Happiness is calling

For me, happiness is having a plan! And there's nothing quite like putting the plan in to action.

For our upcoming trip I'm making a few things ahead of time so when we hit our destination we can transition quickly in to vacation mode. Today I whipped up a batch of super easy and great tasting Clementine-Cranberry Scones and put them in the freezer so we'll have them ready for our trip. Of course the boys each had a scone hot out of the oven (Preston's rationale was a couple less scones would fit better in the freezer bag!)

Clementine-Cranberry Scone
(Originally Orange-Currant Scone - but I had clementines and dried cranberries so I adapted the recipe :) )

Source: www.epicurious.com

These scones are terrific with butter and honey or marmalade.

3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cups chilled solid vegetable shortening, cut into pieces
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons chilled buttermilk

3/4 cup dried currants (I used cranberries)
1 tablespoon grated orange peel (I used clementine peel)
Additional sugar

Preheat oven to 425F. Ine large baking sheet with foil. Stir flour, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Add butter and shortening; using fingertips, rub in until coarse meal forms. Add 1 cup buttermilk, currants and orange peel. Stir gently until dough comes together in large moist clumps. Gather dough into ball. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface. Gently knead 3 or 4 turns to combine well. Divide into 2 pieces; flatten into 3/4-inch thick rounds. Using floured knife, cut each round into 8 wedges. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons buttermilk and sprinkle with additional sugar.

Bake scones until light golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Cool completely and then freeze so you can pack them up for your trip.

Hard to put a price on these because I had all the items in my pantry; however, for comparison, the price of similar type and size scones at the farmers market are $2.50/each. I made 16 scones and will be taking 14 (less the two the boys ate!) of them on our trip. If we bought scones on our trip, we would have spent $35!


Happy ingredients


Coming together nicely


Divided and flattened


Cooling (I put some fun red, white, and blue sprinkles on half the batch)


Packed up for the freezer

Kari On and Keep Traveling

Snap, Crackle, Pop-sibilities

It doesn't get much better than this! I absolutely love when one key ingredient can shine in multiple meals. Today's star: Rice Krispies. This classic cereal hands down makes the best marshmallow snacks - and they are so easy (there is no comparison between the homemade version and the pre-made treats), they are delish in a bowl for breakfast, and one of my favorite ways to use the cereal is as a binding ingredient in meatloaf (recipe to be posted in a future post). However, I'm most excited about the Orange-Walnut Scone recipe I just tried. This scone recipe uses Rice Krispies AND Bisquick (see my previous post) - two of my go-to staples when we travel. These were so good that my family gobbled them up before I was able to get a photo, so I will be sure to add one next time I make these.

2 cups Kellogg's® Rice Krispies® cereal
2 cups biscuit baking mix
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup currants
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/3 cup fat-free milk (I use soy milk)
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon sugar
Vegetable cooking spray

1. In large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal, baking mix and the 1/3 cup sugar, breaking up the lumps in the baking mix. Stir in walnuts and currants. Add egg, orange peel and milk, mixing until mixture forms a ball. Flatten dough into 7 1/2-inch circle. Using large knife, cut into 6 wedges. Place about 2 inches apart on baking sheet coated with cooking spray. With fork, beat together egg white and water. Brush over tops of scones. Sprinkle with the 1 tablespoon sugar.

2. Bake at 375° F about 13 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cold. Store in airtight container.

Yield: 6 scones




(These get gobbled up quick too...kids and adults love this classic treat!)

Kari On and Keep Traveling

Who knew...it could be this easy?!?! CHILI

It almost feels like cheating when dinner is so easy and tastes so good. The key to this chili is the brand of beans - the spices make it seem much more complicated than it is.

1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup bottled salsa
2 cans (or more depending on how far you want to stretch this meal) 15 1/2 oz S&W Chili Beans (undrained)
1 can diced tomatoes (sometimes I give these a whirl in the blender since my boys prefer not to see any tomatoes!)
1 sm can V-8 juice

1 pkg Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions, bell pepper and ground turkey; cook until meat is browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in the salsa, beans, tomatoes, and V-8 juice. Spoon mixture into a casserole dish.
3. Prepare corn muffin mix according to package directions. Let batter rest and then spoon evenly over the turkey mixture. Bake at 400 for 25-35 minutes or until golden.

Serve with you favorite chili topping: cheese, cilantro, sour cream (I prefer plain Greek yogurt), red onions, etc.

You can also omit the corn muffin top and just heat up the chili on the stove. Or, make the corn bread as a side (even though this creates another dish to clean).







