Tea Time

Savory Bacon Cheddar Scones

3 cups Bisquick

2 eggs

1/3 cup milk (plus a few tablespoons more to brush on top of the scones before baking)

1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

2 scallions, sliced thin

6 slices of pepper bacon, cooked/cooled/chopped

shredded parm (optional)

Mix together the ingredients in the order they are listed.  You'll end up with a soft dough.  Form this into a ball.  Press the ball of dough flat until you have a circle that's about an inch thick.  Use a knife or a pizza cutter to cut the circle into wedges.  Place the wedges of dough on a greased baking sheet (or you can use parchment paper).  Brush each wedge with a little milk and sprinkle with shredded parm.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. 

Chicken Salad BLAT Tea Sandwiches

4 slices wheat bread

2 chicen breast, cooked and shredded (see below)
1/4 cup diced tomatoes (I cut grape tomatoes into quarters)
4 slices of pepper bacon, cooked/cooled, and chopped
1/4 cup diced avocado
1/2 cup mayo

Juice and zest from half a lemon
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp whole grain or dijon mustard
lettuce
You can use any cooked chicken for these sandwiches. If you have leftover roasted chicken or grilled chicken you can shred it up and use it for this sandwich (as long as it isn't seasoned in a way that would clash with the cranberries). I like to cut up a carrot, celery stalk, and an onion and put them in a pot with a bay leaf and a chicken breast (and some fresh thyme if I have it). Then I add water to cover everything and bring it to a low boil. When the chicken is cooked through I remove it from the liquid, shred it, and put it in the fridge. Once it's cooled I add the tomato, and bacon. In a small bowl mix together the mayo, lemon juice, lemon zst, seasonings, and mustard until blended well.  Add the seasoned mayo to the chicken mixture a few tablespoons at a time.  Add as much or as little as you like for your chicken salad.  Place the chicken salad on white bread with lettuce.  Add diced avocado and top with another slice of bread.  Cut off crusts and cut into finger sandwiches.
 
 
Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches

I posted a recipe for this chicken salad a while back.  To make them as tea sandwiches just cut off the crust and cut them into small squares or triangles.  Here's a link to the recipe I posted before...

http://justdishin.blogspot.com/2010/02/cranberry-walnut-chicken-salad-sandwich.html

Cucumber & Cream Cheese Tea Sandwiches

These are too simple to really write a recipe for ;)  All you do is spread cream cheese on two slices of white bread.  Top one slice with thin slices of cucumber.  Put the other slice of bread with cream cheese on top.  Trim the crusts off of the bread, and cut into small triangles.

Salmon BLT with Lemon Aioli

Why a salmon BLT?  Because you can't go wrong with bacon :)  It makes everything better...even things that are already yummy on thrir own.

12 oz salmon filet

4 slices of pepper bacon, cooked until crispy

cajun seasoning

pepper

butter lettuce (you can use whatever lettuce you like or have on hand)

one tomato

Lemon Aioli (recipe below)

4 slices of sourdough bread, lightly toasted

For this sandwich I made the salmon using my Blackened Cajun Salmon recipe.  Once the salmon is cooked allow it to cool for about five minutes.  Then remove the skin by sliding a spatula or a knife between the salmon and the skin. 

Toast four slices of sourdough bread.  Spread the lemon aioli on one side of each slice.  Top two slices with lettuce, salmon, bacon, tomato, and another slice of bread. 

Lemon Aioli

1/2 cup mayo

Juice and zest from half a lemon

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp cajun seasoning

1 tsp chili powder

1 dash hot sauce (if you want a little heat)

Whisk all of the ingredients together and set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  This makes a great sandwich spread or a dip for veggies and/or seafood.

Mini Calzones and Spinach & Artichoke Dip

This recipe is a combination of a few different ideas,  and ended up making two dishes instead of one.  The recipe for the filling came from the show 'Every Day Italian' on the Food Network.  Giada made these veggie stuffed pancakes...and while the filling looked yummy I just couldn't wrap my head around putting it in a pancake.  I'm sure it's good I just thought it'd be even better in a calzone ;)  They turned out to be preety darn yummy.  A great way to hide some veggies from the kiddos...or yourself ;)  What I should have realized was that the original recipe made WAY more filling than I needed....so I ended up using that to make spinach & artichoke dip...which turned out to be pretty yummy too :)  If you wanted to just make the calzones you could cut the amount of veggies...or you could make a bigger batch by using two things of pizza dough.

Here is the link to the original reecipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/veggie-stuffed-pancakes-recipe/index.html

And here's how I made it:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, finely diced
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup
1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (plus another 1 cup for the dip)
8 oz. sliced pepperoni
1 package refridgerated pizza dough

1/2 to 3/4 cups whole milk

galic salt

pepper

olive oil

Your favorite pizza sauce or marinara sauce and/or ranch for dipping
Directions

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic and saute until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Transfer the vegetable mixture to a large bowl. Add the basil, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and mascarpone cheese. Stir the mixture until well mixed.

Roll out the refridgerated pizza dough on a lightly floured surface.  Using a large cookie cutter or a drinking glass cut circles out of the dough.  Once you've cut as many circles as you can pickup the extra dough and roll it out again to cut more circles.  You should be able to get 18-20 circles. 

