Back in July, when blueberries were on sale every week at the grocery store, we bought up a few extra pints and froze the blueberries for future use. Then, we went to the Poconos and picked a bunch of wild blueberries, and were able to bring a bag full of those home, too. Again, we popped them into the freezer.
I’ve been thinking about blueberry muffins ever since.
So in my nesting fury last weekend, in which I went about making and freezing enough food to completely fill our freezer, I decided that one of the things that just HAD to be made was a batch of blueberry muffins.
There are some baked goods that I don’t think you can “skimp” on. You either have to do things right (in other words, use REAL BUTTER and OIL and all things bad for you), or don’t do them at all. But when it comes to muffins, quick breads, and the like, I almost always hunt for highly-rated “healthier” versions.
The same is true with these blueberry muffins. From America’s Test Kitchen, these are made with low-fat yogurt, and upon taste testing, we were quite pleased with them. It wasn’t a full-fat bakery muffin, for sure, but the tartness of the blueberries stood out, and the muffin itself was just a little bit sweet. For some reason, mine came out looking NOTHING like the ones on How to Eat a Cupcake, but I’d call these a success nonetheless. We’ll be pulling these out of the freezer when we need a little nourishment. And after the baby’s born, who knows, that could very well be at 3 a.m. :)
Light Blueberry Muffins
(Source: The America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book, as seen on How to Eat a Cupcake)
Ingredients:
– Vegetable oil spray
– 2 cups (10 oz) plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
– 1 cup (4 oz) cake flour
– 1 cup (7 oz) sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling – if you have it, use coarse sugar for sprinkling
– 1 tablespoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
– 2 large eggs
– 2 teaspoons fresh lemon Juice
– 1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt (Use low-fat yogurt here; nonfat yogurt will make dry, tasteless muffins)
– 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (ATK prefers frozen wild blueberries)
Directions:
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray.
2. Whisk 2 cups of the all-purpose flour, cake flour, 1/4 cup of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat 3/4 cup more sugar and butter together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 30 seconds. Beat in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla until incorporated, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Beat in one-third of the flour mixture and half of the yogurt. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture and the remaining yogurt. Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
4. Toss the blueberries with the remaining tablespoon of all-purpose flour, then gently fold them into the batter with a rubber spatula. Using a 1/3-cup measuring cup sprayed with vegetable oil spray, portion the batter into each muffin cup, then portion any remaining batter evenly among the cups using a small spoon (cups will be almost completely full). Sprinkle the tops with the remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
5. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
After we made the Southwestern Egg Rolls a few weeks back, I immediately started thinking of other ways we could use the egg roll wrappers. And well, pizza rolls came to mind quickly. Who doesn’t love good ol’ fashioned “pizza logs” bar food? And wouldn’t we all like to have a healthier version?
These are highly customizable to your tastes. Simply fill them with your favorite pizza toppings. We used mozzarella, turkey pepperoni, onions, and chopped spinach.
When baked up, these become very crispy and are perfect when dipped into your favorite pizza sauce. Delicious and easy… and not too bad for you, either!
Baked Pizza Rolls
Ingredients:
– 2-3 cups mozzarella cheese
– 1-2 handfuls turkey pepperoni slices, halved
– 1/4 onion, diced
– 1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
– 1 package egg roll wrappers
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers.
2. Lay an egg roll wrapper out on a work surface so that one of the corners is pointing toward you and place 1/4 cup of the filling in the center. Fold the tip closest to you up over the filling, roll a bit, then take the points pointing outward and fold them in toward the center. Continue rolling into an egg roll shape until a small part of the remaining point is still free. Dip a finger in water or beaten egg and lightly brush on the edges of the free corner. Finish rolling and press to seal closed. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the sealed egg rolls on the baking sheet seam side down and spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown, turning halfway through baking. Serve warm with pizza sauce.
Maybe it was the photo shoot I did on Saturday morning, chasing a 2-year-old boy around, squatting, standing, kneeling, running. Maybe it was the Bills game on Saturday night, plus the drive to and from the stadium. Maybe it was the apple picking in 90-degree heat on Sunday, or the six hours I spent in the kitchen preparing meals to freeze.
Regardless of what it was (and hey, maybe it was a combination of everything!), I think I have turned a corner in this pregnancy. And it’s not a corner you want to turn, really.
I am tired.
I am sore.
I am uncomfortable.
I have puffy, fat, Fred Flintstone feet.
I am WADDLING, people. Waddling like a freaking penguin.
But praise Heaven, I am FULL TERM! So I’ve been talking to this baby and telling him/her that he/she is more than welcome to come on out at any time now.
37 Weeks Pregnant
(For a progression week to week, check out the compilation of my belly photos I put together this morning. It’s hilarious, actually, to see how bright-eyed and energized I look in the second trimester, and how that has gradually disappeared until I now look exhausted in every photo.)
Have I mentioned that the forecast features 90 degree temperatures every day this week? Because apparently I need to be elevated to a whole ‘nother level of miserable.
I cycle back and forth between practically begging this baby to come out, like, NOW, and being scared shitless that ohmygod, the baby might come, like, NOW. I am simultaneously so grateful to be at the end of this part of the journey, while I am also trying to hold onto every last minute of it. It is quite confusing.
But mostly, I am just READY. Really ready. Ready to evict this little person from my body and welcome him/her to the world with open arms.
