Faithy's Favorite Red, White & Blue Salad

Just thought I'd share this quick & easy salad recipe in case you're looking for something healthy and delicious for the 4th of July. 

Ingredients:
--salad greens (I used a mix of red leaf lettuce, spring mix and spinach - but just use whatever you like!)
--fresh blueberries & raspberries (you could also use strawberries or even watermelon)
--crumbled feta cheese
--sugared nuts (This time I used store-bought sweet & spicy pumpkin seeds with black pepper, but you could also use sugared pecans or walnuts or even almonds.  I like to just dump some in a pan with sugar and seasoned salt, and stir them over low to medium heat until the sugar is melted and coats the nuts.  The you just spread them on parchment paper to cool, and break them up before using.)

Just toss everything together and serve in a clear glass or plastic bowl.  I generally serve it with poppy seed dressing and/or raspberry vinaigrette on the side.  (It stays fresh much longer if you don't "dress" the salad before serving.)

"Dressed" Salad

Quick, easy & delicious!

Happy 4th y'all!!
Blessings,
--Faithy 

Individual Blueberry-Buttermilk Breakfast Cakes

HOWDY!  How in the world is everyone?  Sorry I’ve been away so long…life is busy as always.  I have continued trying new recipes, but just haven’t had time to blog about them lately.  Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to post some of them soon.  I’ll start with this yummy breakfast cake that I made into individual muffin-sized servings rather than a regular full-sized cake.

I found the original recipe on a wonderful blog I recently came across called Alexandra’s Kitchen.  She calls it Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake, and it’s absolutely delicious.  It’s very versatile, quick and easy, and works well in either muffin or cake form.

I’m posting my version of the recipe (with a few minor changes), but you’ll want to try it Alexandra’s way as well.  And while you’re checking out this recipe, be sure to browse around through Alexandra’s other recipes…you’ll find plenty of yummy things to try.

Anyway…here’s my version.  Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

Individual Blueberry-Buttermilk Breakfast Cakes

Ingredients

For batter:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon

7/8 cup sugar (3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons)

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. lemon juice

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (set aside 1/4 cup to toss with the blueberries)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 cup buttermilk

For Topping (this is optional, but it adds a delicious lemony-crunchy-sweet texture):

1 to 2 Tbsp. Turbinado sugar (I use granulated Sugar in the Raw)

1 tsp. lemon zest

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Cream butter with lemon zest and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg, vanilla and lemon juice and beat until combined.  Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with 1/4 cup of the all-purpose flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk.  Fold in the blueberries.  Mix turbinado sugar with 1 tsp. lemon zest and set aside.

Scoop or spoon batter into greased muffin tins (my large cookie scoop is the perfect size for this) or spread into a greased 9-inch square baking pan.  (Greasing the pans with butter adds a yummy buttery flavor, but non-stick cooking spray will work fine as well.)

Sprinkle muffins (or cake batter) with Turbinado sugar/lemon zest mixture, and bake for 25 to 35 minutes.  (NOTE:  If you are making a cake rather than muffins, it may take a few minutes longer to cook.)  Use a toothpick or metal tester to check for doneness, when it comes out clean, Your muffins are done!

I let them set in the pan for about 3 to 5 minutes, and then remove them to a wire rack to cool for another 5 minutes or so before serving.  If you make the cake, there’s no need to remove it from the pan, but you’ll want to let it cool at least 15 minutes before sampling.  Those blueberries get HOT!  (Not that I would know that from experience.)

Since this is a cake batter, these muffins are very light textured and delicious.  You’ll want to make them more than once!  They also freeze well if (despite them temptation) you can’t eat them all in one sitting.

I didn’t write it down, so I may be mistaken on this, but I think this recipe made about 15 regular muffins.

Once you’ve tried it, be sure to stroll through Alexandra’s Kitchen, and while you’re there, say howdy and tell her Faithy sent you!

Blessings,

--Faithy

P.S.  Hope to be back with some more recipes soon.

Banana-Blueberry-Chip Muffins

HOWDY!  Just have a split second to post, but I wanted to share a quick variation on one of my previous recipes...Choco-Cran-Ban Muffins.  

This time, I used the same basic recipe, but...but substituted fresh blueberries for the cranberries.  I also added a little lemon zest to the batter.

I made some with and some without the mini chocolate chips. Both are delish!

They're also good without the fruit...just banana chocolate chip...soooooooo good.  You really should try 'em.

Thanks again to Abby over at Manila Spoon for sharing the original recipe. 

Gotta run...

Blessings,

--Faithy

Quick & Easy Blueberry Muffins

HOWDY friends.  I’m lovin’ the cooler weather this weekend, how ‘bout y’all!  I had some fresh blueberries in the fridge that really needed to be used, so I decided to look through some of my cookbooks for a quick & easy new recipe to try.

I found one in an old cookbook (copyright 1985) called MUFFINS, Nut breads and More by Barbara Kanerva Kyte & Katherine Hayes Greenberg.  The book was published as A Nitty Gritty Cookbook by Bristol Publishing Enterprises, Inc.  I had trouble locating the publishing company online to get permission to print the recipe, so I hope this will give them proper credit. The recipe was listed as Wholesome Sweet Muffins on pgs. 39-40.

I made few of my usual adaptations to their original recipe, so the version I’m posting is mine (with notes referring to the original).  The basic recipe in the cookbook is for a plain muffin (pg. 39), but includes ideas for several variations (including the addition of blueberries) on pg. 40.  The one they recommended was for Jam Muffins which took the basic batter and added a tsp. of jam on top of each muffin (or layered in the middle of each muffin) before baking.  That sounds pretty good too, so I may just try that one day as well.

