Oh, alright. So it’s probably unrealistic to expect that from any food but these muffins are pretty tasty. And I’ve been making variations on this recipe, on and off, for a few months now trying to get the perfect vanilla muffin. I don’t think I’m there yet, but these will do. They have a delicate flavor that will go well with your morning coffee and they are pretty easy to make to boot. In fact, if you’re organized, you can probably whip up the batter in the time it takes your oven to preheat.

I also like to think these are versatile little quick breads in that the basic recipe serves well as a base for other muffin varieties. Throw in a handful of blueberries, or chocolate chips or perhaps dial back the sugar and throw in some Asiago cheese and suddenly you’ve got a whole other biscuit. So maybe these muffins haven’t reached nirvana, but when they’re this simple and good who cares?

Vanilla Muffin Nirvana
Ingredients (Muffins)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted
• 2 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Ingredients (Topping)

• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Beat together sugar, evaporated milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla
3. Combine flour, baking powder and nutmeg making sure to mix well
4. Stir wet ingredients into dry trying to get all the lumps out
5. Combine sugar and cinnamon for toppping and sprinkle over tops of each muffin
6. Bake 15 – 20 minutes

Related posts:

1. Bisquick Brownie-Simulacrum Recipe

In fact, now that I think about it, this may have been the very first meal I ever made for Catherine. I don’t think I’ll forget the look of surprise and delight as she walked in the door and the warm, fishy aroma first hit her, or the look of joy that overtook her face on first tasting it. As I said above, Catherine and I both go nuts for this time-saving stew which leads me to wonder why I waited almost a whole year to make it again.

I mean, really, why don’t we make this more often? It’s so simple to make that you can chop up everything the night before, fry up the bacon and onion the next morning and toss it all in the crockpot before you leave for work. By the time you come home, you’ve got a wonderful, tasty and satisfying home-cooked meal that beats the pants off any pizza. And if you knew how much I love pizza, you’d know how strong of a statement that is.

You’ll want to serve your stew with your favorite cheap beer and a nice crusty bread to sop up the soup left at the bottom of your bowl.

Hearty Crockpot Fish Stew
Ingredients

• 2 lbs. fish (flounder tastes great, but almost any oldfish will do), chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 4 med. potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 lb. bacon, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 med. onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp. dried parsley
• 3 tsp. garlic pepper salt
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 (8 oz.) can evaporated milk

Preparation

1. Chop up your fish, bacon, onion and potatoes.
2. Throw the potatoes, fish, and mushrooms into the crockpot and add the water.
3. Saute the bacon and onion together until the bacon is just this side of crisp and the onion is golden and transluscent.
4. Spoon the bacon, onion and bacon grease on top of the fish, potatoes and mushrooms.
5. Add seasonings.
6. Give everything a good stir or two so everybody gets acquainted.
7. Put the lid on and cook on low six to eight hours or on high four to five hours.
8. Stir the evaporated milk in about an hour before eating if cooking on low, or a half hour if cooking on high.

Related posts:

1. Friday Night Fish Fry at Ya Boy – The Way the Good Lord Intended
2. Our favorite lumpy garlic mashed potatoes
3. Who says you can never go home again?