A few days ago, during one of my many moments of searching the kitchen for something healthy and portable to grab for lunch, I had an epiphany. OK, it wasn’t as dramatic as all that, I just started wondering if I could make a muffin that was more like a lunch. Originally, I was thinking something along the lines of turkey bacon and spinach and onions. But then last night, when I finally got around to trying it, I realized I didn’t have bacon or spinach and I was much too lazy to go to the store.

However, I scrounged around in the refrigerator and found some other things: a leftover chicken breast, some frozen peas, a few aging mushrooms. What if I made a chicken pot pie, but as muffins? I knew it could all go terribly wrong, but I thought I’d give it a try. I took a look to see what else I had. The shallot might work, those soggy green onions, the parsley. Radishes? Probably not. I almost tossed in some watercress but chickened out at the last minute.

What I ended up with was surprisingly tasty, portable, and low in WW points. Well, maybe it’s low in points. I calculated it on the site and each muffin seems to be only about 3 points. But the site’s been having technical difficulties, so don’t hold me to that or anything.

Here’s what I did:

Sauteed the following (medium heat; I used a little cooking spray on the skillet):

1 shallot, chopped
3 garlic gloves, minced
1 carrot, shredded
5 white mushrooms, chopped

Once that was all wilted, I threw in some:

chopped parsley
fresh thyme
fresh rosemary
salt and pepper

Then I added a splash of dry Riesling and let it simmer for a few minutes. Then, I added:

1 chicken breast, shredded
1/4 cup grape tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 green onions, chopped

And just warmed it all through.

In a bowl, I mixed together:

1/2 cup egg beaters
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese
1 cup mashed potatoes (I made some instant, since I didn’t have the patience to make real ones)
the chicken mixture

In another bowl, I mixed together:

2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbl sugar

Then, I combined the wet and dry ingredients. I spray two muffin tins with cooking spray and then added spoonfuls of the batter. (I ended up with 12 muffins.)

I baked them at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. It was completely an experiment so I had no idea how they’d turn out, but they were pretty good. I would probably omit the tomatoes next time. They didn’t really add anything and seem to detract a little. I think these basic muffins could be made with whatever leftovers happen to be around. Well, maybe not any leftovers. I really wanted to figure out a way to incorporate some leftover white gravy, but I just couldn’t see how to do it and keep everything portable. I’ll keep thinking about how I might do that next time though.