Blueberry lemon waffles

The other day, I wanted waffles for breakfast and had some leftover lemon zest plus fresh blueberries so this is what I made:
Stir into your favorite waffle fix  about 1 cup of fresh blueberries and at least 2  heaping tsp. of fresh lemon zest.  Serve with homemade coconut syrup. . . . so delicious and easy!

Pumpkin Scones with Caramel Glaze

A friend made these tonight, and I could have eaten the whole batch by myself... they were amazing!  A little extra (a lot, actually) glaze on top makes them even better!

Half Batch Alice’s Tea Cup Pumpkin Scones

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/8 teaspoon kosher salt (I used Morton)
2 full tablespoons ground ginger
2 full tablespoons ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (mine was cold)
5 oz buttermilk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (all pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling)
1 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Caramel glaze:
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ginger, and cinnamon. With clean hands, work the butter into the dry mixture until it is thoroughly incorporated and has the consistency of fine breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the buttermilk, pumpkin, and vanilla extract into the well. Still using your hands (I did this with a spatula scraper), combine the ingredients until all the dry mixture is wet, but do not knead!

Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and gather the dough together. Gently pat the dough to make a disk about 1 1/2 inches thick.(My dough was pretty soft, so I used about a 1/3 cup measure and made drop scones) using a 3-or 3 1/2- inch biscuit cutter, cut out as many scones as you can and lay them on a nonstick baking sheet. Gather the remaining dough together lightly to cut out more scones—just don’t knead the dough too much (Again, I bypassed all that and made drop scones.)

Bake the scones for about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let the scones cool slightly on the baking sheet (about 20 minutes) before glazing them.

While the scones are cooling, prepare the caramel glaze: Place the butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk gently until the mixture is smooth. Just as the mixture comes to a light boil, add the heavy cream and reduce the heat to low. Whisk well for 2 minutes, or until the glaze is thickened and smooth; then remove the pan from the heat.

To glaze a scone, hold it by the bottom, dip the top in the warm caramel glaze, and place it back on the baking sheet. Makes 5 o 6

Avocado Salsa

Thanks to the spring weather we've been having here, I thought of this salsa recipe that an old BYU bishops wife used to make. It's delicious and so fresh tasting! 

2 Avocados (peeled and cut in small chunks)

1 cup green pepper (cut in small chunks)

1 cup roma tomatoes (cut in small chunks)

1 cup red onion (cut in small chunks)

1/2 TBS crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup craisins

1 TB garlic oil

Combined all ingredients and serve with tortilla chips.

Coconut Filled cake

1 pkg devil’s food cake mix

1 pkg cream cheese, softened

1 egg

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) Jello-O pudding (vanilla or coconut)

¼ c. powdered sugar

1 c. cold milk

2 c. thawed Cool Whip (I used sugar free)

1 c. coconut flakes

1.        heat over to 350 Prepare cake batter in 2 ½ qt. ovenproof bowl, as directed on package; scrape side of bowl. Beat cream cheese, egg and granulated sugar until well blended; Spoon into center of the batter in bowl.

2.      Bake 1 hour 5 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in bowl 10 min. Loosen cake from bowl with knife; using potholders if necessary, invert onto wire rack. Remove bowl. Cool cake completely.

3.     Beat dry pudding mix, powdered sugar and milk in medium bowl with whisk, 2 min. Stir in Cool Whip. Refrigerate until ready to use.

4.      Place cake on plate; frost with pudding mixture. Cover with coconut. Keep refrigerated.

Curried Scallop-Apple Salad

A girl in my ward made this for a group of people on Sunday and it was one of the best salads I have had in a long time. I think most of you will enjoy this.  The dressing is especially amazing!

4 servings | Active Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallot
• 3/4 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1 pound dry sea scallops, (see Shopping Tip), tough muscle removed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 8 cups mixed salad greens
• 1 tart apple, such as Granny Smith, diced
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted (see Tip)

Preparation   

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallot and curry powder and cook, stirring, until the shallot is beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add cider and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 4 minutes. Pour into a large bowl and whisk in 2 teaspoons oil and vinegar. Reserve 1/4 cup dressing in a small bowl. Wipe out the pan.
2. Pat scallops dry and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pan and heat over medium-high. Add the scallops and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
3. Add salad greens, apple, cranberries and almonds to the large bowl; toss to coat. Top with the scallops and drizzle with the reserved 1/4 cup dressing.

Nutrition

Per serving : 291 Calories; 11 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 7 g Mono; 37 mg Cholesterol; 28 g Carbohydrates; 21 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 483 mg Sodium; 612 mg Potassium

2 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 1/2 fruit, 1 vegetable, 2 1/2 lean meat, 1 1/2 fat

Tips & Notes

• Shopping tip: Be sure to buy “dry” sea scallops. “Wet” scallops, which have been treated with sodium tripolyphosphate (STP), are not only mushy and less flavorful, but will not brown properly.
• Tip: Place sliced almonds in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Butternut Squash Souffle'

Kerrie Gomez brought this side dish to the Christmas Bishopric dinner and it is so good!
Rob seriously won't even know there is mayonaise in the dish.

