Bacon and Mushroom Risotto

I love risotto.  I just can't help it.  Regular rice is awesome, too, but there is something about the creamy goodness of risotto that warms the heart.  Maybe it's because it is one of the things that people on cooking shows screw up all of the time --and I usually don't!

I've tried several different recipes.  But last night, I decided to take my favorite elements of several recipes and make my own.  It turned out wonderfully.  Doug said it was the best risotto that I ever made!

8 slices of bacon (I might actually use a little less)

2 ½ T butter

1 medium onion, diced

¼ red onion, diced

1/2 8oz package of mushrooms, diced

Minced garlic

2 c Arborio rice

8 c chicken broth

¼ c white wine

1 c heavy cream

½ c grated parmesan

·         Cook bacon until crisp.  When cool, crumble into little pieces

·         Heat chicken broth to boiling in separate pan

·         Melt butter in stock pot with some olive oil.  Add onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).

·         Add garlic and mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes.

·         Add rice and stir to coat.  Cook for 2 minutes

·         Season with salt and pepper

·         Begin adding hot broth to rice mixture, one cup at a time.  Allow rice to cook until liquid is absorbed.  (Most recipes say to stir constantly.  But they don’t do that on Chopped so I don’t either!)

·         Continue cooking rice, adding 1 c of hot broth at a time and stirring, allowing to cook down.  Halfway through, add wine to mixure

·         After all broth is added and rice is cooked completely, add cream and parmesan.  Cook for a couple more minutes to ensure cream is heated.

 

 Snickerdoodle Blondies

There are a number of these recipes available on the internet.  This one is slightly different because it uses marscapone cheese.  I took these to a family dinner recently and they were consumed in record time.  They are one of those desserts that people beg you to keep away from them because they are so good!

from http://www.culinaryconcoctionsbypeabody.com 

Ingredients:
8 ounces (two sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup loosely packed light brown sugar
3 ounces Mascarpone cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
¾ tsp cream of tartar
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups all-purpose flour
Cinnamon Sugar for coating (about 1/3 cup)


1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Butter a 9 by 13-inch pan. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar and move pan around to make sure that the bottom and sides are coated. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cream of tartar.
4. Using an stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Beat for three minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
5. Add the Mascarpone cheese and beat until fully incorporated.
6. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.
7. Add the vanilla and beat for another 30 seconds.
8. On low speed add the sifted flour mixture. Mix until fully incorporated.
9. Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan. This will be hard as it is a thick batter. I found it easiest to just wet my hands a little and press the batter into the pan. Then even it out afterwards with a spatula.
10. Sprinkle more cinnamon sugar on top of the batter.
11. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Don't be tempted to take them out early.  If you leave them in the full 25 minutes, you'll get these crispy edges that are to die for.

spicy Chinese beef

Doug and I discovered a Chinese dish that we love.  But i haven't been able to find a recipe, so i made one up.

2 to 3 lbs beef short ribs
1/2 c olive oil
3 T minced garlic
Soy sauce
1/2 cup flour

3 T minced garlic
Minced ginger
2 onions, diced
2 cups water
Mirin
Sweet soy sauce
Light soy sauce
Schezuan peppers
Star anise
Pepper oil, 1 teaspoon

Cut beef off of bones.  Marinade in olive oil, garlic and soy sauce for an hour.  Pour off marinade and sprinkle flour over meat.


Heat oil in wok.  Add garlic and ginger.  Add beef.  (i cooked the meat in two batches).  After meat is cooked, remove from pan.  Add more oil and saute onions until soft.

Mix water, soy sauces, mirin, peppers, anise, and pepper oil.

Add meat and sauce back to wok.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat.  Simmer for 30 to 60 minutes.  Serve over rice

Rene's Thai Coconut Curry

Doug and I are both crazy about ethnic food.  I almost always order the same thing -- Spicy Thai Basil Chicken and Thai Red Curry.  We figured out how to make the Thai Basil Chicken a while ago -- with the help of the lady at the local oriental market.

Our next dish to conquer was the Red Curry.  After quite a bit of research, I decided that using Red Curry Paste from Thai Kitchen was an acceptable shortcut.  (I used it a couple times to make sure).

Then I started experimenting.  Tonight I hit upon the perfect mix of ingredients.  This is roughly based on Scrumptious Thai Coconut Red Curry from Food.com.

