Mom's Scones

Ingredients:

1 c. warm water

1 c. warm milk

1 T. dry active yeast

3 T. granulated sugar

1/4 c. melted butter, cooled

1 T. salt

5-6 c. bread flour

vegetable oil for deep frying

Recipe:

1. Combine warm water and warm milk. Stir in the sugar. Add yeast and stir lightly.

2. Allow yeast to activate, about 10 minutes. 

3. In a stand mixer, fitted with a bread hook, add milk mixture and melted cooled butter. Add the salt.

4. Start the mixer and add the flour one cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Dough should be slightly sticky but workable.

5. Cover the dough in the bowl with a towel. Set in a warm place allow to rise until double.

6. Pour your oil in a large pan (with sides deep enough to fully immerse the scones) or a deep fryer and heat slowly over medium-high heat. 

7. While the oil is heating, roll the dough out onto the counter, without flour, into a large rectangle about 1/2 inch thick.

8. You may choose to butter the counter lightly. Using a pizza cutter, cut into squares or triangles. 

9. Heat oil to between 350-400 degrees and cook scones until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Rating: 3 of 5

These weren't great, but they were still good. I think the thing I didn't like about them is that it's just SO much fried food at once. We ate these with honey-butter which was really, really good. I didn't like the scones so much after they were cooled. They were best hot. I'd have to tweak this recipe a little bit before I would make it again.

Source: Make It Do, Mom's Scones

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1/3 c. honey

1/4 c. lime juice

1 T. chili powder

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 lb. chicken, cooked and shredded

8-10 flour tortillas

1 lb. Monterrey jack cheese, shredded

2 c. green enchilada sauce *

1/2 c. heavy cream **

* I didn't have green enchilada sauce, so I used green salsa.

** Didn't have any heavy cream on hand, so I combined milk and melted butter

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder and garlic powder together and toss with the shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour.

3. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Pour enough enchilada sauce on the bottom of pan to create a thing layer on the bottom.

4. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and a generous amount of shredded cheese, saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas.

5. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the heavy cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and top with reserved cheese.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top. 

Rating: 4 of 5

These were pretty good. LaDon said they were the best enchiladas he's had to date....of course, that could be because he has a love affair with cheese and there is a LOT of cheese in this dish. I thought the taste was different, but good. The honey and lime weren't super strong, but there were there and made a nice combination with the chili powder. I'd make them again.

Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything, Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Ingredients:

2 1/4 t. yeast

1 T. honey *

1 1/4 c. warm water

1 1/2 c. bread flour, divided

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour, divided

1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil

1 t. salt

cornmeal, for spinkling

* I used sugar. My honey was caramelized.

Recipe:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, honey, and 1/2 c. water. Stir gently to blend.

2. Whisk 1/4 c. bread flour and 1/4 c. whole wheat flour into the yeast mixture until smooth.

3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes.

4. Remove the plastic wrap and return the bowl to the mixer stand, fitted with the dough hook. Add in the remaining 3/4 c. warm water, 1 1/4 c. bread flour, 1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour, olive oil, and salt.

5. Knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Transfer the ball of dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat, and let rise about 1 hour, or until doubled.

6. Place an oven rack in the middle position. Place a baking stone (or pizza stone, if using one) in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees F.

7. Once the dough has risen, transfer to a lightly floured work surface, punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Flatten one ball at a time into a disk, then stretch out into a 6 1/2 to 7-inch circle.

8.  Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet or other work surface lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Once all the rounds have been shaped, loosely cover with clean kitchen towels. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, until slightly puffy.

9. Transfer 4 pitas, 1 at a time, onto the baking surface (can be baked on a baking stone or directly on oven racks). Bake 2 minutes, until puffed and pale golden. Gently flip the pitas over using tongs and bake 1 minute more.

10. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining pitas. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

These ain't no store bought pitas! To me, store bought pita and tortillas have the same problem: they taste a little plastic-y. No bueno. These pitas take pita bread to a whole new level! Soft and fluffy and full of flavor! Well, as full of flavor as you can get with wheat. We had them with Hummus and Cucumber Tomato Salad, but they would be divine with just about anything inside. Maybe a scrambled eggs for breakfast even? I don't know that I will buy pita bread again in the future.

Source: Annie's Eats, Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Graham Crackers

Ingredients:

2 c. whole-wheat flour

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. baking powder

1 large egg

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 c. honey

2-3 T. milk

additional milk for glaze

cinnamon-sugar (optional)

Recipe:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder.

2. In a separate bowl, beat egg until light, then add oil, honey, and 2 T. milk.

3. Stir egg mixture into dry ingredients until you have a fairly stiff dough, adding additional milk if necessary. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 1 hour (or longer, if it's more convenient).

4. Preheat your oven to 375 degree F.

5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead gently until it holds together.

6. Roll dough out until it's about 1/16-inch thick; make sure rolling surface is well floured or you'll have trouble transferring crackers to baking sheet.

7. Cut dough into 3-inch squares (or cut out using cookie cutters), prick each square several times with a fork, and place on lightly greased cookie sheets.

8. Brush the tops with milk, sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar if you're so inclined, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crackers are lightly browned.

9. Remove crackers from oven, transfer to a wire cooling rack, and cool completely. 

Rating: 1 of 5

In theory these would be great. In practice, they didn't pan out. I put the first batch in for 15 minutes and they came out as black as I've ever seen something bake! They were terrible! For the second batch I put them in for 10 minutes, which resulted in a nice brown graham cracker color but they were hard as a rock. So, this recipe needs to working on. It would be great to get it to the point that I could get them to a point in which they were edible. It'd be nice to just bake graham crackers instead of having to buy them. 

Source: Culinary Adventures in the Kitchen, Graham Crackers

Fail-Proof Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

Yield: 2 12-inch pizzas

1 c. warm water

2 1/4 t. active dry yeast

1 T. honey OR sugar

2 t. salt

2 T. olive oil OR canola oil

3 c. bread flour (give or take 1/2 c.) *

*I only needed 2 1/2 c.

Recipe:

1. In a large mixing bowl, preferably that of a stand mixer, stir yeast and honey into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam.

2. Pour in salt, oil, half of the flour and mix. Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn't stick to your hands.

3. Once you reach this stage, turn the mixer on high to knead for 6 minutes. Turn a timer on a walk away! The dough should be smooth and easy to work with. And the bowl should be clean.

4. Lightly grease the bowl and the dough so it doesn't dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours.*

5. Shape dough into whatever you would like.

6. Bake at 500 degrees F for 9-10 minutes.

*My bread was double at the 1 hour mark.

Rating: 3 of 5

This is a really simple recipe. For sure. It's not my favorite pizza dough recipe, but it's a good thin crust recipe. It's perfect for little mouths, like D and A's. Not so puffy that they can't get it into their mouths.

Source: Lauren's Latest, Fail-Proof Pizza Dough

Copycat: Chick-Fil-A Nuggets and Sauce

Ingredients:

For the Honey-Mustard sauce:

1/2 c. mayo

2 T. mustard (regular prepared yellow mustard)

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 T. vinegar

2 T. honey

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the nuggets:

8 chicken tenderloins or 6 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces

2 1/2 c. flour

1/4 c. powdered sugar

4 t. salt

3 t. pepper

1 t. paprika

peanut oil or canola oil for frying

Recipe:

For the sauce:

1. In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sauce, mix well, and set aside or pop in the fridge.

For the nuggets:

1. In a large dutch oven or stockpot, heat up the oil over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. (Note: If you don't have a thermometer for the oil, you can test the oil by dropping a small piece of chicken or batter into the oil and if it sinks and floats to the top with swift speed, the oil is just right. If it sinks and takes forever to come to the top, the oil is too cold. If it sizzles and immediately fries up, the oil is too hot.)

