Sweet Potato Biscuits

I was visiting Portland with my little man for Thanksgiving (what a fun plane trip THAT was), and I decided to use my lovely family as guinea pigs for this recipe. We weren't hosting Thanksgiving, but going to my Aunt Charlene's. We were asked to bring fruit salad, which I did help with, but I couldn't help but bring something else that had been on my mind for weeks. I wanted to work something Southern into my Thanksgiving spin, but keep the Thanksgiving part obvious so people would still try it. You can't give everybody a different kind of food and expect them to like it if its not some kind of familiar too. I decided it was time conquer this fear of the sweet potato biscuit since I had the opportunity. 

See, in case you don't know, I have a go to recipe for biscuits, and I think I make damn good ones. These...were...better. I kid you not, I never thought I'd say it, but these were more moist and the sweet potato was not overwhelming. Not to mention I found a new technique for making the actual biscuits that seemed so simple, but it blew my mind. You'll have to read to find out what it is. I will also post a rough recipe below this for my maple and black pepper gravy, but I didn't measure that, so it's more a description of how to eyeball it. Everybody raved about these biscuits, couldn't believe how good they turned out. One person told me they grew up eating gravy their whole life, and that was the best they ever had. For people who love their families, and love to cook, those are the things we live for. Food love <3

Sweet Potato Biscuits (thanks chow)

Sweet Potato Biscuits

2 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cumin

1 stick butter, frozen

1 cup mashed sweet potato

3/4 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 425. Okay, this is a simple one if you know how to make biscuits. The easiest way to get a cup of mashed sweet potato is to roast a whole one (a little on the bigger side) at 425 for about an hour. Then you let it cool, split it open, scoop the flesh in a bowl and use a potato masher or hand mixer and measure out a cup. For the dry ingredients, mix everything up until the butter in a big bowl. Take your stick of butter out and grate six tablespoons (3/4 of the stick) into the bowl with a box grater. THIS is the BREAKTHROUGH!! It makes incorporating the cold butter foolproof a) because its frozen, and b) it breaks it up into the perfect size. After the butter is mixed in (I find it easiest to make biscuits with a wooden spoon), mix together your milk and mashed sweet potato in a separate bowl, then add the wet mixture to your dry. Mix with your spoon. This should be slightly tacky, but not wet. Add flour to your work surface and knead about three or four times until theres not many cracks and roll it out to your preferred thickness. I did about half an inch (I didn't measure mind you). Use a biscuit cutter, or a mason jar if you don't have any, and pop them onto a baking tray. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes depending on how crispy you like the outside, I like a little bit of crunch here and there, so I went for 20. Remember that last quarter stick of butter? Brush it on at some point doing during the cooking for extra deliciousness (obviously you need to microwave it, lol). For SUPER flavor points, just add some garlic powder, parsley, and a little salt to the butter, but its up to you ;). You won't regret making these, and your family won't mind eating them!

Maple Black Pepper Gravy

These measurements are approximate:

1lb spicy sausage

1/4 cup flour

2 to 3 cups milk

1/4 cup 

Salt and pepper to taste

These gravy is easy, just depends how thick you like it. Brown your sausage over medium high heat. Turn it to medium and add your flour and cook for a minute or two until its not raw anymore. Slowly add milk at first so it doesn't clump. Start with two cups. As it cooks and thickens (and you keep stirring darnit), add your maple syrup and some salt and a decent amount of pepper. I must insist on fresh cracked in this case, and REAL maple syrup, they're the star of the gravy. From here on out, it's your judgement what you want to adjust. You like extra salt, add more. My only suggestion is this, it shouldn't taste like candy, but you should know theres something sweet in there, followed by a pleasant nip of black pepper so they kind of cancel each other out. If this is too thick, add a little more milk. It shouldn't take more than 7 or 8 minutes from the time you add t he milk to the time you've adjust everything and its thickened (if milk is room temperature). These are all approximate, if it tastes like it needs more of something, then ADD IT! That's the fun of cooking...jeez

