Cream Scones

This recipe was originally a Paula Deen recipe (can you tell I like to tweak other people's recipes?). I didn't do much to this one though as it's pretty good as is. I did add more cream and a little lemon zest. If you want a good, moist scone to go with your morning coffee, give these a try.

2 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
2 t. Baking Powder
Zest of 1/2 small Lemon
1/2 t. Fine Sea Salt
1 stick Unsalted Butter
3 oz. Creme Cheese
2/3 cup Heavy cream, plus 1 T. for brushing
1 t. Turbinado Sugar or Sugar Crystals

1. Preheat the oven to 375 (300 for a convection oven). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest.
3. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter and cream cheese until the mixture is crumbly. Add the heavy cream, stirring just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat the dough to 1-inch thickness.
5. Cut the scones using a 2 1/2" round cookie or biscuit cutter.
6. Place scones on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops with the remaining tablespoon cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar or crystals. Bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes (14 in a convection oven).

Triple Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I found the original version of this recipe on "Brown-Eyed Baker". It's another foodie blog and the woman is a genius. I tweaked this recipe a little and made it my own. It is pretty yummy if I do say so myself. I added more vanilla, switched the chips around, added some cinnamon, and changed the flour. I hope you like it! :-)

1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
1 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Baking Soda
1/4 t. Fine Sea Salt
1 t. Ground Cinnamon
3 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened
1 1/4 cups Granulated Sugar
1 1/4 cups Light Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
4 t. Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Rolled Oats
1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips
1/2 cup Peanut Butter Chips

1. Preheat over to 350 (or 300 for a convection oven). Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the vanilla.
4. Gradually beat in the flour mixture at low speed, increasing the speed as the flour is incorporated, mixing only until the dough comes together.
5. With a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in the chocolate and peanut butter chips.
6. Using a regular sized ice cream scoop, drop the cookies on the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart (about 9 to a sheet). Bake until the cookies are slightly browned and set on the outside, but still soft and puffy in the middle, about 14 minutes (17 in a convection oven). Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for several minutes before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Yield: 31-32 cookies

Irish Plum Crumble

This is what I did with some leftover cooked plums after making jam.



Irish Plum Crumble
Copyright 2011 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved

FILLING:
2 cups Cooked Plums
1/4 cup Flour
3/4 cup Brown Sugar
3 T. Irish Creme Liqueur

TOPPING:
4T. Flour
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Quick Cooking Oats
1/2 stick Unsalted Butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl combine; plums, flour, brown sugar, and liqueur. Stir until well combined and pour into a square baking dish.

In another bowl, combine topping ingredients and combine with a pastry blender or your fingers until well combined and crumbly. Sprinkle topping over the filling. Bake for 35 mins. or until bubbly and brown.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!

NOTE: To cook plums, dice 4-5 good sized plums and place in a medium pot. Add 1/4 cup water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 5 mins.

Pot O' Beans & Homemade Refries

I'm going to share with you my coveted bean recipes. I say "coveted" because my family LOVES my beans. I do them a little differently than I was taught by my southern mother. Traditionally the dish is pinto beans and hamhocks, and they always contained cumin in my mother's kitchen. Likewise, I do the refries differently than the traditional mexican way. I use olive oil and butter instead of lard or vegetable oil, and I only add the oil in the beginning with the vegetables. My teenage boys always get excited about burrito night when my homemade refries are involved. I hope you enjoy!!

BEANS N' NO HAMHOCKS

5 C. dried Pinto Beans
4 t. Sea Salt
1 T. Freshly Ground Pepper
1 T. Garlic Powder
2-3 Bay Leaves

Pour beans into a large crockpot and sift through being sure to remove all dirt clods. Cover beans with water and allow to soak overnight. In the morning, add water to once again cover beans (or if your bean water is particularly dirty, rinse the beans before covering with water). Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hrs. Adjust the seasonings and serve with cornbread and salad for a complete meal.

NOTE: Adjust ingredient amounts depending on the size of your crockpot. This is a pretty easy one to eye.


