Blueberry Buckle

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease one 8x8 inch pan. Cream together 3/4 cup sugar, shortening and egg. In a seperate bowl mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into sugar misture, alternanting with milk. Stirn in blueberries. Pour into greased pan.

To make topping combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, cinnamon and butter. Stpring over cake batter. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Overnight Coffee Cake

2 cups unbleached unsifted flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup shortening
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs

Topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Grease (not oil) and lightly flour bottom of a 13x9 inch pan. Blend all cake ingredients on low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Pour into pan. In small bowl blend topping. Sprinkle over batter. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake 30-40 minutes.

Almond Breeze

So I don't have a lot of awesome recipes, but I do have a knack for finding wonderful products at the grocery store. I'll try to post about those periodically.

One of my new favorite things is Unsweetened Almond Breeze. It's kind of like soy milk, but almond based instead of soy-based, which means there's plenty of vitamins, and even some fiber (yay fiber!). And if you aren't a fan of soy milk or rice milk because they're kind of chalky tasting, this stuff isn't at all. And the best news - this is by far the lowest calorie dairy-substitute out there. Only 40 calories in a cup!! Most soymilk has about 120 or more, and even skim milk has 85ish. I know not everyone is nuts about calorie counting, but even if you're just concerned about good health, Almond Breeze is low in sugar and high in Vitamins A, D, E, & Calcium! I know what you're thinking - "Great, but what do you use this stuff for?" I'm glad you asked! Here are my ideas:

• I use it most often in smoothies. If I make a fruit smoothie, I use unsweetened vanilla instead of milk. I use about 6-8 ounces of the Breeze, plus about a cup or so of fruit (strawberries, blueberries, peaches, whatever), some low-sugar fruit juice to add a kick and some splenda to sweeten it up.
• If you make a coffee smoothie (YUM!), you can use the unsweetened chocolate flavor to make it much richer. Just throw 6ish cubes of ice in the blender with a cup of the Breeze, some splenda, and instant coffee crystals to taste (I use about a tablespoon). Sometimes I throw in a tablespoon of sugar-free pudding mix to thicken it some, which works wonderfully.
• You can also use the Breeze as coffee creamer or on your cereal. You can use the original flavor in cooking too, but I haven't tried much of that. (Here's more Breeze recipes.)

You can find Almond Breeze in most grocery stores - I've seen it at HEB, Randalls and Whole Foods. It's usually located by the other non-refrigerated soymilk and ricemilk, which is in different places depending on the store. At my HEB, that stuff is next to the pharmacy by the diet supplements and Powerbars. At Randalls, it's on an end-cap near cereal, and at Whole Foods, it was near the cereal too. You can ask an employee, and even if they don't know what it is, they will probably know where non-refrigerated rice milk and soy milk are located. So... happy shopping!

Mexican Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can stew tomatoes
1 pkg. flour tortillas
1 bag Mexican mix cheese

Cook the ground beef or turkey and add the taco seasoning, as if you were making tacos. Follow the directions on the back of the taco seasoning mix. When meat is cooked, pour in corn, black beans, and tomatoes (all drained). Cook for 2-3 minutes until it gets warm. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. Put a layer of tortillas, a layer of mixture, a layer of tortillas, and a layer of mixture. Top with cheese. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 5-10 minutes until the cheese melts.

Eclaires (very yummy!)

Spread graham crackers in bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.

Mix:
1. 2 small boxes of instant French Vanilla Pudding
2. 1 cup confectioner sugar
3. 3 cups milk
4. 1 8 oz. cool whip container
5. 1 container of fudge chocolate frosting

Mix 1, 2, and 3 together with beater. Then fold in the cool whip. Pour 1/2 of mixture over graham crackers. Make another layer of graham crackers and use the rest of the mixture and spread out on top. Melt 1 container of fudge chocolate frosting in pan on low heat, until liquid. Then spread it over the graham cracker/mixture and refrigerate for 1/2 hour.

Brown Sugar Dip

1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
1 8 oz. sour cream

You can use this dip for crackers, sweet pastries, and fruit!

El Paso Potatoes

1 1/4 lbs. peeled leftover baked potatotes (or just bake them yourself in the microwave)
1/2 cup bell peppers (coarsely chopped)
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup sour cream
1/8 cup diced jalapenos
3/4 tblsp. seasoned salt

Peel skins off of baked potatoes. Slice potatoes lengthwise into quarters and coarsely chop. Coarsely chop bell peppers. Place potatoes, bell peppers, diced jalapenos, seasoned salt, cheddar cheese and sour cream in mixing bowl, and mix thoroughly with rubber spatula. Lightly coat bottom and sides of a baking pan with grease. Place mixture into the pan. Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes.

Tip: Add more jalapenos for an extra kick.