Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

I thought I had posted this recipe! I searched my blog to make these and realized that I hadn't. Luckily I still had the recipe card! We went blueberry picking and brought home 10 lbs. of berries. My first thought of what to do with them was these muffins. I love their crumb topping. This recipe also works well for chocolate chip muffins, just substitute chocolate chips for the blueberries. 

Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

Topping
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup margarine
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Muffins
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup oil
1 cup blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners or non stick baking spray.
2. For topping: Combine topping ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix using a pastry blender or fork, cutting up the margarine into no bigger than pea sized pieces. Set aside.
3. For muffins: In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.
4. Add egg, buttermilk, and oil; stir until just blended.
5. Gently fold in blueberries
6. Divide muffin batter evenly among prepared cups. Sprinkle each cup of batter with 1 1/2 TBSPs of topping mixture.
7. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Makes 12 muffins

10 lbs of berries!!

Apple Butter Grilled Cheese

Yep, I spread apple butter on my grilled cheese sandwich, and it was good. I was looking for a sandwich idea for dinner, and found a couple different GC with apple butter and we gave it a try. It's very sweet, but the arugula balances it out. I found that my children don't have quite a refined enough palate for arugula (defined as a spicy and bold green), so if you're not up for that, you could use baby spinach. :) I used deli turkey, cheddar, and sliced Granny Smith apples (the tartness is also good contrast). It's quite a different tasting sandwich, but I really loved it.

Apple Butter Grilled Cheese
 ¼ cup arugula
Dash of apple cider vinegar
2 slices bread
Apple butter
Thinly sliced Granny Smith apple
Sliced deli turkey lunchmeat
Sliced cheddar cheese
1 TBSP butter or margarine for grilling

1. Preheat skillet or panini press to medium heat. (I used my George Forman Grill)
2. In a small bowl, toss arugula with a dash of apple cider vinegar.
3. Spread apple butter on one side of each piece of bread. Top an apple butter side of bread with arugula, apple slices, followed by cheese, then turkey. Place the other piece of bread on top, apple butter side down and press. Spread butter on outside of bread slices.
4. Cook in the pan for 2 minutes on each side, or until browned and cheese is melted.

Makes 1 sandwich

Chewy Granola Bars

These are THE best snack for summer! No baking required and you can make them so many different ways! They taste much better than store bought and are soft and chewy. I have made them 4 times in the last few weeks. The first batch I made didn't stick together very well. I figured out that you really have to press them FIRMLY into the pan to make them stick. Also, make sure to store them in the fridge. I tried chocolate chip, mini M&M and coconut, and raisin with 1/2 tsp of cinnamon added. I used flax meal in some and wheat germ in others, and both were great. The chocolate must be sprinkled on the top because if it is stirred in, it will melt. But if substituting the the chocolate and/or almonds for coconut, raisins, or other dried fruit, mix them in with the dry ingredients. If you throw in too many extras, the bars will be dry and not stick together, so don't add more than 1 cup total. The original recipe uses dark brown sugar, but I like light brown sugar instead.

Chewy Granola Bars
adapted from onceuponachef.com
6 TBSPs butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 TBSPs honey
1 1/2 tsps vanilla
Heaping 1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 3/4 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1/4 cup flax meal or wheat germ
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Spray the foil lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large pot, combine the butter, brown sugar and honey. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and simmer until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and salt.
3. Add the oats, rice cereal, almonds and flax meal (or wheat germ) to the pan and fold with a rubber spatula until well combined.
4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and press down lightly with a rubber spatula to even out. Let cool about 5 minutes (so chocolate doesn't melt) then sprinkle the miniature chocolate chips over top, and press down FIRMLY with the spatula so the chips stick. The mixture should be tightly compacted in the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator for 1 1/2 - 2 hours to cool.
5. Use the foil overhang to transfer the uncut bars to a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, cut into rectangles. Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you have to stack them, use parchment paper or foil in between the layers, so they don't stick together.

Makes 20 bars

Raisin