Test Kitchen Tuesday

I tried a new recipe on the family a few weeks ago that I got in an email from Betty Crocker.  I wasn't sure what my husbands take on it would be at the time, but I went for it.  I got lucky and it was a hit all around.

I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures of it as I made it or the end product, but you can see them on the Betty Crocker website. I have also seen the recipe going crazy on pinterest as well.

Ok, are you ready?

Impossibly Easy Mini Chicken and Broccoli Pies (they really aren't pies, but it is a cute they were given)

For this tasty treasure you will need:

Chicken Mixture

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)  I didn't use the onion in mine

1 cup chopped broccoli (can use frozen, thaw and drain well)

1/2 teaspoon salt (I ditched this too and didn't miss it)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 oz)

Baking Mixure

1/2 cup Bisquick baking mix

1 cup milk

2 eggs

Heat oven to 375 degrees and spray 12 muffin cups with non-stick spray.

In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken in oil 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no long pink in the center.  Add onion; cook 2-3 minutes.  Add broccoli, salt and pepper, stirring occasionally, until mixture is heated through.  Stir in cheese.

In a bowl, stir baking mixture ingredients with a whisk or fork until blended.  Spoon 1 scant tablespoon of mixture into each muffin cup.  Top with about 1/4 cup chicken mixture.  Spoon 1 tablespoon of baking mixture on top of the chicken mixture in each cup.

Bake 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and tops are golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes and then loosen sides of pies from the pan with a knife.  Remove from pan and cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Here is the nutritional information per the Betty Crocker website.

1 Serving (2 Mini Pies)

 

Calories

280

 ( 

Calories from Fat

130),

 

% Daily Value

 

Total Fat

14g

14%

 

(Saturated Fat

6g,

6%

Trans Fat

1/2g

1/2%

 ), 

Cholesterol

130mg

130%;

 

Sodium

510mg

510%;

 

Total Carbohydrate

11g

11%

 

(Dietary Fiber

1g

1%

 

  Sugars

3g

3%

 ), 

Protein

26g

26%

 ; 

% Daily Value*:

 

Vitamin A

10%;

 

Vitamin C

8%;

 

Calcium

15%;

 

Iron

8%;

Exchanges:

1/2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 1/2 Vegetable; 3 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 High-Fat Meat; 1 1/2 Fat; 

Carbohydrate Choices:

1 

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

My husband took the leftovers for his lunch and continued to rave about them.  These are quick and easy to make.  

Test Kitchen Tuesday

Before we moved 2 years ago there was a pizza joint called Pizza King in our area and they had the BEST Stromboli Sandwiches.  I have been craving them for a while now.  No I'm not pregnant nor do I have plans to be anytime EVER. lol  So I turned up the super taster and  have attempted to create my own.  

You will need:

French bread (any crusty bread with do)

ground sausage (I like italian)

Green pepper and onion finely chopped

Tomato paste or favorite thick sauce

Minced garlic or garlic powder

Italian seasoning

In a skillet, combine onion, green pepper and sausage with a bit of water (1/2-2/3 cup) to make small crumbles.   When the sausage is cooked strain off the water.

 To make your own sauce, empty one can of tomato paste into a bowl, then add crushed garlic or garlic powder to taste (about 1-2 teaspoons), 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1 tablespoon of italian seasoning. Mix this well, I find a table knife actually works really well for this.  Add about 1/3-1/2 tomato paste can of water to thin it out.  Take a little taste and see if there is anything else that you think it needs and 'doctor' it up to your liking.

 Now, slice you bread length wise to make the top and bottom of your sandwich.

Then pile on your sausage mixture, sauce and cheese.  You can bake this at 400 for about 10-15 minutes or place under the broiler for just a few minutes (2-5 depending on how close to the broiler your sandwich is) to melt the cheese.

Once your cheese it melted put the top on your sandwich and enjoy.   If your bread is soft, you may want to put it back in the over so the top of your sandwich gets a bit crusty.

Enjoy!

You can add other toppings if you like.  I have seen pepperoni, salami, and ham on these as well as (choke) dill pickles.  I love pickles, but they do nothing for me on a Stromboli.  I have also seen them made more like a calzone by using pizza dough instead of a crusty bread.   The sky is the limit here.

If you haven't already entered my giveaway you can find it here. If you have, thank you and good luck.  I am trying very hard to reply to everyone's comment.

