Rhubarb Custard Bars

 

Today I picked my first batch of rhubarb. I have been wanting to make these bars for a while but didn’t have quite enough rhubarb in the freezer. So once my rhubarb was ready to harvest this was the first recipe I had to try. The original is on taste of home, I couldn’t leave well enough alone as my mom would say so I had to cut down on the saturated fats by swapping out some of the heavy cream, eggs, and butter. I also decreased sugar, & added whole grain to the crust.

 

This recipe yields 36 bars 


Ingredients:

Crust Ingredients:

1 cup ap flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

6 TB unsalted butter (cold) cubed

1/4 cup sugar

Custard ingredients:

1 3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup fat free half and half 

5 cups chopped rhubarb

1 Tsp vanilla pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup egg substitute 

Cream Cheese Topping

1 (8 oz block of reduced fat cream cheese)

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup fat free half and half

1/2 cup whip cream 

Directions:

Mix with hands mix butter, sugar and flour. Until the mixture resembles wet sand.

Press the mixture into 9 by 13 glass pan (sprayed with cooking spray). Bake for 10 minutes. 

Take out of oven and set aside.
    

In the meantime mix half and half, cream, egg substitute, sugar, & vanilla. Add in rhubarb mix to combine.

  
 Pour over crust. 

 
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
  

Set aside and allow to cool. In the meantime whip up cream and fat free half and half until thickened. Mix on high speed in a large mixing bowl with whisk attachment until thick. Place in refrigerator . In a separate bowl beat cream cream, sugar, and vanilla. Fold in cream mixture. 
 

Spread over cooled bars.  

Enjoy!

   

Meatball Pockets

 

Need a quick dinner or snack try these little meatball pockets. 

This recipe yields 10 minutes mini pockets

Ingredients:

2 cans of pillsbury small flaky biscuits (one ones that usually come in a 4 pack)

10 frozen regular sized meatballs  (thawed & cooked as directed according to package) ***vegetarian meatballs work well***

2 sticks of part skim mozzarella cheese string cheese (cut into chunks)

1-2 TB Fresh parm cheese grated (optional)

1 cup of jarred pasta sauce (homemade or your favorite)

Pasta sprinkle to taste (Italian seasoning) *** optional**

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Spray with cooking spray 10 large sized muffin tins. 

3. Press one biscuit into each of the 10 molds.
 

4. Press the dough down into the tin & top biscuit with scant 1 TB of tomato sauce and 2-3 pieces of the string cheese.


5. Now top with one meatball each. 

  

 

6. Sprinkle with pasta sprinkle and top with additional biscuit. Flatten biscuit slightly and  drape around meatball.

7. Bake for 12-18 minutes or until golden brown.

  
8. Remove from oven and grate with some fresh parm cheese for added flavor.

Enjoy! 

  

Banana Nutella Overnight French Toast

  
Ingredients 

1 loaf banana yeast bread TOH ( cup into 1 inch cubes) or any sweet bread

3/4 cup Nutella 

2 bananas ( cut into slices)

4 cups of skim milk

2 eggs

6 egg whites

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup pure maple syrup 

1/2 tsp ground Vietnamese Cinnamon  

9 by 13 oven safe pan and spray with cooking spray 

Directions 

1.  Place half the cubed bread into 9 by 13 dish. Take every other piece and apply scant Nutella. Face Nutella side up.  

2. Place slices of banana on top of bread. Spread evenly.  

  

3. Take the remainder of bread cubes and spread scant amount of Nutella on one side of the place and face down. 

 

Set aside.

4. In a large bowl whisk milk, egg, egg whites, vanilla, maple syrup, and cinnamon.  

 

5. Pour liquid evenly overtop the casserole and cover overnight in refrigerator. 

 

6. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to placing in oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake uncovered for an hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until an knife comes out clean. 
 

Rhubarb Strawberry Coffee Cake

coffee cake

Recipes yields 16 pieces!

