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!

Italian Style Beef and Vegetable Soup

This soup was a request from my mom, but I can't just leave things alone. She loves beef and vegetable soup, I decided to change the vegetable line up and add cannelinni beans instead of potatoes so I could cut down on the amount of beef. Let me say this, this is as a very tomatoey (it's a word, shut up) beef and vegetable soup. It's as much tomato as beef, because my mom and I like it that way! I always remember when we had busy nights and would have soup for dinner, everyone had their preferences. My brother was picky and pretty much wanted tomato with cheese, if he had any. My dad always had one of those big "chunky" soups, you know those ridiculous ones that shouldn't be a soup flavor? Like Big Beefy Super Steaky Goodness with Potatoes? Those ones. My mom pretty much always had beef and vegetable, and I liked the smell of hers the best. This is just a little bit of a twist, and its so convenient to go in the slow cooker. This broth is great with some crusty bread! I'm also doing a post on my Hasselback Garlic Bread...its fantastic...just sayin'

Beef and Vegetable Soup

Let me just say, this is easily the best picture I found in terms of how similar my actual recipe turned out. The only difference is there is baby carrots, and mine was a whole carrot that was cut up. This picture was a win in my book

Italian Beef and Vegetable soup:

1/2 lb fatty steak (cheap is good here, I used chuck eye round)

1 can undrained fire roasted or stewed tomatoes

1 can drained cannellini or white beans
Half a can drained cut green beans

One carrot, peeled and cut into half moons

½ cup frozen peas

¼ to ½ cup frozen spinach or greens of any kind

3 beef bullion cubes and 1 ½ cups water, or 1 and ½ cups beef broth

½ small white or yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic gloves, diced fine

½ tbsp. Italian seasoning

½ tsp black pepper

Let me say about this steak business, you could use stew meat, but they were big packs, and they were expensive! You can totally slow cook smaller cuts that have decent marbling, and shred it. Its a personal choice, you can use stew meat, I didn't feel like paying extra. Your first step is to liberally salt and pepper your steak, and sear it on high just until it browns on both sides. It's pretty easy peasy from here on out. Add all the rest of your ingredients (except your salt) into your slow cooker. I used 3 bullion cubes and half the amount of water to start with because I wasn't going to get a lot of beef flavor from my smaller cut of steak, and its beef soup after all! You can always add more water later, but you can't take it out if you put too much in! That's the same reason we reserve the salt to the end. Your veggies could soak up a lot or a little, and your broth is salty, so just hold off until close to the end. I cooked on high for one hour, then on low for three. This all depends on how cooked you like your veggies, as long as your beef is shredable (also a word...dont judge me), you're good to go! This is so freakin good with crusty bread

Stuffed Double Bacon Cheeseburger with Guacamole

I know sometimes I have parts of my recipes that are healthy, or shortcuts where I leave certain ingredients out for the sake of your arteries. This is not one of them. Is it ridiculous? Yes. Is it bad for you? Absolutely. Do I regret it? NO I DO NOT. It was my boyfriends birthday, and he loves cheeseburgers. I also had a special request from my mom to do a pepper jack burger. I had the time and the funds, so I decided to take this burger to the next level. Let me just preface by saying this and getting this out of my system. I LOVE making burgers. When I didn't have bills to pay and could spend my money on food, I made burgers ALL the time. I think I'm pretty damn good at it. Then Bobby Flay took a bunch of my burgers I already made. I swear, he planted bugs in my head and took them. I made a certain southwest burger, and I got a piece of jalapeno in my eye that resulted in my whole face burning for an hour. Its now at his burger restaurants, almost the exact same one I made years prior...I realize this was a rant, thank you for sticking with me through that. Just grinds my gears man. Make this burger!!! And don't give it to Bobby Flay...This monster has pepper jack on the inside of the burger patty, cheese on top, thick sliced bacon, and homemade guacamole on a toasted sesame seed bun. At least guacamole has the good for you fat ;)

