SHEET PAN SCOTTISH SHORTBREAD

 I have always LOVED shortbread! For years, I baked various kinds of 'shortbread cookies,' but as much as I liked them, they never quite hit the mark. 

I came across a recipe recently for shortbread made in a sheet pan. The recipe sounded intriguing, except that it called for rice flour. I already have about 5 kinds of flour in my kitchen, none of which is white rice flour, so I started researching to find out if I could substitute something for the rice flour. Everything I read said that the rice flour imparts that specific light crumbly texture of true shortbread, and should not be left out or substituted. 

SO, of course, I got the rice flour! I stopped by THE MARKET in Woodstock, Va, because they have a full line of Bob's Red Mill baking products, and I got a small bag of white rice flour. I am not sorry I did! 

This recipe, altered a bit from the original, is as near perfect a shortbread as I've ever eaten! I love it! I hope you try it, and I sincerely hope you love it too!

INGREDIENTS

·      1 ¼ pounds (5 sticks) salted butter, room temperature

·      1 ¼ cups granulated sugar (I use raw organic sugar, which I believe contributes to the crispy texture)

·      1 tsp. vanilla extract

·      1 ¼ cups white rice flour (like Bob’s Red Mill…non-GMO)

·      4 cups unbleached organic all-purpose flour

·      2 tbsp more of the same raw organic sugar for topping

HOW TO MAKE IT

Preheat oven to 275. In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed with the paddle attachment until well-blended and fluffy. Add the vanilla. Add rice flour and beat on low speed until incorporated, scraping bowl as necessary. Gradually add the AP flour, beat on low until blended, again, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Line a 12 x 17 rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto the lined baking sheet and press or roll until very even and smooth. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tbsp of the topping sugar. Bake until shortbread is golden in the center, 60-65 minutes. Drape shortbread with another sheet of parchment and continue to bake until a finger pressed lightly in the center leaves no imprint, about 20-25 minutes more.

Set shortbread on a cooling rack and sprinkle with the remainder of the topping sugar. While hot, cut into 1x3 rectangles or 2 inch squares. A baking scraper works beautifully for cutting. Let cool completely in the pan.

Keep in airtight container at room temperature up to one week, or frozen, for up to 3 months.

SLOW COOKER APPLE BUTTER

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

Yield: At least a half-gallon
Prep Time: 1.5 hours
Cook Time: 10 hours
Total Time: 12 hours 30 minutes

An easy recipe for Apple Butter, made right in your slow cooker!

Ingredients:

6½ pounds apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used a combination of Golden Delicious,
Fuji and Galas. Also, I will tell you that it’s approximately 25 medium-sized apples that
makes about a half-gallon plus one pint. )
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon (I usually use two!)
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (I usually use two!)
10-15 drops of cinnamon oil flavoring (optional)

Directions:

1. Place apples in slow cooker. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugars, cinnamon,
nutmeg, cloves and salt. Sprinkle over the apples and stir gently to combine. Cook on
low for 10 hours.
2. Stir in vanilla extract (and the oil flavoring, if you choose), breaking up any large
chunks of apples that remain. Cover and cook for an additional 2 hours.
3. Remove cover and use an immersion blender to puree the apple butter until
completely smooth. (Alternately, you could puree in batches in a food processor or
regular blender.) If you want the apple butter thicker, you can continue to cook it on low
with the lid off the slow cooker slightly ajar so that steam can escape.
4. Allow the mixture to cool, then spoon into jars and store in the refrigerator for up to 2
weeks, or freeze for up to 2 months. (NOTE: A half-gallon of apple butter, obviously is
a lot. It lasts for months in my refrigerator without spoiling, molding or anything!)

Baked Asian Orange Glazed Chicken

 

Looking around the kitchen this evening for something for dinner, I found a package of organic chicken breasts in the freezer. It was already 3:30 pm, so, doing the math, I figured there was no way I was going to both thaw the chicken, AND have time to marinade it before cooking. I learned this trick some time ago for thawing frozen chicken, where one submerges the package in 140 degree water for about a  half hour. It works great! 

