Ham, Cheddar & Poblano Corn Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup cubed smoked ham
2/3 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar
1/2 cup diced poblano pepper
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil or melted butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Grease or line 12 wells in a muffin tin. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Beat in the egg, buttermilk and oil until well combined. Fold in the ham, peppers and cheese. Divide evenly among the wells and bake 15 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the center muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

My thoughts:

I love when I can take leftovers and make something entirely new with them. I had some ham leftover from a recipe development gig I am working on and while ham sandwiches are always tasty, I wanted to try to use it in a different way. I loved the contrast of the smoky ham, sharp pepper and cheddar against the lightly sweet cornbread. They would be great as a treat for breakfast but they were also wonderful when served instead of a roll with soup or chili.

Note: Like most muffins, these muffins reheat and freeze well. Never be without breakfast again!

6 Comments

  1. Very interesting recipe! I bet it would be fun to try other combos too! grilled cheese and tomato corn muffins??? or maybe PB & J even??? Love this!

  2. Corn muffins – good, ham – good, peppers – good! I love everything about this recipe and think I have everythign to make it too!

  3. Miss Meat and Potatoes

    Wow. How gorgeous. What an interesting take on corn muffins!

  4. You know, I've never made a savory muffin (aside from plain corn muffins) but this sounds very, very good!

  5. These look delicious! I need to try this recipe.

  6. These sound delicious! I have done a kind of muffin where I added corn to the recipe as well. I got the idea from some deliriously good hush puppies on a trip to South Carolina. My next trick will be to try browning/caramelizing the corn beforehand, this time I'll throw the pepper in, too.