Cinnamon Scones

More often than I would like to admit, I go to Starbucks and get iced coffee.  The price is reasonable enough where I don't bat an eye when I get "a venti iced coffee light on the ice and 2 pumps sugar" every few days.

But the time has come to face my addiction....

I've now gone "often" enough where I now have the gold membership card.  You know, the one where they personalize this gold, shiny card with your name on it.

(It's the least they can do when they rely on you for half their profits every month....)

Eek. 

I don't know whether to be embarrassed or to embrace it.

Regardless, I've now started bringing coffee to work from home to save money.  I am also looking into other opportunities to experience the wonder that is Starbucks' pastry case without breaking my wallet.

Here's to crossing one treat off the list and making it at home!

Cinnamon Scones
By The Pioneer Woman

3 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar

5 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

2 sticks (1 Cup) Unsalted Butter
3/4 cups Heavy Cream
1 whole Egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 cup Cinnamon Chips

Topping
1/2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1-1/2 teaspoon Heavy Cream

Preheat oven to 350 F. 

Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder in a mixing bowl.

Slice cold butter and toss into the mixing bowl.  Press into mix with a fork until all blended.

Add cinnamon chips.

Mix cream, vanilla extract, and eggs in a separate bowl.  Pour into the dry mix. Blend together (be careful not to overmix!!).

Drop mix onto a clean countertop and work into a rectangle. 

Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over top of dough.

Make cuts of the dough to form triangles.

Place on baking tray and cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

Keep in mind that I cut relatively small triangles in hopes of making mini scones.  As you can see, the dough expanded exponetionally in the oven, so adjust accordingly to the size that you desire!  I always love things in miniature form, because it seems like you can eat more haha. 

These were even better than Starbucks!!!  Notice how the cinnamon topping formed a crust on top of the scone--it added unbelievable flavor to this breakfast treat!  I brought some in to work with me so I won't eat the entire plate and they were such a hit! 

Things to change:

Next time, I might add a little more cinnamon to the scone batter itself, because the scone didn't taste as "cinnamony" (say that 5 times fast!) as I would have liked...

Also some icing can't hurt ; )

Roasted Mustard Potatoes

After the final venture home before my next (and almost last!) semester, I can think of a few memories.....

Having dinner in Boston with Patrick (he's camera shy!)

Fishing with my Dad and his friend Bart in Cape Cod

Venturing to Provincetown, MA

And these (random segway, I know...)

Roasted Mustard Potatoes

Adapted from Ina Garten

5 potatoes, quartered

Ground mustard
Salt
Garlic Pepper
EVOO

Preheat oven to 400 F. 

Toss potatoes with the rest of the ingredients. 

Sometimes I add garlic and onions--but since that wasn't in the fridge, forgetaboutit. 

Cook for about 45 minutes to an hour, tossing halfway through until tender.

LOOK AT THE CRUNCH!



Dig In.

These are sooo good people! It doesn't taste "mustardy" at all, and they are a must-have for dinners at my house!  When Pat comes to visit, his job is to make these.  All you have to do is chop the potatoes, squirt the mustard and evoo and toss w some S&P!  I loveeee the crunchiness that roasting them brings--so much flavor!

Ina is flawless once again!

And here is one more photo from my vacation that is definitely worth mentioning:

Don't you wish your life was as carefree as your pet?!

A Wordless Weekend Recap

Recipe to come!

Sorry for the blurry pic of the ribs--I was too busy wiping the drool from my chin : )

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Let's eat, drink, and play Jenga!

La Dolce Vita

To celebrate the return of the embarrassingly addicting Jersey Shore, I made one of the most delicious dinners imaginable.

I know I say this a lot.

But this was so easy and tasty, that I couldn't stop eating it.  I literally used my finger to grab the rest of the sauce from the pan (Sorry, Mom).

Parmesan and Mushroom Pasta
by: ME
1 tablespoon of butter
1 cup of baby (porta)bella mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 of an onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic (for one serving!!)
about 1 cup of pasta (I put the uncooked pasta in my serving bowl before I cook it to make sure that I don't make too much--because I WILL eat it!)
Squeeze of lemon juice

Cook patsa according to the directions on the box--I used whole wheat penne.