2. While the oil is heating, in a gallon Ziploc bag, combine flour, powdered sugar, salt, pepper, and paprika. Seal it and shake to combine well.

3. Throw the chicken bites into the Ziploc bag, close it, and shake until all are coated well.

4. Using a slotted spoon, fish out the nuggets and shake off excess flour and place on a clean plate.

5. Before you start frying, prepare a plate by lining sheets of paper towels to drain the nuggets after frying.

6. When ready, place about 10-12 nuggets in the oil and let cook for about 5 minutes (but it also depends on the size of your nuggets.)

7. Remove nuggets from oil with a spider strainer or slotted spoon and set on lined plate to drain. Continue until all nuggets have been cooked. *

8. Serve hot with dipping sauce, ketchup, ranch, or your favorite dip.

* Once they were fried, I let them drain for a minute or two and them threw them into the oven, about 200 degrees F, so they would stay warm while I cooked the rest of the nuggets.

Rating: 4.75 of 5

I debated whether I should rate these separately or together, but really, they would get about the same score anyways! I love honey-mustard dips, and this one was really good. It's not the best, but it really is soooo good. It's not super thick, you can taste the mustard and honey equally, and it goes perfectly with these chicken nuggets! The nuggets are really good too. That might have something to do with the fact that they are fried though.....but I'm sure there is a good way to bake them too. I'll have to figure that out, because, let's face it, frying is so messy, takes a long time, and isn't so pretty on my hips. I was surprised that the recipe called for powdered sugar, but it's a perfect amount. You can taste the sweetness, but it's not too much. Same with the paprika. One thing I love about these nuggets is that they are incredibly moist! The chicken cooks really well.

Source: Table for Two, Chick-Fuh-Lay Nuggets and Sauce

Berry Brightener

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. blueberries

2/3 c. cranberry juice

2/3 c. plain yogurt

Recipe:

1. Put the blueberries and cranberry juice into a food processor or blender. Process for 1-2 minutes, until smooth.

2. Add the yogurt and process briefly to combine. Taste and add honey, if you would like. Process briefly again until thoroughly blended.

3. Pour into chilled glasses, add straws and serve.

Rating: 1.5 of 5

The taste of this one isn't terrible, a little tart and cranberry overpowered, yes. The thing that did it in for me is that the yogurt and juice separate pretty quickly after serving and I just couldn't not muscle down the clumpy yogurt on top. I don't think I'll make this one again.

Source: 100 Best Smoothies & Juices, pg. 30

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and cubed *

1 c. hickory flavored barbecue sauce **

1 T. honey

1 t. molasses ***

1/3 c. brown sugar, packed

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1 (12 inch) prebaked pizza crust or Breadstick and Pizza Dough recipe

1 c. shredded mozzarella or smoked Gouda cheese

1 c. thinly sliced red onions

* I just bought one of the Rotisserie chickens from Costco and cut it up.

** I used what I had on hand which was 1/2 c. of Original and 1/2 c. of Honey

*** I completely threw this one out the window and used corn syrup in place of the molasses

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine chicken, barbecue sauce, honey, molasses, brown sugar, and cilantro. Bring to a boil; remove from heat.

2. Spread chicken mixture evenly over pizza crust and top with cheese and onions.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Rating: 4.5 of 5

I really liked this pizza. Lots of different flavors play out at different times. The sauce is sweet, but not too sweet. The cilantro is definitely present, which I love and was worried about. I don't like real onions but I like the taste. The red onion was thin enough that I couldn't tell slimy pieces of onion was in there, so I really enjoyed the onion. It's an easy recipe that doesn't take that much time to prepare. If using a homemade pizza crust, then the Breadstick & Pizza Dough cooks at the same temperature and same time as this recipe calls for.

