It's a chilly morning outside - 1°F. Hopefully this is the last of the cold weather because I'm ready for Spring.
Breakfast Macaroni & Cheese
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
2 cups medium macaroni shells
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup Cranberry & chipotle cheese (or pepper jack)
1 cup breakfast sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 tsp paprika
1 dash garlic powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Melt 4 tbsp butter and stir in flour. Gradually add in milk, stirring constantly. When thickened, remove from heat and add in cheeses.
In a casserole, put cooked macaroni, cooked breakfast sausage and cheese sauce.
In a small pan, melt 1 tbsp butter. Add in Panko bread crumbs and spices. Top macaroni mixture.
Servings: 8
Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes
I've been wanting to try this for a long time after seeing it on some random Food Network show. There's 1,000 different recipes for it I've found so I created one for my tastes and I do believe that chili needs kidney beans. I was leery of adding cinnamon and cocoa powder but it works.
Cincinnati Chili
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion peeled and chopped
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 8 ounce tomato sauce, no salt
1 5.5 ounce V8 Juice
1 14.5-oz diced tomatoes
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 large bay leaf
1 tbs cocoa
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
1 15 ounce kidney beans, rinsed
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Brown ground beef with chopped onion and garlic. Add in tomato sauce and V8 juice. Add in spices and let simmer.
While cooking your spaghetti, add in kidney beans, Worcestershire and vinegar.
Serve chili over cooked spaghetti and top with shredded cheddar cheese
Sunday is a day for comfort food especially when it's snowing out and there's no sign of it stopping soon. Here is today's menu ~
Chicken Casserole
2 cups chicken breast, cubed and cooked
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/3 cup flour
8 ounces egg noodles, cooked
1 cup peas
1 1/2 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup stuffing bread crumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
poultry seasoning to taste
Cook chicken seasoned with salt, pepper and poultry seasoning, and noodles and place in crock pot. Add in peas. Heat chicken broth and milk mixed with flour until it starts to thicken. Pour over mixture in crock pot.
Melt butter in a small sauce pan. Add in stuffing mix and let gently brown. Place on top of chicken mixture.
Cook for a couple hours in the crock pot on a medium low heat or in the over for 30 minutes at 325°F .
You have to love dinners that practically make themselves.
Dr Pepper BBQ Crockpot Chicken
3 large Chicken breasts -- boned and skinned
1 cup chicken broth
salt and freshly ground black pepper
poultry seasoning
1 cup Dr Pepper
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
Put chicken broth in your crockpot on a low temperature setting. Season your chicken breasts and put in the crockpot. Let cook for 3 hours and add 1 cup of Dr Pepper. Continue cooking for another 2 hours or until chicken is falling apart. Drain out most of the liquid and add in your favorite BBQ sauce. Let warm up and serve on toasted buns.
Servings: 6
This is a perfect game day treat while watching the football playoffs.
Taco Layer Dip
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 pound ground beef, cooked and drained
1/3 small onion chopped
1 1/2 tbsp taco seasoning mix
1 1/4 cup refried beans
1 cup sour cream
1 cup Mexican cheddar jack shredded cheese blend
1/2 cup black olives, sliced (optional)
taco sauce
Spread softened cream cheese at the bottom of a pie pan. Refrigerate while you cook the ground beef and onions. Stir in taco seasoning mix and let cool slightly. Spread out evenly over cream cheese. Cover with refried beans. Top with sour cream, cheese and black olives. Serve with taco sauce and chips.
Taco Seasoning
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp pepper, freshly ground
1/2 tsp salt
Place in a sealable plastic bag or container that's airtight and mix well.
There's nothing better than an easy Sunday morning breakfast. This is what I created today.
Caramel Sour Dough Pull Aparts
1 large sour dough bread, round
1 stick butter, softened
4 tbsp dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 dash vanilla
1 stick butter, melted
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup milk
Mix together 1 stick of the softened butter, 4 tbsp brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Slice the sour dough bread in 1" slices down to 1/4" of the bottom of the loaf. Butter the slices with a generous amount of the cinnamon butter. Turn loaf of bread and cut 1" slices in the other direction creating 1" cubes of bread still attached in the original loaf shape.
In a greased 2 quart casserole dish, combine 1 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 stick melted butter and milk. Invert sour dough loaf and place in oven.
When baked, carefully turn out loaf unto a baking sheet. Transfer to your favorite serving plate.
Bake for 30 minutes at 325°F
I've been craving some healthy snacks that are better than carrot sticks. I've had a dehydrator sitting idle for a couple years so it was time to dust it off and make good use of it and what better way then something so easy to make. You can also make these in the oven on a low heat.
Cinnamon Apple Chips
3 apples, I used Fuji
2 cups cold water
2 tbsp lemon juice
Cinnamon to dust, I used Ceylon Cinnamon
Slice your apples, I used a mandoline for even slices. Cut down to the seeds, turn apple over and cut the opposite side and then cut the edges for rectangular chips. Put into a bowl of cold water and lemon juice. When ready to dry, gently pat the slices dry, dust with cinnamon and put in single layers in your dehydrator and run for 12 hours or on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a 200°F oven for an hour.
This year is off to a wonderful start with another new recipe to share ~
Hot Honey Chicken
1 pound chicken breast strips
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp raspberry vinegar
1 dash hot sauce
Heat a cast iron frying pan. When hot add extra virgin olive oil and chicken. When the chicken is partially cooked, add in your spice mixture. Coat evenly and continue cooking. When done, coat with honey vinegar mixture and put in oven for 10-15 minutes.
Bake at 350°F
Happy New Year! Here's two new recipes that I made today to celebrate the new year.
Peach Pancakes
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup peach juice
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup peaches, peeled and diced (frozen work great)
Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl, Mix milk, juice, vanilla and melted butter together and gradually add into dry ingredients.
Servings: 12
Here's the warm sauce that I made and then topped with whipped cream ~
Warm peach sauce
1 1/2 cups peach puree
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
Cook all ingredients together until the sauce thickens. Let cool slightly and serve over pancakes or waffles.
