Many people claim that they prefer cupcakes over muffins because they’re sweeter and…not as ugly. Ugly?! Since when could a delicious carby treat like a muffin be ugly? Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I actually prefer muffins over cupcakes, especially when I’m trying to think of a great dessert to mail off to friends and family in far off places. If you’re not a muffin fan, it’s likely you will be after checking out these recipes.

Mego_525’s Green Onion and Cream Cheese Muffins sound pretty heavenly. She combines two great ingredients to create a one-of-a-kind muffin that you won’t find in a breakfast buffet. These muffins even put the butteriest dinner roll to shame.

I bet you’d never guess that something as good as Phowley’s Dark Chocolate Mini Muffins could be considered a healthy dessert. Applesauce replaces the large amounts of oil or butter normally found in a muffin; it makes these muffins extra moist, which is important when chocolate is involved. Since they’re mini, you can eat two and not even feel guilty about it later!

If you’re looking for a muffin that doubles as a dessert and early-morning snack, then you’ve come to the right place. For Mother’s Day, I made up a Hearty Breakfast Pumpkin Muffin recipe for my mom. Steel cut oats give the muffin tops a nice crunch; they’re a nice alternative to chopped nuts.

These days, eating healthy is more than a trend, it’s a lifestyle. Even if you don’t have time, you can still eat more than a simple salad! Prepare a healthy meal in about an hour or less with one of these unique recipes.

When you find yourself craving french fries, why not try Mirving’s Un-Fried French Fries? Covered in Italian dressing and parmesan cheese, these tasty fries would probably complement beazus’ Chipotle Bean Burgers quite well. A variety of spices give her burgers flavor while cornmeal binds all the ingredients together.

Myron came up with a creative recipe for what he calls ‘Eggs’ McVegan. This is a completely meat-free meal that resembles a very popular fast food breakfast sandwich.

If you’re getting hungry for lunch, and have a bit of chicken leftover from the night before, you can try out these fast tacos. Don’t feel guilty using organic canned beans, I did it! They work great, and they’re nice to have on-hand for those lazy days! Made with flour tortillas and an assortment of veggies, you won’t be missing out on anything with these healthy tacos that include all the major food groups in one bite!

Even in their simplest forms, eggs are delicious. They have a way of sneaking into recipes without our taste bud’s knowledge. Just think of all the amazing desserts you’ve made that require eggs, like French Silk Chocolate Pie. Almarsh uses two whole eggs in her recipe; they each add a rich creaminess to the pie’s texture, making it a decadent dessert.

You’ll even find eggs in mayonnaise, but their flavor is so mild, they tend to go unnoticed! Belinda uses a few egg yolks in her Classic Mayonnaise that she makes from scratch using just a handful of ingredients.

Here’s another way to have eggs for breakfast: Include them in a waffle recipe! Teesmith’s Mom’s Extraordinary Egg Nog Waffles use a tasty combination of ingredients like almond extract and butter. You don’t have to wait until breakfast to make these waffles, they sound like the perfect after-dinner dessert to me. Top them off with ice cream, and you’re set!

Curds also call for egg yolks. The Ultimate Lemon Bar consists of a lemon curd and shortbread crust. This dessert resembles both a cookie and a pie; it offers the best of both worlds…so long as you don’t end up with scrambled eggs during the cooking process :).

Sometimes it’s easy to think out of the box when it comes to making a creative recipe out of leftovers, other times, I simply run out of ideas…especially when it comes to ground meat. LPGerrald creates a great meal using leftover ground meat, taco meat to be more exact. Her recipe for Taco Soup is innovative and tasty; it calls for a few savory ingredients you might find in chili, but it also uses fresh veggies like corn and carrots to give it a healthy twist.

Wilda says that her Chicken Mushroom Crepe Cake is a great way to “utilize leftover chicken from a roasted bird”. I imagine this recipe would also be appropriate right after Thanksgiving, when everyone’s had their fill of turkey sandwiches, soups, and pot pies.

As for desserts, blueskygirl’s Chocolate Swirl Surprise is delicious and unique. She used leftover birthday cake to make this tasty treat that she shared with friends at a church potluck. Crisscrossqz’s Quick Fruit Cobbler will please anyone whose interested using up the over-ripened hiding in the back of the fridge. Both of these desserts come together in a few easy steps!

On hot 100 degree weather days like today, baking is usually the last thing I want to do. But if ice cream is an ingredient in the mix, I have no problem cranking up my AC a little more while I turn on the oven to create a baked dessert with a cool kick. A few nights ago, I put together a batch of Sticky Toffee Pudding Cupcakes with Kahlua Ice Cream and Caramel Cream Cheese Sauce — it was a very loaded dessert, to say the least. I ran into a few issues with the caramel cream cheese topping, but Katiemwilson’s recipe for Butter Rum Ice Cream Sauce sounds like a winner.

Rpeters9568 shares a dessert recipe that’s energy efficient; you don’t even have to sweat the gradually rising electric bill with this Ice Cream Cake that’s sure to cool you off.