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

This idea intrigued me. I had seen it so much on "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" that I knew I would be trying stuffed meatballs at some point in my life. I was intimidated since I barely got my original meatball recipe perfected, and I knew this would have to be more dense to keep whatever the filling was trapped inside. So I went simple, I love cheese, it seems quite apparent from my previous posts. I just wanted good ol' mozzarella. I found some bomb posts on Pinterest about it (and p.s., if you haven't discovered Pinterest....go, GO NOW, look at the food category and waste WAY too much of your life). I found a great recipe for slow cooker meatballs, and I essentially tweaked the amounts and the method of cooking, here's the original recipe Slow Cooker Mozzarella Meatballs. I only needed to use three quarters the amount of the ingredients, which you'll see later on, and I altered some ingredients. 

I'll just tell you, glad I made these. They were absolutely delicious and not nearly as much fuss as I thought it would be. These would be absolutely great for company because the meatball can be made ahead of time and I don't cook the low and slow way with these guys, they went hot and fast in the oven. Very impressive meal, dress up some store bought pasta and you're set!

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Ingredients:

3/4 pound spicy sausage

3/4 cup bread crumbs (panko or regular, Italian seasoned or plain)

1 egg + 1 egg yolk (divided, see instructions)

Splash of milk, 2 or 3 tbsp

1 teaspoon minced garlic 

1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 mozzarella cheese sticks (string cheese)

Preheat oven to 425. Okay, first things first, SAUSAGE. Not the norm, I know. Two reasons why, 1) I was going to cook these in a really hot oven for not a long time, and this gave me the fat to brown nicely in that time, and 2) this recipe has a fair amount of binder so it holds the cheese in, and the fat would help that it wouldn't dry out while maintaining the structure. Cut the string cheese sticks roughly in quarters, the size I went for was about the size of my thumb just past my knuckle (so from your knuckle to the tip), does that make sense? I think a quarter was a little big, but it was pretty close. Stick these in the freezer until your meat is ready. Mix your eggs together and pour 1/4 of it down the drain (unless using the recipe in the link and you're using the full pound). There was no way to measure this but by eyeball, sorry kids. Now, mix all your ingredients (except the cheese sticks), by hand until you have a cohesive mixture.  I split my mix into eight balls, so I quartered my ball, then halved each quarter. You take a ball, and a piece of cheese (now out the freezer), after pushing the cheese into the center, pull the meat mixture up the sides and over the top until you can't see any cheese. Roll the ball enough until you cant see any cracks or seams in the meat, pinch with your fingers and smooth it over with your hands if you have to. These will shrink, so any imperfections will just amplify during cooking. Stick these on a foil lined baking tray or casserole dish on the top rack of the oven and bake until nicely browned, about 15 to 20 minutes (my meat mix was room temperature, and ovens will vary). I had two of my eight split open, but the small bit of cheese that leaked out got all nice and crusty, and didn't mind that one bit! I went over the top and melted a little butter and put some fresh chopped herbs and salt and pepper and brushed it on just before serving, but that's just me! They are soooooo good. Stop wondering how good, and just make them. You know you want to :)

Pan Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken

This is a simple recipe. Sometimes I don't have money to burn on chicken breasts, but when I do, I like them simply done and cooked right because they're kind of a treat for me to just have whole and cut up, like a big ol' chicken steak!!! Nothing makes their flavor pop like some lemon, and I can't help but add some garlic into the party! The marinade I make will have its own little post, because it's a great all over marinade for roasting veggies, almost any meat, it's just delicious and versatile. This will go with a lovely lemon pan sauce, and it results in such juicy and brown chicken, it's irresistible. Served with some roasted potatoes and veggies (in one pan, duh!!), that it makes for a uncomplicated and no fuss, but still elegant meal. Enough talk, go make your chicken with lemony goodness! Its a word.....lemony.....lemonie? Spelling isn't what matters! The chicken matters

