Bridal Shower Scones

My dd2 is having her bridal shower tomorrow. It's going to be a Mad Hatter's Tea. It's been so much work. I hope and pray that it is all Jessica dreams of. She wanted Scones for the tea, so I whipped up these little gems. I divided this dough in half and rolled out and cut into 15 squares which I further divided in triangles. They are light and fluffy.

Scones

1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup water
1 Tbsp. powdered milk
1 tsp. vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 egg


• In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a large baking sheet.
• In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in the butter. Stir the sour cream mixture and egg into the flour mixture until just moistened. Mix in the raisins.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll or pat dough into a 3/4 inch thick round. Cut into 12 wedges, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom.

Cranberry Orange
I took this basic scone and added 1/2 cup craisins and 1 Tbsp. orange extract, 1 tsp. orange rind.

White Chocolate Macadamia

to the basic scone dough add 1/2 bag white chocolate chips and 1/2 cup macadamia nuts.

Apple Spice

1 medium apple, chopped with a splash of lemon juice, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1 tsp. cinnamon.

Provident Pearls

Provident Pearls are little nuggets of wisdom that can help you live a better life. I received these from an online friend and it has given me so much food for thought as well as action.

Today's Provident Pearl is:

You can make your own dryer sheets easily with pieces of flannel cut to fit into a ‘wipe’ container. Add some fabric softener and keep sealed. Pop one in each load in the dryer – fewer chemicals and huge savings.

This is my project for the day. I have a leftover baby wipe container from when the boys were in diapers. I picked up a white flannel baby blanket from a garage sale. I will be cutting the blanket up and putting the "flannel sheets" in the wipe container then pour over the fabric softener.

Sourdough Biscuits

Today I had way more starter than I needed. That happens when I don't make bread regularly. The problem is that we just don't eat many sandwiches, so I need more ways to use up this excess starter. We ( and by we I really mean I like sweet breakfast over savory) so the pancakes are great for me, but I would have a revolt in the person of dh if we had pancakes every day. Enter these biscuits. I have a great biscuit recipe, but extra great recipes are always welcome. I really didn't expect this to be a great recipe. I was pleasantly surprised. Try it and I think you will be very happy with the results. I fed my starter the night before to get prepared to make these biscuits this morning.

Sourdough Rolled Biscuits

1 cup of starter
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of soda
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tablespoons of cooking oil, or melted butter or shortening
1 cup of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder

Mix starter and oil. Stir dry ingredients and add to starter and oil. Roll mixture on floured board until 1/2 inch thick. Cut biscuits, let rise for 15 minutes. Bake at 425ºF. for 15 minutes.

Mom's Best Brownies

I try to make a dessert a couple of times a week. It keeps us out of the stores when the dessert cravings hit. I save money...who can go to Walmart and just buy 1 thing? My ingredients are are simple, and purchased on sale where possible. I control what is in my food, and it helps me rotate through my food storage. Enough reasons to try? How about these are the best darn brownies ever! It's not fancy, it doesn't need to be. I don't find the need for icing, but you could of course try the chocolate icing on this blog. These are quick to make and bake during supper, or afternoon snack time.

Mom's Brownies

3/4 cup baking cocoa
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup margarine or butter
2 eggs (2 Tbsp. egg powder and 4 Tbsp. water)
2 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (any nut will do)

1. Melt the shortening and butter and whisk in the cocoa. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
2. Beat the eggs with water and a pinch of salt until they are foamy. Gradually add the sugar. Beat in the vanilla and the cooled chocolate mixture, then flour and baking powder. Stir in the walnuts.
3. Grease a 13 * 8 inch baking pan, and pour the batter into it, spreading it evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out almost clean. The brownies should still be moist and slightly sticky when they come out the oven, they continue cooking as they cool and will achieve the right texture.

Menu Plan Monday

Sunday
Hamburgers, Chips, Moos Shakes (from Everydayfoodstorage.net)

Monday:
Ham and Noodle Casserole

Tuesday:
Spaghetti, corn

Wednesday:
Zuppa Toscana (olive garden copycat), salad, breadsticks

Thursday:
Turkey Pot Pie, Salad

Friday:
Pizza, Salad

Saturday:
Fried Rice, Potstickers, Salad

This week for dessert I made the Lemon cake and will probably make scratch brownies later in the week. They are both so simple and good. The ham casserole recipe was torn up. It was bland so Rachel happily took the leftovers to feed the boys. I'll stick with potato and ham recipes. Neil will be home Saturday, so the menu is for him.

Simple Lemon Cake

I try to bake some kind of dessert at least once a week. It's not usually elaborate, but of course it must be delicious. Since both Neil and Logan love lemon flavors, I try to make something lemon a few times a month. This cake is so good. It's not super sweet, but it is moist, delicious and tender.


Simple Lemon Cake

1/2 cup butter, margarine, or shortening
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup plain flour
1 tsp. baking powder

Soften butter and cream with sugar, then add lemon rind and eggs. Add flour and milk. Bake for 45 mins in a moderate oven,

After removing from oven, pour the following mixture over the surface and leave to cool in the tin.


1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar.

Put in a saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved. Pour over cake.

Menu Plan Monday

Its time to work on my menu again. I am trying to empty out my freezer in preparation of making a large meat purchase. Meals will reflect what is in my freezer therefore I will be making minimal purchases for short term and spend instead a little more for long term storage. We didn't get to all the meals on our menu, so a few will carry forward to this week.

Monday:

Breakfast: Sourdough biscuits
Lunch: Sandwiches, chips
Dinner: Chili Beans and Rice, cornbread, salad

Tuesday:

Breakfast: Hot or cold cereal
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Sticky Chicken (Crockpot), Rice, salad

Wednesday:

Breakfast: Sourdough Coffee Cake
Lunch: Leftovers
Dinner: Spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, corn

Thursday:

Breakfast: eggs, bacon, toast
Lunch: Salad or leftovers
Dinner: Mexican Layered Salad

Friday:

Breakfast: Hot or cold cereal
Lunch: Salad, sandwich or leftovers
Dinner: Logan: Pizza, salad Neil and I Potstickers and Fried Rice, salad

Saturday:

Breakfast: eggs, bacon, grits
Lunch: Salad, sandwich or leftovers
Dinner: Turkey Pot Pie, Salad

Sunday:

Breakfast: Sourdough Pancakes
Lunch: Po-boys, chips, pickles
Dinner: Shredded Beef Tacos (crockpot), Pico de Gallo, Refried Beans

For more great menu planning ideas please go to www.orgjunkie.com.

Note: 10,000 step update--I've met my goal for today already this morning. I took it easy this weekend although I did walk both days...more in the 8000 step range. I'm a half a pound down, so it is working. I've also begun to take my measurements for a more accurate, I hope, picture of what I've lost. I haven't adjusted my diet. I'm still following loosely the Weight Watchers plan.