Loaded Baked Potato Muffins for #MuffinMonday

Imagine a loaded baked potato full of sharp cheddar and crispy bacon bits and sour cream and onion tops.  In a muffin.  No kidding.  I think this is my favorite muffin so far.  Have I said that before?  Probably.  But this time I really, really mean it.  I ate two back to back, standing at the kitchen counter.  And then I had to go sit down and clutch my chest.  So rich, so good.  Serve them with a salad and call them lunch.  Or dinner.  But make these muffins.

Ingredients
6 slices bacon
230g or 8 oz potato
Sea salt
Black pepper
Handful green onions
8 oz or 225g extra sharp cheddar
1 1/2 cups or 190g flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1/2 cup or 120ml sour cream
1 egg
1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil

Method
Fry your bacon until it is crispy.   Set on paper towels to drain.  I use a single piece of paper towel on top of newspaper.  Keeps the ink off the bacon and doesn't waste a bunch of paper towels.

If your potato is thin-skinned, by all means, leave the peel on, otherwise peel it.  Then cut it into small squares.

Fry the potato pieces in the bacon grease until fork tender and nicely golden on all sides.  Set aside to cool.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and liberally grease your 12-cup muffin pan.

Chop your green onions and bacon into little pieces and grate your cheddar cheese.

Set aside a little of each to use for topping later.

In a large mixing bowl, combine your flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.

Add in the grated cheese, bacon bits and green onions.  Stir well.

Add in the cooled potatoes and stir again.

In a smaller mixing bowl, whisk your egg, milk, sour cream and oil.

Fold your liquids into the dry ingredients.

Divide the batter between the prepared cups in the muffin pan.

Top each with some of the reserved cheddar, onion tops and bacon bits.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the muffins are lovely and golden.

Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes then remove to a wire rack to continue cooling.  You may need to run a knife around the edges if the cheese is sticking to the pan.

These are fabulous warm and almost as good cold!

Enjoy!

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street, a culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week.  Drop Anuradha a quick line to join her on this journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.  Make sure to go and check out what my fellow bloggers have come up with this week!

Plus learn all you ever need to know about muffins, right here at Muffin 101.


I’m on a touring holiday right now with my mom so if I don’t answer comments right away, please know that I am still delighted when you leave them and will respond as soon as I have internet access again. 

Savory Shrimp Cheesecake with Herbs and Garlic for #SundaySupper

Things were a little crazy here during the holiday season around Christmas and New Year, what with both daughters in residence, one birthday to celebrate, and our household shipment arriving from Cairo just a few days before Santa.  I didn’t have much time for extraneous cooking and baking since birthdays, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day have strictly enforced menu requirements but that didn’t stop me from bookmarking recipes I wanted to try when things calmed down.  One of them was for a savory goat cheese cheesecake from the very talented +Jennifer Field, or her Super Hero alter ego, Pastry Chef Online.  When this week’s #SundaySupper theme (Cheese, Cake and Cheesecake!) was announced, I knew instantly what I would make.  And to avoid the problem Jenni mentions of having to make mean faces at someone who wants to share your savory cheesecake, I decided to make two small cakes so dear husband and I could each have our own.  A bit piggish, yes.  But so GOOD!  (With Jenni's permission, I have adapted her recipe to add shrimp with a few other tweaks so make sure to go check out the original as well.)

Scroll on down to the bottom of my post to see what other lovely cheese, cake and cheesecake recipes the #SundaySupper group has in store for you today.  Our sweet host this week is Angie from Big Bear’s Wife.  Did you see her Bacon and Shrimp Bisque last week when we did soups?  My favorite!

Ingredients 
(Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature).
6 large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I left the tails on because they are prettier that way but if your shrimp are already completely peeled, it’s no big deal) With the tails on, these weighed 150g or about 5 1/4 oz.
Small bunch green onions
Small bunch flat-leafed parsley
2 cloves garlic
1 small red chili pepper
1 tablespoon butter
6 oz or 170g full fat cream cheese
3 1/2 oz or 100g goat or sheepmilk feta
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 large egg
1 tablespoon cornstarch or corn flour
Several grindings of black pepper

To serve:  one fresh baguette sliced into rounds or crackers of your choice

Method
Preheat your oven to 325°F or 165°C and prepare your pans or ramekins by cutting out circles of parchment paper for the bottoms and spraying the insides with non-stick spray.  (My two ramekins each held 3/4 cup or almost 180ml quite comfortably without danger of spillage. Test your volume with a measuring cup and water before preparing your ramekins.)

