Pigs in a Blanket Casserole

I've been eating pigs in a blanket my whole life...it's a comfort food no matter how old I get, so when I saw this casserole at plain chicken I had to give it a try.  It really was good, even the next day and it's definitely staying in the pig rotation!  

Ingredients:  8 count tube of crescent rolls + 4 count tube of crescent rolls, 14 oz pkg of little smokies, 1/4 c. Dijon mustard, 5 eggs, 1 1/2 c. milk, 2 c. cheddar cheese (shredded), salt & pepper to taste.  

Instructions:  

1.  Heat over to 375 and spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with cookie spray.  

2.  Unroll the crescent rolls and separate them into 12 triangles.  Spread Dijon on each triangle and cut them into 3 pieces (now you will have 36 mini triangles).

3.  Place one sausage on each triangle and roll the crescent roll around it.  Place it in the pan.  

4.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  

5.  Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper.  Pour this mix over the cheese covered pigs.  

6.  Bake for about 40 minutes (until egg mix is set).  

Donut/Bagel Board

Admittedly, I don't have an 'in use' photo for this board, but I decided not to wait to share, but....I will revisit this and add a picture of it in use soon!  I made this bagel board for something coming up, though I hope to be able to use it for lots of somethings (donuts) etc.  I found the board in the unfinished wood section at Hobby Lobby and, with my coupon, it was about 11 dollars.  I also bought 3 dowel rods.  

 I read that most bagels/donuts are 4 inches wide, so I measured the boards so that each hole can fit a donut that is about 4 1/2 inch from the next hole.  Then I had my brother drill holes into the board and cut down the dowel rod to 4 inch pieces.

 I like it because the dowels can be popped in and out.  If I just want to do 12 donuts or bagels, I'm going to put a sign or word across the top where the four dowels currently live.

I also have extra dowels in case I lose any, and my plan is to get some doilies, create a small x in the middle and push them around the dowel so the bagels aren't touching the board directly and getting it greasy.  Not gluing the dowels into the wood will allow easier storage, but I may eventually make these more permanent!
I could cover this with mineral oil if I wanted to make it more food safe, but for now, I think it'll work for it's next purpose!

One Pan: Bacon and Biscuits

These aren't blog quality photos, but I'm just over here living real life and I want to remember this trick.  I have a friend who is a GREAT cook and she is always telling me about tricks she does.  I've been wanting to try this one out forever, and it did not disappoint.
-Take a large sheet of foil and line a pan.  Place bacon on the pan (not touching).  Place it in your cold oven, turn it to 400 degrees and bake for 20 minutes.
 -Pull out your back.  Take frozen biscuits and dip them in the biscuits-dip both sides in the pan and cook according to directions in the same pan.  You don't need to soak up the grease, the biscuits are doing that for you (unless you just have ridiculous amounts, but....we are already kind of being ridiculous).
-Cook according to your bags instructions.
These turned out so delicious.  It's definitely not healthy, but sometimes...that's the best kind of breakfast.

Freeze Ahead Breakfast Tacos

 I'm still working through the ingredients in my freezer I need to get rid of so I can refill it in hopes of all those snow days this year will bring.  Next up were these roasted potatoes from Trader Joes.

 This is not an ad, it's just an attempt to make space.  I cooked up the potatoes according to the package, and then I layered them with cheese and eggs inside tortillas.  It's important that you layer it cheese, then eggs, then potatoes.  This keeps the tortilla from getting to soggy.  In addition, let both the eggs and potatoes cool for about 10 minutes before you fill them up so they don't steam up the tortillas and make them ultimately soggy.

I rolled them up and tucked in the sides.  I wrapped each in foil and froze them and then I can pull them out one at a time to heat them up in the microwave.  I always eat mine with salsa because it was a condition in my Texas birth certificate, but....easy and filling breakfast are ready to roll this week.  I used half a package of potatoes, 5 eggs (cooked with a little milk), and about half a cup of cheese, along with 7 tortillas.  So, if you had a full package double that.  Basically, you do you (whatever that means), but it's a simple breakfast for using up eggs that are about to expire etc.

