Southern Sundays

Welcome to Southern Sundays!

So sorry the party post is up late...I lost my internet connection, but now it's back!

Quick and simple.  Look at this gorgeous sunset we had the other day....I just wanted to share.

On to the party.  The most popular dishes by most clicks were:

Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches with Gravy

by Love Bakes Good Cakes

Yum!

Hissy Fit Dip

by Twirl and Taste 

Just LOVE this name!

Navajo Tacos

by Carissa's Food Blog

I LOVE this one!

Congratulations to all of you for your featured recipe!!!

So let's party!  I can't wait to see what you all bring this week.  Make sure to tell all your friends so they can join the party as well!

Guidelines:

Please become a follower by joining my site with Google Friends Connect in the right side bar.
Link back to your specific recipe and not to your main site.
Link back to Southern Sundays either in your post, or grab my Southern Sundays Button located in the right side bar.
Please visit a few of the links in the post and say hello to your fellow bloggers!
Enjoy, have fun, cook lots of food, and relish your Southern Sunday!

Cinnamon Blueberry Muffins

It's breakfast time!

It's been awhile since I brought a new muffin to the table.  I grew up with mom making muffins on the weekends (if biscuits and gravy weren't being served that day!) and we had a favorite muffin that we just loved.  I still make it to this day and have posted it here, Basic Muffin Recipe.  

These days I like to experiment with my muffins, changing up the flavors.  I especially love to add fruit to my muffins.  Fruit or berries lend a sweet and tart flavor.  When they are warm, they are hard to beat!

Today's breakfast I wanted a bit of tart and a bit of warmth.  So I added blueberries for the tart and cinnamon for the warmth.  What a great combination.  These are light muffins, and served warm with a dab of butter they are scrumptious!  All you need is a tall glass of milk, or some hot tea and your are set.  To round out the meal some scrambled eggs and turkey bacon will do the job.

These muffins freeze well so you can take any leftovers and freeze them for another time, or grab one to take to school or work.  It will thaw and be just perfect as a quick on the go breakfast.

Here are some other muffins recipes you may like:

Chocolate Cinnamon Muffins
Blueberry Muffins
Strawberry Banana Muffins
Marshmallow Muffins

There's nothing better than a basket of hot, fresh muffins! 

Enjoy your weekend!!

Cinnamon Blueberry Muffins

Makes 6 muffins

2 T butter, softened

1/2 c sugar or 1/2 c Splenda

1 egg

½ t vanilla

1 c flour

½ t baking soda

¼ t baking powder

¼ t salt

¼ t cinnamon

½ c 2% milk

½ c fresh blueberries

Vegetable cooking spray

Mix softened butter and sugar until light and well mixed in a large bowl.  Add egg and vanilla, blend well.

Add flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, ending with flour mixture. Gently stir in blueberries. Spoon batter into muffin pans coated with cooking spray, filling two-thirds full. Sprinkle evenly with oat mixture.

Bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes or until tops are golden. Cool muffins in pans 5 minutes; remove from pans, and cool on wire racks.

Veggie Gyro Salad

Boy do I have a salad for you!

Still in the grilling mode, I saw this meatless, Greek flavored salad in a favorite cookbook and just fell in love with the flavors.  It has all the flavors of a meatless, or veggie Gyro Sandwich!  Have you ever had one?  No, well you should try one right away.  They are just fabulous!

This salad is a take on that sandwich, using the flavors, but mixing them up a bit.  It has grilled vegetables, the flavors of tzaziki (cucumber, dill, and feta) and is all mixed with a wonderful grain, quinoa.  Do you know about quinoa?  It a little round grain that is full of protein and fiber.  Once cooked it turns a little curly and has a slight bite to it, sort of an al dente bite.  I've made several dishes with this hearty grain.  It's my new fad and I've made many dishes with it over the past year.  Make sure to grab a box of this and use it as you would rice or couscous.  It really takes well to additions and to dressings.

Back to the salad...like I was saying it has wonderful ingredients such as tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, and it is dressed with a wonderful red wine vinaigrette.  The only thing missing is the flatbread or pita that holds the sandwich fillings.  Not to worry, I have that covered.  You just serve this with some grilled pita wedges so you don't miss out on that flavor!

Salads are wonderful meals during this hot season.  Great as a main course for a "meatless" dinner, or a nice lunch.  I made this and had leftovers which were just as good the next day.  So I was a happy camper to have this for my lunch at work.  If you want to make this meal with meat, I would suggest grilling a nice piece of chicken and then cubing it.  It will go great with the other salad ingredients.

I hope you give this a try.  Enjoy!

Veggie Gyro Salad

Serves 4

¾ c quinoa

3 T olive oil

1 ½ T red wine vinegar

2 tsp minced garlic

1 t Dijon mustard

Salt & pepper

½ zucchini, halved

2 pitas

½ c grape tomatoes, halved

½ c diced cucumber

¼ c diced yellow bell pepper

¼ c fresh dill fronds

¼ c crumbled feta cheese

2 T diced red onion

Preheat grill to medium-high, brushing grill pan or grate with oil.

Prepare quinoa according to package directions.

In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, and Dijon.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Brush zucchini and pita with some of the vinaigrette.  Grill zucchini cut side down about 7 minutes, covered.  Grill pitas until toasted.  Slice zucchini halves in thin slices.

In a medium to large bowl combine tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, dill, feta, and onion.  Add quinoa, zucchini, and remaining vinaigrette, tossing to coat.  Cut pita into wedges and add to the salad.  Serve.

adapted from Cuisine Grilling

shared with:  Weekend Potluck
Full Plate Thursday