Cheese, Tomato and Basil Muffins

Again, this is a recipe I wish I could say was mine, but it's not.  Of course it attracted my attention and of course I had to try it out.  It's a good dinner muffin - just beware that it has a pretty strong flavor so you may not want to serve it with anything too overpowering.  They also have a wonderful consistency that I can't seem to put my finger on.  They're chewy in a non-bready-way, but they're good - really, really good.  And they'd be mighty tasty with some butter spread on them too.  Just something to think about ;-)

CHEESE, TOMATO & BASIL MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

2/3 cup self-rising flour

pinch of salt

1/3 cup & 2 tbsp yellow cornmeal

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

4 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped

2 tbsp chopped basil

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 1/4 cup milk

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

butter to serve

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil 8 muffin tin holes. In a bowl combine flour, salt, cornmeal, cheese, tomatoes and basil. In a separate bowl beat egg, milk and oil. Mix dry and wet ingredients, divide the batter between the muffin holes and scatter over the remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with the butter.
PERSONAL NOTES:
For starters, this recipe made about 10 muffins, not 8.  Be prepared to have more batter.  I also didn't use sundried tomatoes in oil.  Frankly, it wasn't missed.  I didn't have them with butter either, but I'm sure they'd be mighty tasty with it.

Oh, they're only about 145 calories per muffin.  Sweet!