Sunday, January 26, 2014

A Sunday Tribute

Savory Blueberry Scones

Happy Sunday to all! Do you know what I love about Sundays (aside from fellowship with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and getting to worship Jesus of course)? Is that it is Downton Abbey day! My mom and I absolutely love this show; the time period that it's set in, the fashion, the language, everything about it is so enthralling. Which brings me to today's post: a simple tribute to the show. I decided to bake these tasty scones in honor of tea time during the show because everybody knows that you can't be a proper British person with some tea and a lovely snack.

I found this recipe from the Food Network's website and it called for making a lemon glaze. I wanted to make regular, good-old-fashioned blueberry scones, but if you're feeling a little adventurous feel free to check out their website for the glaze recipe. This recipe yields 4 scones.


My mom is gluten and sugar sensitive, so I try to keep that in mind with most of my baking. So,

What you'll need:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour (I used gluten-free purchased from Clark's)
  • 1/2 T baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 T sugar (I used chopped Medjool Dates)
  • 2 1/2 T unsalted butter (be sure to keep cold)
  • 1/2 cup blueberries
  • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Tips:

  • Be sure to keep your butter cold, because butter acts as a binding agent while baking, and the colder your butter is the better your scones will hold their shape.
  • If you only have salted butter, then I would recommend not adding any additional salt.
  • Be sure to use fresh blueberries because adding frozen ones would change the flavor of the scones.
  • I used chopped Medjool dates in my mix because of my mom's sugar sensitivity (I recommend using 3 if you go this route), but we discovered soon after that they actually make date sugar! So if you're looking to go sugar-free, then I would suggest using the date sugar rather than the actual dates.


First, you will want to add all of your dry ingredients in a bowl including the date sugar or regular sugar, depending on which you decide to go with.


Next, add your butter and be sure to chop it up first! I used real dates in my mix so I added them in this step as well. Then, using a fork, mix everything until evenly blended. The mixture will be clumpy so don't over mix.


Now, add your fresh blueberries. Be sure to wash and dry them first!


As you mix in the blueberries, be careful not to break them open because you want to try to leave them whole for aesthetic purposes. The mixture will be even clumpier now, as shown above.


Next, using your hands you will want to form your mixture into a ball-type mound so you can flatten it out. I did this on a piece of parchment paper and used my hands because a rolling pin would break all of the blueberries.
Then, using a pizza cutter for a straight line, cut away the rough edges of the dough and make four rectangles. You will then cut each rectangle in half diagonally, and place one of the triangles on top of the other to make that classic scone shape. Press the edges together lightly so they stay together.


Once you get your scones on a baking pan, brush a little bit of the heavy whipping cream on top for a nice glaze.


Finally, bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the tops of the scones are a golden brown.

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Sunday, and cheers! Here's to a lovely night in.

Love, 
Kelsey

Saturday, January 18, 2014

New Year, New Blog


Chicken Pot Pie for the New Blogger's Soul


Hello, everyone! I am excited/happy/anxious/clueless while creating my very first blog. So please bear with me as I learn the tricks of the trade.
Needless to say, with a new year comes new aspirations. I have always been a "gonna" type of person. What is that kind of person you may ask? Well, to me a "gonna" person is somebody (like myself) who always says or thinks things like, "I'm gonna try to exercise more" or "I'm gonna try to stick my New Year's resolutions for more than the first 2 weeks of January" or "I'm gonna try something new." The list goes on and on, but the point that I am trying to make here is that I am tired of being a "gonna" and am ready to be a "doer!" I AM going to stick to my New Year's resolutions; I AM going to try something new (I didn't tell myself to exercise more this year, so I'm off the hook for that one.) So with all of that being said, I have decided to do just that by sharing my passions and interests with the rest of the world.
After all is said and done, thank you for taking the time to read this, and here is my very first post!

Delicious Mini Pot Pies


What you'll need:

  • 2 whole chickens for roasting 
  • celery 
  • carrots
  • potatoes (red or brown; I prefer red myself)
  • onion
  • 3 packages of pre-made pie crust (6 rolls total)
  • all-purpose flour
  • milk
  • olive oil
  • garlic powder
  • sage
  • onion powder
  • salt
  • pepper
  • mini pie tins

This recipe makes 6 mini pies total, and I know that I haven't put exact measurements, but in my defense I am shadowing under my wonderful mother in the kitchen who doesn't measure out ingredients exactly. She believes that it is best to cook without all of the tiny details of one-fourth this, and two-thirds that...I will walk you through each step so no need to worry!



First, you will want to prep your chickens. Place them in any 9x13 baking dish and prep your seasonings by mixing together the olive oil and other seasonings in a small bowl. Then, using your hands (or a basting brush if you're too queasy) coat the inside and outside of both chickens.


Roast in the oven at 350 degrees for about 2 hours, or until the outside is a light brown and the internal temperature reaches at least 165 degrees (according to foodsafety.gov).
While your chicken is roasting, you can begin to cut up all of your vegetables and potatoes.


Combine all of the cut-up veggies in a large saucepan; add a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper; and cook over medium heat until the onions and celery are translucent and the other ingredients can easily be pierced with a fork.


Now to prep the crusts! It's pretty simple: for the mini pies it takes one of the pre-made dough rolls divided into three chunks to make a top and bottom crust with another crust for a different pot pie. Earlier I said to get three packages of the pre-made crust because during this I only bought two and had to work pretty hard to make the dough work for all six pies. So depending on how many pies you'll actually be making, the sizes, and how much you like crust, it's all up to you how many you buy!
After dividing the pieces, roll them up into a nice ball and flatten them out with a rolling pin.
Set your top crust pieces aside.


Take your bottom pieces and place them in the mini tins. I took out my pizza cutter to make the dough have a little bit of a cleaner cut, but in the end it doesn't really matter!
After you have the bottom dough in the tins, place them on a cookie sheet and bake for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees (your chicken should be out of the oven and shredded at this point.) Doing this prevents the dough on the bottom from being gooey and not fully cooked once you add the filling.

Now it's time to make the gravy to mix in with the veggies. Like I said before, we don't use exact measurements, so if you don't know how to make gravy, start off with 1 cup of all-purpose flour and proceed to add milk to the flour over medium heat in a saucepan, stirring frequently. Do so until your mixture becomes gelatinous, adding more flour or milk (whichever will bring it to the right consistency.)
The veggies should be mostly cooked through at the point, so go ahead and mix in the gravy if that is the case.

Time to put it all together! Place the shredded chicken on top of your now-baked bottom crust, and add the gravy with vegetable mixture on top.


The dough that was set aside earlier is the final step. Place one on top of each pie and press the edges of the dough to seal. For venting purposes be sure to cut slits on the tops of each pie.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or until the top crust is golden brown.


And that's all it takes!

As we continue flying through 2014, I will be posting about things I bake, things I make, and anything else that inspires me!

With Love,
Kelsey

P.S. I haven't yet decided if I will be able to post bimonthly or only once a month, so keep your eye out for the next post!