 

We made this for the Mother’s Day brunch. My mom saw the basic recipe in the local newspaper back home. I wanted to use up some rhubarb and try to decrease some of the fat in the recipe. I don’t think it will be missed. Not to mention there was not a piece left ! No joke…

May 2016 UPDATE: 

This recipe was also featured in Taste Of Home Magazine April/ May 2016. I made it again for our 2nd Annual Mother’s Day Brunch May 7th. Taste of Home suggested freezing this cake, if you want to make it in advance. This year I did, I made the cake a few days before the brunch. Once the cake cooled completely out of the oven, I wrapped the entire cake (still in the springform pan) with plastic wrap and placed it in the deep freezer. I took it out 3 hours before our event, and allowed it to cool at room temperature, it was still very cold and firm similar to a cheesecake. Which was okay, but if you want to thaw the cake out completely I recommend taking the cake out the night before and letting it thaw in the refrigerator.

 

IMG_6748

The Mother’s Day Menu for this year 2016 was:

Rhubarb Coffee Cake (recipe below)

Yogurt Bar with Greek Vanilla Yogurt, Homemade Maple Granola, Fresh Raspberries, Blackberries, and Strawberries, Fresh Cantaloupe & Freshly Whipped Whipped Cream

Caramelized Onion, Bacon & Kale Strada made with Homemade Bread

Hash brown Quiche Cups

Cucumber Mint Water

Mini Pink Lemonade Muffins & Mini Key Lime Muffins

 

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Cake Ingredients:

2 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (Or 1 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour and 1 Cup AP <last years 2015 recipe I did this> )

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 cup cold cubed unsalted butter

3/4 cup fat free sour cream

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 egg

Cream Cheese Filling

1 (8 oz ) 1/3 fat reduced Cream Cheese block (room temp)

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce

3/4 cup diced fresh strawberries

3/4 cup chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen)

1 TB water

3 TB Sugar

1 1/2 tsp corn starch

one 8″ springform pan

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 inch springform pan with parchment paper and spray with baking joy.  Set aside

2. Prepare the strawberry rhubarb compote. Combine in a 2 qt. sauce pan the cornstarch, sugar & water mix well. Add the strawberries and rhubarb and place on low heat until strawberries and rhubarb juices release. Stir occasionally for 5-10 minutes until thickened. Set aside off heat to cool to room temperature.


3. In a stand mixer, prepare the cream cheese filling by beating the cream cheese on medium high speed. Add sugar and mix, then add egg and mix to incorporate. Set aside.

4. Prepare the cake by adding flour, and butter to a large bowl. Use your hands to cut the butter into the flour until the flour resembles wet sand. Remove 3/4 cup of the flour mixture and set aside. With remaining flour add baking soda, salt, and baking powder whisk well to incorporate. Set aside.


5. In another small bowl, beat by hand the sour cream, egg and vanilla until well incorporated. Set aside.

 

6. Gently add the sour cream batter to the dry flour ingredients. Be careful not to over-mix (the batter will be lumpy). 

7. Pour the batter into the greased springform pan. Make a well with the batter, at least enough to go up the sides a 1/2 inch. Also leaving an 1/2 inch border to prevent the cream cheese filling from going to the edge of the cake.


 8. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the center of the well, make sure to leave a 1/2 inch border.


9. Now spread the strawberry and rhubarb compote on the top of the cream cheese filling.


Finally sprinkle the remaining flour mixture on the top of the strawberry and rhubarb compote. Bake for at least 55 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees.


10. Take the pan out of the oven and let rest on a wire rack for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes have elapsed remove the springform pan shell.


11. Allow to cool.

12. Dig in!

Fig Granola Engery Bites

 

This  recipe yields  33 bites

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup 100% old fashioned oats

1 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)

2 tablespoons of wheat germ

1/2 cup of chopped finely figs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/3 cup local honey

1/4 tsp ground Vietnamese cinnamon

pinch of salt

Directions

1. Place honey and peanut butter in a microwavable safe small bowl.  Microwave for one minute then add vanilla . Set aside.
  
