A while back, I was sent a wonderful cookbook to review, The Muffin Tin Cookbook: 200 Fast, Delicious Mini-Pies, Pasta Cups, Gourmet Pockets, Veggie Cakes, and More!
Love it, love it, love it.
Cooking is more than just one of my favorite hobbies and pastimes – it’s a passion that I love greatly. Even now, I’m sitting at my desk in my home office – working in a frenzy of keyboard tapping and brainstorming, breaking only for much needed sips of coffee. Yet all I can think about is what I’m going to cook for supper, what my next dessert will be, and wondering when I can try out a new stuffed chicken recipe I saw yesterday.
Cooking, baking, cooking, baking, cooking, baking… a peek inside my brain.
Given the fact that it’s something I love so much, I want others to get the same kind joy from cooking as I do. I think that’s one of the reasons I get so excited about fresh, fun, and creative new cookbooks like The Muffin Tin Cookbook. Not only are new cookbooks a complete joy ride for me in my amusement park of a kitchen, I know that other foodies will get a huge kick out of them as well.
I also like to see cookbooks filled with recipes that people will actually make! Recipes that don’t call for you to visit a foreign country and bring back an extract you can only find there – then stir it into a broth using the feather of a virgin peahen… Please. Every single recipe in The Muffin Tin Cookbook is one you’ll make and make again.
Another thing I like to see in a cookbook is plenty of recipes that are quick and easy. A lot of people have to work outside of the home AND come home and cook supper. People who have a limited amount of time to work with don’t need fussy recipes. They need recipes that can be thrown together quickly, cooked in a flash, and don’t require a lot of cleaning up afterward. The Muffin Tin Cookbook is a dream come true for someone looking for such recipes.
Since the recipes on Get Cooking are gluten-free (as are all of the recipes I personally make and eat – health reasons), I will point out that this is NOT a “gluten-free cookbook.” Many of the recipes call for flour and a host of other foods off limits to those of us why have to eat gluten-free. HOWEVER, as with most cookbooks in my collection and recipes I find in the wild, I simply make the necessary substitutions.
Book Description
Muffin Tins—They’re Not Just for Muffins Anymore
There’s nothing you can’t make in a muffin tin—and we’re not talking merely muffins. All you need is a muffin tin, paper liners, and this ingenious, one-of-a-kind cookbook, and you can whip up delicious dishes that are as easy to prepare and serve as they are good to eat.
From quick-serve appetizers and sides to gourmet entrees and desserts, you’ll find an amazing variety of mouthwatering options for your dining pleasure, including:
- Shrimp Cakes with Cilantro Lime Dipping Sauce
- Egg Crescent Pockets
- Deep-Dish Pizza Cups
- Cornmeal-Crusted Mustard Chicken with Sweet Potato Coins
- Duchess Potatoes
- Zucchini, Corn, and Tomato Cups
- Mini Ice-Cream Cakes
The best part (besides the tasty goodness): It’s fast, easy, mess-free, and provides built-in portion control. Kids will love to help you make them—like cupcakes, only better for your family!—and leftovers are as easy as popping the muffin-meal into the microwave.It just doesn’t get any better than The Muffin Tin Cookbook . . . your next memorable meal is just a muffin tin away! – From Amazon
Fish Tacos Recipe
3 pieces tilapia, about 3-4 ounces each, cut in half
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
Salt and Pepper
6 taco-size flour tortillas
Light sour cream, chopped green onion, chopped tomato, lettuce, and salsa for serving
- Place the tilapia, chili powder, cilantro, oil, lime juice, and salt and pepper in a bowl and allow to marinate 1/2 an hour, in the refrigerator.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and prepare 6 jumbo muffin cups by spraying with cooking spray.
- Push one taco tortilla down into each cup and press any sections that bubble out against the sides.
- Place 1 piece of marinated tilapia in each cup and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness of fish, until cooked through.
- Serve with toppings.
Taco tortillas are smaller tortillas and are just the right size to line jumbo muffin cups. Lemon juice can be substituted for the lime juice.
Muffin Tin Recipes
There’s an entire chapter in The Muffin Tin Cookbook devoted to Breakfast – a time of the day when few of us have unlimited time. Recipes in the Breakfast chapter include:
- Egg Crescent Pockets
- French Bread French Toast
- Grits Casserole
- Cheese Danish Cups
- Bagel Sausage Sandwiches
- And More!
Other chapters include:
- Appetizers and Snacks (Asian Dumplings with Dipping Sauce, Spiced Pecan Cups, Hot Pretzel Bites…)
- Beef and Pork (Mexican Meatloaf, Sloppy Joe Cupcakes, Taco Mini Pies…)
- Chicken and Turkey (Teriyaki Turkey Cups, Chicken Tortilla Pies, Italian Chicken…)
- Seafood (Salmon Cakes, Deviled Crab Tarts, Shrimp with Polenta…)
- Potatoes, Rice, Pizza, and Pasta (Candied Yams, White Pizzas, Stuffed Gnocchi…)
- Vegetables ( French Onion Pie, Edamame in Rice Paper Cups, Cherry Tomato Cups…)
- Muffins and Breads (Corn Muffins, Monkey Bread, Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins…)
- Desserts (Hot Chocolate Muffins, Lemon Pound Cake, Apple Cupcakes..)
Each recipe indicates the size of muffin tin needed. As the author says on page 8, “Keep in mind that you can make your dishes any size you like, but you will need to adjust cooking time up or down accordingly (if you make a bigger cup than the recipe suggests, baking time will be longer; if you make a smaller cup baking time will be shortened).”
Please see The Muffin Tin Cookbook for more information. When giving cookbook reviews, I like to suggest the sort of cook that the cookbook in question is “ideal” for. Although this cookbook is PERFECT for busy cooks, it’s just as fun and enjoyable for those of us who are simply busy cooking! It would make an excellent gift idea for someone who’s new to the world of cooking – maybe even in a bag with a brand-spanking new muffin tin.
in my grocery store about a month ago, I snatched it up as fast as I grab my drinks at Starbucks as soon as my name’s called.
(Amazon link), by Nisa Burns, is packed with fun, easy, creative, and delicious recipes. Ideal for new cooks (such as college students, new brides and grooms, etc.), the entire first chapter is an introduction to cooking, cooking terms, techniques, herbs and spices, kitchen tools and appliances and more.
As you well know, I collect cookbooks with a crazy passion often reserved for chocolate cheesecake. I take a great deal of pride in my hundreds of cookbooks. While a lot of time and money has gone into collecting them, the main thing I love about them is the fact that so many are family heirlooms. Some are probably worth money right now (not that I’d ever part with a cookbook my grandmother wrote “yummy!” in) – and others are simple little cookbooks that were used to raise money for churches or schools. It would appear that my mom bought any and every cookbook anyone tried to sell her!
. It’s not as old as a lot of the cookbooks in my collection, obviously – so it’s not an oldie, but it is a goldie.
