The Muffin Tin Cookbook (15 page)

Regular

1. Preheat oven to 350°F, and prepare 6 regular muffin cups.

2. Add onion, carrot, and olive oil to a sauté pan, and cook over medium heat, until softened.

3. Add garlic, bell pepper, chicken, prunes, chicken stock, salt, pepper, pine nuts, honey, and cumin. Cook, stirring occasionally over medium heat, until chicken is cooked and liquid begins to thicken.

4. Allow this to rest while you prepare pie crust.

5. Follow the instructions in “Using Pie Crusts” in the Introduction to prepare the pie crust, reserving the scraps of crust. Place in muffin tin cups.

6. Place ¼ cup of the chicken mixture into each cup.

7. Lay pieces of the pie crust scraps on top, mostly covering the tops of the cups.

8. Brush with egg wash (1 egg white mixed with 2 teaspoons water).

9. Bake for 15 minutes. Refer to the “Meat Temperature Chart” in the Introduction for doneness.

Jumbo

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Prepare 6 jumbo muffin cups by spraying with cooking spray.

3. Make a slice along the cut side of each half chicken breast, creating a deep pocket inside it, without cutting through the other 3 sides.

4. Place goat cheese, shallot, salt, pepper, bread crumbs, and rosemary in a food processor and mix completely.

5. Stuff filling in each chicken piece, reserving what does not fit for toppings. Place in a muffin cup.

6. Divide remaining filling and place as dollops on the tops of the chicken.

7. Season with salt and pepper.

8. Bake for about 25 minutes (depending on thickness), until chicken is cooked through. Refer to the “Meat Temperature Chart” in the Introduction for doneness.

Jumbo

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F, and prepare 6 jumbo muffin cups with silicone or foil liners.

2. Place 1 tablespoon spaghetti sauce in each cup.

3. Divide spaghetti among the cups.

4. Top the spaghetti with 1 tablespoon sauce and 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese per cup.

5. Place the bread crumbs on a plate, and press one side of each piece of chicken into them. Then place the chicken, bread crumbs up, in each cup, seasoning with salt and pepper.

6. Spray the chicken lightly with cooking spray, and bake for 17 minutes. Remove from the oven, and divide the reserved spaghetti among the cups and top with 1 tablespoon sauce per cup.

7. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and return to oven for 5 minutes, until cheese is melted.

8. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Jumbo

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and prepare 6 jumbo muffin cups with silicone liners by spraying with cooking spray.

2. Stack the 3 tortillas and using the bottom of a silicone jumbo muffin cup liner as a template, cut out 6 circles (making 18 all together).

3. Layer the cups by placing 1 tortilla circle at the bottom of each cup.

4. Place ½ teaspoon chiles in each cup.

5. Use half the chicken and divide it among the cups.

6. Place 1 tablespoon salsa in each cup.

7. Place 2 teaspoons sour cream in each cup.

8. Place 1 tablespoon cheese in each cup.

9. Repeat the layering steps, beginning with a tortilla circle.

10. Top with third tortilla circle and place 1 teaspoon sour cream and 1 tablespoon cheese on top of each.

11. Bake for 15 minutes, until cheese has melted and cups are slightly browned. Refer to the “Meat Temperature Chart” in the Introduction for doneness. Serve with additional sour cream and some avocado, if you like.

Jumbo

1. Preheat oven to 400°F and prepare 4 jumbo muffin cups with silicone liners.

2. Place olives, capers, tomatoes, anchovies, lemon juice, basil, olive oil, and salt and pepper in food processor and process into a paste.

3. Mix orzo with ricotta and season with salt and pepper.

4. Divide orzo mixture among cups and place a chicken breast half on top.

5. Pour olive paste on top of chicken and bake for 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Refer to the “Meat Temperature Chart” in the Introduction for doneness.