Heavenly Mini Blueberry Splenda Pies ~ in Muffin Tins!

Blueberries

“You ought to have seen what I saw on my way
To the village, through Mortenson’s pasture to-day:
Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,
Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum
In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!
And all ripe together, not some of them green
And some of them ripe! You ought to have seen!” 

Robert Frost 

When summertime rolls around, I’m thrilled ~ warm weather, sunshine and Blueberries!

The aroma of these little pies baking was mouthwatering!

I’m always on the lookout for blueberry recipes, and now can't remember where this one came from.

I mixed Splenda with the fruit instead of sugar, it measures the same as sugar.  I didn’t tell Bill it was made with Splenda until later; he didn’t notice a difference with Splenda, and neither did I.  

For the filling, I added a splash of lemon juice, and a couple of pinches of cinnamon.  

The pies are easy peasy to pull together, but to make them even easier, use Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust.  You’ll be eating dessert in a flash!

Baked in a muffin tin, the pies are a perfect-size yummy dessert or snack!  

These blueberry pies a great dessert for anyone who needs/likes a dessert with low sugar.  

It’s hard to eat just one!

Yield: 6 servingsAuthor: Pam

Mini Blueberry Splenda Pies

These blueberry pies are a great dessert with less sugar!

prep time: 20 MINScook time: 25 MINStotal time: 45 mins

INGREDIENTS

• 1 recipe for double-crust pie or Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust (2 crusts), at room temperature
• 1½ cups fresh blueberries
• ¼ cup Splenda Sugar Blend
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
   Grease 6 cups of muffin tin.
2. Dust counter top with flour, roll pie crust out.
   Cut six 3” circles of crust, press into the bottom and sides of muffin tin.
3. Combine blueberries with Splenda, cinnamon and juice.
   Fill the cups with the pie filling.
4. Cut another 6 circles of dough and press them on top of each pie, sealing the bottom and top layers of dough tightly with your fingers.
5. In a small bowl, whisk egg and water to make an egg wash; brush over the top of each pie.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes until crust is golden brown.
7. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before carefully removing each pie from tin and onto a cooling rack to cool.
   
   Serve warm or cool.

Enjoy!

Honeyed Winter Citrus Salad

Growing up, my parents and brother were crazy about fruit; there was never a shortage of it in the kitchen, with Mom dishing it out every chance she got.

I didn’t get it…  

Then Bill and I married…  Two sons, a grandson, and many years later, fruit lovers still rule in my family.

And I still don’t get it…

Am I alone in this?  Maybe I’m missing out on Mother Nature’s bounty, but I could never eat another piece of fruit for the rest of my life and be OK with it!

Colorful anyway!

With the exception of the very few fruits I do enjoy occasionally (rarely):  grapefruit, cherries and pineapple, blueberries and blackberries, plus apple pie and banana bread.  The first 2 are why I love this fruit salad!

If there's no pie, a simple fruit salad can be the perfect ending to your dinner, maybe more appropriate than an elaborate combination.  

Ruby red grapefruit tastes great with it’s tart and tangy flavor, it’s higher in some nutrients, such as Vitamins A and C, than white grapefruit, making it the better choice for us grapefruit lovers.

Navel oranges, the “winter” orange, have a lack of seeds, easy to peel skin, and juicy flesh.  The orange grows a second “twin” fruit opposite its stem.  The second fruit is underdeveloped, but from the outside, it looks like a human navel, hence the name.

Peeling and segmenting grapefruits and oranges is a breeze, here’s the method I’ve been using for years.  If you’ve never tried it, give it a try, it’s easy peasy!

And who doesn’t like maraschino cherries!  The cherries are preserved, sweetened cherries, typically made from light-colored sweet cherries such as Royal Ann or Rainier varieties.   

They’re the “cocktail cherry” in many cocktails, or used as a garnish on foods ranging from fruit salads to baked ham, to ice cream sundaes and pastries, with no pineapple upside-down cake being complete without maraschino cherries.

Toss it all together with a light dressing of honey and lime juice with a touch of strong, spicy, citrusy, aromatic cardamom for added flavor.  

