Blueberry Muffins with Lemon

Wow!  These were so yummy.  Another recipe I got from thesisterscafe.com.  They had just the right hint of lemon.  I used buttermilk instead of the milk called for because I needed to use it up, as well as fresh blueberries instead of frozen because that is what I had.  Also, I used butter, not shortening.  For the topping, I only made up about half of what is called for and that was plenty, with a little extra to spare.  Scott called these his new favorite muffin - although, he doesn't like blueberries so his were blueberry-less. :)  Totally worth giving a try!

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

zest of one lemon

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/2 cup shortening (or butter*)

1 cup frozen blueberries

Topping (this makes extra – you can try cutting it down if you want):

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 Tb lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Beat egg, milk and shortening. Stir in blueberries. Add dry ingredients and lemon zest. Stir gently to combine. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Combine butter and lemon juice. While the muffins are still warm, dip the tops in the butter and lemon juice, then dip in sugar. Makes 12 muffins.

 

Asian Noodle Salad

Something cool to eat on a hot summer night.

Dressing:
1/2 C rice vinegar
2 T olive oil
1 tsp sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Let sit for at least 1 hour to let the flavors combine.

Salad:
1/2 C cilantro, chopped
1/2 C basil, chopped
2 green onions, diced finely
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1 C shredded carrot
1/2 C honey roasted peanuts
1/2 Pound spaghetti noodles, cooked per instructions
Cooked, chopped chicken breast - optional - I cooked it in a little bit of the dressing

Prepare all of the vegetable, set aside. Once the spaghetti has cooked, rinse with cold water and drain. When the noodles are completely cool, add the vegetables and peanuts. Mix the dressing again thoroughly then add to the noodles and vegetables. Stir until well combined and serve!

Cornmeal Pancakes

This recipe was on the top of a big Dannon yogurt I bought and I was intrigued.  My kids love pancakes and they also love cornbread, so it was definitely worth a shot.  They loved them and I thought they were yummy too.  Just another way to change up breakfast a bit.

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cornmeal
3 Tbs sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
(1/3 cup raisins, plumped - I did not use)
1 1/2 cups Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla Nonfat yogurt - recipe says you could also use strawberry - not sure how I feel about that :)
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil

Whisk together dry ingredients.  Stir yogurt, eggs and oil with a fork in separate bowl, then stir into flour mixture until blended.  Heat a lightly greased skillet over moderately low heat until hot. (I did not grease my non-stick skillet and it was just fine without it.)  Pour 1/4 cup measures of batter onto skillet and cook about 3 minutes, or until golden, then turn and cook 1 minute more.  (It was important to have the heat lower than I would normally cook pancakes to make sure the middles got done.)  Serve with warm maple syrup.  I tried mine with honey butter and that was delicious too!  Makes appox. 12, 3 1/2 cakes.  Enjoy!

Molasses Wheat Bread

I was going to try Rachel's recipe she posted on Sunday but I didn't have any dry milk. So I searched for another alternative to mix it up a little and found this recipe. It uses molasses so the bread looks a little darker, but it made it very moist and sweet. The recipe below will make 2 loaves.

1 envelope yeast
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup butter softened
1/8 cup molasses
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
2 Tbl Dough Enhancer
1/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water
2. In large bowl, combine butter, molasses, honey and salt. Mix well. (I did it in my Kitchen Aid)
3. Add yeast mixture then gradually add flours, enhancer, and gluten
4. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth
5. Place in greased bowl and let rise until double
6. Punch down and let rest a few minutes
7. Divide into 2 loaves, place in greased pans and let rise for 1 hour
8. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes

King Arthur Wheat Bread

Mom gave me this recipe years ago for wheat bread. It is honestly my favorite. It has really good flavor.

Ingredients:

wet:
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 1/3 cup water (warm)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup oil

dry:
3 1/2 cups flour (if using store bought red flour use half wheat-half white. I use all wheat when I grind the hard white wheat with my wheat grinder)
1/4 cup dry milk
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
I also added Vital Wheat Gluten and Dough enhancer (just how much it says on the boxes)

Mix all dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl mix all wet ingredients. I let the yeast sit for a couple of minutes before I mix all the wet into the dry. Knead

Let rise for 1 hour, punch down. Form into a loaf, place in bread pan. Let rise for an hour (I let it rise longer because I wanted it bigger).

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Makes 1 loaf.

Tortellini Spinach Bake In Creamy Lemon Sauce

Picture and recipe - curtesy of Our Best Bites

Ingredients:

12 ounces Bag Barilla Cheese & Spinach Tortelini (Find Them In The Dry Pasta Isle)
4 ounces Bacon Or Pancetta, (about 4 strips bacon)
3 Cloves Garlic, pressed in garlic press or finely minced
2 Tbs Flour
2 C Milk
¾ tsp Kosher Salt
⅛ tsp Black Pepper
1 ½ tsp Dry Basil
¼ tsp Red Pepper Flakes (½ Tsp Or More If You Like Spicy)
1 medium Lemon
2 C Loosely Packed Fresh Spinach,roughly chopped
¾ C Grated Mozzarella Cheese,divided
¾ C Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions.

Place bacon in a medium sized skillet on the stove-top at medium-high heat. Cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain. Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest. Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute. Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth. Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.

While sauce is heating, use a microplane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest lemon. Then cut lemon in half and remove juice. Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce. Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Drain tortellini and place back in stock pot. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture. Add spinach, ½ cup mozzarella cheese and ½ cup Parmesan cheese. Add sauce and gently stir to combine. Place pasta mixture in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and top with remaining ¼ cup mozarella and ¼ cup parmesan and also crumbled bacon.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Power Bars

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 ¼ cups Rolled Oats
1 ¼ cups Chopped Toasted Walnuts
½ cup Oat Bran
1 ½ cups Puffed Cereal You Like,pounded into smallish bits
1 cup Dried Cranberries, coarsely chopped
3 Pieces Of Dried Crystallized Ginger,finely chopped
1 cup Brown Rice Syrup
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
½ tsp Salt

Directions:
First grease an 8" x 8" baking pan with the oil. In a large bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients. Combine the brown rice syrup and vanilla together into a small bowl. Heat in microwave for 30 seconds or cook on stove in a small pot until slightly warm and a little thinner in texture. Pour onto dry ingredients. Press the mixture into the greased pan. Freeze for about 45 minutes, until hardened. Cut slices as big or small as you like. Store in the fridge.