Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake

This is one of the best coffee cakes I have ever made. I have made it with fresh and frozen blueberries and both are equally good.What you need:

• 1 egg
• 2 c. Jiffy Mix (a product of Chelsea, MI)
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. milk
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 c. blueberries, rinsed and well drained
• 1/4 c. Jiffy Mix
• Lemon Icing (below)

Directions:

• Heat oven to 400. Grease 8X8 pan. Beat egg slightly; stir in 2 c. Jiffy mix, sugar, milk, and lemon.
• In a small bowl, stir blueberries and 1/4 c. Jiffy Mix; gently stir into batter. Spread in pan.
• Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes; drizzle with lemon icing. Serve warm (I like it cold, too).

Lemon Icing:

• Stir together 2/3 cup powdered sugar and 3-4 tsp. lemon juice until smooth.

I adapted this from a recipe by Betty Crocker.

Rustic Fruit Tart

I plan to make this pie with blueberries and raspberries as soon as I have time to go out and pick the berries. It sounds delicious and easy - just my style! What you need:

• Ready made unroll and bake pie crust
• 3 cups fresh fruit (one fruit or a mix of fruits)
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Directions:

• Unroll pie crust on a baking sheet.
• Combine fruit, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl and stir well. Use a slotted spoon to pile fruit in a level mound in the center of the pie crust, leaving about 1 to 2 inches of bare dough around. Discard any juice in the bowl.
• One side at a time, fold up the edges of the pastry. The folded edges should cover some of the berries, but not reach the center. When all of the edges are folded up, the center of the tart should still be visible.
• Bake for 25 minutes, or until the pastry begins to brown and the fruit is bubbling. Remove the tart from the oven and cool until the juices set.

This recipe was adapted from one found at the Traverse City Record Eagle's website. The article accompanying the recipe is interesting.

Jake's Are You Feeling Devilish Strawberry Cake

Our toddler is turning into quite the chef/baker. He even has his own little John Deere apron to wear when helping Mama in the kitchen. We baked this cake last week. It was perfect because he was able to help with the mixing, pouring, and poked holes in the cake and didn't get in trouble for it! What you need:

• 1 devil's food cake mix
• 2 1/2 c. crushed Michigan strawberries
• 1 small pkg. instant French vanilla pudding mix
• 1 c. milk
• 1 small container strawberry whipped topping

Directions:

• Bake cake according to directions on box. Use a 9X13 pan. Cool on wire rack. Use the handle of a wooden spoon or your fingers to poke holes all over the top of the cake.
• Pour crushed strawberries over the top of the cake. You may need to use the wooden spoon handle (or your fingers) to make sure the juice goes down the holes.
• In a medium bowl, mix pudding mix and milk until thick. Fold in whipped topping. Spread over cake.
• Chill for 4 hours. Enjoy!

Update on the Strawberry Cream French Toast

Just had the strawberry cream french toast that I gave out the recipe for yesterday. The review is in, that was an awesome breakfast! Accompanied with a steaming cup of black coffee it was all I could do to not eat more than I did. We even have leftovers to eat for tomorrow's breakfast. Yum!

Strawberry Cream French Toast

This reminds me of the stuffed french toast you can get at IHOP. My wife has made something similar to this and it was waaaay better than anything at IHOP. I'm not just saying that because she reads this blog either. :) Anyway, our strawberry patch is producing berries every day and I think I will be trying this delicious recipe for breakfast tomorrow.

What you need:

• 8-ounce package cream cheese
• 1 cup strawberry yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 12 slices white bread
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup cream or milk
• butter for frying
• 2 cups freshly sliced Michigan strawberries

The night before serving:

Mix cream cheese (warm a little in microwave for easier mixing) with strawberry yogurt and refrigerate overnight. Slice 2 cups fresh strawberries and let sweeten overnight.

To prepare:

Spread half of cream cheese mixture on 6 slices of white bread and top to form a sandwich. Beat eggs, milk, and vanilla. Melt butter on the griddle or skillet. Dip sandwiches in egg mixture and cook until brown. To serve, top each sandwich with the remaining cheese mixture and fresh strawberries.

Courtesy of Hess Manor Bed and Breakfast; Romeo, Michigan, via Michigan.gov

This Week is Egg Salad Week

What do you do with all of those hard boiled eggs your kids and grandkids decorated now that Easter is over? Why, you celebrate Egg Salad Week and eat tons of yummy yellow egg salad. You could also have deviled eggs or creamed eggs (that sounds pretty gross to me) if you prefer. Here is a quick recipe for some easy egg salad -

• 2 Whole hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 6 hard boiled egg whites, chopped
• 4 Tbsp. mayo
• 2 Tbsp. mustard
• 1 tsp. mustard
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 1/2 C. chopped onion
• 1/8 tsp. seasoned pepper

Mix all of the ingredients together and enjoy! For more ideas on what to do with your leftover eggs check out the American Egg Board's website that is filled with all kinds of egg-related stuff and goodies.