Heritage House Blueberry Muffins

By Somer

Taste of Home is a fantastic cooking magazine.  I just recently ended my subscription with them due to the fact that I had about 20 magazines stacked in my kitchen and each one of them contained at least two recipes that I wanted to try.  I am now in the process of getting all of these recipes together into one place (via Word document) so that I can eliminate some clutter in my house.  But I digress.

I first became familiar with the Taste of Home magazine shortly after my grandmother died.  My mother was executor of her estate and all of her mail was forwarded to our house.  One thing sent to us was a Taste of Home magazine.  I tried a few of the recipes contained therein and absolutely loved them.  Readers send in recipes and that’s how they are shared.  The recipes you find are like your mother’s recipes or grandmother’s recipes.  That speaks to me and I love it.

Inside of this first magazine sent to my deceased grandmother was a recipe for a blueberry muffin from a small restaurant in Chesaning, Michigan called the Heritage House.  Instead of bread baskets at your table, guests were served baskets of these blueberry muffins.  The story intrigued me and I tried the recipe and was delighted at the outcome.  What I got was something that was not as dense as muffins sometimes are but was moist and fluffy, like a good cake.  And also I adore blueberry muffins.

Bonnie’s Blueberry Muffins

Heritage House, Chesaning, Michigan

TOH Collector’s Edition 1997

2 cups AP flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 Tblsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Additional melted butter

Additional sugar

I’d like to insert a quick note about ingredients before we get started here.  When baking, if you expect a superior end product, then you must make sure that the ingredients are superior.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that you must buy the most expensive ingredients, but you must make sure to get quality.

For instance, this recipe calls for ground nutmeg.  Instead of buying the little jar of nutmeg powder, buy whole nutmeg and use a microplane to make it a powder.  The taste is much more pungent and fresh.  Also, when using vanilla extract, use real or pure vanilla extract instead of imitation.  It costs a little bit more, but I use a generic brand that is not much more than the imitation stuff.  The flavor is much more superior and you do notice a difference.

Depending on the time of year, you can either use fresh or frozen blueberries in this recipe.  A bag of frozen blueberries is a staple in my freezer.  I use it for making blueberry pancakes and muffins all the time.  I love blueberries.

If you are using frozen blueberries, measure out the 2 cups needed for this recipe and rinse them well.  Then pat them dry and place them in a bowl.  Sprinkle with 1-2 Tblsp. of flour to make sure that the berries become suspended in the batter and don’t sink to the bottom.  You only want a very thin coating of the flour on the blueberries.  No more.

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  In another bowl, beat eggs.  Blend in milk, butter, nutmeg and vanilla;

pour into dry ingredients and mix just until moistened.  Make sure not to overmix.  If you over mix this batter, the gluten in the flour will activate and you will get a tough muffin rather than a fluffy muffin.  Fold in blueberries, gently.

Fill greased or paper lined muffin cups two-thirds full.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.  Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar as soon as they come out of the oven.

YIELD:  1 dozen

As a side note, it seems that the Heritage House of Chesaning, Michigan is no longer in business.  That’s a shame.  But I hope that you enjoy the recipe as much as I do.  Enjoy everybody!

The Tiffin

By Somer

Last week on my personal blog I created a post that discussed plastic and alternatives to plastic.  I casually recommended that people use a tiffin box in place of styrofoam take out boxes or doggie bags when eating out.  Since then, I have been asked several times to talk about the tiffin boxes in more depth.  Hey, it pertains to food and eating, and doing our part to help the planet is everybody’s responsibility.

See my original post here.

Behold the tiffin.  This is a marvelous little invention that is used in India and China as an everyday lunch box.  In the case of my tiffin, there are three bowls that fit together and are clamped together by a carrier.  I got this for $9.99 here.  It’s also dishwasher safe.  Yeah, now you’re out of excuses to NOT get one of these.  If you do some browsing and have no problem with paying a little more, these can come with a more “designer” feel to them with colors and patterns.  For me, the stainless steel is fine.

These are the three tiffin bowls and the top lid.

Here I have some Chinese takeout in the tiffin bowls.  These bowls actually hold quite a lot of food.  They hold just as much, if not more than those little takeout containers (which, depending on your takeout provider can be paper or styrofoam) usually provided.

Here I’m showing my hand next to the tiffin bowls to give a to-scale comparison.  These bowls are not tiny and they are great for takeout.  I warn you, you’ll have to argue with your provider to get them to use your own container instead of theirs.  They get confused.  Just try to explain to them why you are against using the styrofoam or paper and they usually cooperate.

I don’t know about you, but almost every time I go out to eat at a sit-down restaurant, I always have food leftover and the waitress/waiter is always offering me a box.  These “boxes” are styrofoam and completely wasteful.  Keep a tiffin on you and tell your server that you brought your own box.  You paid for it, it’s your food and I seriously doubt you’ll get any resistance.  If anything, you’re going to hear how cool that it is and how clever you are.  Who doesn’t love that?  Just remember who gave you the tip, huh kids?

