Pumpkin Pie Quinoa Parfaits and Baked Pumpkin Donuts

I finally got into my first can of pumpkin for the season and also used my donut pan for the first time. I had some cooked quinoa in the fridge and saw this fun idea for a Pumpkin Pie Quinoa Parfait. I've tried other recipes that use quinoa in a non-savory breakfast way and this was a great one. Very original and a great way to change up the humdrum of your normal breakfast, snack or dessert.

I also saw this recipe for Baked Pumpkin Donuts that uses melted ice cream in the batter. I had just the perfect amount of leftover vanilla ice cream in my freezer from a recent birthday and whipped these up just in time for my husband to take them to work with him in the morning. I didn't get to try one, but my kids really enjoyed the mini donuts!

Here is the recipe for Pumpkin Pie Quinoa Parfaits
* I used plain nonfat greek yogurt and added a little bit of pure maple syrup
* I used less graham crackers crumbs than called for
* I topped it off with some crumbled pecan nut clusters

Here is the recipe for Baked Pumpkin Ice Cream Glazed Donuts

Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Creamy Lemon-Yogurt Sauce

I have to apologize for the fact that my blog has been taken over by zucchini and summer squash, but when you pick at least 5-6 a day out of your garden, you kind of have to eat them fast and in everything. I have been using a small zucchini in my breakfast everyday, sauteed/ on the side of my eggs, but I still have to incorporate them into our dinners.

When I saw this recipe over at Ezra Pound Cake, I knew it would be a great one for a summer night. Light and quick. Lots of veggies. bright flavors. This dish has it all. I wasn't sure if my kids would enjoy the yogurt/lemon sauce since it was tart and well, quite lemon-y, but they gobbled this one down. And, I used grapes tomatoes from the garden. Nothing tastes as good as a home grown tomato. Nothing at all.

Here is the recipe for Pasta with Zucchini, Tomatoes, and Creamy Lemon-Yogurt Sauce
* I didn't cook my tomatoes, I just tossed them in when everything was mixed together

Spicy Chard Soup

Do you dye eggs for Easter?
We do and this year, we might have gone a little overboard. Lots of lots of hard-boiled eggs.

The good thing is that we love to eat hard-boiled eggs around here. Well, at least the white part of the hard-boiled egg. My kids don't like the yolk and I only like a little bit of the yolk with my white and it has to be cooked perfectly. No green ring around the yolk and no dark yellow, crusty, not cooked all the way yolk. They must be perfectly creamy and dreamy light yellow.
I don't always get them just perfect, the way I want them, but this time I did have some success.

We always make these Egg Salad Sandwich faces with some of the eggs and eat them for snacks, but I wanted to do something else this year. Something new.

When I saw this recipe for Spicy Chard Soup in a recent issue of Food Network Magazine, I thought it would be the perfect way to use some of those extra hard-boiled eggs. I have never seen a hard-boiled egg in soup before, so I was intrigued. Plus, it contains swiss chard- my favorite food.
The soup was easy to make. Not too many ingredients, but yet the results were really fabulous.

What is your favorite way to use hard-boiled eggs?

Here is the recipe for Spicy Chard Soup from Food Network Magazine
* I used less olive oil than called for and didn't drizzle the soup with olive oil at the end
* I didn't have caraway seeds, so I just skipped them
*I didn't have cumin seeds, so I just used ground cumin
* I didn't add the hot sauce to the entire pot of soup. I put the hot sauce on the table and the adults added it to their own bowls. My son even got brave and added a couple drops to his soup.

Light and Creamy Asparagus Soup

Asparagus is a family favorite around here. We love it roasted, blanched, steamed, stir-fried- really, we love it anyway it is prepared.
I saw this soup and thought it would be an interesting way to find out if we like asparagus pureed.

The verdict- we do!

This soup is quick and easy to make and it is very filling. Cannellini beans and a little bit of plain greek yogurt are the secrets to getting that thick and creamy texture without the added fat.

