scenes from this weekend...

New traditions.

David and I love food. We enjoy cooking, but dinner is usually quick food. Breakfast, fried rice, spaghetti...We used to make "real meals" at least a couple times a week, but we've let that go. We're as happy eating easy stuff as we are with the more involved.

I have also always enjoyed baking. I didn't do it often because there are only so many cookies, cupcakes, etc. that two people can eat. That is, I didn't bake often until I started making scones.

Breakfast has to be my favorite meal. We have scrambled eggs, bacon and biscuits for dinner about once a week. A couple months ago I bought the Williams-Sonoma frozen croissants as a surprise for David when he came home from a conference. These have since become our Sunday morning staple. I don't know what we'll do when we finish them. I'll be crushed. Then I made scones and David fell in love. It's become our new Saturday tradition.

I get up, prep the coffee, preheat the oven when David's rousing. David gets up a couple hours after I do and, now, makes the bed. Then the coffee goes on and the scones/croissants go in the oven. It is such a nice routine. We wake up together every morning and sit together while he has breakfast and I have coffee. But our weekend mornings are lovely. And special.

This Saturday: Bacon & Cheddar Scones. {after 2 rounds of sweet scones we introduce the savory}

They were heaven. Soft. Layered. Crisp exterior. They had a pretzeliness about them so I dipped mine in cream cheese. 

I must admit my failure, albeit minor. They were supposed have chives. I typically pull the dough together while David is still at work and we didn't have chives...well it turned out that our cheese was also bad so the dough would have to wait until after a trip to the grocery store anyway. However, by that point I had "bacon & cheddar" in my head so I missed the chives, which would have been a lovely addition. Maybe next time.

Bacon Cheddar Scones

3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup butter, cubed and chilled
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
3 Tbsp chives, thinly sliced
10 slices of bacon, cooked to crisp and crumbled
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg + splash water

Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, baking powder,  salt and pepper. Pulse to combine. Add butter. Pulse until mixture forms a coarse meal, with butter no larger than pea-sized. Add cheddar, chives and bacon. Pulse to combine. Add buttermilk. Pulse until just starts to come together.

Turn the the dough out onto a floured surface, form into a loose ball. Gently pat down to 1/4 inch thick disk. Fold the dough in thirds and gently pat down again to 1/4" thickness. Fold in thirds again and pat down to 1/2" thickness. Cut into wedges.

Place on cookie sheet.

In a small bowl, combine egg and water. Whisk until combined. Brush egg mixture over scones. Sprinkle the tops with a bit of sea salt.

Bake 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Allow to cool 5 minutes on a baking rack. Serve warm.

Adapted from: lemon drop

Saturday proceeded as usually. Scrabble, snack food, minimal productivity {though we did get all of the million grocery bags, magazines and boxes to their respective recycling places - now we don't look like crazy hoarders}. We finished the day with David's favorite snack/meal: spinach dip...which is right up my street since I don't really do dinner on the weekends, opting instead to eat continuously all day {mom calls it grazing}.


We had grand plans for Sunday. Transferring our sprouted herbs, getting some new digs for our trip to the city. David played L.A. Noire. I watched. He loved it. I was actually {very} interested in his game. It's so fun. You're a detective and you have to search for clues and interrogate people to solve crimes. I love any game that requires thinking.

We did dinner Sunday. American Chop Suey. David's never had it. I haven't it had since I was a kid. It was so easy to throw together. And it was delish! 

American Chop Suey {no picture, sorry}

modified from Grandma Landry

feeds 1 million

1/2 box Elbow Macaroni

1 lb ground beef {we used 91/9, it seemed really fatty but we haven't made ground beef in a really long time - next time I'd probably go leaner}

Sweet onion, diced - as desired {I used a bit over 1/2 an onion)

Green pepper, diced - as desired (I used 1)

1 clove garlic - more if desired

2 cans condensed tomato soup

Salt & pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, cook elbow macaroni 3-4 minutes to al dente, it should be a bit underdone as it will continue cooking with the rest when combined later. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown the beef over medium-high heat until pink has just disappeared - again don't overcook, it will continue cooking later. If using onions and green peppers, use a slotted spoon to transfer the meat to the reserved macaroni, leave the fat in the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions and peppers to the skillet. Cook until colors begin to change. Grate the garlic into the mixture. Cook until the onions and peppers have softened. Add the macaroni and beef back to the skillet. Stir in the tomato soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat through. 

Serve hot with soft bread {the way grandma would}.

All-in-all a nice weekend, thought not as productive as we would have liked. No worries, I got the herbs moved today {again, no picture - the result wasn't worthy}.

Next weekend: New York!