These muffins are simple, flexible, and delicious. They are wonderful as a side dish with a cold summer soup, like gazpacho (here is a great, super simple recipe), or with a big salad. They’d be wonderful with a light chili made in the crock pot, so your house doesn’t get too hot. And they’d make a great addition to a barbeque or picnic.

The trick to these muffins is to soak up some of the moisture from the zucchini (or any other summer squash you want to use). Summer squash contain a ton of water and if you skip this step, the muffins may come out sort of soggy. So make sure to grate your squash first and wrap it up in paper towel while you do the first few steps. That way, you can just dump it in when the time is right.

As I said, these are very flexible. If you wanted an extra kick, you could mix in some minced jalapeño and add more minced garlic. Not a fan of feta? Try grated cheddar, parmesan, or monterey jack. Want a more herby flavor? Dried oregano or basil would be delicious. You can really make these whatever you want them to be!

So next time you look down at that zucchini languishing away in your vegetable drawer, pull it out and throw together a batch of these. You won’t regret it!

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Savory Zucchini Corn Muffins

Course Side

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 18

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini or other summer squash grated and patted dry (about 1 ½ cups)
• 1 ¼ cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 clove garlic minced
• ½ cup onion chopped
• ½ cup corn fresh or frozen
• 1 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons butter melted
• 2 eggs
• 3/4-1 cup crumbled feta
• Optional add-ins or modifications: minced jalapeño dried oregano, dried basil, grated cheddar, parmesan, or Monterey jack.

Instructions

• Grate zucchini and wrap it in a paper towel to dry.
• Preheat oven to 350 and grease two muffin tins.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• With a large spoon, stir in the minced garlic, chopped onion, corn, and grated zucchini.
• In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the milk, melted butter, eggs, and cheese together.
• Fold the wet ingredients into the dry.
• Distribute the batter amongst 18 muffin cups.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Remove muffins from muffin tins and let cool on a cooling rack.

<p>The post Savory Zucchini Corn Muffins first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>

But when I first got the grill I was pretty terrified about using it. It was a heat source I didn’t know (How hot was it going to get? How responsive would it be?) and it involved utilizing techniques I wasn’t familiar with (and am still mastering). Even now, two years later, each time I grill there is a little bit of anxiety.  The way I decided to overcome this anxiety was to focus on mastering grilling vegetables. For me, this felt like an easier entry point into the world of grilling. That way, even if I burned everything up, I wouldn’t have wasted a ton of money.

I think that this can be a good way to enter into cooking overall. If you aren’t confident in the kitchen or in some particular type of cooking that you wish you could do, try taking on a smaller project in which you can become confident.  For baking, this could be making muffins or breads. For meats, it might be starting with a roast chicken or baked chicken thighs. For pasta, it might be a quick veggie sauce or mac n cheese. For a specific ethnic food, it might be one simple dish that exposes you to the spices and herbs of the culture. Then, as you gain confidence, you experiment, try new recipes, and build your repertoire. Pretty soon you’ll be making things you never thought possible!

So here’s how I got started with grilling vegetables. It couldn’t be easier, but holy cow does it taste amazing! I made a huge platter of these on Sunday for my son’s family birthday party and they were the first thing gone. These are delicious on their own, in salads, and in sandwiches.

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Grilled Vegetables

Course Side

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Jessica Braider

Ingredients

• Vegetables that you want to grill bell peppers, asparagus, eggplant, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and summer squashes are some of our favorites
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

• Preheat the grill to 450.
• Slice the vegetables such as eggplant, squashes, potatoes, and sweet potatoes to ¼-½ inch thick. Slice bell peppers into thick strips, about 1-inch wide.
• Put vegetable pieces into a large ziploc bag. Pour in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Shake well to make sure all the vegetables are coated.
• When the vegetables are prepped, turn the grill down to 400 or so and place the vegetables on the grill. Close the grill to keep in the heat.
• Set your timer for 2 minutes. When your timer goes off, check the bottom sides for charring (you want nice, dark marks on them). If they are ready, flip and set for another 2 minutes. If they need more time, give them another minute and check again.
• Once you have flipped them, set your timer for the same amount of time you grilled them on the first side. When timer is done, remove the veggies from the heat and serve.

<p>The post Grilled Vegetables: A Sign of Spring first appeared on The Balanced Kitchen.</p>