Resolutions and Orange Cranberry Scones

I know we are supposed to have wonderful things planned out for the year ahead and I really love the idea, but I NEVER follow through. Within 24 hours of the year coming in, I completely forget I made a resolution until around July. In July I think "Well, shit."

So, for this year I am going to continue the things I like in my life:

• I hope to continue to succeed in school (it makes me proud of myself).
• I plan to continue to eat smaller portions and watch my weight (it is too hard to lose to put it all back on again).
• I hope to continue to successfully homeschool the 8 yr. old (because I really don't want to screw this up).
• I plan to continue to spend quality time with the Family each week (which isn't too hard because I feel guilty with all the time I spend at school and work).
• I plan to continue to cook healthy meals for my Family (Or have the hubby cook healthy meals for the Family ;).

And one new one:

• I plan on buying a new washer or gently used washer immediately in the new year!

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope everyone is able to accomplish ALL their New Year's Goals this year. This Year can be the year of Success!

_______________________________

And to bring in the New Year, here is a recipe to my most favorite pastry EVER!

Orange Cranberry Scones

Ingredients:

One medium to large Orange

1/2 C. Very cold Butter (not the fake stuff)

2 C. Flour

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Salt

2 Tbsp. Sugar

1/2 Cup diced Fresh Cranberries (I am sure you could use the dried and sweetened ones, just leave out the 2 Tbsp. Sugar)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Zest the entire orange, set aside.

2. Then squeeze all the juice out of the orange (pulp is good, but not chunks), set aside.

3. I did it all in my food processor: Sift the Flour, Sugar, Salt, and Baking Powder together.

4. Cut the butter into small squares and mix it into the flour mixture. You want the mixture crumbly, but you don't want big chunks of butter. This is where a food processor really comes in handy because you want the butter to stay as cold as possible. This is what makes the scone flaky.

5. Add in the zest and the cranberries. Mix until coated. (I pulsed it a couple of times).

6. Drizzle in the orange juice and stir or pulse. Be careful not to add in too much liquid, you don't want the mixture sticky. You do want it to form a ball. If you don't have enough juice from the orange, just add in a little store bought juice.

7. Divide dough into 8 pieces and form into whatever shape you want.

8. Place on baking sheet (I use stoneware) and bake for about 15-20 minutes. You want them to be slightly golden brown on top.

Directions for the icing glaze:

Ingredients:

1 Cup Powder Sugar

2 to 3 Tbsp. Milk or Orange Juice

Directions:

Put powder sugar into bowl and drizzle in the liquid one tablespoon at a time, mixing well between each until you get the consistency you want.