Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Stuffing

This is my roughly my mother's stuffing recipe - she wasn't interested in sharing her infamous recipe...and because there's no written recipe I'm basically going by what I've seen her do. I love her stuffing sooooo much, it's one of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes so I HAD to share it with you guys. It's fairly easy and delicious. I've included pictures of the stuffing mix and sausage she uses. Enjoy..





Ingredients
1 stick butter
2 cups diced onions
2 cups diced celery
2 cups green or red bell peppers
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1lb breakfast sausage
1 1/2 - 2 bags of Arnold's or Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix
1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning (recommended: Bell's)
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups chicken or turkey stock

Directions
In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Saute the onions, celery and peppers for 5 minutes. Next, add the sausage and cook until browned, about 10 more minutes, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, mix the seasonings, eggs and stuffing mix. Then add the cooked vegetables and sausage and mix again. Finally, add the stock and mix well. There will be enough stuffing for a 10 to 15-pound bird and an 8 by 8-inch pan.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Buttermilk Cornbread


Cornbread. From scratch, it's easy!


Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup butter

Monday, November 19, 2012

Glazed Ham

I'm not a big turkey eater on T Day I enjoy the ham MUCH more! Here is an interesting recipe from Ina Garten I haven't had a chance to make it yet but it sounds tasty, way different than anyone in my family makes it...Enjoy


Glazed Ham

1 medium smoked ham
6 cloves garlic
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon mango chutney (or orange)
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
Zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup   freshly squeezed orange juice (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Place ham in a heavy roasting pan.

To make the glaze, mince garlic in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients; process until smooth.

Pour glaze over ham and bake for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until ham is fully cooked and glaze is well browned. Serve hot or at room temperature.


Sunday, November 18, 2012

Pie Crust

In case you guys didn't know I have a home based catering company and I specialize in baked goods. I strongly believe in making everything from scratch and despise boxed cakes, cookies and pies. BUT I have a secret I'm terrible with pie crust! My hands are always warm and they always melt the butter! Whenever I need to make a crust from scratch I always recruit my mom. Two crust that I can make well are the classic graham cracker crust and my personal remix the Nilla wafer crust. One night while making a cheesecake I randomly decided to use nilla wafers instead of graham crackers and fell in love. Both of them are terribly easy to make and tasty....Enjoy! 


Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients

  • about 12 graham crackers , finely ground (1 1/2 cups)
  • 5 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • Directions
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pulse graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined.
  • Firmly press crumb mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Bake until crust golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Let 
  • cool completely before filling



Nilla Wafer Crust

Ingredients
40 vanilla wafers, finely crushed
2 tablespoons sugar 
1/4 cup butter, melted 
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Directions
In a bowl mix together all ingredients.
Press into an even layer against bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree  oven for 6-8 minutes.
Cool before filling








Saturday, November 17, 2012

Sweet Potato Casserole

Fun Fact I HATE CANDIED YAMS!!! But one year I went to my cousins house for Thanksgiving (hey Nita) She made this sweet potato soufflĂ© and I really enjoyed it. I sort of recreated it with this sweet potato casserole. Yes its sweet, yes it’s made from yams but no it does not taste like those God awful candied yams. LOL of course you can tweak it to your liking with the amount of sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon you add.



Ingredients

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes

2 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ cup melted butter

½ - ¾ cup cream (or milk)

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract



Topping

½ cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

½ cup chopped walnuts

½ cup chopped pecans

3 tablespoons melted butter

1 cup mini marshmallows (optional)



Directions:

Mix all of the casserole ingredients together until well blended.

Spread into a buttered casserole dish.

Mix topping ingredients (except marshmallows) together and sprinkle over the casserole.

Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.

If topping with marshmallows, place them on the casserole and bake for an addition 5-7 minutes or until marshmallows have melted.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

01-29-1013

Peaches & Cream Muffins

These muffins are a Paula Deen recipe that I started using a few years ago & they are amazing! I don’t use the full two sticks of butter - it’s way too much - but to each his own... I make this recipe mainly for breakfast and brunch but when I do want them to go with dinner I omit the peaches and vanilla & just make “cream muffins” they are delicious AND fattening but hey it’s Thanksgiving!



Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (15-ounce) can sliced peaches, drained and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (I use diced peaches)


Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the cups of a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, butter, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Gently fold in the peaches.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a serving platter and serve immediately or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, before storing.

Crispy Potato Roast

I make these potatoes all the time! Of course I have to tweak the original recipe…I add chopped garlic & seasoned salt.


Ingredients
3 TBL SPOONS BUTTER, MELTED
3 TBL SPOONS OLIVE OIL
4 POUNDS RUSSET POTATOES
4 SHALLOTS THICKLY SLICED LENGTHWISE (or onions)
COARSE SALT
½ TSP TO 1 TSP RED PEPPER FLAKES
8 SPRIGS THYME


Directions
PREHEAT OVEN TO 375

IN A SMALL BOWL COMBINE BUTTER AND OIL, BRUSH BOTTOM OF A 9 INCH BAKING DISH WITH SOME OF THE BUTTER MIXTURE. SLICE POTATOS VERY THINLY CROSSWISE.

ARRANGE POTATO SLICES VERTICALLY IN DISH, WEDGE SHALLOTS THROUGHOUT. SPRINKLE WITH SALT AND RED PEPPER FLAKES, BRUSH WITH REMAINING BUTTER MIXTURE BAKE FOR AN HOUR AND 15 MIN ADD THYME (SPRINKLE ON TOP) AND BAKE UNTIL POTATOES ARE COOKED THROUGH WITH A CRISP TOP, ABOUT 35 MIN MORE.


If you don’t have shallots you can totally use onions which I often do. Simple. Easy. Tasty. Enjoy.

Over The Rainbow


This is Ms. Patti Labelle's infamous mac and cheese recipe, I've used it quite a few times and it's awesome! Of course I had to tweak it - I personally double the amount of cheese (except the velveeta) I also omit the seasoned salt. Enjoy.


1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1lb Elbow Macaroni
8 Tbsp (1 stick) plus 1 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) Shredded Muenster Cheese
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) Shredded Monterey Jack
2 Cups Half-And-Half
1 Cup (8 ounces) Velveeta , cut into small cubes
2 Large Eggs , lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/8 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper

DIRECTIONS:


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a deep 2 1/2-quart casserole.

2. Bring the large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the oil, then the elbow macaroni, and cook until the macaroni is just tender, about 7 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain well. Return to the cooking pot.

3. In a small saucepan, melt eight tablespoons of the butter. Stir into the macaroni. In a large bowl, mix the Muenster, mild and sharp Cheddar, and Monterey Jack cheeses. To the macaroni, add the half-and-half, 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, the cubed Velveeta, and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the buttered casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and dot with the remaining one tablespoon of butter.

4. Bake until it's bubbling around the edges, about 35 minutes. Serve hot.