WORLD'S EASIEST CHEESE MUFFINS? Egg-free, prepped in 5 minutes, easy

Frantic September days require stress-free quick, easy healthy meals...

first posted 2022/ updated 12/24

These easy-peasy cheese muffins are unbelievably light & beautifully flavoured (egg-free) 'VERY tasty' Tester
 

It is astonishing how these simple cheese muffins* can smell and taste so sensational, given prep time is all of 5 minutes and they're egg-free. 

They can take a starring role at any time of the day: breakfast, lunch, tea or snack time.   

Served with Pensioners' Delight soup, the muffins turn a jazzed-up tin of soup into an appealing and satisfying meal.

Cost: min £3'ish (depending on additions) (12/34)

Makes 5 large or 10 small; recipe doubles easily 

3/4 cup self-raising plain flour +

1/4 cup self raising brown flour OR

      1 cup plain self-raising flour 

1 cup grated mature/very mature dairy or plant cheddar cheese (67 recommends vegan Cathedral City cheddar)

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup dairy or plant milk, single cream or a mixture of the two (67 used single cream oOR plant yoghurt thinned to the thickness of single cream)

generous tablespoon dried chives (opt)

1/4 tsp chilli flakes (opt) (67 used both)

Optional Additions: meat or vegan bacon bits, parsley or chives, fresh chilli

 

Method:

PENSIONER'S DELIGHT: ALMOST INSTANT SOUP, with help from supermarket friends

 Welcome to the Blog this week includes a list of prices for common household objects under the new price cap.  Also recommendations for food & restaurants.

This one is for the days when you're so busy you barely have time to breathe...

Amped up supermarket soup: knock-out flavour and textures

...and you have to rely on supermarket 'cheats'.

This almost instant soup looks like home-made but it is a clever amalgam of shop bought, with additions from family cupboards.

It makes one tin of soup stretch but with heightened flavours and textures.

And, served along with the sensationally cheap, easy & quick Cheese Muffins , it will satisfy, please and meet the nutritional needs of two hungry people. 

Cost: £1.75'ish

Feeds: 2 people; recipe multiplies easily for families

Ingredients

1 tin vegetable soup

water or stock

3 tbsp quick cook rice

1/3 cup frozen peas

1/3 cup corn niblets or other quick cook veg

1-2 sausages or equivalent minced chicken or beef OR vegetarian sausages or smoked tofu

salt & pepper

Worcestershire sauce

Method:

SINGLETONS QUICK & EASY DIETER'S DELIGHT CALAMARI SALAD

For days when recovering from a knock-out punch from life...

(Singleton recipes multiple easily for couples & families)

We've all had days when things not only go wrong but also raise self-doubts.  

Like: will I end my days as a bag lady pushing around a wonky trolly filled with my tattered worldly goods?  Or: do I need a good shaking up?  Or: am I just being hopelessly neurotic?

On such days the temptation to dive into the carbs and sugar is high.

Here's a dish that will help boost will power and probably improve your mood.

Calamari Salad with bean starch (cellophane) noodles is low in carbs, high in protein and has plenty of fibre.  It's quick and easy to make.  And it's pretty easy on the wallet -- there will be plenty of protein left over for another meal.

Cost: £2.50'ish (2022)

Feeds: 1

Dieters Delight Noodles
made from
green bean starch

Ingredients:

1 knot green bean noodles (also known as crystal, transparent, glass or thread noodles)

 

70g/2.4oz cooked calamari rings

 

 

handful quick cooked green veg: here green beans, also tenderstem broccoli, bak chop, thinly sliced zucchini

few thinly sliced radishes, or half a small chilli, or - if you don't like heat -  raw mushrooms

Optional Garnish: finely chopped peanuts OR toasted sesame seeds, fresh parsley

                          

Dressing

1tsp sherry

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp orange juice

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

1/4 garlic clove, grated

similar amount grated, peeled fresh ginger

Shake until emulsified, pour over just drained noodles

Mix with other ingredients

Method:

PENSIONERS' DELIGHT: LEMON-PEPPER CHICKEN WINGS, easy

Crispy, juicy Chicken Wings that even oldies can get their teeth into...

Marinaded for succulence for the very old & very young

This blog loves chicken wings.

Not just because they are a very, very tasty budget dish.  

But also because wings are the best combination of crispy skin and tender flesh.  

There is nothing like picking hot meat off bones, licking sauce off fingers and generally wallowing in the delights of meaty, sauce-y finger food.

Chicken wings are also incredibly versatile.  

67goingon50 has posted several recipes for wings -- standard football fare smothered in a hot-ish sauce, intensely savoury Oriental wings juicy with the exotic braising sauce they have absorbed, and a casserole of wings in Spanish-style orange and sherry sauce.  All are terrifically appealing and were loved by testers.  (See Chicken in Recipes 1 on the Nav Bar above)

But while families - and particularly kids - love wings, older people steer clear of them.  A pensioner friend said they were 'too bony' or 'tough' but he did enjoy the casseroled wings.  

Nonetheless, 67 has been working on a baked version of chicken wings for pensioners (that will also please parents and kids): crispy, juicy Lemon Pepper meat treats. 

In this easy recipe, 67's tenderises the meat by soaking it overnight in buttermilk or yoghurt.  The wings are then dipped in flour and popped in the oven.

Easy-peasy for such a treat.  

Chicken Wings are always a bargain, usually coming in at under £2 for at least a dozen pieces.*

Cost: £2.75'ish depending on marinade

Feeds: a crowd but recipe halves nicely for 2-3 people (in which case freeze half the raw wings for another time)

Ingredients:

I large package chicken wings - usually 12

salt & pepper
at least 150gm plain yoghurt
juice half a lemon

Lemon Pepper spice mix 

freshly grated zest of 2-3 lemons (see tips below)
2 tbsp coarsely ground pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 cup flour

1 whole lemon for juice

lemon wedges for garnish

Method