Follow previous recipe for Chocolate Cherry Chip scones, but instead, add FROZEN Andes mint chunks.

Enjoy!

Also, sun tea.  Easiest thing ever if you have the patience.  Fill large bottle with water, add tea bags.  Sit in sun for 1+ hours, as you see fit.  I like mine very steeped, so i let it sit for like a whole afternoon.  :D  add sweetener if desired, chill, and enjoy!  I plan on adding agave and would have added some lavender if i Had some fresh sprigs.  I made basic black and green teas.

So I am running a scone of the month club.  I have one customer so far, but if you are interested in more information, I will post the prices and menu at the bottom of this recipe.

February needed to be decadent, so I though immediately of chocolate.  Any cherries, because they are richer than just cranberries or strawberries.  And well, what’s a bit more chocolate in chip form?  Thus, we begin…

Adapted from an online recipe, I switched out some things and added my fillings.

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick (8 ounces) unsalted butter
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips..or as much as you want. (i didn;t have chips, so i smashed up a semi-sweet chocolate bar)
• 3/4-1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1C dried cherries
• 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 
  
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with floured baking spray. Mix dry ingredients, minus the confectioners sugar.  Cut in stick of cold butter until it is pea sized.  Add fillings.
• Mix vanilla with buttermilk until just combined. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until the dough just comes together.
• Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead lightly.  Form a disc about 1” high.  Cut into equal wedges(8).  Place evenly spaced on cookie sheet and bake for 20minutes or until done.  Remove from oven, let cool on sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.  When cooled, dust with confectioner’s sugar.  Enjoy!

No picture this time, but the direct quote is “So, chocolate chocolate cherry scones… I feel like there should be some law against putting that in my mouth. SO DELCIOUS. I ♥Victoria. You the bestest.”

X’S AND SCONES!!! Scone of the month club!!

—MENU—

Jan: Cranberry Orange Zest
—-
Feb: Cherry Chocolate Chip
—-
Mar: Mint Chip
—-
Apr: Banana
—-
May: Cranberry Lemon Zest with Honey
—-
Jun: Strawberry Rhubarb
—-
Jul: Pinacolada! (Pineapple & Coconut)
—-
Aug: Fruits of Summer with Keylime
—-
Sep: Apple Cinnamon
—-
Oct: Zucchini
—-
Nov: Pumpkin Spice
—-
Dec: Gingerbread with Sweet Glaze

If you are interested, please comment so we can work out a payment plan for you!

You may purchase by month, 6months, or a year.

Prices are:
$12 for 8 large or 16 small scones
$50 for 6 months
$90 for the yr.

Shipping to out of state will be $7, and I will be doing Priority mail.

my roommate, the one who made the fancy marinara sauce, wanted zuke bread.  i wanted it too, so off i went in search of a fancy-ass recipe for her.  

So, a big thanks to the gluten-free Goddess’s recipe.  It’s delicious, airy, and sweetly decadent.  Here’s a link for you:

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2010/08/zucchini-bread.html

I’ll try to get a pic up of mine. :)  Enjoy!

My friend is allergic to everything.  She cannot have nightshades, tomatoes, potatoes, wheat, dairy, gluten, peppers, and an odd assortment of other things like shellfish, peanuts, coffee, chocolate( WHAT!?!), sunflowers, strawberries, mangoes and grapes.  SO NO WINE!!!! TERRIBLE!

She’s italian.  So that means sauce.  But with no tomatoes, what do you do?  Well, we scoured the internet and came across a recipe that actually totally passes for a ragu.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Tomato-free Marinara Sauce

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/3c EVOO

3T lemon juice

1T balsamic vinegar

1 can beets

1 small can pumpkin puree

1c veg broth

1t salt

1t pepper(OPTIONAL)

3T basil

2t oregano

1 1/2t cornstach if you need to thicken it

reserve beet juice

Sautee onion and garlic in oil until translucent. Add lemon juice and vinegar and simmer for 5 mins. Puree beets, use some but not all of reserve liquid. Add beets, pumpkin and seasonings to pot and stir. Stir in broth and simmer over heat for 5 mins.  If too thick, add more broth, if too thin, add cornstarch.  Adjust to taste for seasonings.  If sauce is too acidic, add a teaspoon of sugar or agave nectar.  

