biscuits and EGG gravy

I LOVE biscuits and gravy, except I don't like it with sausage so much. I like it with eggs. This is how I always knew biscuits and gravy. I didn't know people made it with sausage until I went to college. Can you believe that? This is another recipe that came from my great grandpa, Pop, from Arkansas. Once again, I'm not sure if this is something that they came up with on their own on the farm, or if it was something they learned from someone else, but it's been in the family for a very long time. Mr. Fuzz prefers it with sausage, but still enjoys this recipe. He was raised mostly in the south, and once when we were dating, we went out to breakfast, and I watched with fascination as he hand-broke into pieces his biscuits and then dropped them into his plate of sausage and gravy. So weird to me. Every time I make this dish, I try something new. I think it's how I like it now.

1. prepare and bake your favorite biscuit recipe. I like my Pop's biscuits.

2. make hard-cooked eggs (from BH&G New Cookbook):

• 4 eggs (you can do more than 4)
  
• cold water

Place eggs in a single layer in a medium saucepan. Add enough cold water to come 1 inch above the eggs. Bring to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat so water is just below simmering. Cover and cook for 15 minutes; drain.

Run cold water over the eggs or place them in ice water till cool enough to handle; drain.

To peel eggs, gently tap each egg on the countertop. Roll the egg between the palms of your hands. Peel off eggshell, starting at the large end.

3. Prepare white sauce:

• 1/2 stick of butter
  
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups milk

In a small saucepan melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute then remove from heat. Makes 2 cups.

4. To serve, slice hard-cooked eggs into white sauce and gently stir until eggs are covered/combined with white sauce (I like to mash 3/4 of the boiled eggs and stir them in and then garnish with remaining eggs, cut into slices). Slice biscuits in half and place side by side on a plate. Pour egg and sauce mixture over biscuits halves. Garnish with egg slices, if desired. Serve immediately. Best while hot and fresh. I usually serve sausage links on the side and fresh fruit.

sweet chili meatballs

Mr. Fuzz loves these meatballs. We've made them for parties and get-togethers and they are gone lickety-split. (I don't think I've ever actually said lickety-split before). They are great by themselves, as shown above in a bowl with chopsticks, or served inside a hoagie roll to make a sandwich. I just stick these babies in a crockpot for a few hours and they're done. It's that easy. You can make your own meatballs if you have a recipe you like to use. I have found a frozen pre-made brand that I like. I have also noticed that sometimes brand matters.

sweet chili meatballs

2 (32 oz) packages of homestyle meatballs (I'm not sure if Italian style would make a difference)
1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 (12 oz) grape jelly (I like to use Welch's)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 (12 oz) chili sauce (I like to use Homade brand)

Combine ingredients and heat in a crockpot on high until heated through. Serve in hoagie buns or by themselves. If using homemade meatballs, cook them thoroughly before heating it with the sauce. These are the brands that I use:

guy food

Here is an example of something my husband makes when he is hungry. This is why he doesn't do any of the cooking for our family. He calls it the "Delgado Slim". If you know your Spanish, the direct translation of this would be the "Slim Slim". The following pictures and instructions are from his own mouth.

Here's what you need:

One hot dog (I used a ball park frank because they're endorsed by his airness himself Michael Jordan and yes, you will jump higher if you eat this hot dog).

One tortilla

Some cheese (I used medium Cheddar).

Ketchup.

First, select your dog and place it on a microwave safe plate. Microwave that frank for 30 seconds.

While you're microwaving the dog, shred some cheese.

When your dog comes out of the microwave it may look a little deformed, like when Bruce Banner turns into the Incredible Hulk. Don't worry it just makes it more manly and full of flavor that way.

Now take the dog and place it on the tortilla towards one side. Cover it with the shredded cheese and microwave the whole thing for 30 more seconds.

This may look weird but trust me, it's awesome.

Remove it form the microwave and add a line of ketchup parallel to the dog, roll that sucker up, and enjoy!

