Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins with Greek Yogurt

These are my new favorite muffins. They pack in a TON of blueberries and have a delightful scone-like texture. They are a lighter version of the muffin from your favorite bakery, since they are made with greek yogurt and are topped with raw sugar instead of a crumb topping. These really can be made year-round, with either fresh or frozen blueberries, but they're fantastic this time of year with in-season blueberries (especially when you find them at the grocery store for $1.99/pint!!) If you don't have raw sugar at home, just grab a few packets the next time you're at a coffee shop!

They get their scone-like texture from the extremely thick batter. It is seriously thick - I got a little concerned when I was making them, and was afraid I would end up with muffin-shaped cookies. In the end, they turn out perfectly! They are light and fluffy, but break open like a scone, while still being moist inside. They are delicious straight out of the oven, and store really well for several days. During the summer,  I like storing moist baked goods in the fridge since I'm afraid everything will get moldy. Then I just stick them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. If you're going to keep them for longer than a few days, I would recommend wrapping them well and freezing.

Recipe: Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins with Greek Yogurt
Adapted slightly from Food-Mouth
Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 pint blueberries (2 cups), fresh or frozen
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (non-fat or low-fat)
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Raw sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F and grease a standard muffin tin with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
Measure flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix egg, egg yolk, sugar and Greek yogurt until well combined. Add melted butter slowly while mixing, so you don't curdle the eggs.
Add the blueberries to the flour mixture, folding in gently as to not burst fresh berries.
Pour half of the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and gently fold in. Pour remaining liquid and mix until just combined. It will be VERY thick.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tin - each will be almost full. Sprinkle each muffin top with raw sugar.
Bake at 425 F for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 F and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let muffins cool slightly before removing to a wire rack. Serve warm and enjoy!

Nutrition:
237 calories
6.5 g fat
40.4 g carbs
1.5 g fiber
5.4 g protein (a protein boost from the yogurt!)

Pre-baked, very stiff dough

Post-baking, with a lightly browned top

Look how pretty those sugar crystals are

I took like 25 pictures trying to capture the steam coming out of the freshly cut into muffin. Do you see that tiny wisp?

Weekly Finds

I probably shouldn't call this weekly finds anymore, since I definitely don't post this every week...

Breakfast:

Salted Bourbon Vanilla Granola With Caramelized Figs

Shakshuka (Eggs in a Fiery Tomato Sauce) A really different way to eat your eggs

Blueberry Funfetti Pancakes 

Sandwiches and Soups:

Summer Gazpacho with Grilled Shrimp

Summer Gazpacho with Shrimp another variation!

Snacks:

Roasted Corn Fiesta Guacamole The colors are so pretty!

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread with Crumb Topping

Homemade Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Three-Ingredient Summertime Salsa

Blueberry Mojito Jam

Spicy Squash Refrigerator Pickles

Bread:

Strawberry Streusel Skillet Sweet Bread This looks beautiful

Pull-Apart Garlic Cheese Bread This looks amazing

Homemade Sourdough Bread with step by step instructions/pictures

Pull-Apart Hawaiian Rolls

Vanilla and Cinnamon Bread This seems like a really unique loaf of bread, that could be just as good for savory sandwiches as it is for a sweet snack

Dinner:

Veggie Lasagna This looks like it's covered in cheese

Three Cheese Polenta Tart with Cherry Tomatoes and Basil

One Pot French Onion Pasta

Summer Squash and Herb Gratin

Mushroom Quinoa Gouda Bake

Coconut Curry Mussels 

Sides:

Best cheeses to grill 

Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes and Onions I want to put these on everything

Healthy Zucchini Fritters These sound delicious

Sweet Corn and Squash Fritters with Avocado Crema

Grilled Peach and Halloumi Skewers with Basil-Jalapeno Sauce I have some halloumi in the cheese that is DYING to be used for this!

Roasted Mushrooms with Sundried Tomatoes, Herbs and Feta 

Dessert:

Fudgy Nutty Streusel Bars So chocolate-y!

Samoas Ice Cream My favorite girl scout cookie!

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

Lavender Berry Pavlova So elegant

Homemade S'mores Marshmallows Genius - the graham crackers and chocolate are added right to the homemade marshmallows

Easy Blueberry Pie Gorgeous

Bourbon Brown Sugar Peach Ice Cream

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake with Brownie Crust

Sugar Cookie Cheesecake I love the sprinkles!