Smash your garlic cloves with the side of your knife and split the chili up the middle, then mince both.  Chop your parsley and green onions.

Set aside just a tiny bit of the parsley, chili pepper and green onions for garnish later.

Put the rest of the parsley, chili pepper, green onion and all of the garlic in a saucepan with the butter and shrimp.  Cook until the shrimp are completely done.

Remove the shrimp from the pan and take the tails off of four of them.  Chop the four shrimp with a large knife.  Wrap the two remaining shrimp and refrigerate.  These will be garnish later.

In a big mixing bowl, mix your cream cheese, feta and chopped shrimp, adding in the cooked herbs and garlic from the saucepan.

Scrape the sides of the bowl down and then add the sour cream, egg and cornstarch.  Give the whole thing a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.  Mix well.

Meanwhile, Polly, put the kettle on, because you are going to need some hot water here shortly.

Spoon the batter into your prepared baking dishes and smooth the tops.   Place those baking dishes inside a larger baking pan.

Put the whole thing into your preheated oven on the middle rack.  Quickly fill the bottom pan with hot water up to the middle of the ramekins.

Bake for about 25-35 minutes or until the cheesecake is set.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool before covering in cling film and refrigerating for several hours or even overnight.

When you are ready to serve, warm a knife in hot water and run it around the inside of your ramekins.  You can turn it over directly on to the serving plate or onto your hand covered by some cling film, then place it where you want it on the serving plate.  Smooth the sides with your warm knife, if necessary.

Garnish each cheesecake with your reserved chopped parsley, red chili pepper and green onions.  Top each with a cooked shrimp.

Serve with bread or crackers.  Try not to hunch protectively over the plate.  The honest truth is that they are both big enough to share.

Enjoy!

The #SundaySupper group have outdone themselves with this theme! Click on the links to see their fabulous recipes.

Cheese

§  Baked Mozzarella Sticks by Mama’s Blissful Bites

§  Basil Balsamic Strawberries & Whipped Feta Grilled Cheese by Cupcakes & Kale Chips

§  Buffalo Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken by In The Kitchen With KP

§  Cheeseburger Soup by Dinners Dishes and Desserts

§  Cheesy Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Parmesan Crisps by BigBearsWife

§  Cherry Blossom Crescents by The Ninja Baker

§  Chevre Torte with Mango and Sweet Pepper Salsa by Noshing with the Nolands

§  Creamy Meyer Lemon Pasta with Homemade Ricotta and Broccoli by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen

§  Crepes with Strawberry Mascarpone Cream Filling by Soni’s Food

§  Garlic and Goat by Supper for a Steal

§  Homemade Velveeta Cheese by Juanitas Cocina

§  Irish Cheese Soufflés by girlichef

§  Lox and Cream Cheese Mini Omelettes by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

§  Pan-Fried Halloumi Cheese Salad by The Catholic Foodie

§  Paneer Indian Cottage Cheese Pancake by Masala Herb

§  Paneer Tikka Masala by Kimchi Mom

§  Quick and Easy Homemade Cottage Cheese by The Meltaways

§  Ricotta Croquettes by Basic N Delicious

§  Roasted Pears with Pecorino by Happy Baking Days

§  Saag Paneer! Golden Roasted Ricotta In Savory Spinach Sauce by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz

§  Sourdough Cheese Crackers by Curious Cuisiniere

Cakes 

§  Almond Polenta Cake by Shockingly Delicious

§  Banana Split Bundt Cake with Chocolate Glaze by NeighborFood

§  Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting by Hezzi D’s Books & Cooks

§  Dairyfree Ice Cream Cake by Galactosemia in PDX

§  Dense Chocolate Cherry Cake by What Smells So Good?