Preheat according to the teperature on the pizza dough package.  Lightly grease a 9 by 12-inch baking dish (or individual baking dishes). Using about half the vegetable mixture fill the calzones. Lay one circle of dough down on a work surface, top with a tablespoon of vegetable mixture, a slice or two of pepperoni, and sprinkle with some mozzarella cheese. Fold the dough in half around the vegetable mixture and place in the baking dish. Crimp the edges closed with a fork and poke a few holes in the top.  Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with shredded parm.  Continue with the remaining dough, placing in the baking dish about an inch apart.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Spinach Artichoke Dip:

Place the remaining vegetable mixture in a blender with 1/2 cup whole milk. Blend until smooth.  Return to the pan.  Add 1/4 cup shredded parm and 1 cup shredded.  Heat over medium low heat until cheese is melted.  Season with garlic salt and pepper to taste.  Place in a serving dish.  Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.  Serve with chips and/or sour dough bread.

yummy

Seared Ahi Lettuce Wraps

I have always wanted to make seared ahi, but I was a little intimidated by it.  I wish I had tried a long time ago....it was actually really easy and SOOOOO good.  This would make a great appetizer, but for two people it was a meal.

One 8 to 10 oz. ahi tuna steak

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 TBS honey

2 TBS mirin

2TBS rice vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground pepper

1/4 cup sesame seeds

1 TBS vegetable oil

Head of butter lettuce

1 carrot, peeled and shredded

1 scallion sliced thin

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 avocado, peeled and diced

1 cup cooked brown rice

In a shallow dish whisk together the soy sauce, honey, mirin, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, and pepper.  Add the ahi and let it marindae in the fridge for at least an hour.  Place the sesame seeds on a plate or in a shallow dish.  Press the marinated ahi in to the sesame seeds.  Turn the ahi to coat it in the sesame seeds.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet....you want it super hot...the oil should be starting to ripple, and about to smoke.  Add the ahi and let it sear for about a minute each side.  Remove from the pan and let cool for 5-10 minutes.  Slice against the grain. 

Use one lettuce leaf as your "cup".  Place a few spoonfuls of brown rice in the cup.  Top it with carrot, scallion, cilantro, avocado, and place a few slices of the ahi on top.

For a dipping sauce combine 3 TBS soy sauce, 1 TBS rice vinegar, a tsp sesame oil, a tsp honey, a tsp garlic salt, and a pinch of crushed red pepper.

Penne with Chicken, Asparagus, and Tomatoes

The original recipe was just for penne with asparagus and tomatoes, which would make a good side dish....but I decided to add chicken to make it a main dish. 

For the chicken I just seasoned two chicken breasts with dried basil, dried oregano, garlic salt, and pepper.  Then I sauteed it in a few tablespoons of olive oil.  Then I set it aside while I followed the rest of the recipe.  Once the recipe was complete I sliced the chicken up and added it on top of the pasta.  Then I sprinkled some shredded parm on top and ate it up :)

Here is a link the original recipe...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/penne-with-asparagus-and-cherry-tomatoes-spring-recipe/index.html

When I make this again I think I'll be adding one more garlic clove and a tiny bit of crushed red pepper.

Honey Soy Broiled Salmon

This is a yummy and quick way to enjoy your salmon, and goes great with a little steamed rice.  Here is a link to the recipe...

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/honey_soy_salmon.html

Boozy Beef Stew With Caramelized Onions

Ok...the original name for this recipe is "Beef Stew With Caramelized Onions and Amber Lager" and it calls for a 12 ounce bottle of beer.  I ended up using a 12 ounce bottle of beer and a half a cup of wine....so it's a little more boozy than your average stew ;)

Here's a link to the recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/beef-stew-with-caramelized-onions-and-amber-lager-recipe/index.html

And here is how I made it....

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 lbs beef stew meat, preferably chuck, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 yellow onion, sliced
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose (plain) flour
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 bottle (12 fluid ounces) good-quality amber lager or pale ale
1/4 cup red wine
1 cup (8 fluid ounces) beef or chicken broth
Salt and ground pepper

Directions

In a large, heavy pot, warm the oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Season the meat with a dash of salt and pepper.  Working in batches, brown the meat well on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes. Adjust the heat as necessary to keep the meat from scorching. Transfer the browned meat to a plate and repeat until all the meat is browned.

Add the onions and butter to the pot and stir over high heat until the onions start to soften, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and sprinkle in the sugar. Continue to cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the flour, thyme, rosemary and carrots and raise the heat to high. Stir for 1 minute, then pour in the lager or ale and wine, letting it come to a vigorous boil. Stir in the broth and return to a boil.
Return the meat and any accumulated juices on the plate to the pot.  Add the potatoes and let the liquid come just to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the meat is tender when pierced (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve on warmed individual plates.

Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp

Another yummy recipe from thepioneerwoman.com.  The great thing about this recipe was how little time it takes to make.  There's very little prep, and the shrimp cooks quickly.  Plus you really cannot go with a shrimp recipe that includes butter and garlic ;) 

I like to keep a bag of peeled/de-veined shrimp in the freezer for a quick dinner because they defrost quickly and you can do a lot of different things with them.  This receipe used things I always have on hand so I am sure I'll be making it again :)

Here's a link the the recipe...

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/11/spicy-orange-garlic-shrimp/

The only change I made to the recipe was to cut back on the cayenne pepper.  I only used about an 1/8 of a teaspoon.  That gave it a little heat, but nothing too crazy.