake by combining the flour, sugar, milk powder, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, water and oil. Beat for 30 seconds on medium speed until the cake ingredients are combined well and the mixture is free of lumps. Set aside.

Grease muffin cups, then make the topping: Combine brown sugar and butter in a bowl. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the brown sugar mixture into each greased muffin cup. Arrange 4 to 5 pineapple tidbits and 1/2 cherry on top of each brown sugar mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups filling up to half of each mold.

Bake in a turbo broiler for 15 to 20 minutes at 250 C or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 1 minute. Run knife around edges of the cupcakes; invert onto wire rack(s). Re-position any dislodged pineapple piece. Best served warm.