by ·0 Comments

 

Over time, I learned that people who can make the best out of any kind of situation are the people who are the happiest. I am not one of those people. But sometimes it may come as a surprise and I end up trying to make the best out of a bad situation unknowingly. This weekend was one of those days where none of my plans took place. I don’t get many weekends to waste, so I was very much upset. I have literally made the situation better by baking these biscuits. Delightfully delicious warm biscuits. I made my biscuits from scratch but you don’t have to. I have both the recipes here.

Biscuit Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

  • All-purpose flour- 1 cup
  • Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp.
  • Granulated sugar- 1 1/2 tsp.
  • Salt- 1/8 tsp.
  • Unsalted butter, cold 4 Tbs. or 1/4 cup
  • Buttermilk, at room temperature- 1/2 cup

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Slice the cold butter into cubes and cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender until a crumbly dough forms. Add the buttermilk slowly and stir until the dough becomes moistened.
  2. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough gently a few times. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Dip the edges of a 2-1/2 inch circle cutter in flour, then use it to cut the dough into circles. Re-roll the remaining dough to cut additional biscuits.
  3. Place the biscuit dough circles in a cast iron skillet or on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the edges are slightly golden, about 15 minutes. Place the biscuits on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm with the toppings of your choice.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Mild sausage (or Hot, I use turkey sausage) – 1 pound
  • All-purpose flour – 4 Tbs
  • Milk – 2 cups of Cream cheese (cubed)- 6 oz
  • Black pepper to taste
  • Red pepper flakes (optional)- 1 pinch
  • Biscuits (Pillsbury Grands) – 18 5/16 oz

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 9×13-inch glass baking dish with non-stick spray.
  2. In a large non-stick skillet cook and crumble sausage over medium-high heat until browned. Drain any grease.
  3. In a medium saucepan heat milk over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Stir constantly until thickened. About 3 or 4 minutes. Add cubed cream cheese to milk and cook and stir until cream cheese is melted and all combined.
  4. Pour gravy into a prepared baking dish. Spread out evenly. Sprinkle cooked sausage evenly over gravy. Top with a little black pepper and pinch of red pepper flakes, if desired.
  5. Remove biscuits from can and place on top of sausage and gravy. ( I only fit 6 for looks. You can squeeze in the other 2 if you’re not worried about that. You can bake the other 2 alongside the casserole OR you can cut up all the biscuits into quarters and place the quarters all over the top.)
  6. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until biscuits are golden-brown and cooked through. (You may need to cover the top with foil the last five minutes to prevent tops from burning.)

https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Quick-_-Easy-Buttermilk-Biscuits-2132947

https://www.yummly.com/recipe/Biscuits-and-Gravy-Casserole-1268276

by ·0 Comments

Given the right situation, a person can find out his/her strength. They can learn what they are capable of and what they can do without. I always thought that I couldn’t cook anywhere except my own kitchen, with my own things, and most importantly my own privacy. It has been a while now that I don’t have my own place where things are my own to call and organize. But now I know that cooking is something that I can do anywhere as long as I have ingredients to work with. I made these sweet potatoes while I was helping someone house-sit. I looked around and found these sweet potatoes and got inspired and put together a meal within an hour for 6 people. Sometimes, it really takes one little spark to ignite an idea and you just have to run with it. I’ve made these a few times since then, they will not be crispy but they are delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

  • Butter (melted)- 3 Tbs
  • Olive Oil- 3 Tbs
  • Rosemary crushed- Dried 1/4 tsp, fresh 1/2 tsp
  • Sweet Potatoes- 3 lbs, (3-4 medium, peeled and sliced thinly)
  • Shallots- 1 (peeled and sliced thinly)
  • Kosher salt- 1 dash
  • Black pepper- 1 dash

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
  2.  Combine melted butter, oil and crushed rosemary in a small bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons of butter-oil mixture in the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Arrange potato slices vertically in the dish. Add a sliver of shallot between every few slices of potato. Brush top with remaining butter-oil mixture. Season generously with salt and pepper.
  3.  Cover dish with foil and roast for 1 hour, covered, until potatoes are tender (If your potato slices are thicker than shown, you may need to increase cooking time). Increase oven heat to 450 degrees F. Remove foil and roast another 10-15 minutes until tops of potatoes are browned and crisp.

Crispy Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

by ·0 Comments

IMG_0824

 

The happiest people seem to be those who have no particular reason for being happy except that they are so.
-W.R. Inge
Clergyman and Writer
I try very hard to remember that but if all else fails I simply cook. That makes me happy. Here is a recipe from that weekend of fun cooking.
INGREDIENTS
  • Sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into 1inch cubes) – 2 1/2 pounds
  • Light brown sugar – 3/4 cups
  • Butter (softened) – 1/4 cups
  • Salt – 11/2 tsp
  • Vanilla extract – 1/2 tsp
  • Ground cinnamon – 1/2 tsp
  • Nutmeg – 1 pinch
  • Pecans (chopped and divided) – 1/2 cups
  • Cooking spray
  • Marshmallows – 2 cups

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Place the sweet potatoes in a pot with 1/3 cup of cold water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes or until very tender. Drain. Let cool slightly.
  3. Transfer sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Add brown sugar, butter, salt, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1/4 cup of pecans. Mash sweet potato mixture with a potato masher.
  4. Spray an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer the sweet potato mixture into an even layer. Add remaining pecans and top with marshmallows. Bake for 25 minutes or until marshmallows is toasted. Remove from oven. Scoop and serve.
http://www.yummly.co/#recipe/Classic-Sweet-Potato-Casserole-1935012

by ·0 Comments

IMG_0827

INGREDIENTS
  • Whole cauliflower – 1
  • Eggs –  2
  • Olive oil – 1/4 cups
  • Breadcrumbs – 3/4 cups
  • Paprika – 2 tsp
  • Garlic powder – 1 tsp
  • Salt – 1 tsp
  • Pepper – 1 tsp

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Chop cauliflower into small bite size pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 eggs and 1/4 cup of olive oil.
  4. Pour the mixture over the cauliflower and stir well. Make sure the cauliflower pieces are well coated.
  5. In a separate bowl, combine 3/4 cup of bread crumbs, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp of pepper.
  6. Take the cauliflower pieces and drop them into the dry mixture.
  7. Once the pieces are covered in the bread crumbs place them on a prepared baking sheet.
  8. Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes.

http://www.yummly.co/#recipe/Oven-Roasted-Crunchy-Cauliflower-1707513