That’s it! and its tasty!

Tonight I had some friends over and made a big dinner.

 I chose this yummy looking recipe I found ages ago, plus one new one that is well, hard to resist.

Honey Lime Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken

1/2c lime juice

1 lime

1/4c honey

2-3T spicy brown or ground mustard

1/4t cumin*

*if you don’t have cumin, poultry seasoning works fine also

Rinse chicken and remove bits.  Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on bottom of glass baking dish.  Place chicken breast sides up, or if it has a poppy timer, with that facing up.  Separate skin from flesh.  In a small bowl, combine lime juice, honey, mustard and spices.  Whisk and baste into chicken, between the skin and meat.  Roll lime to activate juices, and slice in half.  Stick into chicken cavity.  Truss legs together, tying tightly to hold everything in.  If you have a meat thermometer, stick in, in the area between the leg and the breast.  

Bakefor 2.5-3ish hours, basting every half hour.  Remove when meat reaches 180 degrees.  Let stand for about 10mins before slicing and serving.

Enchanted Broccoli Forest

This is taken from the cookbook of the same name, author’s last name is Katzen.

1 bunch of broccoli, cut into spears like little trees

rice pilaf:

3/4 cup orzo

3 cloves garlic, diced

1/2c onion, diced

3c chicken or veggie broth

3T butter

1t olive oil

Melt butter and oil in a deep skillet or pot on med to low heat.  Add orzo and cook til golden, stirring frequently.   Add onion and cook til clear.  Add garlic, cook 1 minute.  Add broth, cooking until liquid has steamed off, stirring now and then.  When rice is cooked and tender, remove and transfer to a serving dish.  Something like a brownie pan works well.  While the pilaf is cooking, steam the broccoli for a few minutes, removing from heat when tender but stiff, and blanching in cold, ice water immediately.  Take the spears and stand them up in the pilaf, making rows like a forest.  It is cute and fun to serve and eat!  Guests will love it!

I recommend making a salad or another side dish.  I also made an orange fruit slaw, but I’ll put up that recipe later. ;)

Being the good italian that I am, I know how to make a good marinara sauce.  I also know how to make a bangin’ lasagna  These are important skills to have for a mafia wife, just in case you need to feed a houseful of men with guns.

Marinara Sauce/Meat Sauce

1+lbs ground beef OPTIONAL

1 pack sweet sausage or spicy or a mixture of both (up to you!) OPTIONAL

1 diced onion

3+ stalks of celery

as many cloves of garlic as you can stand, diced

1 large can of whole tomatoes*

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 large can diced tomatoes

*if you’re lazy like me sometimes, just grab cheap spaghetti sauce from the store, 2 jars, and use that.

Spices: oregano, basil, parsley, salt, pepper

Brown meats if you are using them.  Make sure to remove the sausage from the casings by squeezing it out of one end.  Drain if you like your sauce a bit healthier, otherwise, add in the onion and celery.  Add garlic a bit after, making sure it does not burn!  Add in a handful of each of the spices.  Once onions are clear and celery is tender, add in the tomatoes.  Squeeze the whole tomatoes, one at a time in your hand before dropping in.  Add in the rest of the cans and let simmer at an almost boil for at least an hour.  Add salt/pepper to taste.

Lasagna

1 box noodles

sauce from above

ricotta

2+ eggs

parsley, 2T

parmesean cheese

muzz cheese

Spread a thin layer of sauce along bottom of glass baking pan.  Add one layer of noodles.  In a separate bowl combine ricotta cheese, eggs, and parsley.  Mix well.  Spread thn layer of ricotta mix over top the noodle layer.  Add another layer of sauce, and then add shredded muzz.  Start again, with a noodle layer.  Continue until you have no more noodles and the pan is full.  Make sure to end with a sauce layer, top with muzz and parmesean cheese.  Bake at 350 for at least an hour.  Let stand for about 8-10 mins after done.

