Coconut Scones

My family is totally
loving the baking lately
these scones
are loved

COCONUT SCONES

2 c. flour
(I used 1 cup white, 1 cup whole wheat)
3 tsp. baking powder
6 tbsp. sugar
(I used 3 tbsp.)
2 eggs
1 c. grated coconut
(I used about 1 1/2 c.)
3 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Sift together flour, baking powder,
salt, and sugar
Stir well
Add coconut, then the butter
using two knives to cut it in
or a pastry blender
('D' shaped whisk type deal)


Beat the eggs and milk
in a separate bowl
along with the vanilla


add the wet mixture
to the dry mixture
combine until it is
just all wet, do not over mix
Roll out on a lightly floured board
1/2 inch thick
it was very sticky
so I added a bit more flour
to the top so I could pat it out
Brush the tops with melted butter
and sprinkle with sugar


I used a pizza cutter
to cut these into squares
Bake in hot 375°F oven
for about 20 minutes
and the tops are golden


I made these one morning
it was quick and easy
the kids loved them
the little man had 2
the girly had 1 1/2
my husband
I lost count


I've enjoyed making
different scones
they are so very easy
and my husband loves
having homemade baking
in the house


If you haven't tried
making scones yet
what are you waiting for?

Menu Plan Monday

It's getting easier
easier to not
pick up the phone
and order dinner
I finally feel
like I'm making
progress
I'm really loving
cooking again

Last week
I would say the
highlight, for me
other than my sister
having us for dinner on Monday
and making an amazing Roast Beef
with all the yummy fixings
so other than that
the highlight
Quinoa with kale, Tofu and Roasted Tomatoes


My husband would tell you
it was the Salmon
I can't agree
but he's entitled
to his opinion
that meal will be
posted this coming week


My kids would tell you
it was coconut scones
I agree, those were good
that will be posted tomorrow


This week
I few new things

MONDAY
Dad's Chili
with cut veggies
moved from last week
I have plans to be out
for part of the day
so a freezer meal it is

TUESDAY
Easy Indian Butter Chicken
on brown basmati rice
Naan Bread
and salad

WEDNESDAY
Sweet and Sour Baked Tofu
with some sort of
a chow mein
and salad

THURSDAY
Spaghetti Squash Bake
with farmer sausage
Salad

FRIDAY
Taco Salad
with all the extras

SATURDAY
Creamy Tomato Soup
with fancy Grilled Cheese
and cut veggies

SUNDAY
SIMPLE
SIMPLE
SIMPLE

EXTRAS

Orange and Dark Chocolate Buttermilk Scones

Granola Cookies

I'm looking forward
to a few of these dishes
stay around
and check out how they turn out!

For more menu planning ideas
head over to the Organizing Junkie
every Monday morning

Extending your Meals

It would seem
this passes
for entertainment
in our house
even worthy
of sitting
with popcorn
to watch

I've mentioned
a few times
how I extend a meal
to freeze for a later day
or to gift to a family
I feel it's important
to plan some meals
that are easy to do this with
Today
I made a meal
that will feed my family
and two others

I enjoy cooking
I do well at cooking
so this is something
I can use to help others
I save the unique meals
for my family
for my freezer meals
they tend to be
a bit more traditional

Do you enjoy cooking
maybe you could
bless a family
in your community
I find if you ask
they will say "no"
so rather
I ask what day
would be a good day
for me to bring
a meal

What do you enjoy doing
that you could use to
bless a family?

Quinoa with Kale, Tofu and Roasted Tomatoes

Our vegetarian dish this week
was based on
Heather's Quinoa Recipe
and then I made my changes
to suit my family
and my cooking

Quinoa with Kale, Tofu and Roasted Tomatoes

tablespoon of coconut oil
a pinch of fine grain sea salt
1 shallot, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups cooked quinoa (or brown rice, or other grain)
1 cup corn, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cups kale, spinach or other hearty green, finely chopped
2 cups extra-firm tofu, browned in a skillet a bit
1 cup pesto
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
1 cup roasted cherry tomatoes (or chopped sun-dried tomatoes)

the first thing
is to cut the
cherry tomatoes in half
in a bowl mix them with
some grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon brown sugar
a bit of salt
mix them all up
place the tomatoes
cut side up
on a baking sheet
and bake at 350
for 45 minutes

once that is going
de stem your kale
and put it in
a food processor
at this point
I decided that I would
add some sweet peppers
to the dish a bit later
so I threw them in the picture
with the kale

in a sauce pan
add 2 cups of the rinsed quinoa
with the kale
and 4 cups of water
a bit of grapeseed oil
bring to a boil
reduce and simmer
15 minutes
while this is cooking
I roasted the nuts
in a pan
until I could just smell
the nutty flavour

melt the coconut oil
add the shallots
and the garlic
cook for a few minutes

add the cooked
quinoa and kale mixture
and the corn
to the shallot and garlic mixture

cut up the tofu
into nice sized cubes
cook it in coconut oil
and I added a bit of cumin
and garlic salt

