Sausage & Cheese Muffins

Sundays are always a good day for something warm and filling to start off your day.  I like to make these muffins.  Normally I use hot Italian sausage and cheddar but I mixed it up and used mild Italian sausage with creamy Fontina cheese.

Sausage & Cheese Muffins

1/2 pound mild Italian sausage, browned and excess fat drained off
2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter melted
1 cup milk
1 large egg slightly beaten
3/4 cup Fontina cheese shredded

Mix together dry ingredients.  Gradually add in milk, butter and egg.  Add in cooled Italian sausage and cheese.  Grease standard or large muffin pans and fill each cup 2/3 full.  Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown at 350°.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from cups.

Makes 12 regular size muffins.

Turkey & Brie Poutine

Also known as Thanksgiving poutine because it's a great way to use your leftovers and this is the last of mine.

Turkey & Brie Poutine

Fries ~

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp extra light virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a small bowl.  Mix spices in a separate small bowl.  Drizzle olive oil over potatoes.  Toss in spices and make sure the fries are evenly coated.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350°.

Gravy ~ I used my leftover gravy from Thanksgiving

1 cup turkey breast, cut into small pieces
3 oz brie

Place baked french fries at the bottom of an oven ready pan. Top with turkey and brie.  Return to oven for 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with 1/4 cup turkey gravy.  Sprinkle 1/4 tsp parsley on top and serve.

Turkey Fried Rice

Besides Black Friday, it's the national day of what to do with those Thanksgiving leftovers.  I decided to make some fried rice which is pretty much a delicious opposite of what I had yesterday.  

Turkey Fried Rice

1 1/2 cups turkey, cut into bite size pieces
2 cups rice, preferably cooked the day before but 4 hours before works too
1 large egg, beaten
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup carrots, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup peas
1/4 cup onions, minced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Chili garlic sauce

In a large frying pan or wok,  put in carrots and olive oil and cook until tender.  Add in peas, onions and garlic and cook for a couple minutes.  Pour beaten egg on top and stir until cooked.  Add in turkey, rice and sauces and mix together.  Serve when the turkey and rice are heated.

Happy Thanksgiving ~

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving with good food shared by family and friends ~

Peach Salsa Chicken

Usually the night before Thanksgiving is a night to start preparations for the next day and you need an easy dinner to make.  This chicken is so easy to make that you can still work on cranberries or a salad as you make it.  It has lots of flavor and the chicken is moist...perfect combo.

Peach Salsa Chicken

2-4 chicken breasts
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup of your favorite peach salsa

Brown the chicken breasts in extra virgin olive oil.  Season with freshly ground pepper and salt (the amount depends on how salty your favorite salsa is).

Place in a baking dish and cover with one cup of salsa.  Bake at 325°F for 20 minutes. 

Cranberry Chambord Ice Cream

Everyone needs a holiday ice cream and what better for Thanksgiving than a cranberry ice cream.  I added the Chambord for fun but you can leave it out if you are serving children or someone that prefers not to have alcohol.  

Cranberry Chambord Ice Cream

12 oz fresh cranberries
1/4 cup water

Rinse and sort the cranberries and then place in a large saucepan with the water.  Cook over medium heat until the berries pop...approximately 15 minutes.

Allow to cool before running through a food mill and returning to the saucepan.

Add in with cranberry sauce ~

1 cup sugar
2 cups whipping cream
3/4 cup milk

Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves.  Remove from heat, cool and place in the refrigerator for a couple hours.  When chilled, add in 2 tbsp Chambord (optional) and place in ice cream maker and run per manufacturer's directions.

Pumpkin Bread

I managed to escape making pumpkin anything so far this fall.  The marketplace seems to be filled with pumpkin spice coffees, teas, everything.  I went back to my roots and made this simple but moist bread.

Pumpkin Bread

1/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raisins

Cream together shortening and sugar.  Add in pumpkin and eggs.  Add in the dry ingredients.  Fold in raisins.  Place in a greased bread pan.  Bake for 1 hour at 375°.

