Herb and cheese muffins

There’s this chicken casserole with bread topping that I cooked a couple of weeks ago and I so loved the cheesy bread topping that I decided to tweak the recipe to turn the bread into muffins.

Instead of grating the cheese, I cut them into small cubes. And I used twice as much cheese, combining sharp cheddar with Monterey Jack. I also added finely chopped onion leaves to the green bell pepper.

Cheese is essentially concentrated milk and it is rich in calcium and protein. It is also a good source of phosphorus, zinc, vitamin A, riboflavin, and vitamin B12. Some quarters say, however, that the fat content of cheese makes it a health hazard and cheese packaging should contain warnings in the same way that cigarette packs do. Right, something like “Cheese kills!” The prudent thing to do is to choose low-fat cheeses. Or, better yet, to observe moderation in eating cheese, as with most everything else.

These muffins are best eaten right out of the oven while the cheeses are all gooey and melty. If you want to pack them for your kids’ school recess, I suggest a well insulated lunch bag.

Ingredients:

2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
4 tsps. of baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. of melted butter (or vegetable shortening)
1/3 c. of white sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 c. of low-fat milk
1 large (red or green) bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
3 tbsps. of finely chopped onion leaves
125 g. of sharp cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
125 g. of Monterey Jack cheese, cut into small cubes

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In another bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and melted butter.

Add the chopped bell pepper, onion leaves and cheeses to the flour and stir well. Pour in the milk-egg mixture and mix just until combined.

Spoon into lightly oiled muffins pans until 3/4 full.

Bake in a preheated 180^oC oven for 20 minutes.