Blueberry Streusel Muffins {Good Old Fashioned Recipe Swap}

Good morning everyone! I'm Julie from White Lights on Wednesday. I'm super excited to be swapping blogs and recipes with Carrie today. She's one of my favorite people and favorite bloggers. So I may have scooped her up for myself when I was pairing everyone off. Guilty. Totally worth it.  
So I like to blog about food, a lot. But I talk about some around the house and kitchen tips, and {my fave} blogging. I have a blog income series going right now, and I'm sharing my saga of moving to WordPress with all the down and dirty details. But since we're hear for food, I should probably tell you about two of my favorite recipes: Creamed Corn and Sun-Dried Tomato & Balsamic Shrimp Pasta. These recipes are both totally wicked!   Okay, focus Julie - food for Carrie. I made these muffins at my boyfriend Mike's behest. He called one morning from work to tell me there were freshly baked muffins at the bakery and he needed some when he got home. This is normal behavior in my house. Who am I to refuse my most devoted taste tester? So here we are. Happy Blueberry Muffins. You're welcome.

 

 

Blueberry Streusel Muffins From Taste of Home / Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter, softened 1/3 cup sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour     4 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk 1 1 2/ cup frozen blueberries, divided {fresh blueberries work too} Streusel 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 cup cold butter, cut into 8 pieces   

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until pale a fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; mix to combine. Alternate adding flour and milk to butter mixture, starting and ending with flour mixture. Gently stir in 1 1/4 cups blueberries.
4. Portion batter into 12 muffin tin cups, each cup should be about 2/3 full. Put a few blueberries on top of batter in each cup until remaining blueberries are gone.
5. In a medium bowl, combine all streusel ingredients with a fork. You want to work quickly so the butter doesn't melt; the streusel should have a large crumb consistency. Sprinkle streusel over all the muffins until gone.
6. Bake muffins for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove muffins to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Thanks so much for having me today Carrie!

Make sure you stop by my blog and check out Carrie's recipe for Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Pork Loin Chops! :)

Today’s the day! I’m so excited to be participating in an Old Fashioned Recipe Blog Swap! Julie {White Lights on Wednesday}, Kelley {Miss Information} and Rachel {i love my disorganized life} have paired up 30 incredible bloggers to trade recipes on each others blogs for the day.

If you want to go see all of the recipes in the blog swap be sure to go and visit one of the host’s  Rachel {i love my disorganized life}, Julie {White Lights on Wednesday} or  Kelley {Miss Information}, to see all the recipes linked up in the swap.

Beer Cheese Risotto with Bacon {GYCO ~ Beer}

I have some redeeming to do for this month's Get Your Chef On Challenge from Julie at White Lights on Wednesdays and Jen from Four Marrs and One Venus.  I totally skipped out on January's challenge after winning the GYCO title in November for my Cranberry Cheesecake Ice Cream.  January's ingredient was pears.  

Pears.  I have no idea why, but my mind just completely blanked.  Maybe it was too much champagne on New Year's?  ;) But I just couldn't come up with a pear recipe I would be proud to enter for the life of me.

Then Julie announced March's ingredient... BEER.  

Beer I can do.

Beer could be my redeemer, maybe even my chance to reclaim the GYCO title? 

My inspiration for my Beer Cheese Risotto with Bacon came from our favorite appetizer at our favorite restaurant to eat at when we are in the Pittsburgh area- the Beer Belly fries smothered in Beer Cheese & Peppered Bacon from Bocktown Beer and Grill.

Yeah, I am sitting here drooling now daydreaming about those fries, and their Three Rivers Burgher, and that vast & amazing selection of craft beers...

*sigh*

What you will need:

4 cups of chicken broth

1 cup arborio rice

1 small onion, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 cup of beer + a splash (I would suggest a pale ale.  I used Saranac Pale Ale in my risotto.)

4-5 slices of bacon

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese + 1 tbsp butter

Salt & pepper

Pour the chicken broth into a large saucepan.  Over medium-low heat, start to slowly heat the broth to a low simmer.

Heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven.  Once the butter is melted, add the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes until tender.

Add the cup of arborio rice to the onions.  Saute for another 1-2 minutes to slightly toast the rice.

Pour in your cup of beer.  Cook and stir the rice/beer mixture over medium heat until all the liquid is absorbed.  

Using a ladle, scoop in one ladle full of the chicken broth.  Cook and stir over medium-low heat until all the liquid is once again absorbed.  