Anyway…on to the recipe…

Quick & Easy Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour (or you could just use a total of 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour)

2-1/2 tsp. sodium free baking powder (or regular baking powder, as in the original recipe)

1/4 tsp. salt (the original recipe called for 1/2 tsp.)

1 cup fresh blueberries (you can also use frozen, just rinse & drain them first)

3/4 cup fat free (skim) milk (the original recipe called for whole milk)

1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 egg)

1/3 cup oil

1 tsp. fresh lemon zest (one of the recommended variations)

1/2 cup Whey Low Type D (or regular sugar, like the original recipe called for)

(NOTE:  The original recipe also suggested using 1/2 cup honey in place of the sugar…however, if you do that, you will need to reduce the amount of milk to 1/2 cup.)

Topping:

(optional - I always keep some of this on hand…it adds a great touch to all kinds of things!) 

1 tsp. freshly grated lemon peel (you can use dried too…whenever I grate fresh, I let the extra dry, and then keep it stored in my spice cabinet)

1 Tbsp. Sugar in the Raw (or any coarse/Turbinado sugar)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400°F, and spray a muffin pan with your favorite cooking spray.  (The original recipe recommended using paper liners.)

Whisk together flours, baking powder & salt in a large mixing bowl.  Add blueberries, and gently toss to coat with flour mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix milk, egg substitute, oil & Whey Low.  Mix well, and stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.  (Be gentle, so you don’t mush up the blueberries.)

Let stand for one to two minutes, and then fill muffin pan, each cup should be about 2/3 full.  (My large cookie scoop portioned this just right to make 12 muffins.)

Add a generous sprinkle of the topping onto each muffin, and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

ENJOY!!

VARIATIONS recommended to go with the original recipe included 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup grated, peeled apple, 1 tsp grated orange or lemon rind, 1 tsp jam (per muffin - as described above), 1 slice of banana layered in the middle of each muffin, or a basic streusel topping (recipe not included…feel free to use your own favorite).

These muffins came together very quickly, and took less than 30 minutes to make from beginning to end.  I really think the topping added a great finish.

If you’re looking for something fast, easy and delicious for breakfast…this is it!  Let me know if you try it…I’d love to hear which variations you decided on.

Have a GREAT week!

Blessings,

--Faithy

Blueberry-Zucchini Muffins

HOWDY FRIENDS!  What a beautiful day the Lord has made today.  After so much cold, yucky weather, today’s sunshine and temps in the 70’s are delightful!

Since I had a day at home (rare lately), I decided to clean out my fridge and try a new recipe…all at the same time.  I had blueberries and zucchini that definitely needed to be used…pronto…so I decided to try a recipe I found over on Abby’s Manila Spoon blog site a while back.  I kept meaning to try it, but just hadn’t found the time.  Today was the perfect occasion.

I’m currently participating in a 12-week weight-loss challenge at my office, and I didn’t want to blow it completely, so I made a few minor adaptations to Abby’s Blueberry-Zucchini Bread recipe, and came up with these muffins.  (According to MyFitnessPal.com they are about 101 calories each.)  They smelled marvelous while baking, and tasted great too.  I’ll definitely be making these again.  Thanks for the delicious recipe Abby!!

Ingredients:

1 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup Whey Low® Type D (or regular sugar or your favorite sugar substitute)

1/4 tsp salt (I always use 1/2 of what the original recipe calls for)

1 tsp sodium-free baking powder (Since I'm using some whole wheat flour which is a bit more dense, I added extra to help the batter rise.)

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg (I think nutmeg can be a bit overpowering, so I only used 1/2 of what the original recipe called for)

1/2 cup egg substitute (or 2 eggs)

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (I added this in place of some of the oil...next time I think I'll leave the oil out completely.)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1-1/2 cups grated zucchini (The original recipe called for 1 cup, but 1-1/2 cups would use up what was in my fridge, so I went with that!  It worked fine.)

1 cup blueberries

Topping (optional):

1 tsp. freshly grated lemon peel

1 Tbsp. Sugar in the Raw (or any coarse/Turbinado sugar)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine dry ingredients (flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg) in a large mixing bowl.  Whisk well. 

Toss blueberries with about 2 Tbsp. of the dry ingredient mixture in a separate small bowl.  (This will help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of your muffins.)

In a separate mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla, applesauce, oil and zucchini.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until combined.

Gently fold in the blueberries (don’t worry…if you break a few, it will just make your batter more colorful!), and spoon batter into greased (I spray mine with baking spray) muffin tins (I always use a large cookie scoop or ice cream scoop for the perfect amount of batter and MUCH less mess!  NOTE:  the way I made this recipe, it made 13 muffins.  Since my muffin pan only makes 12, I used a small ramekin for the extra batter…came out perfect!).

Mix the topping ingredients together and sprinkle generously onto the top of each muffin.

 

Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a tester/toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool for about 5 minutes in the pan and then remove them from the pan and allow them to cool the rest of the way on a wire rack.  Serve warm (but NOT right out of the oven, or those hot blueberries WILL burn your mouth!...Don’t ask me how I know this, hee, hee…).  My husband like to add butter to his, but I enjoy them just the way they are.  To me, a great muffin doesn’t need any accompaniment!

Well…gotta get busy on this beautiful day.  Lots to do here in Zig Zag.  Be sure to give these muffins (or Abby’s original Blueberry-Zucchini Bread recipe) a try.  You won’t regret it!  And be sure to stop by Manila Spoon and check out all the other yummy recipes she has posted while you’re there.

Blessings,

--Faithy