Apple Crisp

This apple crisp is the perfect dessert for a fall afternoon. Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy! 

Ingredients:

• 1 bag of small granny smith apples
• 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 and 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs, crushed finely
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Chop apples and toss with the juice of 1 lemon; place in greased 9/12 baking pan.
• In a small bowl, combine cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, salt and allspice.
• Sprinkle cinnamon mixture over apples and toss gently to evenly distribute. 
• In a separate bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter together using a wooden spoon. work until small even crumbles form. 
• Sprinkle this mixture evenly over apples. 
• Bake 20 minutes until topping is golden brown. 

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I first made this recipe when it was 12 degrees in Birmingham, Christmas Eve-Eve 2022. My nieces loved the creamy chicken and rice soup, and it quickly became a family favorite! 

Ingredients: 

• 1 box wild rice 
• 1 small yellow onion (chopped)
•  1 cup diced carrots (2 medium) 
• 1 cup diced celery (about 4 ribs) 
• 1 stick of butter, diced, divided 
• 1 TB minced garlic 
• 4 1/2 cups chicken broth 
• 2 tsp greek seasoning 
• Salt and ground black pepper, to taste 
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked snd shredded 
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 cups milk 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream 

Instructions: 

• Prepare rice according to directions on package. 
• In a separate large pot, melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium heat. 
• Add onion, carrots and celery and sauté 4 minutes, add garlic and sauté 1 minute longer. 
• Add chicken broth, greek seasoning, salt and black pepper to taste. 
• Increase heat to medium-high, add cooked chicken and bring mixture to a boil. 
• Cover pot with lid, reduce to medium-low heat and allow mixture to simmer about 12 - 16 minutes. 
• Meanwhile in a separate medium saucepan, melt remaining 6 Tbsp butter over medium heat. 
• Add flour and cook 2 minutes, whisking constantly. 
• Then while whisking vigorously, slowly pour milk into butter/flour mixture. 
• Whisk in heavy cream. 
• Cook mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens. 
• Add milk mixture to soup mixture in pot along with shredded chicken, cooked rice, stir well and remove from heat.

Sour Dough Starter and Bread

I am so thankful to Sandi Rives for sharing her sour dough starter with me!  Making bread, cinnamon rolls, and most recently pizza dough and exploring all of the amazing ways to use the sourdough dough has been a simple pleasure during our quarantine. I have made cinnamon swirl loaves, cinnamon raisin bread, and garlic knots. There is no limit! 🙂 Below is the recipe and starter that Sandi shared with me. Enjoy!

Sourdough Starter
You will need:
1 quart glass jar with a good tight-fitting lid
3 TB instant potato flakes
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup warm water

This is what the starter looks like just after you have fed it. It needs to sit and eat for another 8 to 12 hours.

Put the above ingredients in a jar containing the starter and mix well. Cover loosely with wax paper or film, put on counter and let sit all day 8-12 hours. This will "bubble, work, do its thing." Stir well, take out one cup and:

• Use to make bread, 
• or
• Give Away, 
• or
• Throw Away

With the liquid that is left in the jar, cover with the lid and keep in the refrigerator.  Feed within 3 to 5 days.
Note - do not put the lid on the jar until you have removed 1 cup.  The starter is active and has enough pressure to "explode."

Sourdough Bread

1/4 cup sugar (Sandi does not add this, Sherry does. :) Make bread with and without and decide which you prefer.)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 TB salt

1 and 1/4 cup sourdough starter 

1 and 1/2 cups warm water

6 cups bread flour (If you cannot find bread flour, unbleached all-purpose flour will work. My brother in law was able to find bread flour at Sam's Club.)

Mix dry ingredients and then add the wet ingredients. This will make a stiff dough (Sherry - I add a little more starter, about 1/4 cup if the dough is dry). Make sure you thoroughly incorporate all ingredients - you can use your hands to make sure you have mixed all ingredients well. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand overnight or 8-12 hours. Do not refrigerate.

