Bierocks

I recently came across this recipe on pinterest and since I love cabbage, sausage and biscuits I thought it was a must try.

I'll be completely honest, I won't tell anyone about this recipe out loud, because I'm still unsure of how to even say it. I was hesitant to post it because there are so many spellings and I don't want to do it wrong. But, what I have seen includes bierrocks, bierocks, bier rocks and runzas.

The recipe calls for dinner roll dough. I have no idea what that is, walmart didn't have roll dough, only biscuits so I used crescents. If you know what dinner roll dough is, use it. I also skipped several steps by using cole slaw mix, which is also what I use for egg rolls. Much easier. I also didn't use beef because I already had the sausage and was making a smaller batch than the original.

They turned out really tasty, though I'm sure I'm the only here who will eat them. Definitely something I will make again as they were quick and easy.


Ingredients
1 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 pound pork sausage
1/2 bag slaw mix
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter, melted


Directions
Roll out dough to 1/4 inch in thickness, then cut into 5 inch squares.
In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until browned; make sure there is no remaining pink color. Stir in cabbage, onions and seasoning with meat (I added a little salt, not too much and pepper). Saute for about 20 minutes. Turn down heat to warm.
Fill each dough square with a tablespoon of meat filling. Seal dough by bringing the four corners up and then overlapping them. Place pastry upside down on a baking sheet; brush each roll with melted butter.


Bake in a preheated 350 degrees oven for for 10-15 minutes. 

Recipe: Cavatini

In case you haven't noticed from all of my other recipe posts, I'm all about very versatile recipes. I like to be able to substitute or make changes depending on who I'm feeding. So I promise, this is very easy and it might seem scattered, but it's really easy to make it your way. For that reason, I'm going to word this recipe a little differently than usual.

Cavatini
The must haves:
-1 box pasta
-1 jar sauce
-1 1lb ground beef or pork sausage (or leave out the meat if you want vegetarian)
-1 large package shredded mozzerella
The extras:
-pepperoni
-italian sausage
-smoked sausage, sliced
-1 bell pepper
-1 small onion, diced
-1 squash or zucchini
-1 can sliced olives
-1 can sliced mushrooms

Boil pasta, but keep it al dente so that it can continue to cook once you bake it. Drain and add to pan.

While pasta is cooking, brown meat and onion, then drain.

Mix sauce, meat, and any veggies you choose. I also add a little sugar to my sauce to take the bitter out, a friend uses shredded carrots to add sweetness to her sauce as well as add veggies her family doesn't know about. Pour sauce mixture over the noodles, top with cheese.

Bake at 350 until cheese is melted and golden. I like mine a little brown.

This is called cavatini (like spaghetti) because of the type of noodle used, but it's really just a baked pasta casserole. You can use any kind of pasta you like, I prefer rotini or spiral but you could use a tube like pasta to hold more sauce. You can use all the meat to have a really hearty dish, or add more vegetables. I would avoid veggies that are too watery or cut down on the sauce. I like a lot of cheese, so add more if you want. Like I said, very versatile.

I'll post pics the next time I make this, we just had it the other day.


Shared at:
-Jam Hands

Slow Cooker Balsamic Beef Roast

I was having one of those clean the pantry days today. In my freezer I had a beef rump roast that I found last week on sale. Rump roasts are my favorite type of beef roast so I always grab them when they are on sale. 

I found a recipe for a balsamic pork roast on pinterest and thought it sounded interesting. So then I decided to find a recipe that used balsamic with a beef roast. I choose this recipe over the pork because it didn't cook with the balsamic, but instead used it later as a glaze. 

This ended up tasting really good. I don't generally branch out from my normal recipes (onion soup mix roast) so this was definitely new. It had a bit of a tang to it since my balsamic is pretty cheap and not aged much, so next time I make it I'll most likely add a bit of sugar to take the edge off. It's three year old approved though.

                             

Balsamic Pot Roast (adapted)

3 1/2 lbs beef roast cut

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 pearl onions

2 cups baby carrots 

2 cups quartered potatoes (I used miniature golds)

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 cup beef broth

1 teaspoon low-sodium beef bouillon granules

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary , ground

1 cup canned diced tomato (Rotel)

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons cornstarch (last step)

In a large, heavy skillet, sear the beef in the oil until browned all over. Transfer the beef to your slow cooker. Scatter the onion, carrots and garlic around the beef. In a bowl, stir together the broth, bouillon, vinegar, and rosemary. Pour the mixture over the beef. Pour the tomatoes on top. Season with pepper. Cover the slow cooker, and cook on low for 8 hours.

When cooking time is up, remove the beef with tongs and place it on a serving platter. Scoop the onions and carrots out with a slotted spoon and pile them around the roast. Turn crock pot to high and thicken the juice left in the slow cooker with cornstarch mixed with water. Serve it with the beef.

The original recipe author notes to serve with rice or egg noodles, which I think would be amazing.

Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas

I saw a recipe on pinterest the other day for slow cooker Chicken Fajitas. I didn't want to do all of the work that it asked me to do, so I improvised. 

