Lemon Scones

O my heavens...these were delish. More than delish...delicious! My hubbs and I took a trip to Arizona a couple of weeks ago over his spring break. We were trying to escape the snow/no-sun in about 4 months in Nebraska, and it worked! While we were there, I had a Cherry-almond scone that I about died for! It was absolutely amazing. Upon returning, I knew that I could find a great recipe for a yummy scone on a food blog, and boy did I! Baking Bites blog sure pulled through on this one...

Lemon Scones

Printable Version

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar plus 1/8 cup sugar (plus 4 Tbs. for glaze)

1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into 10-12 small pieces

8-10 Tbs. fresh lemon juice (plus 2 Tbs. for glaze)

1-2 tsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add butter and toss to coat. Using your finger tips, rub the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles very coarse sand. A few large bits are ok, but most should be smaller than a pea. (Instead of doing this, you may choose to use a food processor or pastry blender to mix in your butter.) Add 5-6 tablespoons of lemon juice and zest and stir dought with a fork. Add remaining juice until dough comes together into a not-too-moist ball. Divide dough in to two balls and flatten onto baking sheet to for discs about 1-inch thick.

Divide each disc into quarters and separate slightly. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until scones are a light golden color. A toothpick should come out clean, but color is a reliable indicator for these.

For the “glaze”: Mix together a four tablespoonfuls of white sugar with two tablespoons of lemon juice to make a paste. Drizzle on scones when hot out of the oven. Let scones cool before eating.

Recipe adapted from Baking Bites

Makes 8 scones

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Yep! It is grill season, and we are so excited. My hubby is totally getting into it this year; we just bought him some new spices and an official "manly" meat tenderizer! I can't wait to see what he comes up with. This one was our first shot at the grill this year, besides some burgers, and it turned out great! Everyone that came over was saying how great it was...good job HUBBS! Keep it coming!

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

Printable Version

1 lb. pork tenderloin

zest from 1 lime

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup honey

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 chipotle chile is adobo sauce

1 Tbs. adobo sauce

1 tsp. vegetable oil

1 Tbs. fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Trim the pork tenderloin of any excess fat and silver skin.

Place the lime zest, lime juice, honey, salt, and garlic powder in a 1-gallon resealable bag. Add the chipotle pepper and adobo sauce and move around to combine. Add the pork tenderloin to the bag and seal, removing as much air as possible and place in a container to catch any leaks. Marinate in the refrigerator for 6 to 24 hours, rotating the bag halfway through the time.

Remove the tenderloin from the bag and allow to sit at room temperature while preparing the grill.

Brush the grill with vegetable oil. Remove the tenderloin from the bag and place in the center of grate. Discard bag with marinade. Cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, turning every 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until the tenderloin reaches an internal temperature of 150-155 degrees F.

Remove to a cutting board and slice. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Serves 4

Recipe from: Alton Brown

Fried Scones

You can do so many things with fried scones...and they are all soooo delish! We always ate these in our home growing up. I would want to skip the "meal" part and go straight to the dessert, but my mom found some great ways to make the "meal" seem more appealing! Our favorite versions of scones are Pizza, Indian Tacos, Sloppy Joes, and Dessert.

Fried Scones

Printable Version

12 rhodes frozen rolls, thawed

6 cups vegetable oil

Toppings for Pizza:

alfredo or tomato sauce

cheese

pepperoni

canadian bacon

bacon

shredded chicken

Toppings for Indian Tacos:

taco meat

cheese

taco sauce

lettuce

tomato

Toppings for Sloppy Joes:

Sloppy joe meat and sauce, THIS is a great recipe

Toppings for Dessert:

Butter

Honey

Cinnamon and Sugar

Powdered Sugar

Flatten each of the 12 rolls into a 1/4" thick circle, trying your best to have them even thickness all of the way through.

In a large saute pan or deep fryer, heat the 6 cups of oil to 360 degrees F. (I am not big into having the perfect temperature. What I do to test my oil is take a tiny piece of store-bought bread and drop it into the oil. If the bread absorbs the oil, it is not hot enough. It should sizzle and brown quickly if it is the perfect temperature.)

Slip the rounds one at a time into the hot oil, being careful not to splatter yourself. Cook for about 1 minute on each side, or until a golden brown, then turn and finish cooking. Drain on paper towels and repeat with remaining dough.

Add toppings to fry bread and enjoy! If making pizza, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add toppings and bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Makes 12 Scones.

