(Super Easy and Super Quick) Mini Chocolate Chip Scones

Yield: Approximately 10 dozen mini scones


Ingredients:
3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) mini chocolate chips
2 cups heavy whipping cream


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly grease two baking sheets (if not parchment paper).
Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in chocolate chips. Add whipping cream to flour mixture, stirring just until ingredients are moistened. Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until a soft dough forms, about 2 minutes.

Divide dough into 4 equal balls. One ball at a time, flatten into a square/rectangle about ½ inch in thickness; cut into 1 inch strips; cut into mini triangles. Transfer triangles to prepared baking sheets, spacing one inch apart.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

A Taste of Japan

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post. So Very Sorry for that. I have opened and saved this post I don't know how many times. But just could never get it done. The boys have become more and more demanding of me and I am just exhausted by the time they are both in bed. Anyhoo, this post was really supposed to go up right after we got back from our trip back home for Christmas. . .

I don't know about your family, but we have two very small boys, ages 2 and 8 months. We decided to take a roadtrip home for Christmas (what were we thinking??) -- a 12 hour roadtrip on a good day with no kids in tow. Okie dokie. So, on said roadtrip, we partook in way too many fast foods, just stopping long enough to change diapers, let the 2 year old run around and feed the baby. Oh, and stuff our face with megaloads of grease and calories. When we returned, my husband and I craved healthy, non-greasy, simple, light food. Do you remember this post from way back? We decided to whip up a meal like that -- a typical Japanese meal. It was lovely. We had miso soup with shiitake mushrooms, tuna and salmon sashimi, Japanese rice, a cold tofu dish with fresh ginger and scallions, potstickers, and a fresh cucumber and red onion salad. Lots and lots of small plates. This was such a welcome change from the two days of fast food on the road.

Miso Soup
(Serves 2)

2 cups water
1/2 tsp powdered fish stock base (you can find this at an asian food store)
2 tbsp miso paste (currently I am using white miso paste) -- or more or less depending on your personal taste
1 green onion, sliced thinly
2 tbsp silken tofu, diced small
4 medium sized shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and sliced thinly

Whisk miso paste and fish stock base into water. Bring to simmer. Let simmer about 5 minutes. Place sliced green onions and tofu and mushrooms into soup bowls. Pour hot soup over ingredients in bowls. Ready to eat!

For those of you that live in the Atlanta metro area, are you familiar with Super H Mart? It is a terrific Asian supermarket. There are a few locations in the Atlanta area; and I also just checked the website -- there are lots of other locations across the US. You can get wonderful fresh vegetables at very low prices as well as meat. They have fish that is super fresh and you can pick out what you want and they will clean it for you. Their sashimi grade fish is so delish! It is mostly Korean-based foods, but I have always been able to find whatever I needed for Japanese, Thai, and Chinese cooking.

Betty's Frosted Sugar Cookies

These are the most wonderful frosted sugar cookies I have ever had. And believe me, I have tried many many different ones because they are my most favorite cookie ever. The recipe I use is from my dear friend's mom. I have been eating these since high school! That is a really long time! My friend's mom would make them at Christmas time and other special occasions and I loved going to her house when she had made them.

Betty's Frosted Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Cream together butter and sugar til light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in vanilla. Stir together dry ingredients; gradually adding to creamed mixture. Chill dough thorough (3-4 hours).

On well floured surface, roll dough 1/8" thick, cut and bake on ungreased cookie sheet in 375 degree oven for 6-8 minutes. Frost with powdered sugar frosting. Betty didn't give me a recipe -- just keep adding a little bit of milk to powdered sugar until it is spreadable consistency. Betty adds 1/2 stick of cream cheese to help with texture (and taste)!

Lox

Wow! Sooooo yummy AND sooooo easy, too!!

