Turbocharged Biscuits and Gravy

Do you LOVE homemade biscuits and gravy? Well, I am a southern gal, and I sure do! But, I used to stray away from making them because I knew I’d be working in the kitchen for hours. That was true until I found the answer. And, the best part is, it takes less than 20 minutes, from start to finish!

Here is my secret for making homemade, southern-style biscuits with a turbocharged twist. Are you ready? It is super simple!

I start with a pre-made biscuit mix (I know, cheater cheater pumpkin eater), and then I add mild sausage, grated cheese, garlic, and a secret...

Here is what you need:

• 2 batches biscuit mix (I use Bisquick Heart Smart) (1 cup milk is required)
• 16 oz. uncooked sausage (I use Jimmy Dean Mild Sausage)
• 2 cups grated cheese (I use pre-grated)
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• Secret: 1/2 cup cold butter cubes

Here is what you do:

• Measure the biscuit mix for 2 batches of biscuits (its 3 cups of the mix)
• Add half of the mix into a food processor and add 1/4 cup of the butter cubes; pulse until incorporated; repeat with other half of mix and butter
• Follow the box recipe for DROP biscuits and mix the biscuit dough with the milk as instructed on the box.(since you're doubling the recipe, you need 1 cup fat free skim milk)
• Next, add the uncooked sausage, cheese, and garlic then mix until incorporated.
• Drop a spoonful of dough onto an UNGREASED cookie sheet and bake according to package instructions.(it took me more than the time shown on the box...it took 13 minutes)

See? Super simple! Now for the best part—homemade gravy that tastes like grandma made it!

Have you ever heard of Magic Mix? Magic mix is a white sauce base, but it is in the form of a glorious powdery mix that you just add water to when you're ready to use it. Plus, it only takes 3 minutes...seriously!

When the biscuits are almost finished baking, I make a batch of the magic mix and add a dash of salt & pepper. Then, I pour the gravy over my hot, fresh sausage cheese drop biscuits, and I am in heaven.

Delish and effortless! I made some for dinner tonight!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes & Poppers

Tonight I wanted to make something from my cupboards that also screams autumn, so I pulled out an old fall faithful: pumpkin!!! I love it! It is one of the key ingredients for fall, in my opinion. And, it made this recipe ultra moist. YUM!

Aren't they cute!?

Here is what you need for the batter:

• 1 box spice cake mix
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup water

Here is what you need for the icing drizzle:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tbs milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Here is what you do for the batter:

• First of all, don't use the mixing instructions or ingredients needed listed on the box. Use the list above instead.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine box mix, pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, and water.
• Fill each cupcake tin half way with batter. If you want to, use a cupcake liner.
• For the regular cupcakes, bake them for 17 minutes, if you're at a high altitude over 4,000 feet.
• For the little poppers, bake them for 7 minutes.
• Cool completely.
• Drizzle icing over cupcakes.
• Share and enjoy!

Here is what you do for the icing drizzle:

• Sift powdered sugar.
• Combine all three ingredients.
• It hardens after a while, so be sure to drizzle as soon as you make the icing.

You'll love how easy they are to make, how yummy they taste, and your kids will love drizzling the icing! And, the cakes not only work as a dessert, they work great as a surprise breakfast choice. I saved some without icing so that I could eat them in the morning. Hooray!

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Quesadillas

Tonight I didn't feel like cooking so I wanted something quick and easy...and with bacon! So, I grabbed some eggs, bacon, cheese, and tortillas to see what they tasted like as a quesadilla. It was so delicious!

Here is what you need, for one adult serving or two kids servings:

• 2 wheat tortillas
• 3 medium eggs
• 2 slices bacon
• 1/2 cup grated cheese
• pinch of onion powder
• pinch of garlic salt
• pinch of pepper

Here is what you do:

• Cook bacon and set aside to cool a tad; break into small pieces
• Whisk onion powder, garlic salt, and pepper into eggs
• Scramble eggs in bacon drippings; add bacon pieces when eggs are almost done
• Transfer scrambled eggs to a small dish
• Place one tortilla in same pan and sprinkle half of cheese on top
• Layer scrambled eggs and top with rest of cheese and second tortilla
• Cover pan and let cook on medium-low heat until cheese on bottom is melted
• Flip and cover again, cooking until cheese is melted
• Serve with ketchup, if desired

It was YUM-O, and I bet your kiddos will love it! 

Sloppy Joes with Hidden Zucchini

Here's an easy recipe for ya that will use up your zucchini and get your kids eating their veggies, and they won't even know it!

Here is what you need:

• 1 medium zucchini
• sloppy joe mix, or made-from-scratch
• 1 lb. ground beef
• grated cheese, to taste
• 8 slices of bread
• mustard, to taste

Here is what you do:

• Brown the ground beef.
• While beef is cooking, grate the zucchini.
• Add sloppy joe mix to cooked beef.
• Reduce heat to low simmer and add grated zucchini. Simmer for 3 or 4 more minutes.
• Toast the bread.
• Top toast with cheese, sloppy joe mix, and mustard.

Toasting the bread helps it stand up to the sauce a bit more. And, if you put the cheese on the hot toast and then cover it with the hot sloppy joe sauce, it will melt the cheese perfectly!

I'm not sure where the cheese and mustard thing came from, but I love it! If you don't, then feel free to leave it off.

This also holds up well in the freezer if you want to make it ahead and save it for later.

Chickens Attacked The Garden

Well, I haven't had any zucchini recipes because guess what...

...chickens attacked the garden!

I caught the little stinks red handed!

This is what they left behind...

sad, pathetic, half-eaten zucchini!

Sad, sad day. 

