Apple Scones

I am the type of person that can get out of bed and eat breakfast. In fact there are many mornings my first thought of the day is ... I am hungry. During the week when I have to rush off to work I like to keep it simple; cereal and maybe toast and juice, but on the weekends I like to change it up a bit.

This past weekend was one of those weekends that I had a craving for some delicious scones. I love scones, but I don't make them too often (not sure why not, they are not too hard to make). I couldn't decide what type of scones to make. When I noticed a couple of apples in the refrigerate that were going bad, my decision was made.

I didn't have any recipes on hand for apple scones, so I took a couple of recipes that I have used before and modified them to come with this recipe for apple scones. I used a cup of finely chopped apples, which made the scones a little moister than the ones that I have made it the past. One thing I will change the next time I make these scones is I will add a little cinnamon to them, but overall I think they were a success.

My family gobbled them up. We were going to visit my mom that evening so I saved one to give to her. She had never eaten a scone before so she decided to cut a little piece off and sample it; she was going to save the rest for her breakfast the next morning. But once she took her first bite, she liked it so much she ended up eating the whole scone.

Apples Scones (recipe by Dawn)
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter
1slightly beaten egg
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 cup of finely chopped apple

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Combined the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and blend butter with a pastry blender or by hand so that the mixture is crumbly. Mix together the egg, milk, and sour cream; pour liquid mixture along with the chopped apples into your dry ingredients and stir until well blended.
On a lightly floured surface knead dough just enough to make a smooth dough (make sure not to over knead). Divide dough into two balls and pat into about six inch circles. With a knife (I used a pizza cutter) cut into four  wedges. Place each wedge onto a ungreased cookie sheet, making sure that the wedges are not touching.
Place in preheated oven and bake 12 to 15 minutes, just until scones are turning a light brown.While the scones are baking prepare glaze (directions follow). Once out of the oven place scones on cooling racks for about 5 minutes. Drizzle glaze over scones and let dry. Enjoy!!

Glaze:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons light cream
Add all ingredients to small sauce pan, over medium heat bring to boil. Turn heat down and boil for about 30 seconds, remove from heat and cool slightly. Add enough powder sugar (about 1/3 cup) to make a glaze.

View Printable Recipe

Oriental Chicken Noodle Soup

This past Sunday I was back in the kitchen making a large kettle of soup. The past couple of weeks I have made soups that were a bit on the spicier side. This week I decided to go for one that was more on the mild side. One that I would consider more of a comfort food type. One that warms you up and leaves you feeling satisfied... I think you get the idea by now.

I love chicken noodle soup and when I found this recipe for Oriental chicken noodle soup I thought it would be interesting to see if this soup would be as good as the one that I normally make. My family enjoyed the soup, but I think that the one that I usually make tops this one in the flavor category. One thing that I did enjoy about this soup was the pea pods that are used in the soup. I loved the flavor and the crispness of  them.

Over all this was a good soup. It was easy to make and I loved the vegetables along with the noodles. I decided to make my own homemade noodles, because I love homemade egg noodles, but you can buy egg noodles, they would be lovely in this soup as well. So if you are looking for a soup that will warm your inner self and is very comforting, I hope you try this soup.

Oriental Chicken Noodle Soup (Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens  soup & stew Cooking For Today)
2-14 1/2 ounce can chicken broth
1 cup of water
1 medium green pepper, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup fine egg noodles
1 medium chopped onion
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated ginger-root (I did not have ginger-root so I substituted ground ginger about 1/2 teaspoon)
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup chopped cooked chicken
1 cup fresh pea pods, halved crosswise, or 1/2 of a 6 ounce package frozen pea pods, thawed and halved crosswise

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven combine chicken broth, water, green pepper, carrot, egg noodles, onion, soy sauce, ginger-root, and crushed red pepper. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 4 to 6 minutes or till vegetables are crisp-tender and noodles are tender.
Stir in chicken and pea pods. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 to 2 minutes more or till pea pods are crisp-tender. Makes 3 to 4 servings.
(I doubled the recipe)

View Printable Recipe

Hasselback Potatoes

We love potatoes in our house. It doesn't matter if they are mashed, French fried or any other kind. We have them on a regular bases. When I saw the recipe for hasselback potatoes that Mary at Barefeet In The Kitchen had posted, I knew that it would be a recipe that I would have to try. I had never heard of this type of potato before and thought it was quite interesting.

The other night I decided to make a simple meatloaf for dinner. Mike loves meatloaf and his favorite side dish for meatloaf is (you got it) baked potato. It was a great opportunity to try this new discovery. It was a hit with both Mike and myself, we both love them. I sprinkled mine with about a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese when the potato had 5 minutes to bake and added a little sour cream once they were baked, where Mike went without the cheese and sour cream on his. This is one bake potato that we will be making over and over again in the future.

