December 30, 2011: Biscuits and Sausage Gravy Recipe

While I had company for Christmas last week, I made everyone breakfast one morning that consisted of biscuits and sausage gravy along with hash browns. The hash browns were dehydrated – we get them from a store in Clay Springs that sells lots of “survival” type food and containers. All you do is add a bit of hot water and they reconstitute so you can fry them. Those hash browns are very tasty!

When everyone ate the biscuits and sausage gravy I got lots of compliments and even one, “Those are the best biscuits and gravy I’ve ever tasted” from my dear father-in-law (and he’s old enough to have tasted lots of biscuits and gravy!). I think the secret to these being so good was the addition of whipping cream. Try this recipe and see if you don’t get compliments, too.

Biscuits and Sausage Gravy Recipe

2 cans Pillsbury Grands biscuits

2 pounds breakfast sausage roll, such as Jimmy Dean

1/3 cup flour

2 cups 2% milk

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 t. dried sage

Prepare the biscuits as directed on the can.

Meanwhile, cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain excess fat, reserving at least a couple tablespoons in bottom of skillet. Sprinkle sausage with flour. Cook and stir for a couple minutes to thoroughly cook flour so it doesn’t taste raw. Slowly add the milk and cream, stirring constantly. Add the seasonings. Slowly bring to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for about five minutes, until gravy is the right consistency. You may need to add additional milk if the gravy is too thick.

To serve, spoon sausage gravy over hot biscuits, sliced in half.

Serves 8 – 10

November 27, 2011: Quick and Easy Southwestern Pizza Calzones Recipe

Have you tried any of the Kraft Cooking Crème? The basis is cream cheese, which is whipped up with various herbs and spices. So far I’ve tried the Garlic one and the Southwestern one. While they’re handy to use with pasta, I’ll warn you right now that a little can go a long way. I had a real dinner disaster one night when I decided to use the garlic crème, straight, to stuff enchiladas. They were so bad I had to throw most of the dish away.

But I persevered and tried using the crème again. This time I got the proportion right.

Southwestern Pizza Calzones

1 package refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 6-ounce package pepperoni (or half pound cooked, crumbled pork sausage)

2 t. olive oil

½ bell pepper, minced

8 ounces mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T. diced green chiles (either freshly roasted or from a can)

½ container Kraft Cooking Crème, Southwestern flavor

4 ounces Colby Jack cheese, shredded

2 t. butter

Garlic salt or powder (optional)

Open the package of crescent rolls and carefully separate at perforations so you have four rectangles. On a floured surface, roll out the rectangles to a 6 inch square, pressing the diagonal seam together so the square doesn’t have any separations. Divide the pepperoni into fourths and place on half of each dough square.

Heat olive oil in a skillet to medium low. Add peppers and sauté for two minutes; add mushrooms and garlic and sauté for two more minutes, until vegetables are soft. Turn off heat and add green chile and cooking crème. Mix together.

Spoon one quarter of the crème mixture on top of the pepperoni. Top each with a quarter of the shredded cheese. Fold opposite side of dough over the filling to form a turnover. Press edges together. Place on baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Melt butter and brush over the tops of each calzone. Sprinkle lightly with garlic salt, if desired.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, until golden brown and completely cooked through.

Serves 4

November 11, 2011: Spaghetti Pie Recipe

Who doesn’t love spaghetti? Spaghetti, with or without meatballs, is a old-time favorite with families everywhere. And what’s not to like? It’s a dish that’s filled with the good homey flavors of garlic and tomatoes, it’s an economical dish, and it’s easy to make a large quantity to feed lots of hungry diners.

Next time you make spaghetti, try making it in a pie plate or quiche pan instead of serving the usual way and see what your family thinks.

Spaghetti Pie

6 ounces spaghetti

2 T. butter

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 t. dried parsley

1 eggs, well beaten

1 cup cottage cheese (optional)

½ lb. lean ground beef

½ lb. pork sausage

½ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped Bell pepper

1 8-ounce can tomatoes, chopped

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 t. sugar

1 t. dried oregano

½ t. garlic salt

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook the spaghetti according to package directions; drain. Sir butter into hot spaghetti; add Parmesan cheese, parsley and eggs. Spread spaghetti mixture in bottom and up the sides of greased 10-inch pie plate or quiche pan to form crust. Spread cottage cheese, if using, over the top of the spaghetti crust.

