Sausage & Biscuits Casserole

I am not a Southern girl.

I don't talk like a Southern girl, I don't act like a Southern girl and I surely don't cook like one. I could only wish!

My husband loves southern food. Loves it.

He was the first person I ever saw that ate grits. I don't think we even had them in this state until Cracker Barrel opened, and I'm guessing they are not often ordered here in Rhode Island. Now Jonnycakes, that's another story.

My hubby grew up in New Mexico so he still has a fondness for good Mexican food, chili peppers and biscuits and gravy.

Lord you should see his face when he is diggin in to a plate of biscuits covered in heavily peppered cream gravy. The man is in heaven.

When I saw this really easy recipe for Sausage and Biscuits Casserole I knew I had to make it for him.

He loved it.



Sausage and Gravy Casserole
1 pound sausage (I used Jimmy Dean Sage flavored)
1 small onion, chopped
6 ounces of cream cheese, room temp
1 can crescent rolls

Oven to 375.

Lightly spray a 9x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Place half of the crescent rolls in the bottom.

Cook the onions in a little bit of olive oil just until they become tender and translucent. Add in the sausage, breaking it up into small pieces as you cook it. Drain any grease. Add in the cream cheese. Pour onto the crescent rolls. Top with the other half of the rolls. I put the other half on a lightly floured sheet and pushed it with my fingertips until I knew it would fit over the top of the mixture.

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes in pan and serve.

Cooking notes* I originally made this in a 8x8 pan and I felt it was just a little too small. I also reduced the amount of cream cheese from 8oz to 6 oz. It was just a little bit too creamy for our liking.

Wordless Wednesday~

Chicken Portobello Stroganoff

I have to tell you all that I accomplished something that I've been saying I was going to do forever and just never got around to it.

I organized all my recipes! I was practically giddy about it. I just sat down one Saturday and grabbed them all and started categorizing. I put each category in a folder and then into hanging file folders, then those went into a pretty wicker basket.

I won't tell you how long it took me to find a basket that held the hanging file folders perfectly, or that I looked like a kook keeping one of the hanging folders smushed up in my purse so I could "test" it out on the basket. Let's just say it wasn't easy. I did finally find the perfect one at Target.

So all my recipes are categorized and are in order. Now if I could only do that on the blog. I keep saying I will but I just never have the time to do it. *sigh* someday.

The only problem with going through all my recipes? I wanna make like 40 of them right now!

It was hard looking through so many without salivating. This recipe was on a little scrap ripped out of a magazine. I almost couldn't read the source but I finally did make out that it was from Taste of Home. I'm actually getting better about keeping some info with the recipe now so I know what the source was.

This just sounded easy and delicious and it was.

My youngest doesn't even like mushroom and he ate this. He just gave them all to his brother. Two happy boys.



Chicken Portobello Stroganoff
adapted from a recipe at Taste of Home.com
1 lb ground chicken
12 ounces baby Portobello mushrooms cut into thick slices (I used 1 and a half pkgs of baby bellas)
1 shallot, chopped (or small onion)
3 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoon white wine or chicken broth
2 cups chicken broth
½ cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt & pepper to taste
1 cup (8oz sour cream)
Hot cooked egg noodles or pasta

In a large skillet cook the shallots (or onions) in the oil over medium high heat just until they become translucent. Add in the sliced mushrooms and 3 more tablespoons of oil. Cook until the mushroom are about ½ way done then add in the chicken. Add in the minced garlic.

Stir in the wine and bring to a boil. Cook until the liquid is almost evaporated. Add the broth, cream, lemon juice and salt & pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until liquid is reduced by half.

Reduce heat. Gradually stir in sour cream, heat through. Do not boil. If the sauce doesn’t seem thick enough (mine didn’t) mix a few tablespoons of cornstarch into a bit of water and add it into the pan to thicken it up. Serve over noodles or pasta.

Soy & Coconut Milk Chicken Thighs

We had some absolutely gorgeous weather last weekend.....LAST weekend.

This past week a heatwave took us over.

Temps nearing 100, high humidity. What's a poor curly headed girl to do?

Well I'll tell you we had a few nights of "cool" suppers. Cold cut sandwiches, cukes, hard boiled eggs, salads, stuff like that. It was too hot to even heat the grill. Now you know it's super hot when we don't crank up the grill.

We did however cook this delicious chicken on the grill before the hot weather found us.

I love chicken on the grill.



The slightly blackened skin, the smokiness, the crunch.

Let me make one very important statement here. If you are wondering if this chicken will taste like coconut....it won't. It's not coconutty at all. I'm not sure if the coconut is acting as a tenderizer or what is going on, all I know is that was one tasty batch of chicken.

Super tender with just a wee bit of tang.

I cooked my chicken in the oven and then finished it off on the grill.

Soy & Coconut Milk Chicken Thighs
adapted from a recipe at The Reluctant Entertainer
Chicken Thighs (bone in or boneless) (I used 4 pounds, approx. 8 thighs)
2/3 cup soy sauce
1 can (13 ½ ounces) coconut milk
¾ cup apple cider vinegar
Pressed garlic
3 -4 Bay leaves
Dash pepper

Mix all the ingredient together. Marinate the thighs for 12 – 24 hours. Oven to 350. Place the thighs on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until juices run clear. Throw the thighs on a hot grill for 5 to 7 minutes to crisp up.

Wordless Wednesday~

One Pan Dark Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie

So summer is finally here in New England. We take a few weeks longer to get started then most of the country but we eventually get there.

This past weekend was just perfect. It was sunny and 75 with no humidity. I wish the weather would stay like this all summer long. We sat by the fire every night, we grilled, we had family and friends over for Father's Day. It was pretty idyllic.

My garden is in and thriving. The yard work, though it will never really truly end, is pretty much under control. We widened a few flower beds and changed the landscape up just a bit. I love working with stones and pavers. It’s one of my most favorite things to do. Maybe that’s why I’m always changing the size and shape of my beds? I sit in the grass with my shovel and rubber mallet and dig trenches and pound rocks and pavers into the earth. I really love it.

On those long days when we are out in the yard until dusk, I’m not serving up dessert too often. They are lucky if they get a hot meal on those kind of days. Mama gets tired!

There are exceptions though. Like this one. I love this recipe - one pan, a few measuring spoons & cups and a trip to the oven. Done!

What could be easier?

A giant chocolate chip cookie you can cut into wedges like a pie. Big chunks of gooey chocolate surrounded by a big soft and chewy cookie.

Perfection.



I recommend using a cast iron pan when making this recipe. If you don't have one...I highly suggest you put it on your wish list. It's one of the most used pans in my kitchen. Once you cook an egg in cast iron, you will never go back to a regular skillet again.

I used Trader Joe's Belgian chocolate with this recipe. I bought the little 4 pack of bars and chopped it into chunks. You can substitute chips in a pinch.



One Pan Dark Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookie
Recipe from Sophistimom
1 stick butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate, cut up into chunks (or chocolate chips)

Preheat the oven to 350. Melt the butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet set over medium high heat. Stir in the sugars and vanilla and remove from the heat. Let rest in the pan until it is warm, but no longer very hot (about 5 minutes).

Crack the egg into the butter and sugar mixture and use a fork to whisk it into the mixture. Place the flour, baking soda, and salt on top and very carefully stir it in until the mixture is smooth and well-mixed. Stir in the chocolate chunks. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown but the center is still soft.

Wordless Wednesday~