Mini-morsels of healthy goodness in these Broccoli Cornbread Muffins

Some fresh broccoli in the veggie bin of my fridge was giving me a guilt trip. I had purchased it on Christmas week to use some in the festivities, but by now the little green tree-like spikes were turning yellow around the gills. I needed to cook them in something quickly. What would be a good use?

Dinner was a big pot of our Easy Vegetable Soup, which has been covered in previous blogs (and springs from my cookbook, Way Back in the Country Garden). It needed a cornbread accompaniment to make things just perfect. I surfed the Internet for a broccoli cornbread recipe and immediately found something on www.myrecipes.com

This recipe (originally from April 2003 Southern Living) was for mini-muffins—all the better. Hubby and I could have that “just a bite” without feeling overloaded. The recipe said it yielded two dozen muffins, but I was able to get about 30 from the ample amount I stirred up. The fresh broccoli (subbed for the package of frozen broccoli called for) made the Broccoli Cornbread Muffins extremely tasty. The broccoli, onion, and cheddar cheese mixture was power-packed in these little gems. With the homemade veggie soup they were perfect. Wish I could say “perfect on a cold night”. In our part of Texas this winter we haven’t had too many of those yet. But it was perfect for the balmy January night that was an ideal clime outdoors for getting Christmas yard decorations removed, packaged, and put away.

I was thankful that I had saved that broccoli from extinction and made it into some darling muffins that we will enjoy for many days. And of course accolades for the little green veggie continue to pour in; an online list just yesterday commended broccoli once again as being a top cancer-fighting food.

Broccoli Cornbread Muffins

1 (8 1/2-ounce) package corn muffin mix

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed (I used 10 ounces of fresh broccoli)

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese

1 small onion, chopped

2 large eggs (I used egg substitute)

1/2 cup butter, melted

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Stir together eggs and butter. Blend well. Add to broccoli mixture and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon into lightly greased mini-muffin pans. Fill three-fourths full. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Let stand 2 to 3 minutes before you remove muffins from pans. (Makes 24 to 30 muffins.)