Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Before I start posting some yummy fall foods, I wanted to share this lemon poppyseed muffin that I made a few weeks ago. Muffins from scratch are so much better than those from a box. You cut out all the uncessary chemicals and additives and get to really taste the flavors of whatever kind you are making. Plus, you can adapt to your own tastes and substitute different ingredients to make it healthier if you want. The recipe I found used a little less butter and sugar than most that I came across and were just under 200 calories a piece. I'm not a huge calorie counter (more of an ingredient counter) but many muffins can really pack a punch with calories and fat. Like I said, when you make them at home you can control what goes in them. I'm ready to make some pumpkin muffins!

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup organic or natural sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
zest of 2 lemons
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
2- 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray pan with nonstick spray or prepare with liners
2. Cream butter and sugar
3. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition
4.In a seperate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, poppy seeds, lemon zest and salt.
5.Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture alternating with the lemon juice and the vanilla
6. Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan
7. Bake for approximately 20-25 mins or until toothpick comes out clean
*I opted not to do a lemon glaze this time, but you if you wanted to add it, just mix up a little lemon juice, lemon zest, a little bit of milk, and some powdered sugar.



Recipe source: slightly adapted from Food.com

Strawberry Lemon Shortbread Bars

Hope everyone is having a great Labor Day! I spent the first part of the day at work, but luckily have the afternoon off. We had a big cookout this weekend and made a ton of great food! My parents came in town and my sisters came over so I was glad to get to spend some time with them. I will be posting some of the dishes we made over the weekend in the next few days but wanted to put my dessert up first. I knew I wanted to make something kind of summery since this is the last official holiday of the Summer. Something light and citrusy sounded good to me. I thought about regular lemon bars but when I saw the recipe for Strawberry Lemon Shortbread Bars I knew I had to try it.  They were pretty easy to make which was good since we had been busy cooking all day. I thought they turned out really well. Not to heavy and not too sweet. A great ending to a great meal!

Saturday night we had sweet and sour tilapia, grilled veggies over couscous, and homemade french bread. My sister thought my presentation needed something so she added "fins" to my fish with the orange balsamic sauce.

Sunday we grilled/smoked some pork and chicken (I actually did try some of the pork and it was good!), homemade coleslaw, salad, baked beans (which I did not eat since I don't like them), sangria, and more bread. My husband actually made his own barbeque sauce which was great. He also decided to try and make mayonaise for the coleslaw and it actually turned out better than I thought it would. We had never tried it before, but he saw it done by chef Alton Brown and wanted to try it.

Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp lemon zest, divided
3/4 cup cold butter
2 (8oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar (organic/natural if you have it)
2 large eggs (cage free/vegetarian fed is what I always buy)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (fresh juice is best- the bottled stuff usually has preservatives and other additives)
1 cup strawberry preserves
fresh whipped cream and strawberry slices for topping

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together flour, powdered sugar, and 1/2 tsp. lemon zest in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Press mixture onto bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch pan.
2. Bake at 350° for 20 to 22 minutes or until lightly browned.
3. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and beat just until blended after each addition. Stir in fresh lemon juice and remaining 1/2 tsp. lemon zest, beating well (note: original recipe only used a total of 3/4 tsp lemon zest and added 1/4 tsp to batter. I like a stronger lemon flavor so I added 1/2 tsp to the batter. Adjust according to your personal tastes)
4. Spread preserves over shortbread. Pour cream cheese mixture over preserves, spreading to edges. Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until set. Let cool 1 hour on a wire rack. Cover and chill 4 to 8 hours. Cut into bars; garnish, if desired.



Recipe source: Southern Living (April 2011) via myrecipes.com

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

I've been wanting to make a dish with Quinoa for awhile. My boss brought a dish with it one day for work and let me try it. And it was so good.  We use rice in a lot of dishes so I thought this might give us a litltle variety.  It's got kind of a weird texture, but I like it. It's light and airy and doesn't seem to be as heavy as rice. It does cost a little more than rice (at least what I found) so it's probably not the best for serving a huge crowd, especially if you are on a tight budget. I'll probaby start using it a little more though. The kind I bought was organic and was wheat and gluten free. I think there are different varieties, just like rice, so maybe next time I'll try another one.  The recipe below makes quite a bit, but I like having leftovers for lunch at work.  If you are just cooking for yourself or maybe 2 or 3 people and don't plan on eating leftovers I would definitely half it.

Ingredients
2 cups organic less sodium chicken broth

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 cup uncooked quinoa

2 large cooked chicken breasts - cut into bite size pieces

1/2 large red onion, diced

1 medium green bell pepper, diced

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 Tbps of dried parsley

2 Tbps of green onions

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 tsp of black pepper

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

Directions

Bring the chicken broth and garlic to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in the quinoa, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the water has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Discard the garlic clove and scrape the quinoa into a large bowl.

Gently mix rest of ingredients except liquids into quinoa. Drizzle with the lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. Stir until evenly mixed. Serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold.



Recipe source: slightly adapted from allrecipes.com http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mediterranean-quinoa-salad/detail.aspx