Full Bellies, Happy Kids: April 2009

Cream Scones!

There's nothing like a warm scone straight out of the oven is there?

I've tried many scone recipes and actually have this one right here on the blog, but I love this cream scone version from Joy of Baking...so good.

Next on my list to try will be some Devonshire Cream. YUM!

Here's a tip.....make sure your baking powder has NOT expired, or you'll end up with great tasting scones but ones that didn't rise much at all. Like the ones that I ended up with this morning, usually they're nice and big and fluffy.

CREAM SCONES
Recipe from: Joy of Baking

2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup (76 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (120 ml) whipping cream or milk

Glaze:

Cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and place the rack in the middle of the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Cut the butter into small pieces and blend into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or two knives.

The mixture should look like coarse crumbs. In a small measuring cup combine the whipping cream, beaten egg and vanilla.

Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined. Do not over mix.

Knead dough gently on a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat the dough into a circle that is about 7 inches (18 cm) round. Then, using a 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) round cookie cutter, cut the dough into rounds.

Place the rounds on the prepared cookie sheet, spacing a few inches apart. Brush the tops of the scones with a little cream. This helps to brown the tops of the scones during baking.

Bake for about 15 - 18 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of a scone comes out clean.

Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with Devon cream or softly whipped cream and your favorite jam.

These scones freeze very well.

Makes about 10 - 2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) round scones.

16 comments

, by Sandra

breakfast

Buttermilk Pancakes!

Ok, I admit, I'm usually the mommy that pours the water into the bowl with the bisquik mix and calls it good.

But every once in a while, I like making the pancakes from scratch.

Yesterday I made some homemade butter and had a cup of buttermilk leftover, just perfect for this recipe. I know it's easier to use premade pancake mixes, but trust me, all you need is just 5 minutes to mix all these ingredients and the pancakes you get are a million times better. So fluffy, sweet and just delicious. My kids LOVE these.

Buttermilk Pancakes
Recipe from: Joy of Baking

1 cup (140 grams) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (28 grams) granulated white sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

3 tablespoons (40 grams) unsalted butter, melted

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and melted butter. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, all at once, and stir or whisk just until combined. The batter should have some small lumps. Make sure you do not over mix the batter or the pancakes will be tough.

Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium high heat until a few sprinkles of water dropped on the pan or griddle splatter. Using a pastry brush, brush the pan with a little melted butter.

Using a small ladle or scoop, pour about 1/4 cup of pancake batter onto the pan, spacing the pancakes a few inches from each other. When the bottoms of the pancakes are brown and bubbles start to appear on the top surfaces of the pancakes (2-3 minutes), turn over. Cook until lightly browned (about 1-2 minutes).

Repeat with remaining batter, brushing the pan with melted butter between batches.

Serve immediately with butter and maple syrup or your favorite jam.

Makes about 8 - 3-inch (7.5 cm) pancakes.

6 comments

, by Sandra

potato soup

Hearty Baked Potato Soup

My family's favorite soup, the sounds of aahhh's and ooohh's coming from around the table, make me smile.

If you're making it for a big crowd you'll have to double or even triple the recipe....I added about two cups of water at the end, and then a little bit more flour to thicken it up, otherwise it wouldn't have been nowhere near enough for us four. We love our soup and hubby usually takes leftovers to work.

Hearty Baked Potato Soup

Recipe from: A Good Appetite

3 large russet potatoes, cleaned, skins pierced 3-4 times with a fork
2 slices of good bacon, cut into 1/2 pieces
1 1/2 T unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c flour
2 c chicken broth or stock
12 oz fat-free evaporated milk
2 t seasoning salt
1/2 c cooked ham, chopped (optional)
4 green onions, chopped

Microwave the potatoes until cooked through (every microwave is different, ours took about 14 minutes). Set the potatoes aside to cool.

Meanwhile, in a large soup pot cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon to a paper towel to drain.

Add butter & onion. Cook until the onion is transparent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic & cook until just fragrant. Add the flour & stir for 1 minute, do not allow the roux to brown. Slowly add the evaporated milk & broth while stirring. Scoop the pulp from one of the potatoes & mash it a bit. Add it to the soup. Bring the soup to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally. Add the seasoning salt. Dice the remaining two potatoes, skin & all (you can also dice the empty skin from the first potato). Add the diced potatoes, ham & bacon to the soup. Heat through. Serve with onions

2 comments

, by Sandra

egg rolls

Healthy Egg Rolls!

I love egg rolls, but I'll be honest, the thought of the deep fried greasy soaked dough just doesn't appeal to me anymore.....so I started popping them in the oven and was surprised at how good they are and how much healthier.

This was last night's dinner, unfortunately since I have a stomach bug, I didn't get to eat any, how sad....but the kids and the hubby said they were delicious.

Here's how I make mine:

Chicken Egg Rolls

1 package cooked chicken (cut into bite size pieces)
Coleslaw
1 medium onion (finely diced)
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
soy sauce
egg roll wrappers

In a frying pan add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat slightly. Add the coleslaw, onion and garlic . Cook until crisp tender, add the chicken and the soy sauce to taste.... and the salt and pepper.

Spray a cookie sheet with non stick spray....

On an egg roll wrapper, place about a tablespoon or a little more of the filling in the middle

Fold the bottom corner over and then each side, moisten the edges of the last flap with some water and then fold over.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet, spray lightly with some more non stick spray

and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

9 comments

, by Sandra

chicken

Best Creamy Enchiladas!

