Blueberry Vodka Lemonade

I recently tried a Blueberry Vodka Lemonade while out at a restaurant.  It was delightful.  I came home and did some internet searching. There are a few different recipes. But this is what I did.

Blueberry Vodka Lemonade

Smirnoff Blueberry Vodka

Lemons

Blueberry Simple Syrup

water

ice

Blueberry Simple Syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

First you need to make some blueberry simple syrup.  This is easy. 

Place the water, sugar and blueberries in a medium saucepan.  Stir and bring the mix to a boil.

Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.  It should reduce and thicken as the blueberries break down.

Place a strainer over a heat resistant container. I used a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup. Pour the syrup through the strainer into the container. 

Use the back of a spoon to press out the blueberry juice.  Discard the smashed blueberries and let the syrup cool. Transfer to a container with a lid, then chill.

Squeeze 2 large lemons for each tall glass. 

Fill a glass 1/3 full of ice.  Add the juice of two lemons and 2 ounces of the blueberry simple syrup.  Pour 2 ounces of the blueberry vodka and fill with water. Stir and enjoy.

Once you try it my way you can adjust the blueberry simple syrup and the vodka to taste.  Some may prefer it less sweet, but then you get less of the blueberry flavor. Others may prefer just a touch of vodka.

You can also leave out the vodka entirely.  It is equally delightful and refreshing and perfect for those that don't want any alcohol.  Even the children visiting enjoyed it that way.

Strawberry Muffins

It is summer and the strawberries are getting better. We used to live  in California and the strawberries were so good as they were grown there.  When you live on the east coast the strawberries have a bit of travel and they just aren't as good.  Lately they are quite good.  But I can't eat a pound of strawberries by myself and Lee doesn't usually eat much.  So I decided to put them in some muffins. 

Strawberry Muffins

cupcake liners 

Pam

2 cups +2 teaspoons flour, divided use

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup milk or half and half. I used half and half.

2 1/4 diced strawberries, divided

Topping

3 Tablespoons raw sugar or Turbinado sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

        

Preheat the oven to 375°. Place the cupcake liners in a 12 cup muffin pan. Spray lightly with Pam.  Set aside.

In a stand mixer, I use a Kitchen Aid, beat the softened butter until light and fluffy, scraping down as needed.  While it is beating, mix 2 cups of the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Add the sugar into the mixer and keep beating.  When the sugar is incorporated add in the eggs and then the vanilla and almond extract.

Mix in half the flour and then 1/2 the milk.  When those are mixed, add in the other half of the flour and the rest of the milk.

Sprinkle 2 cups of the strawberries with the last 2 teaspoons of flour. Mix gently. This will help to prevent all the strawberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffin cups.

Set aside about 1/2 cup of the berries and fold the bigger portion into the batter. 

Use an ice cream scoop.  Place one scant scoop of batter in each muffin cup.  

Top with a few of the reserved strawberries and press down gently to keep them from rolling off.

For the topping, mix the vanilla with the raw sugar in a small bowl.  Sprinkle it over the muffins.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the tops start to turn brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

The muffins were just the right amount of sweet and tart.  They were moist and delicious.

        

They were great plain. But also delightful with butter.

Keep leftovers in an air tight container.  The fresh strawberries made the muffins a little too moist the next day.  I put them in the toaster oven on 300° for a couple of minutes and that fixed the issue.

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

This recipe is really more a bar than a cake, although it is made with cake mix and is super easy. It is also called Neiman-Marcus Butter cake. There are a few recipes and they are similar. 

I liked it better the first day, but had no problems eating it the second day.  So much so that I was FORCED to put it out for my housekeeping crew.  They loved it, too.

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

1 box yellow cake mix

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla

Topping

1 Package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted

4 cups (or one box) powdered sugar

Heat oven to 350°.  Spray 9x13 inch baking dish. Set aside. 

In a large bowl or stand mixer mix together the cake mix, 2 eggs, vanilla and melted butter. The batter will be thick.