I have debated whether or not I want to share the state of my cervix with the internet, and if you don’t want to hear this… TURN AWAY NOW. But this blog is a journal and who knows, maybe I’ll want to remember this part some day. At my 36-week appointment last Wednesday, I had my first “check” and I was 1 cm and 50% effaced. And even though I know it means jack, I was still kind of surprised and definitely happy to hear about any kind of progress. Now I’m looking forward to my next appointment on Thursday to see if things have moved along any further.
I have some kind of weird “feeling” about next week. I don’t know, week 38 just seems like “the week” to me. But it’s very possible that is just wishful thinking. I guess we will know soon enough.
In the end, we are nervous, but we are SO excited. We want to meet this baby so badly. I “know” my baby right now. I know his/her hiccups, and the way he/she wiggles back and forth after I eat. I know he/she prefers to hang out on the right side of my belly. I know his/her heartbeat, and that it usually measures in between 135-150 beats per minute. I know baby likes to stick its butt out at the top of my belly, loves to cause mommy heartburn, and is taking up so much room in there that I almost always feel out of breath. We have watched him/her grow as we have watched my belly grow.
I know all these things, but I am ready to really know my baby. I am ready to know my son or daughter.
Come on out, Baby. Meet your parents. Let us give you your name. And say hello to the world.
16 Weeks
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37 Weeks
Blog Activity, Day Two
Nine Things About Yourself
1. I share a birthday with my grandfather. I was born (10 days early) on my granddaddy’s 53rd birthday. Some people make a big deal about wanting their kids to have their “own” birthdays, but I always thought it was pretty special to share the day with my granddad. He is my dad’s father, and since we spent summers with my dad growing up, I almost always got to spend birthdays with my granddaddy. We’d have barbecues in my grandparents’ backyard at their pool, with all of my cousins and family. These days, Granddaddy still lives in Virginia, so I don’t get to see him on our birthday. But I call him every year, and we both always laugh after one of us says, “Happy Birthday!” and the other ones says, “Happy Birthday to you, too!”
2. I love cereal. Like seriously love. Cereal is my breakfast of choice approximately 362 days a year. I like other breakfast foods (like pancakes, muffins, bagels, cinnamon rolls–yum!), but unless it’s a special occasion and we’re going out for some reason, I will *always* have cereal. Most weekends, I eat cereal for breakfast AND lunch. And it’s definitely not uncommon for me to have cereal for dinner once a week or so, too. I’m not picky about cereal, either. Sure, I have favorites, but really, I’ve never met a cereal I didn’t like.
3. When I was young, I was obsessed with Baby-Sitters Club books. I never read them in any kind of order, but if I was given the opportunity to pick out any book I wanted to read, it was almost always a Baby-Sitters Club book. My least favorite installments were the ones that were about Mallory and Jessie. And thanks to the books, I always had dreams of starting my very own babysitters club. Of course, that never happened. Oh well.
4. The first time I ever signed onto the internet, it was Christmas Day. I don’t actually remember what year it was, but I remember signing up for an America Online screen name on Christmas morning. I was still in middle school. At the time, everyone was still in awe of the internet–there weren’t yet scary creepers to be worried about. I remember going into a general chatroom and everyone was all, “Wait, you’re in New York??” “You’re in Oregon? Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m chatting with you!” It’s hilarious to look back on that now. I mean, really… with our account, we had a limited amount of minutes per month, and we kept track of them on a piece of paper on the desk. Can you even imagine?
5. I really liked school, and I was always a good student. I was the type who generally did not have to study much to do well on tests. (I know, I know.) I was a good “crammer” and was able to do a minimal amount of studying and still end up with good grades. English was my favorite subject, but I found history interesting and found math to be strangely satisfying. If someone would pay me to go back and be a student, I would totally do that.
6. I used to live for softball. My town offered a softball league for girls starting at age 9. I wanted to start playing at age 8, so I had to play a year of Little League with all of the boys first (and yeah, I totally did that). But at 9, I was placed on my first girls’ softball team and I loved every second of it. I played through senior year of high school, and I still count the minutes on the field as some of the greatest times of my life. Each year, my teammates made up a sisterhood and we were crazy and fun and ridiculously competitive. Sadly, I haven’t played any kind of softball in a good eight years. I probably suck now.
7. I haven’t started watching a new TV show since Grey’s Anatomy. At least I don’t think I have. I feel like I’m probably missing out on some good stuff, but I can’t bring myself to make any new “commitments.” I’ve actually given up on a few in recent years (Amazing Race, CSI) but still haven’t picked up any new ones.
8. My first car was a 1991 Honda Civic. My mom bought it from a little old lady just prior to my 16th birthday in 1998. It only had 32,000 miles on it, because the lady only drove it to church and the grocery store. I loved that thing and it was pretty good to me through the years. I sold it after I graduated college and landed my first “real” job in 2004. AND I SOLD IT TO A CLOWN. I am not even kidding; the guy was a clown. My mom and I nearly *died* laughing over that one. And I still get a kick out of being able to say, “Oh, my first car? I sold it to some clown.” :)
9. I never had braces. My mom had them, and my dad probably should’ve had them. My brothers both had them. But somehow, I escaped the teen years without every needing them. I don’t have perfect teeth, but they are all aligned like they should be and the dentist said I did not need them. It’s funny, because I remember crying when the dentist told me I did not need them–I was in 8th grade or so. But the reason I cried was because I was terrified that I was going to end up needing them later on, and I would be getting them on just as all of my friends were getting them off! Thankfully, that never happened.
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
