BLOG 366 – Page 17 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

LEMON BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE ~ BLOG 366.95

Whether you need a brunch or potluck dish, this streusel topped Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake is the perfect choice!

LEMON BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE

Preheat oven to 350°.
Spray a 10″ Springform pan with non-stick spray.

STREUSEL TOPPING
½ cup butter, melted
1 ½ cups AP flour
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla

In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, flour, sugar and vanilla until crumbly. Set aside.

CAKE
¼ cup melted butter
¼ cup canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
2 LARGE eggs
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla
1 cup vanilla bean yogurt or sour cream
Juice of 1 LARGE lemon
2 tablespoons lemon zest
2 cups AP flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh or frozen small wild blueberries (see note)

In a large bowl, whisk together butter, oil and sugar for 2-3 minutes.
Add the eggs, vanilla, yogurt, lemon juice and zest and whisk until combined.
Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir just until combined.
Stir in blueberries and set aside.

FILLING optional
8 ounces cream cheese
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 LARGE egg
zest from one lemon

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and lemon zest until smooth.

GLAZE optional
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice

ASSEMBLY

Spread ½ of the cake batter into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Spread cream cheese filling in the center, staying away from the edge of the pan as much as possible. 
Top with remaining cake batter and spread to cover as much of the cream cheese filling as possible. 
Sprinkle the crumb topping over top. 
Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes, or until center is set and DOES NOT jiggle when moved. You don’t want an unbaked center! and it could take up to 80 minutes.
Let cake cool to room temperature before drizzling the glaze over top.
Serve.

NOTES

Frozen blueberries will release more moisture as they bake, so you may want to reduce the oil to 2 tablespoons if using frozen berries.
Both the cheesecake filling and the glaze are optional – just depends on how much sweetness and decadence you want for the occasion.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ BLOG 366.94

CHICKEN DIVAN aka CHICKEN DIVINE ~ BLOG 366.93

I have a genetic disorder. Really, I do. It is just genetically impossible for me to follow a simple recipe This started out as me making Chicken Divan from a recent issue of Cook’s Country on skillet suppers, but it turned into something completely different.

Hubby loved it so much, he ate it for 3 nights in a row with no complaints!CHICKEN DIVINE
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
1 1/2 pounds broccoli crowns, chopped large
1 large bunch green onions, sliced thin
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup cream sherry
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese
3 + 3 tablespoons butter
flour for dredging

Dredge chicken pieces.
In a large skillet melt 3 tablespoons of butter.
When butter is sizzling add green onions and garlic, cooking a few minutes until garlic is fragrant.
Add chicken pieces, generously salt and peppering. Saute’ until cooked through.
Clean and rinse broccoli pieces. In a large sauce pan heat chicken broth and add a vegetable strainer with the broccoli. Steam until al dente. Reserve chicken broth.
Arrange broccoli and chicken on platter and keep warm.
Add remaining butter to skillet, scraping bits of chicken from the bottom of the skillet. Add the chicken broth, sherry and Worcestershire sauce, cooking until slightly reduced.
Add heavy cream gradually, whisking all the while. Cook until starts to thicken.
Remove from heat.
Add egg yolks, lemon juice and half of the cheese, blending well.
Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli.
Top with remaining cheese.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with MENU week 14 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.92

**Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom**

Today is going to be gorgeous and 72° (though it’s only 35° right now)! Tomorrow is supposed to be gorgeous and 74°. Wednesday is supposed to be a high of 47° and dropping so we can have snow on Thursday. 😀 And then we will return to our regularly scheduled programming of the Pacific North West at its best – cold and rainy every day.

This week will be a bit slower thankfully! I worked a cribbage tournament last week that kept me not only busy, but exhausted! After today that is! There’s a lot of clean up to do from the cribbage tournament from this weekend that had me working from Wednesday through most of Easter and there is also a lot of maintenance to do on clogged sinks, drains and over weighted attic areas at the Eagles. The rest of the week will be much slower for me then.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING Laundry and cleaning are up to date
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I’ll be shopping on Wednesday
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS Thursday will be my catch up day in this category
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m working on the next several weeks, but need to get more serious about spring recipes

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

SPRING BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP, TRACKER, YOUNG SHELDON, GHOSTS, CHICAGO SERIES, NCIS, FBI’s, TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS and a few HALLMARK MOVIES

I have been falling asleep almost as soon as my head hits the pillow, but I’m hoping to get back to reading this week.

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

My new slow cooker will be here this afternoon so the rest of the week will be a slow cooker collection in honor of the winter/spring custody battle going on in our area.

A friend and I are working together making the Cinco de Mayo Auxiliary dinner for the Eagles and I’m in charge of dessert. So, I’m trying 3 different recipes this week for us to decide from.