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1 T butter
2 lbs chicken, cut into small pieces
2 onions, sliced thinly
1 green pepper, sliced thinly
1 c thai basil, minced
1 can bamboo shoots
1 c sliced mushrooms
3 T minced garlic
1 can coconut milk
1 can coconut cream
3 T red curry paste
2 T fish sauce
3 T brown sugar
1 c chicken broth
Thai crushed pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Melt butter in saucepan.  Add 1 T olive oil and heat. 
2. Add onions, green pepper, mushrooms and garlic.  Saute until vegetables until soft.  add 1/2 of basil and heat.  Remove vegetables from pan.
3. Add remaining tablespoon of oil to pan and heat.  Add chicken.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until no longer pink.  Remove from pan.
4. Add coconut milk, coconut cream and red curry paste to pan.  Whisk together and heat for five minutes
5.  Add fish sauce, chicken broth, thai pepper and brown sugar.  Whisk.  Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Add chicken, vegetables and remaining basil to sauce.  Heat for five  minutes.
7. Serve over basmati rice

Classic Strawberry Shortcake

I got this recipe, including the photo, from myrecipes.com
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/classic-strawberry-shortcake-10000001191565/

It originally came from Southern Living magazine

I made one small change, which is included in the recipe below.

Ingredients

2 (16-oz.) containers fresh strawberries, quartered
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 1/4 cup whipping cream, divided
2 tablespoons sugar
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup cold butter, cut up
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 (8-oz.) container sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Preparation

1. Combine strawberries, 1/2 cup sugar, and, if desired, almond extract. Cover berry mixture, and let stand 2 hours.

2. Beat 1 c whipping cream at medium speed with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add 2 Tbsp. sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Cover and chill up to 2 hours.

3. Combine flour, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl; cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly.

4. Whisk together eggs, sour cream, remaining whipping cream (1/4 c) and vanilla until blended; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Drop dough by lightly greased 1/3 cupfuls onto a lightly greased baking sheet. (Coat cup with vegetable cooking spray after each drop.)

5. Bake at 450° for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden.

6. Split shortcakes in half horizontally. Spoon about 1/2 cup berry mixture onto each shortcake bottom; top each with a rounded Tbsp. chilled whipped cream, and cover with tops. Serve with remaining whipped cream. Garnish, if desired.

Strawberry Jam Shortcakes: Prepare recipe as directed. Before topping shortcake bottoms with strawberry mixture, stir together 1/4 cup strawberry jam and 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint. Spread cut sides of bottom shortcake halves evenly with jam mixture. Proceed with recipe as directed.

Creamy Parmesan Garlic Orzo

I originally got this recipe from allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/parmesan-garlic-orzo/)

This recipe is for a side dish but I wanted to use it for a main dish.  So, this includes my modifications.


Ingredients

3 cup orzo pasta
1/2 cup butter
1/4 c olive oil
4 tablespoons minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
4 slices of bacon, cut in pieces
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (or any combination of Asiago, Parmesan and Romano)
1/2 c half and half
1 teaspoon salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions


1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook orzo in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain.

2.Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add olive oil and heat until warm. Saute bacpn, onion and garlic in melted butter/oil until lightly browned. Stir orzo into garlic mixture and mix in Parmesan cheese, half and half, salt, black pepper, and parsley.

Fresh Fruit Crumble

I found this recipe on food.com as a Peach Crumble.  But my husband doesn't like peaches.  So, after making it with peaches, I also decided to make it with apples.  It was delicious both ways.

Ingredients:

6 cups peeled sliced ripe peaches(or apples)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
1 teaspoon cinnamon

TOPPING

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

Directions:

1.   Heat oven to 375*.
2. Put fruit slices in greased, shallow 11x7 baking dish.
3. Mix brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, peel, and cinnamon.
4.  Sprinkle over the fruit.
5.  Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
6.  Stir in egg until mixture is coarse crumbs.
7 . Sprinkle over fruit.
8. Drizzle butter evenly over topping.
9. Bake for 38 minutes.

Baklava

Last weekend, at my husband's request, I tried my hand at Baklava.  His owning wishes were "fewer walnuts, more honey".  So I set out in search of a recipe.  I found one with +1200 reviews at allrecipes.com.  It included a video, which helped me immensely.

I did, however, make a few modifications - I increased the honey from 1/2 c to a full cup.  I also buttered each layer, which took a full pound.

Also, I had really mixed results with the whole damp cloth thing.  I did better without.  Next time, I think I'll use a sheet of plastic wrap and just place it gently on top of the dough.

I turned out great.  My hubby says it was the best baklava he's ever had!

