Free Recipe Friday. . .It's Breakfast Time!

If you've ever been to any kind of large family function, potluck, etc.

you have most assuredly had some form of a breakfast/sausage casserole.

There are as many variations of this casserole as there are

bread types!  If you have never attempted to make one,

this one is a pretty good and easy start.

Ellen Watson of Kilgore gave me this recipe

(along with many others) more than 20 years ago.

I don't believe I ever attempted to make it until about 5 or more years later.

It's funny how it has since become

a Christmas tradition in our household.

Even though we have since acquired other favorite breakfast foods....

we just can't stop making THIS one for Christmas!

It's just tradition.

You will only need a few basic ingredients,

and you can most certainly add to these...

such as throwing in a few hashbrowns, etc...

half this recipe or double it. 

It is VERY forgiving...you can easily fudge

the quantities of any of the ingredients!

1 lb. ground pork sausage, cooked

10-12 large eggs, beaten

3 cups milk

2 tsp. dry mustard (or a few squirts of reg. mustard)

2 tsp. salt

1-2 tsp. black pepper

8-10 slices of bread, cubed or torn (any kind or a mixture)

2 -3 cups shredded cheddar

Brown sausage, crumble while cooking and drain.

In a separate, medium size bowl, whisk eggs.

Add milk and remaining ingredients.

Stir well.  Toss in cooked sausage and pour all into 

a Pam sprayed 9x13 casserole dish.

Bake in a 350 oven for 45-60 minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit at least 15 minutes.

The original recipe says to prepare the casserole the night before...

and bake the next morning.

That was actually what enticed us to make this for

an early Christmas morning breakfast to begin with!

We have since learned we can whip it up quickly

in the wee hours of Christmas morning

AFTER viewing Santa's bounty.

We toss it into the oven while everyone

oogles over their gifts and while we wait for it to cook,

James cuts open boxes, adds batteries to toys

and we both slurp down our coffee.

The deliciousness comes out of the oven about 45 minutes to an hour later.

We traditionally (as if the casserole was not enough),

heat up some flour tortillas, get out the Albert's Hot Sauce

and turn our servings of this casserole into a breakfast burrito...

along with a few slices of good naval oranges or clementines!

Mmmm...I can smell that orange peel NOW!

We can't wait to have this on Christmas morning...

we hope you will be enjoying something yummy as well!

Merry Christmas!

Free Recipe Friday. . . Mas Queso!

Many years ago, I came across an amazing website.
On this site, much research is done to remake
restaurant favs like Domino's Pizza,
Little Debbie's Snacks, Dippin' Dots,
Outback's 'brown bread' and
bloomin' onion and bazillions more.
The catch is that you can recreate these
in your very own kitchen!
With ingredients purchased in your local grocery store!

The guy we can thank for this is Todd Wilbur - an amazing Food Hacker
and he has a website, books, etc. - Top Secret Recipes !

He has most recently even had his own television show
- and boy, is he gutsy!

Our Free Recipe Friday THIS week features
one of his most dandiest discoveries ever in my book.
A staple in the Taylor household, it is

Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup recipe...mmmm.

I actually discovered this recipe on TSR's site,
way before I had ever tasted this soup in a Chili's restaurant.

And I must say, the home version is way better...
or at least that is what we were used to!

This soup is SO delicious and perfect for this cold, dreary weather,

I really hope you get to try it soon.

Here's the basics of what you will need...

1.  Chicken - preferably boneless, skinless breasts

2.  Chopped onion

3.  Large can of enchilada sauce

4.  Chicken broth (or 1 tablespoon paste w/ water)

5.  Velveeta/cheddar cheese

6.  Masa Harina

THE OFFICIAL RECIPE

(if you measure)

1 tablespoon veg. oil

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

1 small diced onion

2 teaspoons chopped garlic (give or take)

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup masa harina

3 cups water

1 can mild enchilada sauce

16 oz. velveeta - cubed

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

grated cheddar cheese, crumbled tortilla chips

and sour cream for garnish -

all are optional of course!

