Day 23: Breakfast Muffins

I'm not gonna count yesterday as a day because it was leftover night and I didn't even blog. So..day 23...tonight was an unexpected night of not cooking dinner. I stopped by Whole Foods for some bulk items and guess what?? I got the spices free! The weight didn't register on the scale at the checkout so I didn't get charged. Then the cashier proceeded to tell me that there's a certain little old lady who comes in every week and keeps getting free spices little by little. Ha!

Since my husband has been riding his bike to work for almost 30 days, I decided to make him these "Savory Breakfast Muffins" originally from EatingWell.com. Frequently he gets up too late to eat a good breakfast (think whole grain cereal and a boiled egg, or a bowl of oatmeal) so I decided to make him something hearty to grab on the go in the morning. And I get to enjoy too, of course.

Savory Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons Canola Oil
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup onions
• 3/4 cup cooked turkey bacon
• 1/2 cup chunked or grated Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms 
• 5 cloves garlic

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
2. Combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, pepper and salt in a large bowl.
3. Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in skillet. Add onion, pepper, mushroom, and garlic. Saute 1-2 minutes.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and oil. Fold in vegetable mixture with butter, bacon, and cheese. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until just moistened. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan (the cups will be very full).
5. Bake the muffins until the tops are golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges and turn the muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

I changed this recipe after reviewing the comments about it tasting a little bland but I still found this to be somewhat true. I think maybe next time, I will add some fresh herbs or experiment with some other spices. It needs a little kick, but overall, tastes okay.

::Tip of the Day:: Buy in bulk! This cannot be emphasized enough. I only need 1/4 teaspoon and 1/2 teaspoon of 2 different spices for a recipe. 2 spices that I would probably never use again and waste the rest of the bottle if I were to buy it. Instead, I got just the amount I needed and because it was so little, it didn't even register on the scale so I got it free! That's just as good as borrowing from your neighbor like they did in the good ole days. Buy in bulk and you'll get as little or as much as you need!