Sweet Potato Biscuits

Biscuits…to the British they are what we would call a cracker, or even a cookie. According to dictionary.com, biscuits are described thusly: a kind of bread in small, soft cakes, raised with baking powder or soda, or sometimes with yeast.

To me they are lovely little accompaniments to any soup or stew, or even just gravy. I’ve made many different kinds of biscuits in my lifetime of cooking thus far, but I have to say that sweet potato biscuits are at the tippity top of my favorites.

They are sweet, but whereas I much prefer other flavors over sweet, I’ve cut down the sugar in them to a more palatable amount, but still retaining that distinctive flavor.

While not so sweet as to be discordant with savory stews, these biscuits are sweet enough to stand alone as a snack with coffee or tea. They’re also a hit at potluck gatherings, and some in the family have been known to let out boisterous whoops of joy upon discovering them on the menu.

So, let’s get cooking! 

The sweet potatoes can be cooked in the oven or the microwave, until soft.
Remove them from their “jackets” with a spoon. No need to mash; they will get enough of that in the mixing.

Using a wire whisk, mix together the hot sweet potatoes, shortening, and sugar.
Add the buttermilk, then stir in the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough to about an inch thick.

It’s actually easier to just pat it out with your hands, which is what I do.Cut the biscuits out using a cup dipped in flour, or, as I did, simply use a butter knife to cut into squares. 

Bake in a 350° oven for about 13 minutes. And serve. Last night I made them to go along with a delightful beef stew. Enjoy! ~TMMF

Sweet Potato Biscuits

2 c hot cooked sweet potatoes

½ c shortening

¾ c sugar

¼ c plus 2 Tbl buttermilk

3 c flour

4 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Southwest Egg Rolls

This recipe….so totally different from Chinese egg rolls, but just as scrumptious and addicting!! I found this recipe on Carlsbad Cravings and am I ever glad I did. They are so stinking good you just want to keep eating them! I didn’t really change anything, except I used jarred jalapenos instead of a fresh one. I also didn’t add the avocado. Tastes just fine, believe me!

So, let’s get cooking!

First, cut the chicken breast into very small chunks. Dice the onion, red pepper, and jalapeno small. Peel and mince the garlic. Drain and rinse the black beans, drain the corn, and drain the diced tomatoes with chilies. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the chicken and onions in the Tbl of oil. Add the red bell pepper, minced garlic, and chopped jalapenos. Cook about a minute. Mix in the black beans, corn, diced tomatoes with chilies, rice, and the spices. Remove from heat, cool a few minutes, and stir in the shredded cheddar and Monterey jack cheeses.

Set a skillet on the stove to heat up enough oil to fry the egg rolls in. I used about 2 inches or so. Pour some water in a little bowl. To assemble the egg rolls, lay a wrapper in front of you like a diamond. Place about ¼ c of filling about 2/3 of the way down in the middle of the wrapper. Pull up the point near you towards the middle of the filling. Dip your finger in the water and lightly brush it on the edges of both sides of the wrapper, then fold them in towards the middle of the egg roll as shown, pressing lightly to seal.

To finish, lightly wet the top edges of the wrapper, and roll the egg roll towards the remaining point, pressing lightly to seal. Continue with the rest of the wrappers and set aside on a large platter. When the oil is hot enough (test with a kernel of corn or something), fry the egg rolls until golden brown, turning once to do the other side. Lay on paper towels to absorb the extra grease.

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Southwest Egg Rolls

oil for frying

20 egg roll wrappers

1 Tbl oil

2 chicken breasts

(boneless, skinless)

1 medium onion

1 medium red bell pepper

3 cloves garlic

1 jalapeno or jarred equivalent

1 c black beans

1 c corn

1 c cooked rice

1 10 oz can diced tomatoes with chilies

1 tsp each—chili powder, cumin, salt

½ tsp paprika

1 c sharp cheddar cheese

1 c Monterey jack cheese

Apple Barbecue Chicken

This recipe from Taste of Home intrigued me because I’ve never seen a BBQ recipe using apples/apple sauce before. It sounded so good, and it really was. The apple sauce gives it a unique flavor and the chicken turned out so moist. The original recipe uses spicy sweet bottled barbecue sauce, which I switched out for hickory flavored sauce, and instead of chili powder I used red pepper flakes.

