Mysti's Nutty Shortcake Surprise

Every spring and summer, berries begin to overtake our home. We love the sweet-tart tastes, especially combined with nutty breads and sweet creams. My children squeal when they see berries washed, sliced, and sugared because they know something truly divine is going to emerge after dinner, perfect for those quiet nights on the patio as the sun sets over the mountains.

With the 4th of July just around the corner, this dish looks beautiful when strawberries and blueberries are combined atop the white sweet cream.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour or almond flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
6 tablespoons cold butter
1/3 cup milk
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Prep: 20 minutes, Total time 60 minutes

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Work in butter with fingertips until you have a coarse grainy flour. Add egg and milk. Mix until dough is moist. Turn dough onto a buttered and floured cookie sheet and pat into an 8 to 9 inch round cake.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Test with toothpick. If there is any dough, reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes.

Remove from oven and lightly butter the top of the cake. Allow to cool for 20 minutes. Slice the shortcake in half horizontally with a serrated knife. Butter the inside bottom layer lightly. Allow the butter to melt and the cake to fully cool on separate plates.

Cover the bottom layer with sweet whipped cream and candied strawberries, black berries, raspberries, or blueberries. Replace the top layer and repeat whipped cream and berries with juices drizzling down.

This can be made a day ahead and rest in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Enjoy!

Mysti Reutlinger is a freelance writer and author residing in Wyoming. She covers a wide variety of topics pertaining to life and living. Mysti's work has appeared on e-How, Suite101, The Nest, Animal Fair, The WAHM Magazine (digital Mag), Crafting Fiction, and more.


For more information, visit www.InspirationalLifeWriter.com.

Chicken Pie Budget Stretcher

When I was pregnant with my second child and working for 7-11, they had a frozen pie that warmed in the microwave; it was delicious. I ate my weight, literally, in those pies. My daughter came out holding one in her hand and has loved chicken pie ever since. Mine are as good, just not frozen with the ability to last until years after the last person is only a memory under the ground. They make great “take-out” lunches or a filling meal on a cool night.

Pie Filling

3 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion (diced

2 chicken breast (cooked and shredded)

3 tbsp flour

¼ cup milk

2  chicken bouillon cubes

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp parsley or cilantro

In 3 oz. sauté pan, over medium heat, add oil, bring up to temperature. Add onion and cook fully—becoming transparent. Add chicken, sprinkle with flour and stir thoroughly to cover ingredients. Add milk, bouillon, vegetables and spices, allow mixture to thicken and become soup like.

Preheat oven to 350-degrees

Pie Crust

2 ½ cup flour

10 tbsp Crisco

6 to 8 tbsp very cold water

2 sheets wax paper

In mixing bowl, add flour and Crisco cutting together until fine balls are made, add very cold water and knead into dough. Roll into ball and place between sheets of wax paper. With rolling pen, work dough from side to side and across until dough is approximately 1/8-inch thick. With pastry press,  place bottom on the dough and cut, remove from wax paper and place in pastry press, making a well in the center, place 2 to 3 tbsp of chicken mixture in well and close, pressing hard to cut the dough.

Bake 15 to 20-minutes. Baking time will vary for different thickness of dough or size of pastry press. Remove and allow to cool approximately 5-minutes, serve with potatoes or alone. They make a great treat for lunches. 

Note: The Pastry Press is made by Progressive, they come in a set of 4.

What’s That Smell?

What’s that smell is a good question when you are unfamiliar with spices? Some cooks have an inherent ability to smell the spice and know the way it will taste, while others are, well, are smell-blind. At any point, while following a recipe, if you are instructed to add a large amount of spice, smell it first then take and a tiny taste. They are deadly—not in the biblical sense—and can ruin a meal for those of even strong stomachs and constitutions. Fortunately, I’m married to one of these guinea pigs.



Having cooked for over 4-decades, I’ve rarely botched a meal (lately), but the choice of a recipe that included in caraway seeds was an awful exception. The recipe called for 3-tablespoons (3 Tbsp.) of caraway seeds and seemed a bit much; however, as a recruiter of spices and not a dead-head, I went with the directions. Big, big, big mistake…never use 3-tablespoons of anything unless you use it frequently, and know how it will react with other ingredients. Sausage and Caraway seeds can fight a never-ending battle in the digestive system.



Scandinavian Ug-Free Sausage:

3-Tbsp olive oil

1-Eckrich Mesquite Smoked Sausage, cut in half-rounds

1-head of cabbage, quartered

3-tbsp butter/margarine

2-carrots, diced or julienne

1-small yellow onion, diced

2/3 c water

1-tsp garlic

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp caraway seeds (remember smell first and use appropriately)

1/3 c. Worcestershire



Heat stainless or non-stick skillet over medium-high until thoroughly warmed through, add olive oil and butter, diced onion and carrots, cook until tender and transparent; reducing heat as needed to avoid scorching. Add sausage and cabbage, add water and cover for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the amount of tenderness you wish for your cabbage. Add Worcestershire, garlic, nutmeg, and caraway seeds; continue cooking on medium heat until ingredients have been absorbed, approx. 5 minutes.



Note: We prefer our cabbage very tender and cook it 25 minutes covered.



If small children and cats run away screeching and crying, you’ve added too much caraway. Many spices—Chili powder, Cayenne, Garam Masala, Paprika, and Cumin—have very strong flavors and can, as with cumin, numb the tongue. Novices Beware: even the bland and less-odoriferous spices can be dangerous; Nutmeg, Onion powder, etc.



A good cook can throw together a meal in 30 minutes; a great cook can create a feast using simple ingredients and love.