	4/1 MONDAY	4/2 TUESDAY	4/3 WEDNESDAY	4/4 THURSDAY	4/5 FRIDAY	4/6 SATURDAY	4/7 SUNDAY
DINNER	FETTUCCINE & MEATBALLS with BOLOGNESE	ORANGE TERIYAKI CHICKEN & RICE	MEATLOAF, POTATOES and GRAVY	CORNED BEEF, POTATOES & CARROTS	POKER NIGHT CHILI & CORNBREAD	SMOKED BBQ BRISKET	SALSA CHICKEN & CHEESE
DESSERT		MARGARITA BALLS	CHILI CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES with CHILI CREAM CHEESE FROSTING	MARGARITA CUPCAKES with KEY LIME CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

HAPPY EASTER ~ SILENT SUNDAY ~ BLOG 366. 91

SATURDAY COFFEE ~ BLOG 366.90

SOUTHWEST BLACK EYED PEAS ~ BLOG 366.89

SOUTHWEST BLACK EYED PEAS
1 pound black eyed peas, sorted and rinsed
1 LARGE Vidalia onion, chopped
2 tablespoons avocado oil
2 ounces pork belly, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 small can chopped green chiles, drained
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 tablespoon FRESH minced thyme
4 cups homemade chicken stock
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
2 ham hocks

Place peas in a large dutch oven. Add water and cover by 2 inches.
Bring to a boil for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat, cover and let stand 1-2 hours.
Drain and rinse peas. Set aside.
In the dutch oven heat oil over medium heat.
Add onion, sauteing until tender.
Add pork, garlic, green chiles, thyme, pepper flakes, FRESH ground salt and pepper, cooking 1 minute more.
Add the broth, peas and ham hocks.
Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered 35-40 minutes or until peas are tender, stirring occasionally and adding more broth as necessary.
Remove ham hocks, cool and remove meat from bone.
Finely chop meat and return to the pan.
Discard bones.

HAM & POTATO SOUP ~ BLOG 366.88

HAM & POTATO SOUP
1 3/4 pounds golden potatoes, peeled and large diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 bunch green onions, sliced
3 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons WONDRA flour
2 cups WHOLE milk
2 cups diced cooked ham steak
FRESH chopped Italian parsley
Shredded cheese (optional)

In a stock pot stir together the broth, potatoes, celery and onions.
Bring to a SLOW boil.
Reduce heat to medium low and cook 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
Stir in seasoning, to taste.
In another pan melt butter.
Whisk in flour, stirring constantly until flour is smooth and golden.
Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened.
Add in stock mixture, stirring until blended.
Add ham pieces and simmer 4-5 minutes.
Ladle into bowls and garnish. enjoy

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ BLOG 366.87

MAGIC KINGDOM COOKIES ~ BLOG 366.86

I collect old recipe boxes full of old recipes. One of my more recent boxes had a recipe in it for “Disneyland 40th Anniversary Cookies”. Disneyland’s 40th anniversary would have been July 17, 1995. The recipe card had so many notations on it that it was really difficult to decipher. I did a bit of research, but didn’t find a specific recipe for a 40th anniversary cookie. I did the best I could, but ultimately made my own recipe out of the notes, hence the new name. These cookies have become our new family favorites!

MAGIC KINGDOM COOKIES makes 5 dozen
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 LARGE eggs
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract
1 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup quick oats
1 cup ground walnuts
1 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup raisins *see note*

Sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
Cream together the butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until creamy.
Add walnuts, coconut and flour mixture alternately until all incorporated.
Fold in chocolate chips and Craisins until well blended.
Chill mixture 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350.
Scoop cookies with 1 inch scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheets.
Bake 15 minutes.
Cool on cookie sheets 10 minutes before moving to wax paper to cool completely.

NOTE: I was out out regular raisin so I used Craisins the first time and then golden raisin the next time. The golden raisins are my favorite.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY week 13 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.85

Be sure to join us for Happy Homemaker Monday and link up with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

Good morning my friends. I’m so glad you are joining me in my corner of blogland. Pour a cup of coffee and grab a slice of my Lemon Blueberry coffee cake (the recipe will be posted next week) while we chat. This is going to be a super busy week to end March with. And Easter will be the topper.

I’m mostly recovered from my month away, but still dealing with a few issues I haven’t unpacked mentally yet. Some things after I’ve finished unpacking them will not see the light of day and for that I refer you to my inspiration category this week. 😀

It may be spring where you are, but here we’re still having mostly winter. Spring pops in for an hour here or there, but has yet to make a notable appearance. This week is full of rain with highs near 50°. So I have yet to put away flannels, turtlenecks and UGGs.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS

LAUNDRY & CLEANING I’ll finish with the deep clean this week, but am caught up on laundry. I’m trying to clean out drawers and the closet as spring approaches.
GROCERIES & ERRANDS I have an appointment in town tomorrow and will pick up just a few things after.
PAPERWORK, PHONE CALLS, PROJECTS & TRAVELS I have so much paperwork to catch up on! This week will be jam packed with so much to do!
RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I’m looking into some spring recipes that are a bit lighter.

WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV

We’re ALMOST caught up with the things that recorded while we were gone – TOURNAMENT of CHAMPIONS, CSI, FBI’s, CHICAGO SERIES, GOOD DOCTOR, YOUNG SHELDON, GHOSTS

I have never stopped reading a book before, but I’m about to if I can’t get done this week with THE ALICE NETWORK.

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀

	MONDAY 3/25	TUESDAY 3/26	WEDNESDAY 3/27	THURSDAY 3/28	FRIDAY 3/29	SATURDAY 3/30	SUNDAY 3/31
DINNER	RANCHERAS CHICKEN FRIED STEAK	HERB ROASTED CHICKEN with MASHED POTATOES	TEXAS STYLE STEAKS with CHEDDAR RICE	FRIED CHICKEN SALAD	working the cribbage event at the Eagles so not cooking at home	working the cribbage event at the Eagles so not cooking at home	HAM, SCALLOPED POTATOES, GLAZED CARROTS
DESSERT		LEMON BLUEBERRY COFFEE CAKE					DUTCH APPLE PIE (HUBBY’S REQUEST)