I added the sweet peppers
to the quinoa mixture
then the cooked tofu

stir in the pesto
and the nuts
the whole mix
goes into a great big dish
top it with the
roasted tomatoes
along with some grated Parmesan cheese

I served this
with a salad
to my in laws
they are always
up for something
out of the normal

did we like it?
we
L O V E D
it
this was amazing
the tomatoes
were just the best
compliment
I really urge you
TRY IT

this was very filling
and just so
flavourful
with so many
healthy ingredients

we had amazing weather today
I sent the kids outside
with their cute hats
their auntie
in New York gave them
for Christmas
but they made sure
to come in and visit me
and to score some
fruit that we had
on the counter

Oat Bran Muffins

These Oat Bran Muffins
are so versatile
we all enjoyed them
I can see adding
coconut, walnuts
and so many other things

Oat Bran Muffins:
1 cup (130 grams) whole wheat flour
1 cup (150 grams) oat bran
1/3 cup (75 grams) light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated orange zest (outer skin of orange)
2 tablespoons ground flax
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup (60 ml) mild flavored honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/4 cup (300 ml) milk
1/2 cup (70 grams) raisins or currants

Oat Bran Muffins: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners or else spray with a nonstick vegetable spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, oat bran, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, and orange zest.

In another bowl whisk together the lightly beaten egg, honey, vanilla extract, oil, and milk.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir just until moistened. Gently stir in the raisins.

Pour or ladle the batter to fill the muffin cups, and bake about 16 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Makes about 12 standard-sized muffins.

These have been great
just for the kids
to snack on
and they were so easy
to make
I'll be making them again
and add some different things
to try to mix it up

Wordless Wednesday

Someone found the
Sugar Bowl

French Lemon Squares

I had a friend
coming for a visit
she is a fantastic
baker and cook
I wanted something
fast and easy
I love lemon
in baking

French Lemon Squares

FOR THE CRUST:
⅓ cups Powdered Sugar
1-½ cup Flour (I used whole wheat)
¾ cups Butter Or Margarine (COLD)
_____
FOR THE FILLING:
3 whole Eggs
1-½ cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Flour (white)
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Lemon Zest (optional)
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Now blend together the crust ingredients.I use a pastry blender or two knives to mix the crust ingredients, until it looks like crumbs. Once everything is combined, place crust into an ungreased 9 by 13 inch bar pan and press down into pan with the palms of your hands until firmly packed.

I was really nervous
this didn't look
like it would bake
very well

Bake for 20 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
I was still nervous
this still didn't
look right
but I carried on

While the crust is baking, in a bowl mix together the filling ingredients.

Once crust is finished baking, pour the filling mixture into the hot pan over the crust and bake for another 20 minutes.

Let cool and dust with powdered sugar to garnish and cut into squares.
I was very nervous
but this tasted
amazing
I served it
with some yummy
homemade spiced chai

BBQ Turkey and Veggies

I had left over
BBQ Turkey Breasts
I planned to do
a type of pulled turkey sandwich
but decided it wasn't going to work
how I wanted it to
I cut up the turkey
some onion
and some beautiful peppers
added a jar of BBQ sauce
and cooked this at 350
in the oven until it was bubbly


we were running low on veggies
and didn't have salad fixings
so I just cut up some random items
so go with dinner


I served this on left over rice
with the cut up
veggies, apple, pickles and cheese


This was a fast
and easy way
to use up some leftovers
and some veggies
everyone really enjoyed this
even little Lily
she thought it might good
keep dreaming cat!

Menu Plan Monday

I have to say
last week
went pretty good
I didn't do a roast
but rather some
BBQ turkey breasts
I did make the
Black Bean Burgers
they were good


the Chicken Curry Stirfry
mmmm, mmmm, mmmm



Chai Concentrate
I'll be making this again
SOON


Yummy Granola
it only lasted
about 2 days here
it was so good


Watch for a post
for these very very yummy
French Lemon Bars
and so super easy


I just had to stop typing
to pull the Oat Bran Muffins
out of the oven
so watch for that post this week

So for what we'll be eating
this week

MONDAY
Dad's Chili
I'll take this from
the freezer
and serve it
with left over
homemade buns

TUESDAY
Heather Quinoa Recipe
I didn't get to
the Quiona recipe from
last week
so I'll try this
with a salad

WEDNESDAY
Simple BBQ Chicken
with BBQ Potatoes
Salad

THURSDAY
Bow Tie Pasta with Sausage and Cream Sauce
with Salad

FRIDAY
Amazing Glazed Salmon
my dislike of fish
is well known
but my husband and kids
they like it :(
with Salad
and Brown Rice

SATURDAY
Lively Up Yourself Lentil Soup
with some cut veggies
and maybe just some toast

My Extras for this week
Coconut Scones
Thick Chewy Granola Bars

As always
each Monday morning
check out the Organizing Junkie
for menu hook ups and ideas