Scones

I've been watching The Great British Baking Show, which has inspired me to do a bit of baking.  I thought I'd channel those Brits and bake some scones.  I've never made scones before, but while I was looking at recipes, I found out that the British and the Americans make scones differently.  Apparently, the Brits prefer their scones without extra add ins, while Americans don't mind beefing theirs up.  I went the American route, using a recipe from here.  I'm posting the bare bones recipe, but you can add whatever fillings you like.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, refrigerated
• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar (for sweet) and 2 tablespoons sugar (for savory)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 baking soda
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon extract (vanilla, almond, orange, coconut, etc.)
• 1 cup fillings (dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, cheese, bacon, etc.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Using a grater, shred the butter.  In a KitchenAid mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.  Mix in the butter.  In a separate bowl mix together the sour cream, egg, and extract (if you're making sweet scones).    Add sour cream mixture to flour mixture.  Mix in fillings.  Form dough into a circle and cut into 8 pieces.  Place pieces on baking sheet and bake for 15 to 17 minutes.

Some of my favorite flavors include:

• Orange and chocolate chip
• Cherry almond
• Bacon, cheddar, and chive (pictured above)
• Sun-dried tomato, basil, and asiago

Chicken Tortilla Soup

As I've mentioned previously, I love soup.  My poor husband doesn't like soup nearly as much as I do, but he gets the soup experience whether he likes it or not when I cook.  This is one of my favorite soups, and I'm rather surprised I haven't posted it yet.  Be sure to use brown rice, which has a bit more structure than white rice and will help prevent it from disolving.  So here we go...

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken
• Enough water to cover the chicken in a large pot
• 2 onions
• 2 green bell peppers
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 15oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed 
• 2 10oz cans Rotel, drained
• 1 cup brown rice
• 2 cups corn (either fresh, frozen, or canned)
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• salt to taste

Put chicken in large pot and fill with water.  Quarter one of the onions and bell peppers and add to the pot.  Chop the cilantro and add half of it to the pot.  Boil the chicken on medium-high heat until cooked, about 1 hour.  Take chicken out and cool in refrigerator.  Strain off the onion, bell pepper, and cilantro and pour the broth into a bowl.  In the soup pot heat the oil on medium heat.  Chop the other onion and bell pepper and add to the pot.  Sauté until the onion is translucent.  Pour the broth back into the pot and add the black beans, Rotel, rice, corn, cumin, chili powder, and salt.  Bring to a boil.  While waiting for the broth to boil, shred the chicken and add to the pot.  Once the broth is boiling, reduce to low heat and add the rest of the cilantro.  Simmer for an hour.  

S'mores Bars

One of my favorite summer time desserts is s'mores, but living in apartments doesn't allow for camp fires.  So, these s'mores bars are a nice way to get some s'mores action in community living.  I got this recipe from here.  

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/3 cups flour
• 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 5 full graham crackers)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 7 normal size chocolate bars
• 1.5 cups marshmallow creme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a KitchenAid mixer cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar.  Add in the egg and vanilla.  In a small bowl mix together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, and baking powder.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated.  Divide the dough in half and press half the dough into an even layer on the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.  Place the chocolate bars over the dough.  Spread the marshmallow creme evenly over the chocolate bars.  Roll out the second half of the dough and place on top of the marshmallow creme.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool before cutting into bars.  

Bourbon BBQ Sauce

I'm all about a good barbecue.  I've come to realize that those who live above the Mason Dixon line tend to call anything cooked on a grill "barbecue."  However, REAL barbecue requires BBQ sauce.  This recipe is great on ribs, brisket, chicken, or whatever your favorite gilled meat happens to.  I got this recipe from here, and in the above picture, I forgot to add the brown sugar (whoops!), so it's usually a bit darker than it appears in the picture.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup onion, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup bourbon
• 2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoon liquid smoke
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Over medium heat, combine the onion, garlic, and bourbon.  Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the onion is translucent.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Run sauce through a strainer if you prefer a smooth sauce.

Stud Muffin: Lemon Poppyseed Blackberry

I'm rather fond of poppy seeds.  Probably because I'm half Hungarian, and Hungarians use poppy seeds in a lot of their desserts.  I found this recipe here, and was quite happy with how it turned out the first time I made it, although I accidentally over-baked them.  Even still, they are really tasty!  Here's what I did...

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1.5 teaspoons vanila extract
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1.5 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1.75 cups of flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries (if frozen don't thaw)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a KitchenAid mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs, vanilla, yogurt, lemon juice, and lemon zest.  In a separate bowl mix together the poppy seeds, baking soda, baking powder, and flour.  Add the dry ingredients, alternating with milk.  Fold in the blackberries.  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.