Tea time, anyone??

My sisters and I have always dreamed of traveling to the British Isles together and doing the castles, history, and literary tours there. Since we haven't been able to do that yet, we dream of doing it by watching Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown. Boy, does she have the life or what? Anyway, in one of the episodes she was in England and they are famous for their multiple time outs for tea. They eat cucumber sandwiches, shortbread, and scones with clotted cream, lemond curd and jams. We had to try them out. It's all as wonderful as it looked on Samantha Brown. It might not be the healthiest habit, but it sure brightens my day when I can sink my teeth into it's creamy goodness.

Clotted Cream:
1/2 cup heavy cream OR 8 oz. cream cheese or neufchatel (do not use light or fat-free)
2-4 T. powdered sugar (or to taste)
1/2 cup sour cream (do not use light or fat-free)
1 tsp. vanilla

If using heavy cream, beat until stiff. If using cream cheese, beat until smooth. Fold in sugar until dissolved. Fold in sour cream and vanilla. Chill. Keep refrigerated.

Lemon Curd:
Juice of 4 lemons OR 1 cup lemon juice
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter (do not use margarine), cut into cubes
2 cups sugar

Combine ingredients in a double boiler and cook, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth and translucent. If you do not have a double boiler, use a heavy-duty saucepan and stir constantly with a wooden spoon. This mixture can burn easily. Microwave is not recommended. For a stronger lemon flavor, add the grated zest of the 4 lemons. Pour mixture into a Mason jar with a tight lid and keep refrigerated. Use within two weeks.

Sorry, the picture didn't turn out very well.

English Scones:
2 cups flour
1 T. baking powder
2-4 T. sugar (depending on add-ins)
1/2 tsp. salt
6 T. butter (do not use margarine), cut into cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk

Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender. Blend in buttermilk. Knead lightly a few times. Do not over-knead. Roll dough into a circle (not too thin). Cut into wedges, as if cutting a pizza. Place wedges on greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 10-20 minutes, depending on oven variations. Scones are done when golden brown on the outside, but fluffy on the inside.
Add-ins: apples, currants, ginger, orange or almond flavorings, vanilla, cinnamon, dried apricots, fresh blueberries, cranberries, chocolate chips, candied ginger, walnuts. Experiment with the add-ins, adjusting the sugar as necessary. If a bold ginger flavor is desired, add finely-chopped fresh ginger. If a mild ginger flavor is desired, use candied ginger. You can also try sauteing the chopped fresh ginger lightly in a little butter and sprinkling with sugar before adding to dough. If a bold nutty flavor is desired, try using toasted walnuts. Toast in a warm oven, stirring occasionally, until the nuts have softened slightly and have a strong scent. If using fresh blueberries, drain VERY WELL before adding to dough.

This picture happens to be some ginger scones. The smell of fresh ginger is absolute bliss. I could sniff it all day...but that wouldn't be very productive now would it :)
The clotted cream and lemon curd are also good on toasted English Muffins. Oh, and you don't have to serve them together. They stand on their own as well.

Sticky Rice with Mango

This is my sister's recipe. I haven't actually tried it yet but she sent it to me and it sounded delicious and she said it was, so I'm posting it in hopes she is correct :)

Sticky Rice with Mango

1 c. rice
1-13.5 oz can coconut milk
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
2 ripe mangoes

Combine coconut milk, sugar and salt. Boil 3 minutes- stirring frequently.
Remove from heat. Add coconut milk to rice. Stir until mixed.
Press plastic wrap onto mixture in saucepan to cover. Let rest 30 minutes at room temperature. Garnish with peeled and sliced mangoes.
Top with Coconut Syrup. DELICIOUS!

Coconut Syrup
1-13.5 oz can coconut milk
1/2 c. confectioners sugar, firmly packed

Stir together. Bring to boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat. Simmer about 10 minutes. Cool to lukewarm and serve. May keep in fridge up to one week.

Molten Chocolate Cookies

Molten Chocolate Cookies
These rich cookies are best eaten warm, while the crust is crispy and the centers are gooey. They can be reheated in the microwave to soften the centers. Yield: 16 3-inch cookies

2 c. Guittard Semisweet Chocolate Chips
3 T. Butter
2 large eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder

Melt chips and butter in top of double broiler over low heat, stirring until smooth but thick. (Or in microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds at a time after that.) Remove from heat; set aside to cool.

In large bowl of mixer beat eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla on high speed about 2-3 minutes until pale yellow and slightly thickened. Mix in chocolate on low speed. Stop and scrape bowl. Add flour and baking powder on low speed just until incorporated, stopping once to scrape bowl. Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes.

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees F.

Scoop 8-2 inch mounds onto parchment lined cookie sheet leaving 2 inches between cookies. Bake one sheet at a time for 12 minutes or until crusty on the outside but soft in center. Cool on cookie sheet 3-5 minutes. Best eaten warm. To reheat cookies, microwave on high power for about 10 seconds per cookie. Enjoy!

Shrimp alfredo with Angel hair pasta

I only have the recipe for the alfredo posted here.  You can use any kind of pasta Im sure.. but we love the angel hair.  We love garlic and onions so I mix it in with my Shrimp or chicken.  We had chicken lastnight, so it was Shrimp tonight..

(go here for original post)

This goes really good with homemade bread.. =)  yum.   

I boil my pasta according to directions.

Put some garlic and onions in a pan to sautee'
Add my cooked shrimp to the pan.. and simmer with a slight touch of lemon.

