Dark Chocolate Chip Scones

From Hershey's Made Simple, page 82.

Yield: 24 scones

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups (12-oz. pkg) dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional
2 cups whipping cream, chilled
2 Tbs. butter, melted
Additional sugar
Powdered sugar, optional

Stir together 3 1/4 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if desired.

Stir whipping cream into flour mixture just until ingredients are moistened.

Turn mixture out onto floured surface.  Knead gently until soft dough forms, about 2 minutes.  Divide dough into three equal balls.  One at a time, flatten into 7-inch circle; cut into 8 triangles.  Transfer triangles to greased baking sheets, spacing 1-2 inches apart.  Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with additional sugar.

Bake at 375 F for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned.  Serve warm, sprinkled with powdered sugar, if desired.

Notes:
- The dough is really, really sticky!!  Don't be afraid to use flour when you're handling it.
- I used one package of mini semi-sweet chips by accident, but it was still delicious.

Curried Tofu with Rice

Adapted from Healthy Cooking (Feb./March 2011), page 61.

Prep: 10 min / Cook: 20 min

Yield: 4 servings

1 pkg (12.3 oz) extra-firm tofu, drained and cubed
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 Tbs. canola oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can light coconut milk
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro
3 tsp. curry powder
Cooked rice (brown is best)
Salt and pepper to taste

Sprinkle tofu with seasoned salt.  In a large nonstick skillet, saute tofu in oil until golden.  Remove; keep warm.  Add mushrooms to skillet and saute until lightly browned but not completely cooked.  Remove and set aside with tofu.

In the same skillet, saute onion and garlic until tender.  Stir in the coconut milk, cilantro, curry, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened.  Stir in tofu and mushrooms; heat through.  Serve with rice.

Notes:
- Consider adding vegetables, like carrots, potatoes, or zucchini.  If you're not trying to make a meatless meal, adding cubed chicken would be good, too.  My son really liked shredded coconut and chopped hard-boiled egg on top of his.
- Originally, the recipe called for 3 cloves garlic, minced.  That's a bit much for me; in fact, the last time I made it, I didn't add any garlic.

Raspberry-Chipotle Chicken Panini with Smoked Gouda and Spinach

Prep: 5-10 min. / Cook: 5 min.

We made up this panini recipe last night and really enjoyed it.  I'll apologize now that I didn't measure anything; just use as much of each ingredient as you want.  If you don't have exact ingredients, improvise!

Ciabatta bread
Cooked chicken, sliced
Portobella mushrooms, sliced
Fresh spinach
Smoked Gouda, sliced
Mayonnaise (use the kind with olive oil if you can--it's better for you)
Raspberry-roasted chipotle grill sauce

Briefly cook mushroom slices in a small amount of olive oil (or even cooking spray) over medium to medium-high heat (about a minute total).

Spread mayonnaise on one piece of ciabatta bread and grill sauce on the other.  Cover each piece with slices of smoked Gouda.  Spread a little more grill sauce over the cheese on the mayo piece.

Layer spinach, mushrooms, and chicken over one piece of bread; top with other half.

Grill in a hot panini press for about 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.  Slice and serve!

Notes:
- I sliced a chicken breast in half (as if I was attempting to butterfly it and cut too far--which didn't happen), seasoned each side with ground pepper and rosemary (you could add salt, but you know me), and cooked it in a little olive oil over medium heat for probably 5-8 min on each side.  Then I sliced it.  (I didn't account for using raw chicken in the time estimate.)
- Slice the mushrooms about twice as thick as you think you'll want them.
- Use at least twice as much spinach as you think you'll want.  Like the mushrooms, it will cook down significantly.
- Next time we're going to try regular Gouda.  Although we liked the smokiness, it was ever so slightly overpowering (though still delicious).
- I realize not everyone has raspberry-roasted chipotle grill sauce on hand.  If you fit into that category, you could probably make your own by mixing raspberry jam with a little finely diced or pureed chipotle pepper (you can find cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the Mexican food section at most grocery stores).  Start small with add more to taste.  I probably wouldn't use more than 1/2 a chipotle pepper in 1/4 cup of raspberry jam.  That's totally guessing, so you may want to start with less.

Oven-roasted Tomato Salsa

Yield: 3 pints

6-7 lbs. fresh tomatoes, cut into wedges
4 anaheim peppers, quartered
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium red onion, halved and cut into wedges
1-2 serrano chiles, quartered
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
2/3 cup chopped cilantro
3 limes
2 Tbs. cider vinegar
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. oregano

Line two rimmed baking sheets with foil.  Preheat oven to 400F.

Mix tomatoes, garlic, anaheim peppers, serrano chiles, and onion in a large bowl.  Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Remove to baking sheets using slotted spoon; reserve liquid.  Bake for 1 hour.  Let cool to the touch.

Add half of vegetables to a food processor and puree until mostly smooth.  Pour into a bowl and set aside.  Add remaining vegetables to food processor and pulse until it reaches desired consistency.

Pour reserved liquid into a large pot and bring to a boil.  Add cumin, brown sugar, oregano, lime juice, vinegar, and cilantro.  Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes.

Add both vegetable mixtures to pot.  Stir and heat through.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Store in refrigerator.

Notes:
- It's been a little while since I created this recipe, and so I don't remember if the version I wrote down was the one I actually made or the one I thought would be better.  If you're not very fond of spicy, only use 1 serrano chile, perhaps not even the whole thing.

Steak Rub / Marinade

Yield: 3 1/4 tsp. (dry)

1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. dry minced onion

3 tsp. lime juice
3 tsp. lemon juice
1 Tbs. orange juice

For dry rub, mix dry ingredients together and rub all over steak.

For marinade, mix dry ingredients with lime, lemon, and orange juice and add to a Ziplock bag.  Add steak and marinate at least 1 hour.

BBQ Chicken Marinade

1/4 cup Jack Daniels BBQ sauce
1 Tbs. cider vinegar
3 Tbs. brown sugar
3 Tbs. ketchup
1/4 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp. (or dash) cayenne pepper
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dry minced onion
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 Tbs. canola oil

Mix all ingredients together.

To marinate chicken, place in a Ziplock bag.  Add 2 Tbs. marinade for each chicken breast or 1 Tbs. for each drumstick.  Seal bag, pushing out air, and place in a bowl.  Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Reserve 1/2 remaining marinade for serving.  Use the rest for basting chicken on the grill.

Shrimp Curry

From Grandma Wayman.

Prep: 5 min. / Cook: 15 min.
Yield: 4-6 servings

2 cans shrimp OR about 1/2 lb. fresh or frozen cooked shrimp
1 Tbs. chopped onion
1 Tbs. butter
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk (approx.)
1 Tbs. curry powder, or to taste

If necessary, thaw and devein shrimp.

Lightly brown onion in butter.  Add soup, milk, and curry powder.  Then add shrimp; heat through.

Serve over rice.

Optional toppings:
Golden raisins
Almonds
Chopped, boiled egg
Green onion
Shredded coconut
Mango
Crisp, crumbled bacon

Notes:
- I rehydrate about 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion in some hot water, then measure from there.
- My grandma's written recipe wasn't super specific on a lot of things (when you cook as long as she did, you just get a feel for things), so I make it with the measurements my mom guessed it (she doesn't measure things in this recipe either).
- The recipe my aunt wrote out also includes flour (add after onion browns) and dry mustard (add with curry powder)--no measurements specified.
- Do not overcook shrimp--it will turn rubbery!