SAUSAGE CHEDDAR BALLS

WARNING - THIS RECIPE IS NOT HEALTHY! But, it is worth indulging in occasionally. This is one of my most requested recipes and I am expected to bring my sausage balls to certain get togethers. They are also my BCF, Larissa's, birthday treat every year. When my boys were little, I would make double batches about one weekend a month, put them in ziplock bags & on busy mornings I would pull them out of the freezer, take out a couple for each kid, wrap in a paper towel and microwave for a couple of minutes, throw the kids in the car and GO.  Isn't that the life of every busy working mom?

My family loves sausage. I know it is not healthy, but it is one of the foods that my family thinks is worth keeping in our diet. We try to eat clean 80-85% of the time. We are very diligent about refined sugars, food dyes, etc. but we love food too much to ever go completely organic and we are too busy to be obsessing about what to eat & what not to eat all the time.  So, we eat sausage once or twice a week and we enjoy it. We do limit our refined flours also. I have tried using gluten free baking mix and tried brown rice flour and whole wheat flour for the sausage balls and my guys said "NO! Do not mess with the sausage balls!" So here is how I make the sausage balls that my guys, my friends & my family love. I have eaten lots of dry sausage balls. My friend, Diane, told me to add a little milk to keep them from drying out and I have been doing that now for at least 15 years.  I hope you enjoy them.

And I have to add, since I take Plexus I can splurge more without having arthritis and neuropathy flareups. I've been splurging more than I should lately and even though I'm not hurting and I feel great, I'm not losing any weight, so I've got to get back to keeping my splurges to a minimum.

FYI - I am picky about the brand of sausage I use. I only use Blue & Gold sausage or Braum's sausage. We love Braum's Hot sausage & it gives the sausage balls a little kick. The only semi-healthy change I have gotten away with is sometimes I will make a batch with 1 stick of regular sausage and 1 stick of turkey sausage. When you use turkey sausage you have to be very careful about it drying out because it has no fat. You can add a tablespoon or 2 of plain Greek Yogurt to your mixture to help hold it together. Also, if using turkey sausage only use 2 cups of flour instead of 3.

SAUSAGE CHEDDAR BALLS

1 pound of Braum's Hot sausage or Blue & Gold sausage
3 cups Bisquick
2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup milk

OPTION - instead of milk, you can add 1/4 cup of Ranch dressing. Grant loves Ranch dressing & loves it in his sausage balls, but my husband does not.

Place sausage, Bisquick and cheese in a large mixing bowl. Pour in milk. Using your hands, mix together thoroughly (if it is a little dry, add a little more milk). Roll into golf ball size balls. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees about 25-30 minutes.

TIP - I wear disposal gloves to mix it up, then when I'm done, I just throw the gloves away and my hands are clean. :)

I hope you get to go out and enjoy the sunshine this weekend.

Lori

SCALLOPED POTATOES

My husband's birthday was a couple of weeks ago. All he wanted for his birthday was scalloped potatoes, pork chops and red velvet cake (I make Non-Red Velvet Cake because I don't use red food coloring, but it doesn't change the taste of the cake). He LOVES potatoes and he loves cheese, so scalloped potatoes are his favorite. Through the years I have tried several different recipes and they were all okay, but a few years ago I used Pioneer Woman's recipe and now that is the ONLY recipe I use. I don't even like potatoes very much, but these are amazing! WARNING - THEY ARE NOT CALORIE FREE! But they are so worth splurging on for special occasions. I don't know what the difference is between scalloped and au gratin, but we just call them scalloped.

Here is a link to Pioneer Woman's recipe

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/perfect-potatoes-au-gratin/

Of course, I change it up a little to add the flavors that my family likes so here's how I do it:

SCALLOPED POTATOES

2 tablespoons butter, softened
4 large russet OR 8 red potatoes
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons McCormick Hot Shot or pepper
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup shredded monterey jack
Option - cooked & chopped ham or bacon are great additions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice potatoes into circles or diced cubes. I use red potatoes because they are less starchy and have lots of iron, so since they are smaller, I just slice them in circles.

Combine milk and cream in bowl.

Add the flour, garlic, salt, pepper (Hot Shot), basil and onion.  Whisk together well so that the flour is incorporated into the mixture.

Grease square baking dish with the softened butter.  Pour potatoes into dish. Pour mixture over potatoes.

Cover the dish with foil and bake it for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for 20 minutes more.  Sprinkle the cheese all over the top and bake 5-10 minutes more or until cheese is bubbly.

TIPS FOR A BUSY WEEKNIGHT - I got these all ready in the morning before I left for work, covered with foil and put in refrigerator.  Kevin gets home an hour before I do, so he took the dish and set it on the counter to get to room temperature and turned the oven on.  Then all I had to do when I got home from work was pop the dish in the oven and let them bake while I cooked the pork chops. I think these could be cooked in a rectangular slow cooker also. I haven't tried it yet.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Lori

Beef enchiladas

Today is my 24th wedding anniversary. Where has the time gone? We were so young... and thin back then. It hasn't been perfect, but we have survived. We have gone through job layoffs, his & mine, health crises, bankruptcy, etc. but we have come out stronger, wiser, closer to God and closer to each other. We went to Norman on Saturday and celebrated with friends. Tonight our dear friend, Ricky, will be Kevin's nurse while I cook his anniversary dinner. He has requested beef enchiladas and butterscotch pudding.

So, I thought I would share my beef enchilada recipe with you. It is easy, delicious and filling. I make it all the time for church potlucks, funeral dinners, etc. and everyone always ask for the recipe. I started with the recipe that my Mom used to make, but changed it up to how my family likes it.

