Cookbookaholic

Big Pig in a Blanket: The Recipe

The other day I had an idea about a spicy, bacon-y snack for Labor Day. It has super simple ingredients—but would it taste any good? I decided to give it a try and we loved, loved, loved the end result.

It’s a super-sized take on Pigs in a Blanket…but making the pig a whole lot spicier, then wrapped in bacon and then robed in a luxurious crescent roll.

Let’s get to it! You only need to buy three items: Johnsonville Jalapeno Cheddar Smoked Sausages, Oscar Mayer Center Cut Bacon and Pillsbury Crescents. That’s it!

First up, you need to cook the jalapeno cheddar smoked sausages. You can grill them or cook them in skillet—your preference! Just be sure to have them cooked and slightly cooled first so that you’re not wrapping hot bacon around a hot sausage. Personally, I love the sausages to have some char on them!

Then, get the bacon going. Now, I prefer to cook bacon in the oven. The pieces tend to retain their length while cooking and you don’t get bacon grease spatter all over the place. I cook the bacon for twelve minutes on one side, flip them over and then keep a careful eye on them for the next three to five minutes. Remove them from the oven just as the second side begins to deepen in color/doneness. I like crunchy bacon, but for this, you need the bacon pliable enough to be able to wrap around the sausage.  

So, while the bacon is finishing up after they’ve been flipped…open up your can of crescent rolls and separate the dough triangles.

Take a strip of bacon and twirl/wrap it around a sausage and then place it on the bottom of the triangle. Then, carefully wrap the dough around the sausage to help secure the bacon in place. And just like you would normally do a crescent roll…roll the sausage and bacon towards the tip of the triangle.

Place all six on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 9 to 13 minutes. The key is to keep your eye on it so that the crescent roll bakes and browns, but you don’t overbake it that the bacon burns and crumbles.

The result is very flavorful: spicy and smokey from the sausage with the saltiness of the bacon and the slightly sweet and flakey bread. The cheddar adds a smoothness and, overall, this is a really great “handy” meal. If you’re making items for tailgating or for a gathering, this will be a hit. Definitely more filling that a tiny little pig in a blanket…this is more like Spicy Smoked Swine in Silk! LOL

By the way, I dipped these in the Food Lion brand Bold Horseradish Mustard and loved how it complimented the spicy and smokey flavor.

Like I said, only three items and the combination is amazing. Football season is here…and these will be the hit of your snack spread!

 

Ingredients

1 package of Johnsonville Jalapeno Cheddar Smoked Sausages

1 package of Oscar Mayer Center Cut Bacon

1 package of Pillsbury Crescents

 

1. Cook the smoked sausages and let cool slightly.
2. Bake bacon in 400 degree oven for 12 minutes. Flip strips and return to the oven for another 3 to 5 minutes. They should begin to brown, but still be pliable.
3. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
4. Remove the crescent dough from the canister and separate the dough triangles.
5. Remove bacon from oven and quickly wrap each cooked sausage in a strip of bacon.
6. Take the bacon-wrapped sausage and place on the bottom/long part of the dough triangle. Roll dough and sausage toward the tip of the triangle.
7. Place all six on a baking sheet and bake in 350 degree oven for 9 to 13 minutes. 

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe: Bourbonated Chocolate Chip Cookies with Maple, Oatmeal and Pecans

Bourbonated Chocolate Chip Cookies with Maple, Oatmeal and Pecans 

by Angela Snider

1 ½ Cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 sticks of butter, softened

¾ cup lightly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla butter nut flavor

1 large egg

2 Tbsp whole milk

1 Tbsp Pappy & Company Bourbon Barrel-Aged Pure Maple Syrup

23 oz bag milk chocolate chips

3 maple & brown sugar instant oatmeal packets (sifted, only use the oats; discard the filler)

½ cup pecans, chipped

In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter in a mixer on medium/high speed. Add in brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla/butter/nut extract. Mix on medium until creamy.

Add in egg.

Add in a portion of the flour mixture, about a fourth.

Add in 1 Tbsp of whole milk

Add in another portion of the flour mixture.

Add in the tablespoon of bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup.

Add in another portion of the flour mixture.

Add in the last tablespoon of whole milk.

Add in the last of the flour to the mix.

Remove the bowl from the mixer, scrape down the sides and fully mix together with a spatula.

Gently stir in the oatmeal, chipped pecans and milk chocolate chips.

