Lemon Blueberry Muffins

These are my favourite muffins in the universe. They're a beautiful, sweet complement to an afternoon cup of tea, and will bring you piles of compliments. I like to use the Liberte Méditerranée Lemon Yogurt, but beware, it's just as delicious and fattening as ice cream. Also, I prefer wild to cultivated blueberries, because they’re smaller and sweeter, and have more antioxidants to boot.

I'm going to serve these at an upcoming teacher-appreciation event at my kids' school; hopefully they'll earn them some undeserved As.

Enjoy!


Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. each of baking powder and baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 c butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup lemon yogurt
The zest of one small lemon
1 cup wild blueberries


Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Step 2
Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Step 3
Mix the sugar, butter, vanilla, eggs, yogurt and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl.

Step 4
Mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just combined. Toss the blueberries in a bit of flour, then fold them into the batter. The batter will be thick.

Step 5
Place paper liners in your muffin tin. Divide the batter into 12 muffin liners. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until done. You can test doneness by pressing down on your largest muffin: if it’s underdone, it won’t spring back up.

How to Make Homemade Pancakes

Sounds too simple for a whole post, doesn't it? But still, people continue to buy pancake mixes in the store, even though making a flapjack from scratch is just as easy. Five ingredients, that's all. And, of course, you can customize them anyway you like. I personally like blueberry-banana pancakes.

This particular recipe makes a crepe-like pancake; the batter is quite thin, and the end result is flat and delicious.

Step 1
Mix 1 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp. baking powder, a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp. of sugar until just combined.
Add 1 cup of milk and two eggs and blend completely.

Step 2
Turn the burner on medium, and place the pan on the heat. Allow the pan to heat up for a few minutes, then add 1 tbsp. of butter.

Step 3
Once the butter is melted and spread around, spoon the batter in, the amount depending on the size of pancakes you're going for. Don't flip until the surface is covered in holes.

Tip:
Add 1/2 tsp. of vanilla to the batter for a delicious vanilla flavour.
Mash 1/2 a very ripe banana and blend it into the batter for banana pancakes.

Chicken Pot Pie with Cheesy Biscuits

Use up that leftover chicken in this easy, kid-friendly dish. If you're short on time, you can use store-bought refrigerated biscuits or a pie shell instead.








Ingredients:
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 small onion or shallot, diced
2 large carrots cut in rounds
1 small sweet potato, cubed
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 cup each of frozen peas and corn
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
Biscuits
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup butter, cold and cubed
3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 egg

3/4 cup of milk

Step 1
Preheat oven to 400 F. Saute the onion, sweet potato and carrots in the canola oil until the carrots are soft. Add the minced garlic, corn, peas and flour and stir for a few minutes.

Step 2
Add the chicken stock and let simmer for ten minutes or so, or until the sauce thickens.

Step 3
Add the chicken and pour it all in a pie dish.

Step 4
Sift flour, baking soda, sugar and salt together in a medium-sized bowl. Using a fork, press the butter into the flour until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the cheese, and add the milk mixed with the egg. Stir until just combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead gently for a minute or so. Pat the mixture down to 1/2 inch thickness, and, using a floured biscuit cutter or glass, cut out your biscuits.

Step 5
Place the biscuits on the chicken mixture and bake for 20 minutes or so, or until golden-brown.

The Ultimate Kid Quesadilla

This quesadilla is pretty healthy, and the kids go crazy for it -- not running-around-the-house-like-rabid-coyotes crazy, mind you, just man-this-dinner-is-good crazy. For the dip, use whatever you like. I usually use an artichoke-asiago dip, but I've also used ranch dressing or a three-cheese dip. Once I even used a spinach dip. Wacky, I know. For a delicious, creamy herb dip recipe, follow this link.

Ingredients
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tsp. canola oil
1 apple
1 carrot
1/3 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbsp. creamy dip
6 whole wheat tortillas

Step 1
Cook your chicken and chop it up into small pieces.

