Cranberry Orange Scones

November 26, 2012 by Stephanie

Raise your hand if you wish every week was only 3 days. If you are not raising your hand, then you must be on something.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s time to shop for gifts. Raise your hand if you want to do my Christmas shopping for me. I will love you forever.

Raise your hand if stuffed yourself silly last week. It’s time to lighten up a little bit. You know, for at least a few days before all that holiday baking and parties start.

Cranberry and orange are one of my favorite flavor combos, especially this time of year. I usually just make a whole lot of cranberry orange bread, but I went for a scone this time. Greek yogurt helps to cut the fat and adds a nice tang to these scrumptious scones.

Cranberry Orange Scones

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 8 scones

Serving Size: 1 scone

Calories per serving: 195

Fat per serving: 5.3 g

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
zest of one orange
3 tbs. butter, diced into small cubes
3/4 cup low fat, plain Greek yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
2/3 cup fresh cranberries
raw sugar (for sprinkling on top)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and orange zest.
Add in the diced butter and using two knives or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour mixture.
Make a well in the center.
Add in the yogurt and orange juice. Stir until just combined.
Stir in the cranberries, do not overmix.
Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Knead together the dough and pat into an 8-inch circle. Cut the dough into 8 slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. Sprinkle some raw sugar on top of each scone.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/11/cranberry-orange-scones/

Filed Under: Breakfast, Low-Fat, Snacks · Tagged With: breakfast, cranberry, greek yogurt, low-fat, orange, scone 24 Comments

Apple Cranberry Stuffing

November 16, 2012 by Stephanie

Oh, stuffing. You are, by far, my most favorite Thanksgiving side dish.

I think if you handed me a bowl of stuffing and that was it, I would probably be satisfied.

And my stuffing MUST include apples. It just has to. This is non-negotiable. And this time, it also includes another Thanksgiving favorite of mine, cranberries!

Apple Cranberry Stuffing

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

4 cups whole wheat bread, cubed
4 cups white bread, cubed
1 tbs. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2 tsp. chopped fresh sage
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
3 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 cup fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
salt to taste
2 tbs. butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread cubed bread out on a baking sheet. Bake for about 5 minutes or until the bread is lightly toasted. Scoop the toasted bread into a large bowl and set aside.
In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onion for about 5 minutes or until translucent. Add in the sage and thyme and cook for another 2 minutes.
In the bowl with the cubed bread, add the onion mixture, diced apples and cranberries. Mix well. Pour in the chicken broth and mix until the bread is moistened. Add in salt to taste.
Pour the mixture into a large baking dish. Chop the butter into small cubes and distribute evenly over the stuffing. Cover with foil.
Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for another 15 minutes.

http://eat-drink-love.com/2012/11/apple-cranberry-stuffing/

Filed Under: Sides, Vegetarian/Vegan · Tagged With: apple, cranberry, low-fat, stuffing, thanksgiving, vegetarian 14 Comments

A Very Merry Berry Martini

December 16, 2011 by Stephanie

A very merry berry martini. Wow, try saying that 5 times fast! When it comes to alcoholic drinks, I’m usually just a wine kind of gal. I don’t typically like drinks that are super sweet, but sometimes, I do enjoy a nice fruity martini and yesterday called for a fruity martini! I have been working pretty hard the last month on finishing my preliminary doctoral exam paper and yesterday, I had to defend my paper in front of my committee. I’m happy to report that I passed my defense which now makes me an official doctoral candidate! Now all I have to do is finish my dissertation and I can finally be done with grad school! And of course, after a stressful defense, all I wanted to do was go home, put on pj’s, and have a drink!

A Very Merry Berry Martini

Serves 1-2

Ingredients:

– 4 ice cubes

– 3 oz. raspberry vodka

– 1 oz. orange liqueur

– 2 oz. cranberry juice

– Optional: splash of grenadine

– Suggested Garnishes: cranberries, colored sugar for the rims of the glasses

Directions:

1. Pour all ingredients into a martini shaker and shake until well-combined. Cheers!

Notes:
- You can use plain cranberry juice if you want, but you could also try adding other flavor combos like cranberry pomegranate, or cranberry-apple, cranberry-strawberry juice, etc. Whatever you want!