Lemon Blueberry Bread

Lemon Blueberry Bread
Erica's Sweet Tooth
click to print

1 1/2 c + 1 tbsp all purpose flour, divided
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c plain yogurt
1 c sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp lemon zest   
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 1/2 c blueberries, fresh or frozen

Lemon Syrup
1/3 c fresh lemon juice
1/3 c sugar

For the lemon glaze
1 c powdered sugar
3-4 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
  

In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla, and oil.
  

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet. 
  

In a separate bowl mix the blueberries with the 1 tbsp of flour. 
  

Gently fold them into the mixed batter.
  

Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x5" loaf pan, dust with flour, and tap out excess. 
 

Pour the batter into the pan and bake 50-55 minutes, or until cake tester comes out clean.
  

Let bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the loaf is cooling, prepare the Lemon Syrup by combining the lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously until sugar is dissolved, and then continue cooking for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
  

Use a toothpick to poke holes in the tops and sides of the warm loaf and brush with the lemon syrup. Continue to brush the loaf until all of the syrup is added.
  

Now, while I was supposed to do this:

To make the lemon glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice and pour over the top of the loaf. Let the lemon glaze harden before serving.

Instead, I thought, "That's a lot of sugar. Maybe I'll just sprinkle some on and call it good. And I'm sure if I wait a little while the syrup will soak up the sugar and then will set!" I might have rubbed my hands together with glee. 
 

I did that, waited a little while, and sliced off a hunk of bread. It was good though the sugar started getting wet with syrup in some spots while still dry and fluffy and sprinkly everywhere else.

Two days later, I had a hard time eating the bread because the top looked like it was a bacterial specimen in a microbiology class. The sugar wasn't set. Instead it was moist.
  

Daily I sprinkled more sugar on the loaf just before eating some to make it look appealing. Munching on the loaf heel, a realization dawned on me: I'd probably sprinkled a total of two cups of sugar over the bread and lost about half just by virtue of sprinkling and eating fine sugar. 
 


Even with my sugar snafu, the bread turned out well. The lemon was zingy, the blueberries tart; the sugar balances everything in the super moist bread. Make some, but follow Erica's directions and use the glaze.

Cost:

• flour: $0.35
• plain yogurt: $1.40
• sugar: $0.28
• eggs: $1.35
• lemons: $1.18  
• vanilla extract: $0.04
• vegetable oil: $0.16
• blueberries, fresh or frozen: $4.99
• powdered sugar: $0.21

Total: $9.96 or $0.83 for each of 12 slices.

Hodge Podge Wednesday

1. Thursday (September 22) is the first official day of autumn in this part of the world...how will you welcome the season? I know some of you have been celebrating way too early, but it's official now so permission granted. House Beautiful recently listed ten ways to make your home smell like fall (you can read the list here) What's a scent you love this time of year and how will you add it to your home? 

We will officially start decorating for fall. I have all ready been having wax burner fall scents and will be creating my own fall potpourri as well. I love pumpkin, apples, cranberries this time of year.

2. Apple pie or pumpkin pie? Apple cake or pumpkin bread? Warm apple cider or a pumpkin spice latte?

Oh love them both but to choose would see me eating a piece of pumpkin pie. I would once again much rather have pumpkin bread over apple cake but when it comes to drink the warm apple cider would win. Let me offer a great alternative of a pumpkin apple cider yummy

• 1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 2 1/2 cups apple cider
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• Cinnamon stick

1. In a large pot, mix together the pumpkin puree, apple cider, pumpkin pie spice and the cinnamon stick. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 20 minutes. If mixture is too thick, add additional cider or water to thin it out.
2. Strain the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove clumps and cinnamon stick

3. Do you suffer from what is sometimes referred to as an afternoon slump? What helps ward it off before it hits and/or tell us what helps you shake it off once it's here?

keeping super busy so that the tired bug does not bite. Right now as I write I am being hit with the afternoon slump, I have ran errands, got kids ready for school, and cleaned out storage shed and wrote post on blog. So yes a nap does sound nice but oh no time

4. Ladies-how have your friendships with women inspired you or made you a better person? For the men here today- how have your friendships with men inspired you or made you a better person?

I have many fine ladies in my life past present and can not wait to see who I will meet in the future. Fun, work, and yes even serious times when we stand next to each other and face the pain of each others troubles have all helped to form who I am today

5. Are you a people pleaser? If you said yes, do you think that's a good or bad thing? If you said no, do you wish you were more of a people pleaser? 

I have been told that I am a people please r. To me I just like to see everyone happy so if there is anything I can do to help then by all means that is what I will be doing. I think this is both a good thing and a bad thing puts more work on me most of the time but also keeps the peace. 

