Showing posts with label sausage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sausage. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Brunch Menu

The brunch was a success and the food was devine.  I had a lot of favorites and a lot of new recipes I tried and it all came out great.  I just love breakfast foods!  I can't wait to cook Christmas morning.  In my family we did the traditional turkey, ham, dressing, etc lunch but in my husband's family my mother-in-law cooked breakfast.  So I'm going to continue that tradition on in this Robinson household. :-)

I hope you enjoy these recipes.  Some came from friends, a couple came from my idol :-) Paula Deen, and some came from the Southern Living Cookbook.  So delish!!!!

These next recipes came from my Paula Deen cookbook.  My Southern girl!  I made her sausage balls, french toast casserole, and Bloody Marys.  You HAVE to try the french toast casserole.  I made one, not hers, before and it didn't taste all that great so I was a little iffy about making this one.  A friend reassured me that it is delicious so I made it.  Oh boy oh boy oh boy....DELISH!!!

Praline French Toast Casserole
8 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-n-half
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
10-12 slices soft bread, 1 inch thick

topping:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2/3 cup maple syrup
2 cups chopped pecans
  1. Generously butter a 13x9 inch casserole dish. (make sure you really butter your dish.  I didn't do it enough and it stuck a little.)
  2. Mix the eggs, half-n-half, maple syrup, and sugar in a bowl.  Place the bread slices in the prepared casserole dish and cover with the egg mixture.  Cover with plastic wrap and let soak overnight in the refrigerator.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350.  Remove the casserole from the fridge.
  4. Make the topping: Melt the butter in a saucepan.  Add the sugar and maple syrup and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.  Stir in the pecans.  Pour the mixture over the bread and bake for 45-55 minutes.  Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving. (you may want to put a pan under the casserole dish to catch anything that drips over.  My oven is a mess now b/c I didn't!
  5. Serves 8
Sausage Balls
I love sausage balls!!!  These are a staple at my Mother-in-Law's for Christmas morning.  A tip that was in another cookbook was to let the sausage and cheese sit out for about 20-30 minutes to make the mixing easier.  I forgot this time around and it's definitly more difficult if you don't.

One 1-pound package of ground sausage
3 cups Bisquick
4 cups grated sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/8 tsp pepper, or more if desired.
  1. Preheat oven to 375.  Spray a 15x10x1 baking sheet with vegetable oil cooking spray.
  2. Combine all the ingredients in a large glass bowl; mix well with your fingers.  The mixture will be very crumbly.  Form into 1 inch balls, squeezing the mixture so it holds together, then rolling it between the palms of your hands to form balls.  Then place the balls on the prepared baking sheet.
  3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.  To prevent sticking, move the sausage balls with a spatula halfway through cooking.  Cool, then remove from the cookie sheet.
  4. Makes 5 dozen.
Bloody Mary's
One 46 oz can V8 
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup vodka
1 TBSP celery seed
4 shakes Tabasco
Celery sticks, for garnish

Pour the juice into a large pitcher.  Add the pepper, salt, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, vodka, celery seed, and hot sauce.  Stir well.  

Sausage Casserole

 This recipe came from my Mother-in-Law.  Its another staple at Christmas time in their house.  I highly recommend it!!!!  You can leave the bell pepper and onion out but it is sooooo good with it in!!!!

2 cans cresent rolls
1 lb sausage
8 oz cream cheese at room temp
1/2 onion
1/2 bellpepper
  1. Preheat oven to 350. 
  2. In a 9x13 pan, put 1 can of crescent rolls pressed in the bottom.  You will have to work it kind of thin but it does fit.
  3. Saute the onions and bellpeppers and set aside.
  4. Brown your sausage then drain the grease.  Add the onion and bellpeppers and cream cheese.  Once cream cheese is melted, put sausage mixture on top the cresent rolls.
  5. Put the other can of crescent rolls on top the sausage mixture.
  6. Bake for approx 30 minutes.
Can't wait to make this for Christmas!!! 

You know me by now and know I love to bake.  So I had to make a couple of sweet things.  One is an Apple Spiced cake from the Southern Living cookbook and another is called "White Trash".  Both very yummy and addictive.

Chunky Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)
Chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)
  1. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl until blended.  Combine flour and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture, stirring until blended.  Stir in apple slices and 1 cup walnuts.  Spread into greased 13x9 inch pan. (will be thick!)
  2. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Spread with Cream Cheese Frosting; sprinkle with toasted walnuts, if desired.  Store in refrigerator.
  3. Yield: 12-15 servings.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
3 TBSP butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat cream cheese and 3 tbsp butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Gradually add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1/8 tsp salt, beating until blended.  Stir in vanilla.  Yield: 1 2/3 cups.

White Trash
1 cup Cheerios
1 cup pretzels
1 cup Chex cereal
3/4 bag M&Ms
1 cup mixed nuts
Almond bark

Mix all ingredients in a big bowl.  Melt the bark and pour over dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Spread onto wax paper.  When bark hardens break in small pieces.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

My CrockPot Red Beans and Rice

I don't do your typical NOLA red beans and rice. I like doing mine in the crockpot since it's so easy to do and comes out great! I love making these when I have company coming into town (inlaws came in last week) or if I have a busy day and need a good hot meal at the end of the day.

1 lb red beans
bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
sausage
1 tsp worcheshire sauce
1 tsp minced garlic (I must have garlic in everything!)
onion
rice
chicken broth (pour over beans until beans are nearly covered. Broth is also a staple for me like garlic)

Soak red beans overnight.
This next step I do sometimes but if I'm in a real rush I may skip it. I keep boiling the red beans in fresh water until the water becomes clear when I drain them. It usually takes about two boils. Understand?
I then throw everything in the crockpot and cook all day....stirring occasionally.
About 30 minutes before we eat, I check to see how thick it is. If it's kind of watery, I take some of the red beans and puree it until I get the consistency that I want. This past time I didn't put as much chicken broth as I normally do and it came out perfect. I only filled it up about 3/4 way full.

This isn't really a recipe that I found. I just pieced things together here and there. If you have any questions or suggestions to make it better just let me know!!!!

Oh and this was another fav of Taylor's!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Sausage and Tomato Rigatoni

One of my favorite websites to go to for recipes is Kraft Foods. On their website you can sign up to get magazines sent to your house with wonderful recipes in it. Here's one that I cooked the other night and it was really good. It calls for Italian sausage. For people who are like me and don't like sausage and never tried Italian sausage before just try it. It has a sweet flavor to it and is really delicious.

4 cups rigatoni pasta (8oz) uncooked
1 lbs Italian sausage, cut into chunks
1 medium red onion, sliced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing (I couldn't find this so I used Red Wine Vinaigrette)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

  1. Cook pasta as directed on package
  2. Meanwhile, brown sausage in large nonstick skillet; drain. Stir in onions and tomato paste; cover. Cook 15 minutes or until onion are tender and sausage is cooked through (170 F), stirring occasionally. Stir in dressing.
  3. Toss sausage mixture with pasta. Sprinkle with parsley and cheese.

Makes 4 servings, about 2 cups