Thursday, September 4, 2008

Chicken Fried Steak and Cheesy Garlic Biscuits

I made these biscuits before, and they were SO GOOD I took them to my moms to share. I think I got her hooked too :) We added extra stuff to the steak gravy, which made it taste a little "off" so I won't put that in here.



I got these from Joyful Abode. I love her step by step pictures, and each thing I've tried of hers turned out great!

http://www.joyfulabode.com/blog/2008/03/08/cheesy-garlic-biscuits-a-la-red-lobster-step-by-step-easy-recipe/

Set your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a cooking sheet with nonstick spray.
Dump into a bowl: 2 cups of buttermilk biscuit mix (like Bisquick or Jiffy mix), 1/2 a teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1 to 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.

Stir everything together.

Pour in about 2/3 cups of milk. Stir until combined.

Use the two-spoon method to drop lumps of the dough onto your cookie sheet.

Stick them in the oven and set the timer to 10 minutes. Now, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter and stir in 2 teaspoons of oregano and 1 teaspoon of garlic salt (I used minced garlic and garlic powder).

When the timer goes off brush some of the butter mixture over each biscuit (I didn't have a brush so I poured with a spoon). Then, pop them back into the oven for another 5-6 minutes or until they’re lightly browned. If you’d like, you can brush them with the garlic-herb butter again and let it soak in before you serve them.

http://www.joyfulabode.com/blog/2008/03/03/country-fried-steak-with-gravy-again/

Prepare a dredge of flour, salt, and pepper. And beat a couple of eggs in a separate bowl.

Dip the meat in the flour, then in the egg, then in the flour mix again. Pan-fry in a few tablespoons of olive oil until golden brown on the outside and cooked through.

Then, set the meat aside and cover to keep warm.

Add a bit of butter to the drippings and dump in the rest of the flour mix (a few tablespoons probably). Mix this up and cook it about a minute, until it’s bubbly and colored a bit.
Add some milk, and cook until thickened. Add some more milk, and thicken again. Add more salt and pepper.

Pour it over your country fried steaks.

Apple Pie



Recipe to Follow.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Tortilla Chips

It said on the recipe "other variations" so being the rebel I am, I used only those :) Some chips were covered in just cheese and salt, some were covered in sugar and cinnamon, others salt and paprika. I didn't use ANY measurements, just winged it with what looked like enough. As much as I loved the cinnamon and sugar, the cheese was probably the best, only because it was "normal."


http://www.peanutbutterboy.com/2008/03/low-fat-healthy-baked-tortilla-chips.html

Ingredients:Regular 4" corn tortillas
Cooking spray
Salt (large grain preferred)
Seasoning (cumin, paprika, lime juice, etc...)

Variations:
- Top with fat-free shredded cheddar cheese
- Use cinnamon & sugar instead

Instructions:1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Make a stack of 8 tortillas on a cutting sheet. Cut with a large sharp knife in 8 equal triangle-shaped sections by first cutting the tortillas in half, then in half again, and so forth. Cover 2 baking sheets with tin foil and arrange chips in one layer. 8 tortillas should easily fit on 2 baking sheets.

2. Spray the trays with cooking spray and sprinkle salt and spices or cinnamon & sugar on top. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until beautifully browned

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Cinnamon Curry Tunafish

It sounds interesting, but I can't express how AMAZING this was. I put it on these awesome multigrain crackers we got from Costco, which made it even better. I ended up adding alot more cinnamon than it called for, but I did it to taste, so I don't remember how much it was.






2 (6 ounce) cans water packed tuna, drained and flaked
2 teaspoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a bowl, mix the tuna, mayonnaise, mustard, relish, lemon juice, cinnamon, curry powder, pepper, and salt. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Double Peanut Butter Cheesecake Swirled Brownies

I got this from Baking Blonde. It was very rich, and finally something turned out perfect! I made it especially for Daddy's Day.







Chocolate Mix
3/4 cup butter, very soft (not melted but softer than room temp)
1 cup sugar
1 TBS vanilla extract
2 large eggs1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
1 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp salt
Peanut Butter/Cheesecake Mix
4 oz cream cheese, softened1/2 cups creamy PB
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

5-6 Reese’s peanut butter cups (regular size) cut into 6-8 pieces each
IMPORTANT: Do NOT omit the Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. They take these brownies over the top and add the “Double” Peanut Butter taste the title tepts tastebuds with

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8×8″ square pan with foil and lightly coat with PAM cooking spray.
In a microwave safe bowl melt the two baking chocolate squares in 30 second intervals stirring after each interval until smooth and melted after stirring. Do not scortch! Remove from microwave and allow to come to room temperature.
In a large mixing bowl, Beat together butter and sugar until combined. Beat in eggs one at a time until blended. Add vanilla and melted chocolate. Mix to combine. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and wisk together. Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture. Do not overmix.

In separate mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, peanut butter sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg and beat until just combined.
Spread about 2/3 of chocolate brownie batter into prepared pan. Evenly drop 1/2 of cheesecake batter in dollups over brownie batter. Run a knife through both mixtures to slightly swirl.
Dollop remaining brownie batter and cheesecake batter over swirled mixture. Run knife through the browine and cheesecake dollups (not all the way through the already swirled layer) to create a swirled pattern.

Bake for 40-45 minutes**, or until center is set and a toothpick inserted in the center has a few crumbs stuck to it. Do not overbake or they will harden, if underbaked they will be too gooey. Every oven is different so watch and check these after about 35-40 minutes of baking to ensure propper doneness.
**After about 35-40 minutes of baking (with about 5-7 minutes of baking time left, you just need to eyeball it) gently place cut up Reese’s cups over top of almost fully baked brownies. Finish baking until a toothpick inserted in the center has a few crumbs stuck to it. The Reese’s PB cups will melt but hold their shape slightly. Cool completely on wire rack before cutting and serving.

NOTE 2/13/08: I changed and added 5-7 minutes the baking time as a few people who have made the recipe indicated a longer bake time was needed than oringinally posted. The recipe listed above reflects those changes.All ovens are different so be sure to keep an eye on your brownies to prevent overbaking. Brownies are done when a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs stuck to it.

Nacho Cheese Dip

I pulled a recipe off the internet and tweaked it to fit what we had in the kitchen. It was DELICIOUS with the Spinach and Artichoke chips from Target, the Archer Farm brand.





1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 bag shredded cheese (we used mix of monterey jack and pepper jack)
1/2 bottle of salsa
1/2 can bean dip
Taco Seasoning
(follow directions on seasoning pouch for the milk and water amount)

In 1 large skillet brown the meat
Add taco seasoning and milk and water
In another large skillet combine salsa, bean dip, and cheese over medium low heat until melted
Combine the meat and cheese sauce

Easy and quick, just what I wanted last night!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Chewy S'More Brownie

Although my pan overbaked the brownie mix, I still enjoyed it. I just hope my daring test subjects REALLY liked it :) Next time I'll bake less time in less temperature and oversee it more carefully.


1 package fudge brownie mix
1 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
Golden Graham Cereal or 10 graham cracker halves
2/3 cups chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 325 for a dark pan).
Grease bottom of 9x9-inch or 8x8-inch pan. (I only had a 9x13 so they turned out thinner than normal)
Prepare brownies according to package directions.

Immediately, upon removal from oven, sprinkle marshmallows and chocolate chips over warm brownie surface.
Return to hot oven for about 2 minutes to melt.
Arrange graham crackers or cereal on top of hot marshmallows and press down lightly.