Continue doing this- ladling in the broth, stirring until absorbed until you have used all the chicken broth.  This entire process should take between 30-35 minutes.

Risotto is a labor of love, folks.  But a labor that is well, well worth it. ;)

In between ladling in chicken broth, cook your bacon strips.  Personally, I am a huge fan of baking bacon.  It is easy.  You don't get splattered with bacon grease trying to flip frying pork.  And your entire house doesn't smell like a grease pit all day.  

Simply line a RIMMED baking sheet with foil, lay out your bacon strips, & place in a cold oven.  Then heat the oven to 425 degrees.  In about 20-25 minutes, you should have crispy perfect bacon.  Easy, peasy!

Again I will stress that you use a rimmed baking sheet & be VERY careful pulling the baking sheet out of the oven so you do not spill any of the grease that has rendered out of the bacon onto the hot oven.  I learned this one the hard way once.   Not a good scene- had to break out the fire extinguisher, the fire department came... 

It was a good time. 

Once your risotto has absorbed all the liquid, remove from the heat and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese and butter.  I also splashed in a little more beer at this point as a finishing touch.  This is totally optional, but I highly suggest it. :)

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chop your bacon now that it has cooled.  Dish out your risotto and top with a little shredded cheddar cheese and chopped, crispy bacon.  And there you have it- Beer Cheese Risotto with Bacon!

Beer Cheese Risotto with Bacon

by Frugal Foodie Mama

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

6044207

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup of beer + a splash (I would suggest a pale ale. I used Saranac Pale Ale in my risotto.)
• 4-5 slices of bacon
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese + 1 tbsp butter
• Salt & pepper

Instructions

Pour the chicken broth into a large saucepan. Over medium-low heat, start to slowly heat the broth to a low simmer.

Heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat in a large dutch oven. Once the butter is melted, add the onion and saute for 2-3 minutes until tender.

Add the cup of arborio rice to the onions. Saute for another 1-2 minutes to slightly toast the rice.

Pour in your cup of beer. Cook and stir the rice/beer mixture over medium heat until all the liquid is absorbed.

Using a ladle, scoop in one ladle full of the chicken broth. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until all the liquid is once again absorbed.

Continue doing this- ladling in the broth, stirring until absorbed until you have used all the chicken broth. This entire process should take between 30-35 minutes.

Line a RIMMED baking sheet with foil, lay out your bacon strips, & place in a cold oven. Then heat the oven to 425 degrees. In about 20-25 minutes, you should have crispy perfect bacon.

Once your risotto has absorbed all the liquid, remove from the heat and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese and butter. I also splashed in a little more beer at this point as a finishing touch.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chop your bacon now that it has cooled. Dish out your risotto and top with a little shredded cheddar cheese and chopped, crispy bacon.

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Make sure you stop by the other blogs competing in the Get Your Chef On ~Beer~ Challenge and check out their beer inspired recipes...

Who's Ready for a Christmas Cookie {Recipe} Swap?

I am so excited to be co-hosting this fabulous Christmas Cookie Swap!  Baking cookies for the holidays has always been a tradition in my house.  When my son was younger, he would love to pull up a chair at the dining room table and decorate countless sugar cookies with sprinkles, and sugars, and red hots.  Now that he is a teenager he isn't as interested anymore.  I am looking forward to when baby girl is a just a wee bit older, and I can pass this holiday tradition on to her.  

Julie from White Lights on Wednesdays (you may remember her from me being her October Blog Angel ;) ) approached me about this fabulous idea for a Christmas Cookie Swap.  Only this one is unlike any cookie swap I had heard of before...  You don't bake cookies and send them to your swap partner.  You snail mail them your recipe, they make it, and then post the results on their blog!  I knew I was 100% in.  Every Christmas I bake the traditional favorites, but I always try to throw in one new cookie recipe into the mix. There are a few other lovely bloggers who will also be co-hosting this fun little swap...

Julie @ White Lights on Wednesdays
Jaime @ Mom's Test Kitchen

Carrie @ My Favorite Finds

Deb @ Cooking on the Front Burner

Michelle @ Michelle's Tasty Creations

Kim @ The Sunflower Supper Club

Make sure you pop over to these fabulous ladies' blogs and say hello! :)  

So here's the deal if you want to party.  Click the sign-up button below, fill out the form, and pick your favorite Christmas cookie recipe.  There is a place to note if you have food allergies or dietary preferences in your house that your sender should be conscious of (your partners will have the same diet preferences as you, is possible).  Everyone will send their recipe to their assigned partner.  The person you send a recipe to will not be the same person you receive a recipe from.

