Sage Ciabatta Stuffing

I must apologize for the bad picture.  This was taken with my very dumb phone and didn’t get a better picture before it was gobbled up (both times I’ve made it).

I have never been fond of stuffing.  I have wanted to and always go into the Thanksgiving season with the intention that I like it and am excited to make it.  However, I am always disappointed after I eat it… it wasn’t as good as I thought it should be.  I’ve been searching for the perfect stuffing recipe and trying different variations.  I think I have found it!!  We all loved this recipe..and all who have tried it have liked it.  I found the basic recipe from thechew.com here.  I liked his idea, but as always, I like to make it my own, based on my family’s likes and tastes.  So, this is my version of the stuffing:

6 large square ciabatta rolls, cubed and dried in the oven at 250 degrees for 30 min.  Cook them on 2 cookie sheets and let them cool.

While the bread is cooking,  cook 1 lb sage flavored pork sausage until crispy (a little more done than you might think).  Remove from the pan.

In the drippings, saute a chopped onion and 3 cloves of minced garlic.  Add 3 or 4 stalkes of chopped celery to the pan.

Add 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp poultry seasoning

Chop up 1 bunch of Italian Parsley, put half into the pan and save 1/2 it  for a little later.

Pour cooled bread into a LARGE bowl that you can stir all the ingredients together.

Pour sausage mixture into it.  Shred 2 apples with a cheese grater and add to the mixture.  I don’t even peel the apple.

Add the rest of the parsley

Stir all together

Add 2- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth mixed with 1/2 cup butter.  Add as much as you like depending on how moist you like your stuffing.

Pour into a large roasting pan.  I like to use a very large one because I like my stuffing on the crispy side and the thicker it is, the more moist it will be.

Cook at 350 for 30 min covered with foil.  Remove the foil and cook longer if you like it crispy on top

Mini Meat Loaves

1 cup ketchup

4 TBSP Brown Sugar

1 1/2-2 lbs ground beef (or 1 lb beef, 1/2 lb pork,  or any other combination you like equaling about 1 1/2-2 lbs meat)

1/2 cup bisquick mix

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1 small onion finely chopped

Mix together ketchup and brown sugar.  Mix meat and all other ingredients together.  Add in 1/2 cup ketchup mixture.  Form small loaves/balls… make between 10 and 12 mini loaves.  Place in a 9x13 pan and pour remaining ketchup mixture over the top of each loaf.  Cook at 450 for 20 min. or until thermometer reaches 160 degrees.

I got the idea for this recipe on Betty Crocker’s website here and changed it according to what I had on hand (I didn’t have the onion, but it was still very good).  This is a keeper recipe because it was super easy, very fast and all my kids liked it.  Those are the kind of recipes I’m looking for!

Lasagna Roll-Ups

I saw this recipe on the Two Peas and Their Pod Recipe blog here.   I was so excited to try it.  I’ve been in a rut in my cooking and was really looking forward to trying something new.  This looked great and I thought my kids would go for it too.  I took their recipe and, like always, did my own version.

12 Lasagna Noodles, cooked in salted water to aldente, dained, rinsed, and layed out on parchment paper to cool

Filling:

1 15 oz tub of Ricotta Cheese (that is how big the Great Value container was, the TPTP blog recipe said 2 cups)

4 oz cream cheese (I added this to my recipe for the creamy texture and to make up for the less ricotta cheese in my container)

2 cloves garlic, minced (I used the squeeze kind that you store fridge that is already minced)

1 egg

2 cups fresh spinach chopped fine (the original recipe call for a 10 oz frozen spinach, but why use frozen when you have fresh)

1 cup chopped canned artichoke hearts

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 tsp dried Italian Seasoning (the blend of oregano, basil, etc)

Pinch of Nutmeg

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella  cheese

Mix all these ingredients together and spread on the flattened noodles.  I had more filling left over than I could fill in 12 noodles, so I guess can add more noodles to the recipe next time.  Then sprinkle some more mozzarella over the filling and roll up.  In the original recipe they put some marinara sauce on top of the shredded cheese before they rolled it up.  I didn’t because I got ahead of myself.  However, I would have run out of sauce had I done that.  It called for 4 cups of marinara sauce and I only had one jar.  I think that I’ll probably do it the same next time too though because I think that the cheese against noodles as I rolled it up helped keep it together and not be as slippery when you cut into them out of the oven.