§  Flourless Chocolate Bean Cake by Vintage Kitchen

§  KitKat Chocolate Cake by The Urban Mrs.

§  Old Fashioned Caramel Cake by There and Back Again

§  Peanut Butter Banana Bundt Cake with Chocolate Chips by Gotta Get Baked

§  Salmon Cakes by Family Foodie

§  Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake by Gourmet Drizzles

§  Tequila Lime Cupcakes by Mama Mommy Mom

& Cheesecakes

§  Cheesecake au Baileys by Baker Street

§  Chocolate Cheesecake Bites by Mom, What’s For Dinner?

§  Chocolate Covered Cherry Cheesecake by Magnolia Days

§  Grasshopper Cheesecake Bars by That Skinny Chick Can Bake

§  Individual Strawberry and White Chocolate Cheesecakes by Small Wallet Big Appetite

§  Kit Kat Cheesecake Brownies by Chocolate Moosey

§  Lime Cheesecake Bites by Peanut Butter and Peppers

§  Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes with White Chocolate Crusts by Cupcakes and Pearls

§  Mini Toddler Cherry Cheesecakes by In the Kitchen with Audrey and Maurene

§  Mocha Cheesecake by The Lovely Pantry

§  No-Bake Banana Sundae Cheesecake by The Messy Baker

§  Nutella Cheesecake Brownies by The Foodie Army Wife

§  Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes by Cookistry

§  Reese’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Bundt Cake by Daily Dish Recipes

§  Tiny Turtle Cheesecakes (No Bake) by Cravings of a Lunatic

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter each Sunday. We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. This week we will be sharing our love of Cheese, Cakes AND Cheesecakes! Our weekly chat starts at 7 p.m. EST!

Follow the #SundaySupper hash tag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat.

Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.

Join us Around the Family Table this Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern Time and share your favorite Cheese, Cake and Cheesecake Recipes with us!

Little Filo Cheese Rolls for #SundaySupper

So it’s the Super Bowl today! As the old Texas saying goes, I don’t have a dog in that fight, but that won’t stop me from setting up my dvr to record the game (since it comes on a 3:30 a.m. Monday morning for me in Dubai) and then watching the most super of bowls munching on snacks and sipping on drinks. And I am just going to warn you right now that I won’t be on Facebook on Monday until I’ve watched the game. It’s more fun to watch if I don’t already know the winner, don’t you think?

This week for Sunday Supper everyone is making delicious dishes that they would like to eat while watching the big game. The hard part was narrowing it down to just one! But I have to tell you that I am delighted with my choice! Crispy, crunchy filo pastry baked around a lovely green onion, feta and ricotta cheese filling. And as I bit into the first one, I decided it needed a little something to dip it into. So I poured some honey in a ramekin and added a chopped fresh red chili. The saltiness of the cheese was complemented beautifully by the sweet honey with a bite of spicy heat. So good!

Ingredients

1/3 cup or 75g melted butter

About 4 1/2 oz or 125g ricotta

3 1/2 oz or 100g feta

Generous bunch green onions

9 1/2 oz or 270g pack of filo – you won’t use all

Optional dip: About 1/4 cup or 60ml runny honey and one small red chili pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 325°F or 165°C.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  I give the pan a quick spray with Pam to stop the parchment from slipping around and you might want to do the same.

Finely chop about four inches or 10cm off the ends of your green onions.

In a small bowl, measure out your feta and ricotta and add in the green onions.  Use the tines of your fork to crumble the feta. 

Add in your egg and use your fork to beat it just a little bit.  Mix the whole lot together.  Set aside.

Remove the filo pastry from the package and figure out how to unfold it without ripping it so that you can see exactly how large the sheets are.  This is the trickiest bit of the whole recipe.  Once your sheets are unfolded, decide how you can best cut them into large rectangles of around 4 inches wide and 10-12 inches long. 

As you can see, my sheets were quite large so I ended up cutting them in fourths.  Stack all the layers on top of each other.  Place them on your clean kitchen counter.  I usually lay a piece of cling film down first to make clean up easier.

