Sausage Pancakes-on-Sticks

From The Pioneer Woman via FoodNetwork



Ingredients:
16 breakfast sausage links
3 cups pancake mix
1 cup yellow cornmeal
Sprinkle of cinnamon
1 whole egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups water
Canola oil, for frying
Warm pancake syrup, for serving

Directions:
Cook the breakfast sausage links in a cast-iron skillet, turning occasionally until done.

In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix, cornmeal and cinnamon. Stir to combine.

Add the eggs, vanilla and water, adding more water as needed for the batter to become slightly thick (but not overly gloopy.) Start out by adding 1 cup, then work your way up to 3 cups or more.

Heat some canola oil in a large pot over medium-high heat to about 350 degrees F. Drop in a bit of batter to see if it's ready; the batter should immediately start to sizzle but should not immediately brown/burn.

Insert chopsticks into the cooked breakfast sausages so that they're two-thirds of the way through. Dip the sausages into the batter and allow any excess to drip off for a couple of seconds. Carefully drop into the oil (stick and all) and use tongs or a spoon to make sure it doesn't hit the bottom of the pan and stick. Flip it here and there to ensure even browning, and remove it from the oil when the outside is deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve with warm pancake syrup.

Comments:
I had some trouble with the batter and this recipe made about 10 times more batter that we needed. I used my deep fryer to cook these and it worked fine. They were good, but I don't know that we'd try them again. The batter threw the whole thing off I think...

Pantry Pasta

From The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond via FoodNetwork



Ingredients:
1/2 whole red onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1/3 cup chicken stock or white wine
1/3 cup assorted olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 whole jar artichoke hearts, halved
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces pasta, cooked al dente and drained
2 to 3 tablespoons jarred pesto
1/2 cup fork-chunked feta
3 tablespoons dry-toasted pine nuts

Directions:
Add the onions into a skillet with the olive oil over medium heat. Saute for a few minutes, and then add in the diced tomatoes, chicken stock, olives, artichoke hearts and garlic. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and stir to combine with the sauce. Mix in the pesto. Toss in the feta and top with the pine nuts.

Comments:
I don't know that I've ever made anything from The Pioneer Woman that I haven't totally loved. I caught this recipe on her new(ish) show on the Food Network and I knew it was right up my alley. A local Italian restaurant makes a version of this and I love it and this is what I always get at Stone Cellar as well. Olives and tomatoes and artichokes and pasta = Heaven! I did leave out the pesto since I'm not particularly a fan. I also used some Garden Delight Ronzoni in an effort to up the healthy components. I'm not sure about the two servings thing though - this makes a whole lot, and unlike Ree, I don't live on a working ranch and chase cows around all day.

Adam Cooks: Flat Apple Pie

From The Pioneer Woman via FoodNetwork



Ingredients:
5 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 recipe Perfect Pie Crust (recipe is in link above)
6 tablespoons butter

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In large bowl, stir together the apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, salt and lemon juice. Set aside and see how long you can keep from sneaking a slice of apple.

With a rolling pin, begin rolling out the Perfect Pie Crusts into large circles. Roll the dough from the center outward. Be gentle and patient, it'll take a little time to get the dough completely rolled out.

If you think the bottom is really sticking to the surface below, use a nice, sharp spatula to loosen the dough and sprinkle some extra flour on top. Then flip it over to finish rolling. Remember to roll from the center in single, outward strokes, no back-and-forth rolling.

Again with a spatula, loosen and lift the dough and carefully place the circles on large baking sheets.

Place half the apple mixture on one crust and the other half on the other crust. Fold over the edges of each crust so that it covers 2 to 3 inches of the apple mixture. No need to be artistic - the more rustic the better. Dot the tops of the pies with chunks of the butter.

Bake until the filling is golden and bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. If the crust appears to brown too quickly, cover the edges with aluminium foil for the remaining baking time.

Allow to cool slightly, then slice into wedges with a pizza cutter. Eat 'em on the go!

Comments:
OMG. This was so good. My dislike of pie crust is well known (and well documented here on this blog) so I was skeptical of Ree's "perfect pie crust" that everyone raves about. And apple pie especially, not my favorite. But seriously people. It's wonderful. The crust, so flaky and just awesome. Perfect pure apple flavor without all that cinnamon and spice junk to mess it up. Go make it immediately.

Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic and Cranberries

From The Pioneer Woman

Chicken recipe can be found here. (It's a good one!)



Ingredients:
3 pounds Brussels Sprouts
1/2 cup Olive Oil
Salt And Pepper
1 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup Sugar
1 cup Dried Cranberries

Directions:
Trim/clean Brussels sprouts, then cut them in half if desired (or you can leave them whole). Arrange on two baking sheets and toss with olive oil. Sprinkle with plenty of salt and pepper and roast at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until brown.

Combine balsamic vinegar and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and reduce until very thick, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the roasted sprouts, then sprinkle on dried cranberries. Toss and serve immediately.

Comments:
This was my first attempt at cooking Brussels sprouts. It was also my first attempt at EATING Brussels sprouts. I don't know why it's taken me almost 30 years to venture into this culinary territory. I guess the opportunity just never presented itself prior to this occasion. But I saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman Christmas show on FoodNetwork and I thought it sounded yummy. So I made it. And it was yummy. Yay for fulfilled expectations!

My one caution is about this glaze thing. Wow, does it get thick. As in, good luck scraping it out of your saucepan and serving dish thick. Yikes! Tricky clean-up aside, this was a great introduction to a new veggie.

Crash Hot Potatoes

From The Pioneer Woman (Have you discovered this woman? She's amazing!)



Ingredients:
New Potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt & pepper
Other herbs (your choice)

Directions:
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the potatoes and cook until fork-tender. On a sheet pan, drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the sheet, leaving plenty of room between each potato. With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each potato with more olive oil. Sprinkle potatoes with salt, pepper, and whatever herb combination you want. Bake in a 450 degree overn for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Comments:
I kind of cheated by cooking the potatoes in the microwave rather than on the stove-top. Bad Martha. I used garlic salt and Italian seasoning. These were so simple, and a nice change up from the usual oven-baked potato wedges I ususally make. Adam was unsure, but he ate the two I gave him with some sour cream on top.