Blueberry Tea Cake

I made this Blueberry Tea Cake for the day after Thanksgiving.  I had decided to invite a few people over for a brunch on Friday.  It turned out to be a favorite.  I wanted to make something with blueberries in honor of my nephew.  He absolutely loves blueberries.  This tea cake is very easy to put together and doesn't take long to bake.  It is so much easier than the Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake that I used to make.  This recipe comes from http://damndelicious.net/2012/03/15/blueberry-tea-cake/

Blueberry Tea Cake
Yields 9-12 servings


Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 lage egg
1/2 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

For the crumb topping:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of Salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Lightly oil an 8 x 8 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
2.  To make the crumb topping, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.
3.  Add the cold butter and toss to coat, using your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs; set aside.
4.  In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
5.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
6.  Beat in egg and milk until well combined.
7.  Gradually add flour mixture to the sugar mixture at low speed, beating just until incorporated.
8.  Gently fold in the blueberries.
9.  Spread the batter into the prepared baking dish.
10. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the bread cubes.
11. Place into oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
12. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Crockpot Mac'n Cheese

I wanted to make something easy but teen friendly when my son had a dozen of his "closest" friends over for his birthday.  I decided to make Mac and Cheese because I don't know any kids who don't love it.  My son being one of those kids who do love it.  He is a big fan of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.  I want to try to wean him off the blue box (and I did not think it was a good idea to make boxed macaroni and cheese for a crowd).  That was when I found this recipe.  It was perfect.  My only mistake was that I halved the recipe.  I really should have doubled it.  Not one single piece of macaroni was left after the boys got to it.  I thought that with a large tray of Chick Fil-A chicken strips, I wouldn't need to much else but I was wrong.  Boy, can twelve teen boys eat. I tried it myself when I made it a few weeks later since I did not get to try any the first time I made it.  It is really quite tasty.  The funniest thing is that shortly after I found and made this recipe, I read an article about what you should never make in a crockpot.  The first item was macaroni and cheese!  Oh well, I the boy did not mind. They loved it.  This is a very easy recipe without any yucky canned soup in it.  This is not my recipe.  It is all over the internet.

Crockpot Mac ‘n Cheese

Ingredients:

6 cups cooked macaroni (about 3 cups dry)

4 Tbsp butter

4 cups evaporated milk

6 cups shredded or grated cheese

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions:

In large mixing bowl, toss cooked macaroni with butter. Stir in evaporated milk, cheese, salt and pepper. Place in the crockpot. Cook on High for 2-3 hours or Low for 4-5 hours.