What's Cooking Wednesday - Blueberry/Lemon/Cornmeal Muffins

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a woman (or man) lounging about on a lazy summer afternoon must be in want of a good book, lovely sunshine and some fine refreshment.*



And so I found myself, back from vacation, ready to embrace the pleasures of Ann Arbor summer. I was also in "want" of returning to healthy eating, after a week of cruise ship cuisine (the less said about that, the better).

After about 10 minutes of prep and 25 minutes of cooking time, I was ready to move out to the porch with Shannon Hale's Austenland, my muffin and a cold glass of lemonade.

*apologies to Jane Austen

A2eatwrite's Blueberry/Lemon/Cornmeal Muffins



Ingredients:

2 cups blueberries, preferably fresh
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 cup ww pastry flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
zest from one small lemon
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp lemon extract
lemon juice from half a small lemon
1 tsp granulated sugar for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Spray a 12-muffin pan with cooking spray or an oil atomizer.

3. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients, through the lemon zest.

4. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, then whisk in the buttermilk, the lemon juice and the lemon extract.

5. Blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, being careful not to over stir.

6. Stir in the washed blueberries.

7. Using a melon baller or other scoop, fill the muffin pan openings as completely as possible.

8. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until golden brown on top.

9. Cool in pan on wire rack for 3 or so minutes, then remove, loosening muffins with butter knife, and continue to cool on rack out of the pan.


Nutritional Info

* Servings Per Recipe: 12
* Amount Per Serving
* Calories: 102.2
* Total Fat: 1.5 g
* Cholesterol: 38.0 mg
* Sodium: 141.7 mg
* Total Carbs: 20.6 g
* Dietary Fiber: 2.4 g
* Protein: 3.9 g

As always, nutrition info supplied by the recipe calculator function at Sparkrecipes.com.

Please go to The Fairy Blogmother for more What's Cooking Wednesday participants.

THE MISSING INK CONTEST WINNER!

THE MISSING INK contest winner was Momisodes, as selected by the Random.org. Momisodes, please drop me an e-mail at jenshaines at gmail dot com and send me your information so I can get this wonderful book to you!

What's Cooking Wednesday: Revised Turkey Tetrazzini

I love Turkey Tetrazzini, but I hate the calories/fat involved in a classic recipe. I played around with this last week, and ended up with a bastardized recipe that we all really liked. (Well, those of us who eat "grown-up" food, anyway.) I'm sorry about the lack of photos - I'll have to update this entry with photos the next time I make this - I completely forgot. (See why I was a failure at Wordless Wednesday?)

Unlike last week's Lazy Day Spinach Lasagna, there's nothing lazy about this one, but it's worth the extra effort. Just crank up some good music and get into your cooking groove. Enjoy! As always, nutrition information supplied by the recipe calculator at sparkrecipes.com. And please go to Shan's place for more What's Cooking Wednesday participants.

Revised Turkey Tetrazzini

Ingredients

2 cups whole cremini mushrooms, washed and sliced
1/2 package of frozen artichokes, thawed and chopped
1 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
1/2 tsp salt
dash nutmeg
dash cayenne
1 cup nonfat milk
6 oz. chicken broth (preferably home made)
1 egg yolk
3 TBS half and half
3 TBS dry sherry
1/2 package cooked spaghetti (4 oz.)
6 oz. turkey breast meat, cooked and chopped
4 TBS parmesan cheese

Nutritional Info

Fat: 8.9g
Carbohydrates: 35.1g
Calories:304.0
Protein: 20.6g

1. Preheat the oven to 300.

2. Cook the spaghetti to al dente package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

2. Saute the vegetables with some olive oil cooking spray. When they are cooked, but not over done, set aside.

3. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour to make a roux. Gradually stir in chicken broth, when all is smooth, add in spices and milk. Stir well and bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Add the sherry.

4. In a small bowl beat the egg yolk and half and half. Stir a little bit of the hot sauce into the yolk mixture. Add the yolk mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, until sauce is hot. Do not boil. Remove from heat, and add the sherry.

5. Toss the spaghetti with half the sauce. Place the spaghetti into a 8X8 baking dish. Toss the rest of the sauce with the turkey and veggies. Spoon that over the spaghetti. Top with parmesan cheese.

6. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes or until piping hot.

Number of Servings: 4

P.S. Don't forget! There are only three more days to join this round of The Writing Game