Lemon Blueberry Bread

Over the weekend, the husband went grocery shopping and found blueberries on sale at our local market. He bought two containers, in which we used the first one right away to make an Ellie Krieger coffee cake (see link below). We were going to make a second coffee cake with the other container, only to find we used most of the coffee cake ingredients up in the first application. To avoid another trip to the store, I decided to surf around and find an alternate blueberry recipe. I found this Lemon Blueberry Bread on allrecipes.com, but I had to tweak a few ingredients to accommodate what we had on hand. Below is my amended recipe that is in the oven right now. I will let you know how it turns out!

First, here is the Ellie Krieger recipe:

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Okay, here is my adapted recipe:

Lemon Blueberry Bread
Adapted From: Allrecipes.com,By: ChezSpice

Ingredients:
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup fresh blueberries
**********************************
For Glaze:
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon of lemon extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, beat together butter, 1 cup sugar, lemon extract, vanilla extract, lemon juice and eggs. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; stir into egg mixture alternately with milk. Fold in the walnuts and blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Remove bread from pan and drizzle with glaze. Cool on a wire rack.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com



The Result:
I was losing light in my kitchen, so the edges of my bread look darker in the photo than they actually were in real life. (Read: I didn't burn the bread.) With that said, this bread was sooooo delicious! I love the combo of blueberries and lemon!!! It is moist and flavorful, without being too overpoweringly tart...just perfectly yummy! This is a keeper recipe, for sure.

Blueberry Blast Breakfast Smoothie

I bought a huge bag of frozen blueberries at Costco, on a whim. I wasn't sure what I was going to actually do with the blueberries, but I know that blueberries are very healthy. I figured I would think of something to make with them. I mean, after all....aren't they considered a super-fruit???? I think more blueberries in our diet will be a good thing!

My first blueberry recipe is a breakfast smoothie. Morning and I are not friends. I am not a morning person, at all. I typically don't cook a big breakfast, since I am totally out of it. I usually just scavenge for easy stuff and call it breakfast. Thankfully, my son actually loves dry Cherrios. The poor kid gets a cup of milk, cut up fruit or a banana, and dry Cherrios almost every morning. Mommy pushes the button on the coffee machine, and that is it (my husband is gracious enough to set up coffee for me in the morning so I only have one button to press).

I thought these smoothies would be a good solution to our "non-breakfast" breakfasts. I can handle throwing things in a blender. Maybe.

Blueberry Blast Breakfast Smoothie
Adapted from: recipezaar.com/recipe #162425

Ingredients:
2/3 cup frozen blueberries or fresh blueberries
1/2 cup organic vanilla yogurt (can use fat free)
1 banana
1/2 cup cold fruit juice, your choice (I used apple juice)
1 tablespoon flax seed or wheat germ (I used flax seed)
1/2 teaspoon of honey or blue agave nectar (I used the nectar)

Directions:
Put ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until it is your desired consistency. (For a thicker shake or if you use fresh berries add a few ice cubes.)

The Result:
No photo. I can't be expected to operate a camera before 9am. This is a really yummy smoothie, and one that I will make again.

Blueberry Muffins (with Cinnamon Sugar Topping)

I am getting tired of typing, so I am going to keep this post short. This is another Jen A. recipe. These are fabulous!!!

Blueberry Muffins (with Cinnamon Sugar Topping)

Ingredients:
· 1/2 cup butter, softened
· 1 cup sugar
· 2 eggs, beaten
· 1/2 cup milk
· 2 cups flour
· 2 teaspoons baking powder
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
· 2 cups fresh blueberries, (may use frozen)
· 2 tablespoons sugar, for topping


Directions:
In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well; stir in milk. Combine dry ingredients and add to the mixture; stir to combine. Gently fold in blueberries. Fill greased muffin cups about 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops with a little sugar. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Jen's Notes:
I skipped the cinnamon sugar topping. I wanted these to be more breakfast-y, than dessert-ish.



The Result:
Yum! This concludes my baking bonaza.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

My friend, Jen A. inspired me to do some baking today. There was a super-good deal on fresh berries at our local grocery store, and Jen had the idea of having a "baking day". She made four recipes, all centered around the berries, and made breakfast items that can be frozen for later use. All she has to do is thaw her delicious baked goods on the morning that she needs them, without all the effort of starting from scratch. I thought this was a genius plan, so I had to copy her. I made a couple of Jen's recipes (see other posts), and then tried this Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe from Ellie Krieger. It is healthier than a normal coffee cake, but still promises to be perfectly delicious.


Blueberry Coffee Cake
2008, Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or regular whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 cup fresh blueberries, or frozen and thawed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch square cake pan with cooking spray.

Whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, the baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar, cinnamon and walnuts. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar, butter and oil until fluffy. If necessary, use the back of a spoon to press out any lumps in the brown sugar. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until fully combined. Beat in the vanilla and yogurt.

Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, stirring until just combined.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the nut mixture over the batter and top with the blueberries, gently pressing them into the batter. Spoon the rest of the batter into the pan, smoothing the top. Sprinkle the remaining nut mixture over the cake, pressing gently. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly and then unmold and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack. Cut the cake into 2-inch squares.

Per Serving
(serving size, 1 piece)

Calories 210; Total Fat 8.5 g; (Sat Fat 2 g, Mono Fat 2.5 g, Poly Fat 3 g) ; Protein 5 g; Carb 30 g; Fiber 2 g; Cholesterol 41 mg; Sodium 230 mg

Good source of: Thiamin

From FoodNetwork.com on Sun Feb 8 2009
© 2009 Scripps Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved





The Result:
Delicious! Need I say more...