I love you blueberries

To Die For Blueberry Muffins
(allrecipes.com)

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (I used frozen, but coat them in flour if you don't want purple muffins)
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. I used 12.
   
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Mine aren't that beautiful, but they are delicious, I promise! They were all gone within a few hours.

A quick, slightly different chicken salad

Feta Chicken Salad

• 3 cups diced cooked chicken (I used 1 can chicken and adjusted remaining ingredients accordingly)
  
• 2 large stalks celery, diced (I skipped)
  
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 6 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 (4 ounce) package feta cheese, crumbled
• 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
  
• 1 pinch salt and pepper to taste

In a serving bowl, mix together the chicken, celery, and red onion. In a separate bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, feta cheese, and dill. Pour over the chicken mixture, and stir to blend. Taste, and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until serving.

I haven't used feta cheese before, and since it's not that pricey (2 bucks for a container) I decided to expand my cheese repertoire. To tell you the truth, I couldn't really taste it, but I'm figuring it made the salad. The salad was tasty and great the next day. One can of chicken fed our whole family. And it was great on these rolls.

Black-Eyed peas and Corn Salsa

Black-Eyed Peas and Corn Salsa

• 1 15 oz can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
  
• 1 15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
• 4-5 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (I skip- don't like it!)
  
• 1 bunch green onions, cut into small pieces (I diced some yellow onion- all I had)
• 1-2 medium avocadoes, diced
• 1 packet Good Seasons Italian dressing, mixed according to package directions. (this brand is best)
  

Mix all together with dressing. Add avocado just before serving. Refrigerate several hours before serving. (though I ate mine right away and it was great, but I bet flavors would mingle best this way)
Serve with tortilla chips or over a salad.

Yum! This is another one stolen from my ward cookbook, but what can I say? I'm making this again, so it's going into my tried and true file, aka my blog.

Quick chicken winner for honey-mustard lovers

Curried Honey Mustard Chicken
(allrecipes.com)

• 1/3 cup butter, melted (I used 2 T butter and 2 T water)
  
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup Dijon-style prepared mustard
• 4 teaspoons curry powder
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I used 2 but kept sauce amount the same- you want enough to pour over rice, so double sauce if you use 4)
  

1. In a medium bowl combine the melted butter/margarine, honey, mustard, curry powder and cayenne powder. Mix well. Place chicken breasts in a 9x13 inch baking dish and pour honey/mustard mixture over chicken. Cover and place in refrigerator. Marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. Remove dish from refrigerator and bake, covered, in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove cover and bake about 10 minutes more, or until done and juices run clear (baking time will depend a little on how thick your chicken breasts are).

This is a delicious, easy, fast chicken recipe! I was a lot worried about the combination of ingredients, but it turned out splendidly. Read the reviews on this recipe at allrecipes.com- it got about 300 4 1/2 star reviews (out of 5 stars), and people who didn't like curry loved this recipe. I'd go more for if you like honey-mustard you'll like this. The kids liked it, as it was more sweet (but not overly so) than spicy.

another doctored up cake mix

Poppy Seed Cake
(allrecipes.com)

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix, pudding mix and poppy seeds. Make a well in the center and pour in water, oil, and eggs. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. When cool, glaze if desired.

I desire to glaze! I made a glaze with a little milk, some powdered sugar and a little almond extract. I loved snacking on this cake and have made it several times.

(not my picture, don't make them this brown!)

Poppy Seed Muffins

• 3 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/8 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons butter, melted

1. Beat together the eggs, 2 1/2 cups white sugar and vegetable oil. Add in milk, salt, baking powder, poppy seeds, vanilla, almond flavoring, and flour. Mix well.
2. Bake in paper lined muffin cups (filled 3/4 full or 3 small greased loaf pans) at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 15-20 minutes for muffins and 50-60 minutes for loaves. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
3. Remove muffins as soon as you can while still warm/hot and dunk tops into glaze. Turn right side up and cool on a cookie rack. With loaves just pour the glaze evenly over the three loaves while still in pans. Let cool to a warm temp. and remove from pans. Yes, it is a little messy but it is really good.
4. To Make Glaze: In a saucepan over low heat, combine 3/4 cup sugar, orange juice, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring and 2 teaspoons melted butter. Warm in pan until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over loaf pans or dunk muffin tops into glaze when cooled to room temperature. (Omit the glaze altogether if you don't like the mess.)

The glaze is so good! These are great muffins. Make sure to only cook until muffins are pre-brown for best texture. Not raw of course, but they will be light colored. These take a little time, but they are worth it.

Fun summer cake

Orange Bundt Cake

• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1 (3 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix (I used vanilla)
  
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract

1. Grease a 10 inch Bundt pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in 3/4 cup orange juice, oil, eggs and lemon extract. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
4. Glaze: 2 cups powdered sugar and 1/4 c. orange juice. Mix well and pour over cooled cake.

Great cake-mix cake! Addicting.