Heart Biscuits

My Husband is a Midwest boy. Through & through. I'd always heard of biscuits & gravy, but it was never really a thing I considered eating. Like liver & onions- it exists, but no thanks.

The Husband was having none of my biscuit & gravy unwillingness. After my cousin Laura made us a batch, I enjoyed it quite a bit! Especially with HOT SAUCE. YASSS.

But see, I consider it a dinner food. This gives Husband conniptions. So every once in a while, (like around Father's Day) I relent. 

This is a good, easy enough recipe, and if you have a large heart cutter, all the better. (But I'll just have butter & jam on mine, thank you very much) 

2 1/4 c flour

1 tbl baking powder

2 tea salt

1 tbl sugar

1/3 c butter, chilled & cubed

1 c milk (or buttermilk if you have it)

2 tbl melted butter 

Preheat oven to 425. Stir together dry ingredients. Using a fork, mash together the butter until it looks like a course meal- consistency. 

Slowly pour in the milk. Dough should be a bit sticky, if overly sticky to handle, add some flour. Knead dough on a highly floured surface until smooth- a handful of times. Roll dough to 1 in. thickness, then cut with a cutter or drinking glass rim. 

Place in a parchment lined sheet & bake for 10-12 mins. Brush w/ melted butter. 

Cranberry Orange Muffins

The original recipe was a bit bland. So I think I've punched it up a bit. Love a good cranberry recipe this time of year!

• 2 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup orange juice
• ⅓ cup oil (I use coconut oil) 
• 1 cup chopped cranberries (I used fresh) 
• 3 tbl orange zest 

Preheat the oven to 375 and line muffin tins with cupcake liners. Mix together the flour, baking powder, & salt in a small bowl, set aside. Beat together the brown sugar, eggs, orange juice, and oil. Add in the flour mixture slowly, then fold in cranberries & zest. Spoon into the muffin cups and bake for 20 mins. Cool completely on a wire rack. (and store in airtight container lined with paper towel to avoid getting all soggy) 

Cinnamon Sugar Banana Bites

I had to make another batch of these after we all are the first in one day. One! Day!

I see these going to school in lunches. That is, if I can keep my mitts off them. This is the original recipe, the site also has some scrumptious pumpkin bites which I would also suggest! 

Preheat your oven to 350.

For the muffins:

Medium bowl-

1 3/4 c flour

2 tea baking powder

1/2 tea salt

1/2 tea nutmeg

1/2 tea cinnamon

Large bowl-

1 mashed banana

1/3 c coconut oil (or any cooking oil)

1/2 c brown sugar

1 egg

1 tea vanilla

1/2 c milk

Mix separately in each bowl then combine. Scoop into tray of 24 mini muffins. Bake for 15-16 mins. Keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Original recipe says 10-12 mins. But mine were way under done.

Cinnamon sugar coating:

4 tea melted butter

2/3 c sugar

1 1/2 tbl cinnamon

After the muffins cool for a few minutes, dunk in butter (or do just the tops like me) and coat in cinnamon/sugar mix. 

Pesto Sausage Pasta w/ Brussels Sprouts

It is with only the humblest amount of pride that I admit to this one thing: my girls love (and I mean LOVE) to eat vegetables in any form. Go ahead, throw those tomatoes. Rest assured, the youngest contingent of my brood will never let a vegetable, and some fruits cross his lips. I have to make too many a shady deal/bribe to even coax him to take a bite. So, we're *kinda* even.

In any event, this recipe turned out simply marvelously. I just have a few tweaks. It also doesn't reheat very well at all, so just stick to a portion your family will consume entirely. I also swapped out the orreciette pasta, because it's the worst pasta ever- hands down. Shaped like plates that STACK TOGEGHER, and hold all the pesto in, depriving the rest of the dish and leaving a too-pesto-y bite once in a while. Really any pasta would do. I used a fancy S shaped tube pasta that I found literally right next to the orreciette on the shelf. Penne would be absolutely fine. 

1 lb fresh Brussels sprouts, ends cut & chopped in half

3 tbl olive oil, divided

1/2 tea sea salt/kosher/whatever

1/2 tea pepper

1 box (14-16 oz) dry pasta

1lb sausage

5 cloves garlic- finely sliced- or diced (I use the pre-bottled kind)

1/3 c pesto

Parmesan cheese (for serving)

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, toss the sprouts in 2 tbl olive oil, and some salt & pepper.

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil & arrange the Brussels sprouts evenly. Bake for about 20-30 mins, depending on size, stirring once in between. (I don't stir them because I'm lazy) Remove and set aside.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet, over med-high heat. Toss in the sausage & cook until browned, about 6 mins. Then add the garlic and brown for 1-2 mins. 

Cook the pasta according to the box directions. Once cooked, drain the water & reserve a bit of pasta water for later. (About 1/4 c)

Toss together the sprouts, pasta, and sausage. Add the reserved water if it's too dry. Sprinkle parm on top and serve! 