So, let’s get cooking!

Place the barbecue sauce, apple sauce, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes in a bowl.

Stir to mix well. My lovely assistant chef Miss Megan commandeered the bowl and stirring step.

Place the chicken in a baking dish and smother both sides with the sauce.

Bake at 375° for about 45 minutes or until juices run clear.

Serve with extra sauce for dipping if you’d like. 

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Apple Barbecue Chicken

6-8 pieces of chicken

1 c barbecue sauce

1 c apple sauce

3 Tbl brown sugar

¾ tsp red pepper flakes

One Pot Shrimp Linguine

It’s pasta, it has seafood in it, and it’s a one pot meal….you can’t go wrong with that! This dish was so easy and very delicious. I usually have linguine on hand but the night I made this, I just didn’t, so I used spaghetti. Just imagine it’s flat instead of round. ;-)

What I changed: it called for grape tomatoes but also canned diced, so I just used the diced. I replaced the fresh basil with dried, and switched out fresh grated Parmesan cheese for the feta. I also added some red pepper flakes to give it a little kick.

So, let’s get cooking!

Prep the spinach by nipping off the stems. Peel and mince the garlic.

Peel the tails off the shrimp. My lovely assistant chef Miss Megan did this.

Place in a large pot the spaghetti, diced tomatoes, minced garlic, basil, salt, red pepper flakes, and water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer, stirring frequently to keep pasta from sticking. This is what it looks like about halfway through.

When most of the water is absorbed, add the fresh spinach and stir, cooking for about 5 minutes. Toss in the shrimp and heat through, maybe another minute or so.

Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top if desired. Enjoy! ~TMMF

One Pot Shrimp Linguine

1 lb spaghetti or linguine

12 oz bag small shrimp

2 cloves garlic

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 tsp dry basil

2 c fresh spinach

2 ¾ c water

1 tsp salt

½-1 tsp red pepper flakes

Do Nothing Cake

So, a Do Nothing Cake….a cake where you do nothing for it. Sounds impossible, right? Well you’re right, there is work involved with this one. But I didn’t name it, I just tried it out to see what it was like. I found the recipe on Happy Cooking, and like I said I wanted to try it out and see what all this do-nothingness was about.

It wasn’t all that much work after all, and it did taste good. I did make a major change though; it called for 2 cups of sugar and I cut that right in half. I mean, seriously, the cake was sweet enough with a cup of sugar plus the sweet frosting on top. I can only imagine the toothache if I hadn’t reduced it!

So, let’s get cooking!

In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, eggs, baking soda, vanilla, and crushed pineapple. Yes, I made that monkey face because that’s what it looked like to me! Haha

Place the mixture into a greased 9 X 13” baking dish and bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until tooth pick in center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, chop the nuts. I used pecans for this and it was delicious.

For the icing, in a medium saucepan mix together the butter, sugar, and evaporated milk. Cook on medium heat to boiling and go for about 5 minutes or so until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the coconut and nuts.

Pour the icing over the cake (which can still be hot) and let cool. Serve and Enjoy! ~TMMF

Miss Megan chopping the nuts. 

Do Nothing Cake

1 c sugar

2 c flour

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

16 oz crushed pineapple, undrained

Icing

½ c butter

1 c sugar

¾ c evaporated milk

1 c coconut

1 c nuts

1 tsp vanilla

Korean Beef and Rice

This recipe----THIS RECIPE!!! The first time I made it, it was gone so quickly I couldn’t believe it. The next time I made it, I had to make a double batch so I’d be able to have it twice! It’s that good, and so stinking easy! The only change I made was to double the red pepper flakes. It’s just a perfect recipe to please the whole family.

So, let’s get cooking!

Set a pot to cooking for rice. When done, set aside.

Peel and mince the garlic and slice the scallions.

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef. Add the garlic and cook a minute more.