I don't particularly like bacon or cooking it, but I have come to appreciate the crispness and flavor it can add to a dish in small amounts. As the garnish here with the asparagus tips, it is wonderful.

This soup just screams Spring to me. It's beautiful color and light flavor really hit the spot.

Here is the recipe for Light and Creamy Asparagus Soup
* I added the juice of 1 lemon to the soup, since I added some lemon zest
* I didn't add the cayenne to the soup, I sprinkled it on top of the adult portions
* I added a garnish of lemon zest on top

Grapefruit Honey Yogurt Scones

You should make these beautiful babies as soon as humanly possible.

Go now and gather the ingredients. Throw them together and you will not be sorry.
Especially if you enjoy grapefruit and/or scones.
You will not find another scone that is this light and full of flavor. These things are perfection.

Just ask my brother who devoured 1/2 of them in a matter of minutes.
They really are amazing.

That is all.

Here is the recipe for Grapefruit Honey Yogurt Scones from Joy the Baker

* I used 0% Fage Greek yogurt

Chicken, Kiwi, and Mango Salad

Finally, it is beginning to warm up around here! I think Spring might be right around the corner. I'm so happy about this because the cold is going to leave and go away for a really long time!

The sun is shining and it is beautiful outside. Those two things make me think of fresh, springy (or summery) salads.

This is a salad that will make you feel happy and it is really easy to make. You just need a handful of ingredients. The dressing is made with mayo, but I used lowfat greek yogurt instead and it is flavored with ginger and lime. The kiwi and mango are delicious with the chicken and those cashews add just the right amount of crunch. Yum.

Recipe for Chicken, Kiwi, and Mango Salad
* I used greek yogurt instead of mayo

Good Luck Dip

This is actually New Year's Good Luck Dip. I saw it on Ezra Pound Cake a day or two before New Year's and loved this twist on collard greens and beans.

I wasn't going to share it here since it has been a few weeks since New Years Day, but it was so delicious and I figured we could all use some good luck, probably more than just on the first day of the year. You can't really go wrong with dip and this one has some healthy stuff in it.

This dip starts out with a little bit of bacon. You cook a sweet onion, red bell pepper and then add the collard greens, and cook them down until they are nice and wilted. You might be thinking that collard greens can't fit into a dip. But they can. Make sure you finely chop the collard greens. To lighten this dip up a little, I used nonfat cream cheese and nonfat Greek yogurt. I was actually kinda surprised by how yummy this dip was. I also added some black-eyed peas since we had this dip the same day as the Southern Egg Rolls.

I used whole wheat pita chips as my main dipper, but I think it would taste great with veggie sticks too. Since it was sort of a New Year's party for our family, I splurged and bought some Frito dips, so they could use those to dip into this dip.

This was a great recipe and we loved how it turned out.

Recipe for Good Luck Dip
* I used non-fat cream cheese
* I used nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream
* I added some cooked black-eyed peas

TWD-Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins

I'm halfway through my month without butter and we are doing great. I haven't used it yet, although there have been a few times that I really wanted to!
I knew these Lemon Poppyseed Muffins Betsy picked for Tuesday's with Dorie today would be an easy recipe to modify and they turned out really yummy. You can go get the original recipe at A Cup of Sweetness where Betsy has it posted.

I used white wheat flour, nonfat Greek yogurt, low-fat buttermilk, and a little canola oil to keep these muffins nice and moist. I only made 1/2 of the recipe since I was making mini muffins and I got 24 of them.

These muffins were really good. Nice and lemon-y. Definitely a success. I love mini muffins because they are just the right size for a 2-bite snack.

Go see the other muffins and variations at TWD!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
makes 24 mini muffins

1/3 cup sugar
grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup white wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup +1 Tablespoon nonfat greek yogurt
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 1/2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds

Icing
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1-2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat to 400 F. Spray your muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray or line the cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the nonfat greek yogurt, buttermilk, canola oil, lemon juice and vanilla extract together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to combine. Do not overmix the batter - a few lumps are ok. Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 9 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing the muffins and let them cool completely on the rack before icing.

