Strawberry Almond Scones

Good Monday afternoon! :)

Friday, I got to stamp with my hostesses - well, all except Kathy, who had a preschool graduation to attend. :) I decided to make something sweet to share - and this is what we did!

These are strawberry almond scones from Love and Olive Oil.

Now, then. I didn't have whole wheat pastry flour, but I really wanted to try the flavor combination. So I used one cup of whole wheat flour, and 1/4 cup more unbleached AP flour. It wasn't enough. I really thought the WW would be more thirsty, but there simply wasn't enough flour in these to hold their shape. They turned out more like those muffin tops. :D Or a soft cookie. Which wasn't a BAD thing.... :D

These are a YES, PLEASE!; everyone seemed to enjoy them a lot. I sent most of them home with everyone else. :D

Next time, I will use the full amount of WW flour. And instead of slicing the strawberries, I will dice them; there was a lot of batter that didn't have a taste of strawberry in it.

I normally don't like almond-flavored anything, but I really did like this flavor combination. They were relatively easy to make, too - and they smelled so buttery while baking!

Let me know if you try making them, and if you modify the recipe. :) Ooooh, these would be good as blueberry-lemon, too.... :D Have a wonderful day! BE BLESSED!!!!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mug Cake

Happy FRIDAY!!! Did you have a good week? Do you have big plans for this weekend? I'm going to spend some time with some of my favorite ladies this weekend; I wish each and every one of them could be here! :)

Anyway. Sorry for the really blurry picture - not of Pooh, but the real subject of the picture. :D He's watercolored, so he's supposed to look like that. :) No, this is a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Mug Cake, posted on Babble.

So. This was easy; I had all the ingredients on-hand. I even used Splenda's brown sugar blend! :) I didn't have mini chips, so I used regular.

It was another mixed thing. :) It was SO sweet, and SO rich, that I couldn't eat it all. Which is a good thing. :D But I would definitely use less brown sugar. And the texture's a lot different - coarser - than I thought it should be. However, it definitely filled the "sweet tooth" craving. And it was quick, not a lot of it sitting around to tempt me later, and easy.

So. I'm not sure if it's a YES, PLEASE! or not, but I'll probably keep the link around for emergencies. :D I can't imagine how sweet and too much this would have been if there's been ice cream on top! :)

OK, I'm outta here. Have a WONDERFUL day! Be BLESSED!

Oreo Cookie Pancakes

Good Wednesday Morning! How are you doing today? Have you had a good - oh, MONTH!?!? really?!?! - since I last posted? <sigh> I'm sorry. I DO have a few things from the last month to post, but they're on my laptop, and blogging on it is just - well, I hate it. :)

So! Here I am today, with this recipe for Oreo Cookie Pancakes from Minimalist Baker. And actually, they're VEGAN!

OK, so right off the top: reading the recipe, I KNEW these wouldn't taste like Oreos. I mean, they use coconut in the filling! :D But they still sounded interesting, so I Pinned them. I've been trying to figure out what I was going to blog about this week, so I decided, last night, to make them for my breakfast this morning.

I cut the recipe in half; my parents are doing no-wheat, and I wanted to make life simple for myself and just use unbleached AP flour. So, cutting it in half, I got EXACTLY the number of pancakes you see here. The filling made a little more.

I used Splenda in the pancake batter, and xylitol powdered sugar in the filling - I cut out as many carbs as I could. :) I did use unsweetened coconut flakes, and light coconut milk in both batter and filling.

They were good, especially for being vegan. :D They weren't overly sweet, but they were moist. I think I could have added a little more coconut milk to the filling to make it a bit easier to spread, and I did end up using more coconut milk in the batter to make it easier to work with.

I'm trying to decide about the filling. I processed the coconut flakes for probably 10 minutes, and never DID get a true "butter" from them. It was more of a lumpy paste. But it tasted OK. :D

I think I'll give this a YES, PLEASE!, especially if you're trying to go vegan. If you try them, let me know what you think! :)

Have a wonderful day! BE BLESSED!!!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Good Wednesday Evening! :) I'm so glad you haven't given up on me. :) I'm sorry things are a little flaky right now; we're really strapped for cash, so what I'm making for dinner is cheap and not very exciting. :/ This, however, was not only relatively inexpensive, but easy. :D

This is Chicken Pot Pie Soup from SkinnyTaste.