Melt half tablespoon of butter and a drizzle of EVOO in pan.

Add minced onion, red pepper flakes, S&P, and garlic to the pan--saute for a few minutes, until garlic is browned (but not burnt!) and onions are translucent.

Add sliced mushrooms.

Add 1/4 cup of grated parm cheese and cooked pasta.

Toss together in the sauce.  Add 1/2 tablespoon of butter and stir until melted.

And devour!

Look at how the cheese and butter created a rich sauce!  

This was so delicious, from the nutty parm, the hint of freshness of the lemon juice, and the meaty mushrooms, this meal was incredibly savory and out of this  world!!!

Spinach Artichoke Dip!

Hello everyone!!!!
The Occasional Oenophile has yet another scrumptious recipe that is healthy and ready in no time!

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

This is a super-easy dish that always gets rave reviews.  Surprisingly, for 1/4 of the dish AND a full serving of multigrain tortilla chips, you'll only rack up 400 calories.

1 bag of fresh spinach
1 block of neufchatel cheese
1 jar of artichoke hearts/quarters
1 envelope onion soup mix/dip mix
1/2 cup shredded Italian cheese blend
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Tortilla chips/pita/veggies for dipping
Preheat oven at 350 F.

Nuke the spinach in an 8x8 glass baking dish for 2 mins on high, just til it wilts.  Roughly chop the artichokes.

Blend the neufchatel with the onion soup mix. Combine spinach, artichokes, neufchatel, and Italian cheese blend.

Sprinkle parmesan on top

Bake 20 mins.

So fix this up ASAP for the next party you're invited to...or plan a party as an excuse to make this...


Or just make this.

Girls' Night

I am about to embark on yet another trip up to New England before my final year of grad school starts.

What better way to start the final vacation than with a spa night?

After a mani/pedi sesh...

I began to assemble ingredients in order to make my own spa products!

Final Products: Oatmeal exfoliator, Yogurt Mask, and Sugar Scrub

I used the following recipes taken exactly from Our Best Bites.  The red colored writing are my comments about the various treatments.

Sugar Scrub
By Sara

1/4 C brown sugar
1/4 C white sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
Oil: olive oil*, almond oil, grape seed oil, apricot oil, jojoba, etc.
optional: a few drops of essential oil, such as cinnamon--I used olive oil

Mix all ingredients together.

Guys, this was amazing! You can use this from head to toe in the shower, scrubbing in circular motions for about 3 minutes.  Not only did you smell great after, but I am still touching my arms a day later--you come out of the shower with silky, soft skin!  

And, all of these ingredients can be found in a well-stocked kitchen--score!


After a quick steam (just with boiling water, but they have great suggestions of other steams in the above link), I began withe exfoliator.

Facial Time  
By Sara


Oatmeal Exfoliator

2 t oats 

1 t baking soda

warm water

Place oats and baking soda in a small bowl and add small amounts of water just until it comes together in a spreadable paste. About 1 1/2 t should do it. Use your fingers to rub it on to your face in circular motions. Massage for 1-2 minutes and then rinse off with warm water and pat face dry.

This was very messy (to put it nicely!)--however, that being said, I believe that it did exfoliate my face.  I am not sure if I will use this every time between the steam and the facial mask because it was so messy, but it was worth the try!

Honey Yogurt Mask
1/2 T honey
1 T plain yogurt
1 t cucumber pulp (I didn't have a cucumber, so I just used the first two ingredients)


This did wonders for my face--after I took this off, I felt like I actually had a professional facial!  I felt a little like Mrs. Doubtfire with the mask on, because it dripped off my face a bit : )

Hellooooooo!

See what I mean!?

Sara has other kinds of facial masks as well on her site, so please look for other options!


This was such a fun time, and I loved how everything I needed to create these products were found in my kitchen! The results were amazing and I definitely will be using these products again!