Bacon Juicy Lucy

This above pictured is the Juicy Lucy, the quintessential original cheese stuffed burger. This one doesn't have quacamole, but what can I say? The picture still looked pretty good :D

Stuffed Bacon Cheeseburger (serves 2):

12 ounces of ground beef

4 ounces of pepper jack cheese (divided into four equal parts)

Homemade guacamole (or store bought if you don't have it)

4 slices of crispy thick cut bacon

Sliced tomatoes

Iceberg or romaine lettuce 

Premium sesame seed buns (potato buns would also work great here)

Condiment of choice

Salt and pepper

This is not a burger with a bunch of spices and fancy things. This is a good ol' fashioned beef burger, and it tastes like it. Save your bacon fat, whether you bake it or do it on the stove, because you're cooking your burger in it! Heat up a large skillet or cast iron pan inbetween medium and medium high heat (depending how rare you like your burger) while you make your patties. Liberally salt and pepper your meat, since its your only seasoning, make it count. It's up to you how much you actually put, I probably put almost three quarters teaspoon of salt. Divide your meat into four parts. You're taking one part (one ounce) of your cheese, and putting it in the middle. Take another section of meat, and use it as a lid, and form it around the cheese, closing the sides and smoothing the seams. Repeat one more time. Form them slightly bigger than your buns because they'll shrink. Lay them in your pan, and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes per side for medium rare/medium and 5 minutes for no pink. While they're cooking, toast your buns a little in the oven. Flip your burger and place your remaining 2 ounces on the top of each burger and let it melt. Take your buns out, and put on your condiment of choice (I love mayo on one side and mustard on the other). Layer your burger, guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, bacon, and top bun! Its so damn good, it just is. You're welcome :D

 

Deboning a Chicken Thigh

I get enough chicken thighs that you would think I would debone them all the time. Guess what? I don't! Most of the time I'm using it in a shredded fashion and I like to cook it on the bone for the flavor. But sometimes, every now and then, I like to glaze them whole, or roast them with the skin on. Now I myself don't mind this at all! It's almost impossible to make dry, and I like to get my hands on some meat and eat it off the bone. However, if you're like me, you may have some picky family members *cough cough* Jeremy *cough*, who just prefer boneless. Tonight, I'm actually making tacos, so my meat will be shredded. I just didn't want to cook it in the oven, and I don't want to boil it since I actually want this meat to have a little chew and texture from the carmelization. I'm also really short on time, but the other reason sounds so much better doesn't it? I had to debone it, and am I glad I did! I've never done this, and it took me about a minute and a half per thigh, so with practice, this will be a two minute job for as much chicken as I need. It will save you SO much money over buying boneless chicken thighs!

I don't have a picture for this one, but I have a video I saw, and I will describe it as I did it. I started at the knob at the top, with a sharp, smaller knife. You cut down the center along the bone (you can feel the bone down the center). Once you can see the slit along the bone, you pick one side to work down, and cut as close to the bone as you can, then you do the other side. Take the knob in the middle of the thigh, and cut as close as you can along the top of it, I found there was some cartilage. Once I got past that, I could hold the knob, and cut as close to the bone, down the back, and I hardly wasted any meat. I also found, once I was that far, I could use my knife to kind of "scrape" my way down the bone which saved even more meat. Take a look at the following link to see what I mean. Get your knives, get deboning!

Debone That Chicken Thigh!!! 

Italian Sausage with Onion Gravy and Egg Noodles

Its been REALLY cold. And I'm getting REALLY pregnant. Between trying to clean for at least an hour (it's challenging, trust me), and put last touches in the nursery, I have not been making things from scratch. This wasn't a complete short cut meal, but it warmed my stomach and tasted like it had taken all day long. Kids wouldn't even notice the onions, and it pleases adult with all its developed flavors. It was perfect to make my easy green beans on the side, and things could cook away for about twenty minutes while I went and did whatever I needed to do. With all these storms coming, you're going to want to make this (if you still have power)! :D

 

Beef Gravy and Noodles 

I found a picture as close as I could, the only difference in this picture, is there chunks of stew meat, and mine had chunks of sausage. My gravy was also a little thicker, but it's the same general idea.

