“The book is called opportunity and it’s first chapter is New Year’s Day.” ~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce

January 2, 2015Leave a comment

I have another breakfast idea for you!

I had actually made the Sausage and Gravy Biscuit Casserole I posted last not too long before Christmas morning so I decided to try something else that morning.

It was so, so simple and delicious! I would highly recommend this for any morning that you are short on time or dragging about – especially if you were up late and not feeling up to doing much cooking. Would have been great for New Years Day morning but I was a slacker and didn’t get it up on the blog in time! 😉

Deep Dish Breakfast Bake

(adapted from Bran Appetit)

1/2 lb sausage (mild or hot – your preference)
1 package crescent rolls
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Brown sausage over medium high heat, breaking it up as it cooks.

Roll out crescent rolls into a 9×13 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Press seams together as so to make a whole sheet of pastry.

Sprinkle cooked sausage over dough, followed by cheddar cheese

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs with milk and add in rosemary, salt and pepper.

Pour egg mixture over the cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until eggs are set and the crust is a golden color.

***This can be made with bacon and diced ham in place of the sausage as well***

“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast.” ~ John Gunther

December 22, 2014Leave a comment

It’s almost here!

Can you believe there are only 2.5 days left until Christmas?!?

I can’t.

But I shouldn’t be surprised, my favorite time of the year always goes by so quickly.

(Although, one thing I am happy about the time passing is that yesterday was the shortest day of the year, so now with each passing day we will have more daylight! Yippee!)

I believe Christmas Eve is the most exciting night of the year and Christmas morning is the most enjoyable morning of the year. I like for my Christmas morning to be cozy and relaxing and nothing makes that more perfect than a warm cozy breakfast!

So if you are still looking for something to serve your family this coming Christmas morning, the following recipe is a great choice!

Sausage and Gravy Biscuit Casserole

(adapted from Lemon Sugar)

1 can large, flaky biscuits (such as Grands)
1/2 pound ground breakfast sausage
3 Tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 and 1/2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 400°.

Cut biscuits into quarters and spray a small baking dish with cooking spray.

Layer half the biscuit quarters in the baking dish and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, brown sausage in a heavy skillet on medium/high heat until completely cooked, then sprinkle sausage with flour and stir until absorbed.

Turn heat down to medium and continue to cook for around 3-4 minutes. A

Add milk, salt and pepper, stirring and cooking until it comes to a slight boil and cook for 4-5 minutes to thicken it up but still be a little runny. If it’s too thick, add a little milk.

Give it a taste and adjust seasons accordingly.

Pour gravy over the cooked biscuits and top with remaining biscuit quarters.

Bake for 20 minutes. If the top begins to brown too quickly, cover with foil for the remaining time.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

-abp

“Three Rules of Work: 1) Out of clutter find simplicity; 2) From discord find harmony; 3) In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” ~ Albert Einstein

October 29, 2013Leave a comment

Yes, I know.

This is my 3rd skillet meal in a row.

But OH MY GOSH they are easy. I thought the crock pot was easy. This is like insta-crockpot. Granted, I like anything with pasta, so I’m pretty much sold there but when you add in quick, flavorful and in one pan. Shoot, what’s not to like??

Sweet Apple Sausage Pasta

(adapted from Iowa Girl Eats)

8 oz. short cut pasta (reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water)
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large shallot or 1 small onion, chopped
12oz Sweet-Apple Chicken Sausage, sliced
1 sweet apple (about 1 cup), chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
pinch red chili pepper flakes
salt and pepper
15oz can Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
6oz spinach
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta until al dente.

Heat olive oil over med high heat and brown sausage and onion in large non-stick skillet. Add apple, garlic and seasoning and cook until apple is tender.

Then add in chicken broth, beans and spinach and warm/stir until spinach is wilted.

Pour in the sausage/apple mixture into pasta and add reserved little to get your desired consistency.

Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

Ok, I told a little fib earlier – this took 2 pots but it was totally worth it!!! The flavors in this are totally different but totally amazing. I LOVED it!!!

-abp

“I’m one stomach flu away from reaching my goal weight.” ~ Emily (The Devil Wears Prada)

March 18, 20132 Comments

I made a meal I couldn’t eat.

But it wasn’t because it didn’t taste good!

The DH loved it! I actually made it at his request.

The thing was I had not been feeling very well that day (stupid bug that’s been going around) and was really puny when I started frying the sausage and the grease smell made my stomach turn – automatic food aversion.

So the Olive Garden knock off – Spicy Tuscan Soup was a hit – just not with me. I only had the salad (with bought bottled Olive Garden dressing 🙂 )

As you can probably tell – it was an Olive Garden themed night. All I needed was their yummo garlic bread sticks.

Maybe next time.

(also – because of not feeling so great – there are not many pictures)

Spicy Tuscan Soup (adapted from Tasty Kitchen)

1 pound Spicy Breakfast Sausage
1 whole Medium Red Onion, Diced
2 slices Bacon, Diced
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
3 whole Medium Potatoes, cubed
1 quart Warm Water
3 cubes Chicken Bouillon
baby spinach
½ cups Heavy Cream
Salt And Pepper, to taste

In a large dutch oven, brown sausage, remove and drain on paper towel.

In same dutch onion, cook onion and bacon until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for one more minute.

Add water and deglaze pan. Stir in Bouillon cubes and potatoes, cook at a simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir in cream and spinach and cook for 5 more minutes.

Serve with shaved Parmesan cheese and crusty bread.

This soup was really really good! I sure hate that I was not able to enjoy like I should have.

-abp

“Appetizers are the little things you keep eating until you lose your appetite.” ~ Joe Moore

November 5, 2012November 18, 20122 Comments

What a busy wonderful weekend!

We had dinner with friends at a nice restaurant on Friday, ate barbeque ribs, pork tenderloin and many yummy appetizers on Saturday for the Bama game (I think my pulse may finally be back to normal after watching that nerve racking game) and on Sunday for the first time in a long time I had the whole peanut gallery over for dinner – Taco Pasta – more on that later in the week.

The appetizer that I quickly made up on Saturday for the game was Cream Cheese Sausage Balls adapted from Plain Chicken.

I like these sausage balls because they do not dry out like other sausage balls and this is of course because of the cream cheese. I also got a great tip from the the Plain Chicken blog and that was to mix the sausage ball ingredients up with the dough hook on your mixture. This was huge for me – I sometimes avoided doing these pretty easy to throw together appetizers because I hated mixing the dough up by hand and with my current wrist condition – there was no way I would be able to, so with this helpful tip – I can pull this together in NO time!

Cream Cheese Sausage Balls

1 lb hot (or mild -your heat preference) sausage, uncooked
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups Bisquick (or all purpose baking mix)
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

Heat oven to 400º

Place all ingredients into stand mixer with dough hook attachment.

Mix until well combined.

Roll into 1-2 inch balls, place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until brown.

Now that I know I can quickly mix this up with the dough attachment and since I usually have all these ingredients on hand (I buy the sausage when it’s buy one get one free at Publix and freeze it), I’ll be making these a lot for a quick last minute party or breakfast.

I hope everyone had a weekend that was as enjoyable as mine!

abp