While the hamburg is cooking, make the sauce by mixing together the brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, ground ginger, red pepper flakes, and pepper.

Add the sauce to the browned hamburg and garlic, heating for a few minutes.

Serve the saucy beef mixture over rice and top with scallions.

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Miss Megan slicing the scallions.

Korean Beef and Rice

1 lb ground beef

3 cloves garlic

¼ c brown sugar

¼ c soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

¼ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp red pepper flakes

¼ tsp pepper

2 2/3 c cooked rice

3 scallions, thinly sliced

Cheesy Taco Soup

This soup from Carlsbad Cravings is so stinking good, I ate some for breakfast the next morning! If you like Mexican, you will love this. It looks like a lot of work but it really isn’t; several ingredients are canned, so all you’re doing is opening them. It is so worth the effort, and my kids just gobbled this down. I was lucky there even was some left for my breakfast the next day!

The only things I changed about this were replacing a green pepper for the red, as I just didn’t have a red bell pepper on hand. I didn’t add the tsp of salt, as there’s enough salt in all the canned products, and I threw in some mozzarella cheese. You can never have enough cheese, right??

So, let’s get cooking!

First, drain and rinse the kidney beans and black beans so they’re ready. You might as well open all the cans now, too.

Chop the onions, peppers, and mince the garlic.

Brown the hamburg with the oil, onions, and peppers, adding the minced garlic when just about done. Mix in the flour, stirring well. Toss in the kidney beans and black beans.

Add the spices, the hot diced chilies, salsa, enchilada sauce, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer about 15 minutes until somewhat thickened.

Whisk in the softened cream cheese and turn off the heat. Stir in the cheddar, pepperjack, and mozzarella cheeses until melted. Serve with sour cream if desired. 

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Cheesy Taco Soup

1 Tbl oil

1 lb ground beef

1 onion

1 green pepper

4 cloves garlic

1 tsp each—chili powder, cumin

½ tsp each-- oregano, paprika

¼ tsp pepper

¼ c flour

1 15 oz can kidney beans

1 15 oz can black beans

1 4 oz can hot diced chilies

1 c medium salsa

1 10 oz can enchilada sauce

5 c chicken broth

1 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 c shredded pepperjack cheese

1 c shredded mozzarella

4 oz cream cheese, softened

Million Dollar Mac & Cheese

Okay, macaroni and cheese….almost nothing lures my tastebuds and my heart as a recipe for macaroni and cheese. And of course, with a name like Million Dollar Mac & Cheese, I just had to try it! While it wasn’t the absolute best I’ve ever had, this recipe did come close and was well worth the effort; I will definitely make it again.

So, let’s get cooking!

Set a pot of water to boil and cook the pasta just until al dente, draining and rinsing before setting aside. Get ready your cheeses, and set up the milks and the sour cream to be ready for when you need to add them.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour to make a roux.

Cook until bubbling, then slowly add in the milk, whisking the whole time. Mix the cornstarch into the evaporated milk and slowly add to the milk mixture. Add in the Dijon mustard and the rest of the seasonings. Keep cooking over medium heat, whisking frequently until thickened.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Mix until melted.

Add the pasta and mix well. Pour half of this into an 11 X 15” baking dish. Layer the slices of provolone cheese on top.

Spread the sour cream on top of the slices of provolone. Spread the other half of the macaroni on top. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese next, evenly.

Mix up the crumb topping by stirring together the bread crumbs and the melted butter. Sprinkle evenly on top of the casserole. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, until all cheeses are melted.

Enjoy! ~TMMF

Million Dollar Mac & Cheese

1 lb cellentani pasta

4 Tbl butter

¼ c flour

3 c milk

1 12 oz can evaporated milk

1 Tbl cornstarch

1 Tbl Dijon mustard

1 Tbl chicken bullion

1 tsp each: onion powder,

garlic powder, dried parsley, salt

½ tsp pepper

4 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese

11-12 slices provolone cheese

1 c sour cream

1 c Parmesan cheese

Bread Crumb Topping

¾ c bread crumbs

2 Tbl butter, melted