Pan Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:
Zest and juice of 1 lemon (divided)
3 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1/4 tsp (heaping) salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp (heaping) italian seasoning
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp (heaping) lemon pepper
2 boneless skinless chicken breast
Water or chicken stock
1 tbsp flour
Salt and pepper to taste

The most important part here is the marinade. It really does all your work for you. Zest your lemon and divide it in half. Put the zest, juice of HALF the lemon, garlic, all the spices, and olive oil in a zip top bag and mix it up. That's your marinade. I like to poke holes in my chicken breast with a fork before I put it in the bag for maximum flavor, but its optional. Put your chicken in and let sit for at least an hour, but no more than three max because the acid in here will change the texture of your meat after a while. 

Preheat your oven to 400 and heat some oil in a skillet over medium high heat. While that heats, make sure when your chicken comes out the marinade theres no chunks of garlic on them, they'll burn, no need to wipe the marinade off. Cook them until nicely brown on each side, about 2 or 3 minutes per side. Off the heat, add the juice of the other half a lemon, and enough water to barely come up the side of the chicken, maybe about 1/2 a cup. You basically want enough to deglaze and ensure that the pan won't run out of water during the roasting time. Put it in the oven for about 12 minutes, give or take. It depends if you let your chicken come up to room temperature and how fast your oven is. Take the chicken out to rest while you do your sauce. It's essentially just deciding how thick you want it. I had enough brown bits on the bottom that I didn't need stock, the water turned into a really rich stock, and the lemon I had was really juicy, so that half was all I needed. I added the rest of my zest, about 1 tbsp of flour mixed with some water, cooked it for about two minutes until I had a nice glossy sauce (not as thick as gravy), and finished it with salt and pepper. The sauce consistency is your call, add more or less flour and lemon juice depending how "lemony" you like it. It was a delightful sauce, it really was. Just take in mind, as it sits and thickens, it can get pretty acidic, so I would eat as soon as its done! Yum yum! Simplicity at its finest

Cheese Tortellini with Sausage and Tomato Cream Sauce

I know, I know. "Sarah, where have you been?!" I'm a turrible person, yes, I said turrible, not terrible. School and a particular baby have been eating up my time and brain space, and I apologize. That being said, I went grocery shopping after planning my whole week of dinners, and I'm SUPER excited for what's in store. Not to mention I got enough ingredients for six home cooked dinners, enough leftovers for two or three impressive lunches, and some bisquick and sausage links for some lovely breakfasts for $60. That being said, I accomplished said trip because my precious baby was at grandmas house, and so that means today was cleaning day! Not really feeling like putting a whole bunch of time into my cooking, but wanted something great to eat at the end of today. I picked a good option...it was so good.

It was start a new paragraph good. See, I'm Italian at heart, and big old plate of pasta with some crusty garlic bread is just what I need sometimes. Nothing warms my tummy quite the same, and this just did it. The best part, is the sauce in this recipe is so versatile, you can do almost anything with it. I am going to put two different suggestions, simply because next time I make it, I already thought of what I want to do different and see the variety that could make it absolutely both versatile AND delicious. Plus its a cheater recipe, and who doesn't need those every now and then. Get your stretchy pants and fuzzy socks.....it's about to get delicious and full of pasta!