So, I began the thawing process while I looked around for other things. Hmmmm…soy sauce….love that. I always have garlic, and they go well together. I thought Asian flavors…what else can I add? 

ORANGE! I had half a jar of marmalade in the fridge and two oranges in the bowl, so that was a good sign! 

As it turns out, the marriage of these flavors became a delicious chicken dish that we will have many times in the future.

Note: I had a nice bag of Brussels sprouts in the freezer also. I halved them, tossed them in a bowl with melted coconut oil, and my usual mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, and seasoned salt, and roasted them in the same 400 degree oven next to the chicken. They roast to a nice dark caramelized finish in about 35-40 minutes. Bonus in all this was that the cooked glaze from the chicken was delicious drizzled over the Brussels sprouts.

Baked Asian Orange Glazed Chicken

¾ cup organic low sodium soy sauce

¾ cup orange marmalade (need to make my own in the future for organic)

1 ½ tbsp. minced garlic

1 ½ tbsp. organic corn starch

2 tsp. onion powder

Juice of two small cara cara navel oranges

3 or 4 organic chicken breasts

In a saucepan, mix all the above ingredients except the chicken. Bring to a slow boil, then reduce the heat, stirring well, until the water content is reduced by a quarter, or about 10 minutes.

Place chicken breasts in a single layer in a baking dish. Choose the smallest one that will fit the chicken with as little extra room as possible. Pour the mixture over the chicken and allow to sit for approximately a half hour.  Near the end of that half-hour, preheat oven to 400.  Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes, turning once after 15 minutes, until the internal temperature is at least 170 degrees.

Serve with some of glaze. The cooked glaze is great drizzled over roasted veggies, as well!

SOUTHWEST VEGETARIAN QUICHE

 

Ingredients

1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed

½ bag 'beefless' ground (Gardein brand)

½ sweet onion, chopped

2 tbsp. minced garlic

1 can (10-ounces) Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies

salt and fresh black pepper, to taste

1  tbsp. taco seasoning

5 eggs

4 oz Neufchatel Cream Cheese

2 cups Shredded White Cheddar Cheese

Instructions

1.    Preheat oven to 375.

2.    Remove the puff pastry from the box and paper wrapper, and lay out to defrost. This should take no longer than 40 minutes.

3.    Place onions in a skillet and sweat on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and beef substitute and heat, stirring frequently, for about 4 minutes on medium heat.

4.    In a food processor, mix together eggs, cream cheese, and cheddar until well blended. Add the tomatoes and chilies, salt and pepper, and taco seasoning. Pulse until mixed well.

5.    Spoon onion/beef substitute mixture the food processor and mix well with the other ingredients by pulsing. Don’t over mix or puree. You want some texture to remain.

6.    After the puff pastry has thawed, open both sheets fully, and lay one and then the other into the bottom of a 9 inch iron skillet (or pie plate). Offset the top one so that the points alternately point upward and lightly press into the bottom of the skillet with all corners of the pastry pointing toward the ceiling.

7.    Fill the pastry crust with the filling from the processor.

8.    Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until filling is set, and the crust is golden brown.

VEGETARIAN CARROT "BBQ"

I am not really a vegetarian, but I have cut way down on meat consumption in the past few years, in an effort to improve my health. I probably have meat 2-3 times a month. I have begun eating lots more fresh vegetables and fruits, and I am always thrilled when I find recipes that are traditionally made with meat, but that someone has found ways to effectively substitute some veggies for the animal products.

I came across a recipe for a "BBQ" made from carrots and onions. The pictures looked great! I knew immediately I needed to try this! So, like always, I printed out the recipe....and promptly lost it.

Today, while trying to de-paper a horizontal surface at the house, I came across the recipe!! It was kismet that yesterday, I had a weak moment at Costco, and bought a small truckload of carrots!! OK..well, the dog eats them too! Anyway, a very large bag of carrots for $7, and they were organic! Last night I even cut up and blanched and froze about three quart bags! But I digress.

