Chile-Corn Muffins

One of the items I like to make for the freezer is chile-corn muffins which go great with chili. I don't make them everytime I stock the freezer, but this last time I did. Apparently it has been a while since I've made them as Aaron didn't remember them from before. For anyone interested - here you go:

• 1 C. yellow cornmeal
• 1 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 T. sugar
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. chili powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 (8 oz.) carton plain fat-free yogurt (try finding an 8 ounce carton these days - I double the recipe and use a full 16 oz. carton!)
• 1/3 C. fat-free milk
• 1/4 C. egg substitute (um, yeah, we use farm fresh eggs . . .)
• 2 T. vegetable oil
• 1/8 t. hot sauce
• 1 (8 3/4 oz.) can whole-kernel corn, drained (or frozen or fresh)
• 1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chiles, drained
• Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, chili powder, and salt in a medium bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine yogurt, milk, egg, oil, and hot sauce; add to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in corn and green chiles.
3. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 16 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan immediately.

Yield: 14 muffins (seriously?? who has a muffin tin that holds 14 muffins? and why would I dirty a second tin for only 2 muffins? which would be another reason to double the recipe which then gives me 24 regular sized muffins and several mini muffins to boot.)

To freeze: Let muffins cool completely on a wire rack. Place in a labeled zip-top freezer bag OR wrap in heavy-duty foil and label.

To serve: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Remove desired number of muffins, place on baking sheet, and bake for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated. OR place 2 muffins in microwave oven; defrost 1 minute - microwave at high 30 seconds or until thoroughly heated.

They went GREAT with our dinner of Chili tonight. I have to say, this past time I made chili, I had run out of chili seasoning so I made some up in a hurry. I accidentally used smoked paprika instead of our regular paprika and we will continue to make that same mistake. The smoky flavor that permeates this chili is fantastic!