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
• 1 pound chopped nuts (I used pecans, almonds and pistachios)
• 1 lb butter
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut whole stack in half to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.
3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.
4. Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

René's Caprese Salad

I LOVE caprese salad.  I could live on fresh tomatoes and basil.  Adding mozzerella and balsamic just makes it that much better.

We were fixing dinner for my husband's parents and I wanted to take advantage of the current crop of tomatoes. Caprese salad doesn't really require a recipe but I want to write down what I did because it was a bit different.  I made a dressing the day before and let it chill so all of the flavors blended together.


 

Ingredients:

Dressing:

1/2 c chopped fresh basil

1/4 c olive oil

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

1 T fresh garlic

1/2 c chopped red onion

1/2 c chopped white onion

Salt

Pepper

Place all ingredients in blender and pureé.  Adjust quantities according to taste.  Chill overnight.

Salad:

4 or 5 fresh tomatoes, sliced

1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

1/4 to 1/2 fresh basil

4 to 8 oz mozzerella (whole milk kind is best)

balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper

Spread dressing on bottom of serving plate.  Arrange tomatoe slices, onion slices and mozzerella over dressing, using one onion and cheese to every three tomatoe slices.

Spread basil on top of tomato/onion/mozzerella.  Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper.

Chill at least one our before serving.

This was very tasty.  The tomatoes made the dressing a little runny by the time I served it, but it didn't really seem to matter.  This recipe can be adapted to take advantage of your favorite ingredients.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Jalapenos

Yikes!  I can't believe I haven't posted anything since April.  I guess that's because we spent the spring and half the summer moving.  But, I have started cooking again so it's time to write!

I got this recipe from a co-worker and have modified it by adding the bacon.  They are awesome!


1 lb Sausage  (I either use hot sausage or add red pepper flakes)
8 oz cream cheese

4 oz grated parmesan

24 jalapenos

Enough bacon to wrap all of the jalapenos  (1/2 slice per jalapeno half)



Brown sausage.  Drain grease and cool

Mix sausage with cream cheese and parmesan

Remove stem and seeds and cut jalapenos in half and fill with sausage mixture.  Wrap jalapenos tightly with 1/2 slice bacon.

Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes -- until bacon is fairly crispy.





Pre heat oven to 400 degrees



Bake stuffed jalapenos for 10 – 15 minutes

Best Chicken Fried Steak

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com.  I followed the recipe exactly with the exception of the tabasco.  I also fried the steaks one at a time so I kept them warm in the oven with a pan covered with foil.

Ingredients

• 4 (1/2 pound) beef cube steaks
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups vegetable shortening for deep frying

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk
• kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Pound the steaks to about 1/4-inch thickness. Place 2 cups of flour in a shallow bowl. Stir together the baking powder, baking soda, pepper, and salt in a separate shallow bowl; stir in the buttermilk, egg, Tabasco Sauce, and garlic. Dredge each steak first in the flour, then in the batter, and again in the flour. Pat the flour onto the surface of each steak so they are completely coated with dry flour.
2. Heat the shortening in a deep cast-iron skillet to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Fry the steaks until evenly golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Place fried steaks on a plate with paper towels to drain. Drain the fat from the skillet, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid and as much of the solid remnants as possible.
3. Return the skillet to medium-low heat with the reserved oil. Whisk the remaining flour into the oil. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to release solids into the gravy. Stir in the milk, raise the heat to medium, and bring the gravy to a simmer, cook until thick, 6 to 7 minutes. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Spoon the gravy over the steaks to serve. 

The family loved this!
 
 
 

Microwave Spicy Spuds

4 medium potatoes
3 Tbsp. butter. melted
2 Tbsp. fine dry bread crumbs
4 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
dash paprika

 

Instructions:

Cut into 1/4" slices. Arrange in glass baking dish. Brush with melted butter. Combine crumbs, cheese and seasonings. Sprinkle over potatoes. Cook in a microwave oven at full power for about 10 minutes until potatoes are tender, turning 1/4 turn several times. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand 3 minutes. Serves 4 to 6.

 This recipe came from healthyhomerecipes.com

 At first was a little skeptical but I cooked the potatoes some more and added about 1/2 c shredded cheese. 

Weekend cooking -- Batter Biscuits and Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake

I had a pretty successful cooking day on Sunday.  I made the Dirty Rice in my previous post for dinner.  And, earlier in the day, I made these two things.