Decided to try my hand at penne alla vodka.  Without vodka on hand, I used cooking sherry.  It was sooooo good.  So here’s my recipe.  Of course, make some garlic bread to dip into the creamy goodness. ;)

1 box penne pasta

2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

1C heavy cream

1/2C cooking sherry

1-2T minced garlic, depends how you like it!

1 large can of crushed tomatoes

1 can of whole tomatoes

parmnesean romano cheese, grated

Spices: parsley, basil, minced onion, oregano, about…1T each

Sautee chicken in olive oil until cooked thoroughly in a medium to large pot.  Add in garlic when the chicken is almost done.  At the same time, boil pasta.  Cook until al dente and drain.

When chicken is cooked, add in can of whole tomatoes, taking each one and squishing it in your hand until it falls apart.  Toss into the pot.  Add in can of crushed tomatoes and sherry.  Stir together.  Add in cream and stir.  Heat until boiling and then reduce heat to a high simmer.  Let cream thicken as it cooks.  When pasta is cooked, add into pot of sauce and stir, folding the noodles into the sauce.  When pasta is coated, heat for another 5 minutes and then turn off heat.  Serve with crispy garlicky bread and die of happiness and a full tummy.

So you’ve got a carcass lying around from the thanksgiving dinner massacre.  So, you better boil that thing down into quality stock/broth before it decides to reanimate itself into a turkey zombie and come after you for revenge!  Here’s an easy way to do that, plus make soup!

1 turkey carcass, meat picked clean

1 small onion or half med onion, sliced into wedges

2 stalks of celery, sliced into big pieces

half bag of baby carrots or 2 carrots, sliced into big pieces

2-3 bay leaves(depending on size of bird/amount of water in pot)

water

Break up carcass if needed to fit more easily into a large stock pot.  Add veggies and then cover with water.  Bring to a boil and them reduce to a simmer for aobut 3-4 hours.  When complete, strain through a fine mesh strainer into heat safe containers or straight into another pot for soup.

If not using immediately, let cool slightly and then store in fridge or freezer to later use.  If using right away to make soup, read on!

Turkey Soup!

4c turkey broth/stock

1 1/2c turkey meat shredded into bite-sized pieces

2+ carrots chopped into small slices

3+ stalks of celery chopped into small pieces

1 sweet potato peeled and chopped into small pieces

1 small onion or half medium onion(yellow or sweet)

1T minced garlic

1/2c diced tomato, or about 3-4 whole tomatoes(canned) squished and broken apart into pieces

*feel free to add other veggies you might have left over from the big dinner, like corn or green beans or peas! )

a bit of chicken stock

rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, basil, dash of oregano, salt and pepper to taste\

noodles of any kind you like(optional)

Add veggies to pot and cover with fresh broth.  Add chicken stock and herbs.  Bring to a boil and cook until tender.  Add noodles about halfway through, to boil and cook with the rest of the ingredients.  Add meat when veggies are tender and heat through.  Reduce to a simmer for about 15-20mins. Enjoy!  This will yield about 4 servings.  Serve with crusty bread or leftover dinner rolls from your t-giving dinner! 

So, this is by far, my favorite cookie.  And well, it’s a lot of other people’s favorite too!

This is my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, and so versatile.  You can easily add other ingredients like raisins, chocolate chips, cherries, cranberries, etc.

I have a roomie who can’t eat a lot of things/vegan, and I’ll post up her oatmeal cookie recipe too, for those of you who can’t enjoy these!  Her’s are also fabulous, just different!

Vanishing Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/4C brown sugar

1 C margarine(2 sticks)

1/2 C sugar

2 eggs

1t cinnamon

1t vanilla extract

3 C oatmeal

1 1/2 C flour

1/2t salt

1t baking soda

1C of desired filling(optional)

chocolate chips

raisins, cranberries, cherries, other fruits

nuts

Cream sugars with butter. Add in eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, flour, salt, and b. soda.  Slowly add oatmeal, cup by cup.  Sitr in desired filling.  Drop onto cookie sheets, about 2” apart and bake at 350 for about 10-12 mins.  Let cool on sheet 5mins then transfer to a cooling rack!

I will try to get a photo up later today!