To Make the Icing: Put the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 Tablespoon of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough additional lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon. Drizzle lines of icing over the tops of the muffins.

Spring Chicken Salad

Pictures are often the reason that I want to try certain recipes.
Cookbooks and magazines are fun for me to look at and pictures of certain recipes will make me want to try them.
That is what happened here. Partly. I saw the picture for this recipe in Food Network Magazine and was happy about the word Spring in the title. Plus, it looked yummy.
This time of year always makes me want to eat more salad, so everytime I find a good salad recipe that the entire family enjoys I am excited.

I also happened to have most of the ingredients for this salad on hand, which is unusual since I don't usually have potatoes in the house.
I liked that the dressing was made with greek yogurt, which is something that I usually sub for mayo, so the fact that it was already in this recipe made me happy.

I don't really love fresh tarragon, simply because it has that anise/licorice flavor, but in this salad it wasn't too strong since it was mixed with the fresh chives. It was subtle enough that I didn't mind it at all. This was a super fast dinner, that didn't require any cooking, which is always appreciated by me on a weeknight.

I used some cooked turkey breast that I had in my fridge instead of chicken. I also reduced the olive oil by 1/2. Quick and delicious!

Recipe for Spring Chicken Salad

Pork (Turkey) Meatball Banh Mi

I have developed a "like" for spicy food. It has been fairly recently that I have enjoyed spicy food more than I used to.

This is one spicy sandwich.

I have never had a Banh Mi, so I am definitely not an expert on what they are supposed to look like or taste like. I saw this recipe for a Meatball Banh Mi in a recent issue of Bon Appetit and I thought it looked delicious, plus it was really interesting.

I finally got around to making this sandwich a couple of weeks ago. I halved the recipe for everything except the meatballs, because I knew just from looking at the ingredients that this was going to be a little too spicy for my kids. I thought they could probably handle the meatballs though, so I decided I would make them little noodle bowls with the meatballs included. (This is not something I usually do- making the kids a separate little dinner, but this time the heat was too much for them to handle.)

I used lean ground turkey for the meatballs and greek yogurt instead of mayo for the hot "mayo" spread. I also used a whole wheat baguette for my sandwich.

This sandwich definitely had a really spicy hot bite to it, but it was really tasty! I really liked it and I thought of my younger sister when I took that first spicy bite because she would love this sandwich.

For the noodle bowls, I just sauteed a big head of napa cabbage and some matchstick carrots, then added that to some noodles and topped it with the meatballs.

If you like spicy sandwiches or love Banh Mi, you will definitely want to try this recipe. Or if you just are intrigued and want something new for dinner- give it a shot!



*I used Greek Yogurt for the hot, spicy mayo sauce
* I used lean ground turkey instead of ground pork

Recipe for Pork Meatball Bahn Mi

CEiMB-Curried Chicken Salad

This week's CEiMB recipe, Curried Chicken Salad, was chosen by Sarah, who blogs over at Sarah's Kitchen Adventures. You can find the recipe on her blog or by clicking HERE.
This will be the last time that I am participating in CEiMB and what a great recipe to go out on.

I really loved this one.
I made a few changes, which I noted on the recipe below.

I love curry powder, so I was pretty sure that I would like this take on chicken salad.
My mom makes a chicken dish that combines plain yogurt and curry powder, so the flavor wasn't really anything new to me.
Of course, I did not use mayo at all. Don't like it and never will.
I just subbed non-fat Greek yogurt.
I also subbed in pecans for the almonds, because I had them on hand. I just mixed them into the salad.
I love that Ellie serves this over lots of fresh salad greens. I didn't use any oil to dress my greens, just the fresh lemon juice which really gave this salad a bright taste.