What to do:

Start by *cooking your chicken. (see below)

Pan fry it in the veg. oil, in a large stockpot,

4-5 minutes on each side.

Set cooked chicken aside. Cook onion/garlic

in the hot oil until clear and then pour in chicken broth...

scraping yummy bits off the bottom of the pot.

In a separate bowl, combine masa harina with

2 cups of the water. Stir to combine and pour into the pot.

Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, velveeta cheese and spices.

Bring to a boil.  Shred chicken into bite size pieces

and add to the pot.  Reduce heat and simmer until thick.

Serve soup in bowl and garnish.

DEEElicious!

*You can also boil your chicken in chicken broth,

then remove it to chop up - bake the chicken

and then chop or pan fry it as the recipe suggests.

Pan frying or even baking the chicken

and giving it a golden color will DEFINITELY

add more flavor to it vs. it being boiled. 

But the ease of this recipe is that you

should do whatever is best and easiest for YOU.

You could even use a rotisserie chicken!

Now, "how easy is THAT?"

- in my Barefoot Contessa voice!

Free Recipe Friday. . .say CHEEEEZ!!!

I don't know WHERE my brain was this Thanksgiving.

(BIG surprise!)

This Cheese Log is one of my most favorite things in the world.

Maybe because CHEESE is one of my most favorite things in the world!

I don't know how far back this recipe goes...

but I always remember my mom making it

at Thanksgiving and/or Christmas.

For many years now, it seems that most holidays I have made this dip....

but this year, it was 7 days AFTER Thanksgiving

before I even THOUGHT about it.

It is so yummy and EASY...please don't ever buy a 'cheese' ball from

the grocery store ever again!

Do you have a food processor?

Then this is all you will need -

2 cups cheddar cheese or more (I rarely measure!)

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese - softened

1/2 yellow onion (not pictured)

appx. 1 tablespoon lemon juice

appx. 1 tablespoon worchestershire

1-2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

SPICE MIXTURE TO ROLL IT IN

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon paprika

I guess if chili powder and paprika are not your thing,

you could definitely roll the log in chopped pecans...

just like those cute little tasteless things in grocery stores.

Begin by tossing cream cheese and onion into

the food processor. Mix well - until onion is minced nicely.

While processor is running, add all other ingredients

(except chili powder and paprika)

saving the cheddar cheese for last.

You will need to stop the processor and scrape down

the sides a couple of times during the dip making.

Mixture is ready after it is completely smooth.

See? Was that so hard???

NOW...to complete the dip...you can go two different routes

(or more if you use your imagination!)

Scrape the mixture into a bowl,

top with chili powder/paprika mixture and serve...

OR roll into a log.

To make a Cheese 'Log,' first you need to

tear off a sheet of wax paper and lay it on your work surface. 

Sprinkle your chili powder/paprika mixture down the center of the wax paper. 

Now scrape the cheese mixture out of the food processor onto the spices.

(I promise that the mixture above is on wax paper...

it is just hard to see.)

Next, fold the wax paper on top of the mixture

to make the ends of the wax paper match up.

You can even sprinkle more spice mixture on top of

the cheese mixture to cover any missed spots

and to make sure it gets coated well

for a more even look and to keep the mixture from sticking

to the wax paper and making a big mess.

Now, grab a baking sheet and slowly push against the

blob of cheese mixture...this will form a log.

You can make the log as narrow or fat as you'd like,

depending on how much you push on it.

Now roll up the wax paper and and refrigerate until firm.

After the Cheese Log is chilled, you can unroll and cover

any missed spots with more spice mixture!

YUMMO!

VOILA! ENJOY!

Free Recipe Friday...with a twist!

Welcome back to free recipe BLACK Friday!

The day after thanksgiving when we are all so sick of food

that we should really just fast for a few days!

I hope you all had an amazing holiday....
with whomever you shared it with....

and spent some time reflecting on the many many things
we have to be thankful for!