Italian Sausage with Onion Gravy:

1 package of hot italian sausages (mine came in packages of 5 and I used 3)

1/3 cup finely diced onion

3/4 cup frozen greens

1 package onion soup mix

1 package brown gravy mix

2 tbsp butter or vegetable oil

2 1/2 to 3 cups water

1/2 of one big package of egg noodles, cooked

Salt and pepper to taste

It seems like its kind of a lot of ingredients, but it's really easy. Heat up a large cast iron skillet (or just a big regular skillet) over medium high heat with the butter or vegetable oil in the bottom. Once hot, you can cut open your sausage casing or push the meat out the small hole in the top and bottom and into your skillet. Spread it out a little with your spoon, and leave it alone to brown for about 3 minutes per side. Turn the heat to medium and add your onion, you can then break up your meat into smaller pieces, but still leave it chunky. After about five minutes, add your soup and gravy mix along with your water. Add in your frozen greens, and turn your heat to high. Stir frequently until it boils for a minute or two, then turn your heat to medium low and simmer for twenty minutes. You can cook it down longer if its not thick enough for you. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve over your cooked egg noodles. This was EASILY my favorite dinner of the week!

 

 

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken Legs

The grocery store was having buy 1 get 1 free on the value packs of chicken, so I knew I was gonna be fixing some chicken! By the way, I know that pork loin, or filets of salmon probably look really good, but if you're watching your dollars, get the B1G1 sales! You'll find recipes to make it work, trust me. Back to the point of the story. I needed to fix some different chicken to break up the monotony that is poultry. I don't know if you've caught on to this, but I DO have an Achilles heel. I cannot cook Asian food from scratch, it's an epic fail every time! I know! You're like, "Oh my gawd, I thought you could cook everything. You ruined my perfect dreams of you!". I know, and I'm sorry. But with some store shortcuts, its still perfectly affordable, and let me tell you, it was GOOD!

 

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken 

Teriyaki Chicken:

5 chicken legs, skin off

1/2 a bottle of teriyaki marinade, about 6 ounces

2 scallions, thinly sliced

1 tsp ginger

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp corn starch

Toasted sesame seeds

Water

This is a really simple recipe, though since we're working with chicken legs, it's not one you can leave going and go to work or something. Put the first five ingredients into the crock pot, and stir everything around so it's evenly coated. Cook for 2 hours on high, or four on low. Take the lid off and mix the corn starch with an equal amount of water. Stir it in and leave the lid off on high (whether you cooked it on low or high), for about 30 minutes to an hour. That depends on how thick you want your sauce. Serve with steamed rice and extra sauce from the crock pot. Top with extra chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds. This is a gorgeous one to serve as well. If you wanted to, you could leave out the ginger, scallions, lemon, and sesame seeds. Those are extras, so if you strip it down, this recipe is even more affordable!

 

Roasted Asparagus

I love asparagus, and in fact, I've only had it roasted. I do not understand the people who don't like it. There are so many different ways to change it up, but I'm posting a simple version that you can add things to if you want. My boyfriend has never been a big vegetable eater unless I mix it into something else, and he LOVES this asparagus. It only takes about 30 minutes from start to finish, and anybody can do it, I promise :D

Roasted Asparagus

In this particular recipe, beyond your normal salt and pepper, I'm using lemon to give this a twist. Ive added garlic powder, or chopped roasted garlic, chili flake, parmesan cheese, and balsamic vinegar to name a few. But this a fantastic starter recipe so you can imagine the possibilities.

