Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  

In a large bowl, mix 2 cups of all purpose flour with a 1/2 cup of sugar, 3 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 2 tablespoons of Crisco shortening.  

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1 egg.  Add to the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened.  Fold in 1 cup of either fresh or frozen blueberries.  

For topping:  Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1 tablespoon of lemon zest.  

Fill lined cupcake pan cups each halfway, should be a heaping spoonful.  

Bake for 20-25 minutes.  

Zest may burn or turn brown so keep an eye on it.  

***These muffins are not terribly sweet so plan accordingly.  

Based off of recipes from: tasteofhome Contest Winning Annual Recipes 2010 Cookbook

Carrot Cake

For recipe, click here:  Emeril Lagasse's Carrot Cake from FoodNetwork.com
Though the recipe said that the batter made three layers, it only made two.  Also, both my husband and brother-in-law said that it needed much more icing.  I followed Lasgasse's recipe so if you make this, you may want to double the icing recipe.

Mexican Shrimp Bisque and Oregano-Swiss Bread

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tbs olive oil
• garlic cloves, minced to taste
• 1 tbs flour
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 tbs chili powder
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
• about a pinch ground cumin
• about a pinch ground coriander 
• 10 uncooked shrimp, rinsed, pealed and deveined 
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Saute onions in the heated olive oil (medium heat) until tender, about 2 minutes.  Add garlic to pan.  Add flour, have water ready to pour in so ingredients in pan don't burn.  Stir in water immediately after flour is mixed in.  Add heavy whipping cream, chili powder, bouillon, cumin, and coriander.  Bring to a light boil then back down to simmer and cover for 5 minutes.

Rinse and cut shrimp into bite-sized pieces.  Add to pan and simmer for another 5 minutes or until shrimp turns white/pink.  It tends to be difficult to see the color change of the shrimp but it should only take about 5 minutes for them to cook.  

Scoop out about a half cup of the soup into a separate bowl and add the sour cream to that.  Fold sour cream in then transfer the soup/sour cream mix back to the pan.  Stir everything together and allow time for all to be heated (do not boil).  

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2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
Handful of fresh oregano, minced
1 tbs of cider vinegar (I'd say more like a tsp b/c the cider taste was very strong)
Loaf of french bread

Combine cheese, mayonnaise, oregano, and vinegar then spread over bread.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Based off of recipes from: tasteofhome Contest Winning Annual Recipes 2010 Cookbook