Make a sensational snack out of muffins

English muffins are a favorite bread at breakfast time. We've all heard about the "nooks and crannies" that these popular muffins have, just perfect for holding melted butter, jelly or preserves. Even with hot tea in the afternoon, as the British customarily do, they serve as an appropriate snack.

I'd like to suggest taking the English muffin and making a snack, but no ordinary one, either. Let's dress it up with a sensational mixture of Cheddar cheese, onion and other flavorings to make this no dull snack! "Snack Muffins" are absolutely wonderful as a snack or to even serve as a hot bread with lunch or dinner.

The first time I came across the recipe was at Christmas, back in 1984. I heard that this recipe was the winner of a holiday recipe contest held by a local TV station. Among the numerous recipes that were in competition, this one came out of top of all of them. At first, I thought the combination of ingredients was rather odd. But, I decided that if it was good enough to win a contest, there had to be something about it tasting good....and I could see why it was a winner! This easy-to-make recipe requires only taking a cheese mixture, spreading it on the split muffins, and placing them under the broiler until bubbly. And that's all there is to it! These could even serve as appetizers if you cut them into fourths after browning them. Or, leave them whole and this would be a different bread that would be especially good with soup this winter.

What I've found really that makes this recipe so flavorful is the curry powder. Of course, not everyone likes curry and if that's the case with you or someone you may make it for, this can be omitted. However, I find that it adds so much flavor and goes so well with the cheese and onions. It's really hard to believe that something this easy can be this good!

I mentioned this bread being great with soup this winter. I did a story sometime ago about homemade tomato soup, which would be wonderful with this bread. Here's the link for the recipe, in case you didn't get it before:

http://www.examiner.com/article/ditch-the-can-and-make-homemade-tomato-soup

Let's make a plain, ordinary English muffin into something very special, yet very easy, by following this recipe:

SNACK MUFFINS

• 6 English muffins
• 1-1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder (optional, but I recommend it!)

Split the muffins crosswise. Mix remaining ingredients and spread on the muffin halves. Place under broiler until cheese bubbles. Serve hot. Yield: 6 servings.