6. The seasons are a-changin'...share a favorite song relating in some way to change (not necessarily seasonal change, it could be change of any kind).

 

The one that most influences me is Landslide. Just listen to the words

7. What do you wish would never change? 

I would love to have my children stay young longer than they do but I would never see the achievements they go for and reach. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

life is good 

Angel Lush With Pineapple Recipe Card

Angel Lush With Pineapple

1 can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 (3.4 oz. ) pkg Jello vanilla flavor instant pudding
1 cup thawed cool whip whip topping
1 pkg (10 oz.) pound angel food cake cut into 3 layers
10 small fresh strawberries

Mix pineapple and pudding. Stir in cool whip. Stack cake layers on plate. Spread pudding mixture between layers and on top of cake.
Chill 1 hour and top with berries

The World Is Not Flat

Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan would set sail on this date, September 20th in 1519. The Spanish King would first give his approval for the voyage. It would be a voyage that would go down in history. There would be 5 ships outfitted and ready to sail on the voyage from Spain. Approximately 250 men would be on board these 5 ships. First he would travel the familiar waters along the west coast of Africa then south to the equator.

Magellan's voyage would go down in history as the first Europeans to sail around the world. It also proved that the world was round and not flat as commonly believed.  The search for the western route to the Moluccas or Spice Islands would take Magellan and his crew a few years to travel. Magellan would find his fate when he was killed on April 27, 1521 just a little over a year after the journey began. Only 2 of the 5 ships would continue on the journey to the spice islands. Only one of the five ships would make the voyage back to Spain. 

Magellan had the goal to reach the East Indies by sailing westward from Europe. No one was sure this could be done. He also wanted to return via the same route. After his death his crews found that the winds would require them to continue to sail west around the world, something that had never been done. After the trip new found facts including the realization that the world was not flat was recognized. 

Fall Orange Punch

Whether you are looking for a great punch for a fall, Halloween or thanksgiving party the recipe you may want to check out is right here .

1 – 2 liter of Sprite or 7 Up

2 -packages of orange Kool Aid, mixed up according to package directions

1-3oz box of orange jello, mixed up according to the package directions

3 cans of frozen lemonade concentrate

Drain and freeze 4 cans of mandarin oranges

Mix together the Sprite, Kool Aid mixture, jello, and lemonade concentrate together in a large punch bowl just before the party, and add the mandarin orange slices. The orange slices serve as ice cubes to keep the punch cold without diluting it.

It’s delicious! It would work great for a fall get together.

Vertigo influences Balance of Life

Vertigo is an illusion of movement and is a specific type of dizziness which causes the person to feel the sensation that they or their surroundings are moving, The person may be standing completely still and feel vertigo. You may recall as a child spinning around and around and making yourself dizzy. This is the same type of dizziness that vertigo causes. 

The sensation of feeling 'wobbly' or the sensation of spinning, swaying and dizziness. Vertigo sensations can occur as often as seconds or minutes to a couple of hours. Vertigo may last for longer periods of time.  

Vertigo is not limited to an age group and can affect anyone. There are many reasons as to why vertigo may happen. Like other disorders that cause balance issues vertigo can be treated if diagnosed by your general practitioner. 

The most common cause of vertigo is BPPV. This is due to minute calcium particles known as canaliths in the canals of inner ear. The job of the inner ear is to keep balance in the body. The inner ear responds to gravity and sends signals to the brain. BPPV is more common in older individuals. vertigo can also be the result of Vestibular Neuronitis causes inflammation in the inner ear and is caused by a viral infection. The inflamation affects the nerves that influences balance and leads to vertigo. Labyrinthitis is another inflammation of the inner ear that again leads to imbalance of body. 

Other infections and injuries may result in vertigo as well.Infections such as Meniere's disease is a bacterial or viral infection that causes accumulation of fluid exerting high pressure in the ear can also be lead to vertigo. Hearing loss and tinnitus may also be caused by this disease. Head and neck injuries , nerve or brain tumors, ear surgery, prolonged bed rest or migraine headaches all can be the cause of vertigo. 

Vertigo is diagnosed through physician test, MRI's and CT scans. The symptoms that one may have to lead up to the doctor visit include:

• Nausea
• Feeling imbalanced or tilt while walking or sitting
• Blurred vision
• Nystagmus or jerky or abnormal movement of eyes
• Headache
• Excess sweating
• Hearing loss
• Tinnitus

Once Diagnosed Vertigo can be treated in a number of different ways. The type of treatment depends on what caused the vertigo. Sometimes treatment will go away without the need of treatment as the brain may adapt by finding an alternative mechanism for balancing the body. Rehabilitation of the vestibular system is often diagnosed for individuals who suffer from recurrent episodes of vertigo time and again. The rehabilitation trains your body's other sense organs to balance and make up when vertigo occurs.

