Scones

I call these "any ingredient" scones because I have made many different varieties using this as a base recipe with good results every time.

Preheat your oven or toaster oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2 cups plus 1 Tablespoon flour
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup of your ingredient - I used chocolate chips
1 Tablespoon flour
6 Tablespoons butter
1 cup half and half or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a bowl, mix the first 4 ingredients, no sifting required.

Place your ingredient into a bowl and add 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour and mix.  Place in the freezer until needed.  Here I used chocolate chips.  Frozen fruit works beautifully.  I have also used pecans and cubes of cheese.  The cheese scones are out of the world!

To your dry mix, add 6 Tablespoons cold butter cut into chunks.  Using a pastry cutter or a fork cut the butter into the flour until the butter pieces are incorporated and are small.

Measure out 1 cup of half and half and add 1 teaspoon vanilla.
You can use regular milk, but will have to use less than a cup or your mix will be too wet.
Add the half and half/vanilla to the flour mix and stir until barely incorporated.  Add your ingredient, stir to mix and turn out onto a large piece of floured waxed paper.  Using the was paper to help you, fold the mixture onto it self three or four times then pat it into a circle.

Cut with a pizza cutter or knife.  Place onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and top each piece with a small square of butter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until golden.  You can also bake them in a toaster over but the cooking time may be less, you will need to keep an eye on them.

Frito Corn Salad

1 can whole kernal corn, drained

2 jalapenos, fresh or canned, chopped

1/2 red or white onion, chopped

1/2 bell pepper any color will do, chopped

1 bag of your favorite shredded cheese

1 to 1.5 cups mayo

1/2 to 1 bag of Chili Cheese Fritos

Mix well and serve.  If you are making it for later or the next day, do not add the Fritos until right before serving or they will become soggy.  This is a staple at our family cookouts!  Super easy and delicious. Enjoy.

Golden Salad Dressing

Golden Salad Dressing
Adapted from Nigella Lawson's dressing of the same name.  While her dressing is good, I find it to be too sweet for me so I tweaked it a bit to suit my taste.

In a 1/2 pint jar add:
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1 Tablespoon honey
The juice and zest of 1/2 a lemon, tangerine or orange.
Salt to taste, a good pinch
1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Put the lid on the jar and shake well until blended.  What you have is a fantastic dressing for a fancy salad or just lettuce alone.  So good you could drink it!  I used an orange or tangerine that looks more like a blood orange that I bought at Wal-Mart.  I can't remember what the label said they were but it said they were supposed to have the hint of raspberry with a blushed skin.  Whatever they are, they are really good but not neccessary for this recipe.  It works equally well with a lemon, tangerine or orange. 

After a good mix:

On top of my salad.  Romaine lettuce with orange wedges.

Homemade Fajita Seasoning

Stop buying those expensive packages of fajita seasoning and make your own!  Most people have all of the following spices in their cabinets already so put them to use.

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar

Mix together and rub on your meat.  Let meat marinate for at least an hour before cooking.  I have used this with beef and pork with great results and to make it even better I place the meat (beef or pork roast or skirt steak, whatever I'm using) in a ziplock bag.  Pour mixed seasoning over meat and add 1/2 to 2/3 cup Italian dressing, seal the bag and move the meat around to get good coverage.  Place in the fridge overnight or at least a few hours.  Remove from bag and place in crockpot on high until it is done, this will depend on the size of roast you are using.  To shorten the crockpot cook time you can cube the roast first.  Meat should pull apart easily when done.  If you are using steak you can grill or pan saute.  The Italian dressing really helps breakdown the meat making it super tender.  I haven't tried it with chicken yet, but its sure to be good!

Crockpot Marinara Sauce

Crockpot Marinara Sauce

This is an adapted recipe from Giada De Laurentis' "Everyday Italian" cookbook.

2 to 3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
2 (32 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves

In a small pot or skillet, heat oil and add the onions, garlic, celery, carrots, salt and pepper and saute until translucent.  Plug in your crockpot and turn on high.  Add the canned crushed tomatoes to the crockpot along with the bay leaves.  When your veg is translucent add to crockpot.  At this point I also add more salt and pepper.  Stir to mix well, cover and let cook on high 1 to 2 hours.  I usually stir mine once or twice during the cooking time.  Remove bay leaves when done. Freezes wonderfully!

Freezing Celery!  I generally hate celery so when I buy it for this recipe I have a lot leftover, but I have found that celery freezes very well.  Wash and finely chop, lay on a baking sheet and place in the freezer.  Wait about 15 minutes, then move the celery around on the baking sheet with a spoon or spatula.  Freeze for 20 minutes more then place in a freezer safe container.

Hummingbird Bundt Cake

Hummingbird Bundt Cake - last slice pictured above!
Cake:

• 1 - package yellow or white cake mix
• 1 cup crushed pineappel with the juice
• 1 cup mashed banana 
• 1/2 cup water 
• 1/2 cup oil 
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped pecans - toasted or not

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your bundt pan, you could do two layers if you don't have a bundt pan.

On medium speed, mix the cake mix, pinapple, bananas, water, oil, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon for 2 minutes. By hand, stir in the pecans. The batter will be thick. Pour into your bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour unitl golden and it will spring back when you touch it. Remove from oven and cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Invert cake from pan and cool completely before frosting.

 Frosting:

• 1 - 8 ounce package of creame cheese, room temp.
• 1 stick of butter, room temp.
• 3 3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 to 1 cup pecans, whole or chopped

Mix the cream cheese and butter on low/med until well blended. Begin adding the powdered sugar gradually until all is added. Add vanilla and mix on med/hi for about a minute. Frost cooled cake and top with whole or chopped pecans.

Yogurt Marinated Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt, I used Greek, but you can use regular even fat-free
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Juice of one lemon (you can also use lime)
• Zest of one lemon (optional)
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 to 6 bonless chicken breasts (I used tenders)

In a ziploc bag, combine the first 9 ingredients. Add the chicken to the bag, seal and move the bag around to make sure all of the chicken is covered well. Let marinate in the fridge for 8 hours or overnight. Broil, rotisserie or grill till done.

This marinade make the chicken very moist and tender. I always marinate it overnight for best results. Good hot and cold.