What's going on in Belle's kitchen today...
You know that, on the weekends, my kitchen is the busiest room in the house. I can't seem to stay out of it--there's just way too much fun to be had playing around in there...
So this is what we've been up to today...
Breakfast was fun. I made something called "Granite Steps Blueberry Coffee Cake", a Paula Deen recipe, and it was delicious and so dead easy that I couldn't believe it.
1 pkg Pillsbury Grands biscuits
1 cup brown sugar (or brown sugar Splenda, which is what I used)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 stick butter or the artificial equivalent, melted
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries
1 cup quick oats
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut biscuits in quarters. Dip each quarter in butter, and then roll in sugar mixture. Stack in well-greased 8" X 8" baking pan until the bottom is covered. Mix the oats with the sugar mixture left in the bowl and sprinkle the top with half of the oat mixture. Scatter berries over the top, top with the rest of the oats and drizzle with the leftover butter.
Bake at 375F for about a half hour--let cool slightly before cutting.
This was so good, and a total no-brainer.
One of the things I did while blueberries were in season was that I took the advice of the USDA and froze them. I laid them out in a single layer on a sheet pan (without washing them--washing them apparently makes the skins toughen up) and put them in the freezer until they were solidly frozen. Then I transferred them to a ziplock freezer bag and have kept them in there ever since--apparently they will stay nice up to a year. But I used some of my home-frozen berries in this recipe, and I couldn't tell the difference from fresh.
**********************************
We're having ribs for dinner, and I like cole slaw with ribs--maybe because I like to get all my messy foods on one plate!
Anyway, I found Ina Garten's recipe for blue cheese cole slaw, and it sounded intriguing, so I made it.
Ina's Copyrighted Recipe:
1/2 small head green cabbage
1/2 small head red cabbage (I couldn't find a red cabbage I liked the looks of, so I used all green)
4 peeled carrots, shredded (or the bagged equivalent--about 1 1/4 cup)
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
6 oz crumbled blue cheese (or more if you love it)
1 cup chopped parsley
Celery salt, salt and black pepper, to taste.
There's something sexy to me about a cabbage--I don't know why. Maybe it's that delicate color or the interesting bumpy/smooth texture or the way it feels when the knife goes through it, but I can't bring myself to deprive myself of that feeling by putting the cabbage in the food processor--I shred it by hand.
Mix shredded cabbage with carrot...
and then make the dressing, mixing the mayo, the mustards, the vinegar and the seasonings together in a bowl...
Dress the shredded vegetables with enough dressing to dampen the mix, and then chop the parsley...
and mix it into the slaw with the blue cheese...
Finish mixing it, adding more dressing if necessary, until everything is coated.
A lot of people writing reviews for this recipe didn't like it, while others LOVED it. I think it has to do with the fact that, if you like sweet cole slaw, this is NOT the recipe for you--there is not a lick of sweetness to it other than what comes from the vegetables. But if you're looking for a cole slaw recipe that is mustardy-tart, and creamy from the blue cheese, or even if you're just a blue cheese freak, you'll probably love this recipe.
I know I'm impressed.
So this is what we've been up to today...
Breakfast was fun. I made something called "Granite Steps Blueberry Coffee Cake", a Paula Deen recipe, and it was delicious and so dead easy that I couldn't believe it.
1 pkg Pillsbury Grands biscuits
1 cup brown sugar (or brown sugar Splenda, which is what I used)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 stick butter or the artificial equivalent, melted
1 1/2 cups frozen or fresh blueberries
1 cup quick oats
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut biscuits in quarters. Dip each quarter in butter, and then roll in sugar mixture. Stack in well-greased 8" X 8" baking pan until the bottom is covered. Mix the oats with the sugar mixture left in the bowl and sprinkle the top with half of the oat mixture. Scatter berries over the top, top with the rest of the oats and drizzle with the leftover butter.
Bake at 375F for about a half hour--let cool slightly before cutting.
This was so good, and a total no-brainer.
One of the things I did while blueberries were in season was that I took the advice of the USDA and froze them. I laid them out in a single layer on a sheet pan (without washing them--washing them apparently makes the skins toughen up) and put them in the freezer until they were solidly frozen. Then I transferred them to a ziplock freezer bag and have kept them in there ever since--apparently they will stay nice up to a year. But I used some of my home-frozen berries in this recipe, and I couldn't tell the difference from fresh.
**********************************
We're having ribs for dinner, and I like cole slaw with ribs--maybe because I like to get all my messy foods on one plate!
Anyway, I found Ina Garten's recipe for blue cheese cole slaw, and it sounded intriguing, so I made it.
Ina's Copyrighted Recipe:
1/2 small head green cabbage
1/2 small head red cabbage (I couldn't find a red cabbage I liked the looks of, so I used all green)
4 peeled carrots, shredded (or the bagged equivalent--about 1 1/4 cup)
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
6 oz crumbled blue cheese (or more if you love it)
1 cup chopped parsley
Celery salt, salt and black pepper, to taste.
There's something sexy to me about a cabbage--I don't know why. Maybe it's that delicate color or the interesting bumpy/smooth texture or the way it feels when the knife goes through it, but I can't bring myself to deprive myself of that feeling by putting the cabbage in the food processor--I shred it by hand.
Mix shredded cabbage with carrot...
and then make the dressing, mixing the mayo, the mustards, the vinegar and the seasonings together in a bowl...
Dress the shredded vegetables with enough dressing to dampen the mix, and then chop the parsley...
and mix it into the slaw with the blue cheese...
Finish mixing it, adding more dressing if necessary, until everything is coated.
A lot of people writing reviews for this recipe didn't like it, while others LOVED it. I think it has to do with the fact that, if you like sweet cole slaw, this is NOT the recipe for you--there is not a lick of sweetness to it other than what comes from the vegetables. But if you're looking for a cole slaw recipe that is mustardy-tart, and creamy from the blue cheese, or even if you're just a blue cheese freak, you'll probably love this recipe.
I know I'm impressed.