God is good to us, He is gracious and loves us
even though we are undeserving...

I hope you've taken some time to thank Him for that.

(melody's homemade pies)

This thanksgiving was not unlike
many others we've had for my side of the family....

we have had years when my dad would make homemade egg rolls,

years when we would have deep fried turkey,
years when we would have Italian.

(dad)

So this year was not unusual in that we chose to have Mexican food-

our menu consisted of yummy homemade salsa, green dip,

tamales, award winning chili, chalupa beans, 'moms' enchiladas

and more desserts than we could count!

Today, we will travel a bit and dine with james' family
for the traditional Thanksgiving meal.

The twist for today's free recipe Friday is that there is no 'recipe' -

because the thought of concocting one more meal
makes me want to barf!

The fridge is packed full of leftovers
and we are heading out to consume more!

(beautiful cousins)

This week, we want to know what foods were your favs this year??!

Did you enjoy any new things on ur table ???

I hope everyone had/is having a great thanksgiving this year!

And remember to 'count your blessings name them one by one,

count your blessings see what God hath done'

See you next Friday!

Free Recipe Friday. . . It's Laundry Day!

Welcome back to Free Recipe Friday boys and girls!

Today we are going to do something thrifty - my favorite!

We are going to make detergent!!!!

I know what you are thinking, 'that is ridiculous - I can go buy some for $10'...

and I will say...'true, yes you can!'....BUTTTTTTTTTTTTT...

this little, easy, schmeazy recipe costs about half of that!

The estimated cost is $6 for 576 loads!

(depending on soap used and amount used per load---

I don't get near that - but 2 gallons DOES last me 4 weeks or more---

still haven't grasped that it doesn't take very much!)

I'd say that is prettttyyyyy thrifty!

INGREDIENTS/SUPPLIES

(taken from 'Why Not Sew' blog found on Pinterest!)

1 bar of soap (any kind you want)

1 cup of Borax (you can find on the detergent aisle at most stores)

1 cup of washing soda (you can find on the detergent aisle at most stores)

a big pot ( that holds more than 2 gallons)

a grater

a funnel

a long spoon

2 empty gallon jugs/containers

*I use these utensils for detergent making only*

WHAT TO DO

Grate your bar of soap into your big pot.

Fill one gallon jug and pour water into pot with grated soap.

Cook until the grated soap dissolves.

(be patient, this takes a little while - just keep checking and stirring)

Add the borax and washing soda.

Bring to a slow boil - it will begin to coagulate.

Turn off the heat and add 1 gallon of cold water.  Stir well.

Pour 1 gallon of detergent into each jug.

It will thicken as it cools - so if the first batch is too thick,

please don't throw it out...just shake it well before using

and it will all loosen up a bit.

If you'd like it to be a bit thinner for the next try,

use only 1/2 of a grated bar of soap.

You now have about 2 gallons of liquid clothes detergent!

The blog recommends using 1/2 cup per load.

If you know me at all, you know that I rarely measure things...

therefore, I would say that I use between 1/2 and 1 cup! :)

"This won't make many, if any, suds. Suds don't equal clean.

It took a while to get that into my head.

This detergent cleans wonderfully!"

http://whynotsew.blogspot.com/

This detergent is surprisingly much thicker than store bought.

And has little to no smell at all.

At first that bugged me, then I realized that we do not need

the extra dyes and perfumes in detergent anyway!

So, it's a win, win!

This would make great little Christmas gifts -

poured up in little jars with homemade tags!

Have a scrubby dubby weekend!

Free 'Double Doozie' Recipe Friday!

Good evening/morning everyone!

Wow, what a crazy day, week, month!

Hope you are having an awesome November so far!

What a great month this is...SO much to be thankful for!

Cooler weather means yummy comfort foods,

so this weeks Free Recipe Friday is a double doozie!

Beef Stew and Fried Cornbread!

