Refrigerator Bran Muffins. I wish I had a pound coin for every time I have made these delicious muffins. I'd be a very wealthy woman!
I don't think I have ever met a muffin that I didn't immediately fall in love with, although to be sure I have some which I like a tad bit more than others.
Of all the muffins I have to say that Bran Muffins are my absolute favourite!
Having said that however, I would never turn a muffin down when offered, no matter the kind.
I was going through my muffin recipes on here and I realised that this was one recipe I had not shared in all the years I have been sharing recipes! I needed to rectify that immediately!
This is the muffin that I had to bake for my boss every morning when I worked at the manor. The batter always had to be in the refrigerator.
She insisted that this was the best bran muffin recipe ever, although adding raisins or using raisin bran in hers was expressly forbidden!
She was not a fan of raisins, but she was, however, a huge fan of this recipe.
The recipe comes from my Big Blue Binder and you will find it in my self published cookbook of the same name Here.
When I baked them for her, I was instructed to bake them in mini muffin tins . . . she did not want large muffins.
She thought eating a regular sized muffin was too fattening . . . so she would eat 3 mini muffins every morning, along with six prunes, a handful of mixed nuts, and a glass of fruit smoothie that I had to make fresh every morning also.
The brain is a funny thing . . . I don't think that 3 mini muffins held any fewer calories than 1 regular sized muffin, but for some odd reason in her mind they did.
There's an old saying in the UK which goes, "There's naught so queer as folk!" And she was certainly a queer folk!
The recipe for this batter makes about 8 cups of batter and will last a good six weeks in the refrigerator, not that you will have it around that long.
Its so good you will probably find yourself baking them several times a week.
They are so tasty that the batter will be long gone by the end of six weeks. Long gone . . .
They use two different types of bran cereal . . . raisin bran flakes and all bran . . .
Buttermilk helps to keep them deliciously moist . . .
You simply mix up the batter and keep it stored in a covered container in the refrigerator, ready to scoop out and bake as and when you want some, and as many as you want each time.
I tend to bake them six at a time, which works for us.
They have a beautiful texture and flavour! Most Bran Muffin recipes rely on molasses for flavouring, but this one doesn't, nor does it have brown sugar in it. It does use cinnamon however and some vanilla. Very tasty!
Refrigerator Bran Muffins
Yield: Makes 8 cups batter
prep time: cook time: total time:
This mixture is really handy to have in the fridge, ready to bake up fresh muffins whenever the mood strikes you. In truth, these muffins are so very good, that the batter never lasts as long as six weeks!
ingredients:
- 1 cup boiling water (240ml)
- 2 cups raisin bran cereal (120g)
- 1 cup all bran cereal (40g)
- 1/2 cup plus 1 TBS vegetable shortening, melted (110g + 1 TBS)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar (285g)
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups low fat buttermilk (480ml)
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (350g)
- 1 1/2 tsp of baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans (Optional) (60g)
- 1/2 cup extra raisins (or even more if you wish. I like lots of raisins in mine.) (75g)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
instructions:
- Mix the two Bran's in a large bowl. Pour over the boiling water. Let stand for about ten minutes before stirring in all the remaining ingredients in the order given. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to six weeks.
- When ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 200*C/400*F. Butter whatever size muffin pan you are using generously. Scoop out the batter into the muffin cups filling them 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes. Let sit in the cups for about 5 minutes before loosening the muffins and tipping them out onto a wire rack. Eat warm. Delicious!
I am not sure where I got the original recipe from, but I strongly suspect it was from either a cereal box or a newspaper clipping. I might have also gotten it from a community cookbook.
Do note, that for the smaller family, you can cut the recipe quite successfully in half, which is what I normally do. I hope you will give them a go!
If they are good enough for Mrs B, then they are really VERY good full stop as she was quite picky when it came to what she ate.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
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Today we finished moving the furniture around. So now everything is where Todd wants it to be. What a load of work that was. It took all morning. First I had to empty the whole large china cabinet and find a space to put everything while we worked.