Come back tomorrow and see if I made any progress on quilting my daughters Christmas present.

Test Kitchen Tuesday.

Hello everyone!  Sorry I haven't been around for a while.  I have had way too many irons in the fire combined with doctors appointments and running a sweet little 4 year old everywhere I haven't had much time for myself.

The quilt guild that I associate with is having their Christmas party tonight.  While it is nothing too special, they have a cookie swap, so I am to bring 2 dozen cookies.  When I'm told to bring cookies to something I get all happy because it is a great excuse to try a new recipe.  I guess you can say I'm that person in some aspect, but honestly why not try something new?  If it doesn't turn out to your personal tastes, you get to get rid of at least 2 dozen of the suckers and whether or not they get thrown in the trash mere hours later you will never know so you don't feel guilty, right?

As I was flipping through my cookie cook book last night I came across Lemon Cardamon cookies, and though those sound really good.  Now, I have never used cardamon personally  (until today) I had seen it used in several recipes from soups and stews to cookies.

So, today after lunch, the girl and I stopped at the grocery store and picked up a bottle/jar of cardamon (it is with the rest of the dried spices if you have never heard of it) and a few other things that I needed.

When we got home I realized I didn't get a lemon, or lemon extract, great now I had to find a plan B.   Pinterest here I come :-).  I came across orange cardamon cookies,  here is where I got all excited because I do have oranges! so I clicked on the picture, crap there is no recipe attached to the picture.  Look out google here I come!   First on the list was a  recipe at Epicurious.com, so I looked at the list of ingredients to make sure I had everything, and just buy luck I did.  I'm sure I could have used regular milk in place of heavy cream, but for some strange reason I had some heavy cream in the fridge.

Instead of copying the recipe you can just click HERE to find it and print out your own copy.

I didn't follow the refrigeration instructions as printed.  I was in a hurry so I didn't refrigerate at all, I just dropped on my cookie sheet and flattened them to about 1/4".  You can chill them and use cookie cutters if desired.

I will though show you a picture of these very fragrant deli-sh cookies.

I couldn't find a recipe I liked for the orange frosting, so I winged it.

WARNING!!! Amounts of some ingredients may vary, lol

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine.
1/2 teaspoon orange zest
2 Tablespoons orange juice (add just a little at a time as you need to thin it out and for flavor)
1-2 cups powdered sugar (start with 1 cup and then add more as needed to get the consistency you want)

Test Kitchen Tuesday..errr Wednesday

Welcome to the late edition of Test Kitchen Tuesday.

I totally had a recipe ready to go for yesterday, and then life happened.  I always take my daughter to the library for story hour on Tuesday mornings, well my son didn't have school yesterday because almost all the local schools in the county are polling places so they put it in the schedule as a teacher in-service day for the 'safety' of the students. AKA the office ladies would get sick of buzzing in thousands of people since once the students are in school it is basically on lock down.

Enough excuses lets get on to the the food.

My kids love french fries and I don't have a lot of freezer space to keep fries around so on occasion I will make them 'potato wedges'

You will need:
1-1.5 potatoes per person
Olive oil
Seasoned salt (like Lawerys)
Black pepper (optional)

Wash potatoes and cut into wedges or fries (peeling them is optional)

Put cut potatoes in a bowl and toss with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil, about 1 teaspoon of season salt and a dash of pepper.  If you are only using one or two potatoes you can get away with a lot less oil and salt.

Mix/toss until well coated.

Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet/jelly roll pan covered with parchment paper to avoid sticking.

Bake at 425 for about 40 min. or until nice and golden brown. Turn about half way through.   Now don't get busy playing referee and trying to coach homework at the same time because well they just aren't as good when they are over done...

I hope everyone has a great day.

Debbe

Test Kitchen Tuesday

My father in law visited over the weekend so I took the opportunity to try a new recipe for a Slow-Roasted boneless pork loin, it turned out amazing!

Slow-Roasted Boneless Pork Loin

1 2-3 pound boneless pork loin roast or pork sirloin roast
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon dried Thyme, sage oregano and rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove of garlic crushed

Combine all ingredients in a large ziploc bag and let marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, can be longer.

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Place roast in a baking dish or roasting pan (can use a meat rack if desired).  

Bake at 450 for 12 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 275 and cook for 60-80 minutes.  (my roast was about 2.5 lbs and took about 70 min to cook).

Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting.

I'm sure this could be adapted to be cooked in the crock pot.  This was very tender and juicy.

I took pictures, but for some reason they are not showing up on my phone. 

Test Kitchen Tuesday

With the holidays coming up, I think I am going to post a few of my favorite holiday recipes. Of course they can be made year round, but we save them for special occasions most of the time because they can be a lot of work. This week I am sharing my favorite aunt's recipe for Cranberry Salad.

Cranberry Salad

2--3 ounce boxes of jello (your choice 1 lemon and one cherry or 2 cranberry work best, I have used strawberry with no issues)
1 cup chopped cranberries (about 1/2 of a bag)
1 medium apple chopped (does not have to be peeled)
1 orange chopped or 1(15 ounce) can of mandarin oranges (save the juice)
1 (15 or 20 ounce) can pineapple, crushed or tidbits work best. (save the juice)
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine the chopped cranberries, apple, oranges, and pineapple in a bowl and mix with 1 cup of sugar. Let stand for one hour (the fruit and sugar mixture should yield about 1 cup of juice). Combine the reserved juice and either water or more juice to make 1 cup if needed. (you should have about 2 cups of juice total from what you saved from the cans and what the fruit sugar mixture yielded)

In a separate bowl, combine jello and 2 cups boiling water.  Let set/chill for about an hour until cool, but not set firm.

After the hour, combine the fruit mixture, juice and jello. Stir in the chopped celery and pecans, then chill until set (5-6 hours) or overnight.



I apologize for not having any pictures of this weeks dish.

Test Kitchen Tuesday

Yeah, I've got nothing really today.   I did make for myself the Italian Chicken Pasta last week and I do have to say it was delish!  So today I am going to tempt you with pictures of yumminess.

I did not add the peas that the recipe called for since I think I over did it when adding the other veggies.

In the sewing world, I finished my table runner and got it mailed off yesterday.  I will talk more about that later in the week.  Today is library day, so I need to round up books and movies to return.

Have a great day everyone.

Debbe

Test Kitchen Tuesday

Tuesdays have become super busy in my house. I feel like I my feet hit the ground running and don't get a chance to rest until mid to late afternoon.  This morning I opened the front door to take my son to the bus stop and immediately shut it turned around and went to the closet to grab some jackets.  It was quite chilly out, and that always puts me in the mood for something that simmers all day in the crock pot.

One thing I don't think I make near enough (basically because I'm the only one in the house who eats them) is baked beans.

Baked Beans

3- 16 ounce cans baked beans, drained
1 medium onion chopped
1/4 cup molasses (can substitute corn syrup or kayro)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
6 slices bacon, crisply fried and crumbled (optional)

Place all ingredients in the Crock pot and mix thoroughly. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. 

Test Kitchen Tuesday

Good morning! Today's recipe is no where near healthy,  but it is a special treat that is a favorite of my husbands.

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

1 1 pound pkg. bulk chocolate/almond bark
1-2 jars of unsalted peanuts
1/4 cup peanut butter

Melt chocolate in double boiler, stir in peanut butter until smooth. Dump in peanuts, and stir until peanuts are well coated, drop by tablespoon full on to waxed paper or parchment paper and let sit up.  Store in air tight container.   We keep ours in the refrigerator.

Test Kitchen Tuesday, Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

Welcome to Test Kitchen Tuesday!  Today I'm going to share a knock off recipe with you for those delicious garlic cheddar biscuits that you get at Red Lobster.

I haven't made these for a while, but I'm they sound really good so I might just make them for dinner tonight.

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix

3/4 cup cold whole milk (I use 2%)

1/2 stick (4 Tbsp) cold butter (not softened)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1 heaping cup shredded cheddar cheese

Topping

4 Tbsp Melted butter

1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter using a pastry cutter or a large fork.  You don't want to mix too thoroughly. there should be small chunks of butter in there about the size of peas.

 Add cheese, milk, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic.  Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

3. Drop approximately 1/4 cup portions of the dough onto a greased cookie sheet (I like to put parchment paper down, nothing sticks to that stuff)

4. Bake for 15-17 min or until the tops of the biscuits begin  to turn light brown.

5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, brush with the melted butter mixture and use a pastry brush to spread the garlic butter over the tops of the biscuits.  

Makes about 1 dozen biscuits, give or take,  I only got 11.

