Buttery Homemade Scones

Makes about 8 scones
Total time: About One Hour

Ingredients

• 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 t baking powder
• ½ t table salt
• 12 T unsalted butter; cold, cut into ½ inch cubes
• 1 cup dried currants or blueberries
• 1 T lemon zest
• 1 cup heavy cream, very cold
• 1 egg blended with 1 T water
• course or granulated sugar such as turbinado sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Blend In: butter
3. Add: fruit, nuts, zest
4. Add: cream
5. Cut: (see below).
6. Brush with 1 egg blended with 1 T water.
7. Sprinkle with sugar
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and set.

Notes
This entire recipe is mixed with your hands. Smash the butter between your fingers as you blend with the dry ingredients. Work quickly. If the butter melts too much, your scones will be mealy.

After you’ve added the cream, knead the dough and pat it into a circleIt will seem somewhat crumbly, but continue to mash it into a circle. With a bench knife, cut into wedges, like a pizza. Once you have cut the pieces and placed then on the baking sheet, brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

This recipe can be made the night before, covered, and popped into the oven the next day.

Any nuts and dried fruits, as long as they are chopped into ¼ to ½ inch pieces.

Veggie Pasta Primavera

This is a recipe Andy came up with on the fly to make for friends who just had a baby. We had some summer squash and chard from our CSA that we thought would be great with pasta. I might be able to get Andy to be a little more specific on ingredient amounts, but this is just kind of the way he cooks!

• 1/2 - 3/4 lb mini penne pasta
• 2 small zucchini
• 2 medium yellow neck squash
• oregano
• garlic, minced
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• swiss chard, chopped finely
• 1/2 pint light whipping cream
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup parmesan, plus more to top if desired
• 1/4 cup light sour cream or plain yogurt
• 2 cups frozen peas

Cook pasta according to package directions, set aside. Cube zucchini and squash, toss in pan with oregano, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper, saute 10-15 min or until soft. Allow to cool, chop more finely if desired. In the same pan, cook the swiss chard until it wilts, set aside. Mix cream, butter, parmesan, and sour cream in a small sauce pan, bring to a light simmer for 5 minutes. Mix pasta, veggies, cream, and peas in a large bowl until pasta is coated. Add more salt, pepper, oregano, or garlic powder if desired. Pour into a casserole dish and top with parmesan. Bake 30 min at 350.

Cheesy Shell Bake

This is a recipe that was posted on the mama board I used to be a part of, so I've seen it for 4 years, and tonight was the first time I actually tried it. They all raved about it, but I thought it just sounded "eh." I was wrong! It's a fairly classic baked pasta dish, with a layer of sour cream (or yogurt), shredded cheddar, and parsley in the middle. Evan loved this, too. Yum!

Ingredients:

• 1 box of medium shells, cooked al dente - any pasta will work, we used mini penne
• 1lb of ground beef, could also use ground sausage or other meat
• 1 jar of pasta sauce
• 2-3Tbls of dried parsley
• 8oz sour cream or plain yogurt
• 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper
• garlic and onions for ground beef if desired
• Optional - veggies! Corn, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, chiles, etc.*

Start the water for the noodles and while they are cooking, brown your beef. Add salt and pepper to taste and diced garlic and onions if you have them and like that. Once the beef is cooked, add the entire jar of tomato sauce. When the shells are ready, drain and add to the sauce beef mixture.

In a separate bowl, add the sour cream, parsley and about a third of the block of cheese. Mix all the ingredients.

Take half of the shell-beef-sauce mixture and put it into a 13x9 baking pan. Then take the sour cream mixture and layer it over the shells in the pan. If you find that you don't have enough sour cream mixture make a little bit more. Put the rest of the shell-sauce-beef on top and cover with the rest of the grated cheese. Cook at 350 for 25-30 minutes, until all the cheese is melted.

*We actually used leftover corn dip (made from sour cream, shredded cheese, corn, jalapeno, and green chiles) instead of the sour cream mixture, it was excellent! You might want to saute raw veggies a bit or cook with the ground beef to soften before adding.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

This was a great way to use up some floppy broccoli we had in the fridge. The soup turned out great, and Noelle even ate 2 bowls!

