Friday, June 30, 2006

Fruit Sauce for Pancakes or Waffles

submitted by Mrs. T

 1/2 cup sugar
1 Tblsp. cornstarch
1/3 cup water
2 cups blueberries, raspberries, OR cut-up strawberries

Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a 2-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in the water. Add the fruit and bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Serve warm. Makes about 2 cups.

This is a wonderful, versatile recipe that tastes so good on waffles in particular. It's also good on pancakes or French toast and would probably be good on vanilla ice cream as well. You can make blueberry sauce, raspberry sauce, or strawberry sauce -- all are wonderful. Or you might like to use a mixture of these berries to make a mixed berry sauce. When I do this, I usually also add a few cranberries to the mixture.

posted by Unknown @ 7:16 AM 0 comments

Fabulous Four Fruit Crumble

submitted by Mrs. T

 3 cups diced rhubarb
2 medium apples, chopped
1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)
1 cup raspberries (frozen or fresh)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour

TOPPING:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup canola oil

Combine fruit, sugar and flour; place in greased 13x9x2" baking dish. Combine brown sugar, oats, and flour; mix in oil until crumbly. Sprinkle over fruit mixture. Bake at 375º for 40 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
Yield: 10-12 servings.

This is a recipe I recently improvised. It came out delicious -- and is actually semi-healthy too!

posted by Unknown @ 7:15 AM 0 comments

Red, White, and Blue Berry Cake

submitted by Mrs. T

 9" baked pie crust

BERRY LAYER:
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 1/2 Tblsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 c. water
4 1/2 Tblsp. dry raspberry jello powder
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 pint fresh or frozen whole unsweetened raspberries

CREAM LAYER:
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 c. confectioners sugar
4 oz. cool whip

For berry layers, combine sugar, cornstarch and water in medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve. Cook until thick and clear. Add jello powder; stir until dissolved. Divide mixture in half. Stir blueberries and lemon juice into half of the mixture; spread over bottom of pie shell. Refrigerate. Fold raspberries gently into remaining half of mixture; set aside. For cream layer, beat together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the cool whip. Spread cream cheese mixture over blueberry layer. Refrigerate until set. Carefully spread raspberry layer over cream layer. Chill at least 4 hours before serving. Yield: 8 servings.

This beautiful pie is very easy to make and is just delicious. It's perfect for patriotic holidays or any other special summer occasion.

posted by Unknown @ 7:02 AM 0 comments

Rhubarb Pudding Cake

submitted by Mrs. T

 4 cups diced rhubarb
1 1/4 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter or real margarine, softened
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

In medium saucepan, cook rhubarb, 3/4 cup sugar, orange juice, and water over medium heat until tender. Keep mixture warm while preparing cake batter. In a medium bowl, cream together butter and remaining 1/2 cup sugar, using electric mixer at medium speed. Beat in egg and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add alternately with milk to the creamed mixture. Pour batter into a greased 9” square baking dish. Spoon the hot rhubarb sauce over the batter. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

My family just loves rhubarb desserts and eagerly awaits the appearance of rhubarb every spring. This tangy pudding cake is one of our favorites.

posted by Unknown @ 7:00 AM 0 comments

Rhubarb Crisp

submitted by Mrs. T

 3 cups diced fresh rhubarb
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons flour, divided
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup butter or real margarine

Combine the rhubarb, sugar, and 3 tablespoons flour. Place in a greased 13X9X2" baking pan. In large bowl, combine the 1 1/2 cups flour, the brown sugar, and oats. Cut in the butter until medium crumbs are formed. Sprinkle crumb mixture over the rhubarb mixture in the pan. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes, or until rhubarb is tender and bubbly and topping is golden brown. Serve warm or cold, with vanilla ice cream if desired. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

I found this recipe nearly 30 years ago in a wonderful dessert cookbook given me by an aunt. It is easy and delicious -- a real taste of springtime in new England!

posted by Unknown @ 6:58 AM 0 comments

Rhubarb Streusel Cake

submitted by Mrs. T

 2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
1 egg
4 cups sliced fresh rhubarb
3 tablespoons strawberry gelatin powder

Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup quick or old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup butter or real margarine, melted

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the oil, milk and egg; beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well combined. Spread the batter in a greased
13X9" baking pan. Arrange rhubarb evenly over batter; sprinkle with gelatin powder. For Streusel Topping, combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl until crumbly; sprinkle evenly over rhubarb. Bake at 375º for 35 to 40 minutes, until topping is golden brown and cake tests
done. May be served warm or cool.