Test Kitchen Tuesday

Hello!  I know I have been slacking off some on the blog, I have been having terrible headaches the past few weeks.  I think I have pin-pointed the cause/s, and have made a few diet changes, and am trying to avoid stress. I know, I know, good luck with that second one.

Today, I have an appetizer for you.  You could most certainly use it as a side dish though.  I personally would just have it for lunch, since I am the only one in my house that would even touch it.

Artichoke Dip

1 (14 oz.) can artichokes (water packed)
1 c. mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
1 c. grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Muenster cheese

Drain and chop artichokes.

Combine first 3 ingredients, top with Muenster cheese and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with crackers or tortilla/corn chips.

Additions you can make
Frozen spinach to this as well, make sure to thaw and drain well.
Mushrooms fresh or canned, if canned drain well before adding.
1-2 cloves minced garlic (garlic makes everything better right?)
Like spicy food, try adding some red pepper flakes or chopped Jalapenos



My son started back to school yesterday.  I can't believe he is in the first grade already.

Silly boy won't smile for the camera.

He came home in a good mood and said it was a lot of fun, but it was a long day and he was tired.

The girl and I passed some time playing Uno. While I worked on figuring out what color combos I needed to cut and sew for my Sew Intertwined quilt

I did get a little sewing in and got one corner block made.

I hope to get a few more blocks made today, but first we are heading to story time at the library.

Test Kitchen Tuesday

I didn't venture out very far this past week.  I was trying to make do with what I had on hand, and am doing the same this week.  I have a week before next weeks post so I have time to dream something up.

This week I'm going to share with you my recipe for breaded tenderloins.

You will need:

2-4 boneless porkchops or pork cutlets (I slice off pieces of pork sirloin roast for my pork chops about 3/4" thick before pounding)
1 egg
2 TBSP Milk
1/2-1 sleeve crackers (ritz, saltine, club they all work)
dash of red  or Cayenne pepper (don't worry, they aren't spicy, if you are worried paprika works too)
dash of salt
vegetable oil for cooking, enough to make it about 1/4"-1/2" deep in the pan. heat to about 350 degrees.

Take your sleeve of crackers and dump into a ziplock bag and crush with your rolling pin until they are fine crumbs. 

To your crumbs add your salt and cayenne.  The cayenne is for making it golden brown not for spice.  IF you want it spicy add as much as you want.

Mix your egg and milk with a fork until frothy

Put one of your pork chop on your cutting board and cover with plastic wrap and pound thin with your meat mallet. If using pork cutlets, they are usually already 'tenderized' and you can skip the pounding step.

I usually go about 1/4" when I pound it out.

Next dip your meat in the egg mixture and from there into your cracker crumbs making sure to get it well covered.  From there put in your pan of hot oil and cook until golden brown on both sides.

Now you can make this into a sandwich or just cut up and eat. 

Breaded tenderloins are very popular in Indiana.  I have family who live in Kansas and they say they can't find them in restaurants out there. So this may be an Indiana thing.

I hope you have a wonderful day.  I am going to try and get some sewing in this afternoon.

Test Kitchen Tuesday

With Summer in full swing, salads are sure to be a hit with the family. 

Broccoli Salad

4 cups broccoli florets (or bite sized pieces)

1/4/ cup minced red onion

3 Tablespoons Spenda

2 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Low fat Mayo or Miracle Whip

2 Tablespoons sunflower seeds or slivered almonds (salted or unsalted you choose)

3 Tablespoons raisins

4 sliced bacon chopped up or 1/4 cup bacon bits

Chop broccoli into bite sized pieces and set aside. Then whisk together the remaining ingredients in medium bowl. Add broccoli, toss to coat. Chill until ready to serve, makes 6 servings (2/3 cup).

I preferred to have more sunflower seeds and raisins in mine.  If you look at it and think it needs more of something add it

Test Kitchen Tuesday

Welcome to Test Kitchen Tuesday. 

Since yesterday was my baby's birthday, I made her a rainbow cake. 

To make the rainbow cake I used my spring form pan, you can do cup cakes, a bundt cake, or layers.

I used 1 white cake mix made to package directions, then divided up my batter, added food coloring and made my layers in my pan.   You have to be careful when spreading your layers so you don't swirl them and get gross looking colors.

 I also made the birthday girl a shirt with her age on it.  She absolutely LOVED it and well those flip flops too.