• 6 Tbsp butter, divided
• 3/4 cup onion, chopped
• 1 cup carrot, chopped or shredded
• 4 cups small broccoli florets
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 - 1 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• freshly ground black pepper
• dash of cayenne (optional)

In a large stockpot, melt 2 Tbsp of butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes. Add the carrots to the pan and cook a few minutes more. Stir in the broccoli, chicken or veggie broth, onion powder, garlic powder, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.

In a medium saucepan, melt remaining butter. Add the flour and cook 1-2 minutes until golden brown, whisking constantly. Whisk in the milk and cook until the mixture thickens and bubbles, about 5 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened, whisk in the cheese until completely melted. Remove from the heat and add the cheese sauce to the soup pot. Allow to simmer until warmed through and broccoli is tender. Season with ground pepper and a dash of cayenne to taste. If desired, puree the soup with an immersion blender for a smooth texture.

Arroz con Gandules

Andy heard about this recipe from a co-worker and we had to try it. We really liked all the flavors, and we always enjoy using different ethnic ingredients. This tastes great on its own, or as I discovered, is very good inside a corn tortilla.

• 2 cups long grain rice
• 3 1/2 cups of boiling water
• 1 1/2 cups of chorizo, sliced bite size (we have used ground chorizo or ground pork)
• 2 Tablespoons of sofrito** (we don't make sofrito, we just add some of what we have on hand)
• 2 cans gandules (pigeon peas) can be found in ethnic aisle
• 1 tablespoon of alcaparrado without liquid (an olive mixture, we do not use)
• 1 ounce Cooking ham or smoked ham (we have left this out)
• 1 one packet of Sazon with achiote (again, find in ethnic aisle)
• 4 ounces of tomato sauce
• 2 Tablespoons of oil
• Salt to taste

**Sofrito: 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 Banana or Bell pepper (chopped in fine pieces), 1 tsp oregano, 3 cilantro leaves (chopped), 1 medium onion (chopped), and 2-3 Aji dulce peppers

In a dutch oven pot (or other pot) with lid fry the chorizo in oil. Add the tomato sauce, alcaparrado, sofrito and sazon to the pot and stir together. Cook at medium heat for 4 minutes. Add all other ingredients except the salt, pour the boiling water into the pot so the rice is submerged one inch below the water. Start with 1 teaspoon of salt stir and keep adding and mixing well until you are satisfied with the taste. Don’t cover yet, let the rice absorb the water. Once absorbed stir gently from bottom to top, cover and turn the heat down to low. Stirring once in between, cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until the rice is tender. Cover the Arroz con Gandules with Banana leaves while cooking for that Caribbean flavor! (we did not do this)

The second time we made this, we used leftover rice, mixed all ingredients together and baked them in a 9x13 pan for 30 min at 350º.

Serves 3 to 4

Angel Hair Pasta with Lemons and Capers

• 1 package of angel hair pasta
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 3 - 6 oz bacon, cut into thin slices
• 2 T butter
• 2 T capers
• 2 T parsley finely diced

1) Cook pasta. Drain, and set aside

2) Fry bacon to your desired doneness and drain, reserving 1 T in the pan
3) Add lemon juice and capers
4) Cook over low to medium heat until liquid begins to thicken
5) Add butter, stir in parsley, cook for 2 minutes over low heat.
6) Add angel hair to pan and twist and stir pasta until no sauce remains at the bottom of the pan

Penne Pizza Pan-fry

Andy made up this recipe a few weeks ago when I got sweet italian sausage for a crazy good price and bought a lot of it. We really liked it, and made it again this week to bring to a friend. The second time I made it, I boiled the sausages for about 8 minutes (prick with a knife first) then cut into slices and pan fried.

