Jalapeño Cheddar Zucchini Muffins

When I started my garden, I decided I wasn't going to plant peppers this year. Snacking on too many raw peppers gives me indigestion, each pepper plant produces more than enough peppers, and I just can't seem to use that many in dishes I make. That being said, when some of my transplanted seedlings died this spring and I had to buy more, I changed my mind and decided to get peppers too. Little did I know, they would be jalapeños!

Most of my friends and family know that I'm not a fan of spicy foods. Ever since I was a little kid, I haven't enjoyed spicy foods at all. So when I found out that both of my pepper plants in the garden were jalapeños, I wasn't too happy. But, then I started experimenting in using the jalapeños in baking which seems to work! I've had jalapeño cheddar bread before, and the combination of the creamy cheese with the spicy jalapeño works really well. These muffins (more like savory rolls, really), are amazing and very addictive (I had three a few minutes after they came out of the oven). If you have jalapeños and you're not sure what to do with them, you should try this recipe out!

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups shredded zucchini

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

• 1/2 tsp. onion powder

• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup milk

• 4 Tb. melted butter

• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

• 4 large jalapeños, diced

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease your muffin tin. This recipe makes 12 muffins, so you should only need one. If you haven't already, use a kitchen towel or paper towels to dry the shredded zucchini as much as you can.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and baking powder together. Stir in the zucchini, egg, milk, and melted butter until just combined. Fold in the shredded cheese and the diced jalapeños.

Fill each muffin well in the tin about 3/4 full. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the tops start to brown. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes, then enjoy!