Sausage Gravy

Last weekend my husband and I had some friend over we and made breakfast for dinner! We made an egg casserole, bacon, and biscuits with sausage gravy. Now, I had never actually made sausage gravy before and I have to tell you, it was so simple! I didn't expect it to be difficult, but I had no idea just how simple it would be! 

To make enough gravy for 4-6 biscuits you will need:

• 1/2 lb. GROUND SAUSAGE
• 4 Tbs FLOUR
• 2 & 1/2 cups MILK
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1/2 tsp PEPPER

Start off by browning the sausage in a skillet on the stove. 

Once the sausage is cooked, sprinkle the flour over the top. Stir the flour into the sausage and allow the mixture to cook for another 3 minutes. 

Next, pour in the milk. 

Stir to combine and add the salt and pepper. (I ended up adding an extra 1/2 tsp of pepper.)

Allow the gravy to cook over a medium heat until it thickens, about 10 minutes. Be sure to stir the gravy frequently to keep it from burning on the bottom of the skillet. 

If you have trouble getting the gravy to thicken stir in a little bit more flour. If the gravy become too thick, just add a splash of milk!

Bake up some biscuits to serve it over...

 ...and enjoy!

Perfection. 

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Sausage Gravy

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. GROUND SAUSAGE
• 4 Tbs FLOUR
• 2 & 1/2 cups MILK
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1/2 tsp PEPPER

Directions:

1. Start off by browning the sausage in a skillet on the stove. 
2. Once the sausage is cooked, sprinkle the flour over the top. Stir the flour into the sausage and allow the mixture to cook for another 3 minutes. 
3. Next, pour in the milk. Stir to combine and add the salt and pepper. (I ended up adding an extra 1/2 tsp of pepper.)
4. Allow the gravy to cook over a medium heat until it thickens, about 10 minutes. Be sure to stir the gravy frequently to keep it from burning on the bottom of the skillet. 
• If you have trouble getting the gravy to thicken, stir in a little bit of extra flour. If the gravy become too thick, just add a splash of milk!
5. Bake up some biscuits to serve it over and enjoy!

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Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs

Lately my husband and I have been trying to focus on eating healthier and cutting back on carbohydrates. One meal that we both loved was this spaghetti squash with meatballs. It is basically spaghetti and meatballs, but instead of using spaghetti we used spaghetti squash. Now, I'm not going to lie to you and say that it tastes just like regular spaghetti because it doesn't. It isn't pasta, it's a vegetable! Don't let that keep you from making this dish though, it turned out delicious! The flavors of the tomato sauce paired really well with the flavor of the spaghetti squash! We liked it so much we are making it again this week!

This recipe will make about 16 meatballs which I would consider 4 servings. To make the meatballs you will need:

• 3/4 lb. GROUND BEEF
• 2 cloves GARLIC, minced
• 6 Tbs PLAIN BREAD CRUMBS
• 1 LARGE EGG
• 6 Tbs PARMESAN CHEESE, shredded
• 2 Tbs FRESH PARSLEY, minced
• pinch of SALT and PEPPER
• splash of MILK
• 3-4 Tbs OLIVE OIL

To make the sauce you will need:

• 1/2 YELLOW ONION, chopped
• 2 cloves GARLIC, minced
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1/2 tsp PEPPER
• 28 oz. CRUSHED TOMATOES 
• Optional: 1/4 cup WHITE WINE
• 1/4 tsp SUGAR
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1/2 tsp PEPPER
• 2 Tbs FRESH PARSLEY, minced

You will also need:

• 2 medium SPAGHETTI SPAGHETTI SQUASHES (1/2 a squash per serving) 

Start off by mixing together the ground beef, garlic, bread crumbs, egg, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and milk in a medium bowl.

Don't be afraid, get your hands in there and mix it all up!

Once the mixture is well combined roll out balls that are about 1 & 1/2 inches in diameter and place them on a cookie sheet. Once all of the meatball are rolled out, place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Doing this helps them stay together better while you brown them. 

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, sear the meatballs in the pot, turn to brown. (You are not trying to cook the meatballs just yet, you are just trying to get a good sear all over.) 

Place the meatballs on a paper towel once they have a good sear in order to drain off any excess oil. 

Into the large pot with oil, add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until they start to to turn translucent.



Then add the crushed tomatoes, wine, salt, pepper, and parsley. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat.

Then add the meatballs to the sauce and cook for another 30 minutes. Stir gently as to not break up the meatballs. If the sauce starts to get too thick you can add more crushed tomatoes if you have them or else a little bit of water.