TIFFIN.  You know you want one….or two.  Go on, save the world one tiffin at a time.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

By Somer

My high school Spanish teacher gave me the recipe for this cheesy and creamy dish.  I like to make it both for only my husband and myself or for company.  If I make it for company, I am always asked for the recipe…it’s just that good.  This is not a dish that you would make on a busy week night, but don’t let that deter you.  It’s not difficult to make at all, it just has several steps.  They are all worth it.  You will need:

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped green pepper

2 Tblsp. butter

2 cups cooked chicken

1 4-oz. can green chili peppers, rinsed, seeded and chopped

3 Tblsp. butter

¼ cup AP flour

1 tsp. ground coriander

¾ tsp. salt

2-1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup dairy sour cream

1-1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz.)

12 6-inch tortillas

In a large saucepan cook onion and green pepper in the 2 Tblsp. butter until tender.  Combine the onion mixture in a bowl with the chopped chicken and green chili peppers; set aside.

*HINT*  I cook the chicken by boiling it and using the cooking liquid as the broth.  Use some chicken stock and a little water to cook your chicken for more richness and lots of flavor.

For the sauce, in the same saucepan, melt 3 Tblsp. butter.  Stir in the flour, coriander, and salt.  Stir in the chicken broth all at once; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir 1-2 minutes more.

This is what the butter and flour should look like when it is ready for the addition of the chicken broth.

Remove from heat; stir in sour cream and ½ cup of the cheese.  Stir ½ cup of the sauce into the chicken mixture.

Dip each tortilla into the remaining sauce to soften; fill each with about ¼ cup of the chicken mixture.  Roll up.  Arrange rolls in a 13×9x2-inch baking dish; pour remaining sauce over.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven for about 25 minutes or until bubbly.  YIELD:  6 servings.

I use a bit more cheese than what the recipe calls for.  I buy a 1 pound brick of Monterey Jack and shred it all and use it all, so my version of this dish is cheesy to the extreme.  I’d have it no other way.  It’s not the prettiest dish, I’ll grant you that.  But that doesn’t matter…not in this case.

Cinco de Mayo is coming up and this (and a pitcher of margaritas) is a great dinner!  Enjoy, everybody!

The Skinny Bitch

By Somer

I’m not much of a drinker, to be honest.  I have maybe one drink a month and that includes beer and wine.  Actually, I’m not much for beer or wine.  What I love is a good cocktail and for me, the best cocktail out there is a Skinny Bitch.

It’s insanely simple.  Diet cola and vodka in a rock glass and blammo!  You’ve got a great drink that doesn’t have that alcohol burn.  I guess maybe I’m a big baby where the alcohol burn is concerned.  I hate it when people try to get me to try a new drink and the tell me “You can’ taste the alcohol at all!”  That’s never true.  I can always taste the alcohol and I always flinch after that first swallow because I can taste the alcohol A LOT.

With the Skinny Bitch, there is a little bit of a burn, but it’s warm and I don’t make a smooshy face after swallowing.  Vodka is such a clean taste.

The recipe is simple.  4 ice cubes, a shot of vodka (some people like BIG shots and some people like tiny shots.  I don’t judge.  Go with what you like), and half a can of diet cola.  There you go.  A Skinny Bitch.  Drink with enthusiasm, preferrably while playing cards with your special someone and dominating the game.

I also like to add vanilla vodka to this.  It’s smooth and crazy good.  I don’t think anybody should be hesitant about making drinks at home.  Going to a bar is expensive and depending on the bar tender, the quality of your drink can be a little dicey.  Get yourself a small bar set, some rock glasses and martini glasses and you’ve got all you need.

Fish Pouches

By Somer

I needed to be able to make a light and quick meal tonight.  In my freezer, I had a bag of individually frozen and packaged fillets of Tilapia.  In my pantry I had a can of Italian Style canned chopped tomatoes.  My answer was obvious:  Fish Pouches!  This is a dish that I have been making for years.  It’s one of those dishes that is wonderful on a hot day or if you are in a hurry and don’t want to eat anything greasy or heavy.

Here’s all you need:

1 small onion, sliced

1 can of Italian Style chopped tomatoes

1/2 Tblsp. salt

1/4 Tblsp. black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2-4 Tilapia fillets

Mix the onion slices, the tomatoes, salt and pepper, and the olive oil together in a bowl.

Now you need to make some pouches.  Because of the tomatoes, you can’t wrap this only in aluminum foil because the acid in the tomatoes causes a chemical reaction.  It’s simple to get around this.  Just wrap your fish in parchment paper first and then wrap the parchment package in aluminum foil.

Just place your fish in the center of a square of parchment paper and spoon the vegetable mixture over the top.  Wrap it up and make a pouch.  This can be messy and you’ll get liquid coming out of the sides.  This is one of the reasons why we also need to wrap this in aluminum foil.  It makes a better seal and it conducts heat better so that we can have a relatively short cooking time.  Wrap your parchment package in the foil and seal the edges well.

Place your foil pouches on a cooking sheet and place in a 425 degree F  oven and cook for 20 minutes.  When the cooking time is over, let the pouches sit out for 5 minutes before opening and serving.  Be careful of the steam!

Some people think it is fun to just plop the entire pouch on the plate and let everybody open their own pouches.  I don’t do that.  It’s messy….and I’m just like that.  I like to serve this with some brown rice and either a salad or some sauteed greens.  This is a light and healthy meal and it’s effortless and quick as well.