In the past few years, I have realized that beef stew recipes

are about as different as chocolate cake.

Chocolate cake means many things to many people.

(thanks to my brother for bringing this to my attention years ago!)

Is chocolate cake a yellow cake with chocolate icing?

Is chocolate cake, chocolate cake with chocolate icing?

See what I mean?!?

But today we aren't eating cake...we're having stew, BEEF STEW ;)

And we are throwing in an extra side of Fried Cornbread for ya!

Beef stew to some people means beef and assorted veggies...

including corn, english peas, tomatoes, etc.

To some it may have hamburger meat as it's beef...but to our family,

that would be called 'beef veggie soup'...THIS particular stew

is basically an Irish Beef Stew...also known as our oldest daughter's

favorite thing...so much so, she requested that it be

the meal served at her wedding. 

So we did...and it was duhhh-licious!

Here we go!

Remember, be flexible and adventurous...

you can use many cuts of beef for this recipe...

roasts, round steak, sirloin, etc.

STEW INGREDIENTS:

(for a family of 6 or more)

2-3 lbs. beef (nicely trimmed of fat and cubed)

appx. 5 lbs. potatoes - cubed into 1 inch chunks

(not red, new potatoes)

appx. 2 lbs. carrots - cut into 1 inch chunks

(if you like more carrots, by all means add more carrots!)

1 yellow onion, diced (optional)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

beef broth (appx 8-10 cups)

(I use beef paste concentrate and add my own water)

veggie oil (appx 1/4 cup)

flour (appx 1 cup)

salt/pepper

water

heavy stockpot

Cube beef, potatoes, carrots into nice sized chunks (appx 1 inch)

Place stockpot onto medium/high heat.

Place flour, salt and pepper in a medium size bowl

and dredge cubed beef and toss to cover well.

Add veggie oil to hot stockpot.

Drop dredged beef, diced onions and garlic into oil immediately.

(*Hint - hot pan, cold oil, food won't stick!)

Lightly brown beef, stirring occasionally.

Next, add in carrots...stir to combine with beef.

Add in diced potatoes, continually stirring.

Once the mixture has a chance to come back up to heat,

add in your beef stock and stir well...

scraping up the yummy browned bits on the bottom of the pan!

Bring your baby stew up to a good boil, then reduce heat to medium/low.

Partially cover with a lid and simmer for as long or as little as you'd like.

Technically, when the potatoes and carrots are fork tender

it is done and you are ready to go.

The longer this mixture cooks the thicker the broth will become.

And as some things usually are, this is better the day after!

MOM'S FRIED CORNBREAD:

2 cups plain cornmeal

(I have no idea what 'plain' cornmeal is...isn't it all plain?

-- my mom dictated this recipe to me from her memory,

I just wrote it down as fast as I could...

and I usually use plain white cornmeal for this)

4 tablespoons flour (plain? ha)

3/4 teaspoon salt

boiling water

veggie oil

iron skillet - because those are the best!

Now here comes the hard part ;)

Put dry ingredients in a medium size bowl.

Pour some boiling water over said dry ingredients...

the amount will vary depending on humidity, etc.

It will take at least one cup...stir really fast...

if it is too dry...pour a bit more in...

you want your mixture to be thicker than pancake batter,

maybe more like brownie batter? 

Next, you need to place an iron skillet on medium/high heat.

Add enough veggie oil to come 1/3 to 1/2 up the sides of the pan.

One great trick to know if your oil is ready to fry in is to

stand a wooden dowel (or the end of a wooden spoon)

into your skillet - all the way to the bottom.

When you see tiny bubbles climbing up the wooden dowel,

it's time to fry!  No bubbles? No fry!

Now place a heaping tablespoon of batter into the hot oil.

Fry on each side until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.

Pure yumminess!  Great with ANY soups or stews!

ENJOY!

Free Recipe Friday. . .A Taste of the Gulf!

Even though I am married to a 'Taylor', 

it also means I am married into a long line of Zimmerman's
on my mother in laws side.

