Lemon Scented Blueberry Cupcakes

From Cookinglight.  Recommended by Britt.  Delicious, and love the frosting!


Ingredients
Cupcakes:

1 1/2 cups (about 6 3/4 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divide
10 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 large egg
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed

Frosting:

1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Fresh blueberries (optional)


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°.


Place 12 decorative paper muffin cup liners into muffin cups.

To prepare cupcakes, lightly spoon 1 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Measure 1 tablespoon flour; level with a knife. Sift together 1 1/2 cups flour plus 1 tablespoon flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Combine melted butter and egg in another large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add buttermilk, milk, and 1 teaspoon rind to butter mixture; stir with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Toss blueberries with remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Fold blueberries into batter. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, place cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon rind, vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed just until blended. Gradually add powdered sugar (do not overbeat). Stir in juice. Spread frosting evenly over cupcakes; garnish with blueberries, if desired. Store, covered, in refrigerator.

Spiced Grilled Chicken and Veggie Pockets

It has been hot hot hot here, and I can finally stomach and enjoy vegetables again, so I cooked a fresh, cool, summer dinner last night.  We really liked it, and I can't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch today.

Yes, it is a huge list of ingredients, but many are spices you already have and fresh veggies.

And this comes from a Rachel Ray cookbook.

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon  ground cinnamon
1 tbs. ground cumin
1 tbs. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
2 pounds chicken tender
1/2 cucumber, finely chopped
3 plum tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup feta cheese - I omitted this as I am pregnant
10 olives chopped - left these out too
4 green onions, chopped
1 red or yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped - I used cilantro instead cause I like it better
2 tbs. fresh dill, chopped
2 cups shredded red leaf lettuce
1 heaping tbs. Dijon mustard
2 tbs. red wine vinegar
2 tbs. olive oil
4 pita pockets
salt and pepper


Directions;

1. Preheat a grill pan or outdoor grill to high
2. in a shallow bowl, combine the yogurt, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and cilantro.  Add the chicken tenders and coat evenly in the yogurt marinade.  Marinate for 10 minutes (I did 30 min.)  Grill for about 4-5 minutes on each side, until charred at the edges and firm and cooked through.
3. While the chicken is working, in a large bowl combine the cucumbers, tomatoes, feta cheese, olives, green onions, bell peppers, carrots, parsley, dill, and shredded lettuce.
4. for the dressing, in a small bowl, combine the mustard and red wine vinegar.  In a slow, steady stream, whisk in the olive oil.
5. When you remove the chicken from the grill, place the pitas on the grill to blister and warm through.  Chop the grilled chicken into bite-size pieces and add to the veggies along with the dressing;  season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat thoroughly.  Cut the pitas in half; fill the pockets with chicken and veggies.

Broccoli Pasta

This is from my friend Ashley who is great at cheap and easy meals....

1 head of broccoli
1 box of pasta
Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil

1.  bring broccoli to boil
2.  add pasta to water and broccoli
3.  when pasta is finished,drain
4.  add parmesan cheese and olive oil

Everyone in my family gobbled it up, and it was soooo easy.

Fried Rice

Paula’s Fried Rice
(Taught to her by her mother, Lora Dee Christensen)

Ingredients:

Rice (cooked ahead and refrigerated) the amount is totally dependent on how much you want! (2 cups rice cooked in four cups of water)

Bacon (I use the grease to sauté the vegetables in, so how many slices, again, depends on how much you
want to make!)  (4-6 slices bacon)

Vegetables:

Onion, chopped into small pieces (one medium onion)
Celery, sliced at an angle thinly (two stalks celery)
Broccoli, broken into very small pieces (can be microwaved ahead and placed into the mix at the very end of the process if it is easier for you) (half cup broccoli pieces)
Green pepper (or any other color pepper!), cut into small pieces one green pepper
Carrots, grated (1 cup grated carrot)
Frozen peas (I don’t always use these, but they add a nice touch!), take them out of the freezer shortly before you are going to use them so that they don’t totally thaw out.

Meat, can be ham, chicken, turkey, shrimp, pork…… (1 cup meat OR MORE!)

Eggs, scrambled (2-4 scrambled eggs)

Soy sauce (2-4 Tablespoons)
Pepper
Canola oil

Instructions:

1) Cook the rice the night or morning before you are going to make the fried rice, if possible. This
is not necessary; it just makes the texture of the rice better in the fried rice. It will just be kind
of “mushy” if you don’t, but will still taste good!