Of course you know how things like that go. Once I got everything out, I wanted to wash and polish all the shelves/ mirrors inside . . . and of course I wanted to wash all my crystal and china so that everything was tickety boo and sparkling.
Once I did all of that it was time to move things. Oh boy . . . we grossly underestimated the weight of the thing, even empty. So we then had to call in help. Thankfully our friend Dennis was about so he came round and helped Todd to do it. It separates into two parts, thank goodness, which made it a tiny bit easier. Even so I had to get our next door neighbour to come over and help Todd. I will be baking some banana bread for him as he loves my Banana Cranberry & Walnut Loaf.
Once we got everything moved and back into place, then of course we needed to hoover etc. Its amazing what you find when you move furniture. Todd stepped in something he shouldn't have near the back door, and that needed to be cleaned up, etc. Suffice it to say when it came to cooking dinner I was pretty tired out!
Its a good thing I always keep a package or two of these in the freezer at all times. They are really good, made with 100% chicken breast meat, and not reconstituted chicken breast meat either. They are actually chunks of chicken breast.
All battered, fried and frozen . . . only needing heating up in the
oven. It may be a bit of a cheat, but whatever works works! You don't
always have the energy or time to do things from scratch.
These are great for Chinese dishes such as sweet and sour, lemon chicken, etc. Today I created a delicious oriental Sticky Sesame Sauce for them.
It was very quick and easy to throw together while the chicken chunks were baking in the oven.
It is a delicious mix of toasted sesame oil, garlic, rice wine vinegar, honey, sweet chili sauce, tomato ketchup, brown sugar and soy sauce . . .
A delicious mix of salty, sour and sweet . . .
You simmer these ingredients together in a skillet for just a few minutes until they thicken and get scrumptiously sticky . . .
Toss in your oven cooked chicken chunks . . . . rolling them around to coat them in the sauce . . . let them simmer in it for a minute or so and presto!
You have a delicious entree that everyone is sure to love. Its like magic! The recipe makes about 3 servings, but you can easily double it to serve more.
Crispy Sesame Chicken
Yield: 3
Crispy chicken chunks in a deliciously sticky sweet and spicy Asian flavoured sauce. Quick and easy to make. All you need on the side is some steamed rice and a vegetable stir fry. If you use ready cooked rice in the pouches, then your meal really will be on the table in hardly any time at all.
ingredients:
- 1 package (18 piece) frozen battered chicken breast chunks
- 1 TBS toasted sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 TBS Chinese rice wine vinegar
- 2 TBS liquid honey
- 2 TBS sweet chili sauce
- 3 TBS tomato Ketchup
- 2 TBS soft light brown sugar
- 4 TBS soy sauce
To serve:
- 2 spring onions, trimmed washed and chopped
- 2 TBS sesame seeds
- steamed white rice
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to the temperature required by the package directions of your chicken. Lay the pieces onto a foil lined baking tray and then pop them into the oven and cook for the required time.
- While the chicken bits are cooking, cook your rice, chop your spring onions and whisk together the sesame oil, garlic, rice wine vinegar, honey, sweet chili sauce, ketchup, brown sugar and soy sauce until smooth.
- Pour this into a skillet. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer as soon as your chicken is finished cooking. Tip the cooked chicken into the hot sauce and let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with the spring onions and sesame seeds.
Todd was smacking his lips as he ate this. He said to me, this is really good!! I love it when he loves what I cook. I served it with some microwavable ready cooked plain white rice and I had some leftover vegetables from yesterday that I heated up on the side. I forgot to sprinkle the sesame seeds on top! (You will just have to imagine what they might look like!) I really hope you will try this!
I am so glad to get all that work over with. I don't want to be moving any more furniture for a very long time. Whew!
My husband is a real Meat & Potatoes lover. He could quite happily consume meat and potatoes for every meal. He especially loves pork chops.