Asparagus:

1 bunch of asparagus (about 1 lb)

1 lemon

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper 

Preheat your oven to 425. To trim your asparagus, take one and snap it near the end, it will naturally snap where it is supposed to break. Trim the rest of the ends off using the first end as a guide. Place them on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Add 2 teaspoons of the lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste, I added about 3/4 tsp salt, and a generous crack of pepper. Roast in the oven for about 25 to 30 minutes. I do a taste test at the end to see if it needs a fresh squeeze of lemon or a sprinkle of salt because sometimes vegetables just soak that stuff up! Super delish

A side note for those healthy eaters *cough cough* mom *cough cough*, if you wanted to add cherry tomatoes to this dish and cook for the same amount of time, that could be all your side dishes in one. A grilled chicken breast with roasted asparagus and tomatoes is super delicious and healthy. Try it...you might like it  :)

Damn Good Turkey

As promised, I will teach you the ways of the turkey. This will be a long post, because this was a process of trial and error through the years before I figured out how I prefer to make a turkey. I made my first turkey at seventeen, when I made EVERYTHING that year and pretty much hosted Thanksgiving (with the help of my fabulous sous chef, my mom), and I was hooked. I'll never not cook at Thanksgiving again! I even cooked the meal when I went out of town to see my grandparents across the country, I can't stop. I'm putting a picture below to show you about what my turkey looked like, and below, I'm getting into "the ways" young padawan learner...

Okay, let's start with basics -
- How big? If you have a big party, about 1lb per person is a good number. I, however, cooked a twenty pounder for the two of us because it was fifty cents per pound, and you can't beat savings like that for leftovers. 
- To brine or not to brine? I guess the relevant question is, what is a brine? A brine is a solution of water, sugar, and salt that the meat soaks in to ensure moisture while cooking. You can also add flavorings such as spices or citrus. It absolutely helps if you have the time and I myself have done it several times. Check out my post about brining by clicking the link. 
- How long should I cook it per pound? YOU DONT!!!!! We have these great things called meat thermometers, and they can ensure you never overcook anything again. I cook my turkeys until about 160, and pull it out to rest for about 30 to 45 minutes. For my twenty pound turkey, it took about 4 hours and 15 minutes. Disregard those nosy aunts who swear it won't be done below six hours of cooking....sure, if you like dry ass turkey
- How do I get brown skin without burning it? I happen to love/hate Alton Brown, but I did adopt his theory to start in a hot oven and knock it down later. I start at 450 for thirty minutes, then knock it down to 325. What if your skin gets too brown? I make a little turkey tent out of aluminum foil and I cover the breast meat, I've never had legs overbrown. It traps steam in to keep the white meat moist, and leaves everything crispy

Thanksgiving Turkey:
20 lb turkey
1 cup chicken stock
2 lemons, halfed
1/2 bunch of both sage and parsley
1 onion, quartered
1 stick of butter
Salt and pepper

Let your stick of butter come to room temperature. Fill the cavity of the turkey with onions, lemons, and leftover herbs. Chop 2 tablespoons of both the sage and parsley, making 4 tablespoons total. Measure out 1 tablespoon salt, and 1/2 tablespoon pepper. Zest your lemon, and cut it in half. Add all your herbs, salt, pepper, lemon zest, and 1 tablespoon of the juice to your butter and mix it up. Pull the skin of your turkey breast away from the meat, being careful not to tear it. Take half your butter (reserve one tablespoon for your gravy though), and use your hands to put it in tablespoon dollops under the skin of the breast. Put the other half on top scattered evenly over the legs, and breast. Pour your stock in the bottom of the roasting pan, because this will help keep the meat moist and add to your drippings. Place your turkey in the pan and into your preheated 450 degree oven. After 30 minutes, drop it to 325 and check it about every 30 minutes. Baste it occassionally, but I don't do it too often because it can deter browning. When you check your temperature, put the thermometer in the deepest part of the thigh, just about in the middle where the leg joint is. At 160, you're ready to pull it and let it rest. You're on your own for carving it!!!