Orange Rolls

I recently got the Magnolia Table cook book for my birthday.  I saw a recipe for Orange Rolls using canned crescent rolls, and I thought NO WAY.  If you have ever slaved away proofing cinnamon roll dough, you'll understand my doubts when it came to this short cut, but you know what?  These.  Were.  Amazing.  Seriously, so delicious that when I tell you my mouth is watering, it's not just b/c I don't know how to describe the level of flavor, it literally is water.  The hardest thing about the recipe was zesting an orange....and that wasn't hard.  I can't wait to try these out with different flavor combinations.  Forget that.  I can't wait to just try these out with oranges.  The only adjustment I made was I used 3 large oranges (instead of the 5 'oranges'....no size given).  I didn't actually flip out my rolls, so there was also a LOT of butter swimming in the pan.  I mean, is butter ever a bad thing?  BUT if you don't do that step, cut the butter back.   I also always buy a name brand crescent roll b/c I have found some of the off brands don't taste as good.    But I might try and cut back to one stick next time.  I'm going to write the recipe as I made it, and adjust that later if it works.  I can't WAIT to try out some more recipes in the book.  

Magnolia Orange Rolls

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Roll Ingredients:  12 T of salted butter (1 1/2 stick at room temperature), 3/4 c. packed brown sugar, 4 t. packed, finely grated orange zest (I just zested 1 large orange), 1 t. cinnamon, 2 cans (8 oz) canned crescent rolls, 1 c. chopped walnuts

Glaze Ingredients:  2 c. powdered sugar, finely grated zest of 2 (large) oranges, 2 t. vanilla, 1/2 c. orange juice (I used the ones I zested)

Instructions:  

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  

2.  Mix the softened (not melted) butter, brown sugar, orange zest, and cinnamon.  Use a fork to mash it together and make a paste.  

3.  Open one can of dough and unroll onto a work surface.  Press perforations closed to make single rectangle.  Spread half the butter mix evenly over the dough.  Scatter with half the walnuts.  Start with the long side and roll up to form a log.  Cut into 6 equal pieces.  

4.  Repeat with second can of dough.  

5.  Place into 8 inch round cake pan (I used an 8x10 inch rectangle pan and it worked great).  

6.  Bake for 30 minutes (until they have a deep golden brown color).  

7.  While it's baking, make the glaze by mixing all the ingredients.  

8.  Invert the rolls into a serving plate.  Let them stand for 5 minutes and then drizzle with the glaze.  

9.  Serve warm.  Store up to 2 days in an airtight container.  

Croissant Boat

I made these recently and they were sooooooo good.  I cut back the original amount of eggs to just 3 b/c I'm not crazy about eggs, but do your thang.  I'll post the original recipe from tipbuzz.  They also reheated really well the second day, which surprised me!

Croissant Boats

Ingredients:  
4 croissants, 6 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled, 5 eggs, 7 T of cheddar cheese (shredded), 3 T green onions (chopped), 2 T milk
Instructions:
1.  Heat oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
2.  Cut the tops off the croissant and hollow out the middle of the bread.
3.  In a separate bowl, mix the cheese, bacon crumbles, and green onions.  Pour egg and milk over the mix.
4.  Spoon into the croissant and bake for 25 minutes until egg mix is set.

Cornbread Stuffing Muffins

     The great debate is always cornbread or white bread.  The answer is cornbread....at least if your roots go deep into the south.  I love dressing/stuffing, and this recipe is very similar to my grandmothers dressing (minus the sausage).  These are savory, so they make a great dinner side, or if you don't mind savory (and I don't) I love to pop these in for breakfast as well.
     Truth, I don't really need a season or a time of day to justify eating these.  They are delicious.  The key is picking a good cornbread mix-nothing too sweet/honey-ish.
     So...if you want to try out a stuffing as it should be-try these!  (The original recipe is from JimmyDean.)

Cornbread Stuffing Muffins

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Ingredients:  1 lb sage sausage (I halved this b/c it's all I had), 2 large stalks of celery (finely chopped-should be about 1 c.), 1 medium onion (finely chopped-should be about 1 c.), 2 boxes of corn bread muffin mix (about 16 oz each), 2 eggs, 2/3 c. chicken broth, 1/4 c. sour cream, 1/2 t. ground sage, kosher salt, 1/2 t. ground black pepper
Instructions:  
1.  Cook sausage, onion, and celery until sausage is brown.  Drain and set aside.
2.  Beat egg, add chicken broth, and yogurt.  Blend well.  Add in muffin mix and stir until just moistened.  Stir in sausage, sage, salt and pepper.
4.  Spoon into greased muffin cups (about 3/4 of the way full).
5.  Bake 15-20 minutes (until light golden brown).