Punch down the dough and knead a little on a floured surface. Divide into 2 or 3 parts depending on how many loaves you are making. At this point, you can follow the directions in my Cinnamon Roll Recipe. Or, you can put some aside for pizza dough.  Or  you can separate into small portions for rolls.  Examples are listed below.

If you are making a loaf of sourdough, put the dough into a greased loaf pan (dough will fit in two or three regular-sized loaf pans), cover with plastic wrap and let rise on the counter 5 hours, or longer. (All day is fine, dough rises slowly.) Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove and brush with butter. 

Cool well, and wrap. Freezes well. 

This is what the dough looks like as it is rising. It will at least double in size.

This is a loaf of sourdough bread made from this starter recipe.  It is absolutely delicious!

I made these rolls for Easter lunch.  I rolled the dough out after kneading, cut the rolls to the size of the squares in the pan above, placed the dough squares in the greased pan, covered and let rise for 4-5 hours before baking.

This is what the cinnamon rolls look like just after rolling and cutting the dough.

These rolls have risen overnight

Cinnamon Rolls

These days - during the pandemic social distancing, work-from-home, stay home era - I have been doing a lot of baking and cooking.

My friend Sandi from Dawson shared her Sourdough Starter with me a couple of weeks ago, and my favorite thing to make with it is cinnamon rolls!  Using dough that has been rising overnight or for at least 8 hours, knead the dough on a floured surface and roll it to about 1/2 inch - roll it loosely to the shape of a rectangle.

Melt 1/4 cup of butter and spread over the dough.

Mix 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 and 1/2 TBSP cinnamon. spread this mixture evenly over the butter.
Roll the dough starting with the longest end.

Once you've finished rolling the dough, use a pastry blade or a butcher knife to cut 1 inch sections.  

 Place on a greased cookie sheet about an inch apart. Cover with plastic wrap and set on your kitchen counter to let the dough rise for at least 8 hours.

 This is what it looks like after I let the dough rise overnight. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 

Let cool for about 5 minutes before icing.  My favorite icing recipe is this one from all recipes. 

Cream Cheese Icing Recipe

Enjoy!

White chocolate chip cookie

Just made a new cookie - only because I had white chocolate chips instead of semi sweet chips.

I like this recipe because it doesn't have nuts- for some reason, I don't like nuts in desserts.

See the recipe below... I substituted a 12 ounce package of white chocolate chips for the chopped white chocolate

• 1 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1½ Tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 2½ cups flour
• 20 oz coarsely chopped white chocolate (2½ - 3 cups) You can use white chips as well

1. Preheat oven to 350° and line an baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
2. In bowl of stand mixer cream together butter and both sugars for 2 minutes in medium speed.
3. Turn speed to low and add in eggs and vanilla. Turn mixer back up to medium and beat until smooth, about 20 seconds.
4. Turn mixer back to low and add in salt, baking soda, baking powder and flour, mixing until just combined.
5. Fold in white chocolate chunks.
6. Form dough into heaping tablespoon sized balls (I used a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop), placing 2 inches apart on baking sheet.
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden around edges. Don't over-bake.
8. Allow to cool on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to finish cooling.

Recipe found here: http://cookiesandcups.com/the-best-white-chocolate-chip-cookies/

White Chicken Chili

This is a recipe that I have been meaning to post, but haven't had time.  This is for Margaret who recently asked for recipes for the fam:

White Chicken Chili
1Tb Olive Oil
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine (or just add another cup of chicken broth)
2 cans great northern beans
1 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

• Heat oil in a dutch oven over med-high heat.  Add chicken and cook until no longer pink.  Remove chicken and set aside.
• Finely chop onion, mince garlic and cook in the dutch oven until tender (about 5 mins)
• Add chicken, wine, beans, mustard powder, cumin, salt and pepper.
• Cook at medium heat for about 10 minutes. 
• Scoop out a couple of ladles of the northern beans and mash - this will release the starch and allow the chili to thicken.
• Return mashed beans to the pot and cook to desired thickness.

