Bacon Cheddar Scones

This is a delicious breakfast, courtesy of my friend Missy--they are really good warmed up in the toaster oven for days afterward and slathered with butter.

Bacon Cheddar Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour (really good with whole wheat flour, too)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper 

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup whipping cream, divided (I have used just plain milk, too--not as good, but easier)
3/4 cup (3-oz.) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped cooked bacon
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
Wax paper
 

Preheat oven to 450°. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender until crumbly and mixture resembles small peas (I used a food processor) Add in bacon, chives, cheddar. Combine. Freeze 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. cream, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
 

Turn dough out onto wax paper; gently press or pat dough into a 7-inch round (mixture will be crumbly). Cut round into 8 wedges. Place wedges 2 inches apart on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops of wedges with remaining 2 Tbsp. cream just until moistened.
 

Bake at 450° for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden.

Tangy Chicken Fajitas

This recipe is from my friend Kaylyn.  It is super easy and especially nice because you can come home from work and just dump it all in the saute pan. 

1/2 c olive oil
1/2 c distilled white vinegar
1/2 c fresh lime juice (I usually just use the bottled stuff for convenience and it is fine)
2 (.7 oz) packages dry Italian style salad dressing mix
3-4 chicken breasts, cut into fajita strips or chunks
1 onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced

flour tortillas

In large bowl, combine oil, vinegar, lime juice and salad dressing mix. Mix together. Add chicken strips, onion and bell pepper. Cover dish and refrigerate. Marinate for 3 to 6 hours (or, in my case, all day).

In large skillet, saute until chicken is cooked through and onion is translucent.

Kaylyn says they eat them in tortillas with sour cream, but the flavor is so fabulous you really don't need anything else.  I still like to add cheese and tomatoes, and maybe some cilantro-lime rice, but she's right--they are so good.

Soup au Pistou

This is my favorite summer soup recipe.  First of all, it is so pretty in the pot, second of all, I'm getting all my veggies for the day in one delicious meal, third of all, I can grow almost everything in it.  Almost.  And it reminds me of Provence.  So 10s all the way around.

Soupe au Pistou (from Not on Love Alone by Jessie Carry Saunders)

Serves a lot--we usually have at least two days of leftovers for two.

1 lb fresh white beans (I just use a can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans)

1 large zucchini, cut into ½ inch dice

3 leeks, white parts only, cut in half and sliced ½ inch think

½ lb green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths

3 carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch thick rounds

1 medium rip tomato, cut in half

4 Yukon Gold potatoes (the small ones), peeled (which I never do) and cut into ½ inch dice

1 T kosher salt

2 large garlic cloves, smashed and diced

1 large handful of basil leaves, torn up

1/3 c olive oil

¼ lb. small elbow macaroni (just a couple handfuls)

Sea salt

Grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese and baguette for serving

1.       If you are using dried beans, soak them in boiling water for an hour, until the beans are just softened.  This is why I use canned beans.

2.      Put the first six ingredients, through the tomato, into the pot.  Fill with water until the veggies are submerged and covered by at least two inches.  Add the tablespoon of kosher salt, and bring to a boil.

3.      Once the soup begins to boil, turn down the heat and keep it at a very gentle simmer for an hour.  Have the prepped potato on hand and add it to the pot when there are 10 minutes left to go in the hour’s cooking.

4.      Once the hour is up, remove the two halves of tomato from the pot and, after removing and tossing the skin, put the halves in a small bowl with the garlic, torn basil leaves, and olive oil.  Mash everything around a bit with the back of a spoon to release the oils in the basil, then pour it all back into the soup pot and stir to combine.  Taste to see if you need more salt.

5.      Bring the soup back to a gentle boil and add the macaroni.  Cook for 10 minutes, until the macaroni is al dente.  Season with sea salt, ladle into soup bowls, and serve with plenty of cheese and bread.

Apple Oven Pancake

Best fall breakfast ever--it is basically a German pancake with sauteed apples in it.  Yum.  We did half for the two of us and ate it right up!  I did not take a picture because we ate it too fast.

Serves 6--from Williams-Sonoma's Essentials of Baking

4 T unsalted butter
4 c diced peeled tart apples (3 medium)
2 T firmly packed golden brown sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon, strained (I just used about 1 1/2 t lemon juice from a bottle)
1/2 t ground cinnamon
4 large eggs, lightly beat
1 c milk
1 c flour
1 t vanilla
1/8 t salt
powdered sugar for dusting

Position rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 2 T of the butter.  Add the apples and saute, turning as needed, just until tender, 5-7 minutes.  Sprinkle with the brown sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon and stir to combine.  Remove from heat.