2. In a medium to large bowl place all the dry ingredients. Toss to mix.

   
 
3. Add in the liquid ingredients and incorporate thoroughly throughout the dry ingredients.

  
4. Cover and place batter in freezer for 15 to 30 minutes.

5. Scoop using a size 60 scoop and portion out 33 bite-size granola and bits. 

  6. Cover and place in refrigerator overnight. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Chip Donuts with Vanilla Glaze

 
What to bake? What to bake? The first item that came to mind was donuts! My husband loves donuts but generally the fried kind. This morning I decided for something a little lighter for spring. 

This recipe yields 9 donuts using the Wilton donut pan. 

Predirections spray donut pan with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees


Donut Ingredients:

1/2 cup AP flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 baking soda

1/4 cup skim milk

1/4 cup fat free sour cream or Greek yogurt

1/3 cup raw sugar

3 TB egg white substitute or 2 egg whites

2 TB canola oil 

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Vanilla Glaze 

4 1/2 tps fat free half and half

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup confectionary sugar

(2-3  TB Optional cinnamon chips)


1. Mix flours,baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a medium to large sized bowl.  

Set aside.

2. Place egg substitute, vanilla, milk, sour cream, raw sugar, and canola oil into medium sized medium. Stir to incorporate.  

 

3. Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix to combine however be careful not to over mix. 

 

4. Add batter using spatula to fill a piping with large round tip. Fill greased donut tin.  

 

5. Bake for 8-9 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. Bake at 350 degrees be careful this little circles of love bake fast! 

 

6. Remove from pan and let rest for 5 minutes. In the meantime prepare the glaze. 

7. Place glaze ingredients in a shallow bowl, whisk.  

 

8. Dip each donut into the glaze and swirl to prevent excess glaze from running down the donut.  

9. Add cinnamon chips if you wish.  

  

Horseradish ham cheddar and egg biscuits

 
Breakfast on Sundays at the Ulam’s is always warm. This is something quick you can make in a few minutes. It is not 100 % homemade, I did cheat a little with Pilsbury small biscuits but they could be made easily with homemade biscuits.

This recipe yields 10 muffins.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

Ingredients:

One container of small biscuits (Pillsbury) <10 per container> 

Three large eggs and 4 egg whites

One large piece of ham about 2- 3 ounces (diced)

1 tablespoon of homemade horseradish (my grandma’s is the best & homegrown)

half a cup of cheddar cheese

1 to 2 tablespoons of chives

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place eggs, egg whites, horseradish and pepper in a medium bowl. Whisk to incorporate. Set aside.

  
Cooking spray 10 muffin tins to prepare the dish for the oven. Take the biscuits and flatten slightly to press into the tin.

Evenly destribute the ham (scant TB) on top of the flatten biscuit.  

 

Add the cheese next, about heaping TB.  

  

Add the egg mixture, make sure to divide evenly. Each tin takes about 2.5 tbs of mixture each.

 

Sprinkle with chives. Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. 

   
 Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Blondies

 My husband and I went to the strip district last weekend and I was surprised to see Meyer Lemons for a decent price! I had to pick some up. The first item to make to come to mind was a blondie aka nonchocolate brownie. This is definitely a spring time refreshing dessert despite the snow we encountered this lovely April morning. 

Pre directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Foil line an 8 by 8 glass baking dish. Spray with cooking spray. Set aside. 