I have to include the tip that Mary had in her post for cutting these potatoes, it made it super easy. Place a chop stick on both sides of the potato and make your slices in the potato. The chop stick will prevent you from cutting all the way through the potato creating your hasselback potato.

These potatoes are quick and easy to prepare. Thanks Mary for sharing this recipe. Make sure that you visit Mary's site Barefeet In The Kitchen, she always has amazing recipes and wonderful pictures.

Hassleback Potatoes (Adapted from Barefeet In The Kitchen)
Simply wash the amount of potatoes that you would like to serve. Cut slices using chop sticks on both sides of the potato to prevent from cutting all the way through. Set potatoes on baking dish.  Drizzle with olive oil  (about 1/2 tablespoon per potato, it will also depend on the size of the potato) making sure you get between the slices. Sprinkle with course sea salt to taste.

In a preheated 400 degrees F oven bake until potatoes are tender about 50 to 60 minutes. I sprinkled about a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese the last 5 minutes of baking time Top with your favorite potato toppings. The possibilities are endless.

View Printable Recipe

Mexican Chicken-Tortilla Soup

You sure can tell that it is winter in my neck of the woods. I have been making a kettle of soup every weekend. I like to take soup for my lunch at work. I think it's a healthier meal and it warms me up on these cold cold winter days. I started doing this last winter, but usually I bounced between a few different soups recipes.

This year thanks to my blog I have been stepping out of my box and trying a new soup recipe almost every week. What an experience! This week was Mexican Chicken-Tortilla Soup; the recipe was from the library book that I spoke about a couple of posts ago - Better Homes and Gardens soups & stews Cooking for Today. I made a quite a few changes to the soup recipe and I think my version of the soup was fantastic.

This soup is not overly spicy, but it has just the right amount of spiciness for a delicious bowl of soup. I love bell peppers in a Mexican soup, but the only peppers in the recipe was a small can of chili peppers. I added some green and red peppers for a little more flavor. Also the recipe called for a tomato sauce, which didn't sound too good to me so I substituted salsa for the sauce; which I think was a better choice. One thing that I wish I wouldn't have changed was we used flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas. I think the corn tortillas would have been the better choice.

So if you are looking a tortilla soup that isn't too spicy, but full of flavor, I hope that you will try this one. It's great to warm up with a bowl of your favorite soup. I already have a soup recipe in mind for this coming weekend so I hope you check back next week and see what kind of soup is cooking.

Mexican Chicken - Tortilla Soup (Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens soups & stews Cooking For Today)

48 ounces chicken broth (6 cups)
3 large cooked chicken breast
1 large chopped onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 clove garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper chopped
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1-14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1-7 ounce can chopped green chilis
1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro or parsley (I used dried parsley)
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
6 - 51/2 inch corn tortillas
Cooking oil
1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

In a Dutch oven heat up 3 tablespoons of olive oil. To the olive oil add the onion, cumin, green and red pepper cumin and garlic, cook until onions are tender not brown. Stir in the broth, undrained tomatoes, salsa, green chilis, parsley, and oregano. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 30 minutes. Stir in chicken; heat through.
Meanwhile preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Brush or spray tortillas with some kind of cooking oil (one of your choice). Bake in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes and cut the tortillas in half, then cut crosswise into about 1/2 inch strips. Return to oven and bake about 2 to 3 more minutes until the tortillas are crisp.

Serve soup with the tortillas strips and shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese or if you prefer to eat without cheese that is good also.

Note: The recipe that I posted was double the amount of the original recipe. So if you don't want that much soup you can cut in half. (The only thing I did not double was the can of diced tomatoes, so if cutting in half I would recommend using the same amount.)

View Printable Recipe

Chocolate Mousse Pie

I have a wonderful cookbook called Mrs. Fields I Love Chocolate Cookbook. I received it for a Christmas gift from my sister Lauri several years ago.  Every recipe in this cookbook has something to do with chocolate. I guess you could say that it is my kind of cookbook, being the chocolate lover that I am.

The recipe that I am posting about now is actually a tart in the cookbook, but since I don't have a tart pan I make it in a pie dish. It may not be quite as elegant as a tart, but I am sure it tastes just as good made into a pie.

I love to make this pie when company is coming and most of our kids were home this weekend so it was a good excuse to make it. If I made it when Mike and I were just at home I could see me eating the majority of the pie, because I love it so much and that would not be a good thing.

I like to change it up when I make it. Sometimes I make it with milk chocolate to give it a milder taste of chocolate and sometimes I make it with semisweet chocolate to give it more chocolaty. I have not tried this but if you took mint chocolate chips and added it to this pie, I think it would be amazing.

