Cream Cheese Biscuits

These biscuits were so delicious.  Well, I think all biscuits are, but the cream cheese in these really added something.  I actually made them twice recently, because the first time, it was too dark and I didn't bother taking pics (plus they were inhaled too quickly anyway).  The second time, I made them on a weekend afternoon so I would still have some good lighting.  

This is originally a Cook's Country recipe.  They are made into squares, not circles, because you just shape the whole amount of dough into a rectangle, and then cut them into squares.  This way, you don't have to re-roll any dough, and it looks cool too!  The easiest tool for cutting square biscuits is a Pastry Scraper, but a large knife would also work.  (I use my pastry scraper often, though, especially when working with any kind of yeast dough.)  To see cool step-by-step photos, head over to Baked Bree and she'll show you how it's all done.  

Cream Cheese Biscuits

adapted from Baked Bree, originally from Cook's Country

makes approx. 1 dozen

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour (or just use all regular flour- 3 cups)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 ounces cream cheese (cut into cubes and frozen for 30 minutes)
4 Tablespoons butter (cut into cubes and frozen for 30 minutes)
1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon buttermilk*

1.  Put everything except for the buttermilk into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until it resembles coarse meal.  Pour the mixture into a large bowl.  Pour in the buttermilk.  (*I can only get buttermilk in 1 cup containers here, so I didn't want to open another container for 1 Tbs.  So, I used 1 cup buttermilk + 1 Tbs. whole milk.)  Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.

2.  Turn the dough out onto a floured board. Knead just until it comes together.  Shape the dough into an 8 inch by 6 inch rectangle.  Cut into desired shape and put on a parchment lined baking sheet.  (Cut about a dozen; maybe a few more, depending on how big they are.)

3.  Bake in a preheated 450 degree oven with the rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until they have puffed and are golden brown.

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Ham Bone, Greens, and Bean Soup

This was a delicious soup that I got from a cooking friend.  I loved the flavor of it, the tender veggies and beans, and all the pieces of smoky ham.  For this, I used the ham bone we had saved and frozen from our Christmas ham.  This was a perfect use for it!  Like most soups, the flavor of this one is even better the second day.

Ham Bone, Greens, and Bean Soup

adapted from thekitchn

1 cup dried pinto beans
4 strips bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, trimmed and diced
1 large onion, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 ham bone (1 1/4 pounds), cut into half or thirds if possible (ask your butcher to do this for you)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt, plus additional to taste
1/2 head green cabbage, shredded (about 8 cups)
1 bunch kale, stems removed, and leaves chopped into bite-sized pieces (the local Portuguese grocery does this for me; sold ready for "Caldo Verde")
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Hot sauce or cider vinegar, for serving

1. Soak the beans in plenty of cold water overnight. If you don't have that much time, you can use the quick soak method: In a large pot, bring the beans and plenty of cold water to a boil. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let stand for 1 hour. Drain the beans.

2. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes; remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate and save for garnishing the soup. Add the carrots, celery, and onion to the bacon fat in the pan. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.

3. Drop in the ham bone and bay leaf into the pot and add 8 cups water and salt. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat; add beans, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the cabbage and simmer 30 minutes. Stir in the kale and simmer until the kale is soft, but still vibrantly green, about 15 minutes.  Remove the meat and delicious fatty bits from the ham bone, chop them up, and stir them back into the soup. Season with pepper, a dash of hot sauce or vinegar, and more salt, if needed. Crumble the reserved bacon on top.

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Baby Shower Cupcakes

A friend had a baby shower last week, and I made these for it.  They are from the Hello, Cupcake! books (I have both, and I forgot which one, lol).  I think these were mostly eaten by the kids at the shower, but oh well.  Just take off the Nilla Wafer and you've got a delicious cupcake underneath!  

I opted for a simple version of these; no dipping nillas in melted frosting.  I just put the faces right onto the "naked" cookie.  The mouth is frosting, the eyes are nutella, and the dark hair is Nutella.  The pink noses are large sprinkles, and the brown noses (haha) are chocolate-covered sunflower seeds.  The yellow hair is also frosting.  You stick the faces onto a frosted, mini cupcake.  Pretty easy.  For any piping (Nutella, frosting), I just cut a tiny bit off of the corner of a ziplock snack-sized bag.  

A few days before the shower, a friend came over and we made lumpia together (to be fried right before the party), and then this diaper cake, below.  She did all the hard work; all I did was hold the diapers together occasionally while my baby climbed onto her lap and wouldn't leave her alone, while she was trying to work, because he loves her.  

