'Blown Away' Blueberry Muffins

I saw the recipe for these on pinterest earlier this week and have been CRAVING them ever since. I was actually in a really bad mood on Tuesday because I knew I wouldn't have any time to bake them until Friday (today!).

Well, with my calculus exam behind me and a fun weekend ahead of me - I figured it was time to make these :) And they more than fulfiled my expectations!!

Definitely give these a shot for breakfast some morning - you won't be disappointed!

Blueberry Muffins 

Recipe Adapted from Gourmet

Makes 12 Muffins (seriously! It makes an even dozen! when does a recipe ever make an even dozen???)

For Muffins:

1 cup All purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. grated lemon zest

1 large egg

1/2 cup nonfat milk

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries (about 7 ounces)

For topping:

1 tsp. turbinado sugar

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter muffin pan or use paper liners. 

-Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, then whisk in zest.

-Whisk egg in another bowl, then whisk in milk and butter. Add to dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined (batter will be dense). Fold in blueberries. Divide batter amount muffin cups.

-Stir together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over batter in cups.

- Bake until a wooden pick inserted into center of muffins comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Serve at warm or room temp. 

Pumpkin Pie Dip

This dip is REALLY good! And it's healthy too! I whipped this up last night in our suite (so easy too because it doesn't require any cooking and so I can do the whole thing in my room!) and now it is going to be a great little treat to have in the fridge all week. Eat it with apples, pita bread, carrots, crackers... anything!

Pumpkin Pie Dip
Recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff
Makes about 6 cups (12 servings). Mine made two of the tupperwares in the picture above.

Ingredients:

15 oz can pumpkin
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
6 oz. fat free Greek yogurt
8 oz. Cool Whip (fat-free)
apples, bananas, crackers, cookies...

Mix pumpkin with brown sugar, vanilla and spices, blend well. Mix in yogurt. Fold in coolwhip and chill in refrigerator until ready to eat.

Snickerdoodle Cake!

This cake was awesome! It was our first baking attempt of the year - it's definitely going to be interesting with no easily accessible kitchen! We made up the batter in our room and then ran it down to the kitchen next door to bake it... worked just fine! I see a lot of "no bake" items in our future though!

Okay so this Snickerdoodle cake is from pinterest and the picture looked incredible! So when we were trying to figure out what to make - I kept returning to that recipe and... well pretty soon it was in progress!

Ours wasn't nearly as pretty as the one in the original link - but it sure tasted fantastic!!!

Snickerdoodle Cake
Makes 1 9/13 or 2 round cakes (to layer)
Recipe from foodwithfamily

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (we substituted with 1 1/3 cups AP flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch)
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
2 sticks butter, softened to room temp.
1 3/4 cups fine or superfine sugar (we just used regular)
4 large eggs, room temp.
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole milk, warmed to room temp.

For the buttercream: (we made this up because we didn't have enough butter but it was still really good so i'll share it with you. Find the directions to the original recipe in the link above)
1 stick of butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 Tbs ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
These are REALLY rough estimates. We really just eyeballed it until it tasted/looked good :)

To Bake the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 235. Butter and flour your pan(s) (tip is to use the butter wrappers from the butter you're about to use!)

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy and pale in color.

Beat the eggs in one at a time, fully incorporating each egg and scraping down the bowl in between each addition. Beat in vanilla.

Add about 1/3 of the milk, beat to incorporate, then 1/3 of the flour mixture, again beating to incorporate.

Repeat this process, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until all of the milk and flour are mixed in evenly - starting and ending with the dry ingredients.

Pour the batter into the bans and bake, rotating midway through, for about 35 minutes (we did 40) or until it tests done.

Let the cakes cool in the pan on a rack for 5 minutes before turning onto the racks to finish cooling.

To Make the Buttercream:

Beat together butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat. Add milk to desired consistency.

Frost and you're good to go!

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

I've made several batches of ice cream this summer with my new Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker :) And it's been awesome! Molly Moon's Ice Cream is my favorite ice creamery in the Seattle area and they came out with a cookbook this year. It's got some fantastic recipes in it and I have love recreating them! I'm not going to give out the recipes in the book because I want to support this local business and make you buy the book! 

However, I tried a frozen yogurt recipe from pinterest last week and it was great! So here it is!

Blueberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt 

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

Makes about 1 quart

3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used fresh)

3 Tbsp lemon juice 

3/4 cup to 1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet your blueberries are, and how sweet you want the result to be) - I did 3/4 cups because my blueberries were fresh and sweet!

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups full fat plain yogurt (full fat yogurt is preferred, if you are use low-fat or non-fat yogurt, substitute 1/4 cup of it with heavy whipping cream - which is what I did)

1/2 cup whole milk

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Place the blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Heat on medium heat, stirring, until all of the sugar has dissolved. While the mixture is heating, use a potato masher to mash up the blueberries. When all of the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the yogurt and milk until completely incorporated. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for several hours (or overnight) until completely cold. 

3. Process the blueberry yogurt mixture in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions (usually about 25 minutes). In the last 5 minutes, add the chocolate chips. Let firm up a bit by freezing it for several hours. 

Corn, Zucchini, Green Chilies and Lime Salad

A couple weeks ago, Tom made his delicous chicken tacos (recipe to come at a future date!) and put me in charge of a side dish. I found this recipe via pinterest and it looked good so we went for it!

And boy was it good! The flavor was such a fantastic mix with the sweet summer corn, lime, garlic, cilantro... It definitely has a kick to it though so beware of how much of the jalapeno you put in :)

Corn, Zucchini, Green Chili and Lime Salad

Recipe adapted from gluten-free goddess recipes

Serves 6 

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 smallish zucchini squash, sliced into half moons

3 ears of fresh corn, kernels sliced off

3 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded, diced

1/2 cup roasted mild green chile, chopped

4 oz. chopped jalapenos

4-5 cloves fresh peeled garlic, chopped

Sea salt, to taste 

Lemon pepper, to taste 

2-3 good pinches of ground cumin

A drizzle of raw agave sweetener

Juice from 1 fresh large lime (more juice or water, if needed)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Lim wedges for serving

Prepare all ingredients (chop, slice, etc). Do it now, because it all comes together fast and you need to be ready!

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and saute the squash for three to four minutes, until it starts to turn a bit golden. 

Add the corn, tomatoes, green chile, jalapenos, garlic, sea salt, lemon pepper, cumin, a drizzle of raw agave, and lime juice; stir to combine.

Cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until the veggies are tender-crisp. Add more liquid if needed.

To serve, stir in the fresh cilantro. Top with lime wedges. 

Blueberry Buttermilk Scones

Sorry it's been a couple weeks since my last post! Life has been busy and blogging has been put on the back burner!

Spence has been requesting these for awhile now and this morning I finally made them! I got the recipe from a friend in high school and have been making them ever since! They are the best scones I have ever had!!!

Blueberry Buttermilk Scones
Makes 6-8 scones

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup buttermillk
1/3 cup melted butter
blueberries
sugar in bowl

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in buttermilk and butter - just until evenly moistened.

Spray a cooking sheet (I do not recommend using a silicone mat for this recipe). Grab a mound of dough (about 1/3 cup) and press 6-7 berries into the dough - poking some into the very middle and leaving some visible on the outside. Roll in sugar and place on a cooking sheet. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

hint: do not smooth out dough of scone - leave it for a more natural look :)

Rotini with Chicken, Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

Pasta sounded really good tonight and spence gave me the go-ahead to try this recipe!

This is similar to the Brown Butter Chicken Penne that I made a month or so ago... but with the asparagus and the balsamic...mmmhhmmm! A delicious new twist!

Rotini with Chicken, Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

(Adapted from Food and Wine)

Serves 4

1 pound asparagus

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 pound rotini pasta

1 stick butter, cut into pieces

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the spears into 1-inch pieces. Put the asparagus on a baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel, then toss with salt, pepper and paprika. Add to the skillet and brown on all sides, cooking for about 8-10 minutes. Remove and set aside in a bowl. 

3. While the asparagus and chicken are cooking, put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer until 3 tablespoons remain. This will take 10 minutes or so and you can start the water boiling for the pasta at this time. When there is about 3 tablespoons of vinegar left, stir in the brown sugar and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Remove from the heat. 

4. Cook the rotini in a large pot of boiling, salted water until just done - according to the package. Drain the pasta and toss with the butter, vinegar, Parmesan, asparagus, chicken and the remaining 1 3/4 teaspoon salt. Serve with additional Parmesan.