I even served the leftovers in my husband's lunch, but turned it into a chicken salad sandwich.
My kids enjoyed this tucked into mini whole wheat pitas.
I will definitely make this again.
Check out the CEiMB Blogroll to see what everyone else thought about this Curried Chicken Salad!
Curried Chicken Salad from Ellie Krieger

• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
  
• 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, no more than 3/4-inch thick
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt (I used nonfat Greek yogurt)
  
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I omitted this completely)
  
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 cup halved red grapes
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 5 ounces mixed greens (about 5 cups lightly packed))
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (I omitted this)
  
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Bring the broth and water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add chicken to broth and simmer, covered, for 8 minutes. Turn the heat off and let chicken stand in the cooking liquid, covered, until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the broth and cool completely in the refrigerator. Cut into 1/4-inch dice. Toast the almonds in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and beginning to turn golden, 2 to 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, mayonnaise, and curry powder. Fold in the chicken, grapes and cilantro and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl, toss the greens with the oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the greens on 4 individual plates, top with a scoop of the chicken salad and sprinkle with the almonds.

Recipe for Curried Chicken Salad

Meditteranean Layer Dip

Growing up we frequently enjoyed 7 Layer Dip at family get-togethers and parties.
There are many different variations on this recipe, but ours was usually as follows- refried beans on the bottom, a packet of taco seasoning or taco spice blend mixed with sour cream next, then guacamole, chopped tomatoes, sliced olives, shredded cheese, and sliced green onions.
Serve it with tortilla chips and it makes a fantastic appetizer and/or snack.

I saw a recipe for the same type of layer dip in a magazine over the holidays, but the flavors and ingredients were Meditteranean instead.
I didn't follow the recipe, but I did see the idea, so it's not like I just imagined this up completely on my own.

I put this together and served it with pre-made whole wheat pita chips. I usually like to make my own pita chips, but because of time, I bought pre-made this time.

I started off with hummus as the bottom layer, then a thin layer of plain fat-free greek yogurt, sliced fresh spinach, chopped roasted red peppers, chopped tomatoes, chopped cucumber, sliced black olives, chopped green onions, chopped fresh parsley and then, crumbled feta over the whole thing. I finished it off by squeezing fresh lemon juice over the whole thing and boy, did we have a winner of a dip!
We actually ate this for lunch and everyone in my family loved it.
I love all of these ingredients and flavors anyway, but combining them in this way was really great.
I had to remove the tomatoes from the section my hubby ate, but he liked it once I took those off.

I scooped all the leftovers into a plastic container and ate them as lunch for a couple of days.

This would be a great appetizer for a party or a great lunch/snack, so throw it together and see what you think!


I didn't really measure the amounts when I was throwing this together. I just layered the ingredients and topped each layer with the next, by the amount that looked good.

Meditteranean Layer Dip inspired by a magazine, put into play by Me
hummus
plain fat-free greek yogurt
sliced fresh spinach
chopped roasted red peppers
chopped cucumbers
chopped tomatoes
black olives
chopped green onions
feta
chopped parsley
fresh lemon juice

On a platter or plate, spread a thick layer of hummus.
Top this with thin layer of greek yogurt, spreading almost to the edge, but leaving a 1/4-1/2 inch of the hummus uncovered.
Next add a few handfuls of sliced fresh spinach.
Top the spinach with the chopped peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, green onions, and parsley.
Sprinkle the desired amount of feta cheese over top and squeeze the juice from 1/2 or 1 lemon over the entire dip.
Serve with pita chips.
Refrigerate leftovers, if any.

CEiMB- Twice Baked Potatoes with Sharp Cheddar and Oven Roasted Broccolini

This week's CEIMB recipe was Broccoli and Cheddar Stuffed Potato Skins with Avocado Cream. It was chosen by Anne who blogs over at Rainforest Recipes,
I did not make this recipe exactly. I did use some of the same ingredients and made something that my kids would eat.
Somehow I got inspired by the potatos, the cheese and then switched out the broccoli for broccolini. It just tastes so much better.
I baked my potatoes in the oven until I was able to scoop out the insides and then I just mashed the potatoes with 2 Tbls of unsalted butter, 1/3 cup fat free greek yogurt, 2 Tbls skim milk, salt and pepper.

