2013 Johnson County Fair Recipes

As a long-time baker, one of my goals was to win a baking contest. I tried, unsuccessfully, a few years ago when I entered Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins in the County Fair for a cranberry baking competition. Those muffins were delicious and looked big and fluffy, but didn't even place because "the white chocolate flavor overpowered the cranberry flavor".

A year or two later, I was ready to try again. This time, I tried three recipes to increase my odds : Light Rye Bread made in a bread machine; Birthday Cookies baked in the microwave; and Apple Muffins sweetened with honey instead of sugar. As it turned out, all three won a first place ribbon for their category! The Birthday Cookies even won the Champion ribbon for the whole Make It in the Microwave group! Best of all, though, we have a couple of great new recipes to treat my family.

Apple Muffins

½ c whole wheat flour

1 c all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ c vegetable oil

¼ c honey

½ c milk

½ c apple sauce

1 egg, beaten

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped 

Combine dry ingredients, then stir in the remaining ingredients. Bake at 375^o until golden brown (approximately 20-25).
Servings: Makes 7 to 8 muffins

Birthday Cookies

4 Tbsp light margarine

¼ cup + 1 Tbsp sugar

1 egg

1 cup flour

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

1 container of Betty Crocker Cookie Icing

1 Tbsp multi-colored sprinkles

Cream sugar and margarine, then beat in the egg. Add flour, salt, and baking powder to the bowl, and then beat the ingredients together. Chill for 1 hour. Drop 3 tablespoons of batter on parchment paper on plate to make 3 cookies at a time. Microwave the 3 cookies at a time for 90 seconds. Cool cookies on a wire rack, then frost the cookies. Top the cookies with sprinkles. Servings: Makes 9 cookies 

Light Rye Bread

⁷/₈ cup water

1 ²/₃ cups bread flour

¾ cup Rye flour

1 ½ Tbsp sugar

1 ½ Tbsp dry milk

1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp margarine

1 ½ tsp Rapid Rise Yeast 

Add ingredients in the order listed to the bread machine pan. Bake in the quick baking, light crust setting (total machine time: 1 hour, 53 minutes).

Whole-Wheat Pancakes

One of the pleasures of being on vacation is trying new foods. One of the unexpected treasures from a trip to Maine last summer were the Whole-Wheat Pancakes from Denny's. We nearly missed out, though.

We planned on eating breakfast at about 6:30 in the morning, before driving on, and Denny's WAS CLOSED! As if to taunt us, we saw the "Always Open" sign and heard the shuffle of employees inside. Mike convinced a sleepy worker to open the door after ten minutes of waiting.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

2/3 c whole wheat flour

1/3 c all-purpose flour

4 Splenda packets

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

7 oz buttermilk

1 egg white

1/4 c Egg Beaters

1 Tbsp canola oil

Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately, and then mix together. Be careful not to overmix, or the pancakes will not be as fluffy. Cook at medium-low heat on a prepared griddle. Serves 2.

Peaches and Cream Muffins

Lately, my husband and I have been enjoying weekend-quality breakfasts even on weekdays. Call it the blessing of a wife on summer break! This morning, I wanted to try a new recipe rather than making my typical pancakes or waffles. Without strawberries, I hesitate to make crepes.

Muffins + Eggs = perfect!

As any good mom of a toddler, I have several varieties of canned fruit to augment the fresh fruit that's in season. So, I pulled out a trusty can of peaches packed in juice to tinker with a recipe from the Dean brothers (of Paula Dean fame) that I saw on Food Network.com. Needless to say, the first ingredient to be changed was the cup of butter...

Note: The recipe calls for self-rising flour. You can make your own with all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.

Peaches and Cream Muffins
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup fat free sour cream
1/3 cup sugar or Splenda for Baking
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (15-ounce) can sliced peaches, drained and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, butter, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Gently fold in the peaches.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a serving platter and serve immediately or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, before storing.

Makes 10-12 muffins.