Blueberry Brownies Someone put blueberries in brownies! And they look delicious!

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Banana Cakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cast Iron Skillet Sunbutter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie I bet this would be great with peanut butter

Deep Dish Oatmeal Raisin Cookies There really is a theme this month with oatmeal cookies

Blueberry Crumb Cake

Ginger Peach Crumble 

Drinks:

Fresh Peach Margarita Can't wait to do this

Spiced Iced Coffee

Bourbon Slush Punch

Peach Wine Slushies 

Fitness:

4 Effective Dumbbell Arm Exercises for Beginners

30 Dumbbell Exercises Missing from Your Routine

47 Crazy Fun Plank Variations for a Killer Core

Best Arm Exercises with Weights

20 Minute Power Plank Workout

Metabolism Boosting Workout

35 Cardio-Based Bodyweight Exercises

4 Minute Arm and Ab Workout

Full Body Kettlebell Workout for any Level

DIY 12-Week Workout Calendar I love the idea of sticky notes

A Quick and Intense 4-Minute Butt Burn 

Running:

Best Running Routes Hidden routes that only locals would know

Cooking Tips:

The Ultimate Visual Guide to This Summer's Best Produce 

11 1/2 things you can do with a wooden spoon I actually used one to prop open an oven door the other day

Food for Thought:

Things I Like:

25 bakeries around the world to visit before you die

22 amazing life hacks

The ultimate vegetable gardening guide

30-day self care challenge 

Roasted Vegetables with Thai Green Curry Simmer Sauce and Red Quinoa

Joey and I made a delicious dinner the other night, and it didn't require a lot of effort. I think it was the perfect semi-homemade meal for a weeknight dinner, and is even less time if you make some of the ingredients in advance.

When I got home from work, I got started on roasting a ton of veggies. I made more than we needed for this meal, so we would have extras. Since I made the veggies in advance, that meant that once we got back from Joey's frisbee game around 8, we wouldn't have to wait long for a complete meal. We cooked the quinoa while simmering the sauce with the pre-cooked veggies. Joey cooked some chicken to go with his - mine was a veggie-only dish since I wasn't in the mood for shrimp or tofu. 

This would work really well with any kind of veggies, and could be served over quinoa or rice. 

Recipe: Roasted Vegetables with Thai Green Curry Simmer Sauce and Red Quinoa

Yield: 3-4 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 large onion, halved and sliced

4 medium cremini mushrooms, sliced (about 1 cup)

1 bell pepper, sliced

1 cup baby carrots

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 cups chopped cauliflower

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic

12 oz jar of Trader Joe's Thai Green Curry Simmer Sauce (or your favorite sauce)

1/2 cup bamboo shoots

2 cups chopped baby corn

1 cup red quinoa or brown rice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line 2 sheet pans with foil and spray with Pam. Spread out the onion, mushrooms, pepper, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower on the prepared pans. Drizzle with the olive oil, tossing to coat. Sprinkle the salt, pepper and garlic on top. (I went light on seasoning, as to not interfere with the cooking sauce.) Put in the oven, and flip over the veggies every 10 minutes. It should take 25-30 minutes to cook. If some start cooking faster than others, pull them out and let the rest cook. (I had to take the broccoli out first.)

While the veggies are cooking, start your quinoa or brown rice. Brown rice will take a while to cook on the stove, and usually uses 2 - 2 1/2 cups of liquid for every cup of rice. Quinoa needs to be rinsed and drained before cooking, and usually uses 1 1/2 - 2 cups of liquid for every cup of quinoa. 

In a large sauce pan, combine the cooked veggies, the simmer sauce, bamboo shoots, and baby corn over low heat. Add a few tablespoons of water to the jar of sauce and shake it up, pour that in the pan as well (it helps get out every bit of the sauce!) Simmer with the lid on for 10-15 minutes, until the flavors have melded. If too much water evaporates from the sauce, feel free to add back some water or coconut milk, to thin it out. You want to have enough sauce to coat everything, and still have some to pour over your rice or quinoa. 

Please excuse the horrible pictures - we were in a hurry to eat!

Tons of veggies - this includes the extras I made

First time using red quinoa!

Here's the sauce we used

See - lots of sauce left to get soaked up by the quinoa

My finished plate