Raspberry Almond Scones

Scones might just be my favorite food. I like them so much that I named my blog after them. They are simultaneously flaky, buttery, crumbly, and delicious. Plus, there are SO many variations. Let's have a moment of silence to reflect on how magnificent scones truly are...

Sorry, but I'm not even ashamed. I love them that much. At my house, there's a running "Scone of the Week" in which I (you guessed it) make a different kind of scone each week. This week, I made Raspberry Almond Scones that I found on Two Peas & Their Pod.  

They were some of the best I've ever made. I doubled the amount of almond extract in the scones and the glaze, and the almond flavor was killer with the fresh raspberries. Plus, they were SO pretty (trust me, my pictures don't do them justice)! Try these scones; you won't regret it. 

RASPBERRY ALMOND SCONES

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

3 T sugar

1/2 t salt

6 T butter, cold and cut into chunks

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 t almond extract

1/3 c sliced almonds

1 c raspberries

for the glaze-

1 cup powdered sugar

4 T heavy cream

1 t almond extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Add in chunks of butter and cut into flour mixture with fork or pastry blender. 

Once mixture resembles course crumbs, pour in heavy cream and almond extract. Stir just until batter starts to come together; don't overstir. Stir in almonds and rasberries until incorporated into the dough.

Place the dough onto a floured surface and pat into a circle about 3/4 inches thick. Use a flour-dipped knife to cut into 8 wedges. Transfer to a cookie sheet (but make sure to flour your hands first; the dough will be sticky). Brush the top of the scones with a bit of heavy cream. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until scones are golden and beautiful!

While your scones are baking, whisk all the glaze ingredients together. When it's time to glaze the scones, pour glaze into ziploc bag, cut a tiny hole in the corner, and pipe onto scones. You can also use a fork to swirl glaze on, or just dip those bad boys straight in the glaze; I was making them for company so I was feeling a little fancy. Then marvel at the beauty of your creation and eat up!

Turkey Taco Salad

This was delicious. And easy. And healthy. A triple threat. Plus, it's very versatile. You can use whatever type of meat, lettuce, or toppings you want. But ground turkey is healthy and has a light flavor that is really nice in the salad. 

I made my own taco seasoning and guacamole, and they were perfect on the salad. I also roasted corn on the cob, and it turned out sweet and salty and delicious. Yum. 

TACO SEASONING

1 tablespoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon onion powder 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano Put all ingredients in a plastic sandwich bag and shake until combined.  GUACAMOLE 2 avocado 1 lime sea salt to taste 2-3 cloves of garlic 1 T white onion, diced 1 T sour cream dash of hot sauce optional: cilantro Mash avocado with the bottom of a plastic cup, leaving in some larger chunks. Squeeze in lime juice and give it a little stir. Mince garlic or put it through a garlic press. Add to avocado mixture, along with onion. Add sour cream and hot sauce. Grind in a bit of sea salt and stir together.  TACO SALAD 1 recipe for taco seasoning 2 lbs ground turkey 1 red pepper, diced 1 yellow onion, diced 1 T olive oil 5 corn cobs with husks on 2 tomatoes 1 bunch green onions 1 can black beans 1 recipe for guacamole low-fat cheddar cheese Doritos 1 big package spring mix lettuce optional- dressing of your choice (I drizzled my salad with Jalapeno Ranch and it was perfect) Place corn (with husks still on) in the oven and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. When they're done, peel husks off and cut corn off the cob; I place the cob in the hole of a bundt pan and slice downwards. Put olive oil in large skillet and add ground turkey, onion, red pepper, and taco seasoning. Cook on medium-high heat until browned, stirring consistently. Remove from heat and drain grease of necessary.  Chop up green onions, dice tomatoes, and drain black beans. Place all toppings in their own bowls.  Place lettuce in a bowl. Top with turkey, corn, tomatoes, black beans, a few crushed Doritos, a bit of cheese, guacamole, green onions, and dressing if desired. Enjoy. Yields 8 servings.

1/2 teaspoon paprika 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon black pepper

Chorizo Breakfast Burritos

Breakfast is probably my favorite meal of the day. It takes so many forms that are, in my humble opinion, delicious. I especially love breakfast burritos. You can do so many great things with them! Last night, I was feeling breakfast-for-dinner and had some chorizo, ripe, avocado, and fresh tomato on hand. Breakfast burritos were a natural choice. The ones I made were fairly simple. But they were absolutely delicious!

To ramp up the flavor of the scrambled eggs, I made them in the pan I had just used to fry my chorizo. The sausage grease adds this delicious flavor that takes the burritos over the top! I also chopped up some avocado and tomato for the top. The acidity and creaminess were so fresh, and paired perfectly with the slightly spicy chorizo. YUM. 

The best thing about breakfast burritos is the variation. You can add fresh salsa, homemade guac, sautéed onions and/or peppers, different kinds of cheese, or anything else that might suit your fancy. The possibilities are endless!

CHORIZO BREAKFAST BURRITOS

1 lb chorizo

8 eggs

1/4 cup milk

salt and pepper

1-2 avocado, sliced into chunks

1-2 tomatoes, diced

4 whole wheat flour tortillas

2/3 cup shredded cheddar

Put chorizo in a skillet and cook over medium-high heat until browned. Remove from skillet, taking care to leave some of the grease in the skillet.

In a bowl whisk together eggs, milk, and salt/pepper/ Pour into skillet with grease and scramble. Take off the heat.

Wrap tortillas in paper towel and microwave 30 seconds, until warm and soft. Remove and place each tortilla on a different plate. Place eggs, sausage, avocado, tomato, cheese and any other desired toppings on tortilla. Wrap up and enjoy!

Breakfast is coming...

As you might be able to tell from the title of my blog, I am deeply passionate about both the A Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones, for fans of the TV show) and baked goods, particularly scones.

 

A little bit more about me...as you might be able to guess, I'm a HUGE reader. I'm also a college student living in New York City. I cook in a tiny, closet-sized kitchen, but I make it work. I study political science and American history/literature, and I love every minute of it. I'm a Southern girl, raised in beautiful Knoxville, Tennessee. I have chronic wanderlust and love to travel; my favorite trip involved hiking through the Amalfi Coast of Italy and train hopping through villages in Umbria.

 

So that's me...and this is my blog! I love to cook and bake, but find that I often stay in my comfort zone of easy, safe recipes. With this blog, I hope to branch out, as well as share the old favorites that made me love cooking in the first place. I also want to work on my food photography; right now, it's fairly dismal. But with practice, I hope to take pictures that do justice to the recipes I make! Stick with me, and hopefully I'll stick with it!