I love my potatoes, but am not really fussed if I have meat or not, with the exception of a nice steak. I do love a good steak every now and then.
Once in a while I do crave a pork chop also. I like the rib ones, with the bone included . . . so you get one juicy, almost spare-rib like side . . . that has always been my favourite bit . . . the meat along the bone. Its more flavourful to my thinking.
These days I tend to brine my chops. Brining them means that you never have dry pork chops. Its very easy to do and doesn't take long.
Simply whisk together (for two chops) 1 litre of cold water and 1 1/2TBS each sea salt and sugar. Put the chops in this mixture and chill for about 1 hour. That's it. When you are ready to cook them, simply remove them from the brine, discarding the brine, and pat dry.
The scalloped potatoes have a helping hand by being pre-cooked in some stock and herbs in the microwave. This cuts down a lot on the oven cooking time. It really does. Instead of them having to bake for several hours, you can have them done in not much more than half an hour.
And because they are poached in stock and herbs in the microwave, they are really filled with flavour. There is no need to make a cream sauce. You simply pour some cream which has had some flour stirred into the potatoes and stock (once they have semi-cooked) and pour the whole lot into a baking dish.
Cover tightly and bake for half an hour . . .
While the potatoes are cooking you season the chops and brush them with a flavourful devilled mixture of Dijon, mayo and hot pepper sauce. They then get pressed into a bread crumb and Parmesan cheese mixture.
They then get placed on top of the almost cooked potatoes and a quick 15 minutes in the hot oven browns them up perfectly and cooks them through . . . you end up with tender chops, filled with flavour and really rich and creamy potatoes to serve along side of them. You can't lose!
Yield: 2
Devilled Pork Chops with Scalloped Potatoes
prep time: 10 minscook time: 45 minstotal time: 55 mins
Am all in one pan meal for two that can very easily be doubled to feed four. Tender and moist chops with a tasty crumb atop rich creamy scalloped potatoes.
ingredients:
For the Potatoes:
- 1 pound baking type of potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 120ml boiling chicken stock (1/2 cup)
- 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 120ml heavy cream (1/2 cup)
- 1 TBS flour
For the Chops:
- 2 pork chops, cut 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick, fatty edges slashed at 1/2 inch intervals
- 1/2 TBS Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp mayonnaise
- 3/4 tsp hot sauce
- 60g panko bread crumbs (1/2 cup)
- 60g Parmesan cheese divided (1/3 cup)
instructions:
- Put the potatoes into a bowl along with the chicken stock, rosemary, onion and garlic powders and some salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high in the microwave for 6 to 8 minutes or until the edges of the potatoes are supple and translucent.
- While the potatoes are cooking, preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a 7 by 11 inch shallow baking dish. Set it aside.
- Whisk the flour into the cream slowly until it is amalgamated and smooth. Stir this mixture into the partially cooked potatoes, along with their juice. Pour the whole thing into the baking dish, smoothing it all out evenly. Cover tightly with foil and then bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, at which time they should be almost tender.
- Combine the panko bread crumbs along with 2 TBS of the Parmesan cheese in a shallow dish. Whisk the Dijon mustard, hot sauce and mayonnaise together. Pat the chops dry and season with salt and pepper, Brush one side generously with the mustard mixture and then press this side down into the bread crumb mixture to coat well.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Place the chops on top, crumb side up. Sprinkle any remaining crumbs on top. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered for a further 15 minutes or so, until the chops are golden brown and crispy and the juices run clear. Let rest for 10 minutes and then serve.
Created using The Recipes Generator
You can of course double all of the ingredients to feed more people. I make small batches of things like this unless we are having company. Experience has taught me that we never enjoy pork chops that are reheated so its best to cook only two to begin with. I would very happily serve this to company. We had some mashed sweet potatoes, peas & carrots on the side. Yummy nummy!
Hot Italian Focaccia Melts. Get ready for a delicious hot sandwich that will literally make your toes curl with delight!