 

Tortellini and Cream Sauce 

Ingredients:

1 12 oz frozen bag cheese tortellini

8 oz smoked sausage, cut in whatever style you like (or realistically any meat you prefer)

1 regular sized can Italian style diced tomatoes (save the juice)

1/2 any variety onion, diced fine

1 clove garlic, diced fine

1/4 to 1/2 tsp red pepper flake (depending how much heat you like)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp lemon pepper

8 oz softened cream cheese OR 1 can cream of chicken soup with a handful of mozzarella tossed in

Salt and pepper to taste 

Roll with me on these directions, so my "OR" option doesn't throw you off. The technique is as follows: Take your meat, I used smoked sausage diced into half moons, and brown them in a pot (big enough for the whole dish) over medium heat in olive oil (or any oil you have), until nicely browned. Take them out and put them on a plate. Add in your diced onion and cook for about 3 minutes until translucent, while scraping away the brown goodness on the bottom of the pan. In the meantime, strain your tomatoes and save the liquid, you will use it to thin your sauce, and you paid for it! Use it! Add your meat, onion, and strained tomatoes into your pot. I used cream of chicken soup and had some mozzarella on hand, so I added about 3/4 of a cup and mixed all that together. Then I added as much of my strained liquid until my sauce was the thickness I like, this is a personal preference, add as much or as little as you want. I already had my tortellini thawed, so I just put them in my sauce to warm through and merry a little, about 10 minutes. If yours aren't thawed, follow the directions to do so, or cook them right in the sauce. Just remember at the end, depending on how much tomato liquid you added, you may need to adjust seasoning. Enjoy! I know I did :D

The OR option: you could totally add cream cheese instead of the canned soup and cheese and you would probably just need more tomato juice to thin it out, but if you like your pasta extra creamy/tangy, this IS your option :)

Also, I bought some of that awesome herb and garlic bread from the bakery at Wal-Mart for a dollar and made awesome garlic bread. I follow something close to this. Thanks Tyler! Tyler Florence Herb Garlic Bread

Slow Cooker Ham and White Beans

Its been forever. I miss my blog. Mommyhood has taken me by storm! Im so caught up with my son, who is now SIX MONTHS OLD!!! They grow up so fast. He's so smart, and I've been busy with him, school, and our ten million dogs since our pitbull had a dozen puppies. You know those, not days, but weeks at a time when you want to just rip your hair out? This is for those times. It's not a shortcut really, its just simple...and damn is it good. I wish it wasn't so hot, but when its ready tonight, it'll be cool enough for this to hit the spot. 

Ive never been shy to share with you what I cannot cook. Asian food....I don't wanna talk about it. Another one, you're in for another culinary failure of mine. Dry beans. Thats right. I stink at cooking dried beans. Im trying these in the slow cooker because apparently its "fool proof". I'll come after the person who said this if they so happen to be wrong (you know who you are, muahahahaha). Anyways, its just stewed white beans, with big salty chunks of ham, and some simple seasoning. By itself its pretty good, but with some sweet corn bread on the side (I always use Jiffys mix if I don't have time to make my own, its my favorite), its a marriage made in heaven. Its like the Bonnie and Clyde of stewed things and bread, except maybe pot roast and a hunk of french bread. They might be neck and neck....

Regardless, make it! Its SOOOO cheap to make, and you won't regret it! Just look at it down there, looking all delicious and such....mmmmmmmm

Thanks to Lynda for the picture :)

1lb ham, can be shank, steaks, or already cooked and cubed (I prefer the first two options though)

1lb bag of dried great northern beans

1/2 large white onion (or 1 small), diced

1 large garlic clove, chopped small

2 carrots, peeled and chopped into half moons

6 cups water

1 rounded tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp fresh chopped thyme or rosemary (half the amount if dried)

Salt and pepper to taste

Set slow cooker to low. Put all your onion, beans, carrots, and garlic in the slow cooker. If the ham is on the bone, you can put it in whole, if already chopped, put the pieces in as well. Place your six cups of water and seasonings and herbs in, but hold the salt. I've heard salt can make dried beans tough, so I didn't want to take the chance, and the ham is salty as well, so I reserved salting until the end. Put the lid on and let this go for 8 hours or until beans are tender. Be careful salting at the end, you can always add more, but not take away! If your ham was whole, shred it and remove the bone, if not, you're just good to stuff your face. This really is a walk away from it type of meal, not much can go wrong!