Place some of the Jar of Marinara sauce on the bottom of a glass rectangle backing dish (I had to use one rectangle and one square because my rectangular dish was too small).  Place the rolled up noodles over the sauce and pour the remaining sauce over the rolls.  Sprinkle with Mozzarella or Italian Style shredded cheese and cover with foil.  Cook for 35-40 min. at 350.

I’m excited to try this again.  I’d like to try and add some ground beef or ground turkey next time… maybe to the sauce before I pour it over the rolls, or add some finely shredded chicken to the cheese mixture.  So many fun things to do inside the Lasagna Rolls!!  And the best thing is… my kids LOVED them and said they wanted to eat them AGAIN  TOMORROW!!

Homemade Cereal Bars/Breakfast Cookies

I got this great recipe for a Breakfast cookie from my friend Marrianne and I have loved experimenting with it.  My kids love these and they are loaded with lots of great stuff and you can mix them up and change them every time you make them.

1 stick of butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup of either: pumpkin, banana, or applesauce depending on the flavor you want the cookie to be

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups rolled oats (you can use instant or regular)

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/2 cup coconut

Now this is where it gets fun…..

you can add… 1/2 cup of any of your family favorites to add to the flare of the cookie

Our favs……  craisins, dried apples, dried blueberries, almond slices, pecan pieces, a few chocolate chips, etc.

Mix and bake at 350 for 10 min. 

Sunday Beef Stew

An Easy Crock Pot Beef Stew

1 1/2 lbs.  Stew Beef (I bought a big package from Sam’s and split it in half)

5-6 peeled carrots

6-8 Red Potatoes

1/2 onion

Place Crock pot setting on Low.  Layer Beef in bottom.  Sprinkle, Salt, Pepper, Garlic Salt, and Steak n’ Shake (or other steak seasoning) over beef.  Add carrots and potatoes.  Add more salt, pepper, garlic salt, and steak seasoning. 

Mix together 2 cups beef broth and 1 can cream of mushroom soup.  Pour over veggies and beef.  Cook on Low for 7 hours.

After 7 hours, use 1 pkg brown gravy mixed with 1/4 cup cold water.  Pour into sauce to thicken.  Use a mixture of 1 TBSP flour to 1/4 cup water to thicken as needed until the desired consistency is met.

Gingerbread Muffins with Lemon Curd

These muffins are so great and are very easy.  We made them this Saturday morning and it had been probably a year since I had made them last.  The girls were so excited and we devoured them.  I usually make the Lemon curd from scratch but I found this one at Walmart and thought I’d give it a try.  It was really good- as good as the homemade.  It can be found near the Jam’s and Jellie’s.  This time I also changed up my flour combination to try and make it a little “healthier” and it turned out great.  I used 1 cup white flour and 1 cup Whole Wheat flour. 

Here’s the original recipe for Gingerbread Muffins:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup molasses

Combine flour, sugar, BP, ginger, cinnamon, salt and cloves.  In a separate bowl, combing egg, milk, oil and molasses and mix together.  Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.  Fill muffin cups half full and bake at 375 for 15-20 min.  Serve warm with lemon curd.

Here is a picture of the Lemon Curd I bought at Walmart.  You can find it or try the homemade one.  Here’s the recipe.

Lemon Curd.

2/3 cup sugar

3/4 tsp cornstarch

1/3 cup lemon juice

5 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1/4 cup butter, cubed

2 tsp grated lemon peel.

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and lemon Juice until smooth.  ring to a boil and sir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.  Stir in  a small amount of egg yolks.  Return all to the pan and bring to a gentle boil stirring constantly.  Cook for 1-2 minutes longer or until mixture reaches 160 degrees and coats the back of a metal spoon.  Remove from heat and gently stir in butter and lemon peal until blended.  Store in the fridge.

Pizza Pockets

 

This was a product of “What is the fridge that I can whip up for dinner”.  It turned out to be a big hit and will definitely be on our menu rotation.  Totally kid friendly and a great last minute maker.  Takes little to no time to prepare and only 13 min. to bake.  A great idea for those busy and hectic nights.

1 package Reduced Fat Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits

1 package Turkey Pepperoni Minis (found in the lunch meat section)- I didn’t use the whole package

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup pasta sauce

Take a biscuit and smash it out flat.  Spread about a tsp of the pasta sauce, sprinkle on some mini pepperonis and some mozzarella cheese and fold together and pinch together.  I will probably try and and pinch them harder since you can see that they kind of bust open a bit.  That didn’t take away from the taste however.  The kids devoured them and the cleanup was awesome (especially since we also used paper plates). 

Enjoy!!!