1 large butternut squash (poke holes using a fork in several places and cook in microwave for about 5 minutes or until a fork easily pierces through the skin and the squash is soft)

1/2 c. butter, soften
4 T. flour
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. mayonaise
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Gut the squash from the shell and put into a bowl. Add butter and the remaining ingredients and mix or puree on low until ingredients are smooth. Pour into a souffle' dish that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Cook at 350 degrees for about 60 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

Orange-Butter Coconut Rolls

Tonight we are having a recipe exchange for enrichment...I wanted to take a recipe that was a little different and yummy but one I could make the night before...so last night I made these:  Mike had a morning doctor appointment and got a warm treat for breakfast . . . they are pretty looking, fun with the coconut and the glaze makes them super moist.  By the time I got home for work, this is all that was left...sorry the photo isn't the best!

Orange Butter Coconut Bread                   by Joy Candrian

2 pkg. yeast dissolved in ¼ c. warm water, add ¼ c. sugar and let the yeast foam for 2-3 minutes.

2 whipped eggs                                ½ c. sour cream

½ c. butter                                          1 tsp. salt

2 ¾ - 3 ¼ c. flour                                1 c. coconut

Grate one orange into zest

Stir into foamy yeast water: eggs, sour cream, butter & salt. Stir in 2 ¾ c. flour. Knead in enough flour so that the dough is soft.  Place the dough in a greased bowl and let rise for about an hour or until doubled. Punch down. Divide dough into 2 balls. Roll each half into a 12” circle.  Blush dough with about 1 T. butter. Sprinkle with sugar, ¾ c. coconut, and orange zest.  Cut each circle into 12 wedges.  Roll up wedges, starting at wide end. Arrange rolls, pinwheel fashion into 2 greased 9-10” round pans. Cover and let rise until double.  Bake in 350˚ for about 22 minutes. Top with glaze.  Sprinkle remaining coconut onto the top.

Glaze: In a sauce pan combine ¼ c. sugar, ¼ c. orange juice & 2 ½ T. butter.  Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  Boil for 3 minutes.  Stir in ¼ c. sour cream.  Pour over the warm rolls. 

Country-Style Pork and White Beans (Slow Cooker)

This isn't something I thought I would like based on the ingredients (I'm not usually a bean person), but the picture looked so good and I had most of the ingredients, so I thought I'd give it a shot. In my opinion, it was delicious (and it made a TON, so I froze half of it and we just ate it the second time around, which is why I am finally remembering to post this)! Brian just thought it was so-so, but James DEVOURED it! He even started licking his plate and tried to bend down to lick the rice off his tray. I even told him he was being super dramatic, because it was tasty but it wasn't "lick your tray" tasty. But if you want something healthy and comfort foodish, it's worth it to try something a little different. Don't be afraid to try the turkey kelbasa. I had no idea what that was but it was surprisingly easy to find (I think I used Hillshire Farms brand) and it ended up being my favorite part of this dish. This recipe requires some planning ahead since you have to soak the beans the night before, but it's worth it!

1 pound dried great northern beans (I used Navy beans)

3 pounds country style pork ribs (I used half of this), trimmed of excess fat

Salt and ground black pepper

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 medium onion, chopped

6 medium garlic cloves, finely minced

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided

2 tablespoons tomato paste

½ teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1 pound chicken or turkey kielbasa sausage, cut into 1-inch chunks (I used turkey and loved it!)

2 (14.5 ounce each) cans diced tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Eight to 24 hours before assembling in the slow cooker, rinse the white beans and place them in a large bowl with cold water to cover by at least 2 inches. Let the beans soak anywhere from 8 to 24 hours.

Eight to 9 hours before eating, drain the beans and transfer them to the slow cooker. Dry the pork ribs thoroughly with paper towels, then season generously with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until the oil is hot and rippling. Add half of the ribs and brown on all sides, 4-5 minutes. Transfer them to the slow cooker. Return the skillet to medium heat and heat 2 more teaspoons oil until hot and rippling. Brown the remaining ribs and transfer them to the slow cooker.

Return the skillet to medium heat and heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil until shimmering. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 1 cup of the chicken broth, tomato paste, celery seed, thyme and bay leaf, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Turn the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. Transfer the onion mixture to slow cooker.

Add the kielbasa, tomatoes and chicken broth to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on either low or high, until the meat is tender, 7 to 8 hours on low or 5 to 6 on high. Before serving, discard the bay leaf, stir in the parsley, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over hot, steamed rice, if desired.