Ham and Cheese Corn Muffins

The 8 year old has decided that he's tired of sandwiches.  Since he takes his lunch to school, this is a bit of a problem.  So I set out trying to find something that would be filling, have protein, be reasonably healthy, and would be packable for his lunch.

I remembered a few years ago in an effort to use up leftover Easter ham, I made some ham filled corn muffins that I'd found on allrecipes.com.  We all seemed to enjoy them, so I dug up the recipe only to be reminded they called for a box of cornbread mix.  Now, I actually love Jiffy cornbread mix, but one of the things I miss about being gluten free is corn bread.  I'm southern.  We love our corn bread down here.  I wanted to make something gluten free so I could enjoy them too.

That led me to dig up a recipe for basic cornbread I'd also found and had been fiddling with to make gluten free.  Combining and tweaking recipes makes me happy and this one came out perfectly.  Sadly, the 8 year old ate two of these muffins and declared "I don't like muffins with meat in them."  Hrump! More for me!

They make a perfect snack at my desk at work.  I even had a couple for breakfast one morning.  They also freeze beautifully. For all my gluten free baking, I use 1 part brown rice flour, 1 part sweet rice flour, and 1/2 part potato starch - a blend Marissa at Little House Living created.  For oil, my preferences are coconut or olive.

(Gluten Free) Ham and Cheese Corn Muffins

1 cup cornmeal
1 cup gluten free flour mix plus 1 teaspoon Xanthum gum OR 1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup oil
1 cup milk
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1 cup finely diced fully cooked ham

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a muffin tin.

In a large bowl combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and dry mustard.  Stir in egg, oil, and milk and mix until all ingredients are incorporated well.  Batter will be stiff.  Fold in cheese and ham.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.  Bake for 15 - 20 minutes and top is golden.  A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean.

Remove from tin to cool.

To freeze, place cooled muffins on a baking sheet and place in freezer 5 hours or overnight.  Remove and store in an airtight container.