Husband-loving Heart Healthy Apple Muffins (Bread)

One of the highlights of summertime is the county fair. We live two streets away from the festivities and walk or bike there every day to enjoy the milkshakes, animals, and carnival games. Every year, there are also two baking contests sponsored by the local 4H Homemakers group. This year, I developed a heart-healthy quick bread recipe to enter in the open class contest.

Mike was super sweet about tasting several iterations of this recipe, as a bread machine bread as well as a muffin, while I honed the quantity of apple, type of apple, and amount of spices. He is always supportive of my projects, big or small. A comment on apple variety: go traditional with Granny Smith, sweet with Gala.

Husband-loving Apple Muffins/Bread
A Heart-healthy (low cholesterol/high fiber) Recipe

½ c Egg beaters
¼ c 2% milk
1/3 c canola oil
¼ c applesauce
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c oat bran flour
1/2 c all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
½ c Splenda for baking
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ c apple, diced

1 Tbsp sugar

Combine all the ingredients except the 1 Tbsp sugar, and then spoon into muffin cups. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!

If you prefer a loaf of bread in the oven, bake in a prepared pan at 350 for approximately 1 hour. (Don't forget the sprinkling of sugar on top!)

Lastly, you can dust off your bread machine to use this same recipe. Add the ingredients in the order listed, but omit the last Tbsp of sugar. Bake in the quick bread setting.

Popovers

Last time I tried to make popovers, we joked that they would be better dubbed "stuckins". These, however, flopped right out of the dishes with ease. These popovers are a great accompaniment to soups and stews, but they would also be a great breakfast item. Serve them hot out of the oven with butter (or margarine) and your favorite jelly inside the lovely, eggy cavity in the center of each. You won't mind a bit if your hand gets a bit sticky. I know we don't!

There are three things you need to know for success with this impressive alternative to dinner rolls. When people say that all good things come to those who wait, they're referring to popovers. Second, you cannot over-spray the dishes. Third, do not, under any circumstances, open the oven to peek during the cooking time or they will fall. We all know you will be dying to open the oven door when you walk over the change the temperature; after all, you're only human.

Popovers
1 c bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 c 1% milk, warmed
2 Tbsp melted light margarine
3/4 c egg substitute

Preheat the oven to 425 degree. Meanwhile, mix together the flour and salt in a bowl. In a second bowl, whisk together the milk, margarine, and egg substitute. Make a well in the flour mixture, pour in the milk mixture, and whisk to make a smooth batter. Set the batter aside for 10 minutes.

Place 6 Pyrex dishes on a cookie sheet (or do this with a popover pan, if you happen to be a kitchen gadget aficionado) and heat them in the oven for 5 minutes. Then, spray the dishes liberally with cooking spray. OK, give yourself a pep talk about not opening the oven for the next 40 minutes. Ladle the batter into the dishes and bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. Without opening the oven to check on the popovers, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and immediately poke each one's center top with a paring knife to release steam. Serve immediately. Serves 6 (or fewer, if you want to really satisfy a primal bread craving).

Ham & Cheese Quiche

My husband teases me that he would be able to identify me from a Body Snatcher from my love of cheese. One of my favorite vehicles for cheese is quiche. Typically, quiche is considered a no-no because of the rich cheese, heavy cream, and savory bacon. However, I firmly believe in smart, delicious substitutions, not denial.

This quiche is extremely satisfying - so creamy and cheesy... If you like spinach, feel free to add that, too. We like to serve spinach as a side dish with the quiche instead of in it.

Ham & Cheese Quiche

8 oz fat free cream cheese

1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

1 c lean ham, cubed

1 1/2 c egg substitute

1/4 c 1% milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp dried parsley

1 pastry shell

Spray a pie plate with canola cooking spray, then line with the pastry dough. Crimp or flute the top edge. Drop small pieces of the cream cheese around theentire bottom of the pastry shell. Sprinkle the ham evenly over the surface of the pie shell next. Then, whisk salt, pepper, milk, and egg substitute in a bowl, then pour over the pie shell. Finish by sprinkling cheddar cheese and parsley over the top. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 375 degrees and continue cooking for 40 minutes. Serves 6.

