Lower in fat Blueberry Scones! A first try!!!

Todays apricot scones. 10/24/2023

                     1/7/2023 Blueberry with orange extract for flavor.

*  Fresh Baked scones today. 

 Cranberry/Apricot with orange extract for flavoring.  Light and fluffy.  Double the recipe like I did so you can freeze some for later. Note:  the cranberries and apricots were bought at Aldi's.  I cut the apricots in small pieces so they would be easy to eat.

Have a yummy day!

Cranberry/ Apricot Scones

Note:  I have received several requests to repost this easy scone recipe.  Enjoy!

  I absolutely love scones or any breakfast bread actually!  In my quest to make a healthy, moist and still tasty scone I decided to experiment with some ideas I thought might work.  Butter is a big ingredient in scones but I wanted less fat so I eliminated some of the butter and added applesauce; substituted some buttermilk(used the mixture of adding lemon juice to milk to sour it) and I was impressed with the outcome..  Hubby was too!.

Tender and moist with just the right amount of fruit we really enjoyed them.  I would definitely recommend them..  Today it was blueberry but I wouldn't hesitate to make them with cranberries or other dried fruits(dried fruits are more sugary though)  I used frozen blueberries that I had frozen in summer for this recipe with no problem..

Happy Baking!  Please let me know if you tried them!!   

8/20/13

Drop by large tablespoons onto cookie sheet

***NOTE: 10/18/2022

Today I made apricot/cranberry scones.  I also doubled the recipe, added orange extract.  There is never a day that can be better than having fresh scones.  Have a great day!

Making Lower in fat Blueberry Scones (2012 my recipe)

2 cups all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

½ cup natural applesauce no sugar added (or 1 -3.9 ounce individual container)

pinch salt

3 tablespoons butter softened

2 tsp. baking powder

½ cup buttermilk (I took ½ cup skim milk and added 1 tsp. lemon juice and let set for a minute or two).(I always substitute this formula when buttermilk is called for).

1 egg

2/3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen)

Beat sugar, butter and applesauce until blended.  Add baking powder, pinch of salt and flour, alternating milk while adding flour. Do not over beat!   Gently fold in blueberries and drop by large tablespoons onto greased cookie sheet. (I used cooking spray) Sprinkle with a little sugar if desired.  Bake 425 approximately 12 to 15 minutes.  Makes 12 small or 6 large scones.  Serve warm or cool and freeze!

*Helpful Note: When a recipe calls for buttermilk to every ¾ cup milk , add 2 tsp. lemon juice or vinegar. Let set or a minute or two. Easier than buying buttermilk. It's kind of fake but it works fine!

From my happy kitchen to yours,

..

5/4/12
  10/18/2022

New recipe shrimp scampi

Good Day!

I got my zip back lol. Easy and delicious shrimp scampi. A little different than I usually make because I added some white wine. About 1/3 cup.

I think this dish is as easy as you can get. Sauté cooked shrimp in a few tablespoons olive oil a few minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Add red pepper , a little lemon juice , white wine and garlic to pan and sauté a few minutes on low.  Whisk in butter. Cook pasta a dente.  Place 1 ladle pasta water in pan that has the garlic simmering. Add cooked shrimp.  Toss and simmer. Drain pasta and add to shrimp sauce.  Sprinkle with  1/2 fresh lemon (juice) and fresh parsley . Toss thoroughly and serve immediately.  I'll write a more detailed recipe below .  Enjoy!

1 pound angel hair pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1 lemon, juiced, plus 1/2 lemon, zested
1/3 cup dry white wine
5 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped parsley leaves



Add the pasta to a large pot of boiling salted water, over medium heat, and cook until al dente. Drain reserving 1 cup of pasta water.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. Once shimmering and hot, add the shrimp and saute until just cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a plate and reserve. Add the garlic and red pepper to the skillet, then saute until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the lemon juice and white wine and raise the heat to high. Let the liquid reduce for 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk in the butter, add a ladleful of the pasta cooking water and return the shrimp. 