Now there is one known variation to the Delgado Slim. If you use Bar S brand Turkey Dog, it becomes a Gordo Fatty Monstro. I lived off of the Delgado Slim for 3 months in the bad part of El Paso Texas. I love this food!

Would you eat this? Does this look/sound good to you? Maybe I'll post some of his other atrocities every now and then. I think it's hilarious.

egg rolls

These egg rolls are so versatile. I think it's hard to ruin an egg roll. You can stuff all kinds of things in there.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 pound ground pork (I used chicken for these)
  
• 1 cup finely shredded cabbage
• 1/4 cup finely shredded carrot (if you're in a hurry, buy the coleslaw mix)
  
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup bean sprouts
  
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon chili sauce (this is the Chinese chili sauce-more of a paste)
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water
• Large egg roll wrappers
• vegetable oil for frying
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Place pork in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Remove from heat and drain.(if using chicken, cook by oven or stovetop until done)
   
2. In a medium bowl, mix together pork, cabbage, carrot, green onions, bean sprouts, sesame oil, oyster sauce, ginger, garlic and chili sauce.
3. Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl.
4. Place approximately 1 tablespoon of the pork mixture in the center of egg roll wrappers. Roll wrappers around the mixture, folding edges inward to close (like an envelope-but roll tight). Moisten fingers in the cornstarch and water mixture, and brush wrapper seams to seal.
5. Fry egg rolls in 1-2 inch deep heated vegetable oil. Fry until golden on all sides. You will probably have to turn them. I set them on a plate covered with paper towels to drain oil.
   

easy meatball subs

These aren't my favorite pictures, but these are good sandwiches. Mr. Fuzz said that the cheese looks like Elmer's glue how it melted. If I had shredded the cheese instead of slicing it, then it would look more attractive, but I kind of like seeing the bumps of the meatballs underneath. This is one of the fastest sandwiches to make if you are using precooked and frozen meatballs, pre-shredded mozzarella, and bottled sauce. I have store bought meatballs that I like to use, but I would love to make my own. I just haven't found a recipe that I love.

Meatball Subs

hoagie rolls
meatballs
mozzarella cheese
marinara sauce, or other tomato sauce of your preference

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your hoagie buns by cutting a trough directly on top. I usually cut out a diamond shape wedge on top and remove the piece and a little bread underneath to make a bed for the meatballs and sauce. (I can't believe I used to make these hot dog style-what a mess!) Pour a few tablespoons, or desired amount of sauce inside trough. Place meatballs on top of sauce and then top with your mozarella cheese. Place in oven for 5-6 minutes, or until cheese is melted. I let mine cook a little bit longer because I like the hoagie to be a little crunchy on the outside from being baked, and soft on the inside.

behind the name

image taken from cakewrecks

I love cake wrecks. If you haven't browsed through this website, you really should.

I've been planning HF's graduation party and I remembered seeing this cake a few weeks ago. Hilarious. I think it was a groom's cake, but wouldn't this be an awesome graduation cake? I'll probably just stick to the original idea. The badge-shaped cake.

I know that cops are given a hard time about liking donuts, but really, who doesn't like donuts? I just so happen to love them. Especially when I'm pregnant. Unfortunately, I crave donuts like no other. HF loves donuts too. In fact, one night while the kids were sleeping, we got one of each kind of donut sold at Krispy Kreme. We cut each one in half and held our own taste test. Pretty pathetic, but we had fun even though we felt like throwing up after a few and our mouths felt numb, and I got dizzy from the sugar rush. Anyway, I love making and eating donuts. Mom and Pop donut shops are the best.

So that's sort of why my food blog says, "feeding and nurturing my family one meal at a time and trying to lay off the donuts". I really am trying to lay off the donuts, but it's hard because they taste so good!

