Sunday, December 9, 2018

Who Said You Can't Make Air Fried Corn Muffins?!


Hello Darlings,

It is December 18, 2018 and this is a recipe update. As I stated when I posted this recipe I planned to eliminate the yoke of the egg because of it high cholesterol content. Well, I did. I made a 6 inch cake pan of corn bread, and the results were great. I added the two fresh egg whites, increased the sugar from 1/2 teaspoon to 3/4 teaspoon, and instead of spraying the pan I used, some Crisco shortening, which helped prevent sticking more than just spraying with cooking spray.

As great as I experience with air frying has been to date, I can truthfully say that  air frying is not 100% oil-free. However, there is a measurable decease in the amount of oil you do use, and for those foods that have high amounts oil in them already, unless you are breading them, such as with chicken, steak and other high fat meats, you do not need to apply oil at all. Therefore, I highly recommend air frying, and I am loving converting our favorites to air frying and finding recipes for some of the more common foods eaten regularly. 

I hope you enjoy this update.

Until next time,

Merry Christmas,

Darlings 

==========

Hello Darlings,

Today we are having my concoction of navy and black bean soup with white rice. However, today's recipe is about corn muffins. In my first post about air frying I mentioned that I would be converting as many of my regular and deep fried recipes into air fried. In addition, we are having muffins made with sweet rice milk instead of cow's milk.  This recipe also goes with my renal diet plan.  Well, I don’t really have a concrete plan, I just omit or limit the amounts of foods and meats that I know would in high quantities negatively  contributes to my high blood pressure and kidney function.  I am basely an on the fly cooker who uses some thought into what I am eating.

The recipe is for 6 muffins and in my Big Boss Air Fryer I have no problem baking these muffins.

Air Fried Corn Muffins

Makes 6 muffins

Ingredients
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup Martha White® Self-Rising Enriched White Corn Meal Mix
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 3/4 cup sweet rice milk
  • 1 tablespoon Crisco® Pure Vegetable Oil
Instructions
  1. Greased muffin pan well enough so that the muffins will not stick in it. Set aside.
  2. In a small bowl whisk oil, rice milk and egg together until well blended
  3. In a medium size bowl mix the corn meal mix with the sugar.
  4. Then mixture all of the ingredients together in the medium bowl.
  5. Then pour the muffin batter into the well greased muffin pan.
  6. Air fry at 320 degrees for 12 minutes.
There you have it. If you are like me and have to be actively aware of what and how much you eat, try this recipe with some unsalted butter or margarine and your next pot of beans, greens and spring green beans. Your family will not believe that these muffins were air fried.

The next time that I make these muffins I will try baking them with 2 egg white instead of the one whole egg.  If doing this turns out well, then that will reduce the cholesterol contained in the muffins.

Why hesitate? Download the recipe.

 Until next time,
     Chow, Darlings!


Special Tip for Today!


When cooking very hard dry beans, instead of soaking for 8 hours or overnight, try this.  After cleaning the beans, microwave them in a medium size plastic mixing bowl for 30 to 40 minutes covered with a vented lid until the beans are partially soften. Then add the beans and four cups of the hot water from the microwave bowl to the pot with your other ingredients and cook as usual. 



This method also working with cooking fresh carrots for pot roast and stews. However for stews and soups, microwave the carrots for 25 minutes on high, then add the water from the bowl the carrots were cooked in to the pot. 


With squash microwave for 5 minutes, and then cut lengthwise to remove seeds and/or skin for further cooking.

  Chow, Darlings!

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Adventures in Air Frying - Whole Fish


Hello Darlings,

Yes it's me again. Today I came up with a new recipe for whole fish. As you will remember I purchased an air fryer last month, and let me tell you. I am amorous with this machine. There are many brands on the market, but I chose the  Big Boss Oil-less Air Fryer, 16 Quart, 1300 watt simply because I like to watch my food as it cooks.  And so far, I have not been disappointed.

This Big Boss Air Fryer has really changed the way I prepare our meals, especially meats.  As we like the taste of the foods I cook, I opted to convert as many  of the recipes for meat, fish, and chicken as possible.  This being said  the recipe below is one I converted from  my deep fryer to my air fryer.



What you need:
  • 2 whole ocean whiting fish, minus heads and tails
  • A one  gallon size plastic bag
  • Your favorite fish batter, homemade or store bought
  • Cooking oil to spray
  • 4 pieces of string or yarn
  • Air fryer mesh basket
  • Air fryer lower rack
  • Large oven mitt
  • Turning tongs


What you need to do:

  1. Place mesh basket and lower rack inside of the air fryer bowl, then stray each with cooking spray.
  2. Remove mesh basket and lower rack and set aside
  3. Preheat air fryer bowl at 400 degrees
  4. While air fryer is heating, rinse fish and pat dry.
  5. Then in the plastic bag add your favorite batter.
  6. Add one fish at a time to bag and cover thoroughly
  7. Place the battered fish in the mesh basket,  and then place the lower rack on top. Use the four strings to tie four bows to join basket and the lower rack together. This keeps the fish in place and prevents them from breaking when turning during the cooking cycle.
  8. Now, place the bound fish in the preheated air fryer bowl and spray the top of the fish with cooking oil.
  9. Place the lid on the air fryer and set time to 9 minutes.
  10. After the 9 minutes is up use the tongs and the oven mitt to prevent burning yourself,  then turn over the basket with the lower rack in place. Spray this side of the fish with cooking oil as well. Replace the air fryer lid and cook for 9 minutes.
  11. When the timer stops set the cooking time for an additional 5 minutes, then repeat on the other side.

When the fish is done untie or cut off  the strings  from the basket and the rack to get the your prize of golden brown and crispy yet moist inside ocean whiting.  If you love fried fish and have a Big Boss air fryer give this recipe a try. It can be adjusted to many types of whole or thick fish fillet.






Download the recipe.

Until next time,
           Chow Darlings