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Almond-Blueberry Overnight French Toast

I love overnight french toast bakes!!!  This one is similar to this one I made last June.  This new one, though, uses mascarpone cheese instead of cream cheese, and you also add some almonds and almond extract; these changes make it sooo good!!!  I love almond and mascarpone.  I made this one Saturday night and we had it for Sunday brunch the next day.  Even most of the kids liked it.  (PS: I added some frozen raspberries to servings, pic below, to make the pics turn out better- lol!  The kids loved this addition, too.)

Almond-Blueberry Overnight French Toast

adapted from Valerie's Kitchen

1 loaf (12 slices) Texas Toast or thick sliced bread (like Italian or French bread-make croutons with the rest)
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
6 ounces fresh blueberries (or use frozen- don't thaw)
8 eggs
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

For the almond topping:
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds
fresh or frozen raspberries, for garnish, optional

1.  Grease a 9x13 baking dish.  Cut slices of bread into 1 inch cubes. Place half of the bread cubes in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle evenly with blueberries. Drop small pieces of mascarpone over the top of the blueberries. Top with remaining bread cubes.

2.  In a medium mixing bowl whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well combined. Pour the mixture evenly over the top of the bread cubes. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

3. The next morning, remove the casserole from the refrigerator and allow the dish to sit on the counter while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine melted butter, brown sugar, and almonds in a small mixing bowl. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the casserole and bake, uncovered, 40 to 45 minutes or until casserole is golden brown on top. If needed you can broil the top briefly to further brown the crust. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.  Garnish with fresh or frozen raspberries, if desired.  (My almonds were about to burn, so I covered with foil pretty early in.  Can always remove foil the last few minutes.)

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Glazed Doughnut Muffins

No, these don't taste exactly like doughnuts, as some might have you believe, but they are a close, easier, less messy, non-deep-fried, substitute that is still satisfying.  The kids loved these.  I might have over-mixed the batter, because they turned out a little heavier than I thought they would, but nobody else thought so.  But that muffin top (ha ha) with the glaze on it was so good!  The best part, definitely.  I think they turned out very nice.   

You fill the muffin tins up quite high with these muffins, so you get that humongo muffin-top that is so good.  I actually thought there was way too much batter to make just 12 muffins, but I used it all and they were just big on top, which was good.

Glazed Doughnut Muffins

adapted from Cooking Classy

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
  2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  1/4 tsp baking soda
  3/4 tsp salt
  1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  3/4 cup milk
  1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp buttermilk
  10 Tbsp butter, softened
  1 cup granulated sugar
  2 large eggs
  1 tsp vanilla extract
• 
  Glaze:
  1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  3 Tbsp milk
  1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  
  1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg, set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk and buttermilk, set aside.
  In a large mixing bowl, using and electric hand mixer on medium speed, blend together butter and sugar until well- combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in eggs one at a time mixing after each addiction. Blend in vanilla. Using a wooden spoon to mix, add flour mixture in three separate batches, alternating with two additions of the milk mixture, mixing just until combine after each addition (batter will be thick). 
• 
  
• 2.  Divide batter among 12 paper lined muffin cups (in a non-stick muffin tin), filling each one nearly full (about 1/3 cup batter per each). Bake in preheated oven 15 - 20 minutes until toothpick inserted into center of cupcake comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
• 
  3.  During the last few minutes of cooling prepare glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Dip each muffin in glaze, while twirling and rotating to evenly coat tops (and allowing it a few seconds to get a good layer of coating on), then lift and allow excess glaze to run off. Enjoy warm or allow cupcakes to rest at room temperature about 5- 10 minutes until glaze has set. Store in an airtight container.

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A Taste of Spain!

I'm lucky enough to have a Spanish friend here who goes home to Spain every so often and brings me back little food gifts!  She knows I used to live there and that I miss certain things.  One of my favorite things she brought back was the Cola Cao, pictured above.  I can actually buy Cola Cao here in the Portuguese markets, but not the "Original" kind, which is the kind I grew up with, so she brought this back for me.  I loved seeing and remembering the old container, just like the ones I used to know.  :)  My kids LOVE Cola Cao- it's chocolaty and you mix it with either hot or cold milk.  I think it's so much better than any American hot cocoa mix.  I love hot chocolate- but either make my own from scratch, from a homemade mix, or this. There are no weird ingredients.  One of my sons has been having a mug of warm Cola Cao every morning lately, as it is pretty cold here right now.  I'm lucky that I can buy it here, like I said- they sell the "Energy" kind here, and some other ones.  The newer ones dissolve more easily that "Original".  Want to buy some Original Cola Cao?  Check out La Tienda- it's even on sale! :)

One Spanish treat that I can get here easily is Magdalena muffins- small, sweet and lemony muffins that are common to have for breakfast.  In fact, two of my kids are loving to have a Magdalena and some hot Cola Cao for breakfast lately.  So Spanish!  I just found a recipe for homemade Magdalenas, which I am anxious to try.  