Grandma's Banana Bread

This is my Grandma's recipe. She is a farm girl from Arkansas. I'm not sure if this is a recipe that's been in the family for some time or if she acquired it later on. Wherever it originally came from, it's delicious! I think what set's this recipe apart from others is whipping the egg whites and then folding them in. It gives it a really soft, fluffy texture. Also, one of my banana bread secrets is to grease the loaf pans and then instead of coating them with flour, I coat them with granulated sugar. When the loaves are done and you turn them out, there is a crunchy, sugary coating on the bread and it's really yummy. We like to spread cream cheese on it.

1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 bananas, mashed
3 eggs, separated

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Cream shortening and sugars together. Add bananas, vanilla, and well-beaten egg yolks. (Reserve egg whites). Sift flour, soda, and salt together. Add to first mixture, alternating flour and nuts. Beat egg whites until stiff, and fold in gently. Put into greased and floured pans. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Let sit for awhile before turning out onto cooling racks. We refrigerate and freeze the leftovers.

pumpkin chocolate chip cookies

These are probably in my top 3 favorite cookies. Absolutely love them. I am always looking for a better recipe though. I have one recipe that I love and use as a base recipe and then I try and tweak the spices and ingredients until it's just right. I don't think I've quite got it to where I want, but I'm getting close. Here's the recipe that I use:

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup shortening (I use 1/2 shortening, 1/2 butter)
  
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I use Guitard's Giant Milk Chocolate Chips)
  
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional. I usually leave nuts out unless a recipe calls for pecans)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the shortening and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and pumpkin until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; stir into the pumpkin mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips. Stir in the walnuts if desired. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until edges begin to brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Pop's Biscuits

I love biscuits. Especially just simple, baking powder biscuits. There are so many varieties out there that I've tried, but I keep coming back to this old family recipe. Pop would be my great-grandfather. He was from Arkansas and apparently loved to cook. We have a family cookbook that is chalk full of his recipes and old black and white photos of the family eating together. Food has always been a big part of my family. Not just something you do everyday, but really, making it beautiful and coming together to enjoy it, but mostly, to enjoy each other.

Pop's biscuits are great for strawberry shortcake, biscuits and gravy, as a side with soup, or just plain great by themselves. When I eat them by themselves, I like to put butter and honey on them. You can knead and roll them out, but I just make them as drop-biscuits.


Pop's Biscuits

3 cups flour
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 tsp. sugar (can be left out)
1/3 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup milk

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheet. Place them closely to each other and Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned on top and firm to the touch. Depending on the size of your biscuits, you will need to cook them longer than 10 minutes.

Spinach and pasta salad with grilled chicken

I know salads are considered chick food, but this is a salad that even the manliest of men could eat. At least I think so. HF loves it and he's pretty manly. This is a versatile dish. Ingredients can be added or removed to make it to your liking.






1 small package of fresh spinach

1 – 8 oz package of bowtie pasta – cooked, drained and cooled

2-4 TBLS sesame seeds

½ cup sliced almonds (I used the toasted and unsalted)

3 chicken breasts – seasoned heavily with lemon pepper seasoning, grilled and cut into bite sizes.

1 cup bean sprouts

Mix all ingredients and toss with the dressing just before serving.

Dressing:

½ cup oil

½ cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sesame seeds

3 TBLS soy sauce

2 TBLS rice vinegar

½ tsp sesame seed oil

1 tsp grated fresh garlic (about 2 cloves)

Stir ingredients well to dissolve sugar, store in refrigerator. Let dressing warm to room temperature before tossing into salad.

To keep the leftovers from getting soggy, we usually keep the spinach and bean sprouts seperate from the rest of the salad and when serving, make a bed of spinach and bean sprouts and then spoon the chicken and dressing mixture on top. This is always a hit at get togethers. There are no leftovers usually.

toad in the hole, sort of

I know this isn't the most appetizing looking dish, but this is my spin on the English recipe for Yorkshire Pudding or Toad in the Hole. It's essentially what we call German pancakes. We Americans call this a number of things. German pancakes, Dutch pancakes, Puffy Oven pancakes, or Hootenanny pancakes to name a few. I think I prefer Hootenanny. That sounds American, donit.

