Muffin Tin Cooking Makes Meals Fun

Today, I’m pleased to have Brette Sember, author of the newly released The Muffin Tin Cookbook, as well as The Parchment Paper Cookbook and The Organized Kitchen.  All of Brette’s books are fantastic and make great additions to small house kitchens, but today, she’s going to tell us what makes muffin tins great and why they’re for more than just muffins. She also gives away a couple of recipes. Read to the end, you have a chance to win one of these books!

 

Your muffin tins can do much more than just cupcakes and muffins! This versatile pan can be used to make entrees, appetizers, breakfasts, sides, breads, desserts, and much more. Forget big casserole dishes or baking pans – you can do it all in your muffin tin. If you’re living in a small space, you’ll find that you can make many dishes with just a six-cup muffin pan which is easy to store and doesn’t take up a lot of room in your cupboard.

Muffin Tins Are Green

Muffin tin cooking is incredibly environmentally friendly because now not only do you have the option of cooking right in the pan, but you can use silicone liners. These liners comes in a variety of colors, are non-stick, and best of all, they are reusable. You can even set them on a baking sheet if you don’t have a muffin tin handy. Many recipes don’t use any liners and some even use edible liners like slices of ham, tortillas, and pie crust as your cup liners, for tasty results.

Garden to Table

You probably never thought of muffin tins as the perfect way to turn the abundance from your garden or CSA into meals, but they are well-suited to veggie dishes because the individual cups help cook the vegetables quickly and evenly.

One at a Time

Muffin tins are a handy way to cook a variety of dishes easily, but are also a great way to manage portion control. You can’t fool yourself by saying you’ll just have a little more—one “muffin” cup is one portion.  Muffin tin cooking is easy to serve too. You can bring the whole tin to the table, or arrange the cups on a plate. You can also use a pretty cupcake “tree” to serve your dishes. Make an entire meal in muffin tins and your family will be amazed by the variety you serve up.

Kid Friendly

Muffin tin cooking is a great way to get your kids interested in cooking and eating healthy foods. They love choosing the liners, arranging food in the cups, and seeing the transformation when it comes out of the oven. There’s something about food that is round, small, and perfectly shaped that appeals to kids. They’ve been conditioned to believe that anything served in a cupcake liner is fun and delicious, so they’ll be willing to try many new foods this way.

Your family and friends will be delighted with your muffin tin dishes!

Cornmeal-Crusted Mustard Chicken with Sweet Potato Coins

Makes 4

1 yam or sweet potato, peeled and
sliced into ¼” coins

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 egg whites

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons water

½ cup cornmeal

½ teaspoon dried rosemary

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Place 12 silicone or foil-lined muffin
liners in a regular muffin tin.

3. Place 1 yam coin at the bottom
of each.

4. Mix honey and olive oil and
brush each coin with the mixture.

5. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Cut the chicken breasts into 12
pieces of equal size, about the width of a muffin cup.

7. Mix egg white, mustard, and
water in a small bowl.

8. On a small plate, mix cornmeal,
rosemary, and salt and pepper.

9. Dip each piece of chicken in the
egg mixture, then dredge it in the cornmeal mixture.

10. Place one piece of chicken on
top of each yam coin.

11. Spray the chicken with cooking
spray.

12. Bake for 13 minutes, then using
tongs, flip each piece of chicken over, and spray the top with cooking spray.

14. Return to the oven and bake for
another 13 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes, until chicken reaches an internal
temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

Spinach Cakes

Makes 20 mini or 7 regular

10 ounces frozen chopped spinach,
defrosted and squeezed dry

1 egg

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons seasoned
bread crumbs

Salt and pepper to taste

2 ounces goat cheese

¼ teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 garlic clove, minced

1/3 medium zucchini, chopped

¼ medium onion, chopped

  1. Preheat
    oven to 400°F.
  2. Prepare
    either mini or regular cups by spraying with cooking spray.
  3. Mix
    all ingredients together well.
  4. Divide
    among the cups and bake for 12 minutes for mini muffin cups or 18 minutes for
    regular until slightly browned.

Caramel Apple Mini Pies

Makes 6

1 unbaked refrigerated pie crust

2 apples, peeled, cored, and thinly
sliced, then cut in half so they are shorter

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons flour

2 teaspoons sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons caramel sauce

1 egg

1 teaspoon water

  1. Preheat
    oven to 350°F and prepare 6 regular muffin cups.
  2. Unroll
    your refrigerated pie crust (you can make your own if you prefer; if you do, be
    sure to roll it out to about a 9″ circle). Align a 4″ biscuit cutter
    (or a 28-ounce can of tomatoes is exactly the right size) against the edge of
    the crust. Cut out 1 circle. Repeat, cutting the next as close as possible to
    the previous cut-out. You will get 5 circles. Now take 2 big pieces of dough
    and press them together so you can cut out 1 more circle. Place each circle
    into a regular muffin tin cup. It will fit exactly, so the edge of the crust is
    right at the top edge of the cup. Keep the scraps.
  3. Mix
    apples, salt, flour, sugar, cinnamon, and caramel sauce in a bowl.
  4. Divide
    filling among muffin cups.
  5. Use
    ½−1″ scraps of pie crust and dot the tops of the pies with them.
  6. Cover
    with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven.
  7. Mix
    egg with 1 teaspoon water and brush tops of pies.
  8. Return
    to oven uncovered for 20 minutes, until apples are tender and crust is golden.

 

Brette’s website is BretteSember.com and she blogs at MarthaAndMe.net and NoPotCooking.com.

