Blueberry Coffee Cake

Last week I baked a Blueberry Coffee Cake. It was so yummy! I used to make this -- sort of. I decided to change things around a bit. The result was far better than I expected.

The original recipe was from Bisquick and called Fruit Swirl Coffee Cake. It's wonderful too! I believe that Bisquick is one of those products that should be a staple in every kitchen. There are so many dishes you can throw together at the last minute using this wonderful product.

I halved the original recipe. I also opted to use fresh (well, frozen-fresh) blueberries instead of canned blueberry pie filling. I baked it in a fancy pie dish. It looked so elaborate. I so love to fool people into thinking something took a great deal of time and effort when it really was quite simple. Don't you?

Blueberry Coffee Cake

2 cups Bisquick baking mix
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 cup margarine, melted
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups blueberries

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Grease a pie plate or a square baking pan.

Wash and drain blueberries.

Mix all the ingredients except blueberries and glaze ingredients. I just stir with a fork until completely mixed. It would be okay to use a mixer. That just seems like more trouble than necessary.

Spread 2/3 of the batter into the baking dish. Pour blueberries over this, spreading evenly. Then, using a spoon, drop the remaining batter over the blueberries. It won't completely cover the berries so just get a little artsy with it, putting a little bit here and a little bit there.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. It should be light brown. Remember that oven cooking times vary.

Just before time to take it from the oven, mix the powdered sugar and milk together until it's smooth.

When you remove the coffee cake from the oven, drizzle the glaze over it. Serve warm. It's also okay to serve it cool. I just prefer it warm. For the leftovers, put servings on a microwavable dish and heat for about 25 seconds each. Yummy!

Taco Salad

Okay. How many folks out there are watching their pennies these days? Yeah. That's what I figured. Most of us are doing that right now. I found the most wonderful site recently. It's kraftfoods.com. It was in an insert in the newspaper. I figured I'd try it out. I didn't have much hope though. Usually those coupon things are for products I don't use and really don't want to try. That was so not the case this time. Lots and lots of coupons for things I actually buy and use. Check it out.

Taco Salad is one of those perfect items to take off from home when the trip calls for a covered dish. Especially this time of year. It's easy to prepare and folks seem to like it. I never get to bring any home.

Taco Salad

1 pound ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning mix
1 (16-oz) can of red kidney beans, drained
1 (16-oz) can cream-style corn
tortilla chips, crushed.
lettuce, washed and shredded
shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium tomato, peeled and diced

Cook the ground beef in a skillet until it's brown. Stir to crumble. You can add a little water, like maybe a tablespoon or so, to make it less likely to stick while it cooks. When it's brown, drain the fat and water off.

Add the taco seasoning mix, corn and beans. Stir until completely mixed.

Place crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of a serving bowl. I use a glass pie plate or a shallow corningware bowl. Make sure to cover the bottom. Place the meat mixture on top of the chips.
Put lettuce on top of that. Then add the cheese. I always put lots of cheese because I love cheese.
Add the tomato, spreading around on the top to make it look pretty.

This makes a fairly large amount though it won't seem that way when people start eating. It goes fast. One thing I love though is that you can use half the meat mixture and make a smaller taco salad. Refrigerate the other half and make a "fresh" salad another day. That's especially wonderful when you're taking it off from home. You have a Taco Salad to take and a Taco Salad to keep.

Corn on the Cob

It's a holiday weekend -- and it's raining in southern Alabama. Poor folks going to the beach. Probably won't have a great deal of sun for the next few days. That has never stopped a good Southern family from eating. In the South, any time is a good time to eat.

Corn on the Cob is a wonderful item to prepare. Most kids love to eat it. Just don't tell them it's a vegetable. Adults like it too. Unless they have false teeth issues. I won't even go there. Just remember that if an older person declines, don't take it personally and don't push them to eat it anyway.

Fortunately, this recipe is prepared inside. It's also something kids can help prepare. Be careful when the corn comes out of the microwave though. It will be hot so it's best if adults handle that part.

Corn on the Cob

corn
butter or margarine
salt
waxed paper

Remove the husk, etc. from the ear of corn. We usually do two or three ears at a time. Obviously, for a crowd do more. Rub a little butter or margarine on the corn. Add a little salt to taste. Wrap each individual ear of corn in waxed paper, twisting the ends to seat it. Place on a microwave plate.

Cook corn in the microwave on high for three minutes. Turn each ear over. Cook for another two minutes or until tender.

Eat!

Blueberry Buckle

'Tis the season to be thinking of berries to go along with all our fresh vegetables. I have a few packages of blueberries in the freezer that are left over from last year's crop. Not our personal crop. Three blueberry bushes do not make a crop. But we've been blessed to have friends and family who have ample blueberries and they share.