Recipe yields 9 Blondies 

Batter Ingredients: 

8 TB of canola oil

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup AP flour

1/4 tsp kosher salt

6 TB egg substitute or 4 large egg whites

1/2 a Meyer lemon zested (1tsp) and 1/2 lemon juiced (1tb)

1 TB poppyseeds (optional)
Lemon glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 Meyer lemon juiced and zested (the other half)

1. Place the canola oil, zest, sugar and salt into a medium mixing bowl.  

2. Mix to incorporate. Add egg substitute and use a whisk to incorporate but do not over mix. 

   

3. Add lemon juice and poppyseeds and mix in with whisk.

  
4. Add flour and mix until no dry residue remains. 

5. Pour batter into prepared dish and bake for  23- 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out of the center clean. 
  
6. Allow to cool to room temperature before glazing. 

7. Place all glaze ingredients in small bowl whisk until no lumps remain.  

 

8. Remove blondie from pan using sides of foil and pour glaze over top to cover. 

9. Cut into 9 squares and enjoy! 

  

Bran Muffins with Orange Zest

 

 Our neighbor brought us over some of his homemade jelly. He prepares the jelly from his Peach Plum Trees. He mentioned this is a tree his family used to have where he grew up in Mariland. I was trying to think of a good muffin to try the jelly on. This bran recipe came to mind. I cannot wait for them to come out of the oven and enjoy with some coffee!

Yields 19 muffins

Predirections:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prep standard size muffin tins with either silicone muffin liner or paper liners and spray with cook my spray. Set aside.

Ingredients:

1 1/8 cup AP flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
3/4 cup all brain original cereal
1 1/2 cups buttermilk plus two TB 
1/2 cup water
2 TB fresh orange juice
1 tsp orange zest
9 prunes
1 small apple grated (about a half of a cup)
1 tsp ground cinnamon 
1 tsp baking powder
1 TB maple surup
 6 TB egg white substitute 
1/2 cup raw sugar plus some to sprinkle

Directions: 

1. Place bran cereal, orange juice, orange zest, egg substitute, and buttermilk in large bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes to soak.
  
2. Sift flour, cinnamon, baking powder, wheat germ in a separate medium bowl. Set aside. 
  
3. In the food processor add prunes, shredded apple and water. Food process for 3 minutes.   

4. Add puréed prune mix to buttermilk batter.   
 

5. Mix to incorporate & fold in flour mixture. Fold in dry ingredients until no dry residue remains.

   

6. Use a size 16 scoop to portion out into muffin tins evenly.  Sprinkle with raw sugar before placing in the oven.

 

7. Bake for 30 to 33 minutes at 375.

 

  
 
Please note they do shrink after they come out of the oven. Please let them cool for 5 minutes in pan and remove to wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy! 

Rhubarb Buckwheat Popovers

  

Yesterday my husband and I went downtown to the strip district, bottom line my favorite place to bike and market shop in the warmer months. One of my favorite kitchen stores had a popover pan half off. Yahtzee only $10.99!  I was so excited, I’ve been wanting a popover pan for 2 years. Today, I had to make something with it! Savory or sweet decisions, decisions. I debated for a while but after pruning the brushes and doing yard work yesterday I noticed my rhubarb plants were starting to grow. They reminded me I have a few frozen bags of rhubarb in the freezer. 

Yields mini 10 popovers

Ingredents:

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup AP flour

1 cup skim milk

2 large eggs

1 tsp blood orange zest

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract 

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/2 Cup raw sugar plus 1 tsp

1 cup of fresh rhubarb or frozen (thawed and excess water removed) 

Pre directions

Preheat oven to 375. Cooking spray 10 of the 12 popover vessels. 

Place tsp of raw sugar with rhubarb and toss to coat and set aside.

Directions:

1. Whisk skim milk, orange zest, vanilla, and eggs together to fully incorporate.

2. Add buckwheat, flour, salt, sugar. Whisk to fully incorporate. 

  

3. Place batter evenly amongst 10 popover vessels pre cooking sprayed with Pam or alternative. Top batter  with rhubarb 1 to 2 TB. Bake at 375 for 30 to 32 minutes. 

Remove from oven and enjoy! 

   Dust with powder sugar if you desire or homemade rhubarb jam.