Parmesan Knots

I am a lover of bread and always have been, so when a soon to be in law posted on facebook that she had just made parmesan knots and they were delicious... I was very intrigued. I looked the recipe up and when I saw they were made with canned biscuits I was very excited. I had not-so-recently bought a TON of canned biscuits because they were on sale plus coupon. The only problem was they were in cans of 8... and there is only two of us. So I had been saving them for recipes... recipes which I had not tried looking for because I have so many other things going on.

The original recipe is on allrecipes.com and makes 60 knots. I scaled it down quite a bit, but it did say they freeze/reheat wonderfully if you want to go ahead and make 60.

Parmesan Knots
allrecipes.com - with slight changes

one 16.something oz can of Grands Buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits)
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon evoo
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons parmesan (shaker parm)
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
pepper

preheat oven to 450*

cut each biscuit in half, roll each half out into a 6-8 inch rope, tie in a knot, set on baking sheet/stone. mix the rest of the ingredients.

here is where my recipe differs from theirs - theirs says to bake the biscuits and THEN brush on the mix. i brushed on the mix, baked and then made another batch of mix and brushed on again. do which ever you like. I can only attest to my method and I was very pleased with my results.

Either way, they bake for about 10 minutes, watch for browning around 8 minutes and take them out a little early if necessary.

~~~~~

These were SO good. You could of never guessed that they were made from biscuits. This recipe is one of those that transforms something everyday into something totally different. It's also very easy and very addicting. I made 16, planned on freezing the leftovers and there were only 6 left over!


Camera phone picture - sorry!! I'm pretty certain I accidentally threw my camera battery charger away....

Spin Off

My go to beer bread recipe is wonderful. But like everything else, it gets old after a while. Its just so darn easy to whip up though, so I thought I would put a spin on it and create something new.

I was inspired by this recipe, but just did not have the time or ingredients to make biscuit dough from scratch.

Bacon Cheddar Beer Muffins
recipe by me, inspired by TPW

2 and 2/3 a cup self rising flour
one 12 oz beer (i always use michelob ultra when making bread)
half pound bacon, fried and roughly chopped
1 and 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar

preheat the oven to 375*

spray 12 muffin wells with non stick cooking spray

mix all ingredients with a rubber spatula, being sure to scrape the bottom so there isn't any dry flour. divide the mixture evenly into the 12 muffin wells. bake for 25 minutes. let them cool a little in the muffin wells, and then "flip" them onto their side in the well to cool a little longer. best eaten warm.

~~~~~

These were really good! A great spin off!

Fall Dinner

The ultimate fall dinner to me is a great soup with an equally great something to dip in it. Usually that is my cream of mushroom soup, but on a week night.... that doesn't work for me. Although I did use to do it while Bradley and I were dating. But I was trying to impress him and there were a lot of things I did while we were dating. Things that are now biting me in the butt. "Oh I love to clean" "No, don't you move a muscle!" "I will cook, serve you, refill your drink, take your plate away, clean the kitchen, make your lunch for tomorrow. I AM super girl"

Right.

I'm off track as usual. Back to the point. This week some weird things have been happening to me. Right when I am cooking dinner, I start feeling bad. By the time it is ready, I can't even eat. I tried to eat last night and all of it tasted really weird to me. Bradley ate all his and the other half of mine, so it was definitely just me. I thought long and hard about what I was doing different and I have been drinking a LOT of coffee now that its chilly outside and not so much water, if any. So today I am going to change that and hopefully be able to enjoy dinner tonight.

The soup was campbell's tomato - once again, wanted to make my own, time was not on my side - and the sandwich (which is really why I'm blogging this dinner) was a ham and cheese on rosemary focaccia. But the cheese was something the two of us had never eaten, it was havarti. It was really good, the package said to pair it with something sweet. The tomato soup was a little sweet but I think they meant apples or grapes. Either way it was pretty good and I'm glad I have some for sandwiches now.