Orange Ricotta Waffles

I opted for waffles instead of pancakes to use with my cranberry syrup.  Maybe I just like the way the syrup pools in the little pockets or it could be that I didn't feel like my pancake flipping technique wasn't going to make pretty cakes this morning.  It turned out delicious so that's what matters, right?

Orange Ricotta Waffles

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp orange zest
2 large eggs, separated
3 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup ricotta
3/4 cup milk

Sift all dry ingredients and zest into a large bowl.  In a small bowl, beat egg whites until light and fluffy.  Gradually mix milk, egg yolks, butter, ricotta, orange juice into dry ingredients.  Gently fold in the egg whites.

Bake per your waffle makers instructions.

Makes 6 waffles

Cranberry Pear Sauce

I started playing with recipes for Thanksgiving a little early for some of the sides this year and as you might have noticed, cranberries has been the star of quite a few now.   I've mixed cranberries with applies before and orange juice so I wanted to try something a little bit different and decided on pears.  The mellow flavor of the pears works well with the slight tartness of the cranberries.

Cranberry Pear Sauce

12 oz fresh cranberries

3/4 cup cranberry juice

3/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup pears, diced

Put cranberries, juice, sugars and salt in a medium saucepan.  Set at a medium heat and bring to a boil.  Stir occasionally and wait until the berries pop, approximately 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in the pears.  Gently pour into your serving dish and allow to cool.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cranberry Syrup

I do enjoy cranberries in all forms.  I was tempted to use fresh cranberries to make this syrup but opted for a more traditional clear syrup this time for pancakes and waffles.  This is a wonderful start for your holiday breakfast plans.  I'm going to make orange ricotta pancakes to go with mine but a nice cinnamon pancake or waffle will also be pretty tasty.

Cranberry Syrup

2 cups cranberry juice
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp cornstarch

Mix the cornstarch with 1/2 cup of the cranberry juice.  Add to the remainder of the juice, sugar, corn syrup and salt in a large saucepan.  Thicken over a low heat, stirring frequently.

Cranberry Ketchup

It's cranberry season and I've stocked up for the coming months.  Has anyone else noticed that the berries seem smaller this year?  I decided my first cranberry recipe would be a ketchup.  I really enjoyed the blackberry ketchup that I made this summer and wanted to try it with these tart, little berries.

Cranberry Ketchup

1 bag (12 oz) cranberries, rinsed and sorted
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup onions, minced1/2 cup dark brown sugar
3 tbsp honey1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ancho chili pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Mix the cranberries, onions, vinegar and water in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cook until the berries pop.  Remove berries from pan and run through a food mill.  Return strained mixture to the pan, add spices, dark brown sugar and honey and simmer until it thickens to a consistency that you like.  

Italian Cheese Flatbread

I wanted something to go along with my Tuscan Chicken & Corn chowder.  I decided to stay with the Italian flavors and make a flatbread.  It takes over a little over an hour and a half to make this so I started the yeast as I was starting my soup.  I added ground red pepper flakes to the bread but if you don't like heat, they can easily be left off.  

Italian Cheese Flatbread

1 cup warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar

Mix together in a large glass measuring cup or glass bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.  

In a large bowl, combine the following ~

2 cups bread flour
1 tsp sea salt

After the 10 minutes, stir in the yeast mixture and 2 tbsp garlic olive oil in the flour with a wooden spoon.  Mix until the flour is all incorporated and the dough naturally forms a ball and pulls away from the sides.  Cover and let sit for a half hour or until the dough has doubled.  

Knead on a floured surface (it may take up to another 1/4 cup of bread flour) for 5 minutes.  Roll out the dough to the size of your greased baking sheet.  Lay down on the sheet and top with the following ~

1/4 cup Fontina cheese, shredded
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp ground crushed red pepper flakes

Bake at 350° for 22 minutes.