Skillet BBQ Chicken Pasta

Yummy, easy, yummy, enough said. Seriously, I loved this skillet dinner! Okay, so I usually love skillet dinners before I even make them, simply because of the connotation of the name: skillet. Not 8 bowls, 3 stirring utensils, 4 measuring cups, and a strainer. Skillet, as in, ONE dish to clean, ONE! WOo-hoO! However, the delish flavor of this meal made me like it for the entire 5 minutes it took me to devour my serving(s)!

Skillet BBQ Chicken Pasta

Printable Version

1 Tbs. EVOO

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1/2 red onion, pureed

2 cups water

2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp. salt

12 oz. whole wheat penne pasta

2/3 cup honey BBQ sauce

1/3 cup sour cream

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded medium cheddar cheese

In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat (you could also use a large pot if you don't have a skillet this big). When hot, add the chicken and onions and saute, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken and onions to a plate and set aside.

In the same skillet, add the water, chicken broth, penne and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the liquid is almost absorbed, the pasta is tender and the mixture is slightly thickened. Stir in the barbecue sauce and sour cream. Once mixed, add in chicken, onions and shredded cheese. Stir to combine and cook until everything is heated through.

Serves 4.

Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Cafe

Chocolate Tarts with Orange Mousse

These little gems are beautiful to the eye, and decadent to the taste buds! Not to mention the snap together time that they take! (About 10 minutes total!) Everyone at my Christmas party (yes, I am posting this 3 months later...) was loving the perfect mixture of dark chocolate with the slight orange creme pop at the end. (The orange 'pop' could be changed to vanilla, peppermint, almond, raspberry...) These little morsels are sure to impress!

Chocolate Tarts with Orange Mousse

Printable Version

2 pkg. (15 shells each) frozen mini phyllo shells

1/3 cup plus 3/4 cup heavy cream

4 oz. semi sweet baking chocolate, cut into chunks

2 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 Tbs. sugar, divided

1/2 tsp. orange extract (or your choice of flavor)

Prepare phyllo shells are directed on package for crisp, unfilled tarts. Cool completely.

Microwave 1/3 cup of the cream and the chocolate in a bowl on high for 1 minute, stirring after 3o seconds. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 minutes or until chocolate ganache starts to thicken. Spoon a heaping teaspoon ganache in to each shell. Cool completely.

Beat cream cheese and 2 Tbs. of sugar in large bowl until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat remaining 3/4 cream, remaining 2 Tbs. sugar and extract with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form, this can take 3-4 minutes. Add 1/2 of the whipped cream mixture to the cream cheese mixture; stir until well blended. Gently stir in the remaining whipped cream to create your orange mousse.

Spoon about 1 Tbs. orange mousse into each tart. Garnish with chocolate shavings, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Recipe from Food Magazine

Makes 30 tarts

Beef Pot Roast

I HATE ROAST. Okay, I USED TO hate roast. A couple of weeks ago my neighbor invited us over for dinner, and told me that she was going to be serving roast. We are pretty good friends, so I told her that I wasn't a big fan of it. She GUARENTEED me that I would like HER roast, so I agreed that we would come over. I am so glad that we did! I am no longer anti-roast! Okay, I am no longer anti-roast if she or I make it. I still am very leary of anyone else's roast. I have never made a roast before and I will tell you, this is fail proof...and delicious!

Beef Pot Roast

Printable Version

3 pound chuck roast, thawed (I used arm roast)

1 package dry ranch seasoning

1 package brown gravy mix

1 package italian seasoning

3/4 cup water (if using a frozen roast, only use 1/2 cup water)

Combine all 3 packages of dry seasoning and cover all sides of roast with mixture. Place in a slow cooker and pour water over the top. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours.

Serves 4-6.

Recipe from Jaime.

Carrot-Pineapple Cake

I have posted this recipe before, but the picture was soooo terrible and it was such a long time ago that I decided it needed to re-appear on the blog! It is a dessert that when you eat it you KIND of feel healthy...okay, not really. The fact that there are carrots and pineapple in it does help, however! It is completely homemade, so I feel like a really awesome wife, too!

Carrot-Pineapple Cake

Printable Version

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup finely shredded carrot

1 cup crushed pineapple(with syrup)

1 tsp. vanilla

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. Add vegetable oil, eggs, carrot, pineapple, and vanilla. Mix all ingredients together until moistened. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed on electric mixer. Bake in greased and lightly floured 13 x 9 inch pan in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool then top with frosting.

The BEST Cream Cheese frosting:

6 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

8 Tb. Butter (room temperature)

2 tsp. vanilla

dash salt

4 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese together, then beat in vanilla and salt. Gradually add powdered sugar. Top cake with frosting and then 1 cup chopped pecans, if desired

Recipe From Sister Eads