2) Prepare the vegetables ahead of time. This is also not necessary, but makes the process MUCH more enjoyable!!! I usually get out a bunch of plastic bags and do all the vegetables ahead and have them ready earlier in the day to facilitate being able to make the rice quickly and without being frustrated later!

3) Fry the bacon to “crispy” but no further! Watch carefully so that the grease doesn’t get too cooked, because you are going to use the grease to sauté the vegetables in.

4) While the bacon is frying, cut up the meat into the size pieces you want to have in your rice.
5) When bacon is finished, take out the bacon and set aside for later use.
6) Sauté onions, celery, broccoli and green peppers until soft to degree you like them (probably about five minutes).

7) While vegetables sauté, scramble eggs in separate pan, set aside with bacon pieces.

8) Also while vegetables sauté, cut up the cooked bacon into small pieces.

9) When vegetables are done, throw in the rice and meat. Cook until rice and meat are warm.  Add the grated carrot and partially thawed peas. Cook until peas are just warm.  Add the scrambled eggs.  Add soy sauce and pepper to taste.

If the rice is dry, add some canola oil until moist to taste…a very little at a time!

CONGRATULATE YOURSELF!!!
ENJOY!!!!

Smore Cookie Bars

If you are trying to stay away from sugar these days DO NOT MAKE THESE...I reapeat...DO NOT MAKE THESE.

They are our family's new addiction. Uh-oh


Smore Cookie Bar

1 c. butter, softened
1 ¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 c. flour
2 c. mini marshmallows
1 ½ c. chocolate chips
5 graham crackers, broken

Grease 9x13 pan. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in vanilla and eggs. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Fold in marshmallows, chips and crackers. Spread into pan.

Bake 350 for 25 minutes.

Cool. Cut into bite size bars.

Tilapia with Mango Avacado Salsa

As you can tell, Danny and I love fresh tasting, flavorful meals.  Made this one with the remaining tilapia in the freezer and ingredients I had from my bi-weekly fresh produce box (along with some past experience at making mango salsas). Fresh, healthy, and delicious!  Danny rated it a 10!

3 servings:

Ingredients:
3 Tilapia fillets
sea salt
Fresh ground pepper (we love the peppercorn medley grinder you can find in the store)
lemon pepper
cumin

Salsa:
1 mango
1 avacado
1 tomato
1/4 red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
juice of 1/2 or 1 lime
1/8-1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I just eyeballed it, but that's probably how much I used)
cumin
salt

Start by preparing the mango avacado salsa.  Chop the mango, avacado, and tomato into small pieces.  Put them together in a bowl with the diced red onion, seeded and diced jalapeno, lime juice and cilantro.  Sprinkle some salt and cumin on top.  Mix gently (so you don't mash the avacado).  Let sit at least a half hour while cooking the fish for the flavors to combine.

Preheat the oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray generously with Pam.  Lay thawed tilapia fillets on sheet.  Season with sea salt, pepper, and a little lemon pepper and cumin.  Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until the tilapia is still moist but flakes with a fork.  Top each fillet with a generous heaping of mango avacado salsa, and enjoy!

P.S. That mango salsa would be delicious with chips or probably on other types of seafood or chicken. Yum!

Double Chocolate Cookies

We let Skylar choose some cookies to make in honor of her getting six stitches in her forehead today. She did a dang good job! Mom says she has a new favorite cookie, and I may have to agree with her. These cookies are delicious. I had to modify the recipe according to what we had on hand, and here is exactly what we did.

Double Chocolate Cookies (a chocolate cookie with chocolate chips)

1 bag semisweet chocolate chips

1 C all purpose flour

1/4 C cocoa powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

5 Tb butter, at room temperature

3/4 C packed brown sugar

1/4 C white sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Divide the bag of chocolate chips in half. Melt half of them in the microwave at level 7 heat, however you do this in your microwave. I plug 1:00 in my microwave and push "power level," hit 7 and then push start. Then I stir the chocolate chips and repeat the process in 10-15 second segments until the chocolate is smooth.

Set the chocolate aside. Mix butter with sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and continue to mix well. Add melted chocolate, stir.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until well mixed. Mix in remaining chocolate chips. let dough sit for 45 minutes in order to let melted chocolate cool in the dough. While you are waiting, preheat the oven to 350. Bake the cookies for 8 minutes. They will harden a little while cooling so do not over cook. Let cool for at least five minutes and enjoy!

Hope you like these as much as we did!