I chopped and mixed every thing the night before so I could just toss it in the crock pot. I mixed about half of the seasoning packet with the sliced chicken in a bowl the night before and let it marinate all night.

They ended up really good so I thought I would share with you!

Even though I live a block from the grocery store, it's raining and I forgot the tortillas SO we had them in taco shells. They were so good, especially with the fresh salsa. :) 

Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas

1.5 lb Chicken breasts, sliced

1 package McCormick Fajita Seasoning

1 can Rotel 

2 red peppers

1 small onion

Half a lime juice

Add chicken, seasoning, rotel, peppers and onion to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours (or however long it takes your crock pot to cook it since they are all different depending on the size, etc). When it's done juice the lime over the top and mix in for a fresh flavor.

Fresh Pico de Gallo

1 medium roma tomato

1 small serrano

1 small onion

Half juice of a lime

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Roughly chop the tomato and onion. Squeeze lime over the top. Let sit for an hour for the juices to set.

(Linked at I Heart Naptime)

Andes Mint Cookies

A friend had these cookies at her daughter's party this weekend. I thought they were chocolate chip with nuts or something, grabbed one and sat down to eat it. It had Andes Mints. Are you serious?! They were awesome. I asked her for the recipe, but when I went to buy the Andes Mint chips at the store I found a recipe on the back so I didn't hesitate to come home and make them. 

The recipe was easy, I've never made cookies from scratch so I was worried, but it was simple. After I mixed the dough, it was a little dry and crumbly. I think it was because my eggs were small, so I would suggest using large eggs. Mine were medium farm fresh brown, so there just wasn't enough moisture. I mixed up another egg and rubbed it into the dough after letting it cool. 

The cookies grew really tall, so make sure after you make them into a ball that you flatten them out.

Yum!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (10 ounce) packages Andes mint baking chips
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour sifted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Blend butter, brown sugar, white granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until ingredients are mixed.
3. Add Andes Baking Chips and mix.
4. Add Flour and continue to mix until all ingredients are well blended together.
5. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes.
6. Spoon out approximately 1 oz of dough per cookie.
7. Form a ball and then slightly flatten.
8. Place on non-stick baking pans and bake for approximately 8-10 minutes.
9. Cool on pans for 2 minutes, then remove.

Shared at: http://www.jamhands.net/2011/10/recipe-sharing-monday-10-features.html

Heavenly Harvest Pork Roast

A friend posted this recipe a while back and I was holding out for Fall to make it. I'm not usually one to include fruit with savory food, it's not my favorite sort of taste, but this worked out great. It was just savory enough that the fruit just added a great flavor. 

Here's the recipe, that I did not find or create. Just had it suggested to me by a friend. 

Heavenly Harvest Pork Roast

1/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon steak seasoning
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 pork roast, any type (4-5 lbs)
2 pears, cored, peeled, and sliced thick
1/2 orange with peel, sliced thick

1. Combine pomegranate juice and sugar in small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Pour into slow cooker. 

2. Blend salt, garlic salt, steak seasoning and pepper in small mixing bowl. Rub mixture over roast. Place roast in slow cooker. Turn roast to cover with juice mixture. 

3. Top roast with pear and orange slices. Cover; cook on HIGH 6-8 hours or until tender. Serve with juice and fruit slices. 

I did make a few modifications. First, I used a pomegranate juice with no sugar added. You could do either, I just try to save calories and sugar intake if possible. I used less sugar, only because I didn't have any more than about an 1/8th of a cup. I also used less salt and garlic powder instead of garlic salt. I try to reduce sodium any way I can. I also used a spicy steak seasoning, just because I think the spicier the better. One last change, I didn't peel the pears. That's where all the nutrition is and I just didn't want to do all the extra work of peeling.

When I went to the store to get the supplies for this recipe I found a bag of fruit that was marked down. It had pears, apples, and oranges for only 99 cents. They were badly bruised and I wouldn't have eaten them, so this was a perfect use for them. 

I really liked this recipe and thought I would share it here. Must try for fall.

Sharing at Jam Hands! 

And A Bowl Full of Lemons

Chicken and Broccoli Cheese Casserole

If you follow me on pinterest (hint, sidebar, hint) chances are you've seen this chicken, broccoli and cheese casserole. 

I really wanted to try it and I was kid free for the night, so I thought, why not. 

The original recipe called for cooked chicken, so I just grabbed a rotisserie chicken at WalMart and cubed it.

I also bought a package of steamable broccoli instead of fresh. It was just easier. :) Then...I remembered that our microwave is broken, so I still had to steam it on the stove top.

The sauce was super easy. Just half a package of cheese, some milk and chicken broth and some butter with a corn starch emulsion. It was really tasty and the most difficult part of the entire recipe, which isn't saying much.

Then, you top with the rest of the cheese and crushed Ritz crackers. Yum.

