February 24, 2011

Strawberry Crumb Bars

strawberry crumb bars

If I’m good for one thing, it’s finding a way to justify sinful foods. Ice cream? Calcium. Oatmeal cookie? Fiber! And raisins. It’s practically breakfast. Cake? Duh. It’s cake. Enough said.

I’m great at taking a healthy food concept and turning it upside down into a kick ass butt dessert. For instance, this jar of preserves I was given at work a few weeks ago (My company has this awesome program where each month they partner with a local farm/store and provide every employee with a locally grown food item. It’s awesome. Especially when my co-workers give me their shares too. Bonus!) Along with this jar came a delicious-sounding healthy recipe for something like salad dressing.

Naturally I opened the jar and dipped my finger in to taste it immediately upon arriving at home (wouldn’t you?). My husband proclaimed this awesome jar of preserves was begging to be made into the best PB&J ever. Rebecca decided it was made for toast. Me? I, of course, went strait for the dessert option.

A very small part of me felt bad for not making a healthy recipe, as is the intention of giving us local foods. Then I got over it and ate a 2nd bar.

raspberry crumb bars 2

One Year Ago
Mushroom Risotto

Two Years Ago
Sesame Chicken


Strawberry Crumb Bars
printable recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (or almonds or walnuts)
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 12 pieces
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup strawberry preserves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9×9 glass pan with parchment paper, leaving enough paper to hang over the edges slightly. Lightly spray the parchment with spray oil.

In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the flour, oats, sugars, baking soda, salt and nuts.

With the mixer on low speed, add the butter and vanilla and beat until well-combined. The mixture should look a bit like wet sand.

Press two-thirds of the batter into the prepared pan. Make sure it spreads evenly to the edges and corners of the pan.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until just golden. Remove from the oven and spread the preserves evenly over the top of the crust.

Sprinkle the remaining dough on top of the preserves and bake, rotating the pan 180* half-way through the baking time, for an additional 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool completely on a wire rack. To remove from the pan pull up gently on the parchment paper flaps. Slice into squares.

Source: Slightly adapted from Baking Illustrated

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January 31, 2011

Double Berry Muffins

double berry muffin

The very first time I made these muffins, intending on only making a great blueberry muffin, I hit a bit of a bump in the road. I was measuring out the blueberries and got to the bottom of the bag (I always use frozen. I live in Michigan and the fresh berry season is depressingly short, and I’m not about to fork out $10 for imported “fresh” berries to put in muffins. Plus? Handy. They’re always in the freezer when I need them.) when suddenly the bag was empty and my measuring cup was not yet full. Sorting through the freezer I didn’t find any other blueberries (Ok, so maybe they’re not always on hand) but I did come up with a bag of raspberries. Shrugging and hoping for the best I topped off the measuring cup with raspberries and mixed them in. I waited patiently for the muffins to cool the requisite amount without burning the living crap out of my mouth a few seconds before giving them a taste. Heaven. Something about the combination of the blueberry and the raspberry make these soar. And I’m not one to be stingy with berries. A berry for every bite!

The thing I like most about these is that, at least for me, the ingredients are all things I have on hand all the time. And if not, change it up! Don’t have raspberries? Do only blueberries? Only have raspberries? Ditto! Don’t have either berry, only have turnips? Well… you might want to think about making something else for now. And if you don’t have buttermilk, make your own “butter”milk. Put a cup of milk in a small bowl. Remove a tablespoon of the milk and add a tablespoon of white vinegar. Stir it around a bit and let sit for about 5 minutes or until it is thickened. Ta-da! Instant buttermilk!

Double Berry (blueberry & raspberry) Coffee Cake Muffins
printable recipe
makes 24 muffins

Ingredients:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups each, frozen blueberries and raspberries.

Directions:
Prepare 2 muffin pans with paper liners and set aside. Pre-heat oven to 350.

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the vanilla, buttermilk & Greek yogurt to the bowl and beat to combine until smooth.

In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gradually mix into the butter mixture until just combined.

Using a rubber spatula gently stir the frozen berries into the batter until evenly dispersed. Quickly scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Gently lift the muffins from the pans and place back on the wire rack to let cool completely.

