Big Flaky Biscuits

I came across this biscuit recipe a while ago on Pinterest, and wanted to give it a try.  You can find the original recipe here.  I adapted it slightly to make them plain.  These are delicious!

Big Flaky Biscuits

3 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 cubes unsalted butter, cold
1 1/4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 450.  Sift to combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl. 

Cut butter sticks into 1 Tbsp chunks and add to bowl.  Using either a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until there are pea-size chunks or smaller.

Add milk and gently combine.  Save the measuring cup you used for the milk.  You will use the small amount of milk that is left in at the end.

Using either a pastry mat or your counter, flour the surface and turn out your dough.  Fold it over and gently knead your dough a few times to finish combining it and make it one complete mound.  Avoid adding any flour.  You want your dough to remain soft.

Use a rolling pin to roll out your dough to about a 3/4-inch thickness.  Use a biscuit cutter and cut out your biscuits and then place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. 

Quick tip: If you want crispier edged biscuits separate your biscuits so that they do not touch.  If you want your edges to be soft, place your biscuits on the baking sheet so that they barely touch.

Re-roll the leftover dough and cut out more biscuits.   (I have made this recipe several times and each time I get 11 normal size biscuits and 1 tiny biscuit from this recipe.) 

Once all of your biscuits are cut and arranged, use a brush (I usually use my finger) to lightly coat the top of each biscuit with the leftover milk.  (I told you to save it!)

Bake at 450 for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

These biscuits are big, very light and flaky and super tasty as well.  Don't let the time commitment scare you.  After you have made them one time, the recipe and rolling take a very minimal amount of time.  No, they are still not as quick as popping a tube from the fridge, but I feel better about what is in these. 

Quick Beef Stroganoff

This is a favorite recipe at our house.  It is loosely patterned after this recipe from Kraft Foods.  Their recipe is for a crockpot meal and uses stew meat.  I wanted it quick and easy and I wanted to use ground beef.

Quick Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb.  ground beef
• 10 oz.  canned mushrooms (you could use fresh)
• 1/2  onion, chopped 
• 1 clove  garlic, minced 
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 2 tsp.  paprika 
• 1 tsp.  salt 
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream (I like things saucy, so the 1 cup they suggested wouldn't cut it!)
• 1 Tbsp. dijon mustard 
• 4 cups egg noodles, uncooked 
• 2 tsp. dried parsley 

Directions:

In large pot, cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, lightly oil, large skillet.  Saute onion, garlic and mushrooms, until tender.  Add ground beef and cook until brown.  Drain grease.  Return meat mixture to medium heat and add beef bouillon (and a 1/2 cup water), paprika, and salt.

In a separate bowl, mix sour cream and dijon mustard.

When pasta is al dente, drain and add to skillet with meat mixture.  Mix to combine.  Then add the sour cream mixture and mix more.  Add parsley to top.  Serve in skillet.

Serve with green beans or the vegetable of your choice!  Enjoy!

Chicken N Biscuits

One of my family's favorite recipes.  I got the recipe from +Kraft Recipes, at this link.

Chicken n Biscuits

Ingredients:
1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup

3/4 cup sour cream, divided

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, green beans, peas)

1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese

1 cup all-purpose baking mix

3 Tbsp. milk

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375.  In a 8-inch square dish, combine soup and half of sour cream. Then add chicken, vegetables and cheese.

In a separate bowl, mix baking mix, the rest of the sour cream and milk.  Combine until you have formed a soft dough.

Spoon 6 mounds directly on top of your soup-chicken mixture.  Bake 35 minutes until biscuits are golden brown and soup-chicken mixture is bubbly.

Ok, so a few notes from me.

I use boneless skinless chicken breasts and just boil them right before I start the rest of the ingredients.  Just chop them before you put them in the pot to boil and they will cook super fast!

I double my biscuit recipe because they are seriously my family's favorite part of this meal.  Don't be tempted to make your biscuits too big, because they will not cook all the way through during the 35 minutes.  You have been warned!  The picture below is pre-baking and the big biscuit up front was not cooked all the way through.

This recipe will feed about 4 adults.  If you are feeding a crowd or a larger family, double the recipe for sure.

