Gobble, Gobble

This is a re post from last year.  I am not a huge turkey fan and this year for Thanksgiving, I did not want to make the traditional turkey. When I do eat turkey, I usually go for the dark meat.  This is one of my favorite meals and it takes no time at all to prepare/make.  If you don't feel like baking for three hours, but you want to stay in the tradition of having turkey on Thanksgiving, try this recipe.

Recipe: Oven Baked Turkey Wings

Ingredients:
2 packs of turkey wings
Seasoning: Season all, garlic powder, accent, black pepper
1 large onion chopped
1 large green pepper chopped
1 can of cream of chicken soup

Directions:
1. Wash your meat.  Then season it with the seasonings listed above.  Take one stick of butter and divide it into fifths.  Place the butter all around your pan (in each corner and in the middle).  Then add a little water to the pan (about 1/4 of a cup).  Then place your meat in the pan.  Put it in the oven on 350 degrees UNCOVERED.

2. After 30 minutes, place chopped onion and peppers into the pan.  Let your meat cook for another 15-20 minutes.  Then cover it and let it cook for about 30-45 minutes.

3. After 30 minutes of cooking, uncover add 1 can of cream of chicken soup to the pan.  Re-cover and cook for another 20-30 minutes.

This would be great with mashed potatoes and green bean casserole!

Some of This and Some of That!

I haven't blogged in about two months and I have to admit, I really do miss it.  I knew once school started, I wouldn't be able to post as much.  Just because I haven't been blogging, doesn't mean I haven't been cooking and trying new recipes.  To make up for lost time, I have decided to post three recipes this week.  One is for breakfast, one is for dinner, and the last recipe is a dessert.  Sorry I have been gone so long.  I will try to post at least once or twice a  month!  

Breakfast Recipe:

Bacon and Cheddar Popovers

Next time I make this recipe, I plan on adding Jimmy Dean sausage and more cheese.  

Ingredients: 

• 1 2/3 cups of milk (I use whole milk, but you are welcome to use whatever you want)
• 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp of season all
• 1 tsp of black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions (about 4 scallions)
• 10 bacon strips, cooked crisp and coarsely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray. Or you can place cupcake liners in the muffin pan.  I prefer not using the liners. 
Combine milk, flour, eggs, salt, season all, black pepper, and cayenne in a bowl.  Mix until mixture is smooth. 

Stir 1 1/2 cup Cheddar, 2/3 of the chopped bacon, and the scallions into batter. Spoon 1/3 cupfuls of batter into prepared muffin pan.  Evenly sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese and bacon over all the muffins.

Bake popovers 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 375 degrees and bake until golden brown, an additional 10 minutes or so. Serve hot.

Dinner Recipe: Crockpot Enchilada Soup

Ingredients:

3 tbsp of Canola Oil

1 large onion, diced

1 small green bell pepper, diced 

Black Pepper to taste

1 can (11 ounce) Ro-tel diced tomatoes & green chile's with the juices

1 can of Mexicorn (drained)

1 can of Lima beans (drained)

1 can of diced tomatoes with juice

1 can of seasoned okra, corn, and tomatoes

1 packet of ranch seasoning mix

1/2 packet of McCormick spicy taco seasoning

1 1/2lb of ground beef 

Shredded Cheese

Sour Cream (for topping)

Ritz crackers or tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Place canola oil in a skillet over medium temp

2. Brown ground beef.  Add seasoning to taste (season all, garlic powder, black pepper, crushed red pepper).  Add onions and green pepper to ground beef.

3. Meanwhile, add all canned food items to the slow cooker.  Add about a 1/2 cup of water to the slow cooker. 

4. When ground beef is done cooking, drain oil and then add to slow cooker.  Season pot with season all, black pepper, and garlic.  Add 1/2 packet of the taco seasoning mix (I used the spicy seasoning) and 1/2 packet of the ranch seasoning mix.  Mix well.  

5. Cook on low temp for 6-8 hours.  Stir occasionally and taste test to see what additional seasoning you need.  

6. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and crackers or tortilla chips

Dessert Recipe: Butterfinger Cake

For the past month, I have seen a co-worker with two pans of butterfinger cake.  She makes it for her son's football team.  Every time I see it, I just want to take a huge bite out of it.  I have to thank Kerry for inspiring me to make this dish.  I am not sure if mine is made the way Kerry makes hers, but I thought I would give it a try.  Nick has already sampled it four times and has given me his approval.  

Ingredients:

1 box of yellow cake mix (and ingredients for the cake)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 (16oz) jar caramel sauce

1 container of cool whip

3 Butterfinger candy bars, crushed into large crumbs

Directions: 

1. Bake your cake according to package directions in a rectangular baking pan. 
2. Let your cake cool for 10 minutes.  Then use a fork to poke holes in the top of the cake.  Make sure to poke holes over entire cake. 
3. Pour the can of condensed milk over the top of the cake, and spread evenly.
4. Then, pour the jar of caramel sauce over the top of the cake, and again spread evenly over cake.
5. Sprinkle some of the crushed butterfinger evenly over the cake. 
6. Place cake in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until cool.
7. Once cool, spread the cool whip evenly over the cake.
8. Sprinkle remaining crushed Butterfinger crumbs on top of the cool whip.  
9. Return to refrigerator until time to serve, and store covered in refrigerator after serving.
10. Enjoy!

Sausage and Potatoes

This is one of those meals you can make in any season of the year.  It is a comfort meal you and your family is sure to enjoy.  It requires four ingredients, but is packed with so much flavor.  Although my recipe is great, I always request this meal when I visit my parents.  My mom must be keeping an ingredient from me :).  Enjoy!

Recipe: Sausage and Potatoes

Ingredients:

Turkey Sausage or regular pork sausage

1 small onion chopped

1 green bell pepper chopped

Your favorite kind of potatoes sliced (no skin)

Seasonings: Season All, Garlic Powder, Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper

Directions:

1. Peel your potatoes.  Rinse them off, then slice them like potato chips.  Season the potatoes with the seasonings listed above (or you can just use salt and pepper).  In a large skillet, place some canola cooking oil in the pot (just enough to cover the bottom of the pan).  Cook your potatoes until they are a light brown on both sides (you don't want them to cook like french fries).  I cooked for about 5-10minutes (constantly stirring/tossing).  

2. In a separate skillet, cook your sausage (do not put any oil in the pot, because it will make it's own grease).  After about 5 minutes, add the chopped onion and bell pepper.  (I seasoned my onion and bell pepper with salt, pepper, and garlic before I put it in the pot with the sausage).  Cook until the onions and peppers are tender.  

3. Using a spoon with slotted holes, take the potatoes out of their skillet and add to the skillet with the sausage and onions.  Mix well.  Turn heat down to medium low.  Add a little water (for a gravy) to the pot.  Cover and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes (until potatoes are tender (not falling apart) and there is a little gravy/juice).  Be sure to stir the mixture every couple of minutes (to avoid potatoes sticking to bottom of pot, to determine if you need more water, etc.). 

4. You can serve this meal by itself, with bread, or like my mom with RICE.  I know it's two starches, but it's so good, especially with the gravy.  I also like to serve with some type of bread (Hawaiian rolls, garlic bread, etc.).  This meal is even better the next day!