Another treat I loved from Spain but haven't had since I lived there is polvorónes.  They are little melt-in-your mouth cookies, so soft and buttery because the amount of fat (usually pork lard!) that they contain.  I grew up taking an individually-packaged cookie and squishing it in my hand.  Then you open the package and eat the cookie.  It is soooo good- crumbly, but with a melt-in-your mouth texture.  They are traditionally eaten at Christmas time.  Some of them are also called "mantecados".  Well, this year, my friend was nice enough to bring me back a bag of these.  I was SO EXCITED!!!!  I ate them pretty quickly, lol, leaving me to search the internet for recipes I can make at home. 

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Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing

I tried a new recipe for Caesar salad dressing a while ago, using Greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise or eggs.  I really liked it, and it tasted like Caesar!  It will not replace my fave Caesar, but instead I'll alternate between the two recipes.  This is supposed to be a low-fat recipe, but the only kind of Greek yogurt I can get here is creamy, whole milk yogurt, so it's not low fat, but still delicious, and probably better for you than the mayo version.  (I love my full-fat Greek yogurt!)  (Note: I add more yogurt than the original recipe calls for; almost doubling it.  Also, I use my standard sub for anchovy fillets- capers.  They work wonderfully for Caesar salads!)

Yogurt Caesar Salad Dressing

adapted from SkinnyTaste

1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano (or just Parmesan)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove
1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon capers, drained, OR 2 anchovy fillets
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt

pepper, to taste

1.  In the bowl of a food processor, add the cheese, the lemon juice, garlic clove, mustard and the capers or anchovies.  Turn the machine on and let it run for 15 to 20 seconds.  Add the oil and yogurt and pepper, and let the machine run for another 15 seconds.  Chill or serve right away.  Makes enough for a few salads (use a head of Romain, shredded Parmesan, and croutons.)

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Greek Onion & Tomato Flatbread

This flatbread was delicious.  This makes a large amount of dough- more than I can fit into my oven at one time, anyway, so I divided it in half, put each on a sheet of parchment, and then baked them on a hot pizza stone in my oven, one at a time.  This helped get that crispy crust and they were done in less than 15 minutes each.  My husband and I ate the one covered in delicious caramelized onions and tomatoes.  I made the kids a "plain" one drizzled with olive oil, black pepper, and Parmesan cheese.  They loved it!  We had this with this Lemon, Chicken & Orzo Soup.

Greek Onion & Tomato Flatbread (Ladenia Milou)

adapted from Tara's Multicultural Table

2 1/4 teaspoons (7g) active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups (360 ml) warm water (105-115 degrees F)
1 3/4 cups (205g) bread flour (I had no bread flour, but used some ww pastry)
1 1/2 cups (170g) all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 large tomatoes, seeds removed and diced (or equal amount of cherry tomatoes- no need to seed)
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano

1.  In the bowl of a large food processor fitted with a dough blade or a large bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water. Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

2.  In a medium bowl, mix together the flours and 1 teaspoon salt. Slowly incorporate the flour into the foamy yeast until dough comes together. If too wet, add more flour. If too crumbly, add more warm water. Knead the dough until soft and elastic. The dough should easily pull away from the sides of the bowl. If using a food processor, remove dough and place in large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

3.  In a large saute pan, drizzle olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and increase heat to medium high. Cook, stirring often, until most of liquid has evaporated. Remove pan from heat and let cool.

4.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and lightly grease a 15 inch long baking sheet.  (If using a pizza stone, set it in oven before preheating, and preheat to 400 degrees F.)  On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to fit size of pan. Transfer to prepared baking sheet, cover, and let rise until puffy, about 15 minutes.  (OR- prepare two sheets of parchment paper to fit your pizza stone.  Right on the parchment, stretch/roll/pat out your dough to fit the parchment).

5.  Evenly spread cooked onions and tomatoes over the risen dough. Sprinkle with remaining salt, black pepper, and oregano. Bake in preheated oven until golden and onions begin to caramelize, about 15-20 minutes if using pizza stone (or until dough is done).  Longer for a large baking sheet full of dough.  Let sit for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

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Lemon, Chicken & Orzo Soup

I've made a similar soup a few times in the past, but never written down or posted the recipe before.  (I have posted some lemon, chicken and rice recipes, but I really love the use or orzo in this one.)  For New Year's Day, we got everyone in the family their own Cornish Game Hens for dinner.  The kids loved them, but we had a ton of meat leftover.  We froze it and made broth with the carcasses (which I used on Chicken and Dumplings).  For this soup, I just used store-bought broth, but I used the meat from the Cornish Game Hens. 

