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.

Gluten Free Tabbouleh

This was another dish I decided to take to the BBQ/Housewarming we went to on Saturday. Super easy to put together and the final dish is quite tasty. You can eat it as just a side dish or get yourself some pitas and eat it with that.

1 cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions

1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

5 green onions, finely chopped

2 cups small grape tomatoes, halved

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded, thinly sliced

Juice of 1 to 2 lemons, more to taste

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients together in a large serving bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Serve room temperature or chilled.

Chocolate Meringue Cookies

I went to a BBQ/Housewarming party yesterday and decided to take these tasty little treats. For one, they're gluten free which makes them perfect for people on a gluten free diet, and two, they're really easy to make! And quite delicious I might add. I decided to scale the recipe up to 24 servings so below are the following measurements I used. I also decided to pulverize the sugar in a food processor to make it really fine. I then put the chocolate chips in the food processor and made them almost like chocolate crumbs. Mmmmmmmmm, chocolate in every bite.

4 egg whites
1/8 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup and 2 tbsp. and 1 tsp. white sugar
1 tbsp. and 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup and 3 tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Combine egg whites, cream of tartar and vanilla. Beat until the whites form soft peaks. Slowly add sugar; beat until stiff peaks form and mixture becomes glossy. Fold in cocoa and chocolate chips.

Drop mixture by teaspoonfuls on to a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Lemon Spaghetti

I needed a side dish to go with the Garlicky Baked shrimp I made and I came across this. It was quick and I had all the ingredients on hand. Well, almost. I used parsley instead of basil. And I didn't use the full 1/2 cup of lemon juice either. I ended up using 2 lemons which gave me about 1/3 cup of juice. It was the perfect amount. Anymore and I think it would have been too sour.

1 pound spaghetti - I used Ronzoni whole wheat spaghetti
2/3 cup olive oil
2/3 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, about three lemons (I used two)
salt and pepper
1 tbsp. lemon zest
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (I used parsley)

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk the oil, Parmesan and lemon juice in a large bowl to blend.

Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the lemon sauce and the reserved cooking liquid, adding 1/4 cup at a time as needed to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with lemon zest and chopped basil/parsley (I added these to the sauce and blended them all together beforehand).

Garlicky Baked Shrimp

Another day, another shrimp dish. I love cooking with shrimp, you can throw together a dish pretty quickly. And Saturday I wanted something quick since we were painting and trying to get more stuff organized at the house. I found this on the Real Simple website.

1 pound raw, peeled and deveined medium or large shrimp
4 cloves sliced garlic
2 tbsp. white wine
salt and pepper
1/4 cup softened butter (I used half butter and half olive oil)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs (I used whatever bread crumbs I had in the cupboard and I had to use more than 1/4 cup to get the consistency I wanted)
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

In a baking dish, combine the shrimp, garlic and white wine. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with a mixture of the butter/olive oil, bread crumbs and parsley.

Bake at 425 degrees F until shrimp are opaque, 15-18 minutes.

Banana-(Walnut) Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I made these last weekend and they are officially the first thing I baked in the new house. What a joy with so much more counter space. I left the walnuts out because 1.) I didn't have any and 2.) I really just prefer things without nuts. I also used milk chocolate chips instead of the semisweet chocolate chunks. They were still delicious!

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
8 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4 inch chunks

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate and walnuts (optional).

Using a 1-1/2 inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway though, until golden brown and just set, 12-13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.