 Oh and I did not use the crust that is listed with this recipe. I like to use an easy one that I have. The pie crust that I use is one that you don't have to roll out, you mix in the pie plate and pat it out; so easy! So if you are looking for a tart/pie that is light and easy to make I would recommend this pie.

Chocolate Mousse Pie (Adapted from Mrs. Fields I Love Chocolate Cookbook)

Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
3 tablespoons milk

Mix all ingredients in a pie pan until well blended. Pat dough out on bottom and sides of pan. Bake at 400 degree F for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely before adding filling.

Filling:
9 ounces finely chopped semisweet chocolate (I use chocolate chips, much easier than chopping chocolate)
2 cups of heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup of the cream to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 6 ounces (3/4 cup) of the finely chopped chocolate (or chocolate chips). Cover and set aside for 5 minutes, then stir the mixture until smooth.
 In a large bowl, whip the remaining 1 1/2 cups cream with the confectioners' sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Gently add the chocolate mixture and fold it into the whipped cream. Fold in the remaining 3 ounces of chopped chocolate (just over 1/3 cup). Spread the mousse into the cooled pie shell. Top with additional whipped cream and chocolate scrolls if desired.

Note: For the chopped chocolate that is added to the filling, if I am using regular size chocolate chips I chop them up some, but if you don't want to have to chop chocolate you can use mini chocolate chips, they work very well. Also I think that if you want a hint of mint in your pie you could use mint chocolate chips.

View Printable Recipe

Classic Chicken-Sausage Gumbo

I was looking for a new soup recipe this last weekend. We just so happened to be driving by the public library when Mike asked me if I would like to stop in and pick up a book. I said yes! It gave the opportunity to go and look for a cookbook for a new soup recipe. The people that read my blog often know that I like to visit the public library on a frequent basis. My daughter Lisa has a kindle and she loves it: I am not sure that I would enjoy a kindle as much as she does. To me there is something about reading an actual book, especially a cookbook. I love paging through a cookbook and looking at all the different recipes. It just wouldn't be the same looking at a screen and never having to turn a page.

Well enough about that. I found a small cookbook that featured just soups. It is called Better Homes and Gardens soups & stews Cooking For Today. I looked at the copyright and it is from 1993, so not the newest cookbook. But it has some great recipes. As I was looking at the book, Mike was looking over my shoulder also looking at soup recipes.  When I came across this chicken - sausage gumbo, he stopped me and said that would be a great soup to post on my blog. I agreed with him.

The soup was a quick and easy one to put together. I used andouille sausage so the soup was spicy and full of flavor. If you don't like this spicy sausage it can be substituted with a smoked sausage. We gobbled this soup up and just loved it. So if you are looking for a spicy soup to make your taste buds dance, I would suggest this gumbo.

Classic Chicken-Sausage adapted from Gumbo Better Homes and Gardens soup & stews Cooking For Today

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
3 cups chicken broth, heated
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
8 ounces andouille sausage or fully cooked smoked sausage
1 1/2 cups sliced okra or one 10 ounce package frozen cut okra
2 bay leaves
3 cups hot cooked rice.

For roux, in a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven combine flour and oil, stir till smooth. Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir about 15 minutes or till roux is dark reddish brown.

Stir in onion, celery, green pepper, garlic, black pepper, and ground red pepper. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes or till vegetables are just crisp-tender, stirring often.

Gradually stir in hot chicken broth, chicken or turkey, sausage, okra, and bay leaves. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or till okra is tender. Discard bay leaves. Serve in bowls with rice.

Note: If desired, serve with 1/4 to 1/2 teasoon of

View Printable Recipe

Turkey Style Gyro Sandwiches with Tzakziki Sauce

I love gyros, they are one of my favorite foods. I remember the first time I had a gyro was at a city festival where food vendors were selling their foods. Mike and I had never had a gyro before and not sure if we had even heard of this type of sandwich before. But we decided to try them and we both fell in love with the gyro.

Once in a while we will buy a gyro kit and have our gyro that way. The kits aren't too bad and the gyros that they produce are quite tasty. But since I made pita bread, which I posted in my last post I thought I would try to make my own gyro. I could not find any lamb in the grocery store so I settled for ground turkey.

I had looked at different recipes to find out what would be the best spices and herbs to add to the meat and I finally decided that Rosemary was the way to go plus some salt and pepper. Also I want to have the Tzatziki sauce with this. I think that this sauce is what brings a gyro all together.

So I hope you will try this gyro, I am sure it is not the traditional way of making it, but the flavors were delicious. Plus it was easy and fast. You can make your own pita or you can buy them either way it will work.

