Tuesdays With Dorie--Blueberry Crumb Cake

I finally did it--joined a blogging/baking group. I have been a follower of TWD for a year, I love the cookbook and the awesome bloggers that bring this book to life each Tuesday. So todays recipe was chosen by Sihan check her blog for details. This Blueberry Crumb Cake was delicious! I love blueberries and have numerous recipes that include this delicious berry. But I think this recipe 'takes the cake' or crumb cake for that matter. It was everything that Miss Dorie promised. I wanted to share this treat so I made 16 crumb cake muffins. I tried some with shiny foil liners and some in my greased stoneware muffin pans. Both were yummy and perfect for sharing.


I used frozen berries--fresh are still pricey and a bit wilted in our neighborhood. Frozen berries worked great. I tossed the frozen berries with flour just before adding them to my batter. This prevents the berries from sinking. Mixing frozen berries also keeps the 'blue streaking' to a minimum. This recipe is my new 'go to' blueberry treat!

Mini Almond Cheesecake--A Bite of Wonderful!

I'm a sucker for those cute little cookbook/magazines you find near every grocery checkout. This little gem was entitled, "Great Cheesecakes" it was published by Betty Crocker. The photography was great and the book boasted 30 most popular cheesecake recipes. It was mine! Several of the recipes will be tested for sure. I love cheesecake! But I needed a bite size treat for a dinner party so I knew

Mini Almond Cheesecakes would be perfect--and they did not disappoint! Just a bite of wonderful I would say.

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted and ground

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/3 cup sour cream

2 Tablespoons powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Grease 24 mini muffin pans. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon ground almonds into each cup. Gently shake to coat bottom and sides of cups with almonds (do not shake out excess nuts).

Combine cream cheese and sugar. Beat with electric mixer until smooth . Add egg and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and almond extract. Beat on low speed till just combined. Spoon mixture in muffin cups filling each 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 for 18 minutes or till golden. Cool in pans. Carefully remove from muffin cups.

For topping combine powdered sugar, sour cream and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Spoon topping on cheese cakes and garnish with almonds just before serving.

Everyone Loves Quiche

Crustless Ham and Artichoke Quiche

Saute' 1/4 pound sliced mushrooms in a little butter or EVOO, drain

Add to:
4 eggs, well beaten
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 cup cottage cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 drops Tabasco
1 ½ cups shredded cheese, I like pepper jack or sharp cheddar
¾ cup artichoke hearts, diced
1 cup diced ham

Pour in a greased 10 inch quiche pan. Bake 350 35-45 minutes till golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm or cold with diced tomatoes or fresh salsa. This is another great recipe from Judi Sears. It is perfect for weekend brunch, leftovers (if you have them--and we do now there are just two of us) make a great lunch. This recipe is in my 'most requested' file. Enjoy!

Sunday Morning Muffins

There is something about Sunday Morning and muffins--they just go together! Nothing like a sweet rich treat to start your Sunday. Lemon and poppy seeds are a great combo. Enjoy!!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
2/3 cup sugar
Grated zest and juice from 1 lemon
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. In another bowl whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and butter. Pour liquid mixture over the dry ingredients. Add poppy seeds and mix gently with rubber spatula to blend. Do not over mix—there may still be lumps.
Bake in muffin tins that have been sprayed with Pam. 400 degrees for about 18 minutes.
Cool for 5 minutes then remove from tins. Cool and glaze or frost! I like to make a cream cheese lemon frosting.
Recipe is from my favorite cookbook, ‘Baking: from my home to yours’ by Dorie Greenspan

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Think Spring!

With a knock on the door Spring arrived at the Harris Home. I opened the door to greet Pam my 'flower lady'.

I first met Pam when Dad passed away. We wanted beautiful bright flowers for Dads funeral and Pam delivered! Since then Pam has been my official 'flower lady'. Her beautiful bouquets have brightened weddings, funerals, birthdays, hospital rooms etc. I love fresh flowers, they make life a little better.

So....I was surprised to see Pam at my door with a breath of spring. I opened the card and read, "Think Spring!", (there were 4 inches of snow on the ground Tuesday when she arrived).

Thank you Amber, you made my day!