I don't think I have ever made any secret of my love of and for sandwiches. I adore them in any way shape or form.
The other day I created a delicious Focaccia melt for us to enjoy using some of the sliced Focaccia flat breads that Deli Kitchen makes. I adore their flatbreads.
They have a wonderful range of innovative flat breads that are simple, handy to use, very versatile and also healthy.
I love these Sliced Focaccia breads from their range.
They are a delicious soft olive oil bread and much thinner than regular focaccia that you might see in the shops, making them PERFECT for sandwiches such as this Hot Italian Focaccia Melt I am showing you today.
With each thin containing only 291 calories and with each one serving two people that makes for a mighty tasty somewhat low carb sandwich that is sure to please and satisfy even your most ardent bread lovers!
You could get four servings from each focaccia bread for your small eaters, but I would count on there being two each, for your heartier eaters.
The insides of the focaccia are spread with a parmesan herb butter and then layered with three deli meats . . . salami, pepperoni and Italian ham/prosciutto . . .
I have also added two layers of four cheese blend. You can use whatever four cheese blend you like.
If you can get an Italian one that's great.
I just use the one that I can get in my shops which includes Edam, Jack, Cheddar and Mozzarella.
I also add a layer of spicy marinated pickles. I get the slaw variety which includes carrots, onions and chilies.
You could use hot pickled peppers if you wanted, or Giardiniera, or even those Peppadew peppers.
You want something that will give you a little bit of heat without going over the top
I brushed the outsides of the focaccia with some softened butter and sprinkled them with a bit more Italian Garlic & Herb Seasoning . . .
It adds a really nice finishing touch . . .
Once you've done that, you just lay them out onto several baking sheets . . .
I cover the baking sheets with foil and bake first . . . that gives the cheese a chance to melt and the meat a chance to heat through . . .
I then uncover them and bake them for a further 5 minutes, just to crisp up the outsides a bit.
The end result was fabulously tasty! We both really enjoyed these! Kind of like an inside out pizza . . . but without pizza sauce.
We enjoyed them for a light supper with a bit of salad!!
Yield: 8
Hot Italian Foccaccia Melts
prep time: 10 minscook time: 15 minstotal time: 25 mins
Perfect for a quick and easy supper, and oh so delicious!
ingredients:
- 4 Deli Kitchen Sliced Focaccia
- 130g butter softened (1/2 cup)
- 2 tsp garlic Italian seasoning
- 6 TBS Parmesan Cheese
- 24 slices Salami
- 24 slices Pepperoni
- 24 slices Italian ham with herbs
- 375g four cheese blend (3 cups)
- (Mine has Edam, Jack, Cheddar and Mozzarella)
- Spicy pickled salad mix like pickled Giardiniera Mix (optional)
- (I used Baxter's Spicy Slaw Deli Topper)
Topping:
- softened butter
- Italian herb and garlic seasoning
instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F gas mark 4. Slice your sub rolls almost all the way through from the top to bottom.
- Cream together the butter, seasoning and Parmesan cheese. Spread a portion of this onto the insides of the focaccia Layer 4 TBS of cheese blend, 4 slices salami, 4 slices Pepperoni, 4 slices ham, 4 TBS hot pickle mix (if using) and 4TBS of the four cheese blend into each bun. Brush a bit of softened butter on the top of each and sprinkle with some Italian garlic seasoning. Place onto two baking sheets and cover with foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, uncover and bake for a further 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted and all is heated through. Cut into quarters to serve.
Created using The Recipes Generator
With the more spring-like and summery weather coming up, these would also be delicious filled, wrapped in foil and popped onto the outdoor grill! I do so love my sandwich meals!
You can buy the Deli Kitchen Sliced Focaccia breads at Sainsbury's where they retail for £1.35 a pack or 34p each! That spells winner/winnerto me! You can buy Deli Kitchen's tasty flatbread range from Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Waitrose.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
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