Ham & cheese corn muffins

My daughter is starting Kindergarten this year, and we need to pack her lunches. Big changes for everybody!  Today, I decided to bake and freeze corn muffins, and mini brownies so we could have a stash in the freezer for those days when you just don't feel like cooking.

The brownies were a Girardhelli mix, nothing exciting here, but I didn't have coupons with me, and they were cheaper than Betty Crocker mixes. I use coconut oil instead of the vegetable oil it called for.

For the meal muffins I used a basic corn muffin recipe, and added cubed ham and shredded cheese. Yum!

Ham & cheese corn muffins, brownie bites

Ham & cheese corn muffns
Makes 13+

1 cup flour
1 cup corn meal
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1 cup cubed ham
1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, and line a muffin pan with paper liners (or grease the pan).

 In a large bowl, mix the first 5 ingredients. Add the rest of the ingredients, and stir until just mixed. I eyeballed the ham and cheese measurements, added a little extra milk and cornmeal, and a little less oil.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

If you're going to freeze them, wait until they're completely cooled before putting them in a Ziploc bag.

Creamy salsa chicken

I've made this a few times this fall, and it's been a big success, even with the toddler! With a new baby in the house, I've become a fan of crockpot cooking. Just dump everything in the slow-cooker in the morning, and forget it until it's time for dinner.

We usually eat it as burritos the first night, and eat the leftovers over brown rice. Make sure you check the meat case when you're at the store: my SuperTarget almost always has coupons ($1.50 to $3 off) on meat that has a sell-by date a couple days away. This is when I stock up and freeze almost everything, I just keep some in the fridge to cook that night/the next day. You can keep the flavors interesting by using different salsas. I picked up a jar of peach salsa, and another one with artichoke. Can't wait to try them!

- 2-4 chicken breasts (could use another cut, it's just what I have in the freezer)
- 1/2 bag of frozen corn (about 2-3 cups I guess?)
- 1 jar of salsa
- 1 can black beans
- 1/2 to 1 brick cream cheese (I use either full fat or 1/3 less fat, it just depends on what I have in the fridge)

Put everyhing in the crockpot, and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Ta-da! Easy peasy! I've made it with the cream cheese added at the beginning, and added towards the end, and it tastes just the same.

Spiced cranberry sauce

Right now, I have cranberry sauce on my stovetop, in preparation for tomorrow's Thanksgiving luncheon at work. On the stovetop, you say? Why doesn't she just bring a few cans? Well... because she likes to eat real food, not a log made with high-fructose corn syrup, sliced along the indententations of a can! OK, so the "can design" is a little cool. But honestly, it's super easy, and your house will smell oh-so-good when you're making your own sauce...

You'll need:
- the zest and juice of 2 organic oranges*
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 6-10 cloves
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 cups fresh cranberries (1 bag is about 3 1/2 cups)
- walnut halves (not sure how much, I just eyeballed it. Maybe 3/4 cup?)

*yes, organic. I for one don't like the taste of wax (and chemicals) in my cranberry sauce!

Put the cloves in a cheese cloth, then put the orange zest and juice, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and sugar in a pot, and bring to a boil. Add cranberries, let cook for about 5 minutes. You'll hear little pops, that's normal, it's the skins of the cranberries splitting open because of the heat. Add your walnut pieces, cook for another 5 minutes. And that's it!



So.... would you rather eat this



















Or this?

And the ultimate proof that this is GOOD STUFF? My mother-in-law asked if I could make my cranberry sauce and give her extras if we're here for Thanksgiving!

Final cost: cranberries: $1.99/1 bag. Oranges: $1.85 for 2 oranges. I already had everything else. So I spent less than $4 to make what is probably equivalent to 2 cans of jello'd sauce, which are probably on sale right now for $1.60 or so, B1G1. But mine's made with luuuurve!