Turkey Style Gyro Sandwiches with Tzakziki Sauce

Turkey Filling For Gyro

1 lb of ground turkey
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet put in ground turkey, minced garlic, and rosemary. Brown the turkey until well done.

As the meat cooks make Tzatziki sauce for your gyros

Tzatziki (Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary)
Makes 2 cups
A cool companion for fried food and a fine dip on its own.
Stir together:
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped dill
1 tablespoon chopped mint
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt

Note: I used dill weed, since I did not have dill on hand. I did not have fresh mint on hand, so I found on the Internet that you could use mint extract as a substitute. I used a 1/4 teaspoon in place of the fresh mint.

View Printable Recipe

Pita Bread

I got a new cookbook for Christmas from my daughter Krista. It is the Joy of Cooking cookbook. I had checked it out of our public library and Krista knew that I had enjoyed reading the recipes, so she decided to buy it for me. I thought that was very thoughtful of her.

This cookbook is chockfull of wonderful recipes and I am excited to post my first recipe that I tried from it. As anyone that follows my blog knows how much I like to make homemade bread. I found a recipe for pita bread in the cookbook and I knew that I had to try it.

I never thought that you could make your own pita bread. This may sound silly to some people, but something I have wondered about when it comes to pita bread was; what makes the pocket in the bread. I found out that it is baked at a high heat on an inverted baking pan or a pizza stone. Also the pan is heated and that the pan is sprayed with a mist of water before you put the bread on it. The bread is baked at a high heat and as it bakes the bread it is supposed to puff out into a balloon shape, this is how it separates. I am not sure what makes it puff out into a balloon shape, it probably is the combination of things. So that is how pita bread get its pocket.

I am not sure if mine turned out quite the way it was supposed to, but it was flavorful and it had the texture of the bread that you would purchase in the store. The problem that I had with my bread is that it didn't balloon too much so it didn't separate all the way; we had to cut it to make part of the pocket.

I served this bread with ground turkey and few other items. The ground turkey combination was my take on a gyro sandwich. I will share that on my next blog post. Over all the bread was fun to make and I guess I would call it a learning experience.

Pita Bread (Joy Of Cooking 75th Anniversary)
Ingredients:
3 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 packages (1 1/2 tablespoons) active dry yeast
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/4 cups room-temperature (72 to 75 degrees F) water
Combine the above ingredients in a large bowl or the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Mix by hand or on low speed for about 1 minute. Knead for about 10 minutes by hand or with the dough hook on low to medium speed until the dough is smooth, soft, and elastic. Add flour or water as needed; the dough should be slightly tacky but not sticky. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn it once to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Set a rack in the lower level of the oven and place a pizza or baking stone on the rack. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F for 45 minutes, (If you do not have a pizza or baking stone, preheat the oven, place and inverted baking sheet on the rack, and heat the baking sheet for 5 minutes.)
Meanwhile, punch down the dough. Divide equally into 8 pieces, and roll the pieces into balls. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
On a slightly floured surface, roll out each ball of dough into a thin round, about 8 inches in diameter and 1/8 inch thick. Spray the stone or baking sheet with a mist of water, wait 30 seconds, and then place as many dough rounds as will fit without touching each other directly on the hot surface. Bake until the dough rounds puff into balloons, about 3 minutes, then bake 30 seconds longer and immediately remove the breads to a rack to cool. If you leave the breads in the oven too long, they will become dry and will not deflate to flat disks. Bake the remaining rounds.

View Printable Recipe

Shrimp Dip

I can't believe the holidays have come and gone. Can you believe it is already 2012? It is so true the older you get the time just keeps going faster and faster. Even though the holidays are gone I could not resist posting one last recipe from the holidays. This is a recipe that I use every Christmas and sometimes for birthday parties or whenever I am serving a larger crowd. My sister gave me this recipe years ago and I am not sure where she found it.

This shrimp dip is super easy and super fast to make. Plus everybody gobbles it up; it is one of my families favorite dips. Even those that don't eat shrimp normally like this dip. The combination of the cream cheese, shrimp and the cocktail sauce makes this a tasty dip. I like to serve it on crackers, but you can serve it on whatever you like. You will have a hard time to stop eating it.

So the next time you are having a get together, party or whatever occasion it is I hope that you will give this recipe a try. It won't take too long to prepare and your guest and family will love it.

Shrimp Dip
2 - 8 ounce packages of cream cheese
4 teaspoons of finely chopped onion
4 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 to 2 cups of chopped cooked shrimp (you can add more or less depending on taste)
Cocktail sauce.

In a large bowl beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until creamy and fluffy. Add onion and Worcestershire sauce beat until well blended. Fold in the chopped shrimp until mixed well. Spread on platter or large plate. Top with cocktail sauce and serve with crackers. Enjoy!

View Printable Recipe