Blueberry Crumble

This dessert is so delicious and easy, you wouldn't guess that it is low in sugar and has healthful ingredients. I've been making it like mad while the blueberries are in season. I eat it topped with whipped light cream.

1 pint blueberries, picked over, washed and stems removed
2 T sugar

For crumble topping:

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, diced

Spread blueberries in an 8x8" glass baking dish and sprinkle the 2 T sugar over them.

Put crumble ingredients in mixer and mix until dough looks moist and sandy with small lumps. Spread crumble evenly over blueberries. Bake 45-50 min at 350.

Brown Sugar Brownies

I got this recipe off the back of the bag of brown sugar that I normally buy at Walmart. When making the batter I was worried that they would be too cakey, because I prefer fudgier brownies. They raised fairly high while cooking and it looked exactly like a chocolate cake, but when I pulled it out of the oven and let it cool, it fell a little and they were so fudgy and delicious! We shared these brownies with company and got rave reviews! Ice cream was the perfect side to balance out the richness!

Ingredients:

1 cup packed DARK brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 eggs
2 ounces (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup coursely chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 325. Grease 8x8x2-inch baking dish. In large bowl beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in chocolate, then flour. Stur in nuts. Pour into pan. Bake 25 minutes. Cool in pan and cut into bars. Dust with powdered sugar. (I made a double batch and did it in a 9x13 pan and just cooked it a little longer)

Corn Salsa Dip

Here is a super easy and yummy "face lift" to boring old salsa and chips

1 can of southwestern style corn (it's right by the canned corn and has beans it in)
1 or 2 avocados (depending on how much you want in your dip)
Container of fresh salsa (Rojo's or Costco's works best, don't use PacePicante)
Garlic Salt to taste
1 lime
Mission Chips, or any other chips you like

Instructions:
Half and slice your avocados and cut into smaller bits (just a bit bigger than the corn kernels)
Mix all ingredients in a bowl together and add your garlic salt to taste
Squeeze your lime over salsa just to keep your avocados from browning

Will make enough for about 4 to 6 people
Enjoy!

Zucchini Cookies

I wanted to let everyone know about "whole wheat PASTRY flour"! It's made from soft summer wheat instead of the usual hard winter wheat. It's not so rough as reg. whole wheat and you can substitute it for all-purpose white flour in recipes using baking powder or soda as leavening, i.e. cookies, pancakes, muffins, etc!! I found some in the health food section of Smith's. I have been having fun experimenting with it and have been really pleased. One of my tries involves this cookie recipe I got from Cooks.com and substituted the ww pastry flour. The consistency is soft and spongey, more like pumpkin cookies. They are so chock-full of healthy stuff, I let my kids have as many as they want, and I chuckle smugly as they eat...

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole grain old fashioned oats
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat well. Mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together and add to butter mixture. Beat well. Stir in rest of the ingredients. Drop by teaspoon on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool on rack. Makes 24 large ones or 48 small ones.

Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

2-4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut up
1 tube Ritz crackers, crushed
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
8 oz. sour cream
1 Tbs. poppy seeds

Topping:
1 tube Ritz crackers, crushed
3-4 Tbs. butter, melted

In large bowl, combine all ingredients except for topping. Pour into a casserole (I use a 11x7) dish. Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake at 325 for 30-35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Grape Salad

3-4 c. green grapes
3-4 c. red grapes
1 c. sour cream
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbs. vanilla
Topping:
1/3-1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. chopped pecans

Wash and dry grapes thoroughly. Mix other ingredients with mixer until smooth. Fold in grapes. Top salad with sprinkles of brown sugar and nuts. Cover and refrigerate 6-8 hours or overnight.