Hope you like it!

Winter Citrus Salad w/Honey Dressing

Ingredients:

2 ruby red grapefruit, peeled and ends trimmed
4 navel oranges, peeled and end trimmed
6 maraschino cherries or more, sliced
¼ t ground cardamom
2 tablespoons honey 
1 tablespoon lime juice

Method:

Peel the grapefruit.
Place a sieve over a medium bowl.
Hold a grapefruit over the bowl, and using a paring knife, cut along the membrane on both sides of each segment.
Free the segments and let them fall into the sieve.
Repeat with remaining grapefruit and oranges. 
Place the fruit segments in a salad bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together cardamom, vinegar, honey and lime juice, taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Pour over fruit.
Add sliced cherries and toss lightly.
4-6 servings

Printable recipe


Enjoy!

Cranberry-Ginger Sauce for Your Thanksgiving Table!

Cranberries add a little 

glitz and glimmer 

to your 

holiday meal!

Cranberry sauce is one of my favorite foods on the holiday table, and I’m not referring to the canned variety.  

I like my cranberry sauce homemade and fresh…

This is an uncomplicated, easy recipe.  All I had to do was curl the grapefruit, fill the saucepan with more ingredients and cook.  

Aromatic notes from the ginger spices the sauce up a notch.  You can use grated fresh ginger, but I had on hand a jar of minced ginger.  

A jar of minced ginger is a great handy convenience for cooking and baking that remains fresh in the jar, when refrigerated, for approximately 3 months. 

When using the jarred variety, add the same amount that is called for in the recipe.  It's a wonderful thing to have on hand when your recipe calls for fresh ginger!

In my way of thinking, no Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner would be complete without a serving or two of this tangy, sweet, delicious cranberry sauce!

It’s divine!


Cranberry-Ginger Sauce
Printable recipe

Ingredients:

2 large ruby-red grapefruits
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons red onion, chopped
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
½ cup sugar
12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon minced ginger

Method:

Peel about 10 curls of skin from grapefruit.
Juice both grapefruits into a bowl; reserve.
Melt butter in a pot over medium-high heat and add onion, grapefruit peels, and salt.
Sauté until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add sugar, grapefruit juice, and cranberries, bring to a simmer.
Continue to simmer until the berries have completely softened, about 12 minutes.
Stir in ginger and let cool.
Serve at room temperature.



Enjoy!

Here's hoping 

you all 

have a 

very...

Cranberry-Pomegranate Sauce w/Red Wine

I like a tiny bite of  turkey and a healthy serving of dressing with my cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving time but ~ 
not all cranberry sauces are created equal!

We try to appease everyone around our Thanksgiving table whether it’s with the canned jellied version or whole-fruit cranberry sauce with an assortment of add-ins like this great recipe.

 

This dish is pretty and tasty and should be served around the year.  

If you like pomegranates, a  little wine and seasonings with your cranberries ~ this recipe is for you…

Cranberry-Pomegranate Sauce w/Red Wine
Printable recipe

Ingredients:

1½ cups fresh cranberries
1 cup pomegranate seeds (equal to seeds from 1 pomegranate)
1 cup red wine
¾ to 1 cup sugar (I use Splenda)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a a medium-sized sauce pan over high heat.
When mixture starts boiling, reduce heat and simmer.
Cook until cranberries pop and sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
Chill until serving time.

ENJOY!


 

Blackberry Cobbler

 Tell me, what’s your summertime little guilty pleasure?  Share with me ~ I’ll keep it a secret! 

One of mine is fresh homemade Blackberry Cobbler!


The juicy blackberries had my name written on them when I saw them at the farmer’s market yesterday ~ I knew exactly what to do with them ~ cobbler!



The plump bites of tartness sweetened up with a little sprinkling of sugar; depending upon sweetness of berries, plus a touch of lemon zest and cinnamon.  Baked over the berries, is a simple homemade biscuit cobbler topping.   It’s easy to pull together and a perfect little dessert for anyone. 

