Spinach Berry Cucumber Salad

recipe from Trainer Momma

Ingredients:

• 10 oz of fresh baby spinach
• 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• 1 fresh peach, sliced
• handful of dried cranberries
• handful of Asiago cheese, shredded
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup sugared pecans
• White Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (see recipe below)

Mix all the ingredients. Dress the salad to taste with the most of the dressing (I typically have a little left over) and serve immediately.

White Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

recipe from Trainer Momma

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar  (Picky Apple Note: I just used regular balsamic)
• 1 Tb pure maple syrup
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 ground black pepper

Just mix all the ingredients in a jar and shake well.

This salad looks absolutely gorgeous, and unlike some gimmicky food presentations, this one tastes delicious too!  Loads of greens, chopped apples, pears, strawberries, blueberries, nuts and gorgonzola.  (If you’re not a fan of the stinky blue cheeses, goat cheese or feta would also be excellent here).  Due to a small mishap (I forgot to buy poppyseeds), I wound up using a bottled dressing instead, but I will definitely be preparing the Lemon Poppyseed Dressing next time.

If you’re looking for something healthier to bring to a holiday party over the next few weeks, I’d definitely recommend this salad!

Winter Berry Salad Wreath with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

recipe from roomag.com

Ingredients:

• 1 head of Iceberg lettuce (Picky Apple note: I used red and green romaine)
• 4 cups mixed greens
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 bunches grapes
• 1 apple (chopped)
• 1 Pear (chopped and sliced for decoration)
• 6 Strawberries (2 whole for decorating the rest chopped)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/2 cup cashews (Picky Apple Note: I used walnuts.  Pecans would be yummy too!)
• 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese (Picky Apple Note: Feta or goat cheese would also work)
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp diced fresh onion
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
• 2/3 cup olive oil

Place iceberg lettuce around a round plate.  Top with mixed greens.  On both sides of “wreath” make a decoration with spinach leaves, then add bunches of grapes to each side, fanned pears and whole strawberries. Be as creative as you wish.  To the salad add chopped apples, pears, strawberries, blueberries, dried cranberries, cashews and crumbled gorgonzola cheese.

For dressing: Squeeze the juice of one lemon (1/2 cup) and pour into food processor or blender. Add honey, onion, dijon mustard, poppy seeds, and olive oil. Pulse until well blended.

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The Creative Spark at Clean & Scentsible

Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts

Lemon Poppyseed Waffles with Blueberries

adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 cups blueberries (The Picky Apple Note: frozen blueberries work best here)

I bought this with dreams of cooking through the entire cookbook with The Littlest Apple, enjoying the experience as we went along and hopefully finding a few new things for him to eat.  While we DO cook and bake together fairly regularly, this particular experience was less than idyllic, ending with The Littlest Apple crying and in time out.  Just keeping it real, folks.

Honestly, this cookbook pleasantly surprised me.  As expected, there are lots of easy recipes a preschooler can make, and it is certainly geared toward kid favorites (chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, pizza).  Here are some of the titles: Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce, Cookie Monster’s Homemade Peanut Butter Sandwiches (the recipe is for the peanut butter), Ernie’s Frozen Fun Pops, Zoe’s Rainbow Salad Boats.

But the first section of the cookbook has recipes from Martha, Emeril, Jamie Oliver, Rachel Ray, and Alton Brown.  The rest of the cookbook also includes some surprising recipes like Grover’s African-Style Peanut Butter Soup, Bert’s Tutt-Frutti Turkey Salad (which has curry), Grover’s Egg and Sausage Strata and this recipe for Blueberry Oatmeal Bars.  We all really liked these Bars (though it does seem to be one of the less healthy recipes from the book!).  Great for breakfast, snack or dessert.

This cookbook also contains lots of useful information about getting kids involved in the kitchen and making food fun.  Each recipe includes at least one kid-friendly step, and there are even some Sesame Street stickers at the end.  This is such a cute cookbook!

Best Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

from C is For Cooking

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 cups uncooked old-fashioned oats
• 1 pint (2 cups) fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with aluminum foil.  Lightly grease the foil with nonstick cooking spray or vegetable oil.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt until well-mixed.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat together the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter until fluffy.  Beat in the oil, eggs, and vanilla.  With a wooden spoon, mix in the flour mixture until blended.  Stir in the oats and blueberries.

Use a rubber spatula to spread the batter evenly in the pan.

Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.  Lift by the foil from the pan and cut into 24 bar cookies.

Firecracker Ice Pops

recipe from Everyday Food

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered (1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 pound blueberries (1 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/4 cups low-fat plain yogurt

In a food processor, puree strawberries with 1 tablespoon sugar.  Transfer to a small bowl.  In processor, puree blueberries with 1 tablespoon sugar.  In another small bowl, whisk together yogurt and 2 tablespoons sugar.  Pour the 3 mixtures, alternating, into ten 3-ounce ice-pop molds, making 3 to 5 layers each.  Swirl mixtures if desired.  Insert ice-pop sticks and freeze until solid, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

The Littlest Apple (pre haircut) enjoy his popsicle….

Corn and Blueberry Salad

from Better Homes and Gardens, June 2010

Ingredients:

• 6 ears fresh sweet corn, husked
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 small cucumber, sliced (omitted)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (omitted)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

In a Dutch oven bring salted water to boiling.  Add corn.  Cook, covered, 5 minutes or until tender.  When cool enough to handle, cut corn from cobs.