Brush the top sheet with melted butter and put about a tablespoon full of filling about an inch or two centimeters from the short edge.  

Roll the filo around the filling a couple of times and then fold in the two sides. Continue rolling until you reach the end of the sheet of filo.  Place seam side down on your prepared baking sheet. 

Continue buttering and adding filling and making cheese rolls until all of your filling is gone.  You will probably have some filo sheets left over.

Brush the tops of the rolls with the remaining butter and bake in your preheated oven for around 30-45 minutes or until golden and crispy. 

While there is no official dipping sauce to go with this, as I mentioned above, I mixed a little honey with a chopped fresh red chili and it was lovely with the cheese rolls.  You might want to do the same!

Enjoy!

This recipe was adapted from an original by Claudia Roden in The Accidental Foodie. 

Have a look at all the wonderful dishes the #SundaySupper crew have prepared today!

#SundaySupper Super Bowl Appetizers & Snacks:
All American Ranch Cheese Ball from The Weekend Gourmet
Bacon Double Cheese Burger Dip from In the Kitchen with KP
Bacon Kettle Corn from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
Baked Crab Cakes from The Meltaways
Buffalo Chicken filled Pull-Apart Loaf from Small Wallet Big Appetite
Buffalo Chicken Pizza On A Stick from Neighborfood
Buffalo Tofu Bites from Soni’s Food
Cheeseburger Bites from Momma’s Meals
Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Dip from Daily Dish Recipes
Cranberry Glazed Meatballs from Curious Cuisiniere
Easy White Queso with Chorizo from Supper for a Steal
Eggplant Lentil Fritters With Orange Salsa from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
#GlutenFree 7 Layer Bean Dip from Cooking Underwriter
Gulf Coast Smoked Tuna Dip from 30A Eats
Ham & Cheese Crescents from Masala Herb
Ham Crescents {Schinkenhoernle} #DairyFree from Galactopdx
Little Filo Cheese Rolls from Food Lust People Love
Mini Crab Bites from Webicurean
Muffuletta Skewers from Magnolia Days
Onion Cheddar Cheese Ciabatta from Family Foodie
Peach Jalapeno Fritters from I Run for Wine
Philly Cheesesteak Bites from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
Pizza Pretzel Rolls from Cravings of a Lunatic
Pizza Wontons from Peanut Butter and Peppers
Refried Black Beans with Pita Chips from Basic N Delicious
Roasted Garlic-Bacon Dip from girlichef
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Stamp & Go! from The Lovely Pantry
Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Dates from Noshing with the Nolands
Tandoori Spiced Popcorn from MarocMama
Wonton Cones Filled with Oriental Salad from Simply Gourmet

#SundaySupper Super Bowl Main Dishes:
Bacon-Wrapped Chili Cheese Dogs from Damn Delicious
Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Sandwiches from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
Chicken in Passion Fruit Crunch from The Urban Mrs.
Green Chile Cheeseburgers from Juanita’s Cocina
Grilled Pizza with Sausage and Spinach from Ruffles & Truffles
Marinated Rump Steak with Chimichurri Sliders from Vintage Kitchen Notes
Meatball Sub Sliders from Country Girl in the Village
Oven-Fried Catfish Fingers with Mango-Chili Dip from Pescetarian Journal
Pigs in Sleeping Bags from Comfy Cuisine
Turkey Sliders with Roasted Tomatoes from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Vegan “Hamburger Helper” Soup from What Smells So Good?

#SundaySupper Super Bowl Desserts:
Shortbread Brownies from Baker Street
Smores Blossom Cookies from Chocolate Moosey
Sweet Little Pastries from Happy Baking Days
Sweet Potato Cake Pops from Ninja Baking
Toddler Truffles from In the Kitchen with Audrey

#SundaySupper Super Bowl Tablescape: 10 Tips For A Winning Superbowl Buffet Table from An Appealing Plan

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on Twitter on Sunday, February 3rd to talk all about our Super Bowl Recipes!  We’ll tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 p.m. ET and you do not want to miss out on the fun.  Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag, and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our#SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos!