Petite Maple Nut Scones

This weekend my older sister had her first baby shower. It was such a sweet time to watch her with her friends, several of which are due within a month of her, and to be reminded of the providence and love of our God.

Lauren's baby is already so loved! And with SIX aunts, baby boy Smalley is undoubtedly going to be seriously spoiled...

These scones really are best dipped in coffee!

We served brunch for the shower, and it was fun making things to add to the table. Below is the recipe for the Maple Nut Scones I made, which seemed to be a hit. The original recipe is from one of my favorites, The Pioneer Woman, and her recipes are usually so good, I don't make many changes!

Petite Maple Nut Scones

NOTE: I used half of the icing originally in the recipe and dipped the scones in the icing rather than pouring it on top. Below is the amount I used, but if you want a lot of extra icing, double the amounts listed below!

What you will need:
For the scones:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
5 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) salted butter, chilled
1/3 cup pecans, plus more for sprinkling
1 large egg
3/4 cup heavy cream

For the maple icing:
1/2 lb powdered sugar
1/8 cup whole milk (add more milk if you want a thinner icing)
2 tablespoons butter (1/4 stick) salted butter, melted
1 tablespoons strongly brewed coffee
Dash of salt
1 teaspoon maple flavoring

How to make it:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt.

Cut the cold butter into small pieces. Cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles crumbs.

Using a nut grinder, finely chop the pecans and stir them into the flour mixture. 


Mix the egg and cream together. Add the mixture to the bowl and stir until just combined. Be careful not to over mix.


Turn the mixture onto a cutting board. The dough will be very crumbly. With your hands, push the mixture together into a large ball. Do not knead or press too much; you want to leave that gluten alone!

With a rolling pin, very gently roll out the dough into a 12 x 7 inch rectangle, about 3/4 inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut the rectangle into even squares, and then cut each square in half to make a triangle.

Transfer the wedges to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray. 

Bake the scones for 10 minutes, until they're just barely starting to brown. Do not allow the edges to become dark. Allow the scones to cool completely before icing.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir the icing ingredients until smooth. Dip the top of each scone in the icing and allow excess to drip off. Sprinkle with pecans if desired. Allow the icing to set before serving.

No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

Sometimes you just need a quick dessert to take to a party. Or a sweet snack after dinner. And it's best if that something is utterly delicious and everyone thinks you spent much longer preparing it than you actually did. Try these no bake peanut butter bars the next time that is your criteria. They are embarrassingly easy but totally addicting!

No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
What you will need:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter (melted)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

How to make it:
Stir the graham cracker crumbs, peanut butter, powdered sugar and melted butter in a large bowl until well combined. Press peanut butter mixture into a greased 8x8 pan.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each. Once the chocolate is smooth and melted, stir in the vegetable oil. Spread the chocolate chips over the peanut butter mixture in an even layer. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or until chocolate is set.

Bacon Meatballs with Mango Honey Mustard Sauce

It's game day. Broncos play the Seahawks in the Superbowl tonight, and if I've being honest, I don't care that much about the game. I love football, but I have zero connection to either team. Other than the fact that I worked out with Eli Manning once. Well, Eli and I were in the same small workout room at Seaside one year. That totally counts. So if that's a connection to Peyton Manning, then Go Broncos!

Actually, I take that back. I care about the Superbowl because I care about food. And tonight there will be a smorgasbord of tasty treats at the Mason's house, our generous hosts for our Superbowl party. I put a lot of thought into what to bring (okay, probably too much thought), and I decided on meatballs. Random, I know. But these meatballs and this sauce are So. Darn. Good.

I got the base recipe from the blog PaleOMG. I have tried several of her recipes, and they are all really good. I used two different kinds of meat, added some extra spice, changed up the sauce a bit and essentially doubled the recipe since I needed a lot of meatballs. You could easily split this recipe for a more normal-sized portion. :) Below is how I made these really delicious meatballs. I kept taste testing one after another to make sure "the seasoning was right." I was full before the party....

 

Bacon Meatballs with Mango Honey Mustard Sauce

You will need:
For the meatballs
2 lbs ground beef
1 lb ground lamb
9 slices applewood smoked bacon, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup almond meal
2 eggs, whisked
2 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

For the sauce
1 1/2 cups chopped frozen mango, thawed
3 tablespoons ground mustard (in the jar)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
dash chili powder
salt to taste

How to make it:
For the meatballs
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Put a large skillet over medium heat and add your diced bacon to it. Once the bacon has rendered some fat in the pan, add your onions. Stir often to keep the onions and bacon from burning. Once bacon is cooked through, move the bacon and onion mixture to a plate with a paper towel to cool and soak up some excess fat.

Meanwhile, add your ground beef and ground lamb to a large bowl. Then add your cooled bacon and onions, along with egg, almond flour, and seasonings. Use your hands to mix it all thoroughly, but try not to over mix. Using a small cookie scoop, measure out small meatballs and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Once the cookie sheet is full, roll each meatball into a tight ball.

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until cooked through. Remove from the parchment paper immediately and place on a plate with a paper towel to cool.

For the sauce
Add your thawed mango to a food processor and puree until smooth.

Add the ground mustard, Dijon mustard, honey and spices and puree until combined.

