Blueberry Coffee Cake - my redemption

     After the huge FAIL of my fresh blueberry muffins the other night, I was more determined than ever to make an awesome recipe with blueberries in it.  I found Ellie Krieger's Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe on the Food Network website.  I made it today and I must say, it is awesome!

My (very few) modifications are in ().  You will need:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour or regular whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I omitted because we were out.)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp room temperature butter
2 tbsp oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt (I used lowfat)
1 cup fresh blueberries or frozen ones that have been thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an 8-inch square cake pan with cooking spray (I used a round springform pan.).

Whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, the baking sode 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 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 in two batches, stirring until just combined.

Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan.  (I sprayed my spatula with cooking spray to make it easier to spread the thick batter.)  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, smoothng the top.  Sprinkle the remaining nut mixture over the cake, pressing gently.  Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes.  Let cook slightly and then invert and unmold to allow complete cooling on a cooling rack (this is optional, but I did do that with the springform pan). Makes approximately 12 servings.

1 ingredient - 3 recipes

     Have you guys tried this yet?  I bought some last week on a whim and used one container for 3 different recipes.  It's really good!  I try not to buy a lot of processed items, but hey, when can you ever go wrong with cream cheese?  Here's how I used it:

Rigatoni with sausage and creamy tomato sauce:  I added a large spoonful of the cooking creme to my tomato sauce to give it a creamier consistency and to change the taste up a little.

Pizza with turkey kielbasa and grilled artichokes:  For this one, I spread the cooking creme directly onto the pizza crust before I added any other sauce or ingredients.  I just used a little, but it definitely added flavor!

Pasta Primavera with roasted garlic and cream sauce:  Tonight I was looking for something to make that had very little acid...I wanted something comforting and not very spicy.  SO I cooked a box of penne pasta, sauteed some broccoli, the rest of the jar of grilled artichokes and the oil they were in, red pepper, onion, and roasted garlic.  I then added about 1/2 cup of the cooking creme and topped it all with toasted panko bread crumbs.  It was super!

I'm definitely a fan of the Philly Cooking creme - the Italian herb flavor at least.

Spicy Summer Soup

     Yes, I know it's summer.  I know summer is not usually the time to make soup...unless you're making gazpacho, which I'm not.  However, it was cooler yesterday than it has been in recent weeks and I found this recipe in Runner's World that I really wanted to try.  It. Was. Great!  Believe it or not, the only thing I did differently was to double the recipe.  WARNING: It is spicy!  I added homemade pico de gallo, avocados, and grated cheese.  You could also easily make this a vegetarian dish by using black beans in place of the chicken.

     To see the recipe, click here!