Porcupine Meatballs

I received this recipe for Porcupine Meatballs from an old friend when I was still in my teenage years.  We did a recipe exchange for a youth activity at church, and this was one of the recipes that she brought to share with everyone.

Porcupine Meatballs

1 lb hamburger
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup rice, uncooked
1 egg
salt and pepper
1 can tomato soup  - plus a can and a half of water

Combine hamburger, egg, rice, oatmeal, and salt and pepper (to your taste).  Create meatballs by take a portion of the meat mixture and rolling in your hands.

Meanwhile, open the can of soup and empty into a medium size sauce pan.  Add a can and a half of water and bring to a boil.  Once soup is boiling, carefully place meatballs in soup.  Simmer for 1 hour.  Serve over mashed potatoes.


Here are some tips from me for this recipe.

Use your electric mixture to combine the beef and other ingredients.  It is so fast and easy.

Don't worry if your meatballs aren't completely covered by the soup mixture..  Once it starts boiling and the meatballs start cooking you can stir them around a bit and they will all cook.

Here are my meatballs not fully covered by the soup.

And here they are once the soup returns to a boil and they begin cooking.  No worries!

When your meatballs are finished cooking, serve them over mashed potatoes.  Super yummy!

Pan Bread Traditions

When I was a little girl, my mom would make us pan bread for a treat.  We called them "scones" back in the day, but we now refer to it as "pan bread" at my house because I don't deep fry them.  Going for semi-healthy here..... not really!

Anyway, my kids love pan bread too  And even though it is only bread dough fried up in a pan, it is the treat they like the best.  I usually make these delicious edibles on Sunday after dinner - just like my mom used to do for us.

I just whip up a batch of dough in my bread machine and then roll it out with a rolling pin until it is about 1/2-inch thick and cut it into squarish pieces.  My mom liked to make them thick and my dad always like them really thin.  I usually go for a good in between thickness.  Just remember that the thicker you make them, the fewer pieces you'll end up with.

Put some oil into a frying pan, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan and heat it up over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, put your square dough pieces in there and cook until golden brown.  Then use a spatula or tongs to flip those warm yummies over.

If they cook too fast, you'll need to turn down the heat so that they aren't crispy on the outside and doughy in the middle.

Once they are browned on both sides, transfer them to a paper towel lined plate to cool.

We serve ours up with either honey or homemade strawberry freezer jam.  SO GOOD!

Even Nathan loves them.  I tried to take the picture of him mid-bite, but wasn't quick enough.

Peace out!

My Favorite Mashed Potatoes

For Thanksgiving this past week, we celebrated at Mom and Dad's house with all of the Carter Kin.

For dinner, I made my favorite mashed potatoes.  You can find the recipe here.

I also made Cranberry Relish, which I neglected to take a picture of, but they are seriously delish!  People always turn their nose up at cranberries until they try this wonderful concoction of cranberries, apples and cherry jello.  It tastes great on turkey and rolls.  One day I'll post the recipe.

Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

I came across a pin for these Ham and Cheese Pinwheels a while ago on pinterest.  The pin I pinned didn't link back to anything, so if you know where the original pictures came from, let me know.

Last night I decided to make them for dinner.

Here's how mine turned out before baking and after.

Making this was not rocket-science.  It was super simple.  You could use pre-made refrigerated dough, but I just whipped some bread dough up really quick.

Ham and Cheese Pinwheels

Ingredients
Bread Dough
Sliced Ham
Grated Monterrey Jack Cheese (you can use any cheese really, this is just what I had on hand)
Sliced Muenster Cheese

Directions
Roll dough out into a rectangle shape.  Top with sliced ham.  Then add a layer of muenster cheese down the middle.  Spread shredded cheese around the edges.  Then carefully roll up. (If you need a visual of this click here to view the original pin on Pinterest.)  Cut into 1-2 inch sections and place on baking sheet.  Bake in the oven at 425 for 20-25 minutes.

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Super yummy,  They were a hit with the kids and the hubby.

I also whipped up a sauce to go with them, just some mayo and dijon mustard mixed together.  Delish!

Sausage & Bowtie Alfredo

Last night I threw together a recipe that actually turned out pretty yummy. I'll call it Sausage & Bowtie Alredo. This is super easy and quick.