I drizzled my broccolini with olive oil, then added some salt and pepper, and roasted it in a 400 degree oven until it was tender, about 15 minutes.
I put the mashed potato mixture back into the potato skins and then covered them with cheddar cheese. I popped them back in the oven, until the cheese was melted and the potatoes were warm throughout.

So, not exactly what the recipe said to do, but sometimes you have to improvise!

Check out the CEIMB Blogroll to see what everyone else did with this recipe!


Recipe for Broccoli and Cheddar-Stuffed Potato Skins with Avocado Cream

Black Bean Pumpkin Chili with Pumpkin Cornbread

Chili and cornbread. They go together this time of year. Some people don't care for either of them, like my hubby, so I rarely make either.
I saw a post on Real Mom Kitchen about this cornbread, which contains pumpkin puree and whole wheat flour and I was very intrigued. She got the recipe from The Recipe Girl, so I went over to Lori's site and found out that she served the pumpkin cornbread with a pumpkin chili. Sounded like a great combination.
At first I was going to half the recipe for the cornbread, but then my hubby told me some friends were going to be stopping by for dinner and I figured this was the perfect time to serve both of these foods.
I changed the pumpkin chili recipe up a bit. I do not like beef or ground beef, so I thought that I would make a bean chili, but then decided to add some lean ground turkey since there were going to be so many people eating with us.
I also added a zucchini, since I had one I needed to use, and black beans. I changed the spices, so that it would be mild enough for my kids to eat and switched the toppings.
The pumpkin puree in the chili is very subtle- it adds texture, but not so much flavor.

The pumpkin cornbread was fabulous. I love cornbread-I grew up eating it all the time, so I really liked this version. It had a hint of sweetness, great spices and a nice pumpkin flavor. The best part is that my kids all liked it! I couldn't believe it. None of them like regular cornbread, I think because of the texture, but this cornbread was a winner. I was so happy about it.
The pumpkin cornbread also tastes good the 2nd and 3rd day after it is made, which is usually a problem with cornbread because it dries out. The pumpkin keeps this one tasting good for leftovers.

The friends who were supposed to join us for dinner didn't make it, so I actually saved the chili and cornbread and invited some other friends over the next night. Great thing about chili is it tastes better after sitting in the fridge and being reheated. The flavors were great.
If you like a spicier chili, up the chili powder or add a jalapeno.
And try this cornbread, it is really good!
Black Bean Pumpkin Chili adapted from The Recipe Girl

1 Tbls canola oil
1 lb ground turkey (93% lean)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red, yellow, or green bell pepper (I used all three)
1 small zucchini, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14 1/2 oz cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp chili powder
1 heaping tsp cumin
dash of oregano
pepper and salt to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup chicken broth
toppings- greek yogurt, shredded cheese, cilantro

In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey, onion, green pepper, and zucchini. Cook for a few minutes, until veggies are tender and meat is browned.
Add garlic and cook for additional minute.
Add tomatoes, black beans, pumpkin puree and spices. Add enough chicken broth to loosen it up a little bit, but not too much.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Garnish with greek yogurt, shredded cheese, and cilantro.


Recipe for Pumpkin Cornbread

Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin

I found out about this recipe when Kalyn sent out a tweet about a new post on her blog. I immediately went over to her blog to check out the Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin.
I love spaghetti squash (although this love is fairly recent) and I also love swiss chard. I never in a million years would have thought to put the two together.

I put this down on my menu calendar and the next time I went for groceries, I found beautiful swiss chard and a nice sized spaghetti squash.

This recipe takes a little time, but it is completely worth it. Plus, you can roast your spaghetti squash during the day, when you are at home, before dinner time.

There are a few things that I did differently.

I always roast my spaghetti squash whole. I preheat the oven to 400 degrees, poke my squash all over with a fork or skewer, cover a baking sheet with foil and pop the squash in the oven. I usually let it roast for an hour, turning it once or twice. This to me, is way easier than trying to cut through it raw. Once it has roasted, you can slice the thing in half with no problem.