Yogurt Creme

I came across this recipe on one of my favorite blogs Pioneer Woman. It really is so simple I can hardly call it a recipe but it is delicious all the same! Just thin plain yogurt with a little cream, sprinkle with brown sugar, cover tightly and it will make it's magic as it sits in the fridge overnight. In the morning stir and drizzle over blueberries (I'm using frozen today) and top with Judi's yummy granola. Now that is a breakfast worth getting up for! Pioneer Woman has quantities on her blog but I used less brown sugar because my granola is quite sweet. I also used less cream--I like thick yogurt! Have fun, you can't go wrong.

Judi's Granola

I like to pretend I'm eating healthy when I eat granola--I mean it is full of oats, raw cashews, almonds, dried cherries. All ingredients that should make for a very nutritious breakfast or snack. But something happens when I add a pound of melted butter.....It turns into the most delicious treat you have ever eaten!! Try this granola recipe, there will never be another. The recipe came from Judi, again. I think she had to beg a chef, who will remain nameless on this blog unless Judi wants to tell. However I have made a few changes.

Judi's Granola

7½ cups rolled oats
2 cups sliced or slivered almonds
1 ½ cups raw cashews

1/2 pound butter, unsalted

2/3 cup honey

1 ¼ cup brown sugar
1 t. nutmeg, ground

1 t. cinnamon, ground

6 oz. dried cherries

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a very large bowl. Melt together the next 5 ingredients while whisking. It should just come to the boil. Pour over the oat mixture and toss around until all oats and nuts are coated. Disperse onto sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees, tossing the mixture ensuring even baking. Stir after 15 minutes, cook 3 more minutes and stir, cook one more minute and remove from oven. Granola should just begin to brown. It will get darker as it sits. Don’t overcook it will still be good but too hard.When the granola has reached desired color, dump the granola onto a counter and toss a few times during its cooling time.When the granola has cooled, sprinkle on the dried cheeries, toss and put into a container. Cover and place in the pantry.

Thai Chicken Salad

My good friend Judi just stopped by, we go back about 25 years, yes we are getting old!! Years ago we enjoyed monthly scrapbook retreats. We did a little scrapping but the friends and the food are what made these retreats wonderful. We talked for hours about our children (then toddlers and rowdy teens), our joys and struggles as parents. We shared advice, photos and recipes. I looked forward all month to this mini vacation--it seemed to be 'just what the doctor ordered'. Back to the purpose of this ramble...Judi is a great cook. One summer retreat she brought 'Thai Chicken Salad', I fell in love and have been making it ever since.

Thai Chicken Salad

Peanut Ginger Dressing
Combine following ingredients in a blender or food processor:
1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup fresh cilantro
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon molasses
1 Tablespoon hot sauce
2 teaspoons grated ginger root
2 teaspoons soy sauce
Grill 2 chicken breasts, slice and pour 3Tablespoons of the Peanut Ginger Dressing over meat—refrigerate. Cook 6 ounces thin spaghetti, drain and add 3-6 Tablespoons of Peanut Ginger Dressing. Chill. Arrange on a large platter: chopped romaine, shredded Chinese cabbage (Napa), 2 shredded carrots, sliced red pepper, cucumber and ¼ cup chopped cilantro. Top with chilled pasta, grilled chicken and a sprinkle of chopped dry roasted peanuts. Serve with additional dressing.

When my children came home from their missions they would always want to go to Taco Amigo and get a bean burrito and then have Thai Chicken Salad for dinner! It is a bit labor intensive but it feeds a crowd and is good the next day. I always double the dressing ingredients—it is so tasty!
Try it—it could become a family favorite!

Chocolate Cupcakes and Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting

Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes

I was in need of a quick treat for Greg to take to scouts--I'm always looking for a reason to make a chocolate morsel and 11 year old boys usually are game. Time was short and I had a bowl of chocolate frosting in the fridge. We were out of graham crackers.

I really have nothing against cake mixes, used them for years. But I'm getting to be a chocolate snob in my old age and I really don't know what is in that little red box! I also did not want 36 cupcakes to dispose of so... Dorie Greenspan to the rescue (again). Her Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes did not disappoint! I had everything and the recipe made 12 cupcakes--perfect!