We've been eating this breakfast dish for years, and then I received a British magazine in a package one day and saw that a traditional and popular dish in England was Yorkshire pudding which is the same recipe as this "pancake" recipe, except it is usually made with beef drippings from a roast instead of butter, and it uses less eggs. It is a savory dish, usually eaten for dinner along with a roast and potatoes and an onion gravy. Toad in the Hole is when you add the sausages, or bangers, before placing it in the oven. They are called bangers because they split or "bang" open when cooked.

For Brinner (breakfast for dinner) tonight, I decided to make Toad in the Hole minis for the kids. I guess technically I can't call them that because I'm not using beef drippings or onion gravy, but this is my spin, right? Here's a typical recipe for Yorkshire pudding and a recipe for Toad in the Hole. Here is my Hootenanny Pancake recipe:

6 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt (i always leave it out. I'm bland like that)
1/2 tsp. vanilla (optional)
1/4 cup butter (1/2 a cube)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place butter in 9x13 pan (i distributed the butter evenly throughout the muffin pan) and place in oven to melt. Take out before it browns. Blend remaining ingredients until smooth and pour into pan (I filled each cup about 3/4 full) and bake 20-25 minutes. I cooked the breakfast sausages in a frying pan and then put one in each muffin cup after the butter was melted. If you want to eat it American style, serve immediately with syrup, jams, powdered sugar, or honey.

Once these were done cooking, I served them immediately with maple syrup, since we Americans pour syrup over our entire breakfast. Eggs, sausage, bacon, hash browns, you name it. It tastes better with maple syrup! British people everywhere are rolling their eyes or reaching for the nearest garbage bin. From what I've seen online, the English see our version of this dish as the equivalent of putting whipped cream and sugar and strawberries on top of a pot roast. But I'm not brave enough to make this dish using meat drippings. It would totally change the flavor, and I'm used to it tasting sweet. So if any British people read this, I dare you to try it sweet. Maybe someday I'll try it with the gravy. I am of mostly English descent after all. Daisy called this, "Toads on a log".

edible igloos and tacky penguins

Okay. I'll admit it. I am NOT a fan of winter. I do not like the snow. I do not like the cold. I do not like the ice. I do not like months of gray. I am STILL not used to it after all these years. Eight to be precise. There. I said it.

Having said that, I am always trying to come up with wintertime fun. Since we are not outside for very long periods of time, I am trying to keep things creative inside so it doesn't turn into the Shining around here. One of the ways I do this, is with books and food. I like taking a book the kids like and relating it to the activities we do throughout the day, even with our food.

Today we read Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester. She is one of my favorite children's authors. I found a book called Princess Penelope's Parrot, which is hilarious. Another well-known book of hers is Hooway For Wodney the Wat. The books are very funny and Lynn Munsinger's illustrations are darling. Anyway, here's what we did after reading Tacky the Penguin: We made edible igloos.

All you need to make these is small apples (we used gala), miniature marshmallows, peanut butter, or honey. When looking online, I saw that most people were making their igloos entirely out of marshmallows and using frosting or marshmallow cream to stick them together. I wanted this to be mostly healthy, so we are using natural peanut butter, or honey.
To make our igloo shape, you cut an apple in half and core it. Place it flat side down on a plate. See, there's even a hole for the igloo's entrance.
Then the fun part for the kids. Smearing on the goo of choice to cover the entire surface of the apple. Daisy used peanut butter. Luke had honey because of a minor peanut allergy. The honey worked great. We just used our finger to spread it evenly around the apple. That worked great.

Press the marshmallows on in a design of your liking to make your igloo. Consume.
I think it turned out pretty cute. What do you think?

Luke refused to make his igloo, but he loved the apple, which I cut into pieces. The added honey made it taste extra sweet and he happily stuffed his mouth full of marshmallows.

This was definitely a fun activity. It helped pass the time, the kids got to be creative, and it was a mostly healthy snack/treat to tide them over until dinnertime. Tomorrow we will learn about real igloos and the people that built them and lived in them. Do people still build them and live in them? I guess we'll find out tomorrow.