 And finally my MESS, Amy at Amy's Creative side wanted to see some messy sewing areas I think so she didn't feel so bad about hers.   This is the majority of my mess.  I hope to get it mostly under control today. Usually I get inspired by something mid clean-up and the getting it under control never happens.  But first I must reclaim my kitchen after yesterdays baking extravaganza.

Test Kitchen Tuesday

I had some stew meat in the freezer that I needed to use up before it became freezer burnt, and when it is hot out I sure don't want a hot bowl of stew or soup.

I wanted beef stroganoff, but I'm married to Mr. Picky and he won't eat anything with cream cheese, sour cream, or mushrooms in.  I've tried to sneak them in, he can taste them, so I made my own concoction.

Poor-man's beef and noodles.

2 Pounds sew meat (it comes all cut up so bonus)
1 package of beefy onion soup
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons all purpose flour
noodles of your choice cooked to your preference or package directions.

In your crock pot combine the first 3 ingredients and let cook on high for 6-8 hours low 10-12.  The meat will melt in your mouth.

If you want to only make half of the recipe you can measure out 2 Tablespoons of the onion soup and mix with 1 pound of meat.  Keep the amount of water the same.

You can serve the meat over your noodles or you can dump your cooked noodles into the crock pot and mix them up.

Test Kitchen Tuesday

Since strawberries are in season I thought I would post another tasty recipe that you can use strawberries in.

A long time ago I came across a recipe on Pinterest where you use a can of fruit or pie filling and mix with and angel food cake mix and bake.  I finally gave it a try a couple of weeks ago.  It was AMAZING!!! Of course me being me, I didn't follow the instructions.   The only link I could find to the recipe was on Jo and Sue's blog so I'm giving them credit.

I am going to write the recipe as I prepared it.

Angel Food Dessert

20 ounces crushed strawberries w/juice, 2 Tablespoons sugar
1 angel food cake mix

In a large mixing bowl combine your fruit and cake mix.

Mix well, it will get very fluffy in your bowl.

Spread cake batter into an ungreased 9"x13" baking dish (if you mess up and grease your dish it will be ok mine turned out just fine when I did it :) )

before baking

Bake at 350F for 20-30 min. or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Mine took all of the 30 min maybe more.

I don't know why, but I didn't take a picture of the finished cake.  It will sink in the middle as it cools, don't worry that is normal and it still tastes amazing.

You can use any kind of canned fruit you like just make sure you use the liquid with it too. I can't wait to try it with cherries.  YUM!

Test Kitchen Tuesday

When I was a LOT younger, 8 or 9, I would ride my bike to 'Opal's house'  Opal, was in her 70's and she lived by herself on a farm.  I love to visit her and play with the cats in the barn.  Opal on occasion would give me a small box of homemade strawberry jam to take home with me.  I guess you could say she spoiled me because I cannot stand store bought jam, so for today's Test Kitchen Tuesday I'm going to show you how easy it is to make your own home made strawberry jam. It is really easy I promise!

You will need:
30 minutes of free time

2 Pints (approximately 1 pound) Fresh Strawberries
4 cups white sugar (Reducing Sugar or using sugar substitutes will result in set failures)
1 box of Sure Jell
a Potato masher
5 1 cup freezer containers washed and dried

Remove the stems from your berries and wash the berries to remove any excess dirt.  

Place half of your berries in a bowl and mash with the potato masher.  Remove the first set of mashed berries and add the rest of the berries and repeat.  Make sure you have 2 cups of mashed berries and juice.  If you have too much your jam will not set properly.

Add your 4 cups of sugar to the strawberry's.  (Reducing Sugar or using sugar substitutes will result in set failures)  Mix well and allow to sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a sauce pan combine 3/4 cup water and your package of sure jell. Bring to a boil and let boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. The sure jell will be slightly lumpy until the water starts getting hot.

Stir Pectin mixture into sugar mixture until sugar is dissolved and no longer grainy, about 3 minutes. ( a few sugar crystals may remain)

Pour into prepared containers, leaving 1/2" space at the top for expansion during freezing.  Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours until set.

 

Personal note of experience: if you do not let the jam sit at room temp for 24 hours the top will be firm but the bottom will be like strawberry syrup.  It is still good though.
Refrigerate for 3 weeks, otherwise store in the freezer for up to 1 year.  I have had the jam in my fridge for over 3 weeks with no changes or ill effects, or discoloration.