1 cup flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter, room temp

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Whisk together the dry ingredients.

In a large bowl beat the butter till soft and creamy. Add sugar and beat 2 minutes, add egg and egg yolk beating for 1 minute after each addition, add vanilla. Slowly add half the dry ingredients mixing just till moistened, add buttermilk mixing until incorporated. Scrape down bowl and mix in remaining dry ingredients. Add melted chocolate and mix with rubber scraper. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups lined with papers (I like the cute foil liners).

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. The tops will be dry and springy! Cool before frosting (this means quickly putting them in the freezer for 10 minutes--always in a hurry).

The Best Chocolate Frosting Ever

This is the only chocolate frosting you will ever need, it's that good. It is yummy on brownies, cake, cupcakes and graham crackers too! And it is easy, Daurene wrote on my Facebook Wall that she liked easy recipes--so this one is for you Daurene!

1 cup semi sweet chocolate pieces that's about 6 ounces. I like Ghirardelli. If I can't find Ghirardelli chocolate chips I will chop up a semi-sweet baking bar. Please don't cheat and use milk chocolate or cheap chocolate--you can, it just won't be wonderful!

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup sour cream

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat or in the micro--watch carefully as it scorches easily. In my old age I can't multi-task. So when I melt chocolate, I melt chocolate! Sad but true, now I am telling family secrets. Let mixture cool for a few minutes then add sour cream, I can however measure the sour cream and powdered sugar while the chocolate is cooling, so I guess all is not lost. Gradually add powdered sugar and beat till smooth. It's delicious! This would probably make enough for 24 cupcakes.

Pizza Madness

The pizza madness started on a visit to Chicago. Our daughter Amber and hubby Tadd would have 'pizza night', we started early in preparation for the work ahead. We chopped, diced, sliced and shredded. We kneaded dough and Tadd made a yummy fragrant sauce. The oven was torched to 500 and the fun began!! We rolled--some tossed and all made their own pizza. It was a fun night that stretched for hours, the pizza was the activity. No one kept track of how many pizzas we made and ate, after all they are small....each creation was as unique as its creator. Amber and Tadd brought Pizza night to Utah. I think Tadd cooked pizza for about 4 hours one night at Grammy's. We had a crowd of hungry cousins! Pizza night continues at the Linderman home, the Springers have a new pizza tradition thanks to Amber and I have even scaled back the recipe so it can be made by a couple of empty nesters. Anyway you make it it's delicious. Use the freshest ingredients available, fresh basil is a must, a little bit of fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano will go along way. Have fun with this recipe---make it a family affair!
Here is the scaled down version, it makes about 6 small pizzas. I make my dough in my food processor:

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

2 teaspoons yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

3/4 cup lukewarm tap water

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

Put everything but liquid in food processor bowl and whirl. Using dough hook slowly pour in water and oil, let mix about 1 minute. Put in oiled bowl, cover and let rise about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 525 with a baking stone inside. Let the oven preheat for at least 30 minutes.

On a pizza peel flatten about 1/6 of the dough on a piece of parchment paper. Make the dough as thick or thin as you like--we like ours very thin!!

Top with sauce, sprinkle with cheese and toppings.

Slide the pizza from the peel into the hot oven and bake about 8-10 minutes.
Sprinkle hot pizza with chiffonade (thinly sliced) basil. Cool a moment--it's hot

Tadd's Pizza Sauce

1 28 ounce CRUSHED Tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

2 T olive oil

Saute garlic in oil till fragrant, add sauce, 1/2 tsp salt and fresh pepper. Simmer 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings, may add some basil or a little sugar. This is a great easy sauce.

Jill's Easy Sauce

1 small can tomato paste

1 small can water

1-2 Tablespoons Pampered Chef Italian Seasoning

a little sugar, stir all together and it's ready to use!

Surprise Cookies

My daughter Amber was kind enough to send me the Martha Stewart's Cookies Cookbook. I love cookbooks, I read them like novels! This is a great cookbook it has beautiful photography, fun packaging ideas and great recipes.
Put it on your birthday or Mothers Day wish list. My kids love it when I have a wish list--then they don't have to hack into my Amazon or Endless shopping cart!
Enough chatter, great recipe, I did make a few adjustments for altitude--as I am baking at 5000 feet.