Crock Pot Cheesy Potato Soup

Shout out to my friend and Twitter chef @Amydoubleyou for this great recipe. I made it in the morning, and I was to find out later in the day that the girls would be coming home early from school with lice. EEEEP. I was so glad to have dinner under control, and man was this scrumptious! Soups should really be an all year round sort of thing. So as I understand it, this is a relatively flexible recipe. Sub in chicken or carrots if it's what you have! Enjoy!

1 onion, diced
4-5 celery stalks, chopped
1 tbl butter
1 lb. country sausage
3 russet potatoes, peeled and roughly cubed
3 c. milk
3 c. chicken stock
salt & pepper to taste
dash of cayenne
1/2 c sour cream
1 c + shredded cheese

Brown and drain the sausage in a skillet. Add the onions, celery, & butter, sauté until slightly tender. Dump the contents of the skillet into your crock pot, (mine is the larger oval, and it was pretty full) pour in the milk, chicken broth, and add the potatoes. Season with the salt, pepper, and a hint of cayenne. Cook all day on low (about 7-8 hrs ish) 20 minutes before serving, with a potato masher, smoosh the bigger chunks of potatoes. Add the sour cream and cheese, stir around a bit. Serve topped with even more cheese, maybe some chopped green onion would also be a nice crunch.

Almost Cheesecake Caramel Apple Crumb Bars

If you wish for one thing this holiday season, let it be this. And you are welcome- I did all the conversions myself, and it turned out great. (original metric recipe here) So great, that by the time I thought 'Oh! I should get a picture of this fantastic dessert I made,' every last morsel had been devoured. It is really that good. And if you happen to have some Honeycrisp apples? ALL THE BETTER! USE THEM! I've since made it a second time... for uh, dinner. But all I could do was snap a hasty phone pic before digging in.

Base and topping:
1 c. quick-cooking oats, ground
1 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Filling:
1 large apple, cubed
1 tbl sugar
1 tbl flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 c. Greek yogurt
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. flour

Caramel sauce:
Dulce de leche
Some milk

Preheat oven to 350F.

1) Make the base & crumbs: mix together oats, flour, cinnamon, sugar and salt. Add butter. Mix using your fingertips until crumbs form. Press 2/3 of the mixture into a 8x8inch baking dish. Reserve 1/3 for the topping. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

2) Make the filling: First, mix apple cubes with 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and 1 teaspoon cinnamon and set aside. In another bowl, mix together Greek yogurt, sugar, egg and flour. Pour the mixture over the crust. Sprinkle apples on top (do not press!) and sprinkle crumb topping (don't press as well. It will stick together while baking). 

3) Bake at 350F for 25-35 minutes or until set. (closer to 35 mins) Allow to cool, or refrigerate.

4) Make the caramel sauce: Heat up a few tablespoons of the dulce de leche in a small saucepan, add a bit of milk if it's too thick. Make the caramel sauce immediately before serving. 

Pretzel Bites & Pretzel Dogs

More back to school lunch ideas! Except it was hard for me to save enough of these to pack into lunch the next day- they were to delicious to stop tasting. Next I'm taking it a step further and using the pretzel dough wrapped around a hot dog. The girls are having a fundraiser for school in which they are selling these pretzel dogs 6 for $19. Haaaa- I'll write the school a check straight out and make my own for way cheaper- thanks for the idea though! 

Dough: 

1 c milk

1 pkg active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tbl)

3 tbl packed light brown sugar

8 tbl butter

1 tea fine salt

1/3 c baking soda

2 tbl coarse salt

Warm the milk in a saucepan to about 110 degrees, just a nice temp that doesn't hurt your finger. Pour the milk into a large mixing bowl, sprinkling the yeast on top. Let the yeast soften about 2 mins then stir in the brown sugar & 1 cup flour.

Soften 2 tablespoons of the butter (don't melt it!) and stir it into the mix. Add the remaining 1 1/4 flour & the fine salt to make a sticky dough. Turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 mins. 

Cover the bowl & let it sit for about an hour until doubling in size.

Preheat oven to 450. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Dissolve the baking soda into 3 cups of water in a shallow baking dish. Set pan by the prepared baking sheet.

Punch the dough down and turn it onto a floured surface, divide the dough into 6 pieces. 

If you want 6 pretzels, roll out and make a 24-30 in rope. Shape into a pretzel. For bites, stretch and roll out into ropes, then cut into smaller bites. 

Gently dip the pretzel or bite into the soda solution, then arrange on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake until golden, 8-10 mins for bites, 10-12 mins for pretzels. While they are baking melt the remaining 6 tbl butter and pour into a shallow dish. Set next to a cooling rack.

After cooking, brush the pretzels with melted butter & let cool.

Pretzel dogs:

Wrap the dough around a hot dog (I used a jumbo beef dog here) and dunk the whole thing in the baking soda mix then line on a baking sheet with parchment paper. (I didn't salt them, and they were plenty salty without the added spice) Bake for about 13 mins, or as the dough is golden, but not burned on the bottom- It's a delicate dance! Brush with butter & let cool slightly before serving. We loved ours dipped in mustard!