Taste the sauce and add more honey if you like it sweeter or more mustard if you want it spicier. Add salt to taste and puree one last time until completely smooth.

Butternut Squash Risotto

Shimmering snow. Majestic mountains. Fresh powder. And a lot of skiing. Jack and I were fortunate to spend more than a week in Colorado with his family after Christmas. We spent almost everyday skiing, and after being in a walking boot for 16 weeks with zero activity, it felt so nice to be outside doing something active. We love the mountains, and we love skiing. What a fun way to spend the days with your family.

This year, Jack's mom had each couple assigned to dinner one night, and we got to choose the menu and cook it for everyone. Jack and I made chicken with shallot sauce, salad with pear, blue cheese and nuts, toasty bread, and this butternut squash risotto. The overall meal turned out really well, but the risotto was my favorite part. I combined a recipe from Ina Garten and a recipe from Rachel Ray, and below is how I made it. It is the perfect meal or side dish on a cold winter day in the mountains. Or actually it is the perfect meal or side dish, period....

Butternut Squash Risotto

Serves 8 as a side dish

You will need:

1 2 lb butternut squash, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 quart low sodium chicken broth

2 cups water

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 cloves garlic, small dice

1 small white onion

2 cups Arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg

8 leaves fresh sage, chopped

3 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place the squash on a sheet pan and toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast squash for 30 minutes, or until tender. Set the squash aside.

Bring broth and water to a simmer in a sauce pot then reduce heat to low.

Heat large dutch oven over medium heat with olive oil. Add the onions and garlic and soften until onions are translucent. Add the rice and toast for 3-4 minutes. Add wine and stir for 3-4 minutes. Ladle in stock in intervals using a couple of ladles at one time. Add salt and pepper. Once the liquid evaporates, add the next ladles of liquid. Stir every few minutes. Continue adding liquid and stirring until the rice is al dente, about 30 minutes. In the last 3 minutes of cooking, stir in the nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste, and squash. In the last minute of cooking, stir in butter, cheese and sage.

Festive Cranberry Salsa

I love an appetizer that is festive looking, incredibly tasty, and super easy to make.  You too, huh?  Then allow me to introduce you to...cranberry salsa.  This recipe is really fast to make and requires very little clean up.  And the vibrant red and green colors make it the perfect appetizer.  You could even serve it at your Christmas meal as your cranberry side.  Too bold?  If that's going against tradition too much, bring it as an appetizer, and it may just make its way to the main course.  It's that good.  I like to serve it with chips, but I was just thinking how wonderful it would be over some warm brie or maybe a block of cream cheese.  Hmmm, I'm liking the sound of that more and more.  Maybe I'll try that next time. :)

Festive Cranberry Salsa

You will need:

12 oz. raw cranberries
1/2 large jalapeño, de-seeded
1 small bunch green onions
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup sugar (heaping)
1/4 cup orange juice

How to make it:

In a food processor, pulse the cranberries until finely diced.  Put cranberries in a medium sized bowl.  In the same food processor, pulse the green onions, jalapeño, cilantro, salt, and pepper until finely diced.  Add to the cranberries.  Stir in the sugar and orange juice. Allow salsa to sit in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.

Smoked Turkey Sliders with Pesto Mayo

These sliders were a team effort.  Jack smoked the turkey breasts, and I made the pesto mayo and did all of the assembly.  We served these at a Christmas Party we hosted.  It is the perfect party food.  Easy to grab and eat.  You can serve it chilled or warm.  And they are darn tasty.  Everyone loved them, and the star of the slider is definitely the turkey.  Kudos to Jack for mastering the smoked turkey on the Green Egg.  

The recipe for the turkey breast can be found here (we omitted the potatoes).

Smoked Turkey Sliders with Pesto Mayo

You will need:

1 5-6 lb. turkey breast

36 Hawaiian King Rolls

1/2 cup mayo

1/3 cup pesto

9 slices swiss cheese

How to make it:

Carve the smoked turkey into pieces that will fit easily on the sliced rolls.  

Cut each cheese slice into four squares.  

Combine pesto and mayo in a bowl and stir until completely combined.  

Create an assembly line: spread pesto mayo on one side of a roll, top with one square of swiss cheese and two pieces of turkey. It's as easy as that! :)

Progressive Christmas Party

We hosted a really fun progressive Christmas Party at our house this year and had a blast.  Our house was the main course, and we had a whole spread of yummy food.  I think we had 35 people come, and we ate almost everything!  My talented sister-in-law, Allison, did all of the flowers for me, and they were festive and beautiful.  I loved having friends at our home and celebrating the season in such a fun way.  And it's nothing like a party to get your house in order.  I'm already looking forward to the party next year....

Below is the menu I served along with several appetizers and a salad from sweet friends who offered to bring something.  The key was making things that can be served at room temperature and can be made in advance.  Recipes to be added soon!

Smoked Turkey Sliders with Pesto Mayo

Good Ole' Macaroni & Cheese

Brussels Sprout Salad with Bacon & Almonds

Festive Cranberry Salsa

Prosciutto-wrapped Dates

Mini Caprese Apps & Mini Mascarpone Cranberry Apps