I love lemon is savory dishes like this chicken soup.  I love, love, love lemon in my chicken soup.  Our fave little Pasterlaria here has delicious Canja- Portuguese chicken soup, usually made with lemon.  Theirs has cloves and other flavors in it.  I love that soup- but have been denied the recipe so far.  We will try again!    

Lemon, Chicken & Orzo Soup

by What a Dish!

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 large carrots, sliced

6 cups chicken broth, store-bought or homemade

3-4 cups cooked, diced chicken meat

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2- 3/4 cup dry orzo 

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1.  In a large stockpot or soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onion and cook and stir for a few minutes until it begins to soften.  Add garlic and cook for about a minute.  Add celery, carrots and chicken broth and bring to a simmer.  Add chicken, basil and black pepper.  Simmer for 15 minutes, or until carrot is cooked (feel free to simmer longer if desired!).  

2.  Bring the heat up to a low boil.  Add the dry orzo pasta, and stir in.  Lower heat back to simmer, and simmer soup until orzo is cooked through (about 12-15 minutes).  Add the fresh lemon juice and heat through on low heat. Taste and add salt, if needed.  Serve.

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More School Lunch Ideas

Here are a few more school lunch ideas for kids.  I usually am just doing the same things now that I know they will eat, but these are from the last few months, and they are things all of the kid enjoy.  Pictured above is leftover pizza, which they love- some eat cold, and some warm it up in the school microwave.  I also included a napkin, a squeezable berry applesauce, a peeled clementine orange, and some Halloween candy (this was around Halloween, lol).  There's also a juicebox on the side there.  My kids have Land's End Lunchboxes and we use Easy Lunchboxes inside them.  

Pictured above: sharp cheddar cheese cubes with pretzels, applesauce cup, sliced mini cucumber, Kinder chocolate, drinkable yogurt.  You can cube the cheese the night before (or buy it pre-cubed if you live in the States- gasp!), and slice the cuke the night before too.  This was actually too much for my kids; they brought some of it home.

Pictured above: croissant from the bakery (I buy and freeze so they're fresh), cashews in a silicone baking cup, squeezable applesauce, mini Ritter sport chocolate, and drinkable (Watermelon!) yogurt.  

Pictured above: crackers and sliced sharp cheddar on the side, half of a banana (cover cut end in plastic wrap), squeezable applesauce, and birthday cake Oreos.  :)  

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Kicked-Up Ramen Noodles

I was never a fan of eating Ramen noodles the way they are intended- cooked with that scary salt ("flavoring") packet.  However, lately, I'm learning that the noodles themselves are very good in other recipes!  I keep them on hand now to make this quick Thai-inspired soup that my husband, myself, and my daughter all love.  (I also discard the "flavoring" packet for that recipe.)  

This recipe is a very simple and delicious dish- you add chicken, nuts and veggies to ramen noodles with chicken broth and flavor it with garlic and ginger.  I loved it!  Plus, it gave me a reason to open that hoisin sauce I've had in my pantry forever.  Feel free to add favorite (quick-cooking) veggies to this, or to increase the peppers.  Dishes like this are very forgiving.  My sesame oil was extremely old, and I smelled it before adding to the dish.  It smelled funky, so I left it out (and threw out the bottle).  This was still really good.  I also had to garnish this with sliced jalapenos since my store was out of green onions!  

Kicked-Up Ramen Noodles

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

3 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2-3), cubed (or 6 chicken tenders)
1 red bell pepper, cored and sliced thin
1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne (I cut back on this for the kids)
3 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 (3-ounce) package ramen noodles, discard seasoning packets
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
4 scallions (green onions), sliced thin

Sriracha hot sauce, for serving, optional

1.  In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil over medium to medium-high heat until it is hot and rippling. Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Add the cubed chicken to the pan in a single layer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is browned and cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Remove the chicken to a medium bowl.

2.  Add the last tablespoon of oil to the skillet and heat until hot and rippling. Add the red bell pepper and the peanuts and cook until the pepper is softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the mixture into the bowl with the chicken, trying to leave as much oil as possible behind in the skillet.

3.  Add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes to the remaining oil in the skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in the chicken broth. Break the bricks of ramen into small chunks and add them to the skillet. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, tossing the ramen constantly with tongs to separate, until ramen is just tender but there is still a bit of liquid in the pan, about 2-4 minutes.  (Noodles will continue to absorb extra liquid.)

4.  Stir in the hoisin sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil and continue to simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Stir in the chicken, peppers and peanuts. Sprinkle with green onions before serving.  Pass Sriracha hot sauce at the table to add to individual servings if desired.  

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