Batter Biscuits
I've been trying to figure out where this recipe actually originated but without much luck.  I found it on healthyhomerecipes.com.  When I searched for it, I also found it on bigoven.com.  So, I'm not trying to swipe someone else's recipe -- I always try to give credit to the place I found the recipe.

This recipe is very similar to Yorkshire pudding, except that it is made with buttermilk and in mini-muffin pans.  They were really good -- crunchy on the outside and moist on the inside.  My family love them and begged me to make more.

1 t salt
1/2 T baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
2 1/3 c flour
1 quart buttermilk (or more as needed)
2 eggs
1/2 lb butter

Preheat oven to 425.  Mix dry ingredients.  Add buttermilk until the consistency of pancake batter.  Beat eggs and add to batter.  Batter must be slightly thinner than pancake batter and beaten until very smooth.

Melt butter.

Put 1/2 t butter in each hole of mini-muffin tins.  Heat in preheated oven until butter is very hot.  Spoon 1 T batter into each hole.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 5 dozen biscuits.


Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cake
From bunsinmyoven.com

Ingredients

For the cake:
• 1 box mix for red velvet cake
• 1 egg
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
For the filling:
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted
• 16 ounces (about 4 cups) powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. It will be thick and difficult to mix. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter and beat together. Add the powdered sugar and mix until completely combined.
4. Spread the cream cheese mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to over bake as the center should be a little gooey.

Awesome Dirty Rice recipe

For some strange reason, a couple weeks ago I decided I needed to make dirty rice from scratch.  I started looking for recipes.  I needed to find one that didn't require chicken livers or gizzards.  I found quite a few.  But I was still hesitant.  So, I got in touch with one of my brothers in New Orleans to see what he thought.  He just happened to be with a female friend of his at the time that I called him.  And she gave me the list of ingredients and a couple of hints.  Here's what I threw together with their help.

 Granted, it isn't pretty.  But it was phenomenal!

Rene and Jayme's Dirty Rice

2 1/2 c white rice
3T butter
2T olive oil
4 c beef broth
2c water
1 lb ground beef
2 onions, chopped very finely
1/2 green pepper, chopped very finely
2 stalks celery, chopped very finely
4 green onions
1 pkg dry onion soup mix
Cajun seasoning to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

Brown rice in butter and olive oil.  Add broth and water.  Bring to boil and cook for 20-25 minutes, until rice is done.

In separate pan, brown ground beef.  Add vegetables, soup mix, seasoning and pepper.  cook until vegetables are soft. (Save green tops of green onions for later)

Add ground beef/vegetable mixture to rice.  Add salt to taste.  Add green onion tops


Hint: Even if you don't like green peppers, don't skip them.  They really add something.

Pork Schnitzel based on Tyler Florence

 This recipe is pretty much the same as the Tyler Florence recipe on Food Network.  Biggest changes I made -- pork cutlets instead of pork chops, adding basil to the bread crumbs and using half panko bread crumbs.

Don't skip the thyme step -- it adds a lot of flavor!

• 4 Pork cutlets (5 to 6 oz each)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 cups plain dried bread crumbs (I made my own and added basil that I had dried)
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 sprig thyme

Directions

1.  Begin by placing each cutlet between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and gently pounding them out with the flat side of a meat tenderizer until they are an even 1/4-inch thick. 

2.  Put the flour in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.
3.  Whisk the eggs and milk in another shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.
4.  Put the bread crumbs in a third dish and again season with salt and pepper.
5.  Lightly dredge each piece of pork in flour, then in the egg and finally into the bread crumbs, pressing the bread crumbs onto the pork gently so they have a nice even coating.

6.  Lay the breaded pork cutlets in a single layer on a plate lined with parchment and refrigerate, uncovered, for 10 to 12 minutes to allow the coating to dry out a little and adhere to the pork. (This is an important step!)

7.  Heat oil and butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the thyme sprig and let it fry for about 1 minute to infuse the oil. Remove the thyme sprig and reserve.
8.  Gently lay the cutlets into the pan and cook until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side.
9.  Remove to paper towels to drain. Season with salt and transfer to a serving platter while still hot. If you have more cutlets to cook, put finished cutlets in a baking pan, cover with foil and keep in warm oven.

Crock Pot Short Ribs

I have to write this down while I remember.  For some reason, I've been wanting to make short ribs for some time now.  I've had a hard time finding them at the store.  I finally did this week and, lo and behold, I couldn't find the recipe I had been wanting to use.

I scoured the internet.  I never did find one that I liked.  So, I winged it.  I tried to use spices that I would use on a standing rib roast.

