Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Scones with Cream Cheese Frosting

I altered a couple of recipes to come up with these, and my family loved them.  Though they are called "scones" they aren't quite the correct texture for scones; they are more moist, like a scone-shaped muffin.

Ingredients:

Scones:
2 cups unbleached flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon allspice
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup cold butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 can (15 ounce) pumpkin
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting:
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 ounce cream cheese
1 tablespoon whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease two baking sheets.
2. In a large bowl. mix together flours, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, salt, and brown sugar.
3. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender. (I cut it up into pieces before adding it to make cutting it into the flour mixture easier.)
4. Mix beaten eggs and pumpkin in another bowl.
5. Add pumpkin mixture and chocolate chips to flour mixture.  Mix until combined.
6.  Turn mixture out onto a floured surface and flatten into a circle a bit larger than a large plate.  Cut into 8-12 pie shaped pieces and transfer to baking sheets.  It will be sticky and a bit difficult to work with but should be fine if you use a floured utensil to pick the pieces up with.
7.  Bake 12-14 minutes until done.  Check with a knife; it should come out clean.

8.  Meanwhile, beat frosting ingredients until fluffy.
9. When scones are done, spread tops with frosting.  The warmth will help the frosting spread. You don't need a lot for each one, just a heavy glaze.  The frosting recipe makes enough for 12 scones.

These work just as well putting them in muffin tins.  Grease and flour (or use Pam for baking) and the pop right out.  Makes 24 muffins.

Rice with Chili Skillet

I had ground beef, but I didn't know what to do with it. A quick perusal through the cupboards told me I couldn't make any of our usual dishes made with ground beef, but I didn't want to go to the store. So, I got to thinking and decided to make a chili like topping to go over rice. Not only was it edible but I think both of my big kids have had three helpings, maybe more. Guess my creation is a keeper. Here's what I did:

Ingredients (amounts are estimated):

Rice
1 1/2 - 2 pounds ground beef
salt
pepper
chili powder
ground cumin
1/2 chopped onion
1 T minced garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes*
2 cans chili beans
cornstarch
water

* I used one can plain and one can basil, onion, and garlic flavor.

Cook rice.

Meanwhile, brown ground beef, onions, and garlic in a large skillet. Drain. Return to skillet and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add tomatoes and chili beans. Season with chili powder and cumin to taste. Let boil while rice cooks, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Ten minutes before serving, mix a teaspoon of cornstarch with a little water; add mixture to the skillet and stir. Serve over rice.

I was just throwing things together and never expected the kids to LOVE it.

Homemade Chicken Fettucine Alfredo Recipe

Did you know that Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo is a very frugal meal? It is a favorite in our house for lunch or dinner.

I often substitute whatever pasta I happen to have in the house. Angel hair pasta is my personal favorite.

For lunch, I usually omit the meat and just have pasta alfredo.

The two things that make it economical are:

1. Using chicken breasts in a frugal way as I posted before.
2. Making your own alfredo, or white, sauce. It's easy and only takes a few minutes.
   

Homemade Alfredo Sauce Recipe

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour OR 1 Tablespoon corn starch
1 cup milk
1/4 - 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.

Add flour and stir to make a roux. (I use a gravy wisk.)

Add milk and stir constantly until thickened.

Add cheese and stir until melted and incorporated.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Notes: If I don't have parmesan cheese, I add grated cheddar cheese instead.

If you use flour, the alfredo will have a grainy texture which might bother you if you are used to the smooth texture of bottled sauce. You can substitute corn starch, if you prefer. I mix it into the milk instead of adding it to the butter.

Restaurant Style Refried Beans

We love these refried beans because they taste like the ones you get at Mexican restaurants. Even better is the fact that these beans cost the equivalent of paying $0.35 a can which is better than any price I've ever seen. I posted the step-by-step recipe with photos for almost every step over at eHow earlier but wanted to get it here for those who aren't stopping by over there.

Here's what you'll need:
3 pounds pinto beans, sorted & rinsed
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 cup manteca (lard), divided

Add beans to a large stock pot and cover with water about double the depth of the beans. Add onion, garlic, salt, ground cumin, and 1/4 cup (a big dollop) manteca. Boil on high for 2 hours, checking occasionally to add more water as needed. If you prefer to cook them slower, you can boil them on medium for 3 1/3 to 4 hours. You want the beans to be very soft and mushy. The water will turn a reddish, brown. Once they are done, you can leave them on a low simmer until you need them.

When you want to fry them, prepare a large frying pan with 1/4 cup manteca. When the manteca is melted (over medium high heat) and the pan is hot, add about half the beans with some of the water. Mash and stir them with a potato masher. Add more bean liquid to thin beans to desired consistency, if needed. If they are too thin, add and mash more drained beans and continue to heat. They will thicken. Restaurant beans are normally pretty thin.

You can now either store the rest of the beans whole or mash the rest in another 1/4 cup of manteca.

This recipe makes 16-17 cups of refried beans. There are a few ways to store the cooked beans:

1. You can put the whole beans in the fridge and mash as needed. I do this if I think we'll eat them by the end of the week.
2. You can mash them all and store them in the fridge to use as needed. This tends to thicken the leftover beans.
3. You can mash them all and freeze them in meal-sized portions for later use. When needed, bring them to room temperature and reheat in a sauce pan like you would with canned beans.

Enjoy!

Basic Wheat Bread

The Heart of the Matter' weekly meme theme is Tried and True Recipes and bread was specifically mentioned. I have a tried and true basic bread recipe that we love here at our house. It is very easy to alter slightly, which I do often, and shape into whatever shape I happen to need that day. I use my bread maker to do the mixing and kneading because I have weak hands and am prone to carpal tunnel syndrom. I bake in the oven because I prefer the results to using the bread maker for the whole process.

Basic Wheat Bread

1 cup lukewarm water

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups flour (*see notes below)

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

**NOTES: I use a mixture of whole wheat and unbleached white flour totaling three cups. 100% whole wheat is too dense for us when homemade. 1 1/2 cups wheat and 1 1/2 cups white is just about perfect, but I've been known to be lazy and just do 2 cups wheat and 1 cup white. When I want a lighter, less dense bread, I use 1 cup wheat and 2 cups white. I've used 3 cups white and no wheat as well.

Put everything in the bread machine pan in order listed and start the dough cycle. When done, remove and shape as desired. Let proof for 20-30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. I do not preheat the oven; I find this gives me a lighter crust that my children prefer. Baking time may vary for your oven but 15-17 minutes works perfect for me, where 20 minutes makes the crust too dark and crunchy. Just watch the bread the first few times you make it until you figure out what is perfect for you.

Sometimes I like to add a teaspoon of garlic powder to the bread and some hard cheese (parmesan/romano/asiago). I just toss in a bunch of cheese so I don't have a measurement...maybe a 1/4 cup or so. I brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle more cheese on top before baking. This version I bake in a single long loaf as a side to dinner. Yum!