Clotted Cream

Clotted Cream

4 C heavy cream (NOT ultra-pasteurized)

Place 4 C cream in a glass 9x13 pan and cover with tin foil.  Place in 160-180 degree oven overnight or 8-10 hours.  Cream is clotted when you can see the two layers. Remove from oven.  If there is a brown film on top, remove with a fork while still warm.  Replace foil and place in fridge until set, 4-6 hours.  Spoon clotted cream off top, or pour liquid out from underneath, which ever comes first.  Mix clotted cream until smooth.  Serve at room temperature. Can be stored in the fridge for a few days. Should yield 2 C clotted cream.  Serve on English Scones!

**Seriously delightfully reminiscent and yummy!
** If you've never had it, it taste like a mix between unsalted butter and whipped cream....a touch sweeter.

English Scones

English Scones

Chocolate Chip & Cranberry Orange

2 C flour
1/4 C sugar
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 C unsalted butter, cold and cut into pieces
1 t vanilla extract
2/3-3/4 C buttermilk

For Chocolate Chip Scones
1 C chocolate chips (if large chips, do a rough chop)

For Cranberry Orange Scones
1 C craisins (I prefer rough chopped)
1 T orange zest
1/4 C fresh squeezed orange juice

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, powder, soda and salt.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (I seem to have best luck with my fingers). Add chocolate chips or craisins, zest and juice.  Add vanilla to buttermilk, using 3/4 C for chocolate chip and 2/3 C or a bit less for cranberry.  Mix until just combined and soft and sticky dough has formed.  Flour counter and form dough into two 6 inch by 1 inch disks, flouring both sides.  Cut each disk into 8 wedges.  Place on parchment lined cookie sheet.  Brush with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes.  Serve with Clotted Cream, or unsalted european butter.  And any scone is delish with lemon curd!

**I love these scones.  The wetter the dough, the softer the scone, but be careful, they start to lose their shape.
**Adapted from joyofbaking.com

Liege Belgian Waffles

Liege Belgian Waffles

2 T sugar
3/4 C lukewarm milk
3 eggs
1 C melted butter
2 t vanilla
3 C flour
1 T instant yeast
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 C Belgian Pearl Sugar (Lars' Own - Pirate O's in Sandy)

Whisk sugar, milk, eggs, butter and vanilla until blended.  In a separate bowl, mix flour, yeast and salt.  Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Mix until soft dough forms.  Cover with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place (80-95 degrees) until doubled in volume.  About 30-45 minutes.  Preheat waffle iron. Gently mix in pearled sugar.  Place approximately a 1/3 C of dough on preheated waffle iron and cook until crisp, approximately 2 minutes.  Be careful taking waffles out of iron, the sugar gets scalding hot and can easily burn the fingers.  Delicious alone, but divine served with fruit and cream or biscoff spread.

**Thanks to a trip to a farmer's market and the "waffle love" truck, I was introduced to the Liege waffle.  The pearled sugar makes these waffles, truly outstanding!
**May try to reduce the amount of butter the next time I make them.  The butter was running all over the waffle iron!
**Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Brownie Cookies

Brownie Cookies

8 oz or 1 1/3 C semisweet chocolate (or chips)
3 T butter
1 C sugar
3 lg eggs
1 t pero powder (could leave out)
1 t vanilla
1 C flour
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 C semisweet chocolate chips (optional - but we like)

Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave, for 20 seconds at a time just until chocolate melts. Do not over heat.  In mixer bowl,  beat sugar and eggs.  Add melted chocolate and mix until combined.  Add remaining ingredients, mixing in chocolate chips after all of the flour is incorporated.  Refrigerate dough for an hour to make it easier to handle.  Bake at 325 on parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet. 1 T cookie bakes for 7-9 minutes or until center is just dry/set.  1/4 C cookie bakes for 11-12 minutes.

*Adapted from King Arthur Flour
**I've made these a few times and we love them.  The dough is a mess, next time I will put it in pam sprayed plastic wrap and refrigerate it in a log shape.  Then I can just cut slices...I'll try it and let you know.  My hands were insane with this dough today.
**Also would be awesome for ice cream sandwiches!

M & M Cookies

M & M Cookies

1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C butter
1/2 C shortening
2 eggs (preferably large - I use Costco's - if not using large, reduce flour)
2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t vanilla
3 C flour
2 C plain m&m's

Cream together sugars, butter and shortening.  Add eggs and beat until fluffy. Add soda, salt, vanilla and flour.  Mix well. Dough should not stick to the sides, if it does, use a little more flour. Stir in m&m's, the mixer breaks them. Bake on a parchment or a silpat lined cookie sheet at 350.  1 T cookie bakes for approximately 6 minutes. (I say approximately because both my ovens bake differently.) 1/4 C cookie bakes for approximately 8 minutes. 1 T cookies bakes from ball form, 1/4 C cookie is a bag flattened slightly.

*Adapted from Breanna's Recipe Box
*Freeze wonderfully, but once they are in a ziploc at room temp, the texture changes. Just sayin' :)
*1 batch makes 72 (1T) or 36 (2T) or 18 (1/4C)

Hummus

Hummus

2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 t salt
1 15.5 ounce garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed (low sodium)
1/2 t minced garlic
1/4 C vegetable broth (low sodium) or water to thin

Place all ingredients in a food processor; process until smooth.  Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. 1/3 C serving size, 98 calories, 4g protein.

**This is adapted from Bob Harper's (trainer on the Biggest Loser) Signature No-Oil Hummus.  I find this very fresh and yummy! Not as intense as normal hummus. Very yummy with cucumbers or pita crackers. And PS. I didn't use low sodium.

Green Enchiladas

Green Enchiladas

Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce (recipe below)
12 corn tortillas (either warmed in microwave or softened in oil)
4 chicken breast cooked and shredded (or a rotisserie chicken)
8 oz cream cheese
2 C grated jack or pepper jack cheese
radishes

Visually separate chicken in half and in half again, that amount should fill 3 enchiladas....I seem to do it different every time. 

Place 1/2 C enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Spread 1-2 T cream cheese on a tortilla, place chicken on top and sprinkle with cheese.  Roll up and place seam side down in pan.  Continue using all of the tortillas.  Top with enough enchilada sauce to cover enchiladas, but not drowned them. Use remaining cheese to sprinkle on top of enchilada sauce.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until warm and bubbly.

When serving, top with sliced radishes.

 Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce

2 lb tomatillos, peeled and washed
1 large onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
8 C water
1/2 C cilantro, finely chopped (or add it in the last few seconds of blending)
1 1/2 T chicken base
1/4 C cornstarch dissolved in cold water

Boil tomatillos, onion, jalapeno in the water for 20-30 minutes.  Take out solids with a slotted spoon and blend.  Add back to water. Add the chicken base and the cilantro.  Bring back to a boil and add cornstarch.  Let boil down until desired consistency.  (Usually 20 more minutes or so.)

**Usually, I have 2-3 C left over, so probably enough for 2 pans of enchiladas, but I usually keep it in the fridge for a week and make another variation or a smothered burrito.

**Our neighbor Howie Nelson shared some great recipes he created from a restaurant he had a few years ago.  His quantities were huge, so I cut it down and made some adjustments. Then our other neighbor Nena Maw told me how Howie told her to make a simple enchilada with cream cheese and radishes.  This is what I came up with after listening to her description.  My kids love them, but only Hans and I appreciate the radishes....it takes them to a different level!