Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

Sometimes when I watch cooking shows I think "hmmm, that looks good.  I'll have to make that sometime."  Other times I think "OMG I have to have that NOW!  GIT IN MAH BELLAY!!!"  This was one of those recipes.  I made it that night :P

Ingredients:  flour, baking powder, salt, paprika, onion powder, milk, butter, bacon, cheddar cheese and egg.

Add the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl.

And mix them together until they are combined.

Fry up a few pieces of bacon until they're crisp.

Chop the bacon into bits and shred the cheese.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the bacon, cheese, milk and butter.

Fold the wet ingredients gently into the dry ingredients until combined.  The dough will be very sticky.

Use a scoop to drop the biscuits onto a cookie sheet.  Lightly beat an egg and add about a tablespoon of water to make an egg wash.  Brush the egg wash over the tops of the biscuits.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.  These are nothing short of Heaven!  Fluffy, cheesy and seasoned perfectly from the paprika, onion powder and bacon.  If you REALLY want to take it over the top, slice one in half and put a fried egg in the middle for a biscuit sandwich.  WOW....

Link to the printable recipe:

Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

Source:  Sunny Anderson

Honey BBQ Oven Ribs

My husband and I usually only eat barbeque that has been smoked.  And while I have to be true to the fact that there is no real substitute for smoked meat, this recipe was an easy and delicious week night version of one of our favorite meals.

Ingredients:  paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper, dried oregano, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, beef ribs (the recipe calls for short ribs, but I couldn't find them and country style ribs worked just fine) and honey.

Combine the spices in a bowl to make the rub.

Coat all sides of the ribs in the rub and place them snugly in a baking dish.  Let them sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours to soak up the spices.

Cover tightly with foil.

And bake at 300 degrees for 2 1/2 hours.  Remove from the oven and drizzle with a generous amount of honey.

Put them back in the oven at 425 for 10-15 minutes.  They will be sweet, spicy and fork tender.  I like mine drenched in barbeque sauce.  YUM!

Link to the printable recipe:

Honey BBQ Oven Ribs

Source:  Sunny Anderson

Crockpot Ranch House Pork Chops

I've been on a Crockpot kick lately.  Mostly because I've been too tired to make anything else.  I found this little number on Pinterest.  It is the epitome of busy-mom-on-the-go Crockpot meals.  I'm not a super huge fan of Crockpot meals because, frankly, they are usually just mediocre.  Probably because of the heavy use of canned soups.  But this one was surprisingly AWESOME!  So I had to share... ;)

Ingredients:  pork chops, cream of chicken soup and Hidden Valley ranch seasoning.  Yes that's all.  ONLY 3 INGREDIENTS!!

And guess what??  All you have to do is mix together the 3 ingredients in a Crockpot and cook it over low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

Seriously, this is what you make when you are too exhausted to drive to McDonald's or pick up the phone and order Domino's.

Serve it over mashed potatoes.  The sauce makes an excellent gravy.  My husband LOVED this recipe.  The pork was fork tender, the gravy was creamy and flavorful.  I think I may keep these THREE ingredients on hand at all times for when I am totally worn out!

Link to the printable recipe:

*Note:  the blog post includes a recipe for garlic mashed potatoes.  I always make Pioneer Woman's mashed potato recipe.  It's the best ;)

Crockpot Ranch House Pork Chops

Source:  Real Mom Kitchen

Mom-o's Jambalaya

My grandmother, Mom-o, and incidentally my mother both have a knack for taking something boring from a box or a can and making it spectacular.  This is my grandmother's Jambalaya recipe.  Made from chicken flavored Rice-A-Roni, this recipe is a one-pot meal that only takes 20 minutes to make and will knock your socks off!

Ingredients:  chicken flavored Rice-A-Roni, pepper, hot sauce, onion powder, celery, bell pepper, and any cooked white meat, preferably a variety.

Melt some butter in a pot and brown the package of Rice-A-Roni over medium heat.

Stir in some hot water and the chicken flavor packet.  Season with pepper, hot sauce and onion powder to taste.

Dice some celery and red bell pepper and chop up your meat.  You can use any cooked white meat.  I chose smoked jalapeno sausage and crawfish tail meat and it was delicious!  You could do any combination of chicken, pork or seafood.

Toss in the meat and veggies.

Give it a good stir and bring to a simmer.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Dinner is done!

This is the perfect meal for a night when you don't have much time to cook.  It's even better leftover.  Similar to Chinese take-out, it ages well in the fridge.  So be sure to make a big batch of this spicy and completely fantastic dish!

Copy and paste the recipe below into Word for printable version:

Mom-o's Jambalaya

In 2 tbsp. butter, lightly brown 1 pkg. Chicken Rice-A-Roni.  Stir in 2 3/4 c. hot water, contents of chicken flavor packet.  Season with black pepper, hot sauce and onion powder to taste.  Add in 1/4 each diced celery and red bell pepper.  Add any combination of cooked white meat (about 3 cups).  I use 2 c. smoked jalapeno sausage and 1 c. crawfish tail meat.

Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Chicken and Dumplings

I love classic chicken and dumplings.  Tonight we ate this with turnip greens and biscuits for a Cracker Barrel copycat meal at home.  I have to say, it was pretty darn close to the real deal!  I love this recipe because it is from scratch but still quick and easy.

Ingredients:  cooked chicken, chicken stock, flour, baking powder, salt, butter and milk.

You can make this as easy or complicated as you want.  The most complicated way (which is still really easy) is to make the chicken stock yourself.  Basically, just simmer the chicken (any part) in salt water for about an hour. You can add any other leftover vegetables and herbs you have around such as onions, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, rosemary and parsley.  If you don't have extra veggies or herbs, just chicken and salt is enough.  You can remove the meat from the cooked chicken and reserve the stock for the recipe.  Or you can always cheat and use store bought broth and chicken.  Or you can roast the chicken.  The possibilities are endless!

I prefer to make my own stock.

To make the dumplings, mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and cut the butter (dice it first) into the mixture using a pastry blender or fork.

Pour in the milk, mixing with a fork until the dough comes together in a ball.  It should be pretty sticky.

Roll it out on a well floured surface with a floured rolling pin.  Use a pastry or pizza cutter to cut the dough into roughly 2X2" squares.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil and add the dumplings one at a time, swirling after each addition.  Reduce to a simmer and let them cook for about 15 minutes.

If the broth needs thickening when the dumplings are done cooking, remove some of the broth with a coffee cup and mix in some flour.  Then pour the concentrated thickened broth back into the pot.  Add the cooked chicken and heat through.  Season with salt and pepper.

Easy right?  Super delicious!  Just like Cracker Barrel.

Link to the printable recipe:

Chicken and Dumplings

Source:  Tasty Kitchen

Murh's Mexican Casserole

I'm in the mood for some family recipes this week.  My husband's family gave me a wonderful book of his late grandmother's recipes.  I found this one; a comforting, delicious, churchy pot-luck kind of dish that tastes like deconstructed beef enchiladas.  I'm usually not a huge fan of recipes made mostly from canned ingredients but if it's in Murh's cookbook, it's going to be good!

Ingredients:  canned cream of mushroom soup, canned cream of chicken soup, canned enchilada sauce (any kind), canned green chilies, canned chipotles in adobo, ground beef, onion, tortilla chips and shredded cheddar cheese.

Heat some oil in a skillet and cook a chopped onion for several minutes until softened.

Then add the ground beef and cook for several minutes until browned.

Next add in all of the canned ingredients.  I added the chipotle peppers to the original recipe because I adore them.  If using, chop them up before adding and make sure you get a little of the adobo sauce in there too.  But be careful not to overdo it - they are very spicy!

In a baking dish, layer the beef mixture.

Some tortilla chips and then a generous sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese (sorry, no picture of this step : / )

Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and melted.

I have to honestly say that I prefer Pioneer Woman's Beef Enchiladas, but this takes about 1/4 of the time to make and has a very similar flavor with the added crunch of tortilla chips.  So I'd say this recipe is a winner!  You could also easily adapt it to chicken and make the filling with sour cream instead of enchilada sauce for a quickie version of deconstructed chicken enchiladas.  Yum!

Copy and paste the recipe below into Word for printable version:

Murh's Mexican Casserole

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 cans enchilada sauce, any kind (I used 1 green, 1 medium red)
1 can chopped green chilies
1/2 can chipotles in adobo, chopped + 1/2 tbsp. adobo sauce
1 1/2 lb. hamburger meat
1 small onion
tortilla chips
3/4 lb. shredded cheddar cheese

Brown meat with onion.  Mix in canned ingredients.  Layer meat mixture, tortilla chips and cheese in baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Chocolate Hazelnut Sorbet

This is so rich, creamy and decadent, you won't even know that it is low fat and dairy free.  It's insane!!  When I am on a (relatively) healthy kick, I look for recipes that are naturally healthy without sacrificing good ingredients for low-fat, light, skim, etc. versions.  This is one of those recipes.

Ingredients:  sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, water, espresso and hazelnut liqueur (or any liqueur of your choice).

Brew the espresso.  I buy instant espresso.  You can also brew some extremely strong coffee.  But instant espresso is about as easy as it gets.

Mix the sugar, cocoa, vanilla, cinnamon and salt together in a saucepan.

Then mix in the water and espresso and cook over low heat until all of the dry ingredients are dissolved.  Remove it from the heat and stir in the liqueur.

Transfer the batter to a bowl, cover and chill overnight.

Freeze in an ice cream maker.  It will double in size and be a sort of thick, icy consistency.

Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze overnight.

I'm in love.  Come to Mama....

Link to the printable recipe:

*Note, I substituted hazelnut liqueur for the coffee liqueur.  You could use any liqueur you want: orange, raspberry, mint, etc.

Chocolate Hazelnut Sorbet

Source:  Barefoot Contessa