Brine

This is a very general recipe for a brine that would work well for pork and all poultry like chicken and turkey. I'm adding variations below or a Thanksgiving turkey since it is the season after all! Brining seals moisture in meat from the inside, so on top of a good sear on the stove, or browning in the oven, you're taking extra steps on the inside. Let me tell you, it works pretty darn good if you have the time, and it's relatively simple.

 Turkey Brine

The recipe that follows is enough for a 10 to 18 pound turkey. You can make this batch and split it up into freezable amounts for smaller birds or pork. 

Brine:

1 gallon chicken or vegetable stock (homemade with leftover bones would certainly be cheapest here)

1 cup salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 gallon iced water

Combine the broth, salt, and sugar and bring to a boil. Stir until all the sugar and the salt is dissolved. Take off the heat and let cool. Once cooled, combine with the gallon of iced water. If using all the brine, such as for a turkey, put it in a clean 5 gallon bucket and place your dried turkey, breast down, into the bucket while making sure the cavity is filled. Leave overnight. For smaller pieces of meat, brine about an hour per pound. You can leave it for up to two hours per pound, but this can result in salty meat, and can irreversibly change the texture if you're not careful. Take your meat out and pat dry, you're ready to go!

Extra additions that can be added when the mixture goes on the stove: Citrus (such as lemons or oranges), peppercorns, any herbs, bay leaves, and spices. For my Thanksgiving brine, I would add 2 lemons or oranges (halved), 1 tablespoon of peppercorns, half a bunch of fresh thyme and sage. Give it a go

Biggest Apologies!!!

I haven't posted anything in forever!!! I left for my baby shower on the fifth, and have been so busy putting together baby furniture and planning Thanksgiving, it just got away from me! The good news is, I WILL be doing my thanksgiving turkey recipe, garlic green beans, and possibly mashed potatoes! Ummmmmmmm...YUM

I've also got another roasted vegetable recipe coming up, but it's a secret *shhhhhhhhhh* ;)

Here's a picture of a delicious turkey to get you excited

Slow Cooker Apple and Onion Pork Roast

I had a plan when I went shopping, it was buy one get one free on chicken thighs, and they were more per pound than usual. There I was again, one plan out the window, and I had to come up with something on the fly. I was trying to get a decent amount of meat for a week for under $9. Pork sirloin roasts were on sale, and I saw my meal ticket! I got a five pound roast for about $8.50. Luckily, I had delicious things in my pantry. If you've never tried pork and apples in any combination...you need to, you just do. I could see it, juicy pulled pork, with slow cooked granny apples, and sweet onion. I was sold! I knew this would be a good recipe for this chilly, cold, stormy day. With such a large cut, my options for leftovers will be endless. I will be sure to post my ideas later in the week for leftovers. Tonight, I'm catering to Jeremys favorites, and so I'm making some healthy burritos with whole wheat tortillas and home made salsa. You'll be missing out if you don't give this a try when any roasts go on sale...just sayin'

Pulled Pork

Pork Sirloin Roast:

4 1/2 to 5 lb pork roast

1 rounded tbsp salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

1 tbsp dried thyme

2 tsp cumin

1 big onion (any kind), sliced into half moons

1 large granny smith apple, sliced, but not too thin

2 cups chicken stock or chicken bullion

Preheat a cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet over high heat. Sprinkle all the seasonings over your pork roast. This seems like a lot, but there's a lot of meat on the inside that won't get seasoned, so you need a lot on the outside to ensure a lot of flavor. After your pan is heated, sear your pork until browned on four sides, about 2 to 3 minutes for each side. While your pork is browning, put your stock, apple, and onion in the slow cooker. Put your pork roast in the slow cooker, and turn it to low for 8 to 10 hours because this is a large cut of meat. You can also do it on high for about 5, but I really recommend slow for this one.