Without giving you the whole family tree,

that side of the family is being represented here today

as we go back in time on this Free Recipe Friday.

I was given this recipe wayyy back in the early days of our marriage.

One day, back in the mid 80's, my sweet hubby and I

had driven his Granny and Grandad Zimmerman

down to Beaumont to visit their son Stanley, wife Arlene and their family.

We stayed only for the day...but had a great time
watching Uncle Stanley sit in his chair and smoke his pipe,
catching up on family news and happenings...but before leaving,

Aunt Arlene cooked us the most fabulous lunch...

a meal I had never, ever had before.

I asked for the recipe and am forever grateful that she obliged!

We have been making this for years!!!
(The oleo listed below even shows the recipes age!)
I'm not sure if this was something Aunt Arlene concocted on her own,
if it was an old recipe or a common one - but oh so glad
it made its way to our taste buds!
It is basically a stuffing....although we have never 'stuffed' anything with it...
but I'm sure you could get really adventurous
and stuff a turkey or a chicken with this yumminess -
just be really careful about cooking it all the way through.

Our kids used to pick the shrimp out of it, grrrr.

There was nothing so aggravating as heading to the fridge

in anticipation of eating some leftover 'Aunt Arlene Special'

and you open the lid and someone has picked half of the shrimp out!

But surely no one in YOUR family would EVER do that!!!!

(Thankfully, our kids aren't so picky anymore!)

So, here you go...Aunt Arlene calls it Seafood Casserole...

our family has tried to rename it...but, to me it will always be

Aunt Arlene's Seafood Casserole...

you really need to make it nowwww!

INGREDIENTS

1 stick oleo - melted (butter or margarine)
1 small onion - diced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard

1 can cream of mushroom soup

8 oz. pkg - Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing Mix
1 1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon worchestershire sauce
1 can crab meat 
(we recently substituted half of a can of pink salmon
and is was just awesome!)
1 lb. medium size raw shrimp - peeled and deveined
(fresh or frozen)

Now here comes the really difficult part...
combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl.
Just dump 'em in there...all of it....and give it all a good ol' stir.
Now, spray a casserole dish (equivalent to a 9x13)
with non-stick cooking spray and dump the mixture right in.
That's it....that's all there is to it!
Bake in a 350 oven for 40-45 minutes.
If you overfill your dish as I did, you may want to make sure and
bake it on a cookie sheet to catch any dribbles.
Serve this up with a good green salad
and maybe some crunchy bread or good crackers.
This is even great made ahead!

Free Recipe Friday. . . Good Gravy!

Ahh, who wants to go camping?!?

This week on Free Recipe Friday 

we're gonna take a virtual camping trip.

With this amazing fall weather upon us,

it's making us dream of being on a campsite somewhere!

Today's post is a recipe that is a tradition

 for our family on every camping trip.

It is Sausage Gravy.

Ahh, did you hear that???

I think I heard some angels singing or something!

Oh, you didn't hear anything???

Well then, I guess you haven't had

the same Sausage Gravy that WE have had! ;) 

It is also routinely made in the Taylor household

once or twice a month for our big Saturday breakfasts.

So, with camping on our mind,

 it was only fitting to have THE finest Sausage Gravy maker

in the whole United States

to share with us his gravy makin' skills!

A man that takes Sausage Gravy makin'

pretty seriously!

So, let me introduce to you,

the one, the only,

James Taylor! (isn't he cute?)

Ok, here goes...

Get a whisk---

Fry up some ground sausage in an iron skillet

(cheap stuff works well cause its greasy)

(use a wad about the size of a baseball - more if you like).

Chop it up as it cooks into little crumbles.

I usually add a "little" bacon grease at this point but that's me.

Once it's cooked, turn the heat down to medium

and sprinkle in some all purpose flour

until all the crumbles are coated - stirring all the time.

Don't add so much flour that you make a doughy mess.

