Blueberry Struesel Muffins

Even though I really love cooking from scratch, there are certain things that I just like better when they come from a box. Brownies and muffins are among these things. Still, I saw this recipe for blueberry muffins on Barbara Bakes and it looked like it was worth trying so I decided to make it for my sister-in-law's birthday breakfast. I was actually very impressed with the recipe; it made me think that homemade muffins might not be a complete waste of time. In fact, I will probably make them again.

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 350° and prepare a muffin tin with muffin liners or cooking spray. Prepare streusel topping and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, beginning with the wet ingredients and then adding the dry ingredients. Do not over mix. Gently stir in blueberries. Fill muffin tins approximately 3/4 of the way up and sprinkle with struesel topping. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Struesel:

4 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp flour

2 tsp canola oil

Whisk together flour and sugar, then add flour and mix until it has a crumbly texture.

Glazed Doughnuts

Growing up, we often made doughnuts together as a family. My dad was usually the one who seemed to be in charge of the project, although I think my mom was probably the one who made the dough. A few weeks ago I brought up the idea of making doughnuts and my husband seemed shocked that you could even make them at home. He had never done it before! So this was a really fun activity for us. It is a really good recipe too - these are the light and fluffy, melt in your mouth kind of doughnuts and I really liked the vanilla flavored glaze as well. I am excited to have friends over to make these again in the future. With a large doughnut cutter, we made 6 doughnuts and doughnut holes.

Doughnuts:

1 envelope active dry yeast

1/8 cup warm water

3/4 cup lukewarm milk

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

3 Tbsp shortening

2 1/2 cups flour

canola oil for frying

Glaze:

3 Tbsp butter

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2-3 Tbsp hot water (or as needed)

In a large mixing bowl, combine water and yeast and let stand about 5 minutes or until yeast has activated. Stir in remaining ingredients, adding flour 1/2 cup at a time. Knead for 5 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl and let rise until double in size. 

Gently roll out dough to 1/2-1" thickness. Cut with a doughnut cutter and place on a greased cookie sheet. Allow to rise again until double in size.

Prepare glaze by melting butter and stirring in powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix in hot water, stirring, until the glaze is thin but not watery.

Heat oil in a deep fryer or a large pan until it is 350° and fry doughnuts on each side until they are golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts in glaze while they are still hot and return to wire rack. 

Classic Meat Lasagna

I wanted to post something amazing for my first recipe of 2012. I actually have a number of other dishes that I have made over the past several days, but I am glad that I procrastinated updating the blog because this one was truly incredible. My husband actually gave it a 10 without me even asking what he thought.

We are really big fans of Stouffer's lasagna. In fact, we were pretty sure that no homemade lasagna could even compare. Besides, why spend hours in the kitchen when you can get one that tasted that good from the frozen foods section at the grocery store? Well, I thought I would go out on a limb and try making my own and I think it actually tops Stouffer's. The best part is that it wasn't nearly as time consuming as I had feared - especially because I prepared it in advanced and stored it in the refrigerator until baking time. It was HUGE so we froze half of it right off the bat and we still had a couple of meals of leftovers. If you are baking for 2 or 4, you may want to cut this recipe in half and make it in a square pan rather than a 9x13.

Sauce:

1/2 - 1 lb ground sausage

1 lb ground beef

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

3 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp dried basil

1 1/2 - 2 24 oz jars pasta sauce (I used Prego)

Ricotta Mixture:

16 oz ricotta cheese

8 oz cottage cheese

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp oregano

16 lasagna noodles, prepared according to directions on package

1 lb mozzarella cheese, grated or sliced

1 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

In a large pan, cook meat, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is browned and onion is soft. Add Italian seasoning, basil, and pasta sauce and reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer while lasagna noodles are boiling and while you are stirring the cheese mixture together in a medium bowl.

To assemble, spread about 1 cup of the sauce on the bottom of a deep 9x13" pan. Top with 4 lasagna noodles (3 will fit, but I used 4 and overlapped them a bit). Spread ricotta mixture over top of noodles, top with mozzarella cheese and another layer of meat sauce, then 1/4 cup Parmesan. Repeat layers and top with remaining mozarella and Parmesan cheese. This should be enough for 4 layers, although the pan might only fit 3.

Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes. 

Chicken and Rice

This is another super simple dinner that my mom often made when I was growing up. She didn't usually fry the chicken first, from what I can remember, but I thought it was a nice touch. The chicken is always good - tender and moist - but my favorite part by far is the rice. It has such a great flavor. I love the texture too. So I guess this is kind of a comfort food for me. One thing to remember is that this dinner needs to be prepared in advance - it only takes a few minutes to put it together but it bakes for nearly two hours! Enjoy!