Buttered Biscuits

 I recently made some biscuits from scratch. A gal I knew via church who loves to cook posted about these on facebook (thanks, Cindy, if you ever run across this) and I gave it a go.  The original post was via the bluejeanchef.   They were really buttery and delicious, and there were a few steps I had never done before that I'll definitely be trying out with other recipes that need cold butter (pie crust?).
This ones a keeper.
Ingredients:  2 1/3 c. bread flour, 8 t. sugar, 1 stick of butter (stick it in the freezer for an hour or so), 1 1/3 c. buttermilk, more butter (for greasing the pan and to brush on the top of the biscuits towards the end of cooking), regular flour (not the bread flour)
Instructions:
Preheat Oven to 425
1.  Mix the bread flour and sugar.
2.  Grate the butter into the dry mix.

 3.  Stir together until butter crumbles are coated, but don't over mix.

 4.  Add buttermilk.  Stir again until just mixed, but crumbly.  Again, don't over mix.
5.  Add about a cup of flour to a bowl.  Take a spoon and drop a ball of dough into the flour (about the size of an egg).

 6.  Toss around and coat.

 7.  Drop into a buttered 9x9 baking pan.  Set each one next to each other.

8.  Bake at 425 for 25 minutes.  Pull out and brush the tops of the biscuits with about 3 T of melted butter.  Cook at additional five minutes to brown.  

Monkey Bread Muffins

 

We recently had a volunteer breakfast at work and I wanted to try out a new recipe.  Who better to try out a new recipe on than a bunch of people who have tirelessly volunteered at your school all year, right?  Fortunately, this turned out to be a really delicious recipe!  I keep saying I'm going to start a thread "never make this again," but I'm not sure if my blog has enough memory to house those recipe post.  BUT, if I did have a thread, this wouldn't make it because this one is a keeper.  It's monkey bread....in muffin form.  Seriously, does it get any better than that?  Incidentally, it said to 'drizzle' the icing on top, but I pooled it in the middle to make it easier to scoop up and put on a plate.  Same end result, deliciousness.  Honestly, I don't even know if the cream cheese was necessary, the muffins alone were delicious.  But....you can't really go wrong with cream cheese and powdered sugar.  It's one of my life's philosophy!  The original recipe came from mybakingaddiction.

Monkey Bread Muffins

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Muffin Ingredients:  1/4 c granulated sugar, 1 1/2 t ground cinnamon, 1 can flaky refrigerated biscuits, 1/4 c. butter, 2/3 c. packed dark brown sugar, 2 t. water, 1/2 t. vanilla

Icing Ingredients:  4 oz cream cheese (at room temp), 1 c. powdered sugar (sifted), 1/2 t. vanilla extract, 3 T milk

Baking Instructions: 

1.  Heat oven to 375 and spray 8 muffin tins with cooking spray. 

2.  In a bowl mix the cinnamon and sugar.  Cut the biscuits into 8 pieces each.  Roll into small balls and roll them through the cinnamon/sugar mix and then place 9 balls into each muffin cup. 

3.  In a saucepan on med heat, melt together butter, brown sugar, and water.  Bring to a point and stir until brown sugar is dissolved (about 2 minutes).  Pull off hea and add vanilla.  Spoon caramel over muffins. 



4.  Bake 10-12 minutes. 
5.  Let the muffins cool about 20 minutes (it's hard to remove them before the caramel sets b/c they don't hold together well while everything is still piping hot).  I used a soup spoon to help pop them out of the tins/while keeping all the pieces together.
5.  Use a mixer to beat together all of the icing ingredients.  Drizzle over the top of muffins.  Serve hot. 
*makes 8 muffins

IHOP Pancakes

Look....I don't remember what IHOP Pancakes taste like, but if this isn't the recipe, it should be!  A friend passed this along to me.  I don't know if I can be friends with people that provide me with recipes that provide me with delicious calories, but....I'm nothing if not an enabler, so....here's a recipe for a delicious pancake, friend.