While the meatballs are cooking prepare the spaghetti squash. This way all of the food will be ready at once!

Pierce the skin of the squash several times with a sharp knife in order to allow the steam to escape (Basically stab it a few times, but be careful! The skin is very tough!).

If you choose to bake it, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and then bake it on a cookie sheet for 1 hour. OR you could take the quicker route and put it on a plate and microwave it for 10-12 minutes making sure to rotate the squash half-way through. Your choice! The squash is done cooking when you can pierce the squash with your knife fairly easily.

After cooking your squash, cut it open lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. 

Then take a fork and scrape the stringy, spaghetti-like squash out.

Transfer the squash to a bowl... 

and top with the sauce and meatballs! 

Then sit back and enjoy!

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Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs

Ingredients:

To make the meatballs you will need:

• 3/4 lb. GROUND BEEF
• 2 cloves GARLIC, minced
• 6 Tbs PLAIN BREAD CRUMBS
• 1 LARGE EGG
• 6 Tbs PARMESAN CHEESE, shredded
• 2 Tbs FRESH PARSLEY, minced
• pinch of SALT and PEPPER
• splash of MILK
• 3-4 Tbs OLIVE OIL

To make the sauce you will need:

• 1/2 YELLOW ONION, chopped
• 2 cloves GARLIC, minced
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1/2 tsp PEPPER
• 28 oz. CRUSHED TOMATOES 
• Optional: 1/4 cup WHITE WINE
• 1/4 tsp SUGAR
• 1/2 tsp SALT
• 1/2 tsp PEPPER
• 2 Tbs FRESH PARSLEY, minced

You will also need:

• 2 medium SPAGHETTI SPAGHETTI SQUASHES (1/2 a squash per serving) 

Directions:

1. Start off by mixing together the ground beef, garlic, bread crumbs, egg, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, pepper, and milk in a medium bowl. Don't be afraid, get your hands in there and mix it all up!
2. Once the mixture is well combined, roll out balls that are about 1 & 1/2 inches in diameter and place them on a cookie sheet. Once all of the meatball are rolled out, place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes. 
3. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, sear the meatballs in the pot, turn to brown. (You are not trying to cook the meatballs just yet, you are just trying to get a good sear all over.) 
4. Place the meatballs on a paper towel once they have a good sear in order to drain off any excess oil. 
5. Into the large pot with oil, add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes until they start to to turn translucent. Then add the crushed tomatoes, wine, salt, pepper, and parsley. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat. 
6. Then add the meatballs to the sauce and cook for another 30 minutes. Stir gently as to not break up the meatballs. (If the sauce starts to get too thick you can add more crushed tomatoes if you have them or else a little bit of water.) While the meatballs are cooking prepare the spaghetti squash.
7. Pierce the skin of the squash several times with a sharp knife in order to allow the steam to escape while cooking (Basically stab it a few times, but be careful! The skin is very tough!). The squash is done cooking when you can pierce the squash with your knife fairly easily.
• If you choose to bake it, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and then bake it on a cookie sheet for 1 hour. 
• If you choose to microwave it, put it on a plate and heat it for 10-12 minutes making sure to rotate the squash half-way through.
8. After cooking your squash, cut it open lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. 
9. Then take a fork and scrape the stringy, spaghetti-like squash out.
10. Serve the meatballs and sauce over the spaghetti squash and top with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil! Then sit back and enjoy!

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Crepes

I have been wanting to try to make crepes for awhile now, and it turned out to be pretty easy to do! You just have to pay attention to what you are doing and not walk away from the stove! Once you have made your crepes you can top them with just about anything! I topped mine with Nutella and strawberries, yum!

I didn't actually use all of the batter that I made, but I think I probably would have gotten about 20 8 inch crepes out of this batter. 

To make these simple crepes you will need:

• 2 cups MILK
• 1 & 1/3 cup FLOUR
• 1 EGG
• 1 Tbs VEGETABLE OIL
• 1/2 tsp BAKING POWDER
• 2 Tbs SUGAR

Throw all of the above ingredients into a medium sized bowl and whisk until smooth.

The batter should resemble a thin pancake batter.

Next, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, spray the pan with nonstick spray (Be careful doing this if you have a gas stove! You may want to move the pan off the stove to spray if you have gas just to be safe.) and then use a ladle to pour a small amount of batter into the skillet.

As you pour the batter into the skillet roll the pan from side to side to get a thin coating of batter all over the bottom of the pan.

After a few minutes of cooking all of the liquid should evaporate and you should see little bubbles all over the crepe. Use a spatula to carefully flip the crepe over at this point. (See picture below.)