1 1/2 cups rice (not instant)

9 pieces chicken

3 cans cream soups (usually cream of chicken and cream of mushroom)

1 cup milk

Mix soups, milk and rice together and spread in a 9x13" pan. Top with chicken. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 

*Optional: coat the chicken with a thin layer of flour and fry in olive oil so that the surface is crispy and golden. It doesn't need to be cooked all the way through. 

Authentic Swedish Meatballs

Even though I have made Swedish Meatballs before, I decided to try a new recipe this time. My husband said he actually liked them more than the first ones because he thinks they tasted very authentic. They had a little sweet flavor that really complemented the savory mixture. Luckily, we actually had lingonberry preserves and they were a great addition. I used whole wheat bread, which I thought was an excellent choice because it really added a great texture to the meatballs.

Meatballs:
1/2 onion, very finely chopped
1 tsp butter
1/4 cup milk (or a little more)
2 slices whole wheat bread, in small pieces
1 egg
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cardamom
1 tsp black pepper

Sauce:
3 Tbsp butter
2 cups beef broth, warmed
1/4 cup sour cream
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tsp lingonberry preserves (can substitute raspberry or cranberry preserves)

Heat butter in a skillet over medium heat. When butter has melted, saute the onion until is has softened, about 3-4 minutes.

Mix milk and bread together and let soak for a few minutes. When the bread is soggy, puree it in a blender or a food processor. Then, mix all meatball ingredients together and combine thoroughly. Form meatballs and place them on a plate. I made 21 meatballs, although yours may be bigger or smaller.

Preheat a pan on medium with 3 Tbsp butter. When the butter is completely melted, place about half of the meatballs on the pan - be careful not to over crowd the pan. Brown them on all sides, turning them carefully. They do not need to be cooked all the way through at this point. When meatballs are brown, remove from pan and cook remaining meatballs. Remove them from the pan as well.

Use a whisk to stir flour into remaining butter. When it begins to sizzle, slowly add the beef broth, stirring constantly in order to form a smooth sauce. Return meatballs to pan and turn stove to medium-low. Cover, and simmer sauce with meatballs for about 10 minutes or until meatballs are thoroughly cooked. Remove sauce from heat and place the meatballs in a serving dish. Stir sour cream and lingonberry preserves. Taste and reseason if necessary. Pour over meatballs. Serve over egg noodles.

Beef and Bean Chimichangas

When I told my husband we were having chimichangas for dinner, he was pretty excited - until he heard that they were "healthy." I don't know how people usually make these, but I think he was hoping that they would be deep fried. Once he had them, though, he wasn't disappointed anymore. They were great! With only a few simple ingredients, these only took me about 20 minutes to make. Leftovers were great too - we just heated up the meat and fried them up and they tasted just like they did the first time.

1 lb ground beef

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano 

1 tsp onion powder

salt and pepper, to taste

1 can chili beans

pepper jack cheese, shredded

3 Tbsps canola oil

flour tortillas

Heat the olive oil on a skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and break apart into smaller pieces. Add onions and seasonings. Cook, stirring, for about five minutes until beef is brown and onion is tender. Stir in chili beans and cook for another few minutes until the mixture is warmed completely through.

Preheat canola oil on a skillet over medium heat. Heat tortillas for about 20 seconds in the microwave to soften. Sprinkle desired amount of pepper jack cheese on tortilla and top with beef and bean mixture. Fold sides of tortilla and roll like a burrito. When the oil is hot, place tortilla in the skillet, seam side down. Cook until surface of tortilla is golden brown and crispy. Turn over carefully and cook opposite side. Serve hot with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.

Tater Tot Casserole

Okay, so this isn't the best picture ever. In all honesty, I think it would be difficult to take a picture that made this dish look good. Nevertheless, it actually is. This is a dinner that I really liked when I was little, so I guess it is kind of like comfort food for me. It is very simple to make and doesn't take very long. Maybe it isn't the type of dinner that I would make for guests, but I love it for a chill evening at home with the family.

1 32 oz. package frozen tater tots

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

1 cup cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400°. Preheat a skillet on medium-high. Cook beef and onion together until beef is brown and onions are tender. Add soups, sour cream, and seasonings to taste. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Pour tater tots into a 9x13" casserole dish. Top with beef mixture and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until tater tots are warm all the way through.