IHOP Pancakes

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Ingredients:  1 1/4 c four, 1 t. baking powder, 1 t. baking soda, pinch of salt, 1 egg, 1 1/4 c. buttermilk, 2 T butter (melted and cooled a little), 1/4 c. sugar.
Instructions:  Stir together flour, b. soda, b. powder, and salt.  Mix the eggs with the buttermilk and add to the flour.  Stir just until smooth (don't overmix).  Add melted butter and sugar. Fry on a greased griddle.
Serves 4

Mini Pecan Rolls..Gone Vegan

I adapted this recipe from Pioneer Woman.  I'm not vegan, but my brother is, and sometimes I like to share my calories.  He's skinny.  I'm not.  So, when I want to try out a recipe, if I can tweak it a bit to make it Vegan, I do so I can ship some his way.  

I adjust this one a bit from the original because I'm not feeding a ranch.  

You can print the recipe here.  If you don't want it to be vegan, just replace the vegan butter for the real deal.  

Or..here are the step by steps with the adaptions for a smaller batch gone vegan.  

For the dough, I took Rhodes bread loaves and pulled one out and let it thaw as the package instructed.  It rose, and I punch it down and then rolled it out as far as I could stretch it.  

 I melted 1/4 c vegan butter in a pan over medium  and then added 1/2 c chopped pecans, 1/2 c karo syrup, and 1 t. vanilla.  I let it come to a boil and then pulled it off the stove and set it aside.

 To the dough I added 1/4 c melted vegan butter and then a ton of sugar and cinnamon.  Really...I covered it/doused it, could have added more.

 I put little spoonfuls of pecans and the 'juice' into 24 mini muffin cups.

I rolled up the bread like a log and then cut 24 really thing slices and placed them on top of the pecan mix.  I let them rise for about 20 minutes (and used this time to preheat the oven to 375).  I baked it for 15 minutes, and then turned the muffins over on a baking sheet almost immediately (the instructions said they came out better if you waited 20 minutes, but I found when i tried that the pecans stuck to the pans bc the sauce had hardened.  You may have to spoon some of the pecan mix back on from the pan.
One thing I learned, store these and eat them the next day....they are even better-I don't know why, but....it's true!

Vegan Orange Rolls

You can make these with real butter, or with a vegan substitute.  Regardless, I think they taste the same (or close enough).  And...yay...it's actually vegan....a new road some of my family is on....which makes meals together...interesting.  Every great once in awhile I stumble upon something that doesn't take a lot of tweaking to make it vegan. The original recipe came from homebasedmom.  I just used some butter substitutes when it called for butter.    Orange rolls have been universally loved for those of those who are still carnivores and pea protein lovers.  If you have special food needs, or...just like orange rolls...here's a quick and easy way to whip them up.

Orange Rolls

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Roll Ingredients:  12 frozen Rhodes dinner rolls (thawed), rind of one orange (grated), 1/2 c sugar, 1/2 c. butter (or butter substitute)

Glaze Ingredients: 1 c. powdered sugar, 2 T melted butter (or substitute), 2 T orange juice

Roll Instructions:  

1.  Thaw dough in the fridge overnight or set out for a few hours prior to use (cover).  

2.  Grate the orange rind and toss with sugar.  

3.  Roll thawed rolls in 1/2 c. melted butter.  Roll in sugar and rind mix.  

4.  Place in greased 9x13 pan.  

5.  Cover rolls with syran wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour (double in size).  

6.  Remove wrap and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  

7.  Cool for five minutes.  Mix glaze ingredients and pour over the top of rolls.  

Freezer Biscuits

I teach, which means I get about two months off during the summer.  This is the time I explore recipes.  My dream is to find freezable recipes I can pop out in the winter when I just want to survive most days, and fast food is too often the answer.
I saw this recipe at moneysavingmom for freezer biscuits and I decided to give it a go.  I love breakfast for dinner...or breakfast for breakfast.  These were easy to put together, and I love that I can just pull a couple out of the freezer at a time and I don't have to cook 8 or 10 (whatever comes in the usual canned variety I use).  The original recipe says you should have 2 dozen, but I only got 1 1/2 dozen.

Homemade Freezer Biscuit

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Ingredients:  4 c flour, 2 T baking powder, 1 t sal, 1 c shortening (or butter), 1 3/4 c. milk.
Instructions:  Mix the dry ingredients.  Add the shortening or butter and mix until crumbly (I used a pastry cutter to do this).  Add in milk and mix until it forms a ball.
Roll onto floured surface and cut biscuits (I used the edge of a glass)
Place on a cookie sheet for 2 hours and freeze.  Remove and place into freezer bag.
To bake, pull out however many you need, thaw for 30 minutes to an hour.
Bake at 450 for 8-12 minutes.