Sausage & Bowtie Alfredo

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz cream cheese
1/2 package ranch dressing mix (the dry stuff)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups bowtie pasta
1 lb sausage links (I recommend these ones)
parsley

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

On a grill or in a frying pan, cook sausage also according to package directions.  When done, cut links into bite-size chunks.

Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan, melt butter and add garlic.  Cook until garlic turns golden.  Add cream cheese, sour cream, milk and ranch dressing mix.  Heat over medium-high heat until smooth.  If the sauce is too think, you can thicken it up with a little cornstarch.

Finally, combine your sauce, pasta and sausage all in the sauce pan.  Stir to combine, sprinkle with parsley for garnish and serve immediately.

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The reason I used such random ingredients in this recipe is because this is what I had on hand.  I only had a 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese or I would probably have added a little more.

It didn't matter that this recipe was thrown together.  It was delicious and I'm glad I kept track of what I was putting in there as I will be making it again.

Serve with a salad or sliced grape tomatoes and cottage cheese.

zucchini lasagna

A while ago I pinned this on pinterest:

I was intrigued, but time went by and I forgot about it.  Until my husband's cousin brought us some zucchini and yellow squash and then i knew i would make this.

Here's my version - I made some changes to the original recipe, but you should click over to skinnytaste and read her directions because she has some very helpful hints.

Zucchini Lasagna

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
16 oz cottage cheese
1 bottle spaghetti sauce
1 egg
3 medium zucchini (i used 2 and included 1 yellow squash)
16 oz Mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions

• Start by cleaning the zucchini.  Then slice into 1/8-inch thick slices.  Lay these on a flat surface and lightly coat with salt to draw out moisture.  Heat grill (I used my indoor grill for ease) and grill each zucchini slice for about 4 minutes.  Remove from grill and place on a paper towel to draw out more moisture.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a frying pan, add olive oil and grill onions and garlic.  Cook until onions are tender and turning translucent.  Add ground beef and cook until no longer pink.
• Drain the excess fat from the meat mixture.
• In a separate medium bowl, beat egg.  Add cottage cheese and spaghetti sauce.  Combine well.
• In a 9x13 baking dish, spread out a small amount of the sauce mixture (just enough to lightly cover the bottom of the pan).  On top of sauce mixture, lay out a layer of zucchini.  Then spread out a layer of 1/2 of the meat mixture.  
• Add another layer of sauce (about half of the remaining), followed by a zucchini layer and finally another meat layer.  Cover with a layer of zucchini.
• Top with the Mozzarella cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes.  Let it stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Make a tossed salad and some garlic bread and you've got yourself a meal!

The hubby loved this and so did I.  The kids had a hard time getting past the fact that there weren't any noodles.  Next time, I would only use the zucchini and leave the yellow squash for something else.

Bacon and Pea Macaroni & Cheese

I found this recipe via Pinterest here and adapted it for my own use.  I'm always a little nervous making Pinterest recipes for the first time because you never quite know how they are going to turn out. 

This one was a good one.  The kids like it, the hubby likes it, it is super easy to make and takes almost no time to whip up.  It's a win for everyone.

Bacon and Pea Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients
2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles
1 small bag of frozen peas
4 slices bacon
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp hot sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded
salt and pepper

Directions
Cook bacon until crispy.  Set aside on a paper towel to cool.

Meanwhile, in a large sauce pan, cook pasta according to package directions.  Add the peas during the last minute of cooking.  Drain pasta and peas.  Retain about 1 cup of pasta water for later use.

Return the pasta and peas to the pot and pour in the pasta water you kept.  Add yogurt, hot sauce and about 1/3 of the cheese.  Stir until cheese is melted and add a 1/3 more cheese.  Stir again and add the rest of the cheese.

Crumble bacon and add to pot.  Stir until combine. Add salt and pepper to your taste.

My tips:
Don't be scared away by the hot sauce, you can barely even taste it.

I didn't have any bacon on hand when I made this recipe and took the picture, so I used a bottle of bacon bits. I have also used canned peas before.  not as good, but not horrible either.

This feeds my family of 6.

I am thinking of adding a little spicy mustard next time to see what kind of flavor that will give it.