southern biscuit muffins

I can't make biscuits (don't really want to), but I can make these biscuit muffins. They are easy and they taste good... especially with homemade jam.

Serves 12, preheat oven to 400 degrees & grease 12 muffin cups.

2 1/2 C flour
1/4 C sugar
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
3/4 C cold butter
1 C milk

• in a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and baking powder
• cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbles

That's when having one of these things come in handy. 

• stir in milk just until flour mixture is moistened
• spoon into muffin cups
• bake 20 minutes until golden
• remove from pan and cool

Almond crunch granola

10 C rolled oats

4 C sliced almonds

2 C shredded coconut

2 C chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 C pure maple syrup

1 1/4 C safflower oil

4-5 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Mix all the dry ingredients together

Mix the wet ingredients together. 

• mix the wet ingredients with the dry and stir well to combine
• spread thinly on cookie sheets
• bake 10 minutes, stir, bake 8 more minutes, stir, bake 8 more minutes
• cool for 10 minutes and transfer to a storage container

I used 2 cookies sheets and had to refill them after I emptied the cooked granola. 

the best hummus ever!

It's delicious! It's good for you! And you can eat it with crackers, pita bread, veggies, or whatever! I took this to a BBQ and everyone loved it and wanted the recipe! Once you have tried it, the store bought stuff just won't taste as good.  - Caution: you will need a food processor or something to blend it all together.

2-4 cloves of garlic
1/2 C tahini (sesame seed butter)
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 cans chick peas
salt to taste

• combine all ingredients in food processor, turn it on and add water to desired consistently. (start with 1/4 -1/2 C of water)

If you want to make your own pita chips... 

• preheat oven to 325 degrees
• brush pita bread with olive oil and sprinkle with salt
• cut into wedges
• bake 7 minutes on each side
• cool

bbq beef pie

This is seriously so easy. It's so easy that you really can't mess it up... Well I guess you could if you really tried. You could make them in muffin pans too. If you wanted individual sizes. Or mini muffin tins to make for appetizers.

1 pkg biscuits
1 lb ground beef or sirloin
olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 pkg or can of sliced mushrooms (I didn't have any on hand)
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
1 C bbq sauce, I use Sweet Baby Rays Hickory and Brown Sugar (it's our fave!)
1-2 C shredded cheddar cheese (say that 10x fast)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• place biscuits in bottom of pan and press or roll to cover the bottom of the pan

See my cute little helper!

• In a pan over medium high heat, add olive oil and onion (and fresh mushrooms if you want) and sauté for 5-10 minutes. 
• Add garlic, S&P and ground beef (and canned mushrooms) , cook until no longer pink
• Add bbq sauce and mix well
• Pour mixture over biscuits
• Sprinkle cheese over top

• Bake at 350 for however long it tells you on the biscuit package. I used Grands, so the pkg tells me 14-17 minutes. 

asparagus with tarragon vinaigrette

I love asparagus. This recipe is pretty tasty and simple to do. Sorry I don't have a picture. You probably know that asparagus comes in different sizes, some are thin and some are fat. You will have to adjust the cooking time so that they are firm and not too soft or mushy.

1 lb of asparagus (snap off the coarse ends)
1/2 C olive oil
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 C white wine vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 tbsp minced fresh tarragon

• steam the asparagus spears for 3-4 minutes (depends on size)
• rinse in cold water and drain
• place oil in small bowl, add mustard and beat until thickens
• add vinegar, salt, pepper, shallots and tarragon
• arrange warm asparagus on plate and pour dressing on top

Can also be served cold. 

Sausage and mozzarella stuffed mushrooms

I saw these mushrooms at Sam's club. They were huge! I thought they would be perfect for stuffing. Adam really liked them and Blake ate the stuffing even though he doesn't like mushrooms. He was walking by and saw them on the counter and said "I want that"! 

I didn't go crazy with ingredients, just kept it simple. 

• diced onion

• garlic clove

• 1lb sage sausage

• 1 C shredded mozzarella cheese

• sprinkle of breadcrumbs

• parmesan cheese

• mushrooms of course! (16-20)

Preheat oven to 400*. Spray a pan large enough to hold all the mushrooms with oil. Remove stems from mushrooms. I did not use them in the filling. 

Over medium high heat, sauté onions with some olive oil. Add garlic and sausage and brown. When sausage is done, remove from heat. Add breadcrumbs and mozzarella. Mine was frozen and that turned out perfect. 

Fill the mushroom caps and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. 

ham and cheddar cornbread muffins

I LOVE LOVE these muffins! They are good even when you leave out the ham and cheddar. I love the sweet and salty flavor of these muffins. I adapted the recipe from The Neely's.

1 C- yellow cornmeal
1 C- flour
1 tbsp- baking powder
1/2 C- sugar
1 tsp- salt
1 C- whole milk
2 large eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 C- honey
1/2 lb- cubed ham
1 1/2 C- shredded sharp cheddar

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, & salt in a large bowl. 
• Add ham and cheese
• In another bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, butter and honey
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just mixed
• Lightly spray muffin tin and divide batter evenly
• Bake 20 minutes or until golden

Enjoy. It makes 12 muffins. They are good for breakfast or lunch or whenever!

Sweet corn and cherry tomato salad

I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out because I wasn't even sure what the ingredients would be. I knew that I wanted sweet corn and cherry tomatoes. That was it. It turned out to be so good!

The amount of each depends on how much you want to make.

fresh corn, husks removed and grilled to caramelize and cut off the cob,  3-4
1 pkg cherry tomatoes
onion (I used mexican onions and grilled one)
1 can of black olives, halved
1 cucumber, diced
Feta crumbles
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Mix together and refrigerate for a couple hours before serving.

sausage and mushroom pasta

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes that I have come up with. It's simple and delicious!

1 box of pasta
1 lb of italian sausage (remove from casings)
1 onion (I like sliced to match the pasta)
1 pkg of mushrooms, sliced
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bag of baby spinach
olive oil
salt and pepper
pasta water
parmesan cheese

• Start the water boiling for the pasta, add salt and cook pasta according to box directions
• heat another pan to med high heat, drizzle with olive oil
• saute the onions for about 5-10 minutes
• add mushrooms and cook about 5 more minutes
• add spinach and garlic and cook until spinach starts to wilt
• add sausage, cook until sausage is no longer pink, turn to low and cover
• add the pasta when it is done cooking, add some pasta water to make a nice sauce
• serve and sprinkle with parmesan

I had a friend substitute with ground pork, and it is not the same. The sausage gives it all the flavor. 

grated broccoli with parmesan

The texture of this dish is different, but the flavor is awesome. 

6 C grated broccoli stems

2/3 C parmesan

3 Tbsp olive oil

3/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

• peel and grate broccoli stems (or use food processor)
• heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat
• add broccoli and salt, toss to coat
• cover, reduce heat  and cook, stirring occasionally until tender (10-15 minutes)
• stir in red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute more
• stir in parmesan and serve

Serves 6.