More Scones… Best Yet!

How I do adore good, homemade scones… perfectly puffy and flavorful. You with me? Good! Here’s the recipe:

There was way too much broccoli in the fridge… so, I made these scones to accompany breakfast bowl dinner. That turned out pretty tasty, by the way. Scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and cheese- cannot mess that up, folks!

This is already looking really happy, in my opinion. Broccoli and cheese is a natural marriage. Beautiful, my friends.

I think my favorite part of making scones is this right here. The part where you plop all the shaggy dough onto the counter and just barely, gently bring it together into a circle to slice into little triangles. Everything about it says love. I did brush these with a touch of milk/egg-wash and grind fresh black peppercorns on top.

Perfection, just out of the oven, still warm… ah yes, I ate one right off! I need to go bake these again… you should too.

A Keurig Tip

I am a genius. Okay, that’s terribly inaccurate. But, if you didn’t already know this little Keurig trick, then for a brief moment I am a genius! See my frothy, foamy coffee up there? Instead of stirring in your milk or creamer after brewing your cup of coffee, pour into your cup the allotted amount before brewing your cup of coffee. Result: automatic mixing and added frothiness! (I really wondered if that last one was a word… but my computer didn’t put the little red squiggly line under it, so I guess we’re good!) It’s just a nice little bit of extra smoothness. And no wasted stirrer! Keurigs are just wonderful little machines…

My Little Go at Pasta Salad

Someone once told me that the reason children dislike so many (seemingly green!) foods is because our taste buds are more sensitive at a younger age. That some of our taste buds actually die as we age, meaning we have fewer of them to taste foods as well as when we were younger. Be that true or not, I am quite certain that there were some foods I wasn’t a big fan of when I was a child that I absolutely adore now. But, it really didn’t take me that long to start loving green beans and spinach and meatloaf. So, does that mean that I’m here to make you dinner of meatloaf and green beans? Not exactly. I’m here to tell you that I finally made something I honestly never gave a chance until recently. Maybe it was just that whole “adult food” theory that made my head turn away if it was ever mentioned in passing food conversations. Whatever the reason, I’m glad that I was served some amazing pasta salad at a picnic recently because I fell in love with it. Subsequently, I went ahead with my own creation the other day. After scanning a few quick recipes and searching the fridge for ingredients, I tossed my selections onto the counter and got to work. How hard could it be?

Purple onion seemed like a good place to start once I’d dumped the leftover cooked pasta into a bowl with some Italian vinaigrette. Purple onions are so pretty. Hello, beautiful; let’s add your flavor, shall we?

To add some body to the vinaigrette, I dolloped in some sour cream. Yes, it was Daisy. Sorry, now I have that jingle running through my head and you probably do too. My bad. Anyway, celery got chopped up like the purple onion and it was looking like something…

Something good, I was hoping. But, I was back to the fridge… it needed something more exciting. So, I tossed in some sun-dried tomatoes. Next came grated white cheese and I thought I might be getting somewhere successful. Taste… not bad… taste again… mmm, I kind of like this stuff! No, it was by no means the greatest pasta salad ever, yet it made me happy. And my mom, who loves pasta salad, really liked the flavor. Now that was a ‘win!’

Budweiser still gets it done!

I had an impromptu beer sampling today; so, I wanted to share it with you because if you haven’t already tried it, you should. I’d seen this new Black Crown from Budweiser and was curious as to its taste and my brothers had some in the fridge… perfect! Honestly, I was totally expecting a heavy lager. (I obviously never bothered to research it for real, haha.) But, it was a very flavorful amber lager that I instantly liked. As the label says, the toasty caramel notes give flavor while the lager maintains a smooth finish. Plus, the bottle and labeling looks super elegant; I love it! Cheers!

Catch me on Instagram @allfoodlove for more random, fun food love pictures!

Awards? I haven’t even been around lately! Love this community :)

She was so kind! Barb (Babso2you) has nominated me for the following lovely blogger awards, even though I’ve pretty much neglected this blog for several months now! Thank you, dear! Her blog, Life in the Foothills, is full of wonderful, captivating pictures and real-life stories from her home in the Sierra Foothills. Plus, she’s got some amazing food posts that make me want to join her for dinner.

So, I’m supposed to tell you seven things about myself along with my own 7-15 nominations. Okay, let’s begin. Oh, can I have a glass of wine while we do this? Drat, I see none in my surroundings. Oh well, this might be boring, but if you’re still with me… I appreciate you.

I never ate side salads because I thought them too hard to eat… now I eat them all the time; it’s worth the effort!

I love to cook, but I’d never want to be a professional chef.

I can’t stand to eat hominy.

I love you whoever you are reading this… just because you’re reading this!

Someday I want to drink wine in Europe.

I have issues with tape dispensers… they just give me trouble and I don’t know why!

My favorite time of the year is summertime.