Yield: 1 13X9" cake

I have been making this cake for my entire married life! It's one of the first dessert recipes I turn to when the rhubarb is ready every spring. The strawberry gelatin is the touch that makes this cake especially mouth-watering.

posted by Unknown @ 6:57 AM 0 comments

Blueberry French Toast

submitted by Mrs. T

 12 slices day-old white bread, crusts removed, cut in 1" cubes
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, cut in 1/2" cubes
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
12 eggs
2 cups milk
1/3 cup maple syrup or honey

SAUCE:
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup water
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 Tablespoon butter

Place half of the bread cubes in a greased 13X9X2" baking dish. Top
with all of the cream cheese cubes. Top with blueberries and remaining
bread cubes. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and syrup; mix
well. Pour over bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or
overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover
with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes; then uncover and bake 25 - 30 minutes more or until golden brown and the center is set.
For sauce: In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; add water. Bring to a boil
over medium heat; boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in
blueberries; reduce heat. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until berries
have burst. Stir in butter until melted. To serve, cut the French
toast into squares; serve with blueberry sauce ladled over each portion.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

This is a wonderful breakfast or brunch dish for company! I've never
tried cutting the recipe in half, but you could probably do so and bake it in a 9" square dish.

posted by Unknown @ 6:55 AM 0 comments

Blueberry Coffee Cake

submitted by Mrs. T

 Coffee cake batter:
2 1/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Cheese filling:
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 Tblsp. sugar
1 Tblsp. grated lemon peel (or substitute 1/2 tsp. pure lemon extract)

Streusel topping:
1 cup reserved crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (optional)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

To make batter, combine flour, sugar and salt in large bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of this crumb mixture and set aside. Add baking powder, milk, eggs, and vanilla to dry mixture
remaining in bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl often. Pour evenly into greased 13x9" baking pan. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over batter. For cheese filling, blend all ingredients together until smooth; spoon evenly over blueberries. For topping, combine
reserved crumbs with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts if using them.
Sprinkle over cheese layer. Bake at 350º for 45 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly before cutting. Makes 1 13x9" coffeecake -- about 20 to 24 servings.

posted by Unknown @ 6:53 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Basic Fruit Shake

submitted by Mrs. T

1 frozen banana
1 cup liquid (as specified in recipe)
additional fruit or flavoring (as specified in recipe)
optional sweetener (as specified in recipe)

Break the frozen banana into chunks and put in blender. Cover with specified liquid up to the 1-cup mark on the blender container. Add any additional ingredients. Blend until the mixture reaches "shake" consistency, usually 30-40 seconds. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Now for the variations.

VANILLA -- use 1 banana, 1 cup milk, 1 tsp. vanilla extract

CHOCOLATE -- use 1 banana, 1 cup milk, a few squirts of chocolate syrup

STRAWBERRY -- use 1 banana, 1 cup milk, 1 handful fresh strawberries, washed/sliced (or use unsweetened frozen ones -- works fine); pinch of sugar if desired

BLUEBERRY -- use 1 banana, 1 cup milk, 1 handful fresh or frozen blueberries

PURPLE COW -- use 1 banana, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup grape juice

PEANUT BUTTER -- use 1 banana, 1 cup milk, 2 tsp. peanut butter. May also add some chocolate syrup for a "Reese's" effect. (This one is yummy!)

PINA COLADA -- use 1 banana, 1 cup milk, 1-2 tsp shredded coconut, 1/4 cup crushed pineapple

APPLE -- use 1 banana, 1 cup apple juice, 1/2 of an apple, peeled & chopped, cinnamon & nutmeg to taste

KEY LIME - - use 1 banana, juice of 1 lime placed in a 1 cup measure and milk added to the 1-cup mark

TROPICAL -- use 1 banana, 1 c. orange juice, 1/4 cup crushed pineapple

posted by Unknown @ 9:07 AM 0 comments