Also a side note, you can use a different kind of apple, but this kind of apple has a tartness that cuts through the richness of the pork. If you have a different kind of apple, slice up about half a lemon and add that so you have some acid to balance out your flavors. YUM

 

Turkey and Lentil Tacos

I'm in one of those places right now, where I have some of this, and some of that, but dinner still needs to be made. I only have 1/2 pound of ground turkey, but I had to figure out how to stretch that to make tacos. There are so many options to stretch a buck and fill out your meat, including shredded veggies or potatoes, and beans or legumes. I've always loved lentils, and that started because of their low calories, but I love the flavor that can be infused in them, much like rice. I'm also adding a layer of rice to the bottom, so this is a very cheap dinner. The goal here is to not tell anybody the "meat" filling, is not all meat. These are a wallet pleaser and a people pleaser all in one!

Turkey Lentil Tacos 

Meat mixture:
1 tbsp butter
1/2 lb ground turkey
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
3/4 tsp salt
Fresh cracked black pepper
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp adobo seasoning
1/2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tsp water
1/4 cup water

Lentils:
1 cup lentils
3 cups water (roughly)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp adobo
1/2 tsp curry
Black pepper
1 beef bullion cube (or add 2 cups water and 1 cup beef stock)
1/4 to 1/2 cup your favorite jarred or homemade salsa

Heat a skillet to medium high heat and melt your butter. Add your turkey and cook for about 2 minutes before adding your garlic and onions. Cook for at least one minute before adding your seasoning. Cook for about 5 minutes. Mix your cornstarch and add it to your mixture with your 1/4 cup water. Cover with a lid or foil, and simmer for about 20 minutes. You may want to check to see that your liquid doesn't cook out and your meat burns. You can continue to add a bit of water at a time to maintain the original consistency. 

For the lentils, add everything to a pot of water over high heat except for your salsa. After it boils, turn it to a simmer, put a lid on, and cook for about 45 minutes until very tender. Add your salsa, the amount depends on how wet you want your meat/lentil mixture and how much of the liquid cooked into your lentils. Add a heaping one cup of your lentils into your meat and stir together. Put together your tacos! I layered white rice seasoned with curry, but you can do beans and cheese, or just meat if you want. Some crunch is really great too, like some shredded cabbage or lettuce. You'll think it's all meat, its THAT good! And cheap......and healthy........I've outdone myself

No Fail Chocolate Cream Pie

I'm not a baker, or a dessert maker, I don't claim to be. When I find a dessert recipe that works for me, I cling to it for dear life because they are few and far between. This pie came from me wanting a piece of Marie Callenders chocolate pie. My mom and I used to see movies late at night, and Marie Callenders would still be open, and we would go have pie. You would think we were lighting up some magical herb during the movie because we would be so excited afterwards for our dessert. I swear, sometimes I think my mom wanted to see lame movies so she could get her pie after. This recipe is too easy and very budget friendly.

Marie Callender's Chocolate Cream Pie

I don't think that pie really needs much of an intro or a description...

Chocolate Cream Pie:

1 chocolate pie shell

1 package instant chocolate pudding and pie filling package

1 container "whipped topping" *wink wink*
1 1/2 cups milk

This pie takes some chilling time, but you can't mess up the mix. Bake you pie shell at 350 for about five minutes. When its done, it should be a little bit crisp, but not hard. Mix your chocolate pudding mix with 1 1/2 cups cold milk. The package says 1 3/4, but we're adding whipped topping, and it would be too runny with more milk. If you want it super thick, you could even add just 1 1/4. After your milk is whisked in and the mixture has thickened, chill for one hour. Then mix half your whipped topping into your chilled pie filling. Pour that into your cooled pie shell, and chill at least 20 minutes before spreading the remaining whipped topping to finish. 

Excellent garnishes include: chocolate curls or shavings, caramel sauce, marshmallows, toasted nuts, and (in my personal opinion anyway) any assortment of fresh berries. For something closer to the real pie, you can always make fresh whipped cream or get Reddi Whip for the top layer, but that seemed like a waste of money to me. It just depends on how much richness you want! Tell me you don't want to lick the screen ;)