Melanie LaDue - Super-Quick Muffin Tin Meals: 70 Recipes for Perfectly Portioned Comfort Food in a Cup

70 Recipes for Perfectly Portioned Comfort Food in a Cup

Melanie LaDue

Race Point Publishing

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Text and photography 2015 by Melanie LaDue

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Digital edition: 978-1-62788-748-9
Softcover edition: 978-1-63106-159-2

The recipe for Cheeseburger Pies on .

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1. Chapter 1:
   BREAKFAST
2. Chapter 2:
   MAIN DISHES
3. Chapter 3:
   PARTIES & HOLIDAYS
4. Chapter 4:
   SWEET TREATS
5. Chapter 5:
   COOKING WITH KIDS
6. Chapter 6:
   HEALTHIER OPTIONS

W hen I became a new mom, I had visions of creating perfect home-cooked meals every night and freshly baked muffins every morning. Then, reality set in, and all too often I found myself stopping for fast food on my way home from work. Mealtime, for us, needs to be fast and easy, but delicious (of course).

Im all about easy food. I just dont have time to come up with meal ideas that can be prepared and eaten quickly, and a girl can only come up with so many crock pot meals. My daughter loves to work with me in the kitchen, which is what gave me a blog post idea for food that can be cooked in a muffin tin with Crescent Rollsthings she could help me make. As I searched online, I found so many recipes that were NOT MUFFINS that could be made in a muffin tin, and the roundup for my site, Reasons To Skip The Housework, came together in a matter of 20 minutes. The response I got from blog readers about the fabulous recipes they were trying from this one blog post was huge! I knew I was on to something.

So many moms can tell you, its just easier to have everything pre-portioned out and simple to grab and go. You dont have to be hosting a party to want small, bite-size food you can eat and walk and occasionally drive with!

I dont have time to make homemade mashed potatoes or homemade chili or marinara sauce. Luckily, there are many store-bought brands that do a great job with these. Most of my muffin tin recipes use Crescent Rolls or Crescent Roll Dough Sheets, and many use refrigerated pizza dough and biscuits, too. These all can be found in the refrigerated section, next to the cheese or cookie dough, my other favorite go-to ingredients. I buy in bulk and always have them on hand for a quick, last-minute muffin tin meal.

You dont have to own dozens of fancy pans and utensils to make muffin tin meals, either. Youll need a knife or a small metal spatula, since everything has to be popped out of the tins. You will need a cooling rack and one regular size muffin tin and one mini muffin tin, but thats pretty much it. These are simple recipes, using simple ingredients, for simple meal times!

Melanie LaDue

I dont particularly want to be a morning person. But with a job, husband, child, and pretty much everything in real life after college, I really dont have much choice. These muffin tin breakfasts are easy, fast, can often be made ahead of time, and will get your day off to a good start without having to commit to a sit-down meal. Theyre also perfectly fine for the rare day when there is nothing on the calendar and mom and daughter just possibly might stay in their jammies until noon.

MAKES 24 mini granola bites

PREP TIME: 20 minutes

1 banana (an overly ripe banana is easiest to mash)

2 cups (470g) oatmeal

/ cup (60g) applesauce

2 tablespoons (40g) honey

/ teaspoon (2.1g) vanilla

/ teaspoon (1.15g) cinnamon

/ teaspoon (.3g) nutmeg

/ teaspoon (.3g) ginger

Yogurt of choice, for serving

Berries of choice, for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Spray 24 mini muffin cups with cooking spray.

Put banana in a medium bowl and mash well. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir to blend well. Press 1 tablespoon (15g) of mixture into each mini muffin cup. Bake for 2025 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Using a knife or a mini metal spatula, transfer the bites from the cups to a rack to cool. To serve, top with a dab of yogurt and a berry, if desired.

TIP:

Add a variety of fruits and nuts to the granola mixture to make your own variations!

MAKES 12 whole eggs

PREP TIME: 3 minutes

12 eggs in their shells

Preheat oven to 325F (170C) and prepare a cold water bath.

Place 1 egg in each of 12 regular size muffin cups. Bake eggs for 30 minutes.

Wearing oven mitts, remove eggs, one at a time, from the muffin cups and transfer to the cold water bath. Let eggs cool in the water for 10 minutes. Peel and eat!

MAKES 12 eggs

PREP TIME: 5 minutes

12 eggs

Salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon (1.3g) fresh basil, chopped

1 teaspoon (1.3g) fresh thyme, chopped

Heat oven to 350F (180C). Spray 12 regular size muffin cups with cooking spray.

Crack the eggs, one at a time, dropping each into a muffin cup and discarding shells. Sprinkle the eggs with salt, pepper, and herbs. Bake for 1520 minutes, until eggs are cooked through.