I made them with just meat and cheese, I forgot to add mustard, and popped them into the toaster oven. Very easy dinner!

Smells Like Fall....

After buying a lot of granny smith apples, even though I knew I have a slight allergy to them (in "raw" form), and eating two and my bottom lip swelling way up.... I knew I had to find a good recipe to use the rest of them.

My favorite accompaniment to a granny smith apple is caramel. I thought back to my caramel apple pie and thought about making one of those, but wanted something easier, with ingredients found in my kitchen and a little lighter!!

My original baking experiment was with this recipe. Don't get me wrong.... GREAT recipe! But you need to make them with cupcake liners, because the heavy caramel chunks sink to the bottom and glue the muffins to the pan. Ok.... plan B.....

I modified and halved the recipe to make 24 mini muffins - sans caramel.

"Fall is So Close" Apple Muffins
adapted from the recipe above

1 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 & 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/8 cup butter, melted
1 & 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 small granny smith apple, peeled and diced (i used a hand chopper)

preheat your oven to 350*

mix the first 4 ingredients and set aside. in a new bowl mix the milk and egg, add the butter and vanilla. Pour into the dry ingredient bowl and mix. Stir in apples. Pour into mini muffin tin and bake for 16 minutes or until bottoms are golden.

~~~~~

The batter is soupy and doesn't do a lot of rising, so fill the hollows up! The end result is very good and reminds you of being outside at Halloween and smelling fresh apples. Or it does me anyway!

"but I hate dill!"

That's what Bradley said when I told him I was making mini cheddar dill muffins to go along with Saturday night's dinner. Little does he know that every time we have my version of tuna "sandwiches" there is a dill mayo to accompany it, and he loves the stuff. It's all in what you tell them.



Even though he hates dill, he loved these muffins. What's not to love? Bread - GOOD! Dill - GOOD! Sharp Cheddar - GOOOOOD!!!











This recipe was originally from Better Homes & Gardens, New Cook Book, Limited Breast Cancer Edition, modified by Amber from Amber's Delectable Delights and further modified by - me! The batter was thick and lumpy, which gave the muffins a real rustic appeal. It also made exactly 18, which worked out great since that is how many wells are in the mini muffin pan.

Cheddar Dill Mini Muffins

1 & 3/4 cups self rising flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/2 teaspoons dried dill
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 to 3/4 cup sharp cheddar

Grease 18 mini muffin wells or line with paper baking cups; set aside. Preheat your oven to 400*
In a medium bowl combine flour, dill and salt; set aside.
In another bowl combine egg, milk, oil and cheese. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy).
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.

Accidental Dinner

Yesterday I completely planned on making my version of chicken casserole with some left over grilled chicken that we had Sunday night, it is one of Bradley's favorites. But when I went to the store and picked up a can of condensed soup for the casserole, I couldn't help but notice the recipe on the back that read "Seafood Tomato Alfredo". Uh... YUM, and it looked so simple! Of course I didn't stick to it, I used it as a crutch to create something totally off course for last nights dinner.

Seafood Tomato Alfredo
recipe by me with help from campbell's (serves 2, maybe 3)

2 tblspns butter
1 clove of garlic, minced
half a small onion, sliced into half moons
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if you're in a spicy mood)
1/2 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom with Roasted Garlic Soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup diced fire roasted tomatoes (canned)
raw shrimp
cooked linguine pasta

heat the butter in a skillet and cook the garlic, onions, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes until the onions are tender. mix in the soup and milk, add the tomatoes and bring to a boil. add your shrimp and cook until they are done. pour the mixture over hot linguine.

~~~~~

Really good! Although, I don't know why they would call it an Alfredo if there is no cheese involved.

