Muffin Mania: Citrus Cranberry Muffins

 

I'm mad for citrus at the moment, and I can't tell you why.  It seems odd because citrus really isn't in season, it might be because I've just returned from 2 1/2 weeks in snow and sub-zero temperatures and my body is a bit confused.  Anyways, at least citrus isn't hideously expensive at the moment and you don't need a lot of it to make this delicious stash.

Although I did make these because of my cravings, it was in part to build up my stash again for lunches.. but I will confess a few may go missing...

Makes 24

Ingredients:

1 large orange

1 medium lemon

2 small limes

1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup golden caster sugar (or regular if you don't have it handy)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

2 1/2 cups self raising flour

2/3 cup dried cranberries/craisins

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 degrees c

Half all the fruit, and drain the juice into a mixing bowl.  Do not throw away the peel, set aside.

In a blender, add the peels, and blend until smooth.

Add the peel back to the juice.  Add the sugar, stir well.

 

Add oil, cinnamon and egg, stir again.

Lastly add milk, flour then cranberries, stir well.

Pour into muffin/cupcake papers and bake for 15-20 minutes.

These smell so good at this point you'll be licking the bowl..

 And you'll be hungry while they bake, sorry thought I should warn you!

Freeze in ziplock bags for up to 3 months

Muffin Mania: Cheese and Salami muffins

Sometimes you just don't want to put sweet things in the lunchbox.  Some times, you don't want to put sandwiches in the lunchbox.  Sometimes you have grazers who would never eat a full sandwich anyway.  This recipe is a great solution for all the that - and hey, they're not just great for lunchboxes but for afternoon tea after school or not even for school kids!

If you have a cheese-or-savoury-lover rather than sweet give them a go - the salami doesn't need to be spicy.  Use bacon or proscuitto or something else if you don't like salami.

These freeze really well, if you want to serve warm, just heat them in the oven from frozen for about 15 minutes.. can't go wrong!

Makes 12-15 depending on size
Ingredients:
75g melted butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/4 cups self raising flour
1 egg
100grams grated cheese
100grams sliced salami
pepper


Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees c

Grate your cheese and to 80% of the sliced salami, dice.


Into a mixing bowl, mix melted butter, and then gradually add the buttermilk and mix together.

Add the egg, flour and pepper, stir well until all combined.

Stir through the about 80% of cheese and all of the diced salami.

Add some herbs of your choosing.  I added some thyme, but parsley or rosemary would be nice too.

Spoon the mixture into cupcake cases, sprinkle your reserved cheese and sliced salami on top.

Bake for 20 minutes.  Try not to eat them all before you get them in the freezer!