I get a lot of shocked faces when I say I make my own jam, but now you can see how easy it is to do.  I have enough jam for close to a year and it cost less than $4. It could be more or less depending on the area you live in.

Test Kitchen Tuesday

I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend. I'm still trying to recover, we did lots of driving getting the kids to the grand parents so hubby and I could go to the Indianapolis 500 like we do every year. It was a beautiful day on Sunday, HOT (92F) and humid. We were blessed with a nice breeze all day even though we were in the blazing afternoon sun.  I'm only slightly sun burnt  on my shoulders where my shirt rubbed my sun-screen off during the course of the day.

Today I'm going to share a recipe that I came across a few years ago for French Toast Bread Pudding.  It is a tasty dish even if you don't like bread pudding. Don't worry you don't have to make the french toast either you just need to head to the freezer section at your local grocery and pick up something similar to this.

You can get your favorite brand, but I have found that the store brands usually have the most cinnamon and sugar on them.

French Toast Bread Pudding

1 1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 box French toast sticks, cut into quarters (my pan didn't seem full enough so I used the whole box)
1 C heavy cream
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C water
1/4 C white sugar
Fruit is optional (bananas, blueberries, strawberries)

Cut French toast sticks into 1 inch pieces. Layer the bottom of a 9x11 baking pan with brown sugar. Lay the French toast sticks onto the sugar in a single layer. Press any extra sticks into the sides and corners. Optional: Slice the fruit and place between sugar and French toast sticks. In a large bowl; wisk together the heavy cream, vanilla, eggs, salt and water. Cover the toast sticks with the mixture, pressing the sticks down to wet them thoroughly. Optional: Leave overnight in the refrigerator for a creamier texture. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle the top of the sticks with 1/4 cup white sugar, then place the pan into the oven and bake for 30-45 mins. After baking, broil the top for 2-3 mins to brown the sugar. Let pudding stand for 10 mins and serve.

Test Kitchen Tuesday!

Six years ago today our my life changed forever as we welcomed our son into the world.

I'm not sure where time has gone?

So in honor of his birthday, I'm going to share one of his favorite dishes. Biscuits and Sausage Gravy. 

I've never mastered the art of homemade biscuits, so I buy a can of buttermilk biscuits at the store.  I like Pillsbury Grands, but you can get whatever you like and cook according to package directions.

Sausage Gravy

1 pound ground sausage

1/4-1/3 cup all purpose flour

Milk I add about 1 cup per person.

Brown your sausage in a large skillet.  Then add the flour to your sausage and allow to cook for about 3-4 minutes so your gravy doesn't taste like flour.  

Add your milk and bring to a boil stirring constantly then reduce your heat to medium high and continue stirring until the gravy becomes thick.  This can take a while so be patient and be careful to not scald/burn your mixture.  If your heat is too high it will happen very quickly.

Refrigerate any leftover gravy.  To reheat, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk cover and put it in the microwave for 30 increments until desired warmth.

Test Kitchen Tuesday

I made this recipe several years ago.  When I went on my retreat 2 weeks ago I brought home some Amish peanut butter and I think the two of these would be great paired together.

Oatmeal Bread

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 1/2 cups HOT water

2 1/4 ounce packages or 5 teaspoons active dry yeast

5-6 cups unbleached all purpose flour (I like to use bread flour)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg, lightly beaten for brushing the dough

In a large bowl combine butter, sugar, and 1 1/2 cups of oats.

Stir in hot water and let mixture stand until lukewarm. 

Sprinkle yeast over mixture and let stand until foamy, about 5 min.

Stir in salt and 5 cups of flour, stirring until mixture forms a dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. 

Knead dough for 10 minutes, adding as much of the remaining 1 cup flour as necessary to form a smooth and elastic dough ball.

Let rest covered with an inverted bowl for 15 min.

Lightly oil (or spray with cooking spray) 2 loaf pans, 9"x5"x3".  Form dough into 2 loaves and transfer to pans. Brush surface of dough with egg and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup oats.  Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 F.  

 Bake bread in the middle of the oven for 40-50 min, or until browned and bottoms sound hollow when tapped.  

Turn bread out onto racks to cool completely. If you do not remove your bread from the pans it can 'sweat' and will become soggy. 

Once cool store in an airtight container.

Makes 2 loaves.