As you can probably guess, I had some left over fire roasted tomatoes. Oh, the taste of those tomatoes was SO good by itself!! But, in order to get Bradley to even think about trying them I knew I had to be cunning and mix them with a few things I knew he could not pass up. So I took the left over tomatoes, added a little minced garlic and feta crumbles and served it "bruschetta style" atop toasted sour dough slices.

Pizza, Pizza!!

I can honestly say that I have never made my own pizza. Pizza is usually reserved for those nights when something is going on and there is no time for cooking. Or, since we have a great little Italian restaurant in this tiny town - when the craving strikes!

While we do have a great Italian restaurant, one thing my tiny town does not have is a great grocery store. I was actually shocked to see them selling feta cheese. They only had one kind of canned seasoned tomato sauce, and it was "lasagna style". I figured, "what's the difference?". And, yes, I am sure there is one but at this point... I had no alternative. It worked just as well.

I know I said one of the first things I was going to make when I got the Kitchen Aid was homemade bread. But I am a little scared of working with yeast. I never have.... not that I have ever let that stop me from doing anything else, but I am just not ready yet. I have found comfort in using a great alternative to yeast - beer. Every time I make beer bread I get ohhhhs and ahhhhs of pleasure. If you haven't made it yet.... you really need to.

While browsing pizza dough recipes and sighing at the amount of them that called for yeast, it hit me...... why should this be different from my beer bread? It is the same basic concept isn't it? So I searched for "easy pizza crust" and found this golden treasure...

Easy Pizza Crust
source - Internet

1 cup self rising flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
2/3 cup beer
1 tablespoon olive oil

Combine the first 3 ingredients, then add the next two and stir until smooth and thick (like biscuit dough). Spread over 12" or 13" round pizza pan sprayed with Pam. Bake at 375* for 15 minutes (without toppings)

~~~~~

I used shiner bock beer for this because it is a really dark and full bodied beer and I was hoping it would add a great level of flavor to the crust.


It did, but next time I will just use Michelob Ultra, it just adds a "cracker" taste to dough. Instead of making round pizzas I made two rectangles and I also used my baking stone. I sprinkled it with cornmeal before I, literally, spread the dough out. Don't let the name fool you, this is not a traditional "roll it up into a ball and then roll it out with a pin" dough. It almost has the consistency of batter. I would advise baking it for a little longer if you want a crunchy crust, I wish I had of. Just make sure it doesn't burn. This is what my more visually appealing crust looked like:


From here I sauced them both up with Hunt's Lasagna Style tomato sauce and dubbed Bradley's a "Meat and Cheese Lovers" and mine "Spinach Artichoke and Feta".

The crust was actually very good. Frozen pizzas always have a WAY too thick crust for me. I actually prefer a hand tossed pizza but I want the crust that is under the sauce and toppings to be just paper thin. This was slightly under the "mid way" point of the two, leaning more towards the thin side.

Bradley's had a layer of "5 Cheese Italian Blend" shredded cheese, pepperoni, spicy Italian sausage, bacon and another layer of cheese.


Mine had the cheese blend, spinach, marinated artichoke hearts and feta crumbles.


I put them both back into the oven at 375 for about 25 minutes. The exposed crust really "crunched" up the way we both prefer it to.

Brunch for 2... or 9

Sometimes there is a traveling vendor who sets up in the building across the street from where I work that I affectionately call "The Book Fair", because that is what it was called when I was in school. Although this vendor has books of a more adult nature for purchase. They have a very large selection of cookbooks that I always browse through but hardly ever purchase. But the last time they came, I spotted something I had to have, The Blue Willow Inn's Bible of Southern Cooking. I have used it several times but mostly I enjoy just reading it. It tells you so much about cooking and portion sizes and menus for special occasions. It even has "southern sayings" along with their definitions.


This weekend I was reading it, trying to find something for new for breakfast and came along a recipe for "Cheesey Drop Biscuits". The ingredients were simple, but of course I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I added two more just to complicate things. They can easily be left out, if you prefer a more simple, by the book, kind of life.

Cheesey Drop Biscuits
recipe from "Bible of Southern Cooking"

1 cup self rising flour
1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of shredded cheese

I added 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon parsley.

The directions say to, mix all the ingredients together and drop by spoonfulls onto a greased baking sheet or a baking stone (I had 9 biscuits) and bake in a 350* oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Mine did not turn very golden brown, but were done baking. I'm glad I did not wait for them to turn golden because the bottoms were perfect, any longer and they would of burned. With the addition of the garlic, they were almost like Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits. I've never made the copy cat recipe for those because it calls for bisquick and I hate the taste of bisquick, so it was nice to discover an alternative.

A southern craving -

Yesterday I was craving cornbread like you would not believe. It was to the point that I almost stopped on the way home at Cracker Barrel to buy some. But since I made it for the first time not too long ago, I knew I needed to wait until I got home and make it from scratch.

Corny Cornbread
recipe courtesy of Paula Deen

1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus 1/4 cup for greasing pan
1 cup self-rising cornmeal
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1 cup cream-style corn
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated sharp cheddar, optional
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Generously season a cast iron skillet with up to 1/4 cup vegetable oil. Preheat the pan either in the oven or on the stove over medium-high heat.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, stirring with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until combined. Pour batter into the preheated cast iron skillet. Place skillet in the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. If making individual size corn breads in smaller pans, they will require a shorter cooking time.

