Besides good seafood, one thing that takes us to Red Lobster every s often is CHEDDAR BISCUITS! You just can't stop eating them, I swear. I was watching Rev Run's Sunday Dinner and his wife made some from scratch ~ so I am totally stealing her recipe for this weekend!
Cheddar & Chive Biscuits
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp chives finely chopped
1/2 cup grated cheddar
1 cup cold buttermilk
1 stick of butter melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 450°
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt
Add chives, cheddar and buttermilk
Stir together until dough begins to form
Slowly pour in melted butter and stir until everything is combined and moistened
Use 1/4 measuring cup to scoop dough and drop onto baking sheet about 2 inches apart
Bake for 12-15 minutes rotating baking sheets halfway through
Remove from oven
Brush with garlic butter before serving (see below)
Garlic Butter
2 tbsp butter melted
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried parsley
Mix together and then brush onto hot biscuits!
Another dinner party with friends, which I enjoy so much. This time, it's breakfast for dinner! I saw this recipe on Facebook and decided to give it a whirl. Total hit! Husband says I must make it again, so that means it passed the test :)
Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake
Ingredients
2 pkgs refrigerated cinnamon rolls
4 tbsp melted butter
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup maple syrup
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°
Pour butter on the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking dish
Cut cinnamon rolls into bite-sized pieces and spread evenly over melted butter
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla
Pour egg mixture over cinnamon rolls
Drizzle maple syrup over entire dish
Bake for 45-50 minutes
Drizzle cinnamon rolls icing once out of the oven
Serve warm!
Last year, as part of my husband's birthday dinner, he requested collard greens. As a white girl, this scared the heck outta me, I can't lie! I've tasted his family's greens and, well, it was intimidating to try and do just to the greens he's eaten before.
Lucky for me, he was a happy man. So much so that he asked me to make them for his parents on Thanksgiving. Again, intimidation set in. But I overcame it - and well, I think I've found my niche on this greens!
Collard Greens
Ingredients
4 lb collard greens (cleaned and cut)
1 lb bacon chopped
6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
2 cups water
1 large onion diced
1 large jalapeno diced
1 tsp minced garlic (or garlic powder, if that's all you have)
1 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp white distilled vinegar
Directions
Place bacon in pot and render over medium heat
Once bacon is mostly cooked, add diced onion and begin to sweat
Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute
Pour in chicken stock, turn heat up to high and boil for 20 minutes
Reduce heat to medium and add in 2 cups of water
Begin adding greens to pot
Once all greens are added, sprinkle in seasoning salt and pepper
Add jalapeno and vinegar. Stir to combine
Cover pot and simmer for 1 hour 10 min on medium heat
Check periodically, stirring and adding additional stock/water, if needed
Enjoy the tender, delicious collard greens with a kick!
For girl's dinner at my place this past week, I decided to make chicken enchiladas. The problem: I HATE canned/jarred enchilada sauce! The last time I made them, I just used plain ol' taco sauce, but, for this go-round, I wanted to kick things up a notch!
Hence, I found (and tweaked) this enchilada sauce and it is awesome!
Enchilada Sauce
Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp flour
4 tbsp chili powder (I used Bloemer's but any good brand will do)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
pinch of cayenne or crushed red pepper flake (just a lil heat!)
1/2 tsp oregano
2 1/2-3 cups chicken stock
Directions
Heat oil in a small pan over medium heat
Add flour and stir together for about 1 minute
Stir in all of spices
Then gradually add chicken stock, whisking to remove lumps
(Original recipe called for 2 cups of stock, but I found I needed a bit more liquid to thin out the sauce and make it pourable... Yes, that is a word!) :)
Pour over enchiladas, top with cheese and bake til bubbly
Next time, I am going to make more than 1 batch so I can refrigerate/save for another batch. It should keep for approx 2 weeks
I am SO excited to make this! It may just appear at one of our 4th of July functions this weekend. Sounds refreshing and delicious :)
Dreamsicle Trifle
Ingredients
2 large cans mandarin oranges
1 small pkg. orange gelatin
1 pint orange sherbet
1 container of whipped cream/Cool Whip
1 angel food cake, cubed
Directions
Drain 1 cup of liquid from mandarin oranges
Bring liquid to a boil. Add gelatin and stir to dissolve
Cool until barely warm/room temperature
Add orange sherbet and mix until combined
Gently fold in 1 cup of whipped cream
Add one half of cake cubes into trifle dish in a tight layer
Add orange mixture over top of cake cubes
Add a thin layer of whipped cream
Add a layer of mandarin oranges
Repeat process
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving
Then... it's time to enjoy!
If you are anything like me, sometimes, you crave a good ol' country fried steak. No, it isn't healthy, by any means. But if you can find a good one, they are DELICIOUS!
Here's a crack at making my own. They turned out pretty good for a beginner, but I definitely need more practice!
Chicken Fried Steak
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp seasoned salt
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
3 lbs cube steak
1/2 cup canola or veg oil
1 tbsp butter
Directions
Begin with an assembly line of dishes
1st dish - Mix milk and the eggs together
2nd dish - Combine flour, salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne
3rd dish - Meat
4th dish - Empty for meat once coated
Sprinkle both sides of meat with salt and pepper
Place into flour mixture. Turn to coat
Place meat into milk/egg mixture. Turn to coat
Place back into flour and turn to coat
Place breaded meat on clean plate
Repeat until all meat is breaded
Heat oil in skillet. Add butter
Cook meat until edges are golden brown (approx 2 min per side)
Remove meat to paper towel-lined plate and cover with foil to keep warm
Top with white pepper gravy and serve (I just used packaged gravy)
I have made meatballs before and they were so delicious. Recently, I got a weird craving for them and decided to change the recipe up a bit. They were SO good!
Turkey Spinach Meatballs
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1-2 cup fresh spinach chopped
2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 lb ground turkey
1 lb Italian sausage
3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 400°
Line baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with non-stick spray
Place saute pan on medium heat and heat olive oil until hot
Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano and red pepper
Saute until onion is tender
Add spinach to onion mixture. Then add Worchestershire and chicken stock. Mix well to combine. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed
Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature
In a large bowl, combine turkey, Italian sausage, breadcrumbs and eggs. Add onion mixture to the meat and combine
With your hands, roll meatballs about 1 inch in diameter and place on baking sheet
Bake until meatballs are cooked through (approx. 30 min)
