Citrus-Berry Scones

I was searching for something fun to make my family for Valentine's Day and came across a recipe for scones. I didn't have all the ingredients, but figured it'd be a fun time to experiment with substitutions.  I only had greek yogurt, so I had to increase the liquid a bit...and used an orange, instead of a lemon, for my citrus.  I was a little nervous, but my family gave me a unanimous cheer and said these were definitely a "make again". :)

Citrus-Berry Scones

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
zest of one orange
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt, so I added a couple extra splashes of cream)

1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
Egg wash, as needed

For the glaze:
2 cups confectioners sugar
Juice of one orange
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and lemon zest. Add the cubes of butter and either with a pastry cutter or a fork, cut in the butter until the mixture is grainy and the butter is the size of peas.

In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt and cream until combined. Add to the flour mixture and mix with a spoon until the mixture just starts to come together. Do not overmix. Add the blueberries and gently fold together (the blueberries will start to bleed so mix minimally to prevent your scones from turning purple). Gather the mixture into a ball and dump onto a greased surface.

Use your hands to form the dough into a circle and flatten about one inch think. Use a pizza cutter and cut the dough into 8 slices. Place each triangular scone on the sheet pan about one inch apart. Create an egg wash by whisking one egg and a tablespoon of cream or milk together. Brush over the top of each scone.

Bake until golden, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Meanwhile, make the glaze.

Stir together the orange juice and confectioners sugar in a microwave safe bowl. Add the butter and microwave on high for about 30 seconds until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Drizzle over the tops of the scones.

Makes 8 scones.

Recipe Source: Adapted from Completely Delicious's Lemon Blueberry Scones

Mini Dutch Babies with Strawberry Sauce...

It's been a crazy couple of weeks for our family, so meals have been easy, and let's face it...BORING...around here.  To make up for that, I decided to make the kids a surprise breakfast treat.  Mini dutch babies drizzled with strawberry sauce and dusted with powdered sugar.  They were a HIT!  (I tried a bite, just to see how they came out and they were DELISH!  I hope to experiment with a gluten-free, dairy-free version, so check back soon if you're interested.)

My family is not big on the eggy-ness of the typical dutch baby, but this recipe uses the least amount of eggs possible.  Also, they're not sweet.  If you prefer them to be...add a tablespoon or so of sugar, honey or agave.  Once they're sprinkled with powdered sugar and dipped in strawberry sauce or maple syrup, I think they're the perfect blend of savory sweetness...but, on the other hand, adding a sweetener to the batter does make it taste more like a pancake and less eggy.  Just experiment and find out what you're family likes best. :)

Ingredients
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt
2-3 tablespoons butter, melted
powdered sugar

Berry Sauce:
6 large frozen or fresh strawberries
3 tablespoons berry jam
optional: sugar if needed, to taste

Instructions
Place mini muffin pan in oven and heat to 400 degrees.  While oven is heating, place flour, milk, eggs, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth.  Carefully remove the pan from the oven (don’t forget it’s hot!) and quickly spray the wells with non-stick spray, or brush with melted butter.  But we’re going for quick and easy here so I just grab the spray.  Fill muffin wells 3/4 full with batter.  Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until puffed and slightly golden on top.  Remove puffs and place on plate or platter.  Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Drizzle with berry sauce and top with cool whip or whipped cream, or serve with sauce and/or maple syrup for dipping.

Quick and Easy Berry Sauce

If using frozen berries, place berries and jam in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for about 1 minute.  Use a fork to stir and mash everything together (cut strawberries if necessary), or place everything in a blender and pulse a few times until desired consistency is reached.  Add sugar to taste for sweetness and a few teaspoons of water or juice only if needed for consistency.

Yields about 24 mini muffin pancake puffs

Recipe Source: OurBestBites.com

Italian Dressing Mix

I've always kept dry Italian dressing seasoning on hand for marinades, dips, quick homemade dressings and fajitas. <--- Yes, you read that right. Fajitas. In a moment of desperation, I discovered that a package of Italian dressing mix is the perfect substitute marinade for steak fajitas. It sounds odd - I was skeptical at first, too - but it tastes just like fajita seasoning when mixed with sauteed steak, onions and peppers - and it's way less expensive.

I triple or quadruple this recipe and store it in an airtight container so I always have it on hand.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon white sugar
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
2 tablespoons salt

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, mix together the garlic salt, onion powder, sugar, oregano, pepper, thyme, basil, parsley, celery salt and regular salt. Store in a tightly sealed container.

To prepare dressing, whisk together 1/4 cup white vinegar, 2/3 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons water and 2 tablespoons of the dry mix. You can substitute red wine or white wine vinegar, as well as balsamic vinegar, for the white vinegar, to change things up. They're all excellent!

Recipe Source: Italian Dressing Mix at Allrecipes.com.

