Monday, April 27, 2015

Cherry Chocolate Scones with Almond Glaze


I've never made scones before and found them a little intimidating. I've red many recipes that said you needed a special attachment for your mixer or had to cut the butter in a specific way. This made me nervous, so I kind of avoided scone recipes before. However, I recently read a version that used a cheese grater to cut the frozen butter, and I thought I would give it a shot. I recently bought some delicious sweet black cherries and thought they would be great combined with some chocolate chunks I had in my pantry. I finished it off with a delicious almond glaze. I wish I would have made scones sooner, because they were actually really easy to pull off! Mine didn't turn out that pretty, but they tasted good! I'll definitely be experimenting with different combinations in the future. Enjoy! 

Cherry Chocolate Scones with Almond Glaze

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda 
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, frozen
1/2 cup fresh (or frozen and de-thawed) black cherries, pitted and quartered
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt (I used Dannon Light and Fit)
1 large egg

For glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp. almond extract
3-4 tsp. non-fat milk

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large mixing bowl and stir until well combined. 
3. Grate butter with large holed cheese grater. Use fingers to mix butter in with flour mixture until coarse crumbly texture is reached. Gently stir in cherries and chocolate. 
4. In separate bowl, whisk together yogurt and egg until smooth. Stir sour cream mixture into flour mixture until large dough clumps form. Press the dough into a ball. 
5. Transfer dough ball onto lightly floured wax paper and pat into a circle about 8 inches thick. Cut dough into 8 equal triangles using a knife. 
6. Place triangles onto greased cookie sheet and bake 15-17 minutes or until golden brown. 
7. While scones are baking, combine powdered sugar, almond extract and milk in mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth and desired consistency is reached. Allow scones to cool 5-10 minutes before applying glaze. Enjoy! 


Monday, April 20, 2015

Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken


Crockpot recipes are the best. You can put your food in the slow cooker, leave, and come home to an amazing smelling house and a delicious meal. I especially love this recipe because it takes about 5 minutes to prepare and makes enough food for a few meals. My boyfriend and I like to enjoy this chicken straight out of the crockpot with mashed potatoes. I've also used the leftovers to make toppings for sandwiches, salads, and pizzas! This recipe has definitely made its way into our regular rotation because of its versatility and ease. I hope you love this chicken as much as I do!

Crockpot Rotisserie Chicken

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, 4-6 lbs.
1 tbsp fresh minced garlic
1 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp steak seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Remove chicken from packaging. Remove any innards from inside chicken. Rinse outside and cavity of bird, then pat dry.
2. Season chicken by spreading the spices evenly across the skin and inside with your hands.
3. Crumple up sheets of aluminum foil into four ping pong size balls and set in bottom of slow cooker. Place chicken on top of aluminum foil. 
4. Turn slow cooker on high and cook for 4-4 1/2 hours. Make sure chicken is cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Optional: Use juices at bottom of slow cooker to make gravy and enjoy!