Source: AllRecipes: Dinner Tonight, pg. 14

Southwestern Cobb Salad

Ingredients:

Vinaigrette:

3 T. white wine vinegar

1 t. honey

3/4 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. smoked paprika *

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. ground red pepper

2 T. canola oil

Salad:

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

cooking spray

8 oz. skinless, boneless turkey or chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch pieces **

1/4 t. salt

8 c. torn romaine lettuce ***

1/2 c. pico de gallo

1/2 c. diced avocado

1/2 c. (2 oz) crumbled queso fresco, feta, or shredded pepperjack ****

1/4 c. chopped green onions

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

*Never knew smoked paprika was an option. So, I used what I had and that was ground paprika.

** Got my chicken breast from a rotisserie. Hooray for Costco's $5 chickens!

*** I'm a lettuce snob. I pretty much use green leaf over any other kind of lettuce.

****I went with a mix of shredded pepperjack, mozzarella, and cheddar cheeses.

Recipe:

1. To prepare vinaigrette, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine, or place in a jar and shake. Set aside.

2. To prepare salad, heat a skillet to medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle turkey or chicken with salt and add to pan. Saute until done, about 4 minutes.*

3. Arrange 2 c. lettuce on each of 4 plates and divide ingredients among them. If you want to be specific, each serving should have about: 2 t. bacon, 5 T. chicken, 2 T. pico de gallo, 2 T. avocado, 2 T. cheese, 1 T. green onions, and 1/3 c. beans.

4. Drizzle vinaigrette evenly over salads.

*I'm not sure if the 4 minutes is for raw or cooked chicken. My chicken was already cooked. Rather than coating the pan with cooking spray, I cooked my bacon first, removed the bacon, drained the fat out, and then threw in the chicken. Not that that lowered the calories in any way...

Rating: 4.5 of 5

This salad surprised me! I wasn't expecting much since I knew the onion in the pico de gallo was really strong and the pepper hot, but the vinaigrette and every thing else on the salad blended perfectly! LaDon doesn't like vinaigrette very often, so the fact that he really liked this salad including the dressing is saying a lot. Good veggies. Lots of flavor. And very delicious.

Source: OurBestBites.com, Southwestern Cobb Salad

Candied Pecan Salad

Ingredients:

Salad:

2 heads of leafy greens (Either romaine or bags of baby spinach)

3/4 c. Craisins

2 crisp apples (Granny Smith are best, but anything will work)

1 orange or orange juice (enough to toss apples in to prevent browning and add a little flavor)

2 oz. Gorgonzola crumbles (You can use blue cheese but I prefer Gorgonzola-- it's milder!)

3/4 c. chopped pecans (or walnuts if you prefer them)

1/3 c. sugar

Honey Red Wine Vinaigrette:

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

1/2 c. honey

1-2 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 c. vegetable or canola oil

Recipe:

For vinaigrette:

1. In a blender, combine vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper. Place lid on blender and blend on high. While blender is running, add oil in a steady stream. Store in refrigerator for up to 2-3 weeks. Shake well before serving.

For Salad:

1. Wash and chop lettuce. Set aside to dry.

2. To candy the nuts, combine walnuts and sugar in a small skillet over medium heat. Stir constantly. After a few minutes, the sugar will start to liquefy. Be very careful to stir constantly at this point so the sugar doesn’t burn. The syrup will begin to darken and will coat the nuts. As soon as they start to reach a golden brown color, remove from heat. Careful not to burn them! Stir occasionally as the nuts begin to cool. After a few minutes, spread candied nuts onto a greased piece of parchment or wax paper and allow to cool completely. Set aside.

3. If your cheese didn’t come crumbled, chop it very finely. You want small crumbles, not chunks. (On a side note, I am really not a fan of super strong cheeses, but this is a KEY ingredient in this salad. Since the crumbles are so tiny, you never bite into a huge chunk of cheese.)

4. Slice apples very thinly and toss in orange juice to prevent browning (I LOVE using OJ for this—It adds tons of great flavor).