I also sauteed my swiss chard mixture a little too long. It wasn't completely my fault though. Some kind of emergency came up with one of my kids in the bathroom and so, you know how that goes.
I also used chard with red stems and chopped them up and saute them too.
I used greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
I topped my gratin with a combination of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese and a little bit of canola oil- to bring the topping together.
Delicious! I tasted it straight out of the pan and it was so good. My kids liked it and so did my hubby. So nutritious too.
Check out Kayln's blog for great pics of this recipe and lots of other great recipes too.


Recipe for Spaghetti Squash and Chard Gratin

One Year Ago-Bulgur and Chickpea Stuffed Squash

Meditteranean Salad with Chickpea Fritters

If I see a recipe for falafel or some variation of that idea, I usually want to try it right away. This one was no exception. I always have chickpeas/garbanzo beans in my pantry and this recipe took minutes to prepare.

I didn't have tomatoes, red onion, or pita, but I really liked this salad with just the fritters, mixed greens, and the yogurt dressing. I made it for lunch for me and the girls and we ate the leftover fritters the next day just dipped in the yogurt sauce.

These fritters had good flavor-from the cumin and don't require alot of oil for cooking. Yay! for healthy lunches!

• Meditteranean Salad with Chickpea Fritters from Real Simple Magazine
  
• 1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (I used 1 Tbls)
  
• 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt (preferably Greek)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 8 cups mixed greens
• 1 cup grape tomatoes
  
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• Pita chips (optional)
• 
  

Directions

1. In a food processor, pulse the chickpeas, parsley, garlic, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper just until coarsely chopped and the mixture comes together when gently squeezed. Form into eight 1/2-inch-thick patties and coat with the flour, tapping off excess.

2. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the patties, turning carefully, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the yogurt, lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Divide the greens, tomatoes, onion, and chickpea patties among plates. Drizzle with the dressing and serve with the pita chips, if using.

One Year Ago-Weekly Lunchbox #2-Rice Cube and Tofu Salad, Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies, Marinated Vegetables, and English Muffin Pizza

Blackberry-Peach Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping

I am not really sure how some things qualify as breakfast , when they have the word cake in the recipe title; I won't complain because I like making treats and this one was enjoyed by the entire family- they loved it warm and they loved it cold- I made quite a few changes, including the size (I made 2 4-inch cakes and 2 smaller than those), the changes in the recipe are included in bold; I am short on words, so enjoy a few pics- in a few days the situation will be fixed.





Blackberry-Peach Coffee Cake adapted from Southern Living Magazine


Prep: 20 min.; Bake: 1 hr., 10 min.; Cool: 1 hr., 30 min.


Streusel Topping
1/2 cup butter, softened (I used 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup vanilla flavored Greek style yogurt)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk (I used 1/3 cup whole milk and 1/3 cup skim)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups peeled and sliced fresh firm, ripe peaches (about 2 large peaches, 7 oz. each)
1 cup fresh blackberries
Powdered sugar
Garnishes: fresh blackberries, sliced peaches

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare Streusel Topping.

2. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Pour batter into a greased and floured 9-inch springform pan; top with sliced peaches and blackberries. Pinch off 1-inch pieces of Streusel Topping, and drop over fruit.

4. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until center of cake is set. (A wooden pick inserted in center will not come out clean.) Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 1/2 hours). Dust with powdered sugar. Garnish, if desired.

Note: We found that using a shiny or light-colored pan gave us the best results. If you have a dark pan, wrap the outside of the pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil to get a similar result.

Peach Coffee Cake: Omit blackberries. Increase peaches to 3 cups sliced (about 3 large peaches, 7 oz. each). Proceed with recipe as directed

Streusel Topping


Prep: 10 min.

This recipe goes with Blackberry-Peach Coffee Cake, Peach Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add granulated sugar and brown sugar, beating well. Add flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg; beat just until blended.

I didn't follow the streusel directions. I mixed 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon. Then I cut in 4 Tbls of cold butter and sprinkled it on top of the coffee cake.

One Year Ago- Panzanella