Let's see. After looking at it, there are only two things I did to modify the recipe. First, instead of using the water it calls for, I used the stock from poaching the chicken breasts. It gave just a bit more flavor. Second, we just used regular sliced white mushrooms instead of portabellas - they were cheaper and easier to come by.

And this got a YES, PLEASE! from everyone who ate it! (I had to find SOMETHING to serve with some more of those yummy garlic cheese biscuits! :D ) The soup had a great flavor, was hearty and filling but not heavy - if that makes any sense. :D We'll definitely do this one again!

OK. It's late here, and even later at home :D, but I wanted to get something up! Let me know if you try this! Also, I've heard from ONE of my Biscoff recipients - did you other two get yours?!?!? I sent them before I left in MARCH!!

Have a wonderful day! Be BLESSED!!!!!

Shepherd's Pie

Good Friday Morning!

Can you believe I've been gone for a whole month already? Cooking's been an issue, because I've not had my own tastes and place to please and cook in. But that will change - we just got a place! :) I posted all about it on my new blog.

Anyway! Today's recipe is one I got for shepherd's pie from SimpleRecipes.com.

I more used the method from the recipe than the recipe itself, because I wanted to use up some leftovers. I seasoned and browned up the ground beef, added some leftover corn and frozen veggies, made some packaged brown gravy and poured over top of that hot mess. :D I put it all into a loaf pan, then put the leftover mashed potatoes on top.

It was a hit with the two guys I was cooking for. :D It was not something I'm dying to eat again. But it was filling, and Kenn's friend loves food like this. :D So take those YES, PLEASE!es and NO, THANK YOU!s for what they're worth. :D

Savory Pork Roast

Good Monday Morning! How are you today?

Sorry I didn't make it to posting two days last week; I have a feeling it might be a little sketchy until we settle into a place and I have a routine. :D We're still looking for a place to rent, but I've been cooking a lot for our friends in St. Paul. This was one of the first recipes I tested on them. :D

This is Simple Savory Pork Roast from allrecipes.com.

This got a definite YES, PLEASE! from everyone here. :) It was super easy! The only thing I did differently was cook it lower and slower - I wanted to get it into the oven, and wasn't sure what time everyone would be gathering for dinner. So, it got about two hours at 320 degrees - and was it ever moist!!!! SOO yummy - don't forget to let it rest for a few minutes before cutting, just like any other meat. :)

I made red mashed potatoes and brown gravy, and served with Corrine's homemade applesauce and a tossed salad. Easy, lovely meal. :)

OK, I'm outta here!! Have a wonderful day - BE BLESSED!!!!!

Copycat Recipe: Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Welcome to MONDAY! :D Did you have a good weekend? Are you ready for a new month?! Can you BELIEVE it's APRIL!?!? WOW. Hopefully, Kenn and I are in Oregon, perhaps at a friend's house. :) I'm hoping to have some pictures to show you of food we ate along the way, but I'm not promising anything - we're on a TIGHT budget.

ANYWAY. :D This copycat recipe is from one of my favorite bloggers, Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice.

I can't wait. These are DEFINITELY a YES, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, were these WONDERFUL! And the amazing thing is there's no garlic IN them. Just in the buttery blend you put on top after they bake - and man, are they good. Kenn's still mentioning them to me! :D

I halved the recipe, because I figured a)we didn't need more than a half batch, and b)we'd eat them all if we had more, and c)they'd be best fresh.

Oh, my friend. Were they ever WONDERFUL. And so inexpensive - the most expensive thing was the CHEESE!!! Warm, melty, garlicky, crusty on the outside and so incredibly tender on the inside, and NO CHEMICALS. No Bisquick. Everything's from the pantry.

Plan these into your menus, folks. I am not even kidding. These are DEFINITELY going on my FAVORITE RECIPES board, and will get served a lot when we're on the beach. :D

OK, I'm outta here! Have a WONDERFUL day! Try something new!