All About My Charmed Life

The Thankful Heart

The Fruitful Wife

Chef Mimi Blog

Our Little Family Adventure

SB’s Wine Blog

a beautiful day

Mama’s Gotta Bake

Cheers!

Laugh at my bagels!

It felt like a good idea. Sure, I haven’t spent much quality time in the kitchen lately, but surely I can make bagels. I’ve never quite failed at anything yet. Emeril’s recipe looked good enough for me. I was already ready to eat these things! But, plenty stood between me and fresh bagels; so, I started the yeast foaming and got lots of flour ready. After mixing and letting the dough rise, I shaped my bagels. I just rolled balls and poked a hole in the middle and stretched them out a bit. Things were looking promising.

However, once I hit the boiling stage, things began to look disastrous. The boiling was not the problem, though; the texture of the dough just felt too floppy. And getting pretty bagels into the water was not happening, unfortunately. I just started plopping big ole ugly rope discs around! At this point, I was doubtful I’d end up with edible anything, so it wasn’t done with the love I usually add… sadly.

I feel like you can tell… but, after their time in the oven, I found somewhat tasty bagels- if you will allow me to call them such! They are actually yummy and I’m guessing they’d be pretty good toasted too. They sure as heck ain’t pretty, though!!!

I’ll have to try again sometime. Please do give me any and all tips on bagel-making if you’d be so kind as to take the time because I’m really not quite sure what went wrong. Cheers!

Smoosh dough, add meat and cheese… done!

Not much can go wrong when you throw meat and cheese in a bread, then into an oven where it all melts together. So would be the case with these easy taco cups. I love cooking in the kitchen with my mom; she taught me how to cook and bake and she taught me to love it. We made this simple dinner together one evening.

It starts at the pop of a Grands biscuit can. I still think the way those cans pop open and burst biscuit dough out is pretty cool. Maybe that’s the little girl in me.. anyway, smoosh a biscuit into each cup of a muffin pan.. wait, play with food.. I feel that little girl in me again!

Bake the biscuits about halfway done while you get the taco meat happy. Brown some ground beef and toss in a pack of taco seasoning. Or, throw your own spices in so it’s YOUR taco meat!

Don’t forget about your biscuits! They’ll only need about ten minutes or so, probably. They won’t have holes anymore, though. But, they’ll still be soft and doughy, so create a hole with a spoon and you’re back in business. That part is kinda fun too! If you have children, get them to help smoosh and make holes!

Mess is just part of the process here. It’s a kitchen, people! Fill each cup as generously as you can with your yummy taco meat. At this point, we put them back in the oven to finish cooking, probably another ten minutes or thereabouts. Top just as generously with cheese afterwards and give it another minute in the oven just to melt and get happy together.

Top that goodness with more goodness like fresh avocados and lettuce. I like to mix sour cream and salsa and pour that on top of it all. Yum, simple, easy!

L & J Cafe – My Review

So, on the road you can find some great, unique food love spots, right? Well here’s my latest review- L & J Cafe in El Paso, TX. Yeah, I know you’re already in love… I mean, look at those cheese enchiladas! This little gem has been around for about 75 years or more and it doesn’t look all too fancy down on the corner of a narrow gravel road. And inside is a bit haphazard. But, it’s got charm, folks. And it’s a local favorite. One might frown on serving a beer in a can (I might be one such person!) but once you’ve got your Tecate in a can with a slice of lime, it’s all love. As for the all-important food, it is some of the best Mexican food I’ve had… which is great cause I’d been craving some tasty Mexican… but anyway! My enchiladas had a small side of fresh cucumber slices and fresh green leaves with a bit of dressing, which seemed a tad disconnected at first. However, it worked marvelously with the meal, adding a nice freshness in between the heavy entree. I found sophistication here that I was not expecting. I was impressed. Thus, L & J Cafe is a winner in my book! If you’re ever in El Paso, find it, go there, eat!

Winter + Spring = Yummy Beer!

I do believe winter is most definitely on its way and spring is popping up as sure as the sun rises. And this makes me happy! So, let’s toast to the coming of warm sunshine and days spent outside- with the latest seasonal brew from Sam Adams, Alpine Spring! It’s a beer that brings the winter and spring together, in a lovely transitional phase of heavy meets fresh. There’s the heavy winter lager thing going on in here with the fresh citrus, fruity thing we love about spring. It combines and works into a delicious brew to kick off the newness of spring and leave behind the chilly winter months. Cheers!

My Tasting Room, Wine XI

My sister brought this wine over to the house for a lazy Sunday afternoon with the family. And she hit the nail on the head! We liked this red. It’s Old Vine Zinfandel Vintners Blend from Ravenswood Winery in Acampo, CA. The vintage is 2011. I found it to be effortlessly bold. Cherries came through on the nose with a touch of spice and earthiness while the taste had a bit more sour raspberry. In my ever-so-knowledgeable (haha!) opinion, the finish was confidently short and easy, leaving the whole wine to be described as effortlessly bold. Cheers!