In skillet, cook ground beef and pork sausage until browned. Drain; add onion and peppers and cook an additional two minutes, until vegetables are softened. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and spices; heat through.

Spread meat mixture over prepared spaghetti crust. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes longer, until cheese I s melted.

Serves 6

October 30, 2011: Dinner in a Pumpkin Recipe

I’m in Mesa visiting my grandson and his family this weekend while they host a Halloween party. As their occasional “resident chef” I wanted to make something that would be truly memorable. I found this recipe online and with a few little Candy tweaks, found it to be the perfect dish for a potluck party. It would also be a great presentation for a Thanksgiving dinner. Try it and let me know what you think!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 large pumpkin (measure your oven if you want to double this recipe and use a really big pumpkin), top cut straight off and seeds scooped out

2 T. brown sugar

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

1 ½ lb. ground beef

1 lb. bulk pork sausage

1 yellow onion, finely minced (optional)

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 cans beef stock

1 package long grain and wild rice (such as Uncle Ben’s)

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 small cans mushrooms stems and pieces (optional)

2 cans French cut green beans

Mix together brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice; rub on inside of pumpkin.

Cook meat over medium heat in large skillet, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in chicken stock and rice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until rice is done.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix remaining ingredients with meat/rice mixture. Spoon into prepared pumpkin, replace top. Place pumpkin on a baking sheet and bake at least 2 hours, until pumpkin is tender. To serve, scoop out filling along with pieces of pumpkin.

September 17, 2011: Breakfast Egg, Sausage and Hash Brown Bake

We’ve got friends visiting this weekend and whenever they come up to the Mountain, we tend to stay very busy doing things. This morning I needed a breakfast I could bake while getting ready so I came up with this recipe, which fit the bill perfectly!

Breakfast Egg, Sausage and Hash Brown Bake

12 ounces breakfast sausage (such as Jimmy Dean)

½ half medium-sized yellow or white onion, diced

2 cups frozen hash browns

8 eggs

2 T. milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 ½ cup grated cheese (cheddar, Colby Jack, pepper jack – whatever your preference)

In a cast iron or other skillet that can withstand oven temps, brown the sausage and the onions. Remove to a paper plate or paper towel-lined dish with a slotted spoon. Leave about one tablespoon of grease in the pan.

Place the hash browns in the bottom of the pan. Top with reserved sausage and onion mixture. Whisk eggs with milk and seasonings; pour over the top of the potatoes and sausage. Top with cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until eggs are set and the casserole is completely heated through.

Serves 4.

September 2, 2011: Stuffed Pork Loin Chops Recipe

My husband is trying to get the maximum use out of our grill before it’s time to clean it up and cover it for the winter. I know, that’s still a ways away, but he’s been insisting that I give him foods he can barbecue in order to hone his grill skills. He’s not always really keen on pork chops but loves cornbread stuffing so I created this recipe as a way to appease him and appeal to his taste buds. One thing I really like about this recipe is the way the stuffing stays in the pork chops even when they're flipped over, because it doesn't contain any big chunks.

Stuffing Stuffed Pork Loin Chops

4 extra thick pork loin chops

8 ounces pork sausage

1 shallot, minced

1 heaping teaspoon apple butter

1 cup prepared cornbread (about 2 squares)

1 T. olive oil

1 t. dried sage

Garlic salt and pepper, to taste

With a sharp knife, make a slit along the side of each pork chop, cutting almost all the way through to the other side to form a deep pocket.

Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium heat until done. Add the shallot and cook a couple minutes longer, until the shallot is soft. Turn off the heat. Add the apple butter and crumble cornbread over the sausage. Combine gently. Remove from heat.

When cool enough to handle, stuff the cornbread sausage mixture into the pocket of each pork chop, using one fourth of the mixture in each. Secure the openings with a long toothpick threaded through the pork chop.

Combine olive oil and seasonings. Brush all over each pork chop.

Heat grill to about 400 degrees; cook for a total time of 15 - 18 minutes, turning once.

Serves 4