ETA (optional tweaks): I have to say, after the eight hours, I thought it would be great, but I tweaked two things that are optional. I added two tablespoons of flour mixed with water and cranked it to high for about ten minutes to thicken it since SOME people *cough cough* Jeremy *cough* like pretty thick stew. One tablespoon would make it inbetween soup and stew, and leaving the flour out gives you a fantastic broth. Tweak number two, I like my dishes with lots of carbs to have a little kick, so I added 1 tsp hot sauce, you could also do red pepper flake, I just didn't have any. I say again, MAKE IT!!!!!

Waffle Burger

This burger has a story that just has to be told. One of the first things I made on my grill was burgers. Not over the top, win any awards, spend an hour preparing all the pieces, kind of burgers. Get dinner on the table kind of burgers, you know? AFTER they were done, my boyfriend informs me he could make a better burger....and he did. I said I wasn't on my game because I didn't KNOW I was making competition burgers, I should get a rematch. Makes sense so far, right?

He tells me, "Go right ahead. I'll come up with a burger too, and I'll win". Riiiiiiight.....I've won EVERY cook off I've ever done. I wasn't worried. I should have been...

I thought I had it in the bag. I made a 6 ounce patty, cooked medium, with melted American cheese (his favorite), pickle slices, rib tips with homemade barbeque sauce nestled inside some crispy seasoned onion rings. It wouldn't do without a special homemade sauce. He eats it and said it was really good, but he was going to win.

Then he drops the bomb. "I'm making a waffle burger. Its gonna have bacon, melted cheese, and maple syrup." DAMN. My only contribution here was to add the fried egg, that's it. Theres no point in finishing the rest of the story. Think about it, bacon, egg, burger patty, maple syrup, melted cheese...what's missing? NOTHING. That's what. And I lost.....

I know what you're thinking, that's a donut burger! I know this, but I was focusing on the burger toppings, we had an egg, like the donut burger, but in the waffle burger format above (except our waffles were round). This is a messy burger, and its not good for you at all, but damn is it good.

Waffle Burger
6 ounce burger patty, seasoned LIBERALLY with s/p
2 waffles, lightly toasted and buttered on one side
2 slices of thick cut bacon
1 slice of american cheese
1 egg, fried (also seasoned with s/p)
Maple syrup

The components are simple. Preheat your grill to high heat and close your lid, let preheat for 10 minutes. The cooking time will depend on your grill. I cooked it 4 minutes on one side, then flipped it, put my cheese on, closed the lid, and let it go 3 more minutes. You can rest it on a plate with tin foil tented to keep it warm. You can make your bacon and egg ahead of time. Put your bacon in a cold skillet and put it up to medium heat and cook turning occasionally until crisp. If you really don't care about calories, fry your egg in the bacon fat. Just do it over a lower heat so it has more time to cook on top before you flip it. There is no science in my book yet for a fried egg, some eggs cooperate, some just don't. It'll be delicious regardless. My biggest tip for this burger, is too salt things more than you think you would, and put A LOT of cracked pepper on your bacon. Here's why, maple syrup is really sweet, and you won't taste anything else if it's not seasoned (if not a little over seasoned). To assemble, put a buttered waffle, your burger patty, fried egg, slices of bacon, and drizzle over maple syrup to your hearts content, and top with your last waffle! Its heavenly....

 

Big News

I don't have a recipe for you YET....however, I recently got a present. It has me VERY excited and should give me lots of new and interesting recipes. Are you ready????? I got a four burner, super awesome, shiny as shit GAS GRILL!!!!! The things I have made, I love.....love it so much. I'm comin for you dad, your chicken is goin down, you knew the day would come. Here's whats on my radar (and I'm open for suggestions)

- Stuffed porkchop with maple gravy (that I can make on my awesome side burner)
- At some point, a grilled pizza
- Grilled asparagus
- Grilled pineapple with vanilla ice cream
- Teryaki chicken legs

This is my grill...

 Oh....there will be recipes coming!