1 large onion, diced in small pieces
Minced garlic
Beef short ribs (around 5 lbs)
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
Paprika
Rosemary
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Ground red pepper
white wine

Directions:

1.  Brown onion in olive oil.  Add garlic and saute a short time.  Make sure there is enough oil that there is some left.  (I probably used 1/4 c).  Remove garlic and onion from pan.
2.  Add some salt and pepper to the flour.  Dredge the ribs lightly.
3.  Brown ribs in olive oil, making sure to turn to get all sides browned.  Remove from pan, retaining remaining juices.
4.  Place garlic and onions in bottom of crock pot.  Add ribs.
5.  Combine garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, ground red pepper and paprika in small bowl.  Add  spice mix to juices in pan and combine well, heating for about 2 minutes.  Add a small amount (1/4 c) of white wine.
6.  Pour wine/spice mixture over ribs.
7.  Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Whipped Frosting

This cake recipe is "Sandy's Chocolate Cake" from allrecipes.com.  This makes a three layer 9" cake.

The whipped topping came from several places on the internet.  It holds up really well.

Ingredients

• 3 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups sour cream
• 1 1/3 cups boiling water

In a mixing bowl, cream brown sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Blend in vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add alternately with sour cream to creamed mixture. Mix on low just until combined. Stir in water until blended. Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.


Chocolate Whipped topping

2 c heavy whipping cream
2 t vanilla extract
5 T  white sugar
5 T unsweetened cocoa powder

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine.  Cover and chill bowl and beaters for at least 30 minutes.  When chilled, beat until stiff peaks form.  Use immediately.

Paula Deen's Sausage and Bacon Gravy

This year for Thanksgiving, I cooked desserts to take to my in-laws house.  They were basically done ahead of time, which left me free on Thanksgiving morning to fix breakfast for my family,  Doug requested biscuits and gravy.  Although I could have fixed them without a recipe, I decided to see what was out there.  This is what I found.  I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter...except that I added a little cream (in addition to the half-and-half) just to make the gravy a better consistency.

This might be the best biscuits and gravy that I've ever had.

Servings: 12 Servings
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: varies (depending on your stove heat)
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

1 lb ground sausage
4   slices thick-cut bacon
1/2   onion, diced
2   garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoon butter
12   freshly baked biscuits (use your favorite recipe or you can use store-bought

Directions

In a large skillet, combine sausage, bacon, onion, and garlic. Cook over medium heat, until sausage is browned and crumbles. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually stir in half-and-half. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened. Stir in butter.

Butternut Squash Bisque

Another yummy fall soup recipe!

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
•  3 tablespoons unsalted butter
•  3/4  cup diced onion
• 1/2 c chopped celery
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh, chopped thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh, crushed rosemary
• 1 fresh sage leaf, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup diced carrots
• 4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
• 3 cups chicken stock
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• ground nutmeg to taste
• 1 cup heavy cream

In a large saucepan over medium, melt butter and add olive oil.  Sauté the onion, celery, thyme, rosemary, and sage  for 5-7 minutes, until the vegetables turn tender. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper and sauté the vegetables and herbs for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the butternut squash, carrots and chicken stock to the pan and bring the soup to simmer. Reduce the heat slightly, cover, and simmer the soup for 20 minutes, until the squash is tender.
Puree the soup in a countertop blender or with an immersion blender until it is completely smooth. Stir in the heavy cream and heat through.

Creamy Chorizo and Chicken Soup

 I got this recipe from healthyhomerecipes.com.  I made a couple modifications, which are included here.  If you like chorizo, you'll love this.  It is really yummy!


2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
4 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch cubes
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
black pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb chorizo sausage, casings removed
1 medium onion, diced (or whatever size pieces you prefer)
4 cups chicken stock
1 (14.5 ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
2 cups heavy cream
salt to taste
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup sour cream, for topping


Heat the olive oil in a large pot over high heat, then add the butter. 

Stir in chicken and season with Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and pepper. Cook the chicken breasts until no longer pink in the center, then stir in the garlic. Place chicken onto a plate and set aside.

Using the same pot, cook the chorizo until it becomes a dark golden brown, breaking up the large pieces,  over medium-high heat.  The more the chorizo crumbles, the better.  Add onion and saute with chorizo until translucent.

Stir in the chicken stock, tomatoes, and reserved chicken with juices. 

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Stir in heavy cream and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt. Serve soup garnished with Monterey Jack cheese, Parmesan cheese, and a dollop of sour cream.