My father decided last year that he really wanted to grow blueberries. We supported that decision. The berries are wonderful to eat. I dreamed of picking handfuls or berries from the bushes and eating them right there. I realize that was a stretch. Three blueberry bushes don't make that many. Especially since I'm not the only one who had that dream. Little Guy loves blueberries. Who knew that dogs will pick blueberries? We're down to one bush now. He has a little trouble picking them without destroying the bush.

This recipe for Blueberry Buckle is one I happened on when I was searching for a Blueberry Cobbler recipe. I found it in The Southern Heritage Just Desserts Cookbook. It's quite good. Serve it warm with a little Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. You'll have folks coming back for seconds.

Blueberry Buckle

1/4 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups blueberries
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Cream the shortening with your mixer. Add 3/4 cup of sugar and the egg. Beat well. Add the milk to that, beating well.

Combine 2 cups flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add that to the creamy mixture, beating well as you go. Stir in the blueberries with your spatula. If you're using fresh blueberries, be sure to wash and drain them before adding them to the mixture. Since I used frozen blueberries, I thawed them in the microwave and drained them first.

Spread this mixture into a greased and floured 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. I always try to use a pan that is dark colored so I don't have to worry about staining.

Combine the remaining 1 cup sugar, 2/3 cup flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until this mixture resembles coarse meal. It's perfectly okay to use a fork to do this.

Sprinkle the crumbly mixture over the blueberry mixture.

Bake the Blueberry Buckle at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or so. The original recipe calls for 45 minutes but that is too long in my oven. When overcooked, the Blueberry Buckle is hard around the sides. Just cook for 35-40 minutes, then check it.

The recipe says it serves 12 to 15 people. They don't know Southern eaters. It serves about half that many. It really is good!

Sweet Tea

It has come to my attention that not everyone knows how to make Sweet Tea. This is a staple in any authentic Southern household. Understand that knowing how to make Sweet Tea does not mean you have to drink it. You just need to know how to make it so you can be a proper Southern hostess and serve it to your guests.

I grew up drinking Sweet Tea. It was served at dinner and supper, ever day of the year. Sometimes other beverages were served with it. Maybe lemonade during the summer. When I left home, I left the Sweet Tea behind. I'd much rather drink Crystal Light or water. After I returned to the South, I dutifully picked up Sweet Tea drinking again. Then I read somewhere that each glass has like a gazillion calories. That ended that. There I was drinking something I didn't really like and consuming more calories in one meal than a person should consume in an entire day. Not happening again.

Sweet Tea is fairly easy to make. And though I tease my mother that only her teapot makes good tea, that really isn't so. Any teapot makes good tea, so long as you have the proper ingredients. Give it a try.

Sweet Tea

6 tea bags
1 1/4 cup sugar
water

Place six tea bags in a teapot. These are single tea bags. Fill the kettle with water and bring it to a boil. In the meantime, place the sugar in a gallon container. If you use a glass jar, you might need to put a metal spatula down against the bottom. I don't know why. I only know that if you don't, the glass jar will most likely bust and you will have a big mess.

When the kettle boils, pour the water into the teapot. Then fill the kettle with water again and bring that to a boil. When it's boiling, pour the contents of the teapot into the gallon container. Stir so that the sugar dissolves. Leave the tea bags in the teapot. Pour the boiling water into that teapot.

Let everything cool down. Then pour the teapot contents into the gallon container. Discard the tea bags. Finish filling the gallon container with water. Chill. You've just made Sweet Tea. Pat yourself on the back and have a glass.

Pound Cake

Everyone in the Deep South must at some point bake a Pound Cake. It's just basic. Pound Cake goes with just about anything. That's especially true this time of year. Bake a Pound Cake. Then dip out a little Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. Or if you're really into a classic experience, make your own ice cream. Then pick fresh strawberries. Puree them with a little sugar. Pour the strawberries over the ice cream. Serve with the warm Pound Cake. You'll be on a sugar high for a week but who cares?

This recipe comes from my mother by way of my aunt. So many really good recipes in the South come that way. Allow plenty of baking time. Then invite a few neighbors overto enjoy.

Pound Cake

1/2 lb. butter (softened) (2 sticks)
3 cups sugar
3 cups cake flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup Crisco oil
5 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together. Be sure to use real butter. No substitutions! Pour the batter into a tube cake pan. Mother always cuts a piece of wax paper to put on the bottom of the pan. Be sure to grease the bottoms and sides of the pan really well. The idea is for the cake to eventually come out of the pan in one piece.

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes at 325 degrees.

Remove from the pan. Just turn it upside down on a plate or rack and remove the pan and waxed paper. Carefully. Then put the serving plate where the pan was and flip over. Carefully. It is easy to get burned or just lose the whole cake.