Just enough that all the sausage crumbles

are coated and the flour is wet with piggy grease.

Now for the tricky part.

Get the whisk-

Fill a small glass with milk

and another larger glass with tap water.

Pour the milk into the sausage first -

slowly while stirring so the sausage doesn't cool off too much.

It'll look all lumpy but don't stop stirring with the whisk.

Now slowly start pouring in the water

a little at a time while your whisking what looks like cement

and your arm starts crampin'. 

You want the gravy to look like smooth pudding

but that comes later. The whisk is the key.

Whisk whisk whisk.

Stir stir stir until it's smooth.

If it's too thick, just add a little more water

and stir stir stir till the water is blended in

and the gravy is smoooooth.

Let it cook for a few minutes while stirring

so the flour doesn't taste raw.

Add salt and black pepper to taste

toward the end as you stir stir stir.

Once it looks all smoooth like pudding

you can turn the heat down to simmer

and wait on the biscuits that you got cookin' to be done.

Great on biscuits or even toast.

Mom used to dip cat poop in it. It's THAT good.

Enjoy,

James

A special thanks to my sweet hubby
for sharing with us this week.
He makes gravy like no other!
Listed below are the things you will need
to make gravy for yourself or your family.
Hope you'll try it real soon!

INGREDIENTS/TOOLS NEEDED

Seasoned Iron Skillet (or other large saute pan)

Whisk

1/2 lb. of pork sausage (or a 'wad')

Extra fat if needed (bacon grease or veggie oil)

Flour (appx. 1/2 cup)

Milk (appx. 1 cup)

Water as needed (usually 2-3 cups, maybe more)

Salt/Pepper to taste

Biscuits or Toast

Now our great family secret recipe is out.

All you have to do is decipher it!

No problem, right?!?

ENJOY!



Free Recipe Friday. . .Cheese Truffles!

Welcome back to Free Recipe Friday!
Enjoyin' the cooler temps????
Who doesn't love fall???!?
The weather, the colors and the flavors are so nice aren't they!?
It reminds me of our daughter's wedding...

which was on a beautiful fall day in November.

That day was almost one year ago...EEK...

where does the time go???

So, as we reflect back on that momentious occasion

 we will spotlight some yummy goodness from that day...

an easy cheesey treat that you can whip up in a flash.

Cheese Truffles!

They are quite delicious AND a pretty impressive little appetizer -

what more could you ask for!?!

Our menu was indeed a fall menu that day...
Irish Beef Stew, an Autumn Salad with
mixed greens, apples, walnuts and bleu cheese -
a bazillion assorted homemade muffins,

made by my amazing muffin makin' sisters...

assorted crackers...and these heavenly delights...

CHEESE TRUFFLES!

They consist of just a very few ingredients,

are easy peasy to make AND can be made up ahead of time!

So here goes....

FETA CHEESE TRUFFLE INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used 6 oz.)

1 (4-oz.) container crumbled feta cheese

2 tsp. finely chopped onion

1/2-1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

This recipe made 23 bite size cheese truffles for us!

WHAT TO DO:

Beat first 5 ingredients at medium speed of an electric mixer

until well combined.

Cover tightly and chill at least 1 hour or until firm.

You can store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days!

Roll cheese mixture into 3/4 inch round balls.

Roll each ball in chopped parsley or bacon crumbles.

Either serve immediately or cover and chill until ready to serve.

If chilled, let stand 30 minutes before serving.

VARIATIONS:

Gorgonzola Truffles:

Substitute 1 (4-oz.) container crumbled Gorgonzola (bleu) cheese

for the Feta cheese and use 1/2-1 cup cooked and crumbled bacon

for the chopped parsley.

Goat Cheese Truffles:

Substitute 1 (4-oz.) container crumbled Goat cheese

for Feta and 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans

for the chopped parsley.

Maid of Honor Shelby, making up a ton of assorted truffles

on Melody's wedding day!

The wedding 'party'

The love birds, Jason & Melody!