All Corn Cornbread Muffins

When I was a kid I was never excited about cornbread until one day my mom made them in a muffin tin without a cupcake liner and the edges were crispy and delicious. Since then I have made many different types of cornbread including with corn bits, vegan and with spicy meat. These muffins were my first attempt at gluten-free cornbread. I was more than a little worried about how they would turn out, but they were pretty tasty! I prefer muffins and I decided to make these bite sized, so I used my mini-muffin tin. Look at that delicious streak of butter running through the top of the muffin! Definitely not vegan, but you could make them diary-free by using a butter substitute if you wanted. I just love diary with my corn muffins though, they compliment each other so well, but I did use almond milk instead of regular milk because that is what I had on hand.

All Corn Cornbread Muffins
How I Did It:

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp corn meal (not quick cooking)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk of choice
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled

1. Preheat oven to 450. Grease your mini muffin tins.

2. Whisk together cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, beat together egg, milk, honey, and melted butter.

4. Stir the dry ingredients into the egg mixture until just combined.

5. Pour or spoon into the muffin tins. It will look like there is too much milk, but the cornmeal will absorb it as it cooks. Drop a small amount of water into any empty muffin tins and cook for about 10 minutes or until the edges start to brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

6. Let cool slighly, then run a knife around the edges to release. Best served warm (they re-heat well).

Chunky Pineapple Salsa

Believe it or not, I have never made salsa. So easy and it tastes so good when it's fresh and yet for some reason I always just buy it. My first ever salsa product is this pineapple salsa which is perfect for the summer. I have had pineapple salsa before of course, but never homemade and it has always been tomato based. This was pretty good, although maybe a bit too heavy on the pineapple. The spice helped cut the sweetness though and it was pretty tasty with some blue corn chips as well as over some coconut chicken that I had made. I would say this was hot/spicy, but not overly so. Every day you let it sit in your fridge it will loose a bit of heat, so keep that in mind.

Chunky Pineapple Salsa
How I Did It:

1 cup chopped canned pineapple
1 cup canned corn
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno, diced (removed ribs, keep seeds)
1 serrano pepper, diced (seeds and ribs removed)
2 tbsps lime juice
1/8 tsp pinch of salt

1. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.

2. Cover and refrigerate for about an hour (or more) and then serve with whatever you desire. Keep leftovers covered and refrigerated for up to a week.

Black Bean Burgers with Crunchy Sweet Potato Fries

Yes, I make and eat food that isn't filled with sugar! I generally try to eat pretty healthy meals, especially when I myself am cooking (I just tend to follow up those meals with chocolate...). I really enjoy coming up with something that tastes good and knowing that it is pretty good for me as well.

While I am not vegan or vegetarian, I don't tend to cook that much meat. This works out well as my roommate (Miss Polyglot) basically eats like a vegan and every now and then we like to make dinner together. We both enjoy black bean burgers, but neither of us had tried making one before. I printed out about six different recipes as I was concerned about texture, but in the end we just made it up as we went along. We each did our own thing as I decided I wanted Panko crumbs in mine. In place of store-bought bread crumbs she toasted bread and crumbled them in and it worked out well for both taste and texture. It's great making a burger that you can taste-test before you cook it!

I was really excited to try the sweet potato fries. I love sweet potato fries, but they never really have a good outer crunchy texture to them. Well, a co-worker had told me that if you coat them in corn starch before baking they will be crunchy! It worked and they tasted great! Next time I think I would make them a bit thicker though.

Black Bean Burgers
How I did it

(makes two burgers)


1 can black beans
1/8 cup panko crumbs (or your breadcrumbs of choice)
1 tsp flaxseed meal (or more breadcrumbs)
2 tsps water (may need more or less depending on desired consistency)
1/8 cup diced green pepper
1/8 cup diced carrot
1/8 tsp garlic powder
3 dashes cumin
2 dashes chili powder
1 dash cayenne pepper
olive oil

For serving (optional):
100% whole wheat with flax sandwich flats
Salsa and/or tomatoes
Avocado
olive oil

1. Drain and rinse black beans and then pour into a medium-sized mixing bowl (while still wet). Mash the beans up with a potato masher or your hands. Add breadcrumbs, flax meal, and combine until you reach your desired consistency. Keep in mind that if it is too try or too wet it will fall apart more easily.

2. Add carrots, peppers, and spices and combine well.

3. Seperate equally and form two balls. Flatten balls into desired thickness. I made mine the size of the bread, so they were a little thinner (see photos), but perfect to me.
[Note: If you make them too thin they will be hard to work with (flip...eat).]

4. Coat a frying pan with olive oil and place on medium heat and once heated, toss your patties on (except don't really toss them or they will come apart!). Cook for about 5 minutes and then carefully flip. When done both sides should be solid and warm.

For serving:

5. Lightly coat a frying pan with olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Once heated place your bread on and push down. Check on it every few minutes and flip when done to your liking.

6. Place burger in the "bun" and top with salsa (or tomato) and sliced avocado. Grab the sweet potato fries and enjoy!

Crunchy Sweet Potato Fries
How I did it

(serves 2 people)

2 sweet potatoes
1/4 cup corn starch
olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 375 and (olive) oil a large baking/cookie sheet - set aside.

2. Wash and peel sweet potatoes. Cut ends and any remaining skin and slice into desired thickness.
[Note: If you make them very thin, they will be extra crunchy. About 1/2 inch thickness will get you crunchy on the outside with the potato still nice and soft on the inside.]

3. Dump the corn starch into a large zip-lock bag. Put all of your raw chopped sweet potatoes into the bag with the cornstarch, seal, and shake until coated. [Note: The sweet potatoes only need to be thinly coated]

4. Place on oiled baking sheet so none are touching (if they are touching they will not crisp up, but instead turn soft and soggy). Drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

5. Remove from tray and let cool for a couple minutes before serving.