We enjoy blackberry cobbler warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream ~ it’s oh so delicious!  

Pure bliss…


Blackberry Cobbler

For the berries:

4 cups fresh blackberries
¼ to ⅓ cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1½ tablespoons instant tapioca

For the cobbler topping:

3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method:

In a 9” x 9” baking dish, combine berries, sugars, lemon zest and juice, cinnamon and cornstarch, combine well.
Let berries set for 30 minutes to macerate.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bow, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. 
Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender or 2 knives, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Make a well in the center and stir in milk and beaten egg until just moistened, do not over-stir.
By large spoonfuls, place mounds of dough over the berries in the baking dish.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and a golden brown.
Serve warm or room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

ENJOY!

The Ultimate Stuffing for Thanksgiving

I’m back at blogging!  Thanks for all your concerns; everything is fine here, and I hope it is by you.  I just wanted a break, giving me extra time to pursue other interests.  

Now, on to this great dish for your Thanksgiving dinner table.

I’ve tried a variety of stuffing recipes over the years, but I keep coming back to this one, an adapted version of a Chicago Tribune recipe.  It’s a recipe here on my blog that begged to be re-posted. 

Italian sausage, Honeycrisp apples, dried cherries, orange liqueur provide savory sweet flavors for the stuffing.  Even try a mixture of dried fruit.  This recipe makes a lot of stuffing ~ lucky you, should there be leftovers.

Here’s hoping you give it a try and enjoy it as much as we do!

This is truly ultimate stuffing!

The Ultimate Stuffing w/Dried Cherries and Apples

Servings: 8

This is truly the ultimate stuffing. It's always a favorite on our Thanksgiving table along with the turkey! It's delicious!

Ingredients

• ½ cup butter
• 2 cups chopped celery, with leaves
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) package herb-seasoned bread stuffing mix
• 1 cup dried cherries
• 2 Honeycrisp apples - peeled, cored and chopped
• 2-3 cups chicken broth
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large skillet, melt ½ cup butter over medium heat. Sauté the celery and onion in the butter for 10 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
2. Combine the stuffing mix with the celery and onion mixture.
3. Stir in the cherries and apples.
4. Mix in 2 cups chicken broth and egg; the stuffing should be totally moistened, if not, gradually add more broth.
5. Season with poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper.
6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
7. Lightly butter a 15x10x2-inch baking dish.
8. Transfer stuffing to prepared dish.
9. Cover with buttered foil and bake until heated through, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
10. Uncover and bake until top is crisp, about 15 minutes.

Notes:

This stuffing can be made one day ahead. Refrigerate until ready to bake and add another 10 to 15 minutes baking time, until stuffing is heated through.

Created using The Recipes Generator

ENJOY!

Easy Easy Berry Cobbler

Berry Cobbler does not get much easier than this…

This recipe is incredibly easy and seemed unreal, when I saw it on Pinterest and was led here.  It uses just 3 ingredients:  frozen fruit, cake mix and Sprite Zero soda.  Plus, it is not so high in calories as is the usual cobbler! 

I used a combo of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries because that is what we like ~ you can use strawberries, peaches, cherries, or any combo you favor.  There has been a box of lemon cake mix in my kitchen cabinet for ages, so I used it.  The recipe calls for a white cake mix and next time, I will try that.  

Layer of frozen berries

Here’s what I learned:

The recipe calls for not stirring the cake mix and soda together.  I followed that and baked it for 45 minutes.  When pulled out of the oven, I saw some of the cake mix laying on top; very dry.  I poured about ¼ cup more soda over it in the dry spots, and stirred the surface around a little with a fork, then baked it for another 10 minutes ~ 55 minutes, total baking time.  

After pouring soda over the top of the cake mix

Some of the reviewers stated that they stirred the cake mix and soda together before baking.  The recipe says that stirring it makes a smooth cake-like topping, instead of a crust like cobbler. 

The way I made it, turned out crumbly and delicious.  It was not runny, like cobblers many times are ~ the consistency was perfect; juicy fruit with a great crust and not too sweet.  It has a sweet/tart thing going on, different and delicious!

