Blueberry Cream Muffins with Streusel Topping

Jim loves blueberry muffins and since I was in the mood to bake the other day, I decided to pick up some fresh blueberries and make muffins. I found this lovely recipe that adds sour cream to the mix and had to try it! I made a few slight changes/additions so below is what I did. Enjoy!

4 eggs

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

zest of one lemon

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups sour cream

2 cups blueberries, divided

For streusel:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. white sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

4 tbsp. cold butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In a large bowl, beat eggs. Gradually add sugars while beating. Continue beating while slowly pouring in oil. Stir in vanilla and lemon zest. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, salt and baking soda.

Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream. Gently fold in 1-1/2 cups of the blueberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups. Place remaining blueberries on top of muffins and press them in slightly.

For the topping, combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top of muffins before baking.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

Salmon Pasta Salad II

Ya know, we're getting really sick of this "having to make dinner every night" crap. I mean, really...it's getting old. So yeah...that's pretty much how we both felt the other night when neither of us had any idea what to make for dinner. I was just going to make some sort of pasta salad anyway, so instead of tuna fish, we decided to use salmon.

2 salmon fillets

Miracle Whip (optional)

salt and pepper

1 lb. cooked short pasta of your choice (I used rotini)

6-8 large radishes

2 stalks celery

1/2 small sweet onion

1/2 English cucumber

handful fresh parsley

5-6 fresh basil leaves

1 tsp. coriander

1 tsp. celery salt

mayonnaise

Jim wanted the salmon to have a little flavor to them before they were added to the salad, so I sprinkled them with salt and pepper, coated the tops with Miracle Whip and baked them in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes.

In the meantime, cook the pasta.

I was feeling pretty lazy so I threw the radishes, celery, onion, cucumber, parsley and basil into the food processor and chopped everything up. You don't want a puree, so pulse it until you feel like you have the veggies to a nice size. Add the coriander, celery salt and salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta, flake the salmon and add everything to a large bowl. Add as much mayonnaise as you feel works for you and mix.

Mmmmmmmm, tasty salmon pasta salad.

Mediterranean Chopped Salad With Shrimp and Chickpeas

We eat a lot of salads but sometimes chopping up all those veggies is so time consuming an such a pain. So I decided to find a recipe that combined everything into a nice little salad. And while I was reading this recipe, there was a little note along the bottom that said the spiced pita chips would go nicely with the salad. So since I needed pita chips for the salad recipe anyway, I decided to make those too (recipe also below).

1/2 head Romaine lettuce, cut crosswise into thin strips (8 cups)

1 lb. cooked, peeled and deveined medium shrimp

1/2 English cucumber, chopped

1 15.5-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed

1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped

3/4 cup Feta cheese (about 3 oz.)

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved

2 cups pita chips, broken into pieces

3 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

kosher salt and black pepper

In a large bowl, add the lettuce, shrimp, cucumber, chickpeas, onion, Feta, olives and pita chips to the oil and vinegar. Add 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and toss.

Spiced Pita Chips

4 pitas (I used the mini round pitas and cut them in half)

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Heat the broiler. Split the pitas to make 8 rounds and brush them with the oil. Sprinkle with the paprika, oregano and salt. Slice the pitas into triangles. Arrange on 2 baking sheets and broil until crisp, about 2 minutes.

Creamy Rice Pudding

For some reason, I have been thinking about making rice pudding for like the past month. So the other day, I finally made some. This recipe said to add raisins, but I left them out. For one, I'm not a HUGE fan of raisins and two, I didn't have any. I know most recipes say to serve it warm, but I actually prefer it cold. And don't forget the nutmeg on top...or cinnamon...or honey. Mmmm, rice pudding.

3/4 cup uncooked white rice
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, bring 1-1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

To the cooked rice, add 1-1/2 cups milk, the sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15-20 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup milk and beaten egg. Cook 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

Turkey Taco Salad

Yesterday I had the day off work. It wasn't as joyful as it sounds as I had a dentist appointment in the morning, but I digress.

I took some ground turkey out for dinner but had no idea what to do with it. So as usual, I took to the Internet to help me with my dinner challenge. I came across this easy salad recipe and decided it was the one. It made quite the tasty lunch the next day too!

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. ground turkey

kosher salt and pepper

1 16-oz. container store-bought refrigerated fresh salsa

2 tbsp. sour cream

1 head romaine lettuce, cut into pieces (about 8 cups)

tortilla chips

1 15.5-oz. can pinto beans, rinsed

1 avocado, diced

1 cup grated Cheddar

1 6-oz. can sliced black olives (optional)

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turkey with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Cook, breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink, 5-6 minutes. Pour off any excess liquid. Stir in half the salsa and cook until heat through, about 1 minute.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the remaining salsa and sour cream.

Divide the lettuce, chips, turkey mixture, beans, avocado, Cheddar, and olives (if using) among bowls. Serve with the salsa-and-sour-cream dressing.