Rethinking breakfast: A meal in a muffin

  • Associated Press
  • Wednesday, September 17, 2014 4:41pm
  • Life

When fall rolls around and it’s back to school and work, wouldn’t you love to start your day with something tastier and more substantial than that all-too-typical bowl of cold cereal?

A muffin can be a delicious and substantial alternative to the usual breakfast fare.

Load your mixture up with broccoli and roasted red peppers, or carrots and chopped green beans. Your choice. Nice time saver: don’t pre-cook the vegetables. Also amp up the flavor with Canadian bacon and full-fat cheddar cheese.

The finished muffins are good to go: tasty and filling without a ton of sugar and fat. Breakfast may never be the same. For that matter, these muffins would be great for lunch, too.

Make it a day ahead and you’ll thank yourself the next morning.

Broccoli Cheddar Breakfast Muffins

  • 2 cups white whole-wheat flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped roasted red peppers, plus 1/4 cup of the pepper liquid from the jar
  • 1 cup small raw broccoli florets or chopped thawed frozen broccoli florets
  • 1/2 cup diced Canadian bacon (about 3 ounces)
  • 3/4 cup coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 3 ounces), divided

Heat the oven to 425 F. Mist a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray, or line with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, stir together both flours, the baking powder, baking soda, salt and pepper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt, buttermilk, olive oil, butter and pepper juice (if the jar did not have 1/4 cup of juice in it, supplement with water). Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Add the peppers, broccoli, bacon and 1/2 cup of the cheese, stirring well.

Scoop the batter (it will be quite thick) into the muffin cups, filling them completely. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the tops of the muffins. Bake on the oven’s middle shelf until the tops are golden, about 25 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool on a rack.

Nutrition information per serving: 240 calories; 90 calories from fat (38 percent of total calories); 10 g fat (3.5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 45 mg cholesterol; 28 g carbohydrate; 3 g fiber; 2 g sugar; 10 g protein; 520 mg sodium.

Start to finish: 1 hour (35 minutes active); Makes 12 muffins

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