Kari On and Keep Traveling

Smoothie Mix Master

We love smoothies for breakfast, a mid-day snack and even for dessert. Making smoothies 'at home' (I've yet to stay in a timeshare unit without a blender!) not only saves money, but you get to control all the ingredients. We love picking up fresh fruit from the farmers market to customize our drinks to the local seasonal flavors. Smoothies are also one of those great meals to make that can use up the odds and ends of ingredients you have on hand. We strive to keep our smoothies healthy with fruit, oats, wheatgerm, peanut butter, honey, and protein powder. The beauty of these drinks is the countless concoctions you can create: green smoothies, berry smoothies, peach smoothies, veggie smoothies, yogurt smoothies - you name it, you can make it. On vacation, try keeping the flavors local so you can fully embrace the regional delights.



Kari On and Keep Traveling

Trick yourself into saving

I picked up these great ciabattini rolls at the local bakery - 6 rolls for $3. These pillows of deliciousness made the perfect sandwiches. The bread was so fresh I just sliced the rolls in half and nestled in a few pieces of rolled deli ham. That was it. No mayo, no mustard, no cheese. Just bread and ham. The simplicity was beyond satisfying. Crazily enough, I wasn't even trying to save money, I just thought the rolls looked yummy so I bought them.





Kari On and Keep Traveling

By all means treat yourself!

Nothing says vacation like a little indulgence. The key is to find the right balance. For us, we all have a passion for discovering new bakeries and like to get a little something special everyday. Maybe it's a morning sticky bun with a steaming cup of freshly roasted coffee, or an afternoon 'just out of the oven' cookie to recharge our batteries, or some over-the-top dessert to finish the evening on a happy sweet note. We just make sure we only bakery splurge no more than ONCE a day. Not only is this approach good for the wallet, but it's also good for making sure our clothes still fit by the end of vacation.

An added bonus that helps keep calorie-guilt in check is when we find a bakery within walking distance from where we are staying...ha, now that I think about I see how this could be a double-edge sword depending on how close or far you have to walk!





Kari On and Keep Traveling

Your wallet called…it wants you to make some savvy choices

We love making pancakes from scratch at home. We get creative and add lots of extras when the mood strikes – bananas, blueberries, strawberries, chocolate chips, wheat germ, etc. However, when we’re on vacation we like to keep it simple and our favorite go to pancakes on the road are the simple and classic ones we make with Bisquick.

Now that our boys are getting older they no longer eat from the Kids Menu at restaurants. Ordering pancakes from a local breakfast joint usually runs around $8-10 per person – granted someone else is doing the cooking and clean up; but, Bisquick pancakes are super easy, super tasty, and if you score a deal like I did on our last vacation, super cheap! A round of restaurant pancakes for my family of 4 can set us back over $40 (and that’s not including the coffee and juice we are sure to order too!) Plus sometimes the kids bring friends with them on our vacations…add a couple more kids and the bill adds up quickly. The Bisquick breakfast feeds us all for well under $10!

Bisquick - $4.59 (but I got mine for $1.22…and we get multiple batches of pancakes per box)
1 Egg - $0.40 (rounding up – and assuming a dozen eggs is about $4)
1 ½ cup milk - $0.75 (rounding up – and assuming a gallon of milk is about $5)
Syrup $0.50 (completely taking a gouge with this estimate – but a bottle of syrup seems to last a really long time)
Butter - $1.00 (another guess – and I’m pretty sure I’m over estimating)

But wait, there’s more: not only are Bisquick pancakes delicious, but we also use the baking mix for strawberry shortcakes, coffee cake, banana bread, quiche, and random other dishes. So many yummy options that are a breeze to make!







Kari On and Keep Traveling

The Garanimal Concept

I have always loved the Garanimals concept! According to their website, Garanimals was founded on a simple but unique concept: to help parents affordably dress their young children in comfortable clothing that is easy to mix and match. Each Garanimals line may be mixed and matched as separates, and the color and style mix and match with any piece within that line. I remember pairing the giraffe with the giraffe and the lion with the lion – but I don’t think they do it that way anymore.

I’ve always thought of my approach to cooking on vacation similar to the Garanimal model: buy produce and ingredients that you can mix and match to create multiple meals. The ultimate goal is to have no leftovers on the last day of vacation.

The tomatoes, peppers, and spinach you use for dinner can also double as delicious add on to a morning omelet. The celery (in the peanut butter and celery snack post from yesterday) also tastes great in tuna salad. Future posts will begin to better illustrate how all the ingredients work together.



Kari On and Keep Traveling