Making my sauce.

1 1/4 c. chicken broth (i use the organic and sodium free)

4 tsp. flour

4oz. cream cheese, cubed

3 Tbls parmesan cheese (i use more then this.. but whichever is fine)

some pepper.

mix broth and flour in skillet. Sirt in Cream cheese, and parmesan. Add pepper, cook for 2 min, stirring constantly until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in Shrimp-onions-garlic.

Its Nummy!

Cheesecake Cookies

We're not big dessert people, but once in a while, on Sundays, we make treats. My son wanted to choose a dessert after dinner today.

His all time favorite is cheesecake, but I didn't have anything to make a crust. I told him to look up cheesecake cookies on the internet, and he found this recipe. It's really simple, and surprisingly delicious.

Not healthy, but delicious.

We will definitely make them again though.

Here's what we used:

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1 cube butter, softened

1 package cream cheese, softened (we only had a half a thing of regular cream cheese, so we used that and half a container of the whipped kind. It worked just fine.)

and we also added 1 teaspoon almond extract, because that just makes everything taste better. They smelled as yummy as they tasted. They would also be amazing with chopped almonds.

Cream all the ingredients together, and that's it! We rolled them into 1 inch balls, slightly squished and baked at 375 for 14-15 minutes.

An instant hit

Black Bean and Mango Salsa

I first heard of this recipe when my husband brought it home from a work party a couple of years ago. He didn't bring home the salsa....just the recipe. And he went on and on about how wonderful it was, so I thought I would give it a try. And it really is very wonderful. We like to either eat it with chips or grill chicken and make it an all out meal.

Black Bean and Mango Salsa

1 envelope Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
1 can black beans (not drained)
1 10 oz package frozen corn, thawed (we like to use sweet corn)
1 cup chopped ripe mango (to learn how to chop the mango, go here)
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/3 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice


Mix all  ingredients together until well blended.  Cover. Refrigerate at least one hour (or best overnight). Serve with grilled chicken, chips or rice.

BBQ'd Turkey Pockets

I love comming on this blog and seeing what others are making.  I especially love the quick and easy meals. (don't we all)  This recipe I had never tried until this evening, and I was impressed. Its above all.. the easiest thing I have made in days. My kids even liked it, they usually think pita breads look foreign and refuse to eat pita.  haha.  But they didn't hesitate this time.  I didn't get a chance to post a pic of the outcome here.. but if you wish to see one, you can click here and go directly to my blog posting.



BBQ'd Turkey Pockets
1 can Tomato soup
1/4 cup water
2tbls packed brown sugar
2 tbls vinegar
1 tbls worcestershire sauce
1 lb thinly sliced cooked turkey breast
wheat pita breads cut in half
and sliced cheese of your choice. (optional)

heat soup, water, sugar, vinegar and worcestershire in a 12 inch skillet over med. heat to a boil.
Add the turkey. Reduce the heat to low. cook until the misture is hot and bubbling.
Spoon the turkey mixture into the pita halves.
Simple as that.

Cafe Rio Salad

For all you Cafe Rio lovers out there like me, this one's for you!

Cafe Rio Salad

CAFE RIO DRESSING

2 cups mayonaisse
2 cups sour cream
10 sprigs of cilantro
3 los tomates (green tomatoes-fresh or canned)
2 green onions (washed and chopped)
2 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno pepper (seeds and all) *I used green chilis instead about 1/4 c.
juice of 1 lime
1 or 2 tsp. of salt (depends on how much salt you like)

Place all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Dressing lasts for 2 weeks in refrigerator.

CAFE RIO PORK

1 cup Pace salsa
1 cup brown sugar
pork sirloin roast (about 3-4 lbs.)

Mix salsa and brown sugar together and pour over a pork roast.

I just put mine in the crockpot on low all day. It's pretty good.



CILANTRO-LIME RICE

1 cup uncooked rice
1 teaspoon butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime peel, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice.

BLACK BEANS

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 cup tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE DIP

click here to visit my blog

My family and I loved this.

I would have to say that I liked it MORE then the dip they have at Applebees and Chili's

Now thats amazing. haha

MmKay.. now back to the recipe.

I found this recipe and loved it. It makes a whole 13 X 9 casserole dish, so feel free to cut it in half if need be.

So What you see is what you get. 1 bag of Spinach - thawed and squeezed of any extra water. 2 cans of artichokes-chopped. 8oz of sour cream, and 1 or 1.5 bricks of cream cheese. then a bunch of shredded parmasan cheese. Yum. Mix it all together. Place in casserole dish. Bake at 350 for about 30 min. right before its done I put more cheese on top with chopped tomatoes. do not over cook or it will be dry. Serve hot! Enjoy!

I would love to know if you had time to make this, and how it turned out.  Anything that you may have added extra to it, to spice it up a bit, I would love to know.

SWEET RICE!

Sweet Rice.

Have you ever had Horchata, (its a sweet milk drink) from a Mexican resturant?

Well that drink comes from the juice of Sweet rice. Or so I've been told.

Here is my Recipe and my faimly loves it..

Warm or cold.

2 c. White rice (made accordingly to directions)
1 can Sweet n condenced milk
Tiny bit of milk for your consistancey according to your liking
Cinnamon to taste
and Raisens (optional)

And this picture is just the begginning.. to see more pictures of this wonderful recipe

{click here to go to MY BLOG}

Enjoy.. Id love to know what you think!