Epley maneuvers is treatment suggested for BPPV. The maneuvers is a series of movements to help remove the calcium deposits that causes vertigo. In addition medication can be prescribed to help reduce symptoms of vertigo. Drugs ranging from anti inflammatory, antibiotics or steroids all can be prescribed to help reduce swelling and cure infections. In some cases such as to remove tumors or head injuries surgery will be recommended. 

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan

• 2 lbs. eggplant
• kosher salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
• peanut oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 quart home canned tomatoes, or 16 oz. crushed tomatoes and 16. oz. chopped tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 10 oz. Mozzarella cheese
• 3 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Peel eggplant and slice into ½ inch thick slices.  Salt generously with kosher salt and drain for at least 1 hour.

Make the sauce while the eggplant is draining.  Chop garlic.  Heat pan with ¼ cup olive oil over medium high heat.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant about 1 minute.  Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes to reduce.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash eggplant and dry thoroughly in a clean towel or paper towels.  In three plates put flour seasoned with salt and pepper, eggs whisked, and Italian breadcrumbs.  Dip the sliced eggplants first into the flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs.  Fry eggplant in smoking peanut oil until golden brown on both sides and drain on a paper towel.

In a 9 x 13 baking dish, spread a thin layer of sauce.  Layer eggplant, sauce, chopped fresh basil and mozzarella until all the ingredients have been used.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Serves 6

Click over to Tasty Kitchen for my printable recipe. Here’s how to make my Eggplant Parmesan:

1.  Peel your eggplant using a sharp potato peeler (I love my OXO potato peeler!  I am left handed and most potato peelers only work right handed.  But not OXO, it’s great for left or right and it is sharp enough to handle eggplant.)  You can also use a pairing knife.

2.  Slice your eggplant into 1/2 inch slices.

3.  Generously salt each slice with kosher salt (table salt will work too) on both sides and place on a wire rack for about an hour.  This will draw out moisture (and any bitterness) from the eggplant.  I place a cookie sheet under the rack to catch any drippings.

4.  To make the sauce, chop your 4 cloves of garlic.  Heat pan over medium high heat.  Add 1/4 cup olive oil.  Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add 1 quart of home bottled tomatoes and they are amazing!  You can also used store bought tomatoes.  Use one 16 oz. crushed tomato and one 16 oz. chopped tomato.  I have also made this dish using 2 pounds fresh Roma tomatoes from my garden, I place the tomatoes in boiling water for about 1 minute, slip the skins and rough chop.

5.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Simmer for  30 minutes to reduce.  This will also break down the big chunks of tomato.  Here’s a quick tip.  If my sauce tastes a little too acidic, I throw in a small pat of butter and stir it in.  This works really well to reduce the acidity.

6.  Grate the mozzarella cheese and set aside.

7. After an hour, rinse the salt from the eggplant and dry on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels.

8.  In three plates place flour seasoned with salt and pepper, whisked eggs and Italian breadcrumbs.  First dredge the eggplant in flour mixture.  Shake it to remove excess.

9. Dredge in eggs.

10. Coat with breadcrumbs.

11.  Fry eggplants in smoking peanut oil until golden brown on both sides, and drain on a paper towel.

12.  Spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom of your pan.  Layer eggplant, sauce, chopped basil and cheese until all the ingredients have been used.

13. Cook in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

I love this meal served with a simple Italian salad and breadsticks or garlic bread.  I hope you love this as much as I do.

Cheesy Potato Casserole

Cheesy Potato Casserole

1 (32 oz) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 (10.5 oz) can condensed cream of celery soup
1 (16 oz) carton sour cream
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
1-1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Arrange the thawed hash brown potatoes in bottom of a 13×9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the potatoes.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; stir into the potato mixture.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until hot and bubbly. Makes 8 servings.

Cheesy Crunchy Chicken Breasts Its Whats for Supper

My grandkids love the shaped macaroni and cheese mixes. So when I was looking for something to fix with their favorite food I located a cheesy chicken recipe.

Cheesy Crunchy Chicken Breasts
1 c cornflakes, crushed
1 c Mexican blend shredded cheese
1/4 c butter, melted
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Mix cornflakes and cheese in a 9x5" loaf pan.

Dip chicken breasts in the melted butter and roll them in the cornflake/cheese mixture.

Didn't I say the breasts were humongous? 

Place breaded breasts in a lightly greased 9x13" baking dish. 

Monster breaded breasts in a 9x13" dish. 

Bake in the preheated oven 30-40 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. 



Cost:

• milk, 1/2 gal: $2.50
• chicken breasts, boneless, skinless: @ $1.97/lb = $8.69

There were five breasts in the package, 3 I cooked (and 2 I froze) which makes this meal about $7.71 which was enough for 3 people with a cooked breast leftover.  We ate all of the Spiderman pasta.

Canning Peaches

Peach season will soon be over but it is not to late to can a few for future use. 

Free stone peaches are the best to use when canning

You will first want to put jars and rings into dishwasher on the sterilize setting. Oh!!! NO dishwasher?? Place jars in boiling water caner and bring water to a boil for 10 minutes. 

Heat the lids in a small saucepan to heat simmer but not boil

wash peaches and rinse in colander Boil peaches in a pot of boiling water and blanch for about a minute. 

After blanching, place them into a ice water bath to keep them from cooking.

Then the skins just slip right off.  No need to even use a knife.  If they don’t slip off, you may need to put them back in the boiling water for 30 more seconds.  If they still don’t slip, your peaches might not be ripe.  Put a ripe banana in the box and check them the next day.  The banana usually does the trick and the peaches ripen right up.

A great tip to save room in jar and time later is to quarter the peaches. Pit and quarter peaches Use fruit fresh or lemon juice to keep your peaches from browning

 Make a syrup.  use 9 cups water to 2 1/2 cups sugar.  Bring it to a boil in a medium saucepan.

cold pack method… Put your quartered peaches face down in your hot and sterilized bottles.  By face down, I mean the pit side down.  We pack our bottles with peaches just to the line of the lip of the bottle (the end of the curve at the top.)  It’s good to pack them fairly tight… without squishing them, so they aren’t as likely to float.

Now carefully pour your hot syrup into the bottles until your peaches are covered.  Leave a 1/2 inch of space at the top of the bottle… no more, no less.  You sometimes have to adjust here by adding or taking out a peach to reach the 1/2 inch mark.

Using a butter knife, slide it down each side of the bottle to remove any air bubbles.

use a clean damp cloth and wipe around the rim of your bottle.

Place your lid centered on the bottle and screw on the ring.  I screw it finger tight.  You don’t want to over tighten the lid.  (I don’t know why, but I’m sure there is a good reason.)

Now place your bottles into the rack of the canner.  Place every other bottle across from each other so you don’t tip the rack over.  The water in your canner can be pretty warm, but not at a boil when you put your cans in, or you’ll break a can.  I fill my canner about half full of water.  Then I keep a another pan of hot water on hand to pour in if needed.  You want your jars covered with about an inch of water.  Now turn your burner up to the highest heat.

You don’t start timing them until the water reaches a vigorous boil.  That’s the other nice thing about canning with a friend:  There are two people to watch when the pot starts boiling instead of one.  In my case that is a serious advantage, as I would forget my head if it weren’t attached. Because we are at high altitude and because we can our peaches the raw pack method… we process quarts for 40 minutes.  Once you have started timing you can turn the heat down a bit to maintain a gentle boil during processing.

The other wonderful thing about canning with a friend… the cleanup goes twice as fast.

Once your jars have processed, carefully remove them from your canner and place them on a dishtowel to cool.  You should have about an inch in-between jars, but it doesn’t look like we followed that rule!  Oh well, nothing is better than seeing all those jars in a row.  We leave them on the counter until the next day.  After 24 hours, make sure to unscrew the rims and check the seals… the lids should be concave and should not flex up and down if the center is pressed.  If you have a jar that didn’t seal, put it in the refrigerator and eat them.  Because we have very hard water, we have to clean the jars off before putting them in your pantry.

Sloppy Joe Hoagie It's Whats For Supper

2 pounds ground beef or ground turkey 

1 onion chopped

1 green pepper chopped (optional - I just grabbed some that I had chopped and frozen)

2 small cans of tomato sauce

1 can of water

1/4 cup of BBQ Sauce (any kind that you got for cheap will do)

2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

2 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar

2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar (any will do)

2 Tablespoons of Mustard

1 Teaspoon of Garlic Salt

 

Brown your beef or turkey in a pan.  Add onion and green pepper -cook until soft. Add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Serve on any kind of buns you have on hand.

 

Frugal tip: Buy buns or hoagie rolls when they get clearanced out because of their date. Then pop them in the freezer. Pull out only what you need for dinner. Place in the oven around  350 degrees (or along side your french fries) until thawed and warmed through. It is that easy.