(and kinda funny)

But, I had some friends give me a couple zucchini, so I'll have at least a couple of ideas for you soon.

Green Thumb?

Well, let's not get too crazy. I had an opportunity to have a free garden plot at work and jumped at the chance. The catch? I had to do everything myself except water it. Yuck. I hate dirt and bugs, but I was excited to have zucchini!

Here are pics of my garden and the first "fruits" of my labor. :-)

Can you spot the garden through the weeds? 

(They didn't weed around the garden, and I wasn't about to. 

It's enough work to weed the actual garden itself!)

I planted tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, broccoli, and brussel sprouts. But, only the zucchini and cucumber are producing anything edible. That's OK, though, because I mainly wanted zucchini.

YAY!!! Zucchini plants!

Flowers = things are happening successfully!

Here are the 5 zucchini, 1 cucumber, and about 10 teeny onions.

And here they are all prettied!


So, get ready for some zucchini recipes...

Orange Glazed Salmon

If you don't already love salmon, I bet you will if you try this recipe! I got the idea from MMM...Cafe. I had to switch out a couple of ingredients, though, because I didn't have what was called for.

Here is what you need:

• 3 tbs Asian seasoning (they used Cajun)
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 boneless, skinless, salmon fillets
• 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate (they used marmalade)
• 1 tbs lime juice

Here is what you do:

• Mix Asian seasoning, brown sugar, and salt; rub over both sides of the salmon.
• Bring oil in pan to a nice, hot heat and then saute fillets on medium heat for 2 - 3 per side. Note: You want to make sure the pan and oil is super hot, but not smoking. The super hot heat will insure a nice flip when it is ready to turn over. Also, be sure to not move the salmon until it is ready. You'll know when it is ready because it won't flake apart when you try to turn it.
• Combine orange concentrate and lime juice. When salmon is cooked all the way, drizzle orange mixture in skillet until melted, flipping salmon over to get glazed all over. Note: Be cautious when adding the orange mixture. You want to make sure the salmon is finished cooking or the mixture will crystallize...

Seems like this would also be yummy with lemonade concentrate. Yum! 

Lemon Dill Salmon

I LOVE salmon! This is a newly acquired taste, however. So, I'm in a phase where I want to try salmon cooked various ways. My most recent endeavour was to make a lemon dill butter and put that on my salmon. It was subtle yet delicious!

Sorry--no pictures.

Here is what you need:

• 1/4 cup butter (I love butter)
• 2 tsp dill seasoning
• zest and juice from 1 small lemon, separated
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 salmon fillets

Here is what you do:

• Mix the butter and zest together in a small bowl; mix and refrigerate
• Season fillets with salt and pepper then saute in butter
• After the fillets have cooked for 1 minute, drizzle a little juice over them
• After 2 more minutes, and if the fillet is easily removed from the pan, flip the fillets over to cook on the other side
• Repeat the process on this side
• Serve with your favorite vegetable side dish
• Put a dollop of the lemon dill butter on the hot fillet

YUM!!! What are some of your favorite ways to prepare salmon?

Teriyaki Ground Beef and Rice

Last night I needed to make two quick dishes for my lunches and dinners for the rest of the week, so I opened my freezer and pantry to see what I could whip up in a jiffy. For one meal, I saw rice and hamburger as my main ingredients and then browsed my fridge and pantry to see what else I could add. I didn’t want to do my usual cream of whatever soup with veggies, rice, and beef, so I looked deeper into my stash and found teriyaki sauce! I have made teriyaki chicken before, but I’ve never used it with ground beef, so I wasn’t too sure what the result would be.

You may have already tried something like this, but here’s what I came up with and how I did it. It was super simple!

Here is what you need:

• 3 cups rice, brown or white
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 3/4 cup teriyaki sauce (I just guessed at this; you want it to be more liquid than beef and onion)

Here is what you do:

• Cook rice
• Chop onion into small pieces
• As rice is cooking, sauté the onion with the garlic
• Add ground beef and cook until beef is completely done
• Add teriyaki sauce and reduce heat to a simmer
• Simmer for 8 minutes (or so—this is a guess)
• Serve beef and sauce over rice
• If you want to make a bunch, freeze whatever you don't use and then you'll have an instant meal later!

It. Was. So. Delicious!

Here it is with all the sauce and beef mixed with the rice.

The pic makes it look dry, but it certainly WAS NOT!

Seriously! I loved every—single—bite!

Chicken, Carrots, Cabbage

Evidently today's blog post is brought to you by the letter C: Chicken, Carrots, Cabbage.

Now, the picture below is not pretty, I get that. But if you had capabilities to smell the food through the internet, your mouth would be watering for this deliciousness...I promise!

Here is what you need:

• slow cooker of choice
• 2 large carrots
• 1 small red cabbage
• 4 medium chicken breasts
• 1/2 medium red onion (or 1 small)
• chicken broth, enough to cover contents in cooker
• salt & pepper, to taste

Here is what you do:

• Peel carrots and slice into similarly sized sticks (say that 10 times fast)
• Chop onion into big chunks
• Slice cabbage into large sections, keeping all layers in tact
• Cut chicken breasts in half
• Load everything into the slow cooker and cover with broth
• Add salt and pepper
• Cook on high for 3 hours (disclaimer: depending on your slow cooker and the thickness of your chicken, you may need to cook it longer)

I added the red cabbage because I forgot to buy potatoes, and I wanted another veggie to throw in the mix. I have to tell you...the cabbage was my favorite part of the whole meal! I am SOOO glad I forgot the potatoes! It was serendipitous for sure!

What happy accidents have you stumbled across while cooking in your kitchen?