Recipe (adapted from www.justgetoffyourbuttsandbake.com)

Ingredients:

1 lb. bag frozen broccoli, steam half package direction time

3 cups cooked chicken breasts, cut or cube (I used a rotisserie chicken)
 

3 cups grated cheddar cheese, divided
 

2 tubes Ritz Crackers
 

1  stick melted butter
 

1/4 C. Cornstarch

1/3 C. Chicken Broth

2 Cups Milk

Salt, Pepper, Season to taste

Directions:

In greased 13×9 pan, layer the broccoli and chicken, then set aside.

In saucepan over medium heat, combine the melted butter, cornstarch dissolved in COLD water, chicken broth, seasonings, and milk. Stir well, and continue stirring until sauce has thickened. Turn heat down to low, and add 1- 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese. Stir until melted. Pour over the chicken and broccoli. Top with 1- 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese.

Melt remaining butter. Crush Ritz crackers in large zip-lock bag with a rolling pin. Don’t crush too small. Add crumbs to the melted butter. Sprinkle crumbs over the top of the grated cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until hot & bubbly. 

**Edited to add: Velveeta would be really good with this recipe if you don't like cheddar. My 3 year old wasn't so much a fan of this, and I think the velveeta would have brought him around.**

Recipe: Stuffed Peppers

I got the idea for this recipe from my friend's healthy cooking cook book, I'm not sure of the actual title, sorry; but I didn't really stick to the recipe. If you're looking for a healthy version of stuffed peppers, this is probably not it.

Ingredients:
4 Bell peppers (I get the multi pack, color wise. Yellow is my favorite)
1 lb Lean ground beef
1 can Rotel OR
1 small can green chile sauce
1 small can tomato sauce
1 package Uncle Ben's Santa Fe rice (90 second microwave kind)

Start water boiling in a pot large enough to hold your peppers. Season and brown ground beef. While your beef is cooking you will need to microwave rice according to package directions and seed/core your peppers. I prefer mine cut in half with only the stem removed from the top, but for presentation slicing off just the top and coring is better. Once the water is boiling add your peppers, cook 3 minutes or until tender. Return beef to skillet, add rice and rotel. Keep heat on low to help mix the flavors. When the peppers are soft, plate and stuff.

This is a super easy recipe with tons of variety. You could add cheese and onions if you like them. You can also roast the peppers in the oven (it's just too hot for that) or my favorite way to make them is in the microwave. When I'm working I'll bring 4 cleaned raw peppers and microwave each one for 7 minutes in a bowl with a lid, but vented. Then I warm up enough stuffing for each one and stuff them. It's a super quick and easy lunch, and not really left overs.

Sharing at A Bowl Full of Lemons

Recipe: Chicken and Biscuits

I'm not very good at writing recipes, but I came up with this today and thought I would share. It was super easy, and could be modified to be even easier.

Quick and Easy Chicken and Biscuits

-1 Steamable bag of frozen veggies or a large can of vegall
-1 Microwave bag of red potatoes (pre-washed) or canned potatoes
-1 Family sized can of Cream of Chicken (I prefer the fat free which only comes in small cans)
-1 can flaky layers biscuits
-10 oz of Chicken Broth
-3 Chicken breasts roasted (Could also use canned chicken or a rotisserie chicken)

I roasted my chicken in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes, covered with foil in a baking dish sprinkled with olive oil. I heavily seasoned it with coarse salt, pepper, paprika rosemary, and garlic powder, but these are just my favorite seasonings. You could use a rotisserie chicken or canned chicken just as easily. After it cooked I reserved the juices and cut them into 1/2 in chunks.

Microwave the steam bag potatoes for 8 minutes, steam the vegetables in the bag for 3 minutes. Quarter the potatoes, they should be almost cooked but not completely so that they can absorb the soup. Mix the can of cream of chicken and broth in mixing bowl with half a can of water. Add in vegetables and chicken, as well as the juice from the chicken. The consistency should be slightly thinner than the cream of chicken (like pudding Chance says).

Bake the vegetable and soup mix for 15 minutes at 400. Do NOT forget this step or your biscuits will not cook and it will be nasty. However, if you do forget this step, one thing I've learned (I've clearly forgotten a time or two) is that you can pull the biscuits off, bake the mixture, and then turn the gooey biscuits upside down (cooked side down, gooey side up) and let them bake on that side until they're done.

Add biscuits. (I use two cans of biscuits which leaves about 4 extra, I put them in a smaller baking dish and bake both at once) Return to oven, bake another 15 minutes at 350 or follow the directions on the biscuit packaging.

Other than the chicken, I didn't season it at all, and it didn't need it. It was so tasty that we ate half the pan before I could get a picture! :)

This recipe is incredibly versatile. You can really adjust the ingredients anyway you want and it still turns out decent as long as the mixture isn't too wet and you remember to cook it first.

Best coconut cake ever, part 2

I was monumentally frustrated last night over this cake. As you can see they ballooned out of their pans.





Today my mom came and cut it into layers for me, and I added the filling.



I finally finished it just before time to start cooking supper.



And I enjoyed a slice after dinner!