Broccoli and Cheese Muffins #BloggerCLUE

It’s that time again!  Time for Blogger CLUE Society where a bunch of us Bloggers get together with one theme and then check out another’s blog, get to know them, and then make one of their recipes.  I’m so lucky to have drawn Stacy from Food Lust People Love for the second time!  I will tell you a little more about Stacy this time:  She and I are about the same age (although she is younger) and are from about the same area of the United States.  She has strong connections with her grandmothers and mother just like me.  Stacy has been married to her husband for decades and has two daughters.  I was married, single for decades, married again and have one daughter……….and two step-sons.  She has a great dog and so do I.  While I have lived all over the U.S., Stacy has lived all over the world!  When she and I were in college, both of our alma maters were in the Big 8 Conference in Football – me, a Jayhawk and she, a Longhorn – but I’ll forgive her.

Stacy is one of the kindest bloggers I have met in my 5 years of blogging.  She was “raised right” as my Nana would say and she is probably one of the most confident women I have ever known.  She gets on a plane to fly home to the U.S. like I get in the car and drive to the grocery store…..often she is flying alone.  We get to see pictures of her shoes in nearly every upscale airport lounge in the world……it’s a bit like playing “Where in the world is Stacy today”?  She goes on weeks-long trips to third world countries to help in schools where they barely have more than mud huts to live – all the while – blogging about making those muffins.  When I think of Stacy and Food Love People Lust, I think of Muffins.  She’s the Muffin Lady!  If you can dream it up, she can make a muffin out of it.  Meanwhile, I can count on one finger the number of times I have made muffins…………until today!  Our theme was Spring Vegetables this month and so I decided on her Broccoli and Cheese Muffins.  They are moist and delicious with tender broccoli and cheesiness galore.  Can’t go wrong with cheese, can you?  Another plus is that I whipped these up and there were no complaints or gags from Mr. Picky Eater about any green vegetable besides iceberg lettuce.  I ate several and gave the rest to mom who took them to her game night with the other ladies where they were devoured immediately.

Below the recipe, there is the list – wonder who got me this month?  Be sure to check out all the blog posts!

Another thing Stacy does with ease is to make recipes in U.S. measurements and you know, the other kind so I have copied her recipe exactly for you here today!  Enjoy!

Savory Broccoli and Cheese Muffins

Ingredients:
3 1/2 oz or 100g fresh broccoli florets
Drizzle olive oil
2 cups or 250g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Few good grinds of fresh black pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon)
8 1/2 oz or 240g extra sharp cheddar
2 eggs
1/4 cup or 60ml sunflower or canola oil
3/4 cup or 180ml milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (We prefer Lea & Perrins.)

Directions:
Cut your broccoli florets into tiny florets and chop the stem bits into small pieces.   Pan-fry them in a non-stick pan with a drizzle of olive oil for a just a few minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease your 12-cup muffin pan liberally with canola, butter or non-stick spray.  I don’t recommend using muffin liners when baking with cheese because the muffins are hard to remove from the paper.

Grate your cheese.  Put aside a large handful of about one ounce or 25g for topping the muffins.  When the broccoli is cool enough to handle, count out 12 small florets for decorating the muffin tops and set aside with the handful of cheese.

Put your flour, baking powder, pepper and salt in a large bowl.  Add in the grated cheese and stir.

Now add the bulk of the cooled broccoli and stir to combine.

In another bowl, whisk together the oil, milk and eggs and Worcestershire sauce.

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them together until just mixed.  This is a really stiff batter, almost a dough.  But trust.  When the muffins bake, all that cheese is going to melt and you will end up with lovely tender muffins.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Top each with some reserved cheese and a tiny floret of broccoli.

Bake in your preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool on a rack for a few minutes and then remove the muffins from the pan to cool completely.  If, despite liberal greasing, your muffins still stick to the pan, just run a knife around the outside of each muffin and they should pop free.

Creamy Asparagus Soup from Anna at Anna Dishes (this one is mine!!)

• Peppercress and Basil Pesto from Lisa at Authentic Suburban Gourmet
• Chicken Tikka Salad from Ramona  at Curry and Comfort
• Cooking on the Ranch Roundup from Christy at Confessions of a Culinary Diva
• Asparagus Quiche from Alice at A Mama, Baby and Shar-pei in the Kitchen
• Broccoli and Cheddar Soup from Azmina at Lawyer Loves Lunch
• Chocolate Strawberry Pound Cake from Kim at Liv Life
• Asparagus Salmon Fried Rice from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Blue Cheese Potato Salad from Lea Ann at Cooking on the Ranch
• Lemon Bars from Anna at  Anna Dishes
• Raspberry and Rhubarb Tart from Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Caesar Salad with Grilled Romaine from Jean at Lemons and Anchovies
• Asparagus and Prosciutto Salad with Vinaigrette from Heather at girlichef
• Halibut and Spinach and en Pappillote from Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Asian Fried Quinoa fromKate from Kate’s Kitchen
• Blue Cheese and Bacon Potato Salad from Christiane at Taking on Magazines
• Goat Cheese Souffle’ with Garden Salad from Debra at Eliot’s Eats
• Maple Soy Glazed Carrots from Lora at Cake Duchess
• Cowboy Vegetable Scramble from Kathy at A Spoonful of Thyme
• Honey Balsamic Glazed Carrots from Rebekah at Making Miracles
• Spring Green Risotto from Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook