Blueberries pack a punch...or a popsicle!

Having my grandsons around for the week means that they are always looking for something sweet to eat. Let's face it, no matter how hard you try, they are going to sneak in some unhealthy snacks. Aidan is "addicted" to chocolate. He's 2 and he pronounces every syllable as Cho-co-lat...who knew he was practicing French!! But he is a good eater and likes everything. Carter, the 6 year old, on the other hand thinks Italian toast with butter is a food group. His protein to date has consisted of eggs, cheese and peanut butter...and protein shakes. We finally got him to try hot dogs over the weekend and he now likes those. Better than nothing. What they both agree on is berries and popsicles. Ellie Krieger has a recipe for a blueberry punch so I thought I would make it and freeze some as pops for the boys. What a hit! These are so much better than the sugar and water pop ice that they want. And these are fun because they helped me make them. Here is Ellie's recipe for the punch. It is refreshing just as it is or do what I did..... pour into a popsicle maker and dole out the fun a few hours later.
Blueberry Punch
Dissolve 2 Tbsp of honey in 1/4 cup boiling water.
Puree 1 cup thawed frozen blueberries and 1/2 cup cold water in a blender.
Pour the blueberry puree through a fine-mesh strainer into a pitcher.
Add up to 3-1/2 cups cold water and the dissolved honey to the pitcher and serve.

Refreshing Watermelon Salad

In the latest issue of Food Network Magazine, there are some wonderful salad recipes. I tried the one in this post and it has a lot of flavors going on in your mouth! I already had the watermelon, red onion and olives and my oregano is growing nicely in the herb garden. So I picked up some arugula and feta on the way home to give this a whirl. Being a lover of fruit and greens together, I was interested in how all of these favors were going to fit together....sweet, juicy watermelon, pungent and sweet red onion, salty feta and olives and peppery arugula. All I can say is that this is an explosion for your taste buds! These all paired up and complimented each other so well. It is also colorful and happy looking. There are 50 salad ideas in this issue so I have several more that I would like to try. I will keep you all posted!

Watermelon-Feta Salad

Whisk 1 part white wine vinegar with 3 parts olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Toss with baby arugula, red onion slices, watermelon cubes, crumbled feta, nicoise olives and fresh oregano.

That's it! How easy and healthy and gets you done in a flash!! Pair this with a nice semolina bread, glass of crisp Sauvignon Rose wine and you have a light summer supper!!

Everybody walk the Dinosaur...Beans

We have had a busy several days with our grandsons in the house. It is hard to get to the computer for recreation and during the day I am working my full time job! Our daughter has been a big help though getting some things done in the house for me, but she really has her hands full taking care of those little guys. They are just so fun! Anyway, here is the bean recipe that I talked about in the post a couple of days ago. These are awesome. The Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is a restaurant in Syracuse, NY (with a sister restaurant in Rochester, NY) was started in 1983 by a few Harley bikers, with the intention of feeding their hungry friends. They traveled around to rallies feeding their friends and having fun. In 1987, they set up shop in downtown Syracuse in a former tavern and the rest is history. This place is really eclectic. You will see lawyers and bikers at tables next to one another. Their pulled pork sandwiches are the best!! They have a great story and it is a fun and interesting restaurant. You can find their cookbooks on line and even order their sauce on line if they aren't in your market. Their recipe for Drunken Spicy Shameless Shrimp is a favorite of our kids, and is also in the book.

For the following recipe, I mixed everything together and put it into a baking dish. About an hour before dinner I put the dish, covered, in a 400 degree oven and got them bubbling hot. Oh YUM!!

Dinosaur-Style Bar-B-Que Beans

(Dinosaur Bar-B-Que An American Roadhouse Cookbook)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 large onion, chopped

3/4 cup chopped green pepper

Pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper

3 large cloves garlic, chopped

8 ounces hot Italian sausage, removed from casing

2 cans (28 oz. each) Bush's baked beans

3/4 cup Dinosaur Bar-B-Que sauce

1 Tbsp Zatarain's Creole mustard (or spicy brown mustard)

1 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp Creole seasoning (recipe follows)

1 Tbsp molasses

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and peppers and cook til soft, adding a pinch of salt and pepper. Toss in the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Crumble the sausage into the veggies and cook, chopping to break the meat into small pieces. Cook til the pink disappears. Drain off some of the bean liquid in each can so that it's at the same height of the beans; then mix the contents of both cans into the cooked veggies and sausage. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add all the rest of the ingredients. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve immediately, or cool and reheat before serving.

(Letting the flavors blend awhile never hurts.) Feeds 10-12.

CREOLE SEASONING

This makes a great rub for meat, a sprinkle for your veggies or added as seasoning to casseroles or coatings.

1/2 cup paprika

1/2 cup granulated garlic

1/4 cup granulated onion

3 Tbsp black pepper

2 tsp white pepper

2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup dried oregano

1/4 cup dried thyme

2 tsp ground cumin

2 Tbsp sugar

Combine everything in a bowl and mix it up real well. Store in a plastic or glass container with a lid. Makes 2 1/2 cups.

Finger Lickin' Good Bar-B-Que

We had our family cook-out on Sunday for the holiday. We had family and some friends and it was a fabulous food fest. Our son (super cook in his own right) was in charge of the meat and the barbecue grill. His worthy contribution was ribs and chicken. Wow...............

He rubbed the ribs with McCormick Pork Dry Rub and poured about 1/2 can of beer in each pan. He wrapped them tightly and put them into a 250 degree oven for 4 hours. They cooled for awhile and then he put them in the fridge over night. When he put them on the grill, they were smothered with Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Sauce.