Add pasta to the skillet along with the chopped parsley and toss. Add the lemon zest and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.

8/16/16

Note:  I made a smaller portion using 1/2 lb. Angel hair pasta and 3/4 lb. cooked shrimp but used the same amount of liquid ingredients.

Happy Cooking,

Making pizza Grandma's way!

I remember Grandma making her own pizza and so did my Mom made her pizza this way.

 Mom would bake her own pizza dough or they would go to the bakery just down the street and the baker (a personal friend) would give them all the pizza dough they needed.

They would stretch it out to fit their huge deep cookie pan.  I remember it to be so large! That was long ago and I think that's how it seemed to me.

Their sauce was usually made with canned tomatoes(they loved to can) that they would simmer with fresh basil, olive oil , fresh chopped basil and lots of garlic.  No one would come close to us for fear of being knocked over from the smell of garlic.

 9/11/12

Today I decided to try something similar to how she made it.  I used canned diced tomatoes (I should have used petite diced).  Anyway I added all the above ingredients and topped a pre baked personal pan pizza from the grocery store; loaded it with fresh Pecorino Romano cheese and baked it about 10 minutes or so at 400° degrees. Buon Appetit!

No mozzarella in Grandmas pizza!

Happy Baking and Cooking from my kitchen to yours,

M.J.

Pot Roast casserole

I made this today.  I saw the recipe in Betty Crocker recipes and did it my way with save time with few short cuts.

Small eye round roast about 1 1/4 lb. cooked on low all day yesterday. I cooked it about 6 hours on low in crockpot with small can beef broth.  Allowed to cool and sliced thin.  Refrigerated in juice until today.

Today I sautéed in 2 tablespoons of  butter 1/2 cup each chopped carrots, celery and onions about 6 minutes .

I then added the thinly sliced roast and 1/2 cup of the broth to carrot mixture.  Sautéed until heated through.

Lo

Now comes the fun part.  I placed the above in a greased 9x13 “ baking dish and added already cooked scalloped potatoes on top.  ( Costco 2lb.) (6.99) and baked at 350 degrees for twenty minutes uncovered,  I used almost all of it.  I’ll show pictures of it below.

Note: The allrecipes recipe called for boxed scalloped potatoes and following the box directions.  I took a sure bet on the potatoes because I’ve made them before and they are delicious.  I also wanted a short cut meal.

Homemade Potato Pancakes! A family Favorite

Any Day is a great day for Potato Pancakes.

Being raised in a family who were Slovak potato pancakes were an easy meal to make.  Mom learned how to make them from her mother and her mother from her mother.  Simple as that.

I used to grate the potatoes and didn't like doing it at all but the end result was a few knuckle scrapes but wonderful fluffy and delicious fried pancakes.

Here's my version(I used my blender) for convenience but go ahead and grate if you want to feel more authentic.

5 or 6 peeled and cubes potatoes.  I use white potatoes

1 tsp.+ salt

1 medium onion cut in cubes

1 tablespoon of flour

1 egg(optional) 

Note: sometimes I add an egg and somedays I don't.  They taste fine both ways and fries well too either way.

vegetable or canola oil  

Place cubed half of cubes potatoes and half of onion in blender.  Pulse on grate until you see the potatoes start to chop up.  Add more potatoes and onion as well as flour and continue to pulse on grate leaving it on grate and giving the blender a little shake to get the potatoes to move.  Remove top of blender and stir mixture until mixture is smooth.

In a large frying pan place sever tablespoons of vegetable oil on medium heat..  When you see oil start to separate it should be hot enough to place scoops of potato mixture into the pan. Allow edges of pancake to start to brown then flip gently over.  Cook slowly until browned on both sides.

Enjoy!  

Serve with sour cream or applesauce or both.  Yummy!