The picture below shows what the bottom should look like once flipped! Cook the crepe for another minute or two and then transfer it to a plate.

Then start cooking the next crepe!

Once I was ready to eat, I spread on a nice layer of Nutella, and then laid on a few cut up strawberries.

Roll it up, and vuala!

That wasn't that hard, was it?

They look so fancy!

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Crepes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups MILK
• 1 & 1/3 cup FLOUR
• 1 EGG
• 1 Tbs VEGETABLE OIL
• 1/2 tsp BAKING POWDER
• 2 Tbs SUGAR

Directions:

1. Throw all of the above ingredients into a medium sized bowl and whisk until smooth. The batter should resemble a thin pancake batter.
2. Next, heat a small skillet over medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, spray the pan with nonstick spray (Be careful doing this if you have a gas stove! You may want to move the pan off the stove to spray if you have gas just to be safe.) and then use a ladle to pour a small amount of batter into the skillet.
3. As you pour the batter into the skillet roll the pan from side to side to get a thin coating of batter all over the bottom of the pan.
4. After a few minutes of cooking all of the liquid should evaporate and you should see little bubbles all over the crepe. Use a spatula to carefully flip the crepe over at this point. 
5. Cook the crepe for another minute or two and then transfer it to a plate. Then start cooking the next crepe!

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I found this recipe on the following website: http://juliasalbum.com/2012/11/how-to-make-crepes-from-scratch-in-a-regular-frying-pan-recipe/

Iced Mocha

Lately I have been on the lookout for a good iced coffee and I think that I have found it in this recipe! I will start off by admitting that I am a little bit of a wimp when it comes to coffee. I tend to go for the sweet coffee drinks that are probably more sugar than coffee. I'm working on it though!

This iced mocha is delicious and I think it has a good balance of coffee flavor and sweetness (I even toned down the sweetness from the original recipe! I'm so proud of myself!) It is extremely easy to adapt this recipe to your taste by varying how much coffee, sugar, or milk you add! Let loose, play mad scientist, and experiment! I love this recipe because I can make it ahead of time and drink on it for a week, but it would also be great to make for a party!

To take this drink up a notch, I made some coffee ice cubes! I did this by freezing brewed coffee in an ice tray. It's super easy and prevents your coffee from getting watered down as the ice melts!

To make just under 3 quarts of this delicious treat you will need:

• 1/3 cup INSTANT COFFEE GRANULES 
• 1/2 cup BOILING WATER
• 1 (14 oz.) can SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK (you could use fat-free to knock off a few calories)
• 1/2 cup CHOCOLATE SYRUP
• 3 cups COLD WATER
• 6 cups MILK (I used 1%, but you could use skim to knock off a few MORE calories)

Start off by putting the coffee into a  medium sized bowl. Next, whisk the 1/2 cup of boiling water into the coffee. (I made a half batch of this iced coffee in the pictures, so that's why it looks like so much less!)

Continue whisking the mixture until all of the coffee has dissolved.

Whisk the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup into the coffee.

Pour the sweetened coffee mixture into your pitcher and stir in the cold water and milk. This is where tasting is important! If the coffee is too sweet add some more milk or water. If it doesn't have enough coffee flavor, dissolve a few tablespoons of the instant coffee in a few tablespoons of boiling water and mix it in.

Once the coffee is to your liking, chill it until it is cold (or just pour it over a glass full of ice) and then serve!

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Iced Mocha

Ingredients:
To make just under 3 quarts of this delicious treat you will need:

• 1/3 cup INSTANT COFFEE GRANULES 
• 1/2 cup BOILING WATER
• 1 (14 oz.) can SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK (you could use fat-free to knock off a few calories)
• 1/2 cup CHOCOLATE SYRUP
• 3 cups COLD WATER
• 6 cups MILK (I used 1%, but you could use skim to knock off a few MORE calories)

Directions:

1. Start off by putting the coffee into a  medium sized bowl. 
2. Next, whisk the 1/2 cup of boiling water into the coffee. Continue whisking the mixture until all of the coffee has dissolved.
3. Whisk the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup into the coffee.
4. Pour the sweetened coffee mixture into your pitcher and stir in the cold water and milk. 
5. This is where tasting is important! If the coffee is too sweet, add some more milk or water. If it doesn't have enough coffee flavor, dissolve a few tablespoons of the instant coffee in a few tablespoons of boiling water and mix it in. 
6. Once the coffee is to your liking, chill it until it is cold (or just pour it over a glass full of ice) and then serve!