So, looking through the recipe today, I mentally inventoried the kitchen, and since I had everything here, I set out to make this stuff. I was so glad I did! It truly is delicious! My wife was away from home while I was cooking, and when she came back, I had just finished. She walked through the door and said, "Wow, what is that cooking? It smells so good! I could smell it outside!" BINGO!

VEGETARIAN CARROT BBQ

Ingredients

• 7 large carrots – peeled and shredded
• ½ red onion
• ½ sweet onion
• 1 tbsp. olive oil (may take a little more)
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste (I used only the pepper to cut down on sodium)

For the BBQ sauce:

• 1 ¼ cup of tomato sauce (organic, low sodium)
• 1 ½ tbsp. minced garlic
• 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar (organic, unfiltered)
• 1 tablespoon of dark molasses
• 1/4 cup of brown sugar (organic)
• 1 teaspoon of sea salt
• 1 teaspoon of smoky paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried cilantro

Instructions

1.    Preheat the oven to 385° and line a baking pan with foil.

2.    Shred the carrots with the shredder attachment of your food processor or with a box or hand held grater.

3.    Quarter the onions and put them through the food processor using the slicing wheel.

4.    Put the carrots and onion in a large bowl and drizzle the olive oil over them. Toss well to coat and then spread them evenly in the foil-lined pan. Sprinkle ground sea salt and ground pepper evenly over the top. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and roast for thirty minutes, stirring after 15. The carrots and onions should be nice and soft, and lightly caramelized.

5.    While the carrots and onions are roasting, put the sauce ingredients in a blender (I used my rinsed-out food processor again) and blend until fully combined and smooth. Pour into a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and cook for twenty minutes, stir occasionally to avoid scorching the sauce.

6.    Add the roasted carrots and onions to the sauce and stir well to coat. Simmer for fifteen minutes.

7.    I served the BBQ on Hawaiian rolls to make sliders, and added some mixed white and yellow sharp cheddar cheeses.

8.    Enjoy!

(ALL ORGANIC) BLUEBERRY OATMEAL SCONES

I love scones! Always have! So when this recipe popped up for me, I quickly set about making it mine, making it healthier, and making it even tastier! This ended up being a very tasty, very tender scone, with amazing flavor...not too sweet...and even very light! So, since I had this lemon zest left over (see recipe), I thought a lemon glaze would really enhance the flavor of the blueberry scones. BINGO!! I WAS RIGHT!!

(I will have to add a better picture than the phone shot I took to post this on Facebook!)

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour or almond (I used organic white whole wheat)
• 1 ¼ cups oats (organic from Trader Joe’s)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder (organic)
• ¼ teaspoon Himalayan salt (ground my own pink Himalayan salt)
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest (so, I zested a whole lemon, used half the zest IN the scones)
• 1 tablespoon honey or preferred sweetener (organic agave)
• ⅓ cup almond milk (this time, I  used organic coconut milk)
• ¼ cups coconut oil (organic from Costco)
• 1 egg or egg replacement (organic cage-free)
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (I actually used frozen organic Maine blueberries from Trader Joe’s)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit. Mix together flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. In separate bowl mix honey, almond (or coconut) milk, coconut oil, and egg. Add wet mix to dry and stir together. Stir in blueberries.

Roll mixture into 1-inch balls and place on parchment paper on cookie sheet. (Here again, I got out my cutting board and shaped my dough on the board into a square, approximately ¾ inch thick, making sure to square up the sides. I then cut the square in equal small 1 ½ inch squares and put them on the parchment on my stoneware cookie pan.) Bake scones for 15 minutes. Enjoy scones warm or as a cool treat later. Makes about 2 dozen.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)  Cooking time: 15 minute(s)

Glaze

So, the other half of the lemon zest? I put it into a bowl, put in several heaping tablespoons of organic powdered sugar, and started with a single tablespoon of coconut milk. I mixed that thoroughly until smooth and shiny, and thin enough to be drizzled. I did have to increase the amounts of both sugar and coconut milk just a bit to increase the overall volume. When I got the scones out of the oven, I allowed them to cool just a bit, pulled them onto a cooling rack, with the parchment still under them, and drizzled the glaze back and forth over all the scones.