• 3 Italian Sausages cut into thin slices (best done when cold, or partially frozen)
• 1/2 c diced bell pepper
• 1/2 c diced onion
• 4 garlic cloves, finely diced, or pressed
• 1/2 can of diced tomatoes (petite)
• 7 oz of penne pasta
• 30 slices of turkey pepperoni (approximately 1 oz), cut into thin ribbons
• 1/2 T dried oregano
• 1/2 T dried basil
• 1/3 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2/3 c plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
• shredded parmesan (optional)

1) Place pasta in boiling water.
2) Pan fry sausage in a large, deep sided skillet. Drain most of the oil from the pan, and set aside.
3) Saute onions, peppers, garlic, and pepperoni in remaining oil over medium heat until the onions and peppers are soft.
4) Add chickpeas, oregano, and basil, and continue cooking until onions begin to turn golden brown (about 3 minutes).
5) Drain liquid from tomatoes, add to onion mixture along with yogurt and spaghetti sauce, stir to combine. More yogurt or spaghetti sauce can be added to achieve your desired consistency.
6) Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then stir in drained pasta.
7) Serve with shredded parmesan

Catalina Chicken

I first had this chicken recipe when my sister in law made it many years ago, maybe even back in 2005 when Kraft put it in their Food and Family magazine. I remember thinking it was really good, but promptly forgot about it. Back then I didn't do much cooking.

This past week I was in Chicago with my parents and my mom reminded me of it. So, with coupons for Kroger brand salad dressing and jam in hand, and chicken at $1.99/lb, (I'm getting to be a big time couponer/sale shopper!) I decided it was a good week to try it out again. We loved it! I served it with rice and succotash (lima beans and corn).

I doubled the sauce recipe so we could use it on our rice.

• 2 tsp. oil
• 6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/2 lb.)
• 1/2 cup Catalina Dressing (Kroger's is called "California French")
• 1/2 cup apricot jam
• 1/2 pkg. dry onion soup mix (about 3 Tbsp.)

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 min. on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from skillet; place in 3qt. baking dish.

MIX dressing, jam and soup mix in small bowl. Pour over chicken.

BAKE 45 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Jello Cake

This is a super easy light tasting cake, and it's one that you can keep the ingredients on hand for at all times. This cake can be made with any flavor you desire - lemon cake with raspberry jello, white cake with strawberry jello, you decide!

• 1 box cake mix, and any ingredients the box calls for such as eggs and oil
• 1 small box jello
• 1 container Cool Whip
• berries (optional)

Bake cake according to box directions. When it is done, use a small round utensil like a skewer to poke holes all over the cake. Mix jello according to box directions. Pour jello over the cake. Let cake cool, then top with cool whip and berries.

Rolo Pecan Candies

My mom brought a box of these candies to my house for Christmas when Noelle was born, and I thought they were so great. I've seen them around a lot since then, and have also discovered one of my favorite candy bars, Take 5, which tastes a lot like these candies.

• 1 bag mini pretzels - I use the waffle style square ones
• 1 bag Rolo candies
• 1 bag pecan halves

Line baking sheets with foil. Place pretzels on foil. Top each pretzel with a Rolo. Bake at 250 degrees for 4 minutes or until candies are soft. (Candies will retain their shape.) Immediately place a pecan half on each candy and press down so candy fills pretzel. Cool slightly. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until set.

You can use other combinations of candy, as well. I've had these with Hershey's Hugs and a peanut m&m on top. Or if you are concerned about peanut allergy, putting another pretzel on top still tastes great.

A to Z Bread

Another recipe from the Nashville Mamas. I've made this bread recipe with bananas, zucchini, and squash, and they were all excellent. Some of the A-Z ingredients are a stretch, I think, but to each their own! Makes 2 normal loaves or 8 mini.

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 eggs*
• 1 cup oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups A-Z item (see list below)
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Sift dry ingredients and set aside.
Beat eggs in large bowl; add oil & sugar; cream well.
Add A-Z item and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients.
Mix well.
Add nuts.
Spoon into 2 greased loaf pans.
Bake at 325 for 1 hour (or until done).


*Sometimes, I substitute applesauce for eggs (1/4 c. for each egg) or I use egg replacement.