Welles always adds a tiny tip of a fork-tine of Dave's Insanity Sauce to my chicken chili.  This is more than enough.  You can add a little bit of your favorite hot sauce if you like the heat.

Serve with sour cream, corn chips and cheddar cheese.  ENJOY!

Sausage Stuffed Stuffing

I spent much of Saturday wrapping Christmas gifts in front of the TV and my favorite channel just happened to be on. The topic of the day was Thanksgiving! One of the shows featured the following recipe that could be used for an appetizer or for the main dressing course--I can't wait to try this out!

Ingredients
8-ounce pack spicy sausage (I think I will use mild)
2 cups canola oil, plus 1/4 cup
1 cup all-purpose flour, divided
3 cups chicken stock
1 (6-ounce) box chicken flavored bread stuffing mix (made according to package instructions)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon chopped thyme leaves
2 tablespoons chopped scallions

Directions
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and drop dime-sized dollops of sausage into the pan. Cook until golden brown, approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the pan to a plate and set aside.

After removing sausage add a 1/4 cup of canola oil to the pan and stir in 1/2 cup of flour. Stir to create a roux, and cook for approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Slowly add the chicken stock, stirring while you pour and let simmer, stirring frequently, until it thickens, approximately 6 to 8 minutes This is your dipping sauce.

In a separate saucepan heat 2 cups of canola oil on medium-high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine the stuffing, parsley, thyme, and scallions and mix together. Take quarter-sized or 1 tablespoon of stuffing mix and wrap it around the individual sausage balls.

Cover the sausage completely and set aside

Once all of the sausage balls have been coated in stuffing, dredge them in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. When all the balls are lightly coated in flour, carefully drop them into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove them from the oil, to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

NOTE - during the show, they had a cranberry sauce that they dipped them in instead of the gravy. Also, they suggested dredging the stuffing balls once cooked into the gravy and serving - I like the idea of serving them fried and dipping or drizzling gravy or cranberry sauce on them...

Either way - Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Mrs. Adams' Sausage and Cheese Crescent Squares

We had a friend stay with us last night, and I was craving some yummy breakfast casserole. I found Mrs. Adams' recipe in the cookbook our church put out a few years ago. It is delicious, easy, and a new favorite!

2 (8 oz) cans refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1lb mild bulk pork sausage
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Unroll 1 can of dough and press into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish - I always make sure to spray the dish so the crescent rolls do not stick.
• Brown the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove from the pan and drain off the grease.
• Return the skillet to low heat and melt the cream cheese in it. Add the cooked sausage and stir to coat.
• Spoon this mixture evenly over the dough in the baking dish.
• Sprinkle 2 cups of cheese ( this AM I used a monterrey jack/cheddar mix) and top with the remaining can of dough.
• Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares, and ENJOY!

Pineapple Casserole

YUM! I will never forget the first time I had pineapple casserole! This goes really well with the Spiral Cut Ham recipe in the next post. Can you tell I am thinking about an Easter meal?

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups grated sharp cheddar
2 (20-ounce) cans pineapple chunks, drained, and 6 tablespoons pineapple juice reserved
1 cup Ritz cracker crumbs
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted, plus extra for greasing pan

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a medium-size casserole dish with butter.
In a large bowl, stir together the sugar and flour.
Gradually stir in the cheese.
Add the drained pineapple chunks, and stir until ingredients are well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.
In another medium bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, melted butter, and reserved pineapple juice, stirring with a rubber spatula until evenly blended. Spread crumb mixture on top of pineapple mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Spiral Cut Ham

Several years ago, I took a catering class, and this was one of the recipes we were taught. This is a great tasting and easy main dish for feeding a large group of people.

Ingredients:

1 Spiral Cut Ham - already cooked

1 jar of creole mustard

1 container honey

Place the ham (or you could buy two small spiral cut hams) in a roasting pan. Fan the spirals so that the sauce will make its way between the pieces. Mix the jar of creole mustard and the container of honey. Pour this mixture over every inch of the ham. Place in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 to warm through.

