Baked Potato Soup

Today I decided to post the baked potato soup recipe I made for my sister's cyber baby shower! It's very filling and delicious and I think I'm going to make it again for some of our dinners next week! I got the recipe from allrecipes, but I changed it so I wouldn't have to worry about buying bacon and having it go bad (this recipe calls for only 3 strips of bacon). If you eat bacon on a regular basis, you should make it with real bacon. I find that it didn't affect the taste too much to just cook the onion in oil and add bacon bits at the end.

INGREDIENTS (4 servings)

2 large potatoes
1 tbsp oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Bacon bits

1. Bake the potatoes in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for an hour. Let them cool, then peel and cube (about 1 inch pieces). I bake the potatoes ahead of time. When I peel them, I try to only remove the peel, but leave the part close to the skin that gets browned as they are baking. It gives it a nicer flavor.
2. Saute onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until tender. Stir in salt, basil and pepper. Mix well. Gradually add chicken broth, mix and bring to a boil, then boil for 2 minutes.
3. Add the corn starch according to package instructions.
4. Add the potatoes, half-and-half and hot sauce. Stir and heat through but don't boil. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese and bacon bits.

Homemade Granola

                                                                                    photo courtesy of my camera
This is the best granola I have ever made! In the past, I have had problems making granola where, no matter I what I did, it would not clump, and it would burn. The flour in this recipe enables the granola to clump. Also the stirring helps the granola not to burn. If the granola ever starts to look really dark like it might be burning, remove it from the oven; the oats should never burn.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 tbs. flour (any kind: white flour, wheat flour, bread flour, oat flour, etc)
• 1 1/2 tbs. sugar
• 1tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup walnuts (or any nut)
• 3/4 cup raisins (or any dried fruit)
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (optional)

Directions:

•  Mix all dry ingredients (except nuts, seeds, and dried fruit)
• Add oil, sugar, honey
• Mix thoroughly so the oats absorb the liquid and become shiny (if necessary add a little more oil or honey)
• Spread granola on a shallow baking pan
• Bake for 20 minutes at 300 degrees. (After the first 10 minutes, stir granola so edges don't burn)
• Add fruit and nuts (and seeds) and stir granola again
• Bake for another 10 minutes
• Cool on the baking sheet to retain clumpiness
• Enjoy with milk, yogurt, blueberries, or whatever you want! 

*Other options: my friend from Holland suggests using grape seed oil (instead of canola), adding a little salt, with dried cranberries, sliced almonds, and sunflower seeds

CHILI

Hi everyone,

Today I will be sharing the best chili recipe that I've ever made!

INGREDIENTS (4-6 servings)

* 1 lb ground beef
* 1/4 onion, chopped
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
* 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce (I use a can)
* 1/2 jar salsa
* 2 tablespoons chili seasoning
* 1 (15 ounce) can light red kidney beans 1 can

* shredded cheddar cheese
* sour cream
* (brown) rice

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the ground beef and the onion and saute for 10 minutes, or until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain grease, if desired.
2. Add the ground black pepper, garlic salt, tomato sauce, salsa, chili seasoning mix and kidney beans. Mix well, reduce heat to low and simmer for at least an hour.
3. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream and brown rice.

Cream Scones

This week, Mr. D and I invited my sister over, along with friends and family, to share tea, coffee and baked goodies with them as my sister talked about what the Lord has lead her to do in Kenya (she has been a missionary there for 3+ years). I made scones and wanted to share the recipe because they came out AMAZING ( tender, crumbly, not too sweet and not overly rich) and because this would be a great recipe as a base for any type of scone. You could add chocolate, dried fruit, or nuts for a sweet scone, or herbs, minced veggies or spices for something a little more savory. Some whole grains would also be a great addition. I didn't have any extra bits on hand to add, so I left the recipe as-is with no alterations and served it with raspberry jam. Yum! 

I found this recipe in my mom's go-to bread cookbook, A World of Breads (Dolores Casella, 1966). I used the same ingredients as Casella, but I used the baking techniques my mom taught me for incorporating everything together. It always makes my pastry light and crumbly, which is what I wanted to achieve with this scone. Success!


Cream Scones 
*makes 12 scones

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick; and I use unsalted butter for all my baking)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cream or evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Sift the flour and lightly stir in the baking powder, salt and sugar. 
2. Cut in the butter with a pastry knife or two knives, until the butter is half the size of peas. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Beat cold cream and eggs together and pour into a well in the chilled butter-flour mixture, reserving about 2 tablespoons of the liquid. Use a fork and lightly mix together, evenly incorporating all of the liquid throughout the dough. It should form a soft dough. The key is to work the dough the LEAST amount possible.
4. Flour hands and gently press dough together, kneading about 10 times. Use a little extra flour if the dough is too mushy and not holding together in a smooth ball. 
5. Sprinkle a cutting board lightly with flour to keep dough from sticking. Divide the dough in half and on the floured cutting board, form each half into 2 circles, flattening them to about 1 inch in thickness. Cut each circle into 6 equal parts (12 total triangles). 
6. Place triangles about 2 inches apart on a buttered cookie sheet (I use parchment paper instead of buttering the cookie sheet) and brush the tops of the scones with the reserved milk and egg mixture. 
7. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly golden. (My oven is electric and a little bit hotter than most, so I reduced the temperature to 440 degrees and they were done in 12 minutes.) You can test the center of a scone with a toothpick to see if they are baked through (if the toothpick comes out clean, they're done!)
8. Serve warm or at room temperature with butter, clotted cream and/or fruit jam.
   

                                                                                    photo courtesy of natehendersonphoto

Cream of Carrot Soup

*serves 6 cups

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 1/2 lbs. fresh carrots, sliced 
• 1/4 cup heavy cream, half & half, or whole milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• parsley to garnish
• *Need a big pot and a blender 

Directions

1. Heat water and butter over medium low heat.
2. Add onion, ginger, and curry, and cook, partially covered, until tender (5-10 min.)
3. Stir in chicken broth, O.J., and carrots. Bring to boil and reduce heat and simmer until carrots are tender (15-20 min.)
4. Blend all the ingredients in a blender.
5. Return it to pot and stir in heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Heat through, but do not boil.
6. Garnish with parsley.
7. Invite friends over, break bread, and enjoy!

recipe inspired by The Joy of Cooking