We really liked this!  So easy, peasy and good!  I had cool whip on hand, but it would be great with a scoop of ice cream!  If you like cobblers, you have to try this!

Berry Cobbler

Ingredients:

2 (12 ounce) bags frozen mixed berries

1 box white cake mix (NO PUDDING)----I used lemon

1 can diet 7-up or sierra mist (clear soda)---I used Sprite Zero

Method:

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Coat a 9” x 13” baking dish with cooking spray.

Place frozen fruit in baking dish.

Add dry cake mix over the top.

Pour soda SLOWLY over cake mix.

DO NOT stir the cake mix and the pop---this will give you a ‘crust.’  If you stir the two you will have a cake-like topping.

Bake 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

Serve with ice cream, or not.

I will be making this again very soon and will use a white cake mix and frozen cherries, if I’m lucky enough to find them!!!

Pam's note:  Update June 23rd:  I made it using the white cake mix---it's even better!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and delicious easy recipes! 

Cranberry-Maple Syrup and Merry Christmas!

Your pancakes will really be perfect on Christmas morning when drizzled with this mouthwatering cranberry-maple syrup! 

This syrup is a cross between a colorful jam and viscous syrup.  Crushed cranberries provide an interesting texture with a tart flavor, mingling with the sweet sticky maple syrup.  Four ingredients are all it takes.  Cook the cranberries in the maple syrup, until they pop, then crush the cranberries with a potato masher.   The aroma as it cooks is mouthwatering. 

I saw this recipe somewhere on the internet a while back, but don’t remember where.  It’s a great recipe ~ so try topping your waffles or pancakes with this fruity syrup!

Cranberry-Maple Syrup

Ingredients:

1 cup pure maple syrup

1 cup fresh cranberries

½ teaspoon orange zest

1 tablespoon butter

Method:

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring syrup, cranberries and orange zest to a boil.

Reduce heat, and simmer, until the cranberries have popped, about 3 minutes.

Remove from heat and crush cranberries with a potato masher or spoon.

Add butter and stir until dissolved.

Serve warm

Keeps well refrigerated in a covered container.

By the way, it makes a great little homemade gift for your family and friends!

Here’s wishing all of you and your loved ones a blessed Merry Christmas!

A little smile

A word of cheer

A bit of love from someone near,

A little gift from one held dear,

Best wishes for the coming year…

These make a Merry Christmas!

John Greenleaf Whittier

Hugs to you all,

Pam

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and recipes. 

Fried Apples My Way

Oooops!  Forgot to take pic after cooking!

There is a bushel full of theories about the origin of apples, but we all remember the story of John Chapman, or Johnny Appleseed as the legend goes, who was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1774 and died in Ft. Wayne, Indiana in March, 1845. 

He was liked for his kind, generous ways and for planting apple seeds along his travels around the country ~ over a 50 year period, buying and selling land and developing thousands of productive apple trees.  His dream was to produce so many apples that no one would ever go hungry.  

                                           Johnny Appleseed, postcard, 1972

I’ve always been crazy about apples ~ especially, baked apples, until I made fried apples; they’re even better!  Fried apples are not quite apple pie but a close second.  Perhaps, most folks think of fried apples as a dessert; but in my mind, it's a side dish.  This is a simple, seasonal food that is packed with flavor.

Cook the apples just until they are fork tender.  They can quickly surrender and turn to mush, so watch them closely.  It’s as easy as apple pie!

Fried Apples

Ingredients:

4 apples:  2 Granny Smith and 2 Honeycrisp

½ teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons brown sugar (I use Splenda)

Dash salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Dash nutmeg

Method:

Melt butter in skillet.

Drizzle lemon juice over apples.

Cover and cook about 15-20 minutes or until tender.  (Watch closely; they can turn to mush quickly).

Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg, and toss.

Serve warm or room temperature, maybe with a dollop of whipped cream.

Be sure to take time to check out my friend, Linda’s, great blog @ My Kind of Cooking for helpful tips and yummy recipes.