A-Z: Add one of the following or a mixture to equal two cups, except where indicated:

Apples -- grated
Applesauce
Apricots -- chopped
Bananas -- mashed
Carrots -- grated
Cherries -- pitted/chopped
Coconut -- fresh/ground
Dates - pitted/chopped
Eggplant -- ground
Figs -- finely chopped
Grapes -- seedless
Honey -- omit sugar!
Lemons -- use only 1/2 c. lemon juice
Marmalade -- omit 1 cup sugar
Mincemeat
Oranges -- chopped
Peaches -- fresh or canned/chopped
Peppermint -- use 1/2 cup
Pears -- chopped
Pineapple -- crushed & well-drained
Prunes -- chopped (1 cup only)
Pumpkin -- canned
Raisins
Raspberries
Rhubarb -- finely chopped
Strawberries -- fresh or frozen
Sweet Potato -- coarsely grated
Tapioca -- cooked
Tomatoes -- use 1/2 cup sugar only
Yams -- cooked or mashed
Yogurt -- plain or flavoured
Zucchini -- ground or grated, drained

Thai Pork Stew

I got this recipe from a Nashville mamas group I am a part of, and we love it! The sweet potatoes turn to complete mush, you'd never know they are the base of this meal. The recipe calls for pork tenderloin, but we normally use pork chops or steaks.

• 2 lbs. pork tenderloin - cut in 6 pieces
• 2 cups red bell pepper - julienned
• 1/4 cup soy or teriyaki sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce (tuong of toi vietnam - with picture of rooster)
• 2 garlic cloves - minced
• 2-3 sweet potatoes - cut in thirds
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• cooked white rice
• green onions
• peanuts
• lime

Place pork through sweet potatoes in a slow cooker. Cover with lid and cook on low heat setting for 8 hours. Remove pork and coarsely chop. Add peanut butter to liquid in cooker and stir well. Add pork back in.

Serve stew over steamed white rice. Top with chopped green onions, peanuts and serve with lime wedges.

Bonus -- very freezer friendly!!

Wonderballs

I found this recipe on the website of someone who went to the same college I did, Meal Planning Mommies. I was excited to make them with Noelle, but she does not like to get her hands messy. So, I made them by myself, but it was still totally worth it! Now Andy and I make them together and sometimes we don't even share with Noelle.

• 1 Cup Peanut Butter
• 3/4 Cup Honey
• 1/2 Cup Milled Flax Seed
• 1/4 Cup chopped nuts
• 1/2 Cup of dried fruit like raisins or craisins
• 1/2 Cup of chocolate chips
• 2 Cups of Uncooked Oatmeal

In a large bowl, stir together peanut butter and honey. Add in oatmeal and flax seed, stir. Finally, stir in chocolate, chopped nuts, and dried fruit. Using a spoon or your hands, make cookie dough sized balls out of the mixture. I find it works best to squish it a bit to help it stay together better. Place the wonderballs into tupperware, stack with wax paper in between. Place them in your freezer, and take one out whenever you'd like a snack! You can also keep them in the refrigerator if you prefer them softer, but they will also be a little stickier that way.

Crock Pot Black Bean Soup

• 1 pound dried black beans
• 4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable for vegetarian)
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 serrano chile or jalapeno, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• chopped fresh cilantro
• sour cream

Sort and wash beans; place in a large bowl. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; cover and let stand 8 hours. Drain.

Combine beans, broth, onion, water, cumin, bay leaves, and chile in the crock pot. Cover and cook on low 10 hours. Discard bay leaves. Stir in lime juice and salt. Ladle into bowls, top with chopped cilantro and sour cream.

Fresh Blueberry Muffins

I made these this morning for my family, and they turned out so well! I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com - thanks Colleen, whoever you are! I only had a 6 muffin tin, so I put the rest of the batter in a little bread pan and that worked just as well. Makes 8 large muffins.

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping (mix with fork, sprinkle over muffins before baking):

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400º. Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture until it is just moist. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup worcestershire
• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp ground mustard
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• dash red pepper flakes
• pinch salt and pepper
• 1 medium onion, chopped (we chop into big chunks to remove after cooking)
• 3 pounds pork tenderloin
• Hamburger buns
• BBQ Sauce (optional)

Combine all ingredients except onion and pork into crock pot. Whisk until well blended. Place pork and onions into mixture, coating both sides of meat. Cook for 8-10 hours on low or 6 hours on high. After meat is cooked, shred with forks inside the crock pot and stir into the sauce. Serve on hamburger buns or rolls, or by itself on a plate, with optional bbq sauce to top.