Baked Oatmeal Casserole

I'm a fan of oatmeal.  This was a tasty treat I tried out and really loved.  It was just the right mix of sweet and savory.  'Tis the season for fruits!  I actually halved the recipe, but the full recipe would easily serve 8.

Baked Oatmeal Casserole

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Ingredients:  2 c. oats, 1/3 c brown sugar, 1 t baking powder, 1  cinnamon, 1/2 t salt, 1/2 c chocolate chips (I doubled this amount b/c I love chocolate), 1 c. strawberries (sliced), 2/3 c blueberries, 1 rip banana (sliced), 1 egg, 2 T butter, 1 t vanilla
Instructions:  Spray 8x10 casserole with cooking spray.
Mix the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and half of the chocolate chips, and half of the berries.  Stire and pour into dish.
Add the other half of the chips and berries to the top.  Top with bananas.
In another bowl mix the milk, eggs, melted (and cooled) butter, and vanilla.  Whisk and pour over the top of the oatmeal mix (make sure to cover all of the oats).
Bake for 30 min at 375.  Add 1 T of brown sugar to the top of your dish and bake another 5-10 minutes until the top is browned.
*I found the original recipe at Love of Family & Home.

Homemade Waffles

I bought a waffle iron this last year at the black Friday sales.  I'm a sucker.  To justify my purchase, I decided to try out some recipes.  This recipe from bunsinmy oven was really delicious.  You can really taste the cinnamon, and it paired well with maple syrup.
If you found yourself a victim to black Friday impulse buys, or just need to brush off the dust from the ol' waffle iron-this is a tasty recipe!

Homemade Waffles

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Ingredients:  2/4 c. flour, 1/4 c cornstarch, 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/8 t nutmeg, 1/2 t baking powder, 1/4 t baking soda, 3/4 c buttermilk, 1/4 c. milk, 6 T vegetable oil, 1 egg (separated), 1 T sugar, 1/2 t vanilla
Instructions:  
1.  Heat waffle iron.
2.  Mix flour, cornstarch, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, and baking soda.
3.  Mix the buttermilk, milk, and vegetable oil ad stir in the egg yolk.
4.  Beat the egg white until almost to soft peaks.  Sprinkle in sugar, and beat until peaks are firm.  Add vanilla.
5.  Pour the buttermilk mix into the dry mix and whisk until well mixed.  Drop in the egg white mix and fold in until just incorporated.
6.  Bake in waffle iron as instructed.

Biscuits and Gravy Casserole

I'm the fan of the casserole...especially when it comes to morning meals.  I am NOT a morning person.  Don't get me wrong, my whole life requires that I get up early every morning, but I don't like it, and the last thing I feel like thinking about is breakfast.  As gourmet as I get-sometimes I swap out a granola bar for instant oatmeal.  So...when it comes to an easy, hearty casserole-count me in.
I originally saw this recipe at just a pinch.  If you need a hearty meal, don't like mornings, or just want to try out a little something different for breakfast....

Biscuits and Gravy Casserole

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Ingredients:  10 oz tube biscuits, 6 eggs, 1 lb sausage, 1 c cheese (shredded), 1/2 c. milk, salt and pepper to taste, gravy packet.
Instructions:
1.   Spray a 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray.
2.  Cut biscuits into 4ths.  Line bottom of the ban.
3.  Brown and drain sausage.  Scatter on top of the biscuit pieces.  Top with shredded cheese.
4.  Whisk eggs and milk and salt and pepper and pour over the pan.
5.  Make gravy according to the pkg instructions.  Pour over the pan.
6.  Bake for 40 minutes at 350.
7.  Cut and serve warm from the oven.

Oven Fried Bacon

Bacn and I have never been good friends.  It likes to burn up on me, splatter everywhere, and leave a greasy residue all over my kitchen.  We broke up years ago and only see each other at the occastional restaurant.  The problem is, I miss it.  I recently went to a retreat and saw one of the gals bake our bacon in the oven....which also freed up space on the burners and had the added bonus of letting be better time my dishes.  Assuming bacon is a 'dish.'  Anyway, if...I may be the last person to know this, but....when wanting to cook the perfect/no messy peice of bacon....
Line a tray with foil, I rolled up the four sides as well so the grease wouldn't escape and I was just able to toss this when I pull the bacon off (didn't even have to clean my pan).
Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Place on paper towels to blot grease.  Eat. Repeat.