Chocolate Chip Cream Scones

I had never thought of using heavy cream to make scones until my friend Emily made these for us (thanks Emily!). I'm craving these about once a week, so I always have some cream in my fridge now days. It makes the scones so moist! How many times have you bit into a scone only to find it hard and dry? Maybe it's just me, but it seems to be the norm.

These are a simple breakfast treat that will impress guests...it certainly impressed me and my hubby!

Chocolate Chip Cream Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder (yes, a full tablespoon!)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup chocolate chips (we prefer semi-sweet in this recipe)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Pour in cream and chocolate chips. Mix all together and knead the dough about 10-12 times.
2. Spray a cookie sheet and pat dough out into a 10" circle, dough will be about 1 1/2 - 2" thick. Using a knife, cut dough like a pizza into triangles. Gently, and barely, separate each of the triangles with the knife. (There shouldn't be much space between each triangle, just a little so there's room for the scones to expand. If you leave too much space in between the scones, the scones will have crunchier sides. We prefer them to have soft sides, so just a little sliver of space will do.)
3. Bake for approximately 16-18 minutes. For the yummiest scone, serve them warm. (Though they are delicious cold as well). The tops of the scones should be a light golden color.

Peanut Buster Ice Cream Cake

This ice cream cake became legendary at my old work. And that's not an exaggeration. It was so funny, I made it a few times, and it's a simple recipe...but I guess the end result is hard to forget. This is not my recipe, but it's taken from an elementary school cookbook that all the moms put together. I think what makes this cake is the homemade fudge. It's layered on top of a light sprinkle of peanuts, then the creamy vanilla ice cream, and a yummy oreo crust. The beauty of this dessert is, you can customize it however it suits your taste buds...instead of peanuts, try toffee bits, or instead of vanilla ice cream, try chocolate chip or cookie dough.

But I will give you the good ol' fashioned recipe...you do with it what you please!


Peanut Buster Ice Cream Cake 
1 lb oreo cookies
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream (I prefer the kind titled "homemade")
1 1/2 cup salted peanuts
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cup evaporated milk (one 13 or 14 oz. can)
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (semi-sweet is what you should use for this fudge)
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Crush up all the oreo cookies into fine crumbs by putting them through the food processor, or putting them all in a zip lock bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin. Dump cookie crumbs in a bowl, add the melted butter and mix together well.
2. In a 9x13" pan, press the oreo cookie mixture into the bottom of the pan creating the crust. Use the back of a spoon to press the crust down and smooth it out. Place in the freezer while you let the ice cream soften.
3. Allow the ice cream to soften a bit (sometimes, I scoop it all into a big bowl and mash it around until it is spreadable with a spatula, but I try to avoid letting it melt). Scoop the ice cream onto the cookie crust and with a spatula, gently spread it around to form a uniform layer of ice cream. 
4. Sprinkle peanuts on top of ice cream and place pan back in the freezer.
5. In a medium saucepan, combine powdered sugar, evaporated milk, chocolate chips, butter and vanilla. Bring to a boil, and boil for 8 minutes, stirring constantly so the chocolate doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan. Once it's finished, the fudge should be dark and fairly thick as you take it off the heat. Pour the fudge into a bowl and allow to cool completely. (I usually allow to cool in the fridge for at least a few hours, but sometimes overnight).
6. When fudge is cooled, use a spatula to spread it over the ice cream cake. Depending on how long the fudge has been in the fridge, you might have to let it soften a bit before spreading over the cake (to do this, I usually just take the spatula and stir until it's softened). Place cake back in the freezer and serve when needed.

Chicken Pot Pie in Slow Cooker

Well, I sure have some catching up to do. There are many recipes in the que to post. Starting with this one. It's easy and delicious. This is not a traditional chicken pot pie, rather you spoon the chicken mixture over freshly baked biscuits. I've found this is a yummy way to serve veggies to my kids (slow cooker meals are great for babies and toddlers who need softer veggies!).

Chicken Pot Pie in Slow Cooker (adapted from Allrecipes.com)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (Healthy Request kind from Campbell's)
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons rosemary, crushed (I used dry rosemary, but you can certainly use fresh)
4 chicken breasts, chopped into 1" cubes, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup green beans, chopped
1/2 cup potatoes, chopped into 1/2" pieces
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients except for the frozen peas and frozen corn into the slow cooker. Cover and cook for 3 hours on high.
2. Add frozen peas and frozen corn, stir into chicken mixture, and cover again. Cook for another hour on high (total cooking time is 4 hours). 
3. Meanwhile, bake some biscuits in the oven. You can use biscuits from a can, or from scratch (I use a Betty Crocker biscuit recipe that I will eventually post on here).
4. Slice biscuits in half and spoon mixture over the top, serve and enjoy.