This is best served with buttermilk biscuits - I like Sister Shuberts!

How about some comfort food?

YUM! Welles and I often watch the Food Network on Saturday mornings, and get ideas about a big weekend meal. Recently we watched Tyler's Ultimate, and tried out the following recipe (minus the broccoli florets.) Not that we don't love broccoli, but the recipe seemed so perfect until he put broccoli into the potato. We tried it out, and this really is an incredible baked potato! Bon appetite!

TYLER's ULTIMATE STUFFED POTATO
Ingredients:
4 medium-sized Idaho potatoes
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
About 2 cups, plus more for topping, shredded sharp white Cheddar
2 heads broccoli, florets, blanched in salty water
1/2 pound bacon, medium dice, cooked until crisp
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Begin by baking the potatoes, as this will take the longest. Place potatoes onto a baking sheet. Pierce with a fork, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Place into preheated oven and bake for about 1 hour.

While they are baking prepare the stuffing. Make a mornay sauce by combining the butter and flour over medium heat and then whisking in the milk. Fold in about 2 cups cheese and stir until melted. Once melted, remove from heat and fold in the cooked broccoli florets, crispy bacon bits, chopped chives and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

When the potatoes are done make a cut across the top and squeeze it from the bottom so a small pouch opens up and the bottom is squared off. Spoon the filling over the top of the potato, sprinkle with cheese, season with pepper, to taste, and then pop in the oven for 2 more minutes until golden brown and bubbly.

Lemon Chicken Soup

I have been trying to replicate one of my favorite soups (Taziki's). Here is my version. This is a great recipe for a cold day or when someone you love has a cold:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup white rice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 shake of red pepper flakes
1 Tb dried parsley

Boil 4 chicken breasts in 8 cups of water until cooked through. Remove the chicken breasts and chop; filter the remaining broth into a large bowl (you want to remove the stringy things that remain when boiling the chicken). Return the broth to the pot and add 2 cups of store-bought chicken broth. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper and rice and cook about 8 minutes over medium heat. Add the cubed chicken, parsley and red pepper flakes and cook for 3-5 minutes (go easy on the flakes--they can really spice it up).

Thanksgiving Recipes

The following are recipes that we cooked Thanksgiving day that were a big hit!

Turkey Roulade with Apple Cider Gravy

We were watching The Food Network one morning and got this turkey recipe-it was very good! I used sour dough bread and didn't use pecans. For some reason, this was un-intimidating and less stressful to me than cooking turkey the old fashioned way! It was delcious.

Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

Ingredients
1 1/3 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 (1-pound) loaf cinnamon-swirl bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
Cooking spray
2/3 cup fat-free caramel sundae syrup

Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light-colored corn syrup
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup bourbon

Preparation
Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add bread, tossing gently to coat. Cover and chill 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Divide bread mixture evenly among 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
To prepare sauce, combine 1/2 cup sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 cup bourbon. Serve each bread pudding piece warm with about 1 tablespoon sauce.

Chicken Lasagna Roll-ups

This is a recipe that I sort-of made up and sort-of borrowed from a chicken lasagna recipe. I love that the roll-ups are easy to serve and they make a great presentation on the plate. See below:

• 6 chicken breasts--cooked and cubed
• 1 8oz pkg cream cheese
• 1 8oz pkg ricotta cheese
• 1 cup Alfredo sauce
• 1 pkg frozen spinach--thaw and pat dry
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 pkg lasagna noodles--cooked according to pkg directions
• Your favorite pasta sauce (I use "Classico" 4 cheese tomato sauce, but have also used Alfredo sauce for those that cannot eat red sauce--it is very good!)

1. Mix the first 6 ingredients.
2. Place a thin layer of the mixture on a lasagna noodle and roll up.
3. Place the roll-ups in a greased 9 x 13 glass baking dish.
4. Pour some pasta sauce over each roll-up.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
6. Top each roll-up with mozzarella cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes. ENJOY!!!

I will add pictures next time I cook this.