Wednesday, February 22, 2012

blueberry upside-down muffins

I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to try it for Saturday breakfast. It didn't turn out as pretty as the picture (of course!) but they were pretty tasty!

what you'll need:
  • for topping:
    • 1 1/2 cups blueberries
    • 3/4 cups sugar
    • 1 Tbsp. water or lemon juice
  • for batter:
    • 2 cups all purpose flour
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1 Tbsp. baking powder
    • 1 tsp. salt
    • 1 cup milk
    • 4 Tbsp. melted butter
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
 how you'll do it:
  • preheat oven to 400*
  • spray muffin tin with nonstick spray and place in oven to get warm
mix blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice or water in a pot on medium heat

continue mixing until blueberries pop, about 10 minutes. set aside to cool

 in a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder

remove muffin tin and add blueberry mix

in a small bowl, combine melted butter, egg, milk, and vanilla
combine butter and flour mixture. don't over-stir

top blueberry mix with batter

bake for about 10-14 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean

like I said, maybe not so pretty, but still pretty tasty!

Side note:
  • I think preheating the pan was a bad idea, as the nonstick spray I used kind of cooked itself, and I'm pretty sure that's why the blueberry topping did in fact stick to the pan
  • Also, I used 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat
  • If the blueberries don't seem to be popping, don't be afraid to help them along :)

Monday, February 20, 2012

amish lasagna

I'm not really sure why this is called "Amish Lasagna" except that it came out of an Amish cookbook. I got this recipe in college and have been using it ever since. It is SO good. I made a tweek on the recipe this time and used "oven ready" lasagna noodles. You don't have to boil them and it takes so much time off of the whole process. I was very pleased!

what you'll need:
  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  • 16 oz. cottage cheese (shh...don't tell Ryan ;) )
  • 4 cups mozzerella cheese
  • 8 lasagna noodles
  • 1 jar spaghetti sauce

how you'll do it:

this is the awesome lasagna that I mentioned earlier

brown the meat in a pan and add the sauce; heat on low
 
meanwhile, mix the cheeses together in a bowl

 in a 9x13 casserole dish, spoon some of the meat sauce

put 4 noodles on top of the sauce

 layer with sauce and cheese, then repeat noodles, sauce, cheese

bake at 350* for about 45-55 minutes

Viola! So yummy! I hope you enjoy!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

tye-dye cupcakes

Thanks again to Pinterest for this great idea! This recipe puts a unique and fun twist on plain white cupcakes. It is super easy and very bright!

what you'll need:
  • 1 box white cake mix + ingredients
  • food coloring

how you'll do it:
  • mix cake mix according to directions on box
  • separate batter into bowls (one bowl per color)

pick the colors that you want to use and add to each bowl until pleased with color

add in random order to cupcake pan

 bake according to directions on box and let cool

top with icing and enjoy!

check out the awesome colors!