~~~~~

Ok so it kinda rose, a lot. It was incredibly thick. But good! Don't get me wrong. I was going to make dressing with the left overs but there wasn't enough left over. The middle wasn't finished, so I turned up the heat to 400* and left it in an extra ten minutes. Very good! Very spicy! If you don't like spicy cornbread, leave out the cayenne, or just use a 1/4 teaspoon.

I'll have a blue Christmas....

So I found this special beer. It's called "Blue". It was actually an accident that I found it at all, it was mistakenly stuck inside the wrong six pack at the store, and when I pulled out the bottle and saw it didn't match the rest, it was like finding a four leaf clover.


It smelled just like a blueberry muffin and tasted the same way. My eyes lit up and Bradley knew just what I was thinking......
Blueberry Beer Bread
recipe courtesy of me

2 & 2/3 cup of self rising flour
1 - 12 oz bottle of blueberry beer
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of blueberries

mix all together with a rubber spatula, pour into a greased loaf pan and bake at 375* for 55 minutes. let cool in pan while sitting on a rack for five minutes, then dump loaf onto rack and continue cooling.

~~~~~

We nibbled on the crusty edges and made moans of stomach pleasing pleasure. I planned on cutting the bread into thick slices and icing each one with a brown sugar glaze. So after dinner I returned to the kitchen to start slicing. First slice, great, second slice, great, third slice.... it started to fall apart.

Now is the place where I have to interrupt and tell you, I'm not perfect. If you think I am perfect, then you have obviously been talking to my parents way too much, haha! I know this announcement may come as a shock to you, so I'm going to allow you some time for this to sink in....

You back? Ok...

Apparently..... something went wrong. I don't know what. Maybe I should of "dropped" the pan a couple of times on the counter to let all the air bubbles out before cooking it. Maybe it was the different beer that I used. Maybe it was the addition of fruit. Maybe this certain combination needed a lower temperature with a longer cooking time. Whatever the crap it was, it made me MAD! There was a huge air bubble in the middle of the loaf and nothing around the bubble cooked. I wouldn't call it "raw" because there are no eggs in the dough.... it was probably edible, but I wasn't going to risk it. I had to tearfully throw the loaf away. Which then lead to an inevitable pity party where I gave up cooking and apologized to Bradley for being such a bad wife. This was after the cornbread didn't cook in the middle and for whatever reason I messed up mashed potatoes, which I didn't even know you could do!

At least it took a pretty picture -

"B" is for.... Bring me another piece of that bread!!

I have been saving up for a Kitchen Aid stand mixer so I can really start baking. The main thing I want to bake is bread. I have several recipes saved to christen the mixer. But one bread that really intrigues me is beer bread. I almost bought a mix at the grocery store but it was on the expensive side and I knew there had to be an easier and cheaper way to make it.

People are constantly sending me recipes and cook books, to the point that it is hard to read them all! Mama just gave me a Christmas Edition Women's Day magazine that had several recipes in it. I was skimming through it yesterday and found the tear out recipes they always have. There it was.... a 2 ingredient beer bread. I have 2 ingredients!!! Flour and one beer. I ended up making it a 4 ingredient beer bread, but EXTREMELY easy nonetheless.



Beer Bread
recipe courtesy of Women's Day magazine

2 & 2/3 cup of self rising flour
1 - 12 oz beer (i used Michelob ultra)
1 cup of shredded cheese
a little parsley

Preheat oven to 375*

Lightly butter a loaf pan

Stir ingredients together with a rubber spatula until flour is moist, spread into pan and bake for 55 minutes

Let it cool for 5 minutes in the pan on top of a wire rack, then dump it out onto the rack to finish cooling. Cut into thick slices, smear with butter and enjoy!

