Fast Muffins

Basic Recipe
1-3/4 C flour
1/3 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 C milk
1/4 C cooking oil

1.  Grease twelve 2-1/2 inch muffin cups or line with paper bake cups; set aside.  In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  make a well in the center of dry mixtrue; set aside.
2.  In another mixing bowl combine egg, milk, and oil.  Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture.  Stir just till moistened (batter should be lumpy).
3.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or till golden.  Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Remove from muffin cups;  serve warm.  Makes 10-12 muffins.

For more exciting muffins...
Banana: use basic recipe, reduce milk to 1/2 C, addd 3/4 C mashed banana and 1/2 C chopped nuts. (Do not use paper baking cups)
Blueberry: add 3/4 C fresh or frozen blueberries and optional 1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel
Cheese: add 1/2 C shredded cheddar or Monderey Jack cheese.
Cranberry:  add 1 C chopped cranberries and 2 Tbs additional sugar
Oatmeal:  reduce flour to 1-1/3 C and add 3/4 C rolled oats.
Poppy Seed:  increase sugar to 1/2 C and add 1 Tbs poppy seed.

Texan Ranch Chicken Casserole

1 large onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 medium green pepper, finely chopped
1 medium sweet red pepper, finely chopped
1 Tbls canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
3 C cubed chooked chiken breast (Mom used leftover chicken from another dish)
1 can (10-3/4 oz) reduced-fat reduced-sodium condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
1 can (10-3/4 oz) reduced-fat reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
1 Tbls chili powder
12 corn tortillas (6 inches), cut into 1-inch strips
2 C (8oz) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese, divided
In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the onion, celery and peppers in oil until crisp-tender.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.  Stir in the chicken, soups, tomatoes, and chili powder.

Line the bottom of a 3-qt. baking dish with half of the tortilla strips; top with half of chicken mixture and 1 C cheese.  Repeat the layers.  Bake, uncovered, at 450 for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly.
Yield: 8 servings  (1 C = 329 calories)