5. When you’re ready to serve, toss lettuce, cranberries, walnuts, apples, and Gorgonzola in a large bowl. Add dressing if desired. It really is better all mixed together rather than on top, but the dressing will wilt any leftovers.

Rating: TBD

Once again, this is a recipe I didn't try. But, I looked delicious and I will be trying this one.

Source: Mary Baldwin

Best Brownies

Ingredients:

Brownie batter:

1/2 c. butter

1 c. white sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 t. salt

1/4 t. baking powder

Frosting:

3 T. butter, softened

3 T. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 T. honey

1 t. vanilla extract

1 c. confectioners' sugar

Recipe:

Brownies:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan.

2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 c. butter. Remove from heat and stir in 1 c. white cugar, eggs, and 1 t. vanilla.

3. Beat in 1/3 c. cocoa, 1/2 c. flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. Do not overbake.

Frosting:

1. Combine 3 T. butter, 3 T. cocoa, honey, 1 t. vanilla, and confectioners' sugar.

2. Frost brownies while still warm.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

LaDon and I have slightly different brownie likes. I like my inside a little gooey, he likes his a little more solid. So, the fact that we both thought it was a 3.5 is a pretty good sign that this is a good recipe. It's a pretty rich brownie mix, especially with the frosting on it. I liked the overall end result as it was a fairly gooey inside. It would be amazing with vanilla ice cream. For sure. The frosting is a little bit of a different story. It was super tasty, but it's texture was more like....fondant. I think I would alter it by decreasing the cocoa and powdered sugar or adding some milk to the recipe as it is. The frosting is a little difficult to spread on the brownies, but it did melt on top so I guess it didn't really matter too much??

Source: AllRecipes, pg. 341

Recipe A Chicken Wings

Sorry! No picture! I totally spaced it!

Ingredients:

1/3 c. butter, melted

1/3 c. soy sauce

1/3 c. honey

1/3 c. hot sauce (like Texas Pete's or the likes)

chicken wings

* I love the hot spicy kick to wings, so I think next time I will decrease the soy sauce element just a little. And, I think I will also toss the wings in flour, just lightly, before dousing them in the sauce mixture. I don't know if that would work, but whatever!

Recipe: (are you ready for very simple wings?)

1. Mix the above ingredients together.

2. Dip the wings in the sauce.

3. Lay out the sauce covered wings on a baking sheet (easier clean up if covered with foil) and throw them in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 400-degrees.

Rating: 4.8 of 5

LaDon and Ally loved these! Talk about vacuum sounds and bone crunching. I, unfortunately, have this weird thing with raw meat. After making them, I couldn't look past the sauce and eat them. (Meatloaf is similar in this way. I love it, but I have a hard time eating it when I know that I was just mushing it all together.) Which, is a huge bummer because the sauce smelled and tasted wonderfully! I think the only way I will be able to eat homemade chicken wings is if someone else makes them for me....which LaDon volunteered to the next time their on the menu :) Lovely husband. I thought the juices from the chicken ran some of the sauce off, so I ended up re-coating about halfway through cooking time. I can't wait to try these again and see how they turn out!

Source: my mother! There is a recipe B, but we just went with A this week. In my childhood memory, both are excellent.

Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon steak sauce
4 skinless, boneless chicken

Recipe:
1. Preheat the grill for medium heat.
2. In a shallow bowl, mix the mustard, honey, mayonnaise, and steak sauce. Set aside a small amount of the honey mustard sauce for basting, and dip the chicken into the remaining sauce to coat.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill chicken over indirect heat for 18 to 20 minutes, turning occasionally, or until juices run clear. Baste occasionally with the reserved sauce during the last 10 minutes. Watch carefully to prevent burning!

Rating: 5 of 5

We had this one for Christmas Eve dinner with the Ames and then again 4 days later with Krista. It tastes best on really thin pieces of chicken.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Mustard-Grilled-Chicken/Detail.aspx