~~~~~

This was great great great! It went perfectly with our slow cooker roast and potatoes. To me, it almost tasted like Red Lobster's biscuits. Next time I will add garlic and see what happens. A darker beer would of probably been better but I really liked the way this tasted.

I hate meatloaf!!!

Growing up, my mom never made meatloaf. I had it once at a friend of the family’s house and it was covered in peppers and onions and ketchup… GROSS! Being from a southern family, mama gave me “the look” and I choked down the nasty dish and smiled. But it was s0o0o bad! When I got married I realized that there is only so much you can do with hamburger meat and knew it was up to me to make meatloaf taste great. Fortunately enough, my husband was also a meatloaf hater. I’m not even that big a fan of the word “loaf”. Out of all this came……

The Meatloaf Hater’s Meatloaf
recipe by – me! :D

1 pound ground chuck
1 cup shredded cheese (crumbles work great!)
1 egg
half a sleeve of ritz crackers, crushed
2 big spoonfuls of mayo
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
2 tablespoons mustard

preheat the oven to 350*

dump everything into a big mixing bowl and jump in hands first making sure everything is fully combined. put the mixture into whatever dish you see fit, last night it actually came out looking “loaf-like” but i've been known to make “meat muffins” using my ramekins. into the oven it goes and in ~45 minutes…. you’ve got a marvelous main course my friend ;)

Now, I can't take a bite of meatloaf with out a mashed potato ending, and my husband can't take a mashed potato ending without it being drenched in gravy. So that leads me to my comfort side dish.... mashed potatoes (from a box, don't faint) and milk gravy!


Milk Gravy
recipe by - anyone who has ever had to make gravy without pan drippings!

Melt 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter in a skillet. Once the butter has turned to liquid, sprinkle in a heaping spoonful of flour. Whisk the two together to make sure that all the flour is covered in butter and let it sit until the mixture has browned. Letting it brown will give the illusion that the gravy was made from meat drippings! When it turns brown, whisk in half a cup of milk and half a cup of water. Keep whisking until it starts to boil and thickens up. Add as much or as little freshly ground black pepper and pour over whatever you like!

I usually make garlic bread to go with almost every meal, it is just so easy to make right as the meal is finishing up. But this time I made something different...... may I present to you....

Jim n Nicks Cheese Biscuits
recipe found online and changed... just slightly

1 & 1/2 cups of Self Rising Flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1 & 1/4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup 2% milk
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tspn vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400*

Mix ingredients together with a rubber spatula, and pour into a greased muffin pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done.
They taste JUST like jim n nicks! I can't wait to buy a mini muffin pan and really make them authentic.



The meal was a couple pleaser, as always.