For the chicken, he used half chickens. In the bottom of a broiler pan, he poured a can of beer, squeezed a lemon, cut it into wedges and tossed in the pan, sprinkled in some peppercorns and some of that dry rub. He then rubbed down the chickens and placed them on the rack. He covered the whole thing tightly and put it in a 350 degree oven for about 2 hours. This steamed the chicken and worked somewhat like the beer can idea for a whole chicken. He then tossed it on the grill with more Bar-B-Que Sauce.

All I can say was that our dinner was finger lickin' good. And to watch our 2-year old grandson eat a rib was priceless! All of the meat was tender, juicy and succulent. So what did the rest of us do? I made Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Beans. These are awesome. I am going to post the recipe tomorrow, along with a little background on Dinosaur Bar-B-Que! I also made a chick pea salad and my daughter made cauliflower salad. My mom brought strawberry rhubarb pies. It was a great way to celebrate the holiday!

Mini Banana Zucchini Muffins

My daughter has used this recipe for a few years now to get her sons to get their "sweet" tooth satisfied, without giving in to requests for the really bad stuff! These have gone to day care, parties, etc. and they get to think they are getting something good. Now that Carter is 6, he has caught on! LOL But Aidan still considers them big time "cupcakes" and loves them right out of the freezer! Go figure! I made these for our granddaughter in Atlanta and she loved them too. The amazing thing about these is that they use no eggs! If you are looking for a great treat for a kid's party or afternoon snacks, these are great! It is also one more recipe to use when you have a bumper crop of zucchini!
Have a Happy 4th of July everyone!

Mini Banana Zucchini Muffins
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups mashed banana
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole milk with a splash of vinegar
1/2 small zucchini, grated (I used a microplane grater for this step)

Mix all ingredients together and bake in mini muffin tins sprayed with PAM at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Cool a couple minutes and turn out from pan. These freeze well.
This will make about 48 mini muffins.

Snap Your Fingers and Snap Those Peas!

I noticed a sign at the local farm stand on my way home that said
"fresh peas". Suddenly the thought of their aroma popped into my mind and I had to stop.
There they were....bright green, fresh, dew still glistening on their tender pods...I had to have them! Before I got them home, I crunched on a couple of the fat pods that contained the sweet peas that I knew I would find. They did not disappoint.

The peas went into a Cooking Light recipe that I found in the May 2009 issue. Chicken Scallopini is a quick night supper that is full of flavor. This particular dish is one that is also filled with healthy benefits! It contains those plump peas and asparagus as an accompaniment. If you can find the small new asparagus, that is the best for a dish like this. After cooking the chicken, you make a little sauce to pour over everything, so I served couscous on the side to soak up all the goodness. The one really nice thing about the way this dinner looked was that it was definitely company worthy. It prepares easily, does not use a whole kitchen's worth of pots, pans and dishes and it presents beautifully. That leaves you a lot of time to enjoy your guests. It can also be easily increased to serve a crowd. We really enjoyed this dinner and I had it on the table in about a half hour. That left plenty of time to quickly clean things up and talk a walk after dinner.

Chicken Scallopine with Sugar Snap Peas, Asparagus and Lemon Salad
3 cups julienne-cut trimmed sugar snap peas (about 1 pound)
2 cups (1-inch) sliced asparagus (about 1 pound)
6 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1 cup fat-free, less sodium cooking broth (I used College Inn...excellent!)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
2 1/2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 1/2 Tgbsp. fresh lemon juice
6 lemon wedges

1. Steam peas and asparagus, covered, 4 minutes or until crisp tender. Rinse pea mixture with cold water; drain. Chill.
2. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 2 breast halves to pan; saute 2 minutes in each side or until done. Repeat procedure twice with remaining chicken. Add broth and wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until reduced ti 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in butter.
3. Combine remaining 1/4 tsp. salt, mint, oil, rind and juice, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle oil mixture over pea mixture; toss gently to coat. Serve pea mixture with chicken and sauce. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Blackberry-Peach Coffee Cake

Hi All! Back from vacation where we had a wonderful time with our daughter, son-in-law and our beautiful granddaughter. Since my daughter was recouping from dental surgery, I did all the cooking and baking. It was fun to try new things and make family favorites all week long.

I made this recipe for Sunday morning. We found it in the new issue of Southern Living and well, being in Georgia, peaches were a good choice. Now I have to tell you that Renee is not the baker, but she is a great cook. On Saturday, I realized that she had no flour and white sugar back-ups so I improvised and the result was excellent. The original recipe calls for this to be made in a springform pan...didn't have that either!! So it was another improv! All I can say is that we loved it and it is a definite keeper recipe that I will make again. I have included the photo from the original and I'm sure it would be just as good.

It is good to be back home!!

Peach and Blackberry Coffee Cake

adapted from Southern Living June 2009

Streusel Topping Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar and brown sugar, beating well. Add flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg; beat just until blended.

Cake Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs
1/2 cups all-purpose white flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups peeled and sliced fresh firm, ripe peaches (about 3 large peaches, 7 oz. each)
Powdered sugar
Garnishes: fresh blackberries, sliced peaches
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Prepare Streusel Topping.
3. For Cake: Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
4. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9 x 12 baking pan; top with sliced peaches. Sprinkle Streusel Topping over fruit.
5. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 50- 60 minutes or until center of cake is set. (A wooden pick inserted in center will not come out clean.) Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 1/2 hours). Dust with powdered sugar. Garnish, if desired.

Note: We found that using a shiny or light-colored pan gave us the best results. If you have a dark pan, wrap the outside of the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil to get a similar result.