Tuscan Chicken & Corn Chowder

It's been on the chilly side outside and unfortunately snow has made a reappearance.  Time to make soup to help keep you warm inside and out.  I had some frozen corn and carrots from summer that worked great for this soup and dried herbs to add an Italian taste.

Tuscan Chicken & Corn Chowder

1# chicken breasts, cubed into bite size pieces
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup carrots, diced
2 cups sweet corn, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp rosemary
1/4 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf 
2 dashes hot sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in the bottom of your soup kettle or dutch oven.  Add in cubed chicken and cook until it's no longer pink, stir often.  Once cooked, add in chicken brother, carrots, corn and herbs and cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender.  Add in milk and hot sauce and reduce heat to a simmer.  Add in the salt and freshly ground pepper to your taste.  Allow to cook for another 15 minutes before serving.

Apple Butter Meatballs .

It's already time to use some of that fresh apple butter that I made and what better way to use them but for snacks for watching football and hockey.  And the sauce is so delicious that I'm going to make some ribs with the same simple recipe.

Apple Butter Meatballs

1# extra lean ground beef
1 large egg
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp parsley
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Place all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl.  Hand mix until all the ingredients are combined.  Form into 1 1/2" meatballs.  Bake on a baking sheet for 25 minutes at 350°.  Place in a crock pot or large saucepan that has the following combined in ~

1/2 cup apple butter
1/2 cup bbq sauce ~ I used Minnesota Lakes BBQ Sauce

Stir to coat the meatballs and allow to cook for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Dr Pepper Roast Beef

Don't worry...that roast that you just spent a small fortune on will not taste like Dr Pepper but it will be moist and tender.  Plus all you do is put all the ingredients in your crock pot early in the day, turn it once halfway through and it's done.

Dr Pepper Roast Beef

1 - roast beef - I used a 2 1/2# Eye of Round Choice Roast
1 cup beef broth

1 cup Dr Pepper

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Place the beef broth and Dr Pepper in your crock pot.  Add in roast and season.  Cook for 4 hours at a medium low heat.  Turn the roast and continue cooking for an additional 4 hours.  

Apple Butter

It's that time of the year again.  Actually it's a little late but the apples are still good so it was time to get some apple butter made for the winter.  I made it in the crock pot so the apples cooked down overnight and were ready to go first thing in the morning.

Apple Butter

3 lbs apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ginger

Put sliced apples into a crockpot with water and lemon juice.  Cook until apples are tender. Puree apples in a food mill or I took an easy way and used an immersion blender.

Add sugar and bring to a low boil.  Add spices and stir well.

Put into clean, dry jars leaving 1/2" head space.  Put into boiling water bath for 12 minutes.

Buttermilk Chicken

There's a lot of ways to make buttermilk chicken and I've made quite a few and will continue doing so because it always is the most moist and flavorful chicken.  Today I used bread crumbs instead of the typical flour breading and it turned out great.  I marinaded these for 8 hours but it works leaving them overnight in the refrigerator too.

Buttermilk Chicken

3-4 bone-in chicken breasts
1 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp lemon juice

Place the chicken breasts, buttermilk and lemon juice in a gallon size plastic bag that seals and place in your refrigerator for at least 4 hours.


1 cup plain breadcrumbs
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp parsley
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Place all these ingredients in another gallon plastic bag or empty bread bag works too.  Close the opening and shake so they are all mixed together.  Add in chicken breasts, one at a time, and shake.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.

Sweet Potato Marshmallow Dip

A wicked strong wind in the valley and a neighborly state football game is a good time to stay indoors and watch tv with a fun snack.  Today's snack is a tasty combination of marshmallows, honey & cinnamon to dip sweet potato fries in.  The fries today are plain but you can easily spice them up with a little cumin, paprika and garlic powder.  The dip only takes a few minutes to create so you have plenty of time while the fries are baking.

Sweet Potato Marshmallow Dip

3/4 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan.  Stir frequently over a low heat until the marshmallows melt and the dip is warm.