Panzanella Bread Salad

I first had this Italian peasant style dish at a picnic that Jaime and I attended. I was dubious of it at first because I didn't really care for raw tomatoes at that time but I tried it, and boy was I glad. It's everything that's good about Italian food, all in one simple salad. The hum of garlic, the zing of red wine vinegar, the smooth fruitiness of the extra virgin olive oil, and the herby goodness of basil. Hope you like it!

• One loaf of dense, crusty bread (Italian or French is best)
• 1/2 - 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 - 1 cup red wine vinegar (balsamic vinegar can also be used)
• 1 pint container of cherry or grape tomatoes
• 10 mozzarella cheese sticks (fresh mozzarella can be used if you prefer)
• 1 bunch of basil (10 leaves or so)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Kosher salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper

1. Cube bread into 1 inch pieces. Allow to dry overnight, or dry in a 200° oven for an hour. You want the bread stale and tough, but not rock hard.


2. Cut, or tear, mozzarella into small pieces, less than bite size


3. Halve, or quarter the tomatoes, again you're shooting for smaller than bite size


4. Finely dice garlic


5. Cut basil into a chiffonade (stack the leaves, roll them lengthwise, then finely slice them). You should end up with long, thin, strings of basil.


6. Place bread into a large mixing bowl. You're going to use your hands to mix it up, so give yourself plenty of room


7. Pour 1/2 cup each of oil and vinegar over bread, allow to soak in.


8. Add garlic, basil, tomatoes, and cheese, stir with your hands. Once everything is well coated, start squeezing the bread. The goal is to treat the bread like a sponge so that it sucks up the juice from the tomatoes, as well as the oil and vinegar.


9. Add salt and pepper to taste, allow to sit for a few minutes.


10. Gauge the moisture level of the bread and add more oil and vinegar if need be. The bread should soak up all of the juice, but not be dripping. There should be no juice left in the bottom of the bowl.

A note...this salad can be made ahead but try to avoid refrigerating if possible. It's best served at room temperature

Tuscan Pork Chops

From the West End Community Church cookbook

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp pepper
• 4 (1 inch thick) pork chops
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 3 plum tomatoes, diced
• 2 Tbsp capers

Combine first 3 ingredients. Coat chops. Cook chops in oil over medium-high until golden brown. Remove chops. Saute garlic in drippings 1 minute. Stir in vinegar, broth, tomatoes, and capers. Return pork chops to skillet. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until chops are done. Serve with tomato mixture. This is great over rice.

Ramen Noodle Salad

• 3 pkg beef ramen noodles
• 1 pkg broccoli coleslaw
• 3 chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 bottle salad dressing - we've used Italian and Asian Sesame

Break up and cook ramen noodles, drain, mix with 1 seasoning packet. Let cool, then mix with all other ingredients. We like it best after it's been in the fridge a while. We end up adding more salad dressing if it sits in the fridge more than a day, because it soaks it up.

Recently we tried this without cooking the noodles first, and I actually liked it better but Andy did not. He thought they tasted stale. I have a friend who couldn't be bothered to cook her Ramen during college, so would just break them apart in the bag, open it at the top and dump in the seasoning packet, hold closed and shake, and that was her snack. It's actually pretty good!

Stuffing Chicken

• 4-6 boneless chicken breasts
• 4-6 slices swiss cheese
• 1-2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 box prepared stuffing

Place chicken breasts in glass baking pan. Place slice of swiss cheese on each piece of chicken. Pour soup mix over chicken. Sprinkle stuffing on top of chicken. Bake uncovered at 350º for 30-45 minutes, or until chicken is 180º in the center.

We sometimes chop the chicken into small pieces and add frozen peas, this is a fairly basic and versatile recipe, another variation of a pot pie type recipe.