Surprise Cookies
1 ¾ cup flour (add 2 tablespoons for high altitude)
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
½ cup butter (room temp)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
½ cup whole milk
1 t. vanilla
About 15 large marshmallows halved crosswise

1. Stir flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in bowl
2. Mix butter and sugar until fluffy (about two min). Add egg, milk, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined
3. Using a 1 ¾ inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper
4. Bake on 375 for 8-10 minutes
5. Immediately press marshmallow halves on top of each cookie and bake 1 more minute
6. Frost cooled cookies with one tablespoon of frosting.
7. Store in air tight containers (if you have any left!!)

Frosting:
4 cups powdered sugar
6 T. butter
¼ cup cocoa powder
6 T. milk
¾ t vanilla
Melt butter and cocoa. Add to powdered sugar. Whisk in milk and vanilla.
*Adapted from ‘Martha Stewarts Cookies’
Printable Recipe

Wedding Chicken

One year for Christmas we put together a small family cookbook; everyone was to submit their favorite recipes. Wedding Chicken was submitted by most everyone--it is that good! Candise had it at a wedding luncheon, hence the name, "Wedding Chicken".

When I think of 'comfort food' this recipe fits the bill. Max loved it so much that he would hurry home from school during lunch and have a big plate.

Wedding Chicken comes together quickly, I would put it in my 30-minute meal category. It is delicious over brown rice, white rice, noodles or Max's favorite mashed potatoes. Yes, this has comfort written all over it! Now Max is on a mission we do have a leftover problem!!

WEDDING CHICKEN 

5-6 chicken tenders (purchased at Costco) cut in 1/2 inch cubes
3 tablespoons flour
3 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
Combine in a plastic bag and coat chicken.
2-3 Tablespoons butter
3/4 cup chopped onion
4 ounces sliced mushrooms
2 garlic cloves—minced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Melt butter, add coated chicken and sauté until brown. Add onions, mushrooms and garlic; sauté about 3 minutes. Add broth, bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes until chicken is cooked and sauce is slightly thickened. Remove from heat and add sour cream. Add additional broth if needed for desired thickness. Garnish with parsley.
Serve over rice, noodles or potatoes.
Edited to make 4 portions.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

It is still winter in Utah but the Strawberries at the grocery store remind me that spring has to be on its way! My favorite springy salad comes from a Pampered Chef Cookbook (unavailable). I have modified the original recipe a bit and it is delicious!

STRAWBERRY SPINACH SALAD

Dressing: 1 teaspoon lemon zest, 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice. Mix zest and juice with 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds. Refrigerate.

Salad: ¼ cup toasted almond slices ( I used sugared almonds), 2 cups sliced strawberries, 1 medium sliced cucumber, ¼ cup sliced red onion and 1 pkg. baby spinach (6 ounces.) Mix all salad ingredients and toss with dressing just before serving. This yummy salad is low in fat and high in taste. You will love it!

To make sugared almonds mix together 1 cup desired nut and ¼ cup sugar, cook over medium/high heat stirring constantly. Sugar will melt and caramelize, watch closely, pour on buttered plate, separate while hot.

Linked to That Skinny Chick Can Bake Blog Hop--SaladsGreenLove

It is official--I am a blogger!

What better way to start a blog than with Dorie Greenspan's Perfect Party Cake. This recipe comes from my new favorite cookbook;

Baking, From My Home to Yours.

This cookbook is a keeper! I have used it over and over and am glad I own it! I even had a question about one of the recipes and the author, Dorie, answered my e-mail!

So here is 'The Perfect Party Cake'! We are celebrating my sweet mother-in-laws birthday today and she does deserve the Perfect Party Cake!

Happy Birthday Geneel!

This Party Cake combines layers of delicious lemon cake, raspberry filling and yummy Swiss Meringue Butter Cream. It is heavenly. This recipe alone is worth the price of the book. So hop on over to Amazon and order this great cookbook--while you are waiting just google 'Perfect Party Cake' and you will find the detailed recipe.

Trust me on this one!