Monthly Archives: July 2012

Muffins and Scones

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with Lemon Glaze

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I love Lemon Poppyseed Muffins.  I don’t make them nearly often enough! The problem with making them is that I then have to eat them all…I love the citrus taste of these along with the subtle CrUnCh from the poppyseeds. Alright, truth be told? It is the Lemon Glaze that keeps me coming back for more!

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with Lemon Glaze
Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with Lemon Glaze

1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Poppyseeds

1/4 cup Butter, softened
1/4 cup Sugar
1 large Egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Juice of half a Lemon (zest it first!)

2 cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Zest of half a Lemon

Glaze
2 cups Icing Sugar
Juice from half a Lemon
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Milk, to desired consistency

Combine milk and poppyseeds in a large liquid measuring cup and let stand for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F.
Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

In large mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest; make a well in the centre and set aside.
In mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar; add egg and continue creaming until light and fluffy.
Add vanilla and lemon juice to poppyseed liquid before stirring into the creamed mixture.
Pour wet ingredients into the well in the dry ingredients and stir only to moisten.
Using a #5 Pampered Chef Scoop, fill each muffin cup 3/4 full.
Bake in 400F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until pick inserted comes out clean, rotating pan halfway through baking.
Remove from oven and cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

While muffins are cooling, make the Lemon Glaze.

Lemon Glaze
In medium mixing bowl combine icing sugar, lemon juice and vanilla; stir.
Add enough milk to your desired consistency…go slow here…easier to add a lil milk than to add more icing sugar!
Spread Glaze over cooling Muffins and let cool completely allowing the Glaze to set before storing in an airtight container.

Yield: 12 Muffins

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with Lemon Glaze - oh, so good!

 

Sandwiches and Wraps

Spicy Ground Chicken Wrap

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I bought some Ground Chicken because it is supposed to be better for you than Ground Beef, right? Well, I barely remember how to cook Ground Beef! Can you substitute Ground Chicken into any Ground Beef recipe?  So I turned to Yummly to lend a hand and found this recipe for Spicy Ground Chicken; I did make a few changes because I thought the original recipe might be lacking in flavour.
After grilling my husband for info and telling him that the original recipe called for zucchini and green pepper he said:
“It was tasty.”
“No, no zucchini! That would ruin it.”
“Yea, it could use green pepper for colour.”
He went on to say that the texture was good, flavour good, all up? Good. A real critic, right?

What did I change:
Yellow Pepper for Green simply because I didn’t have Green on hand
Omitted Zucchini, again, left out because I didn’t have any on hand which worked out to my favour because I don’t think Luke likes Zucchini
Added 1 teaspoon Chili Flakes, 1 teaspoon Ground Cumin, 1 1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano, Salt and Pepper, the original didn’t call for any spices at all.
1 cup of Plain Greek Yogurt, I thought it needed something to bring everything together. You could also use Sour Cream but I prefer the Plain Greek Yogurt.
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese, just because I thought it would add flavour and texture to the wrap.

Spicy Ground Chicken Wraps
Spicy Ground Chicken Wraps

1 lb Ground Chicken
1 Onion, diced
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Green Pepper, chopped
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 cup sliced Mushrooms
2/3 cup Chunky Salsa
1 1/2 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Chili Flakes
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
Salt and Pepper
1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt (or Sour Cream)
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
6 – 10″ Flour Tortillas ( I used Sundried Tomato Tortillas)

In large non-stick skillet cook ground chicken in a bit of olive oil for about ten minutes, or until cooked through.
Remove chicken from pan to a heat proof mixing bowl and set aside.

Add onions and garlic to pan and sautee until translucent.
Add chopped peppers and sliced mushrooms; cook until slightly soft.

Return chicken to the vegetables and add salsa, oregano, chili flakes, ground cumin, salt and pepper and heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Stir in Greek yogurt and continue cooking until heated through.

Place 1/6th of the mixture on a 10″ flour tortilla, sprinkle with a bit of shredded cheddar cheese and wrap up.
Repeat with remaining 5 tortillas.

Serves 6

 

 

Coffee Cakes

Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

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Canada Day is just not Canada Day around my place if I don’t produce something made with Strawberries! I have been craving Tim Horton’s Coffee Cake lately so I decided to bake up my own coffee cake, using strawberries and let’s see, what else do I have in the cupboards/fridge? Cream cheese, strawberry glaze, slivered almonds….Put it all together…

Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

1 pkg Cake Mix (White, Vanilla, French Vanilla, Golden)
1/3 cup Butter
1 Egg

8 ounces Cream Cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon Almond extract
1 Egg

1 pkg Strawberries, washed and sliced
4 ounces Strawberry Glaze

2/3 cup Slivered Almonds

Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly spray a 9X13 baking pan with vegetable oil spray.

In mixing bowl, using paddle attachment,  combine cake mix, butter and one egg; mix for a few minutes while slicing strawberries.
Remove bowl from mixer stand and work the dough between your hands, squeezing and gently crumbling creating coarse crumbs.
Press all but 1 1/2 cups (to which you will add slivered almonds) of the crumb mixture into the prepared pan.
Bake in preheated 350F oven for 10 minutes.
Remove from oven, cool for about 15 minutes on wire rack.

In the meantime, clean mixing bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla and almond flavouring until no lumps remain.

Top the base cream cheese mixture, spreading evenly then top with sliced strawberries, drizzle glaze over berries and even out.
Add slivered almonds to remaining crumble mixture before sprinkling over strawberry layer.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly golden.
Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack.
Cut into squares and serve.

Yield 18 squares

 

Seafood

Shrimp and Feta Cheese Pasta

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While trying to decide just what to cook for dinner I remembered that I had a bag of shrimp on hand in the freezer. This was super easy and quick to prepare. It was well received by the hungry men in the house.

Shrimp and Feta Cheese with Whole Wheat Pasta

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
5 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 lb Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp Chicken Broth
2 Tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon dried Oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried Basil
Dash of Pepper
8 ounces Feta Cheese, crumbled
8 ounces Whole Wheat Spaghetti

->In a large pot, cook spaghetti noodles as directed on package.

While water is coming to a boil, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and cook garlic for a few minutes.
Add shrimp and chicken stock: cook for about 6 minutes, or until shrimp is pink; remove from skillet with a slotted spoon into a heat proof bowl and set aside.

->Add pasta to boiling, salted water and cook, stirring frequently for about 8 minutes.

Add chopped tomatoes, oregano, basil and pepper to skillet over high heat and cook until tomatoes are softened and liquid is slightly reduced.

-> Drain pasta and return to pot.
Stir in Shrimp, sauce and crumbled feta.

Serve immediately.

Serves 6