Michelle’s (not me!) Scones: SURPRISE!

I actually got this recipe from a friend of mine, also named Michelle, and it is amazing! (No, the surprise is not that it is from another Michelle, but that there is a jelly filling!) I took her suggestion of adding some cinnamon to the recipe and I am sure I didn’t make them quite the same as hers but thats okay! I also plan on trying this recipe again and again in different variations; which I will also put on here at a later date.

The Recipe:

2 cups (260 grams) all purpose flour
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar (I added 1 tsp cinnamon to my sugar)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (113 grams) (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
2/3 – 3/4 cup (160 – 180 ml) buttermilk (as an alternative milk + a tsp of vinegar)

(I dont use buttermilk enough so I always add vinegar to my milk!)

You will also need the following for filling:

1/2 cup (120 ml) jam/jelly (I used some homemade strawberry freezer jam my aunt made)

First:

Cut butter into dry ingredients; flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, & salt.  I pre cut my cold butter into small squares and use my hands to work it together to create a crumbly mixture.

Pre cut butter about to be blended through dry ingredients

After butter is blended through aka "Crumbly mixture"

Second:

Make a well in your flour and slowly add buttermilk until dough forms.

Third:

Roll out your dough to about 1/2 inch thick  and cut into any shape you wish. Circles work well! (No pictures of rolling because my hands were flour-y)

Fourth:

Layer Dough-jam-dough. (I chose to also use an egg wash {milk and egg mixed together} and sprinkled the tops with cinnamon sugar!)

I try and use the smaller discs of dough for the top but it doesnt actually make a difference

 

Fifth:

Bake for 10-15 minutes in a 375* oven until bottoms are golden (My oven gets extremely hotter than I ask it too and mine got a little dark)

 

Delicious!!!

These are a new favourite of mine and I can’t thank my friend Michelle enough because they are just DELICIOUS!! My mom had 2 and I had 2 before my usual taste tester (Teri) even got 1! You may wish to double the recipe as this one makes around 8 scones (2 layers thick remember!) They make a great quick scone breakfast because you won’t need to put your jelly on your scone since it is right there in the middle.

Thank you once again for cooking with Michelle!

Rice & Bean Casserole

I was a little hesitant to make this casserole because I usually make beans and rice by cooking up onion, red peppers, and kidney beans in a pan adding “Banana Sauce” and eating over rice, sometimes adding a zing and warmth of chipotle as well. This recipe was similiar (minus the “banana Sauce” but had many more ingredients and many types of beans and lentils. I opted for 2 beans to stay safe this time Kidney and Grabanzo (chick peas).  I also changed up the recipe so much that I am not linking the original one I read Because I added and subtracted more than 5 ingredients!

So I started comfortably with sweating my onions (or softening them, whichever you prefer!)
What I mean is I started by Preheating the oven!!!

This is something I always forget then it take extra long to cook! So while I preheated the oven I cooked up my onions and yellow peppers with garlic in a bit of oil and – - for added flavour — balsalmic vinegar! Makes it extra caramelized!

Add balsamic vinegar when sauteeing onions for extra caramelization!

Next step when these are just about soft is to add the beans! My choice was Red Kidney beans and Garbanzo beans(chick peas). Would also be good with black beans or lentils (save the refried for burritos though!). This is also the time to add in any softer veggies of your choice such as fresh dice tomatoes which I did add. I also prepared my baking dish while the beans heated through.

To prepare, I poured 2 cups of brown rice (rinsed, uncooked) into the bottom of the pan and toped it with sweet frozen corn.

I then turned back to my beans, onions etc. and added in my sauce as I wanted the beans to carry the same sauce as the rice. I put my secret tomato combo in being jarred pasta sauce (usually whatever I have, often Italian flavoured) and my favourite banana sauce!

Bought in the ethnic foods aisle for a couple bucks! Almost a sweet ketchup flavour. Worth a try, you will be hooked forever! I always keep this in my fridge!

I only add about a half cup of banana sauce and a cup of pasta sauce. You could substitute these easily for a can of diced or stewed tomatoes.

Once your bean mixture is heated through you should strain your beans through a mesh colander over a large measuring cup. This is to reserve the liquid for the rice and to measure that reserved liquid to avoid an overly watery dish. This is the hardest part of the dish and its easy!

Pour your strained mixture of beans over your rice and corn in the dish to cover all the rice.

Now see how much liquid you have, add water or stock to make approximately 3 1/2 cups.

Now put in your preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, tons of time to clean up and do a puzzle and make dinner look effortless!

Before Baking

After Baking! You could also stir this dish together before baking but I love the layers! Another alternativve: Add cheese on top for a less healthy but equally yummy option!

Dinner is Served!

And now lets have a warm welcome from my judging panel (Teri!) …(this picture was about an hour after we ate dinner…)

I think I got a good review on this one!

Mushroom Soup Special!

So for my first food blog im just trying this out with a randomly thought up 3 ingredient + Spices dinner. Now I wanted this blog to help me avoid store bought products but I think Im gunna use more “cheats” than I thought I ever would because it saves you time!!! So for this Mushroom soup special I used these three ingredients….

 

Muchroom soup, pasta noodles, frozen corn!

 

I have just gotten a new Camera, so Im learning the correct way to take pics, please excuse me for this!

 

Anywho so what you want to do is boil up your pasta til its the way you like to eat it:  al dente, extra soft etc! Then what you will do is add in your corn, I used peaches and cream corn by green giant cause it is Teri’s favourite!

 

The pasta helps heat the corn up, I still throw it back on the stove for a few mins to heat everything nicely!

After the corn is mixed through, throw in you spices, I chose parsley ad bacon bits! My bacon bits are simulated but I love the added smoky flavour so I use them more as a spice than as a condiment. After this is done add in your mushroom soup, do NOT add water or milk to this, just use the concentrated soup because it will add much more flavour.

 

It should be looking like this:

 

Always make extra food when you cook, it’s great to have leftovers for lunches or to create a casserole with leftovers etc.

So, if you choose to continue Cooking with Michelle I should show you what that means….

 

That's "Cooking with Michelle"

Have a great day everyone! Enjoy your meals!