Spread it in the prepared dish. You may need to pat and press it down to cover the bottom of the dish.

Place the softened cream cheese, eggs, vanilla and melted butter in a stand mixer, or use a hand held mixer. 

Mix until combined and smooth.  

Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and mix until incorporated. 

Pour the cream cheese mixture over the cake mixture and spread evenly.  

Bake 35-45 minutes. Remove when the edges start to brown but the center is still a bit jiggly.  Don't over bake.

Cool, cut into squares and serve.  You may want to dust the top with a bit more powdered sugar.  I thought it added to the presentation!

This was a very delicious bar. And it was taste tested on a lot of people!

Deviled Potatoes

 When I saw a recipe for deviled potatoes I was hooked. Who doesn't love deviled eggs and potatoes? I love a twice baked potato, but this was different, so I was not sure how they would turn out.  I ended up liking them and I think you will too.

Deviled Potatoes

Tiny Yukon Gold Potatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Mayo, mustard and pickle relish to taste

Toppings of your choice,  chives, paprika, whatever you use on a deviled egg.

I was just making these for the two of us so I didn't top them with anything.

 

Wash the potatoes and place them in a saucepan.  Cover them with water and boil 10-15 minutes, until fork tender. Drain and rinse with cool water, just enough to cool them a bit. 

Set them on a cutting board until cool enough to handle, but still warm.  Cut them in half lengthwise. 

Scoop out the middles of the potatoes leaving a thin border to hold their shape.  I used a metal teaspoon. 

Place the middles in a small bowl 

and smash them with a fork. Add the mayo, mustard and relish.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Refill the potato shells with the potato mayo mixture.  Top with your choice of toppings or enjoy them as they are. 

If one or two of the shells break when scooping out the middles or as you are filling them, this is a good thing.  It gives you more filling than potatoes and you can mound them up a bit.

This made a very nice side dish.  And the leftovers were nice right from the refrigerator and also nice when warmed a bit in the microwave.

Garlic Butter Honey BBQ Chicken Tacos

 I saw a post about garlic butter honey BBQ chicken tacos. I have a few garlic butter recipes on this blog. Who doesn't liked garlic butter? Add in honey and BBQ sauce and I was all in. 

I also love tacos, so this seemed like a perfect meal. Put enough veggies on the taco and you have a complete meal.

Garlic Butter Honey BBQ Tacos

2 chicken breasts

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

salt and papper

The sauce

3 Tablespoons butter

3 cloves minced garlic, about 2-3 teaspoons

1/2 cup BBQ sauce of your choice

2 Tablespoons honey

1 Tablespoon apple cider honey

8 small flour tortillas, I used the fajita size.

Prepare your favorite mix of tacos toppings. I chose lettuce, cilantro, sliced avocado, diced tomatoes, diced onions and sour cream. Do this first as the rest goes pretty fast.

Set aside.

Cut the chicken breast into bite sized cubes. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and mix.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.  Add the chicken and cook until you can't see any more pink, about 5-7 minutes.

Remove the chicken and set aside. 

Take a paper towel to remove any excess liquid from the pan. Don't burn yourself!

Return the pan to the heat and add the butter. When melted add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds while stirring. If you cook garlic for too long it turns bitter.

Stir in the BBQ sauce, honey and apple cider vinegar. Stir until combined.

Return the chicken to the pan and heat through.  

Turn the heat way down to keep the chicken warm while you heat the tortillas.

I have an electric griddle that I turned to 300°. You can heat the tortillas on a skillet but by the time you get to the last ones, the first ones are cooling!

After they are warm, wrap them loosely in a clean cloth and serve.

These were really good tacos. The chicken was tender and sweet with a hint of acid from the vinegar. 

This was a sweeter taco than the traditional spicy tacos, but they were really good and I will make them again. I loaded my taco with a lot of veggies and this cut the sweet taste a bit.

Try these tacos. You will like them.