 

Comment on this post on why would you like to win this book by 5 p.m. U.S. CST by Monday, April 9 for a chance to win a copy of The Muffin Tin Cookbook. One winner will be drawn for the book. You MUST leave your email address so I might contact you or respond to the post on Tuesday April 10 to claim your book. If the first person we draw does not return to  claim their book that day, we will draw another winner.

FTC Diclosure: The owner of this blog was provided one review copy of the book by the publisher, but was not in any way compensated to promote this book.

57 Responses

  1. cecilia says:

    I am so excited. This seems to be the perfect solution to cooking for one or two people. I’ll try a recipe tonight.

  2. Kim says:

    Looks yummy! Please enter me!

  3. Norma says:

    I would love to win this for my daughter. She’s a college student living on her own who loves to cook healthy meals. This looks like something she could do up on Sundays and eat throughout her busy week.

  4. Sandy says:

    I would love to try cooking/baking in muffin tins. What a concept..individual little meals. I have big tins, little tins…and I am ready to roll!

  5. Judy says:

    What an awesome idea!! Please enter me for the book. Thanks!!
    Judy

  6. Amber says:

    Sounds like a good cookbook to me! Count me in the drawing. I need some fast and healthy meal ideas in my kitchen.

  7. What a cleaver idea! I could imagine elegant, round portions on a dinner guest’s plate or perfect lunch portions to take to work and even fun portions to get the kids to take truly nutritious lunches to school and eat them too! PS: If you so happen to draw my name, please offer the book to the person who posts right after me. It’s not that I do not appreciate the gift. It would just please me to see it go to one of your readers and it is only fair since I represent a business, not an individual. Thanks. ~ Granny

  8. Melissa Faulkner says:

    Wow, these recipes sound fantastic! I run a home daycare and it would be fun to make some recipes with the kids. I have trouble getting them to eat anything that isn’t heavily processed. They are starting to come around though. I have been juicing and most of them really like it.

  9. Kerri says:

    You’re in the drawing, Wendy, no worries on the comments. Sometimes it acts like it doesn’t take, but it does after you hit refresh. Good luck!

  10. Wendy says:

    This would be perfect to prepare meals for a senior living alone. Small individual portions! Would LOVE to win this book!

  11. Steven says:

    These ideas and recipes look great! muffin tins fit so perfect in my little RV/toaster ovens and the little portions will be great for saving space in my little fridge and cooler! and especially packable in my lunch box! Im gonna make a spot in my little library now just in case I win. Thanks!

  12. I already have a copy, so don’t count me on the giveaway list, but I made the fast / easy monkey bread from this book last week, and it was awesome … so The Muffin Tin Cookbook is also great for what I call “dessert emergencies.”

  13. Darci says:

    How fun!! Looks like the possibilities are endless! Also fun to encourage the kids to cook like this. Thanks for the great ideas!! I MUST TRY! Thanks to “Living Large in Our LIttle House” for the referring me here. =)

  14. Excellent article….plus looks fun.

  15. JT says:

    I would really enjoy this cookbook. I am always looking for ways to cook using less. I started living in my small house 6 years ago and have been loving it.

  16. Linda says:

    I would love this cookbook! I’ve been trying for years to work on portion control to lose weight. I’m going to be experimenting baking in muffin tins, this would be a great start for me.
    Thank you for the opportunity to win it!

  17. Lisa says:

    This cookbook looks fantastic. I’ve dabbled with adjusting some of my recipes for cooking in muffin tins successfully and am always looking for fresh ideas. It’s also easy to freeze extra portions for days when you don’t have time to cook.

  18. Tara says:

    We just got a solar oven, after years of not baking much at all (we’re off-the-grid and our electric oven uses WAY too much power). Apparently muffins work particularly well in solar ovens, and this book would really help me expand my highly limited muffin-tin repertoire. 🙂

  19. Robbiie says:

    I was so excited that I posted my name wrong ! LOL- it is Robbie, with one “i”. Thanks Kerri for leading me to the correct place to post this. 🙂

  20. Linda says:

    I love the whole concept of this book. I like the idea of portion controlled meals and also the recipes look delicious!

  21. Jan says:

    I would love to win a copy of this book! I am trying to eat healthier and cut portion sizes, which has not been easy for me. I think this would help a lot! Thanks.
    Jan

  22. Becky says:

    I would love to win this book as I’m just starting out with home cooking and need all the help I can get! There are so many ideas in this book!

  23. Merr says:

    Such a great idea on so many levels: lots to taste in smaller portions, you can easily see how many servings you’ll have (more or less) and they look cute when serving! Brilliant for parties, showers, etc!

  24. Drisana says:

    I think this book would be perfect for home schooling.If I don’t win…heck it has given me a reason to experiment with my dozens of muffin tins!Thanks for the post:)

  25. Wanda says:

    I would love to win one of these books. I raised a large family and now there is just my husband and I and we need to cut down on our portions. This is just what I need to readjust to cooking for two.

  26. Lesa Kosteck says:

    this cookbook is genius!… I’m going to check out the other two books, The Parchment Paper Cookbook and The Organized Kitchen, as well.. thanks for bringing these to my attention.. 😉

  27. Mat says:

    Caramel apple mini pies! Caramel apple mini pies? You should call it “Nectar of the Apple Gods”!

    Should I win, I promise to use the book for both good and evil. Because it’s all about balance….

  28. Susan says:

    I would love to win a copy of The Muffin Tin Cookbook. I have different size tins that just sit in my cabinets just taking up space. Would be nice for them to earn there keep.

  29. Laura says:

    Oh I would love to have this book!!! I am going to try your Caramel Apple Mini Pies for Easter!!

  1. April 7, 2012

    […] Large in Our Little House tells us why Muffin Tin Cooking Makes Meals Fun, why muffin tins are for more than just muffins, why they are green, why they are suited for […]