I don’t necessarily love to cook, but I LOVE to bake.  There is something about baking that seems so overwhelming, so daunting, at first.  Yet the process is easy and predictable and the result delicious and impressive.  Seriously, a few minutes measuring and mixing, a few minutes waiting on the oven timer, and you are rewarded with squeals of, “You baked?!” followed by the nom nom nom of baked goods being rapidly consumed.   What’s not to love about it?

All our lives we were taught that imperceptible differences in measurement could spell disaster for your baked goods.  I think this has many of us so freaked out that we don’t even attempt basic baking.  It’s not really true, though.  I mean, as long as you generally follow the recipe without leaving out a major ingredient, your result will probably be yummy and certainly be edible.  Of course there is always room for improvement but who is going to argue with cake or cookies? Even dense cake or spread cookies are better than no cake or cookies, in my humble opinion.

Baking was hard for me as a kid because I am not a great recipe follower.  My mother despaired at trying to get me to follow the instructions on the cake box mix.  But all of these years of experimenting have given me the confidence to know that my baked goods are going to turn out just fine-even if I scooped my four instead of spooning it.

Cranberry Orange Scones

• 4 cups flour plus 1/4 cup
• 1/4 cup sugar (I would increase to 1/2 cup)
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp orange zest
• 3/4 lb unsalted butter, diced and chilled
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
• egg wash (egg mixed with water or milk for brushing)
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 6 tsp fresh squeezed orange juice

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment.
2. In a mixing bowl combine 4 cups flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest.
3. Add the diced, cold butter and set mixer to stir until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
4. Combine eggs and cream and slowly add to flour mixture.
5. Combine cranberries and 1/4 cup flour and add the flour mixture.  Stir just until combined.
6. Dump dough onto a well-floured surface and knead with floured hands into a large ball. Dough starts out pretty sticky so be well floured.
7. Flour the rolling pin and roll out to 3/4″ thick.
8. Cut into shapes as desired, I used the suggested biscuit cutter but I really wanted to use a heart-shaped cutter.  I know you are disappointed that I couldn’t find it.
9. Gather scraps and re-roll, and continue cutting.
10. Place cut scones onto parchment lined baking sheets.  Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
11. Bake approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.
12. Combine orange juice and powdered sugar.
13. Drizzle cooled scones with glaze.
14. If desired, once scones are completely cooled, pop them into the freezer for an hour or so.

You can also bake these ahead and store them in the freezer until you are ready to serve them.  They thaw in a few minutes a room temperature and turn out deliciously tender.

These are wonderful scones, buttery and crumbly, with chewy tart cranberries and a hint of orangey sweetness.  Straight from the oven they are quite biscuit-like, but a short stay in the freezer improves the texture.  Also, I would increase the sugar to 1/2 cup at least.  I am not normally one to increase the sugar in any recipe (usually I cut it down a bit) but these are barely sweet even with double the orange glaze.

What’s for Dinner? yeah, I said it.

Pho (Fuh not Foe) is a fantastic Vietnamese noodle dish that involves pouring boiling beef stock over thin slices of raw beef and noodles then adding handfuls of fresh herbs, bean sprouts, lime juice, and peppers.  The boiling broth gently cooks the thin slices of meat to a lovely, tender medium.  It is such a homey, comforting dish that it sometimes seems out of place to enjoy it in a restaurant setting.  I wanted to be able to enjoy Pho at home but it’s complex taste was intimidating.  Thanks to Jaden at Steamy Kitchen, I now know how easy it can be!  Her recipe for making Pho in the crockpot was just the incentive I needed to make it myself.

It really was super easy and smelled delicious all day.  If you can make a pot roast, you can make Pho.  I toasted the spices, onion, and ginger on the stovetop, boiled the bones vigorously for ten minutes, then added it all to the crock pot with plenty of water to cover.  It cooked on low for 8 hours, then I made some rice noodles, strained the broth, washed the herbs, and we ate!  Delicious, flavorful Pho in our very own kitchen.  Thank you so much Jaden (believe me, mrChaos thanks you too)!

