A Good Decision

For almost a year a scone recipe sat on my food pin board and taunted me.  Whenever I looked through my list I told myself, "just wait til the fall, then you can make it."  Yesterday I made them and it was a good decision.  It will be happening again.

Pears. Goat cheese.  Black pepper.  Apparently they were meant to be together.  The pears become silky smooth.  The cheese melts into the dough, making it more moist and flaky.  The pepper adds a kick that lends these scones for savory and sweet applications alike.

I'm definitely wishing I made more.  But those would probably be gone too.

Pear, Goat Cheese, Black Pepper Scones
Makes 6-8
For the original, gluten free version visit Girl Cooks World

1 C. + 2 T. All-purpose flour
1 T. Sugar
3/4 T. Baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. Freshly ground black pepper- more or less to taste (I ground mine right into the bowl until it looked             right)
4 T. butter- cold and cut into chunks
1/2 Pear- peeled, cored, cut into pieces
1.5 oz. Goat cheese, like Chavrie, crumbled
Half n' Half

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

Add butter and with hands separate into about pea sized pieces.  Add pears and goat cheese.  While lightly stirring, pour in half n' half until a wet dough forms. (about 1/2 cup- sorry, I didn't measure)

Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet.  Bake 15-20 minutes, until lightly brown.  Let cool slightly before eating.

Note: I baked 7 scones at 400 for 17 minutes.  The next time I make these I'll probably up the temp to 425.

Camping Food

After over 4 years of absence I slept in a tent again.  That's right, we went camping.  This time was a little different than previous trips, mostly because we went with a toddler.  It went well.  We stayed 2 nights, which turned out to be the perfect amount of time.  We put in a little hiking, saw some pretty sights, got our fill of s'mores, and C actually slept through the night, so bonus.

I did a fair amount of research into camping food before we left.  This was the one area that I felt stewardship over, so I wanted to make sure it was good and easy.  My favorite ideas that I found online were precooked dinners that could be warmed- little work, dishes, and no raw meat.

My favorite dinner that we put together was chicken burritos.  Here's how it went down

Camping Chicken Burritos

Canola Oil
Chopped Onion
Chopped Red Bell Pepper
Leftover White Rice
Canned Corn
Shredded Chicken Breast
Picante Sauce
Seasonings- salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, oregano

Saute onion and pepper in a little bit of canola oil.  Cook until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add leftover rice with some water- just enough for the rice to soak up while it heats.  Cook for a couple of minutes, then add the corn, chicken, picante sauce, and seasonings.  Season to taste.

At this point, I stored the mixture in a plastic container until we reheated it in a frying pan on the camp fire.  You could also freeze if you need it to keep for longer.  I also packed avocado, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, and salsa.

Fill a tortilla with chicken mixture and top as desired.