In a serving bowl, combine corn, blueberries, cucumber, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno.  For dressing, in screw-top jar combine lime juice, oil, honey, cumin, and 1/2 tsp. salt.  Cover; shake well to combine.  Add to salad; toss.  Cover and refrigerate overnight (up to 24 hours).

Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bundt Cake

adapted from One Hungry Mama who adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 c flour, plus 1 tsp for blueberries and zest
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 c packed light brown sugar
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 c sour cream
• 2 c blueberries
• 2 tbsp grated lemon zest
• nonstick cooking spray, for pan
  

For the crumble:

• 5 tbsp cold butter, cubed
• 3/4 c flour
• 1 c light brown sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 c freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, whisk 2 1/2 cups flour with baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of sour cream.

In a bowl, toss blueberries and zest with remaining teaspoon flour; gently fold into batter. Coat a 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan with cooking spray. Spread batter in prepared pan and set aside.

Prep the crumb topping: pulse brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and cold butter in a food processor until crumbly. Spread topping evenly over the batter, gently pressing down. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a rack.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze: in a small saucepan, whisk together confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice over very low heat until smooth and warmed through.

Using a toothpick, poke holes over the top of your bundt cake and pour warm glaze evenly over it. Serve!

When I was doing my menu planning this week, I rattled off several dessert options for The Picky Apple to choose from, all new and untried.  When he heard “Crumb Topped Blueberry-Lemon Cheesecake Bars” he said “THAT ONE!” before I even finished the options.  I hit several of his keywords: blueberry, lemon, and cheesecake.  I was leaning toward some brownies, myself, so I guess that’s what I get for asking his opinion.  (He should have KNOWN I wanted him to pick the brownies, right ladies?)  But no harm done.  These turned out great!  Love the flavors!  The only change I might make next time is to double (?) the cheesecake layer….the crust and crumb are both really rich.  Of course, then they might not really be bars anymore.  Then it might just be cheesecake.

Crumb Topped Blueberry-Lemon Cheesecake Bars

recipe from Emily at Sugar Plum

Ingredients:
Crust:

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar

Filling:

• 12 ounces cream cheese, (1 1/2 packages) softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 pint fresh blueberries

Topping:

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds, toasted
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13×9-inch pan with foil and grease bottom and sides using preferred method.

To make the crust, in a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until creamy, about 1-2 minutes; reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture until just combined and crumbly. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until light golden around edges; remove from oven.

To make the filling, in a medium bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together cream cheese and sugar until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in lemon juice, zest and almond extract until combined. Beat in eggs until combined, about 1 minute; pour filling over the top of crust, and evenly sprinkle with blueberries. Return pan to oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until set.

To make the topping, in a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, flour, almonds, cinnamon and salt, until combined; knead in butter using fingertips or a fork, until ingredients are well incorporated and start to clump together. Sprinkle the crumbly mixture evenly over the cheesecake filling. Return pan to oven and bake an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for an hour before lightly covering and chilling for 2 hours, or until cold. Lift foil out of pan and slice cheesecake into rows, 3×5, to make 15 bars.

Makes 15 bars

Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins

from Annie’s Eats, adapted from Joy the Baker

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 cups oats
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. canola oil
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (I used fresh)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  In another bowl combine the applesauce, buttermilk, brown sugar, oil and egg.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and add in the applesauce mixture.  Stir together just until all dry ingredients are incorporated.  Gently fold in the blueberries with a rubber spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups.  Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

Daily life with The Littlest Apple seems to have gotten a lot busier.  He is on the move, a busy little bee.  A 20 month old with his very own social calendar.   Wanting to do it all by himself but not quite able to.  VERY interested in helping in the kitchen, which is heartwarming or annoying, depending on my level of patience at the time!  His favorite thing to do is “mix”, and he is always asking, “Mix? Bowl?  Mix?  Miiiiiiiiiiiiix?!!”  This is typically followed by a screaming tantrum on the floor if I do not indulge his demands.  He recently figured out how to push a chair from the table across the kitchen to the counter where I do most of my food prep.  Gulp.  I think I’m in trouble now!

To kick off my return, here’s a recipe for a bundt cake that’s great for breakfast, dessert, or anytime!  This was one of the first recipes that I really let The Littlest Apple help with.  He helped stir together the dry ingredients, added the blueberries, and poured things.  He was so proud of his cake, and told his grandparents all about it the next day when they came for a visit.

The recipe is from Cooking Light so it is (relatively) healthy, but is absolutely full of flavor.  I’ve had lemon-poppyseed, and lemon-blueberry combinations before, but never this trio of lemon-blueberry-poppyseed.  They make an amazing threesome!

Glazed Lemon-Blueberry Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

from Cooking Light, April 2009

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tbsp dry breadcrumbs (I omitted)
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
• 3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon extract  (I omitted this)

Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp nonfat buttermilk
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To prepare cake, coat a 12 cup Bundt pan with cooking spray; dust with breadcrumbs.

Combine granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffly (about 5 minutes).  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt); stir with a whisk.  Add blueberries to flour mixture; toss to coat.  Combine 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1/3 cup juice, and extracts.  Add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool pan on a wire rack 10 minutes.  Remove cake from pan; cool on rack.

To prepare glaze, place powdered sugar in a small bowl; add 1 tablespoon buttermilk and 1 tablespoon juice; stirring with a whisk until combined.  Pour glaze over warm cake; cool completely.

Yield: 16 servings