Rinse and pat dry the freshest salmon filet (with skin) you can find. Cut in half. (Or if you want A LOT of lox, just get two equally sized filets.) Mix equal parts kosher salt and sugar (try 1/4 cup of each to start) add about 1 tbsp crushed black peppercorns. Spread a very generous amount of the salt/sugar/peppercorn mixture onto one filet. Add very generous amount of fresh dill on top of that and then spread some more salt/sugar/peppercorn mixture over the dill. Lay the second half of the salmon on top (flesh side down) on top of the other. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place in glass baking dish. Place another heavy glass baking dish on top and weigh it down with anything heavy -- I used a full bottle of vegetable oil and a full jar of vinegar. Place in refrigerator for 48 hours, turning over every 12 hours. After the 48 hours are up, remove the plastic wrap and wipe off all of the dill and salt/sugar/peppercorn mixture with a paper towel. Slice very very thin on a bias (make sure you have a very sharp knife). . . VOILA! Serve with crackers (or bagels, or baguette slices), cream cheese, capers, red onion, etc. Wasn't that easy?! And how much money do you save by making it yourself? Lots.

Cranberry Margaritas

Rod and I made these Thanksgiving day for our guests. They were a big hit!

Makes 4 margaritas:

3/4 cup cranberry juice
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup fresh frozen cranberries
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup tequila (or more or less depending on how strong you want them)
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
ice

Blend all together in blender. Enjoy!

Now we have to come up with a signature cocktail for New Year's Eve as we are hosting a mini McFaddenFest! I'll keep you posted. . .

The Most Amazingly Easy Toffee Recipe

The other day, my good friend, Jennifer, came over and we baked all afternoon. It was so much fun to spend time with her AND make tasty treats at the same time. Our favorite sweet treat we made was the Butter Toffee. I have OD'ed on this for the past two nights. It will be gone before I can even give any away for Christmas treats!

Pasta with Pancetta, Asparagus and Sun Dried Tomatoes

We made this last night. Rod was supposed to be out of town until today, but called me in the afternoon and said he'd be home in a little bit. I was very excited, but started to panic because I hadn't been to the store this week. I had to whip something up for dinner with what we had in the fridge. It just so happened that we had asparagus and bacon. Hmmmm. . . I thought PASTA! Rod surprised me and said he had stopped and got some pancetta. I would've made this with bacon, but pancetta is even better! Perfect.

4 slices of pancetta, cut into cubes
about 1 cup fresh asparagus, sliced into 1 inch slices
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, sliced very thin
1/4 cup white wine (we used pinot grigio)
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp fresh grated parmesan cheese
salt/pepper to taste
4 oz. penne pasta noodles

Get your pot of water for the pasta boiling, because this is really quick dish to cook up. Boil pasta. While pasta is cooking, saute pancetta over medium-high heat until crispy. Drain on paper towel and put aside. Pour off excess fat from pan, keeping about 1 to 2 tsp for sauteeing the rest of the ingredients. Add garlic and shallots to pan, saute until starting to brown. Add asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes and pancetta and salt and pepper. Saute until asparagus until almost to desired doneness. Add white wine and reduce. Add cream and reduce. Remove from heat. Mix in pasta noodles. Serve with grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!!!

Homemade Baby Food

I have been busy! Fin is now eating solid food, so I got my blender out and have been pureeing and freezing all kinds of veggies and fruits. It is such a great thing to be able to do for my baby. I did this for Max and now am doing it for Fin. Sometimes people ask why I don't just buy baby food because they think it takes so much time to make it. Actually, it takes me less time to make more food than I could buy in the same amount of time. I make my own for three reasons: 1) so I know exactly what is going into his mouth; 2) it is much less expensive; and 3) deciding what to buy at the store makes my head go 'round -- there are way too many choices!

So what I do is cook the vegetable or fruit or meat and then puree it in the blender or food processor. I pour it into ice cube trays and cover it with cellophane wrap and just pop it in the freezer overnight. Then I pop the little cubes out and put them into a ziploc freezer bag and back into the freezer they go. When I am ready to feed him, I get a couple cubes out and thaw them in the microwave. It's as simple as that. In the freezer right now we have pears, butternut squash, yellow squash, green beans and sweet potatoes. I am planning on doing peas, acorn squash, and white beans this afternoon. And if I can get to the store, I'll pick up some chicken breasts and veal to do as well.

I have also made my own oatmeal powder so that it is not too chunky for him. I just put some old fashioned oats in the blender and blend it into a fine powder, then cook it up and let it cool. I usually make enough to last a few days and put it in the fridge and sppon out what I need. I mix this with mashed bananas and yogurt for him for breakfast. He is such a good eater and has not rejected anything yet.