I’ve never tried anything like Tkakadelas’ Apple Pie Ice Cream Drink. It’s a deliciously original dessert that gives a nod to warm and spicy winter flavors by using ingredients like apple cider and nutmeg. Instead of pouring yourself some eggnogg, celebrate Christmas in July with this refreshing and festive drink that brings two seasons together in a tall glass!

With their starchy texture and uncomplicated taste, potatoes are carbohydrates that can easily be paired with almost any another food to create a delicious meal. For instance, Starrymouse57’s Sweet Pea and Potato Pasta uses scallions and parmesan cheese to bring out the taste of the potatoes.

GrandmaFred’s Potato and Egg Salad takes two foods that are usually the main features in a salad and combines them to create a tasty duet of flavors. Veggies like cucumbers and celery add a crisp edge to her multitextured salad. Side dishes like these yield great leftovers that could easily be used to make sandwiches.

Eliorakiah’s New-Look Scalloped Potatoes can be served as a meal on their own. Hearty ingredients like ham, potatoes, and cheese make this a dish that’s rich and appetizing. Affordable and filling, this is a recipe that any family on a budget would be more than happy to have in their collection.

A bowl of soup is usually the last thing I want to eat on a sunny day, but Katmurph’s recipe for Felipe Rojas Lombardi’s Avocado Soup is cool and crisp. With a fresh blend of ingredients ranging from fresh mint to lemon juice, this soup offers a savory combination of ingredients.

Dbrandt’s Chicken Taco Soup recipe puts tortilla soup to shame with its cool blend of Latin flavors. This easy-to-prepare meal comes together in less than an hour. Tomatoes, onion, and black beans make Dbrandt’s Chicken Taco Soup healthy and hearty.

Amisirilin’s recipe for Spicy Sweet Potato Soup brings Fall and Summer flavors together in a creative way. Ginger, curry, and cilantro are just a few of the ingredients that will awaken your taste buds.

Each time we post to The Back Burner, we use a Digital Recipe Card. The recipe card provides a tidy way to showcase your recipes and features one-click formatted printing; it also protects your recipes from being published without your consent. You can use the Digital Recipe card on your blog by following these simple steps:

1. Click on the following link to join KeyIngredient.com: https://keyingredient.com/signup/?next=/recipes/new/

2. Click on the link in the email you receive immediately after sign-up to confirm your account

3. Add your first recipe by clicking on the following link:
http://keyingredient.com/recipes/new/

4. Once you’ve clicked “Done” after adding your recipe, you’ll see your completed recipe. Click the “Blog” button to receive the code that you need to embed into your blog posting.

5. Copy that code into your new blog posting and the blog widget will appear when you publish your posting.

Every recipe you upload to Key Ingredient will have its own digital recipe card that can be personalized to your liking. To get the recipe card’s code, follow the above instructions each time, making sure to change the url in step #1 so that it matches the recipe you are trying to copy.

Here’s an example of how your digital recipe card will look on your blog:

Have more questions about the recipe card, check out our Question and Answer section by clicking here, or email sophikiblogger@gmail.com.

Among the many fruits that make our fingers sticky during the hot summer months, pineapple is one of the tastiest. Its refreshing citrus flavor works well in desserts and fruit salads. Gazzi_Gacela’s recipe for Pineapple Cranberry Salad uses a colorful combination of sweet and healthy ingredients, including pineapple and jello. It’s a fun dessert that comes together in minutes.

Cacheetham’s Pineapple Salsa is another recipe that uses pineapple in a simple and savory way. This would make a fresh topping for a light fish, and I imagine it would even go well with chips. Recipes like this are also great because they inspire creativity in the kitchen; many other tasty ingredients, like cucumber, could easily be added in to enhance the summery flavor of this light salsa.

I was craving a fruit based dessert this weekend, so I decided to put together a pineapple upside down cake. It came out moist and full of flavor; because my kitchen gets turned upside down when I invent new recipes, this cake actually turned out rightside up! If you’d like an easy-to-bake cake recipe with a twist, then this is it!

Cupcakes are the best desserts, at least in my humble opinion. They’re tiny cakes that come in different flavors. You can make them bite-sized or gigantic. You can give them a simple glaze or finish them off with a creamy frosting. My bad day goes away at the sight of a generously sprinkled cupcake, that’s how wonderful they are.

Out of all the cupcake bakers on Key Ingredient, it’s likely that Carla would most agree with me on that last statement. Her Guiness Gingerbread and Cranberry Cupcakes are winners, in every sense of the word. She has quite a few cupcake recipes that need to go on my “to-bake” list.

Stephaniekim’s Apple Cupcakes also have my mouth watering. She chose to decorate her cupcakes with marzipan leaves and acorns. If you like to plan your Thanksgiving menu a year in advance, like me, then you’re probably thinking what I’m thinking…these would look great right next to a homemade apple pie!