BEEF ENCHILADAS

2 pounds ground beef
1 onion (chopped)
1 pkg taco seasoning (we prefer Taco Bell)
1 can refried beans
2 pkgs tortillas (any kind you like)
1 large can Wolf brand chili
2 cans Old El Paso red enchilada sauce
1 can Ro Tel tomatoes
2-3 cups shredded cheese

1)  Add ground beef and onion to skillet, sprinkle liberally with Garlic Salt. Brown beef.
2)  When beef is done, add taco seasoning and 1/4 cup water. Mix thoroughly.
3)  Add refried beans to meat and mix together, you may need to add a little more water.
4)  In a large saucepan over low heat, mix together chili, Ro Tel tomatoes and enchilada sauce.
5)  Take tortilla and dip in chili mixture. Add beef mixture in middle of tortilla, roll up and place seam side down in pan.
6)  Repeat until all of beef mixture is gone.
7)  Pour chili sauce over the top of enchiladas.
8)  Sprinkle cheese over all.
9)  Bake at 350 degrees 30-45 minutes until cheese is melted and all is hot & bubbly.

Enjoy! Please let me know how you like them and if you make any changes. I always enjoy changing things up.

Lori

Buche de Noel

I am addicted to the new show, The Chew. Michael Simon is one of my favorite chefs, so I have DVR'd it since it started. Last week, Linda Evans was on there and made her favorite Christmas dish, Buche de Noel. I was intrigued because it has no flour & is a beautiful dish. Buche de Noel is French for Christmas Log. My friend, Teri's birthday is a week before Christmas & she is my guinea pig for new dishes. Teri loves chocolate and maraschino cherries so every year I make her something with that in it. I found a recipe on All Recipes.com that looked good & had rave reviews so that is what I used. Here is the recipe from the website with my alterations/additions.

BUCHE DE NOEL

Filling:  2 cups heavy cream
              1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
              1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
              1 tsp vanilla
              (I added 12 chopped maraschino cherries)

Cake:    6 egg yolks
              1/2 cup white sugar
              1/3 cup cocoa powder
              1 1/2 tsps vanilla
              1/8 tsp salt
              6 egg whites
              1/4 cup sugar
              (I added about 2 tsps cream of tarter to egg white mixture)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a 10 x 15 inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper & spray liberally with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whip cream, 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa and 1 teaspoon vanilla until thick and stiff.  If you want to cherries, fold in to whipped cream. Refrigerate.

In a large bowl, use electric mixer to beat egg yolks with 1/2 cup sugar until thick and pale. Blend in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1 1/2 tsps vanilla and salt.  In a large glass bowl, using clean beaters, whip egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar & beat until stiff peaks form. Fold chocolate egg yolks mixture into egg whites. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cake springs back when lightly touched.

Dust a clean dishtowel with confectioner's sugar and turn the warm cake onto the towel.  Remove parchment paper. Starting at short edge of the cake, roll the cake up with the towel. Cool for 30 minutes.

Unroll the cake and spread the filling to within 1 inch of the edge.  Roll the cake up with the filling inside. Place seam side down on a serving plate. Dust with confectioner's sugar. Decorate with mint leaves and maraschino cherries to look like holly. It is supposed to look like snow on a log. Our Farmer's Market didn't have mint leaves, but they had parsley, so that is what I used.  

TIP - Beat the eggs (yolks and whites) very good. Since the cake has no flour, the texture of the cake is totally dependent on how well you beat the eggs. That is why I added cream of tartar to egg whites. It helps to stabilize egg whites & meringue.

Don't be intimidated by this cake. It is really not difficult. And the presentation is beautiful! Very light, but decadent cake. Enjoy!

Salmon Ceasar Salad and Spinach Dip

July 4th was different since it is so dry in Oklahoma that we couldn't do fireworks. My husband & our friend, John, look forward to blowing things up every year. But we still got together and had good food & good company.

Let's talk food!! One of my new favorite dishes is salmon ceasar salad. I take Romaine lettuce & if I have spinach or red leaf lettuce, I add some of that also. Chop or tear up the lettuce into a medium size bowl. Crumble 1/2 pouch of salmon over lettuce. Add walnuts, pecans, almonds, raisins, sunflower seeds, whatever else you want. Sprinkle grated parmesan & romano cheese on salad. Marzetti's has a light all natural ceasar dressing that is really good. I also like Kraft's Catalina Light Done Right. Of course a vinegarette of any kind is always best calorie wise. I can't get enough of this salad. I absolutely love it! I hope you will try it & let me know what you think.

I was going to make spinach dip the other day & was shopping for sour cream. I was reading the labels of the different brands and found that the "store" brand had 6+ ingredients, BUT, Daisy brand had only 2 (cultured cream & salt). The store brand was only 20 cents less than Daisy. Isn't that crazy! I paid the extra 20 cents & got REAL sour cream and not fake chemicals & preservatives.

Here's a recipe for the BEST Spinach Dip you will ever eat.
1 box frozen chopped spinach (thawed & excess water squeezed out)
1 - 24 ounce container of DAISY Light sour cream (ingredients are only cream & salt)
1 pkg Lipton Garlic & Herb soup mix (adds great flavor to so many things)
1 can water chestnuts (chopped)

Mix all ingredients together and serve with crackers or chips of your choice. Also great with carrot sticks, yellow squash sticks or zuchini sticks.

Stay cool and pray for rain. God bless all who takes the time to read this. And if you have any tips or recipes to share, I always enjoy learning & trying new things.

Lori