After picking several pounds of blueberries recently at a local you-pick berry farm, this easy and not-too-sweet recipe was at the top of my list for putting some of them to very good use.
4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed
1/4 cup sugar
3 T. cornstarch
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
~
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. grated lemon peel
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 T. sugar
3 T. cold butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
-
In a large bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar with the cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Gently stir in the blueberries.
- Transfer to a greased 2-quart baking dish.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, lemon peel, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and 2 T. sugar.
- Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (You may use the food processor instead.)
- Stir in buttermilk just until moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the blueberry mixture.
- Bake uncovered at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
Tips:
Buttermilk substitute: Add milk to 1 T. white vinegar to make 3/4 cup.
After using sticks of butter, place the empty wrappers in the refrigerator to use later for greasing baking dishes and pans, then toss them away. Recycle and use less cooking spray!
Tiramisu' (teer-ah-me-SUE) means "pick me up" in Italian, and this dessert will definitely do just that! Authentic Italian recipes for Tiramisu' are generally complicated to prepare and typically use uncooked egg whites. This variation of mine that only takes about 30 minutes to prepare is much easier to make and contains no egg whites, while "almost" retaining the flavor and texture of the real thing.
1 cup powdered sugar, divided
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
20 ladyfingers
1/2 cup hot water
3 T. instant espresso (or coffee) granules (I like Espresso Cafe' Bustelo.)
2 T. Kahlua or Amaretto (or 1/2 tsp. almond extract)
1/2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa
- Beat 2/3 cup powdered sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl at high speed until well blended. Set aside.
- With clean, dry beaters, beat whipping cream and 1/3 cup powdered sugar in a medium bowl at low speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.
- Gently fold whipped cream into cheese mixture. Set aside.
- Arrange ladyfingers in a single layer to completely cover the bottom of an 8" square baking dish.
- Combine hot water, espresso granules, and Kahlua in a small bowl or cup.
- Drizzle half of the coffee mixture over the ladyfingers, completely soaking them.
- Spread half of the cheese/cream mixture over the ladyfingers.
- Repeat the procedure with a second layer of ladyfingers and remaining coffee mixture and cheese/cream mixture.
- Sprinkle with cocoa.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Serve cold and refrigerate (unlikely) leftovers.
Serves 8
Tips:
Ladyfingers may be substituted with one package of any plain, hard, dry cookie such as vanilla wafers, butter cookies, or animal crackers. I've even made the Tiramisu' with chocolate animal crackers and boy was it good! Italian ladyfingers, called Savoiardi (sah-vo-YAR-dee), may be found in Italian food markets.
If using plastic wrap to cover, stick one toothpick in each corner and in the middle to prevent wrap from sticking to the top.
These hearty sandwiches are a big hit at our house.
3 lb. beef rump roast, cut into 6 chunks
0.6 oz. envelope Zesty Italian salad dressing mix
12 oz. jar sliced banana peppers
6 split sub rolls
12 slices Provolone cheese
mayonnaise
Combine dressing mix and peppers (including the juice) in a slow cooker.
Place the beef chunks in the slow cooker; turn to coat with mixture.
Cook on high for 4 hours (or on low for 8 hours).
During the last hour, shred the beef using two forks.
If beef does not shred easily, cut into 1" chunks and cook a bit longer.
Transfer shredded beef to a serving bowl with a slotted spoon; drain well.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Place rolls, spread open with cut side up, on a large baking sheet.
Top with cheese slices.
Bake until cheese is melted and rolls are toasted.
Spread rolls with mayonnaise and top with shredded beef.
Serves 6
This delicious and colorful stir-fry takes only 30 minutes, from start to finish.
1/4 cup A1 steak sauce
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 lb. boneless beef sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 sweet red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. vegetable oil
20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained
hot cooked rice
In a small bowl, combine the first four ingredients; set aside.
In a skillet or wok, stir-fry the beef, peppers, onion, and garlic in oil for 5 minutes.
Stir in the sauce, then top with the pineapple chunks.
Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve with hot cooked rice.
4 servings
This fruitcake recipe was clipped from a newspaper many years ago. It tastes so much better than your typical purchased fruitcake. When mixing the ingredients, an extremely large bowl will be needed... about the size of a dishpan! And yes, somehow, all of these ingredients actually do fit into a bundt pan. My family absolutely loves this cake, and I think that you will, too.
28 oz. jar red maraschino cherries, stems removed
20 oz. can pineapple tidbits
11 oz. can mandarin oranges
1 lb. box graham crackers
15 oz. box raisins
4 cups pecans, chopped or halves
14 oz. bag flaked coconut
2 - 14 oz. cans sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
Drain cherries, pineapple tidbits, and mandarin oranges.
Crush graham crackers.
Mix all ingredients well in a very large mixing bowl (or a clean dishpan).
Spoon and press mixture into a lightly greased bundt pan.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1-1/2 hours.
Turn oven off; leave cake in oven until completely cooled.
This cake tastes best when sliced and served the next day.
This delicious hot soup can be on your table in about 45 minutes. I think you'll agree that the name fits!
1 package of pre-cooked bacon, chopped
3 cups of cubed, UN-peeled potatoes (small 1/4" to 1/2" cubes)
14 oz. chicken broth
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 T. flat-leaf Italian parsley, snipped (or dried parsley flakes)
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
3 T. all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
1 cup packed fresh spinach leaves, hand-torn
8 oz. process American cheese, cubed
3 green onions, thinly sliced or snipped
In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp over medium heat.
Add potatoes, broth, carrot, onion, parsley, celery seed, and pepper.
Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.
Whisk flour and milk together until smooth.
Stir milk mixture and torn spinach into soup.
Bring to a boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes.
Reduce heat; add cheese and stir until cheese is melted.
Serve hot, garnished with green onions.
6 servings
The homemade dressing adds delicious flavor to these quick to prepare sandwiches. Use any thick bread you like... sandwich buns, sub rolls, etc.
dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
4 tsp. white wine vinegar
1/2 T. Italian seasoning
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 oz. can chopped ripe olives, drained
Combine dressing ingredients in a clean glass jar with tight-fitting lid.
Shake to mix well.
Refrigerate any remaining dressing after preparing sandwiches.
To use refrigerated dressing: set out on counter for 10 minutes, then stir.
sandwiches:
thick sandwich bread of your choice (buns, subs, hoagies, ciabatta, etc.)
hard salami, sliced thin
provolone cheese slices
cooked ham, sliced thin
tomato slices
red onion slices
lettuce leaves
Lightly toast bread, cut sides up. (I use the broiler.)
Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of dressing on the cut side of each toasted bun top.
Refrigerate any remaining dressing.
Top each bun bottom with slices of salami, provolone cheese, and ham.
Replace dressed bun tops.
Microwave each sandwich about 20-30 seconds, just until cheese is melted.
Add tomato slices, onion slices, and lettuce to each sandwich.
Serve warm.
It only takes a few moments to prepare these at night before going to bed. In the morning, stick them in the oven to bake while brewing a fresh pot of coffee. yum-yum
1 cup pecans (whole, halves, or chopped)
12 frozen dough balls (such as Rhodes white dinner rolls)
1/4 cup cook-and-serve vanilla pudding mix
(not sugar free, not instant, and not the entire box)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 stick salted butter, or margarine
The night before serving...
Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray.
(Tip - Place pan in sink when spraying to avoid over-spray on countertop.)
Sprinkle pecans in bottom of pan.
Place frozen dough balls on top of pecans.
Sprinkle pudding mix over dough balls.
Melt butter; stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Pour butter mixture over dough balls.
Cover pan with a towel and leave on the countertop overnight.
~
In the morning, remove the towel.
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Do not overcook.
Cool in pan for 8 minutes.
Place serving plate, upside down, on top of bundt pan.
Carefully invert pan and plate together to transfer buns to serving plate.
Enjoy while warm!