ITALIAN REFRIES

2 T. Extra virgin olive oil
2 T. Unsalted butter
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. Sea Salt
1/2 t. freshly Ground Pepper
Leftover "Beans n' No Hamhocks"

Place oil and butter in large cast iron skillet. Add onion and bell pepper and cook over medium-low heat until soft. Add garlic and saute for one minute. Add leftover beans. Raise the heat to high and bring beans to a boil while mashing and stirring with a potato masher. Once beans begin to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, mashing and stirring occasionally, until beans are smooth and liquid is absorbed (a good hour or more). Adjust seasonings and enjoy.

Stylish Blogger Award

Wow! Thank you to Doodle over at Doodles' Scraps - http://doodlesscraps-diana.blogspot.com - for this award. I am very honored. Thanks Doodle!!




To receive this award the rules to be followed are:

Step 1 - Make a post linking back to the person who gave you the award.
Step 2 - Share 8 random things about you.
Step 3 – Award 8 recently discovered bloggers with this award.
Step 4 – Contact these bloggers and tell them they have won the award.

O-K, 8 Random Things about me:
1. I adore my husband of 19 years and think he's the sexiest thing on earth.
2. I am a born-again, spirit-filled, follower of Christ.
3. I have two grown children, two teenagers, and three grandchildren...which leads me to the next thing.
4. I'm older than I look.....so far.
5. Aside from the fact that school starts then, fall is my favorite season!
6. I sing on the worship team at church, and it's one of my all-time favorite places to be.....in the presence of God.
7. I find solace in nature and love the beach.
8. My Canon Rebel died recently and I'm still mourning the loss. :-(

Who should I pass this award to???? I haven't discovered a lot of bloggers lately as I haven't had a lot of time to blog, but I'll give it a shot. Doodle already has one, or she would be first on the list.
1. Michelle at http://www.browneyedbaker.com
3. Debby at http://3dcruiseandtravel.blogspot.com
3. Kathy at http://kkthesecretplace.blogspot.com
4. Jackie at http://holcombs-go-mexico.blogspot.com
5. Deb at http://smittenkitchen.com
6. Pam at http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com
7. Luisa at http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/
8. Jane at http://thisweekfordinner.com/

I think all of these ladies are amazing and I thoroughly enjoy their blogs!

Bren's Chicken Rice Stew

I threw this together last night, just making it up as I went, and it turned out really good. You may have to adjust the seasonings because one challenge I have when cooking is that I don't measure, so the seasoning measurements are guesstimates. It's always better to start out small and add as needed. You can always add more, but you can't take it out once it's in. So here you go and I hope you like it.

Bren's Chicken Rice Stew
Copyright 2011 Brendilly Bakes, All rights reserved

2T. Unsalted Butter
2T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs
10-12 Baby carrots, sliced
1/2 Med. Green Pepper, diced
1/2 Vidalia onion, diced
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2C. Pinot Grigio or dry white wine
3C. Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1C. Brown Basmati Rice
1C. Frozen Peas
1C. Frozen Corn
1 Can White Navy Beans
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2t. Celery Salt
1/2t. Poultry seasoning
1t. Fennel Seed

Over medium-high heat in a large dutch oven, brown chicken in butter and olive oil making sure the oil is hot before adding the chicken. Once browned, remove the chicken from the pot to a plate and set aside. Saute onion, carrots, and green pepper in the same dutch oven until soft. While veggis are cooking, chop chicken. Add garlic to vegetables and saute another minute or two. Add the wine and deglaze pan, then simmer uncovered for 5 mins. Add chicken stock, peas, corn, and seasonings and stir. Add rice, and the chicken back into the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 30-45 mins. until the rice is tender. Add beans, adjust seasonings, and simmer 10-15 mins. more to warm beans. Serve in bowls with crusty bread and enjoy!

Basmati Rice with Peas

1 1/2 T. Butter
1 T. Olive Oil
1/2 of a Vidalia onion, diced
1C. Brown Basmati Rice
2C. Chicken Broth
1/2 Cup Pinot Grigio
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3C. Frozen Peas

Over medium heat, saute onion in butter and olive oil until onions are translucent. Add Rice and stir to coat in butter, saute until rice is toasted brown. Add broth and wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and let simmer 20-30 mins. until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender - adding more liquid if necessary. Once rice is tender, stir in peas, turn off heat, cover and let sit for 5 mins. Finish with salt and pepper to taste.