Broccoli and Orange Salad

 Crisp broccoli, toasted almonds, tangy oranges  with a yummy dressing make up this delicious version of Broccoli Salad.
I posted this recipe over 3 years ago not long after I started this blog and I decided it needed an update, especially the photo. This is one of my husbands favorites. We both love the citrus twist on this salad with the mandarin oranges, but if that doesn't appeal to you, they can be left out. Other nuts like pecans, walnuts, or sunflower kernels can be used instead of almonds. The dressing makes quite a bit, so sometimes I don't need all of it. It will depend on personal preferences, and how much broccoli you use. I purchase broccoli very often and love it in this salad, so hope you'll give it a try. It makes a pretty dish to add to any holiday table.

Broccoli and Orange Salad
From Lynda's Recipe Box-inspired by several recipes that I combined

6-8 sliced of bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled
1 pound or more of broccoli -I used about 5 cups of florets and diced small stems. Could use a bit more to use all the dressing.
1/2 of a small red onion, diced
1/2 cup dried cranberries- Craisens
1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
11 ounce can of manadin oranges, well drained - I often use fresh mandarins, or another variety of small orange
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1. In a small bowl mix the mayonnaise, sugar and red wine vinegar to make the dressing. Set aside.
2. Cut up the broccoli, separating the florets into bite sized pieces, and slice the tender stalks also. Place into a large bowl.
3. Add the diced red onion, dried cranberries, almonds, mandarin oranges, and bacon. Add half of the dressing and mix well. Add as much of the remaining dressing as you want. Stir, cover and refrigerate at least an hour until chilled. Garnish with bacon or additional nuts if desired. Serve and enjoy!

Blueberry Crumb Bars

 I have been enjoying blueberries so much this summer, and these bars are one of the recipes I adore. These Blueberry Crumb Bars have a delicious, crisp crust, a yummy blueberry filling with just a hint of lemon from some lemon zest, and the topping is full of toasted almonds. They are addictive to me and taste delicious anytime of day. I love them with my morning coffee, or for an afternoon pick-me-up. I first shared this recipe the first year I had my blog, so I wanted to share again because it is so good, plus I have adjusted it a little. Hope you give these delicious bars a try.

Blueberry Crumb Bars
Adapted from Epicurious

Crust:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks), chilled, unsalted butter
1/2 cup sliced almonds-used in the top crust

Filling:
3 1/2 - 4 cups of fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Preparation:
For Crust:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Mix together the flour, salt, oats, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the 1 cup of cold butter and mix with a pastry blender or your fingers. The mixture should resemble small crumbs about the size of peas.
Transfer 2 cups of the crust mixture to a small bowl. Mix in the almonds and reserve this for the topping.
Press remaining crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of prepared pan. Bake crust 15 -20 minutes, until lightly golden. Cool 10 minutes.

For Filling:
In a bowl, mix sugar, flour and lemon zest together. Add the blueberries and toss well. Spread blueberry mixture evenly over the crust in pan, then sprinkle the reserved topping evenly over the filling.
Bake bars until filling bubbles thickly at edges and topping is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. When cool cut into bars and enjoy as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

NOTE: These bars are best served the day they are made, because of the nice crisp crust and topping. They soften the next day, but they are certainly still delicious.

Strawberry Almond Coffee Cake

 I love a good coffee cake, especially when it's not too sweet first thing in the morning. This Strawberry Coffee Cake is dense, yet tender because of the addition of sour cream, and bursting with strawberries. There is a light glaze on this breakfast cake, but it isn't sugary sweet. I love that this cake is small, which is perfect for my husband and I now that we are empty nesters. The original recipe was made with raspberries, but I had strawberries I needed to use. I'll definitely be making this again. If you enjoy coffee cake, this one is delicious and quick to prepare. Hope you'll give it a try.

Strawberry Almond Coffee Cake
Adapted from Noble Pig

Cake Ingredients:
1 cup strawberries, diced
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sliced almonds

GLAZE:
1/4 cup powdered sugar
about 1 1/2 teaspoons milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 inch round cake pan.
1. In a small bowl, toss the strawberries and thee brown sugar together. Set aside.
2. Combine the flour, baking powder, soda and salt together.
3. In bowl, add the egg, sour cream, melted butter and vanilla together.
Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and mix well. Batter will be very dense and thick.
4. Spread half the batter over the bottom of the prepared cake pan. The easiest way is to drop small spoon fulls around and then smooth it out over the bottom of the pan. You'll think there isn't enough batter, but it really will come together just fine.
5. Spoon the strawberries and sugar over the batter. Again, spoon small amounts of remaining batter over the strawberries and bottom layer. Carefully spread the batter out as best as possible, with a swirling motion. I used a large spoon to spread batter, but an off-set spatula will work too. Sprinkle with almonds.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes until done when a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean, and cake is lightly golden.
7. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of pan before inverting cake onto serving platter. Mix together glaze and drizzle over the cake. Enjoy!
Can't wait to try this with blueberries, and also raspberries.

Almond Streusel Coffee Cake

While going through my Mother's recipes, I found this one for Almond Streusel Coffee Cake, written on a sheet of paper, probably from one of her friends. It sounded really good and I decided to make it as written instead of changing it around any. Sometimes I can get in trouble changing a cake recipe before I have even tried it! I'm glad that I didn't change it because this is a wonderful coffee cake with an orange flavor that isn't overpowering and the cake is light and not too sweet. The streusel is sweet and nutty, but it balances out with the citrus flavor of the cake. It's a keeper for me! Make the streusel first so that you'll have it ready. Next you'll mix the batter in a bowl. The batter will be thick, but easy to spread. Half of the batter is spread in a tube pan and topped by half the streusel; then repeated. It'll look like the picture below. In fact it'll probably look better than my picture! Let's get started; I want another piece of cake!

STREUSEL

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup sliced almonds, or nut of your choice

1/4 cup flour

3 Tbs. melted butter

1 tsp. grated orange zest

In a bowl mix together the brown sugar, nuts and flour. Stir in the butter and zest and set aside.

CAKE

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 sugar

3 large eggs

1 tsp. orange zest

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

2/3 cup orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs in 1 at a time, beating well. Beat in zest and vanilla. In another bowl mix together flour, baking powder and baking soda. With the mixer on low, beat flour mixture and orange juice alternately into egg mixture. Spoon half of cake batter into prepared tube pan; top with half of streusel mixture. Top this with rest of batter; add batter in dollops and gently smooth over the streusel. Then add the last layer of streusel. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake on a wire rack. To remove cake from the pan, I took a thin knife and drug it between the pan and the cake in case it had stuck anywhere. Since I used a angel food cake pan, I also ran my knife between the bottom of the pan and the cake to loosen it. The next time I make this, I may try using a spring form pan, as I was a little worried that I might crack the cake getting it onto the serving plate. But I made it! Slide the cake onto the serving plate and drizzle lightly with the glaze. I actually forgot the glaze and didn't notice it until I posted these pictures! But with, or without the glaze, this is a delicious coffee cake.

GLAZE

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 1/2 tsp. orange juice- mix these two together and drizzle over cooled cake( try not to forget this part!)

Cake's ready to eat! Why don't you drop by for coffee and cake and help calm me down! So, tell me, have you ever forgotten an ingredient in a dish that you served to someone? Was it something that was really missed, or was it like my glaze, just a topping? I'd love to hear about your goofs!