The Glutenless Garden: Doubly Cheesy Muffins and SNOW!!!! (I love snow)

It's the end of December! I've been so busy!

I started a Cross Country Ski group and I've been busier than ever. I love it so much! I've been back on my skis for a few years and just wanted some folks to go with. These are the kinds of skis for flat ground and small hills, and it's great. The snow has nearly arrived 3 times already, and we've been busy getting classes going for waxing, ski specific exercise clinics, meet and greets, hikes to see the trails that will soon have snow, all sorts of stuff. So fun!

Here's laurel Ridge State Park, a hike we just did of the ski trail. Since the snow is still thin we hiked it.

I get so excited this time of year! All winter, actually, I'm just SO excited! People tell me I should move to Vermont. And yes, they might be right!

In other news, the cold weather has lead to me being able to get both cats calm and in the SAME picture! Look, it's happened twice already!

Wanna know what I made for the office holiday party? You got it right! Doubly Cheesy Muffins! There were only 2 left at the end of the party, they were a big hit!

So we preheat to 400 and start with the following ingredients:

Got that?

Okay, okay, fine, I'll list them for you, too. Sheesh.

Makes 18 Muffins.

4 Tbs Grits, 1/2 cup Water, 2 sticks butter, 1/2 tsp xanthan, 3 Tbs brown sugar,1 egg, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 15 oz container ricotta cheese, 1 cup instant tortilla/Masa flour (corn product, check that it's safe) 1 brick of cheddar cheese.

So we're getting started!

Cook the 4 Tbs Grits in 1/2 cup water, with the two sticks of butter in there. Microwave 3 minutes in an oversized bowl.

AS SOON as it's done cooking, add and stir in 1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum power (the heat helps reconstitute the powder).

Then add the 15oz container of Ricotta Cheese (helps if this is room temp) 1 egg,and 1.5 tsp of baking soda, and 3 Tbs brown sugar to the mixture.

Stir all together to get basically this consistency:

Then gradually add the 1 cup instant tortilla/ Masa flour to get basically this consistency. (Again, make sure this flour is safe for you, check that it does not contain any wheat ingredients and review all allergy statements. Remember also that imports are not held to the same allergy statement rules as domestics, so be extra cautious there.)

That's pretty much it! Spoon the mix into paper lined muffin molds. (Mine are fancy, but that's just because I'm a silly person, regular old normal muffin tins are perfect, possibly even preferable.) After you have the mix spooned in, just press one cube of cheddar into the center of each muffin (if the cheddar touches the paper it will be stuck to the paper after you cook it).