Source: Laura’s Recipe Collection original

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Filed under breakfast, Laura's Recipe Collection Original Recipe, muffins, Snack

January 24, 2011

Baked Potato Soup

baked potato soup

I’ve made a few different potato soups in the past, all of them good. But for some reason when I wandered across this recipe when browsing Pennies on a Platter I just couldn’t get it out of my mind. A few days after finding this recipe I made it for dinner and let me tell you it was Heaven-sent, in so many ways. First, of course, it was delicious. But a very close second: It was super fast and easy to put together.

The night I had this scheduled I was running a bit behind schedule getting home from work and was feeling a bit frantic. I called Brian and asked him to chop some potatoes for me, and beyond that I’d deal when I got home. Maybe our kids could eat PB&J that night since there was no way soup would be done before they needed to get to bed. Right?

Wrong! About 20 minutes after I got home and got started dinner was sitting merrily on the table. Madeline, in between painting her high chair with it and giving herself a facial with it, ate almost as much soup as Brian or I did. Rebecca, confessed hater of all things potato (including French Fries. Somehow I gave birth to a child that hates French fries. Someone do DNA testing, STAT!) took her required taste and declared that she didn’t hate it. She didn’t spit it out, she didn’t complain. I’ll call that a win.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup
printable recipe

Ingredients:
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup flour
7 cups milk
4 large baking potatoes, baked, peeled and cubed (about 4 cups)
4 green onions, sliced, plus more for garnish
12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper, plus more for seasoning

Directions:
Melt the butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Stir the flour with the butter mixing until smooth. Pour the milk into the pot and stir until thick, about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and onions to the pot and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Stir in the cheese, sour cream, bacon, salt and pepper until cheese is melted and combined.

Garnish with additional bacon, sour cream and green onion if desired. Serve

Source: Pennies on a Platter

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January 21, 2011

Cheeseburger Macaroni

cheeseburger macaroni

I firmly believe every busy mom needs to have a few dinnertime tricks up her sleeve. This, dear friends, is one of mine. It’s quick, it’s simple, and it’s pretty tasty. A great weeknight dinner that my kids devour.

Sure, it’s not exactly Beef Wellington, but who says every night has to be fine dining. We can slum it with hot dogs like the best of ‘em. I kid, of course, about the slumming thing. Sometimes hot dogs just rule.

Cheeseburger Pasta
printable recipe
serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef (this would be great with ground turkey also)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoon butter or Olive Oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup chicken or beef broth
1/2 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 ounces dry pasta shape of your choosing

Directions:
Sauté the onion in the butter until soft and translucent. Add the beef to the pan and brown, chopping into small pieces as it cooks.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions and drain.

Once the beef is cooked through add the chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, pepper and flour to the pan. Mix to combine well. Pour the broth into the pan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the broth has reduced by half and is starting to thicken slightly.

Turn off the heat and add the milk and cheese to the pan, stirring to melt the cheese and combine evenly.

Mix the sauce with the pasta and serve!

Source: What’s Cooking in the Orange Kitchen

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December 30, 2010

Panera Bread Fuji Apple Salad

 fuji apple salad

Packing a lunch for work every day gets really, really boring. I can only take so many turkey sandwiches before I absolutely lose my mind from the monotony. I really like salads, but I’m really finicky when it comes to dressings. My preference always goes towards the buttermilk-laden fatty dressings that are tasty but not exactly health food. Imagine my delight when I stumbled across this Panera salad. Immediately I knew I needed to find a copycat recipe for this salad to make for lunch and low and behold, it’s awesome. Light, healthy and incredibly flavorful without being overpowering.

I made a few tweaks to the original recipe, omitting chicken most of the time and adding a few dried cranberries or dried cherries just for some extra color.

fuji apple salad bite

One Year Ago on Laura’s Recipe Collection
Best Ever Chocolate Cake

Two Years Ago on Laura’s Recipe Collection
Pepperoni Cheese Bread

Other favorite lunches
Caesar Salad
Cherry Pecan Chicken Salad

Fuji Apple Salad
printable recipe

Ingredients:
for the dressing
1/3 cup Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon White Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 small shallots, finely chopped
1 1/2teaspoons Dijon Mustard
3 Tablespoons Frozen Apple juice Concentrate

for the salad
spinach
green leaf lettuce or romaine lettuce, chopped
tomatoes, chopped
pecan halves
dried apple slices
feta or blue cheese, crumbled
red onion, diced
dried cranberries

Directions:
Mix together all of the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl.

Assemble the salad and drizzle dressing over the top.

Source: Adapted from SparkRecipes

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Filed under main dish, salad, Vegetarian