I first came across this recipe at Blessings Beyond, it's been saved in my Bookmarks for a while, so I thought tonight was the night.....and I'm glad I tried them because YUMMY!

My kids loved them and ate every bite on the plate. Thumbs up!

Best Creamy Enchiladas

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used two packages of Cooked Grilled Chicken, Southwest Flavor)
1 8oz block cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoon dried onion
1 tsp garlic powder
1 - 2 tsp fajita seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup of mozzarella cheese
8 - 12 flour tortillas, room temperature
2 cans of cream of chicken soup
2 cups of sour cream (16 oz container)
1 cup milk
1 can of Ro-tel tomatoes with green chilies
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

In a large mixing bowl, mix together well, cream cheese, dried onions, garlic powder, fajita seasoning, and pepper. Stir in the cubed chicken and mozzarella cheese.

In another large mixing bowl, combine soup, sour cream, milk, and ro-tel. Mix until smooth and blended.

Spray large baking dish (i use the large pyrex) with non stick cooking spray. Then spread a little of the soup mixture over the bottom. About 1/2 cup or so. Just enough to lightly cover the bottom.

Roll enchiladas with chicken mixture and lay in baking dish seam down.

When all are in the pan, top with soup mixture.

Bake in 350 preheated oven. (uncovered) Bake for about 40 minutes.

Remove and top with cheddar cheese, place back in the oven and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes.

6 comments

, by Sandra

Menus

Menu Plan!

WEDNESDAY 15TH

{ Best Creamy Enchiladas }

http://kevinandamanda.com/recipes/images/best-chicken-enchiladas.jpg

THURSDAY 16TH

{ Grilled Tilapia }

http://www.earthlyeating.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/tilapia.jpg

FRIDAY 17TH

{ Chicken Egg Rolls with Salad}

http://img.foodnetwork.com/FOOD/2009/01/21/GI0513_Chicken-Avocado-Egg-Rolls_lg.jpg

SATURDAY 18TH

{ Cowpoke Chili }

Image credit: Fresh from the Farm

SUNDAY 19TH

{Hearty Baked Potato Soup}

Image credit: The Crepes of Wrath

8 comments

, by Sandra

chicken

Crockpot Salsa Chicken!

Ok I'll admit that when I first heard of this recipe, I kinda sorta turned my nose at it. I wasn't exactly finding it appealing because all I could envision was a chicken breast with some salsa slathered on top. BLECH!

BUT, that is not what this was at all, actually, it's so good, the kids loved it and asked for seconds.

Just give a try ok?

CROCKPOT SALSA CHICKEN
-Cooking For Fun blog

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup salsa (I used green salsa on mine)

1 package taco seasoning

1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup (condensed) or cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

Add chicken to slow cooker. Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken. Mix salsa and soup (this was the part that looked a little iffy, but persevere! Its well worth it!); pour over chicken. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Shred chicken with a fork. Stir in sour cream until heated, then serve over rice or tortillas.

I served mine with rice.

It's got this wonderful little zing to it.

10 comments

, by Sandra

Main Dishes

Pasta Sans Fagioli!

Ok so it's true name is Pasta e Faglioli which means Pasta and Beans, but I omitted the beans, the kids don't much care for them.

What I was left with, was a delicious and super simple and quick to prepare Pasta dish. I have to say though, I'm getting burned out on noodles, I think we've had just way too much lately.

Anyway, here's the recipe, enjoy!

PASTA E FAGLIOLI
Credit: Smells Like Home

2 tablespoons EVOO
1 medium onion, diced
4 strips bacon (uncooked and cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups jarred or homemade spaghetti sauce *I only used 1 Jar of spaghetti sauce*
1 (15oz) can cannellini beans (rinsed and drained) *Left out the beans*
2 tablespoons grated pecorino-romano cheese, plus more for garnish *substituted Parmesan cheese for the pecorino-romano*
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper (pinches to taste)
1 lb ditalini pasta or other small tubular pasta (i.e., elbows) *I only used half a pound*

In a deep stockpot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat then saute onions for 3 minutes. Add bacon and a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, occasionally stirring to keep the bacon from burning.

Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Turn heat to medium-low, add sauce, beans, 2 tbsp pecorino-romano cheese, garlic powder, oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Stir to combine well and cook for 15 min. While sauce mixture is cooking, cook pasta until tender and drain well. Add pasta to sauce mixture and combine well.

Turn heat to low and allow pasta and sauce flavors to “mingle” for 5 minutes. Serve with grated cheese and crusty bread, if desired.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

3 comments

, by Sandra

apple

Apple Puff Pancake!

The morning started out with the delicious scents of butter, sugar and cinnamon, as I put together this wonderful breakfast dish from The Farmchicks Cookbook.

Another winner and OH SO YUMMY drizzled with maple syrup.

APPLE PUFF PANCAKE
Credit: The Farmchicks Cookbook

1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
5 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Dash of salt
Maple syrup or confectioner's sugar for serving

Heat the oven to 425 F. Place the buttern, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a 9-inch glass pie plate.

Heat in the oven until the butter is melted and bubbly - 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir well and mix in the apple slices. Return to the oven and bake for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the eggs, milk, flour and salt in a blender or food processor and process until frothy - 1 minute.

Pour over the apple mixture. Bake until the cake is puffed and the center is set - 18 to 20 minutes.

Serve warm with maple syrup or sprinkled with confectioner's sugar.