This is a wonderful book and has helped me with learning what foods to make at what stages. It is well-used.

Yummy Soup in the Crockpot

From my good friend, Grayson:

MEXICAN BLACK BEAN, TOMATO, and CORN SOUP

Two 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained

One 4.5 oz can chopped roasted green chiles w/ juice

One can Ro-Tel tomatoes and chiles w/ juice

One 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes w/ juice

One 11 oz can yellow corn, drained

1/2 small onion, chopped

One teaspoon garlic powder

One teaspoon chili powder

One teaspoon cumin

1/2 cup beef or chicken broth

Toppings:

shredded cheddar cheese

sour cream

corn chips

Add all ingredients (except cheese and sour cream) to crockpot. Stir to mix well, and then taste for salt & pepper. Add salt/pepper till taste is right (I added 1/2 tsp of kosher salt). Then cover and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours. Add more broth to thin out, if needed. Serve in bowls topped with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Serve corn chips on side if desired.

***We made this tonight and it was PERFECT. It has been cold and rainy here and we have all been sick in this house. The last thing I wanted to do was fuss with cooking a meal. The only thing I would've probably changed about this yummy recipe is (per my husband's request) added some shredded pork. We baked some corn bread muffins to go with this and even my 2 year old boy ate it!

I Have Been Tagged!

Tag you are it. (I hope I did this right!)

THE RULES:

*** Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

***Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

*** Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their name as well as links to their blog.

*** Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.




1. I never cared for chocolate until I became pregnant with my second child; now I can't get enough of the stuff.



2. I love reality TV; current favorites being 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta', 'Dr 90210' and 'Dancing with the Stars.'



3. My husband and I were married barefoot on the beach in the British Virgin Islands.


4. I wish I could get a pixie cut, but my hair would stick straight out on all sides.


5. I was born in Japan.


6. I wish I could sew.


7. I need to eat more veggies.


Tagged:

Life Unscripted: http://www.fivestrongs.blogspot.com/
Peace Love and Yoga: http://www.greengirlwannabe.blogspot.com/
Dandelion Dayz: http://www.dandeliondayz.com/
Jason for the Love of God: http://www.jasonfortheloveofgod.blogspot.com/

Stir Fried Ginger Shrimp

I am back! I can't believe it has been two weeks since my last post. I have been super busy, mostly with my two little ones. By the time I have some free time to sit down and blog, I am so exhausted that I just want to be horizontal on the couch watching some mindless reality TV. I have so many things to get on this blog, but let's first start with this shrimp recipe that I made. I found this recipe in the latest Cooking Light magazine. It was so easy and quick. I changed up a couple of things, because that's just what I do. For example, I didn't use celery and instead I added sliced zucchini. I also used 2 tbsp of mirin instead of the 1 tbsp that the recipe calls for. Mirin may be hard for some of you to find. It is a sweet Japanese rice wine. I get it at a very large Asian super market near here.

Stir Fried Ginger Shrimp
Yield
4 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Ingredients
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of white pepper
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon mirin (sweet rice wine) --I used 2 tbsp
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon chile paste with garlic (such as sambal oelek)
1 tablespoon canola oil, divided
1 cup thinly vertically sliced onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup diagonally cut celery (I used zucchini)

Preparation
1. Place shrimp in a medium bowl. Sprinkle with ginger, salt, and pepper; toss well. Let stand 5 minutes.
2. Combine 1/2 cup water and next 6 ingredients (through chile paste) in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
3. Heat 1 teaspoon canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp mixture to pan; stir-fry 2 minutes. Remove shrimp mixture from pan; set aside. Wipe pan dry with a paper towel. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons canola oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; stir-fry 1 minute. Add celery; stir-fry 1 minute. Return shrimp mixture to pan; stir-fry 1 minute or until shrimp are done.
4. Add water mixture to pan. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly with a whisk. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information
Calories:
192 (31% from fat)
Fat: 6.7g (sat 0.8g,mono 2.9g,poly 2.3g)
Protein: 23.8g
Carbohydrate: 7.2g
Fiber: 0.8g
Cholesterol: 172mg
Iron: 3mg
Sodium: 594mg
Calcium: 82mg
Charlene Dy, Vancouver, British Columbia, Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2008

Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat

This is a wonderful book/cookbook. I have this book and it totally makes sense. See, my mother is Japanese and she has aged beautifully and of course, she can eat whatever she wants and will not gain any weight. Why, then, was I not blessed with these wonderful genes? Because, according to the book, it isn't about having fantastic genes or amazing metabolisms. . . it is all about WHAT you eat and HOW you eat it. Naomi Moriyama, the author, says that when she came to the states as an exchange student during her high school years, she gained a lot of weight. This was because of the American diet, full of fat and much bigger portions than in Japan. When she returned to Japan and went back to eating the Japanese way, the pounds immediately started to melt away.

The book suggests having many small dishes on the table to choose from and having more vegetables than anything else. I remember back to my time living in Japan and this is so true -- Japanese tables are filled with many small dishes and there is always a bowl of rice served as well as a bowl of miso soup. Instead of the American sized dinner plate, the Japanese eat off of a smaller plate, much like our salad plate. And one more thing: they use chopsticks. Try this sometime. You will be amazed at how much less food you eat and still feel satisfied.

My husband and I did this the other night. I made a smaller amount of the main protein dish. In addition, I made miso soup; rice; sauteed zucchini, carrots and shallots; and we had sashimi salmon. We ate on salad plates and just took little bits of each dish onto our plates and got more as we wanted. We had a big bowl of miso soup with tofu bits and a small bowl of rice. We also ate with chopsticks. I was amazed that we didn't even finish the protein dish (Bulgogi -- Korean 'barbecued' beef -- I will post the recipe for the marinade below), which if I would've dished it onto a normal sized dinner plate, we would have finished it all. I'm sure if we ate like this every day for a while, we would get used to it and eat less and perhaps lose some weight!

Bulgogi

4 servings

1 pound beef (we used rib-eye that was very thinly sliced)

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or less if you don't want it spicy)

3 green onions, sliced thinly (including whites)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp canola oil

Mix all ingredients except beef and canola oil. Put into ziplog bag and add beef. Make sure all beef is coated well. Refrigerate for 30+ minutes. Heat canola oil in frypan or wok over medium high heat. Add beef and cook until browned. Serve with rice.

Naunie's Rolls

I got the recipe for these fabulous yeast rolls off of my very dear friend's mom's blog. Check out her website -- she has lots going on. They were so quick and easy and the smell of the yeast baking permeated the entire house. I hope she doesn't mind that I put a link to her blog on my here?? They were just so luscious that I wanted to share!

PUNKINS!!!

Woohooooo!! Punkins! Punkins! More Punkins!!! Max was so excited he could hardly control himself. Yesterday we drove waaaaay out into the country to a big pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins. When we got out of the truck and started walking up to the patch, we ran into a lady carrying three pumpkins in her arms. Max ran straight up to her and screamed, "PUNKINS!" He tried to take one from her, but we assured him that there would be more for him where we were going. The closer we got to the festivities, the stronger the smell of pumpkin something baking. mmmmmm. We could not have asked for a more perfect day and setting -- cool, crisp, sunny fall day with the leaves just starting to turn; pumpkins everywhere; the smell of pumpkin pie (or pumpkin bread?) baking somewhere nearby; and lots and lots of kids running around picking out the perfect pumpkins for their homes.

The smell of the pumpkin spices baking motivated me to once again get my mini pumpkin loaves baking, so as I type this, I am waiting for another batch to finish in the oven. Rod was so sad because he was out of town the last time I baked them and he didn't get any. . . I had ended up giving away three of the four loaves and Max and I inhaled the one that was left before Rod came home. Lucky for him, he is home this time around! And I just thought of another thing I should make for this pumpkin bread -- a yummy spiced cream cheese spread! ooh. Doesn't that sound delicious?

Happy Fall y'all.

Super Yummy Hummus

Dear Megan,

Hey! Have you tried this hummus? Sabra?

It's super yummy -- even my 2 year old loves it. I know you asked for recipes, but I don't think I have any recipes with hummus; or any that I can whip out at the moment. All I know is that this is the best hummus I have ever had; we buy it in bulk at my house. If you haven't already, you must try it. And I'll keep my eyes open for a kick-a hummus recipe for you.

Bye for now,

A