Homemade BBQ Sauce

I love BBQ sauce...so I was seriously bummed when I discovered that ALL my favorite brands had corn syrup in them. (which is also on my no-no list) I found a couple brands without it, but they were just *meh* AND they cost more. (deal breaker!) So...I did some recipe searching and a little experimenting, and came up with this recipe...a sweet, tangy, smoky, Kansas City style BBQ sauce with a kick. It's so good, I don't think I could ever go back to the bottled stuff. Winner-Winner BBQ Chicken Dinner! :)

2 cups ketchup (corn syrup free)
2 cups tomato sauce
1 1/4 cups raw sugar
1 1/4 cups apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons mesquite powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, cider vinegar, molasses and butter. Season with mesquite powder, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, celery seed, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to low, and simmer for up to 20 minutes. For thicker sauce, simmer longer, and for thinner, less time is needed. Sauce can also be thinned using a bit of water if necessary.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

When the doctor (and others) told me: "Be careful. Read every label. Dairy is in just about everything.", I thought they were exaggerating.  They were not.  Masquerading as whey, caseinates, whey protein isolates, lactose, recaldent, lactates, etc...dairy is hidden in everything from cereals to breads to deli meats to seasoning packets and so on.  And while it is less convenient to make many of these items from scratch, the benefits are worth the extra time and I've found, on many occasions, the homemade version is so much better than the store-bought, I can't imagine going back...even for the convenience.  Nothing beats fresh baked bread.  Homemade spicy Italian chicken sausage made with my food grinder attachment on my KitchenAid is super yummy and affordable.   Homemade taco seasoning, made in advance and stored with my spices, is just as convenient  as (and more authentic than!) Old El Paso, any day of the week.

The best homemade taco seasoning recipe I've found is this one, from allrecipes.com, one of THE best recipe sites out there.  I make it in bulk and store it in a small mason jar in my spice cabinet.  It's also great in chili or sprinkled on chicken breast before baking.  

(Photo source: PreventionRD)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 
  
• DIRECTIONS:
• 
  
• In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

ENJOY!!

Recipe Source:  All Recipes - Taco Seasoning I 

Cottage Pie with Roasted Garlic Mashers

I grew up calling this dish "Shepherd's Pie"...but, since I use beef (not lamb) it is technically called "Cottage Pie".  It's nothing fancy or special, but it tastes like my childhood and my family and I love it.  It is THE ultimate comfort food on a cold winter night. :)

INGREDIENTS:

Meat/Veggies Mixture:

2 lbs lean hamburger

2 tbsp olive oil

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 carrots, peeled and grated

1 red pepper, chopped

1 bag of frozen sweet corn, thawed

seasoned salt, to taste (click here recipe for homemade msg-free seasoned salt)

pepper, to taste

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes:

4 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp olive oil

2.5 lbs Yukon gold potatoes

1/2 cup butter (DF: butter is the only dairy I am permitted to have, so that's what I use.  If you can't have butter, you can substitute dairy-free margarine, such as Nucoa)

1 cup milk (DF: plain coconut milk, I use So-Delicious plain coconut milk)

salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Turn oven to 350 degrees.  

Peel, chop, cover potatoes with water.  Add 2 tsp of salt and bring to a boil.

In a small glass dish, put a piece of foil down and top with 4 garlic cloves drizzled with olive oil.  Fold the foil so it creates a "pouch" in the center of the dish.  Roast garlic for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

While waiting on the potatoes and garlic, heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add onions, carrots, red pepper and corn and cook until soft and most of the moisture is rendered.  (Undercooking the veggies will result in a watery meat mixture after the cottage pie is baked, so be sure to render as much of the moisture as possible.)  Remove veggies from pan and set aside.  In the same pan, crumble fry the ground beef, add seasoned salt and pepper to taste.  Drain beef.  Add the cooked veggies back into with the beef, stir to combine and set aside.

Remove the roasted garlic and mash with fork.  

When the potatoes are fork tender, strain and return them to the pot.  Add butter (or dairy-free margarine), roasted garlic mash and milk (or coconut milk) and mash with potato masher or handheld mixer until smooth and creamy.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Scoop garlic mashed potatoes over meat/veggie mixture and smooth with spatula.  If desired, sprinkle with seasoned salt to add a splash of color and create a delicious potato crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

A simple, yet heartwarming dish that fills the belly and comforts the soul. :)  ENJOY!

Spicy Thai Noodle Salad

I have a love affair with Thai food.  Pad Thai, Drunken Noodles, Coconut Curry Chicken over Jasmine Rice...OH MY!  This Thai Salad recipe is no exception.  It's light, but flavorful, and is a meal in itself...as well as the perfect accompaniment to teriyaki marinated chicken, shrimp or steak.  Easily adapted to be gluten-free, it's become one my favorite go-to meals when I "need" my Thai food fix. :)

My plating/lighting skills are slowly improving. I appreciate your patience. :)

INGREDIENTS:

16 ounces semolina or whole-wheat spaghetti (GF: I used Tinkyada brown rice spaghetti noodles)

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sesame oil

6 tablespoons honey

6 tablespoons soy sauce (GF: I used San-J gluten-free tamari soy sauce)

1/2 cup green onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

Cook spaghetti al dente, per package directions.  Rinse, drain and set aside.

Chop green onions, cilantro, and peel/shred carrots.  

Heat both oils with crushed red pepper over medium heat for 2 minutes. Strain pepper flakes and reserve oil. Whisk honey and soy sauce into oil.  

Pour mixture over noodles, add onions, carrots, cilantro, sesame seeds and mix well.  Refrigerate until cold.  Stir well before serving. 

Recipe Source: An adaptation of A Small Snippet's Spicy Thai Noodles.