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I adapted my recipe from the following recipe: http://www.loriesmississippikitchen.com/2008/07/iced-mocha-latte.html

Buffalo Chicken Bites

These buffalo chicken bites are great for parties and get-togethers! Each bite has spicy buffalo chicken and tangy blue cheese wrapped in a little bit of dough. You can either dip them in some more buffalo sauce, or a dressing such as ranch or blue cheese!

To make about 48 of these buffalo chicken bites you will need:

• 2 & 1/4 tsp (1 packet) RAPID RISE YEAST
• 2 Tbs BROWN SUGAR
• 1 cup MILK, warm
• 2 & 1/2 cups FLOUR
• 1 cup CHICKEN, cook and then either diced or shredded
• 1/2 cup CRUMBLED BLUE CHEESE
• 2 Tbs SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE
• 1/4 cup BUFFALO SAUCE (I used Ott's)
• 4 Tbs UNSALTED BUTTER, melted

Ok, start off by preparing the dough. Dissolve the brown sugar into the warm milk. Then pour this mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Slowly mix in the flour and yeast, a ball of dough should start to form. If necessary add an extra 1/2 cup of flour to get the dough to come together. Let the mixer continue to kneed the dough on low speed for another 5-7 minutes. 

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed a few more time just to form the dough into a smooth ball. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise. This will probably take 2-3 hours, the dough should double in size. 

While the dough is rising, mix up filling! In a medium sized bowl, mix together the chicken, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, buffalo sauce, and melted butter. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to make the bites!

Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and separate the dough into four equal 'chunks.'

Take one of the 'chunks' of dough and gently stretch it out into a 'rope' that is roughly 12 inches long. 

Then, using a rolling pin, roll out the rope so that the dough makes a 12 inch x 4 inch rectangle. 

Next, spoon 1/4 of the chicken mixture on the bottom third of the dough (try to leave about a 1/2 inch boarder along the bottom though). 

Then, take the bottom edge of the dough and stretch it over the top of the chicken and press to seal.

Roll the chicken up tightly in the dough and then cut the rope into about 12 pieces.  Repeat this process with the other 3 chunks of dough and the rest of the chicken.

Place all of the buffalo bites onto a greased cookie sheet (or two) and let them rest for about 30 minutes. This will allow the dough to rise a little bit more.

Then bake them for 5-7 minutes! When they come out of the oven you can brush them with a little bit of butter if you are feeling extra indulgent!

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Buffalo Chicken Bites

Ingredients:

• 2 & 1/4 tsp (1 packet) RAPID RISE YEAST
• 2 Tbs BROWN SUGAR
• 1 cup MILK
• 2 & 1/2 cups FLOUR
• 1 cup CHICKEN, cook and then either diced or shredded
• 1/2 cup CRUMBLED BLUE CHEESE
• 2 Tbs SHREDDED CHEDDAR CHEESE
• 1/4 cup BUFFALO SAUCE (I used Ott's)
• 4 Tbs BUTTER, unsalted

Directions:

1. Start off by preparing the dough. Dissolve the brown sugar into the warm milk. Then pour this mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Slowly mix in the flour and yeast, a ball of dough should start to form. If necessary add an extra 1/2 cup of flour to get the dough to come together. Let the mixer continue to kneed the dough on low speed for another 5-7 minutes. 
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed a few more time just to form the dough into a smooth ball. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise. This will probably take 2-3 hours. The dough should double in size. 
3. While the dough is rising, mix up filling! In a medium sized bowl, mix together the chicken, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, buffalo sauce, and melted butter. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to make the bites!
4. Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and separate the dough into four equal 'chunks.'
5. Take one of the 'chunks' of dough and gently stretch it out into a 'rope' that is roughly 12 inches long. 
6. Then, using a rolling pin, roll out the rope so that the dough makes a 12 inch x 4 inch rectangle. 
7. Next, spoon 1/4 of the chicken mixture on the bottom third of the dough (try to leave about a 1/2 inch boarder along the bottom though). 
8. Then, take the bottom edge of the dough and stretch it over the top of the chicken and press to seal. 
9. Roll the chicken up tightly in the dough and then cut the rope into about 12 pieces.  
10. Repeat this process with the other 3 chunks of dough and the rest of the chicken.
11. Place all of the buffalo bites onto a greased cookie sheet (or two) and let them rest for about 30 minutes. This will allow the dough to rise a little bit more. 
12. Then bake them for 5-7 minutes! When they come out of the oven you can brush them with a little bit of butter if you are feeling extra indulgent!

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I found this delightful snack on this website: http://joelens.blogspot.com/2010/06/buffalo-chicken-bites.html