Step 2
Peel the apple and shred it. Using paper towel or a clean dish towel, squeeze the shredded apple to rid it of excess liquid.

Step 3
Peel and shred the carrot.

Step 4
Mix the chicken, apple, carrot, cheese and creamy dip in a bowl.

Step 5
Rub a bit of water on one side of each tortilla. Those will be the outsides of the quesadillas. On the dry sides of three, evenly distribute the mixture. Place the dry sides down, and fry each one in a lightly greased frying pan until golden brown.

Cut each quesadilla in four and enjoy dipped in sour cream.

The Ultimate Carrot Cake

If there’s a heaven, its inhabitants would spend their days watching reruns of Six Feet Under and noshing on this fabulous cake. It’s that good. Moist and delicate with a hint of citrus, this carrot cake is one for the books. 

Ingredients

 5 or 6 medium-sized carrots

4 eggs
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 small container of orange, lemon or vanilla yogurt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
The zest of one orange
2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. each of baking soda and cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. nutmeg

8 oz. plain cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup of unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
The zest of one lemon
2 ½ cups of confectioners’ sugar

Step 1     

Preheat your oven to 350 F.

Grate the carrots and place them in a large mixing bowl. We like a fine grate here at The Kitchen Geeks, but if you like them coarser, with big hunks of carrot, that’s a matter of choice. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs.

Step 2

Pour the eggs in the large bowl with the grated carrots and add the sugars, oil, vanilla and zest. Mix well.

Step 3

Mix all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, careful not to overmix.

Step 4

Pour the dry mixture slowly into the wet mixture and mix until just combined.

Step 5

Get your baking vessels ready. We like to use 3 8-inch square pans for a triple layer cake – mostly because that maximizes the cream cheese frosting surface. You can use two round pans, one large round pan or even a 9-by-13 rectangular pan.

Cover the bottom of the baking pans with parchment paper, then cover the sides and parchment with a thin layer of butter. If you don’t have parchment, just use butter. Use some butter from the ¼ cup deligated for the icing; your frosting won’t need quite that much.

Step 6

Bake in a preheated oven until the center pops to the touch. If you touch the top and it sinks without popping up, it’s not done. For the three small pans, that’s about 20 minutes. For one large pan, it’s more like 45. Keep a close eye and don’t overbake or you’ll lose some of that heavenly moistness. 

Step 7

Mix the cream cheese and ¼ cup butter (less the amount you used to grease the pans) together using a standing mixer. Once smooth, add the vanilla. Reduce the speed of your mixer to low, and slowly add the sugar in batches. Mix for about five minutes, or until all the lumps are gone. Stir in the lemon zest and it’s ready to go!

Now just ice the cake and you’re ready to go!

How to Roast Green Beans

Green beans, aka snap beans or French beans are a great source of vitamins and minerals, as well as dietary fiber. They’re also easy to find year-round and relatively inexpensive. The green bean casserole, an invention of the Campbell’s Soup Company to boost sales of their cream of mushroom soup is a common side dish at Thanksgiving. The casserole combines green beans with the canned soup from concentrate and (gasp!) canned fried onions to produce an interesting, not-so-healthy side dish. Sure it looks appetizing, but why not try something simpler, healthier and more delicious?

Roasting turns the starches into sugar, and the results are both sweet and tender – much like myself. One note: they don’t look the same as your run-of-the-mill boiled beans. Rather than being bright and green, they’re a bit shrivelled and brown. Not to worry, the taste makes up where appearance lacks.

Last thing: my kids absolutely love these.

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Step 2

Rinse green beans under cool, running water. Line them up and cut off the ends. In a bowl, toss the beans in 1 tbsp. of olive oil to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Step 3

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Place beans in a single layer on sheet.

Step 4

Roast the beans for 10 minutes. Remove the tray and redistribute the beans, shake ‘em up. Place back in the oven for another 5 minutes or so, or until they start to brown.