Fluffy Biscuits

So for my birthday, my husband got me this cookbook "Taste of Home Cookbook" Cooks who Care edition. So I made him homemade biscuits (gravy, eggs and bacon) one morning. The biscuits were really good and easy to make.

Fluffy Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup milk

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg with milk, stir into dry ingredients ust until moistened.

Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 20 times. Roll to 3/4-in. thickness ; cut with a floured 2-1/2 in. biscuit cutter.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Linguine Alfredo

I LOVE alfredo sauce, especially from Olive Garden. The only thing is, have you even tried reheating that sauce the next day...yuk. So I found this recipe in a Weight Watchers cookbook and it does the trick for me and reheats nicely.

Linguine Alfredo

1 Tbsp. butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup fat-free milk
1/4 cup fat-free cream cheese
1/4 cup grated Asiago or Parmesan cheese
1 cup broccoli florets (sometimes I dont add)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-in pieces (I DONT ADD)
1 carrot, thinly sliced (I DONT ADD)
4 cups hot cooked linguine

In a medium nonstick sausepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Saute the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in the flour, then gradually whisk in the milk; cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cream cheese and Asiago/Parmesan; cook, stirring, until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, place the broccoli, bell peppers, and carrot in a steamer basket; set in a saucepan over 1 inch of boiling water. Cover and steam until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the pasta and steamed vegetables. Add the cheese sauce; toss to coat thoroughly. Serve at once.

Side note; sometimes I add more cheese depending on the taste as well as salt and pepper.

I usually make this for lunch cause the portion is not a family size, so if making for dinner for the family, double or triple the recipe.

Onion Baked Chicken

I found this recipe in the coupon section of the newspaper. It was really good and its a recipe to share.

Onion Baked Chicken

3 lbs. chicken parts (I have also made with bone-in chicken breast and boneless/skinless chicken)
1 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. McCormick Onion Powder
1 1/2 tsp. McCormick Italian Seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. McCormick Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. McCormick Paprika
(can you tell it was a McCormick advertisement recipe)

Bruch chicken with oil. Mix seasoning in small bowl. Coat chicken evenly with seasoning mixture. Place chicken in shallow baking pan.

Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Under $2 per serving; Makes 8 servings.

French Breakfast Puffs

Long time no post. I have been cooking/baking and taking the pictures to post, but never made the time to post it all. So I am back on it. Im going through the pictures I have and find the recipe that goes with it. Some are good and some are just Ok. I found this French Breakfast Puff recipe on My Tasty Treasures site and had to make them. Mine don't look as pretty as her's and I think they needed a little more work on my end. I wasn't overly excited at the taste and having to dip/brush butter on them to get the cinn/sugar to stick. I think a few more times making and it could be perfected on my end.

French Breakfast Puffs

3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup sugar
⅔ cup shortening-crisco
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 ½ cups sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 sticks butter
Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease12 muffin cups.
Stir together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream together 1 cup sugar and shortening. Add eggs and mix. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to creamed mixture. Beat well after each addition.
Fill prepared muffin cups ⅔ full. Bake at 350 for 20–25 minutes. Do Not Overbake.
In bowl melt 2 sticks butter. In a separate bowl combine sugar and cinnamon. Dip baked muffins in butter. Let it soak a sec. Then roll in cinnaomon sugar mixture, coating well. I then recoat after all muffins were coated once!

Chicken Piccata with steamed Asparagus

There is a pattern here, I found this recipe in a Fat Burning Food Guide book from Chalean Extreme workout program. This recipe was also amazing.

4 oz. boneless chicken breat, butterflied
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp capers

12 asparagus spears, steamed
Mrs. Dash Italian seasoning to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Season chicken breast with Mrs. Dash. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Cook chicken breast for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until golder brown. Then add white wine, lemon juice, and capers and simmer until chicken is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with asparagus spears.

Home Fries (Eat Clean Diet recipe)

This was one of the first recipes I had to make cause it was like making fried potatoes (in which I can't seem to make). This recipe is a definite winner.

Home Fries

3 potatoes, boiled till soft but firm, and sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 cooking onion, sliced thinly
2 tbsp olive oil, seperated
2 tsp mustard seeds
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

I started with putting the potatoes in the microwave in fold over sandwich baggies for 3 minutes. Let them cool then slice.
Heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat in a large skillet.
Cook onions for 1-2 minutes. Add green peppers and continue to cook, stirring for about 4 minutes. Set aside in a bowl.
Add the rest of the oil to the skillet. Allow to heat. Set potato slices in single layer. Let brown, then flip. Brown the potatoes for 2 minutes, then add onions and peppers. Stir together. Add mustard seeds, salt and pepper, and serve.

One skillet meal (ground hamburger/turkey/bison)

So it has been a super long time since I have gotten on here to post a recipe. I have been cooking but it has been a little different. We started eating a Clean Diet (recently) and trying to find recipes is a little harder.

Tonights menu was totally just thrown together. I had 1 lb. of ground bison in the fridge and had to come up with something; so I did.

Ingredients included:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. ground bison
1 bell pepper; diced
1 onion; diced
2 cloves garlic; minced
2 can diced tomatoes with chilies
2 cups cooked brown rice

I first started with olive oil and saute garlic for about 2 minutes on med. heat. Add your ground bison, turkey or even hamburger. Once that is almost cooked all the way thru, add chopped bell peppers and onions. Cook till those are tender and then add your 2 cans of chopped tomatoes with chilies. The tomatoes and chilies add the spice. Then you will add the cooked rice, stir and heat thru for about 5 minutes. Then pepper and salt to taste.

I thought this was really good. Reminded me of like unstuffed peppers or like dirty rice. I am so glad there were left overs so I can have it for lunch tomorrow.

More recipes to come....I promise :)