It's worth the effort. There's nothing quite like a little warm Pound Cake to make the troubles of the world go away.

Chicken Parmesan

A friend of my parents recently asked for a recipe for Chicken Parmesan. Of course, he asked my mother. The woman who batters and fries just about everything.

I rarely make this anymore. (See above for the reason.) However, I once baked Chicken Parmesan quite a bit. The little recipe card has the splatters and edges to prove it. I love it because it doesn't require a great deal of time to prepare. I could focus on the remainder of the meal while this baked, just turning it when the little timer told me to. I always set the timer. Some folks blame memory loss on age. I've always had that problem. It's called distraction. So I set the timer.

Chicken Parmesan

1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon oregano
dash garlic powder
dash pepper
2 lbs chicken breasts
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
Paprika

Combine crumbs, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, oregano, garlic and pepper. Roll chicken in the mixture. The original recipe (I have no idea where it came from!) called for "chicken parts." In my world, skinless, boneless chicken breasts are the only way to go.

Arrange the battered chicken breasts in a shallow, 2-quart baking dish.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Turn the chicken over. Bake another 20 minutes.

Stir the soup and milk together. Pour it over the chicken. Sprinkle with paprika and the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese.

Bake 20 minutes more or until the chicken is tender. Arrange chicken on a fancy platter. Okay, a regular platter will do but it will effect the table presentation. Stir the sauce that is still in the baking pan. Pour it over the chicken.

Serve. The recipe said this feeds 4 people but if you serve it with vegetables, bread and dessert (and you will because this is the South) it will feed 6.

Breakfast Pizza

I am so not a morning person. It's not that I sleep until noon. But I set my alarm for 8 a.m. Unless I need to be somewhere earlier, like a craft show or driving a Toyota. It keeps me on a schedule. Sort of. But sometimes what I'd really like most is to just sleep until I wake up. Not gonna happen in my world.

Sometimes I even have to get up and prepare breakfast for other people. Company. Funny how they expect to eat. Otherwise, I'm so content with instant grits or maybe a little Raisin Bran. And coffee. Lots of coffee.

So at those times I really must pretend to be a functioning Southern adult woman who cooks even in the morning, I've found this Breakfast Pizza works really well. The original recipe came from the 1985 edition of Southern Living Annual Recipes.

This is also good for brunch or supper. For those of you outside the South, supper is defined as the evening meal. Dinner is at lunch. It's a little confusing at first but you get used to it. It's like Sweet Tea. You just nod, gulp and go on.

Breakfast Pizza

1 lb. bulk pork sausage
1 (8 oz) can refrigerated crescent rolls
1 cup frozen hash browns, thawed
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
5 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Cook the sausage in a cast iron skillet until it is browned. It's also okay to cook it in a regular skillet. Only older Southern women will look at you funny. When the sausage is fully cooked, drain it well. Set it aside for later.

Separate the crescent rolls. The original recipe said to place them in a circle on a pizza pan. I just put them in a greased 8 x 12 inch pan. Spread it out to make a crust. Be sure to seal the perforations so that the pizza doesn't seep through.

Spoon the sausage over the crust. Sprinkle the hash brown potatoes and Cheddar cheese on top of that. I always thaw the hash browns in the microwave. It's easier than trying to plan so far ahead that they're already thawed when I need them.

Combine the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Mix briskly with a fork or whisk. Pour this over the sausage, hash browns and Cheddar cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and cook an extra 5 minutes.

Serve. This recipe is supposed to feed 6 to 8 people. If you have big eaters, you might make a second one. This is really good so folks tend to overeat.

Ginger Carrots

It's almost time for the garden to start producing. Well, maybe in a month or so. We planted a little late this year. Still, don't you love fruits and vegetables? They are so tasty and good for us too!

Here's an example of an easy vegetable. The recipe comes from the original Cooking Light cookbook from Southern Living. I love it. You may want to double everything though. It's designed for only two people. And what Southern woman ever cooks for only two people?!

Ginger Carrots

3 medium carrots, scaped and cut
1 teaspoon margarine
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

The original recipe calls for cutting the carrots into strips. I just slice them so that they're round and about 1/4 inch thick. It's faster for me to do it that way.

Put them with water in a boiler and boil until tender. I only cook them until they're just tender enough for a fork to stick through. I don't like mushy carrots. So don't overcook! Unless you like mushy carrots. If you do, just cook until you're satisfied.

When the carrots are just tender, drain the water out. Then add the margarine, brown sugar and ground ginger. Stir. It only takes a minute or so for the margarine to melt and to coat the carrots. Then they're ready to serve. The original recipe called for low-cal margarine. (It is from a Cooking Light cookbook after all.) I use whatever is available.

This is a nuitritional and tasty way to cook carrots.