Healthy Waffles for Two

One of my favorite weekend breakfasts is waffles. Thank goodness weekends are two days long, so Mike can get Blueberry Pancakes and I can get Waffles. I like to serve waffles with fresh fruit, not just syrup. It's a scrumptious way to get another serving of fruit in the morning. This time, I served the waffles with a mixture of blackberries and blueberries, but strawberries are a household favorite when they are in season.

This is our recipe for Healthy Waffles for Two people:
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
7 oz 1% milk
1 c plus 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c Splenda
1/4 c egg substitute
1/4 c canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
fresh fruit

Before gathering other ingredients, put vinegar in a Pyrex measuring cup and add enough milk to have 7 oz of fluid. Let this mixture sit at room temperature as you gather the other ingredients. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add the egg substitute, oil, and vanilla to the milk mixture, then pour the liquids into the dry ingredients. Stir with a whisk to combine, but do not over stir (a few flour lumps are fine). Spray the hot waffle iron with cooking spray, and then pour half of the batter onto the griddle, using a soup ladle. Cook the waffle for 3 minutes, 15 seconds. Remove that waffle from the griddle and keep it warm. Spray the griddle again before cooking the next waffle. This recipe makes 2 waffles.

Blueberry Pancakes

My husband's favorite breakfast is Blueberry Pancakes. Sometimes, when we go on vacation, he eats them for breakfast every day. So, I've been on a quest to make fluffy, delicious (and healthy) pancakes at home. This morning, the batch came out wonderfully flavorful and fluffy. The additional egg white makes all the difference.

This is our recipe for Blueberry Pancakes for two people:

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
7 oz 1% milk
1 c plus 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
4 Splenda packets
1/4 c egg substitute
1 egg white
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c blueberries

Before gathering other ingredients, put vinegar in a Pyrex measuring cup and add enough milk to have 7 oz of fluid. Let this mixture sit at room temperature as you gather the other ingredients. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add the egg substitute. egg white, oil, and vanilla to the milk mixture, then pour the liquids into the dry ingredients. Stir with a whisk to combine, but do not over stir (a few flour lumps are fine). Fold in the blueberries. Spray the hot griddle with cooking spray, and then pour 1/3 cup of the batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Leave the pancakes until you see small bubbles forming, then flip once. Cook 2 more minutes before removing them from the griddle. Spray the griddle again before cooking the second round of pancakes. This recipe makes 4 pancakes.

French Toast

I woke up this morning when my husband's alarm clock buzzed. I used to be an Early Bird before becoming a mom. Now I firmly believe I should sleep whenever our son sleeps. That's my excuse for sleeping bit longer AND taking a daily nap.

In the first few seconds of wakefulness, I thought about breakfast (this is not unusual). We could have cereal, like a normal weekday, but we are fresh out of bananas. Who wants cereal without some fresh fruit on top? Then I remembered the fresh bread we had with dinner last night. I left it out on the table overnight, along with the dirty dishes I "saved until morning". That's my code for "Why do dishes now when I could snuggle & watch a movie?" So the bread would be stale since I hadn't wrapped it after dinner.

French Toast is wonderful for many reasons... For one thing, neglecting to store slices of bread properly seems like foresight instead of forgetfulness. The more stale the bread is, the more vanilla-infused egg mixture it can absorb. French Toast stacked artfully on a plate garnished with a strawberry fan makes you feel like a chef - even when your hair isn't brushed yet.

This is a great recipe to use leftover bread from the bread machine, but store-bought bread is acceptable. If possible, leave the bread slices on the oven racks overnight with the oven cracked open to get really stale bread.

French Toast

4 slices stale bread
1 c egg substitute
1/4 c 1% milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
cinnamon
Canola Oil cooking spray

Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat. Whick together egg substitute, milk, and vanilla. Dredge and poke the stale bread pieces in the batter to coax them to absorb lots of batter. Prepare the pan with cooking spray, then place the soaked bread slices on the hot pan. Sprinkle each toast with cinnamon. Flip the slices when the first side is browned. Sprinkle cinnamon on the second side of each toast. Keep warm until ready to serve.

Hint:
Don't flip the toast more than once or they won't be as fluffy.