Place a baking dish 12 inches in diameter or 9x13 inches in the oven to heat for 5 minutes.  Remove dish , add remaining 2 T butter to it, and tilt the dish to coat the bottom and sides with butter.  (I just put the butter in it before I put it in the oven, like you do for German pancakes.)  Spoon sauteed apples over the bottom of the dish to make an even layer.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, flour, vanilla, and salt until blended.  Carefully pour batter over hot fruit.  Bake until puffed and golden brown, 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar.  Serve immediately.

Would also be good with pears.

Chicken, Artichoke, and Spinach Calzone

This recipe is from Cook's Country magazine and is delicious.

1 Rotisserie chicken, skin discarded, meat shredded into bite-sized pieces. (or about 2 breasts in the crockpot, then shredded)
9 oz. frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, patted dry, and chopped
2 c. baby spinach
1 1/2 c. low-moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 c. crumbled feta cheese
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 (1 lb) ball ready-made pizza dough
2 Tbsp olive oil

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine chicken, artichokes, spinach, mozarella, feta, basil, salt, and pepper in a bowl.

2. Divide dough in half. On lightly floured counter, roll dough into two 9-in rounds. Working one at a time, place half of filling over half of dough, leaving 1 in border around edges. Brush edges with water, fold dough over filling, and crimp to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

3. Brush rimmed baking sheet with 1 Tbsp. oil, transfer calzones to prepared sheet and cut two 1 in slits in top of each calzone. Brush with remaining 1 Tbsp oil and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve.

Yummy!

Chicken Pot Pie

So, since fall is finally here and last week was cold and rainy, I felt the need for something hot and comforting for dinner. I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, modified it a little to what I had on hand, and have to say, I patted myself on the back afterward for a delicious dinner! So good and filling, you don't need much to go with it.

I made 4 individual pot pies (used small pie pans) or you can make one large 9 in. pot pie.

Crust:
I used 2 Pillsbury pie crusts... so easy and yummy.

Filling:
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
2 tsp. minced garlic
3 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. chopped mushrooms
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 C. cooked chicken, chopped (I put 2 chicken breasts in my small crockpot and cooked them
for a few hours, then shredded them. Perfect amount and EASY.)
2 carrots, finly chopped
1 c. chopped zuchinni ( or celery)
1 potato, peeled and cubed
1 cup frozen peas
(You can pretty much use whatever veggies you like best)

* Either put one 9 in. crust down in bottom of pie pan, or cut and mold pieces of crust to fit small pie pans.
* Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
* In a large saucepan, melt butter. Blend in flour, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. In a separate pan, saute mushrooms in olive oil, then stir into saucepan. Stir in chicken, carrot, zuchinni, and potato. Mix well and pour over bottom pie crust. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits (or design) in the top to allow steam to escape.
* Bake in the preheated overn for 30 min. or until pastry is golden brown, and filling is bubbly.

Peaches and Cream Pie

So, I have absolutely loved my subscription to Cook's Country magazine! I have tried quite a few recipes out of there over the last few weeks and have enjoyed each one! My favorite though has been the Peaches and Cream Pie! How can that not be good!!! When I mentioned to my dad that I was making it, he reminded me that his birthday is coming up soon.
1 (9 in) unbaked pie shell
2 lbs ripe but firm peaches, peeled, halved and pitted
2 Tbsp. plus 1/2 c. sugar
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c. heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Covcr pie shell with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 40 min, then freeze for 20 min. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat over to 375 degrees. Line chilled pie shell with two 12-inch squares of aluminum foil, letting foil lie over edges of dough. Top with pie weights. (basically I took my pillsbury pie crust out of the fridge, put it in my pie pan and put it in the freezer for about 10 min. I also just poked holes in it with a fork prior to baking instead of using pie weights but I did put tin foil over it. It tasted great to me!)

2. Place peach halves cut side up on aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle with 2 Tbsp sugar. Bake peaches on upper-middle rack until softened and juice is released, about 20 min, flipping halfway through baking.

3. Place crust on lower-middle rack and bake until edges are lightly browned, about15 minutes. Remove crust from over and carefully remove foil and weights. Continue to bake until bottom of crust is light brown and peaches are carmelized, about 5 minutes. Cool crust and peaches for 15 minutes.

4. Reduce overn temperature to 325 degrees. Cut peaches lengthwise into quarters. Arrange peaches in single layer over crust. Combine remaining 1/2 c. sugar, flour, and salt in bowl. Whisk in cream, egg yolks, and vanilla until smooth. pour cream mixture over peaches. Bake until filling is light golden brown and firm in center, 45-55 minutes. Cool pie on wire rack for at least 3 hours. Serve.

SOOOOOO GOOOOOD!!!