Cost Analysis:

• 4 lbs beef knuckles: $2.99
• 1 lb top round, thinly sliced: $4.12
• bean sprouts: $0.21
• rice noodles: $1.75
• ginger: $0.88
• lime: $0.30
• basil: $2.29 (ugh)
• Total Cost for 6 servings: $12.54 or $2.09 per serving

Kind of makes me feel silly for paying $9.99 for a bowl at our local noodle house…

This salad deserves a much better name than the generic Asian Chicken Salad.  I actually make another Asian Chicken Salad with edamame and won ton strips so perhaps this one should be Asian Chicken Salad with Mango.  Bon Apetit actually calls it Asian Chicken Salad with Roasted Peanuts.  Whatever you call it, it is really good.  It is a nice, light dinner salad that it a little different and interesting and best of all doesn’t leave you feeling unsatisfied.  Of course you could serve some Balsamic Strawberries for dessert just in case.

Salads are such family friendly dishes.  Most of the ingredients are easy to chop or tear which means you can really get everyone involved in prepping.  My kids (4 and 7) wash the produce and use these plastic knives to cut and chop the fruits and vegetables. They measure out and mix the salad dressings.  They toss the final salad together.  I would love to tell you they then happily gobble it up, but of course that isn’t exactly true.  However it does goes a long way towards making them familiar and comfortable with salads and vegetables.  They taste the different ingredients and learn how to prepare them.  They feel a sense of pride in the dinner and they do eat a deconstructed version of the salad.

With mango, chicken, and honey roasted peanuts this is a pretty kid-friendly salad-which means it should go over well with anyone who isn’t big into salads.

Asian Chicken Salad with Roasted Peanuts and Mango

• approx 1/2 cup Asian-style dressing, to taste (see below)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
• 10 oz fresh baby spinach, arugula, or other salad greens mix
• 2 cups sliced bell peppers, red, yellow, or orange
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped (or the meat from a rotisserie chicken)
• 1/2-1 cup honey roasted peanuts, crushed
• 1 mango, pitted, peeled and sliced

1. Mix dressing, cilantro, and ginger in a small bowl.  Let stand.
2. Toss salad greens with peppers, onions, chicken, and peanuts.
3. Dress salad to taste and toss to combine.
4. Add mango and serve.

I save jelly jars to make salad dressing in.  I write the recipe out on a large sheet of paper and let the kids make it.  They read the recipe and measure and add each ingredient to the jar then screw on the lid and shake it to combine.  If you don’t want to make your own dressing my favorite Asian dressing is Girard’s Chinese Chicken Salad dressing.

Asian Dressing

• 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 3 tbsp lite soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/4 cup peanut oil (or other mild salad oil)

1. Combine all ingredients in a small jar or other.
2. Shake to combine.

So clearly we are trying to eat lighter around here.  I would love to hear about some of your favorite lighter recipes!

Oops, forgot the Cost Analysis:

• 1 rotisserie chicken: $6.99
• organic baby spinach and arugula mix: $5.99
• mango: $0.75
• red jumbo bell pepper: $1.29
• honey roasted peanuts: $0.31
• Total cost for 6 servings: $15.33 or $2.56 per serving

Obviously buying pre-mixed salad greens and a rotisserie chicken made this meal more expensive than it had to be.  On the other hand, it was gymnastics night and this quick and easy meal meant we ate in instead of going out. So sometimes it is worth it to pay a little more for convenience.

We are trying to eat lighter in the chaos household-more salads, less meat, etc…  Dessert always makes a meal feel more luxurious so I thought I would ease our transition with a decadent treat.  Luckily it isn’t too high in calories: strawberries bathed in a balsamic reduction, freshened by bits of mint, atop rich whipped cream cheese.

Minted Balsamic Strawberries with Whipped Cream Cheese

• 16 oz strawberries, hulled and halved
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar
• juice from 1/2 a lime (about 1/2 tsp)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp fresh chopped mint

1. Prep strawberries, set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, combine balsamic, 2 tsp sugar, and lime juice.
3. Bring to a boil and boil until syrupy, about 3 min.
4. Pour into a small container and chill.  Can make ahead.
5. Whip together cream, cream cheese, 2 tbsp sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Store in a covered container in the fridge, can be made ahead.
6. Toss strawberries with 2 tbsp sugar, balsamic syrup, and mint.  Chill for 30 min.
7. Serve strawberries over whipped cream cheese.