By signing up you agree to mail a hand written copy of your cookie recipe to your recipient.  You also agree to make the recipe sent to you and share photos and the recipe in a blog post.  If you do not have a blog, you can still participate!  Simply send your photos, recipe, and thoughts on the experience to whitelightsonwednesday@yahoo.com and one of the co-hosts will share your "post" on their blog.

Are you ready to start baking & get in the Christmas cookie spirit?

SIGN UP BY CLICKING THE BUTTON BELOW
{Sign Up is open through Nov. 23rd at 11:59pm}

Wrapping Up My First Blog Angel Experience...

Today my month of being a Blog Angel and having a Blog Angel is coming to a close...  

As some of you all may recall, a couple of weeks ago I revealed who I am a blog angel for.  It was the lovely Julie from White Lights on Wednesdays.  For the first two weeks of October, I was secretly "stalking" her blog- commenting, pinning her awesome recipes, and sharing some of her blog posts.  I continued to do these things for the last two weeks of October, only no longer in secret. ;)  I got a little crazy giddy when I saw that Anderson Live had favorited the tweet I sent out about Julie's 10 Haunting Halloween Decorations post.  I thought for sure that it might end up on their PIN-TOBER SPOOKTACULAR board (how cool would have that been??).  But I guess Julie and I will have to settle for having the tweet favorited since I have yet to have seen her post pinned to the show's board. 

Julie also hopped on over to my blog and participated in my The BIG 300 All Treats (No Tricks!) Giveaway celebrating my blog reaching over 300 followers this past month.  I am hoping she got a few new followers, Likes, and readers in return. ;)

As I found out a couple of weeks ago, Sandra from Vegan Mother Hubbard is my October blog angel.  (To see her reveal post, CLICK HERE.)  Sandra has been an awesome blog angel! :)  She has become a regular reader and commenter on my blog, and her mad Pinning skills has been driving traffic to my recipe posts.  Some might say that Sandra would be an unlikely angel for me.  She is vegan. And well... I love meat.  But she has supported me in every way that she can... you know, minus the promoting my meat-themed recipes. ;)  We actually have a plan in the works for her to post a few veganized versions of a couple of my recipes, so be on the lookout for those before too long!

My very first Blog Angel experience has been a wonderful one, and I will scrambling to get in on the December one as soon as sign-ups are open on November 10th.  

If you are interested in signing up for the next round of Blog Angels, make sure you read THIS POST and follow Rosie at CraftboticQ.

October Blog Angel Reveal!! :)

I am so excited because today is the day of the BIG Blog Angels Reveal!!!  :)  For the past two weeks, I have been trying to sneakily stalk my blog angel careful not to reveal my identity.  I am not sure if I was 100% successful, but I guess I will know soon enough, right? ;)

What is Blog Angels?  I first heard about this nifty way to help spread bloggy love from my good friend Rosie at Craftbotic.  This past month she matched up 100 different bloggers for the program.  Want to get in on the next one?  Sign ups start November 15th for December Blog Angels.  Click the button below to get more details! 

Okay, enough of all that!  Time for what you all really want to know... Who was my Blog Angel???

Julie from White Lights on Wednesdays!! :)  It was pretty easy to be Julie's Blog Angel.  She has a ton of great recipes on her site, and this fellow foodie here had no problem commenting on all the deliciousness and pinning her recipes to my little heart's content. ;)

Plus, she is one of the driving forces behind Online BlogCon, an affordable online conference for all us bloggers out there who can't afford the travel and expenses that goes along with traditional blogger conferences.  ($15!  That is all registration is, you all!  And some of the biggest food bloggers out there are "speaking" at the conference!  Makes my thrifty foodie heart flutter. ;) )

So, why was it easy to be Julie's Blog Angel?  

Because of this...

Sweet & Salty Cookie Cups

And this...

Spin Dip Pasta

Julie also hosts a fabulous link party on Wednesdays on her blog.  Stop by this coming Wednesday and link up your recipes, crafts, & DIY projects! :)

I am so excited to start openly working with Julie and White Lights on Wednesdays for the next two weeks! :)