Refrigerate the mixing bowl of cookie dough while oven preheats.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Using a small ice cream/cookie dough scoop with a 1 ½ inch in diameter, place rounded dough on to baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Be sure to return the bowl of dough to the refrigerator while a set of cookies bakes in the oven. 

Bake for 10 - 11 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. (If using a larger amount of dough per cookie, increase baking time up to 13 minutes)

Remove from oven and allow the cookies to rest on the baking sheets until firm enough to move to a wire rack (about 2 minutes) and then allow cookies to cool completely. Something magical happens if you wait and try them the next day. They’re absolutely addictive and beyond delicious…

Using the 1 ½ inch cookie dough scooper, this recipe makes approximately 5 dozen small cookies.

Quarantine Banana Bread

Everyone’s baking banana bread during this Covid-19 Quarantine.

Do I happen to have a Banana Bread recipe? Of course I do!

You’re welcome.

Quarantine Banana Bread Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prep a loaf pan with butter/flour or comparable spray. I use Baker’s Joy.

 

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 Cup of lightly packed light brown sugar

1 Tbls granulated sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

 

2 large eggs, beaten

3 ripe bananas, smooshed

 

1 ½ Cup of All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp Cruzan Blackstrap rum

¼ cup of chopped pecans, optional

Directions:

With a mixer, cream the butter on medium speed. Then add in the sugars and cinnamon. Mix on medium until blended.

Add in beaten eggs and bananas.

Slow the mixer to medium-low

Add the flour mixture in small increments, until completely mixed.

(Be sure to periodically stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.)

With the mixer still on low, add in the rum.

Remove bowl from mixing stand and fold in pecans.

Pour the batter into the prepped loaf pan.

Bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees.

After 45 minutes of baking, cover loaf pan with aluminum foil to prevent overcooked edges.

Continue baking for the remaining 10 minutes.

Remove from oven, let stand for a few minutes. Turn baked loaf onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Slice and serve.

This is an excellent breakfast when sliced, toasted and topped with peanut butter.

 

Betty's Veggie Soup Request!

A thousand apologies to the lady who emailed me looking for a Betty Feezor recipe for Vegetable Beef Soup. I went to respond and could not find the email anywhere!

Then, I got an email from a former colleague, David, who was reaching out to me about the same recipe. Turns out, John Carter, anchor at WBTV, had received the request and asked David if he could help find it.

I searched through all three volumes of Carolina Recipes with no luck. Then, I found the original, Betty Feezor’s Best. There was one soup recipe that could fit the bill: Saturday Vegetable Soup. I hope this is the one!

Here's the recipe:

Saturday Vegetable Soup

1 soup bone (leftover ham bone, beef or other)

Or 1/2 pound ground beef, browned

1 quart tomatoes

1 quart (or more) water

2 medium potatoes, cubed

1 large onion, cubed

3 carrots, scraped and diced

Salt and pepper to taste

Savory or thyme to taste

Any other leftover vegetables in your refrigerator (peas, corn, beans)

 

If using leftover roast or meat bone, place in large pot cutting any pieces of meat from the bone. If using hamburger, brown in large pot in its own juices. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer and let cook for at least 2 hours.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

 

So, to cover all the bases, I’m posting the recipe here and I’ve sent it on to John Carter at WBTV. Hopefully, between the blog and his broadcast or email—we’ll have this covered!

Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizza: The Recipe

By now, I think the Buffalo Chicken Dip has become a staple of Big Game menus across the country. So, what’s another great way to enjoy the flavor without all that cream cheese? I found some inspiration at a new buffalo wing joint that opened up near the house. I found all of the ingredients at my favorite local grocery store and their deli & even used many of their private brand products to help cut down on the cost.

Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizza

2 pieces of prepared flatbread

2 cups cooked chicken breast, cubed

½ cup Buffalo Wing sauce

1 celery stalk, minced

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup, mozzarella cheese, shredded

Crumbled blue cheese, to taste

Fresh Ranch dressing, to taste

For the chicken breast, I purchased a rotisserie chicken from my grocery store’s deli department. The chicken is already cooked, hot & ready to go and has a really great taste. I cubed the chicken breast (about 2 cups total) and then added the minced celery. Season with a little salt and pepper and then add the buffalo wing sauce. Mix until all of the chicken is fully coated in the sauce. (I covered the container and let the mixture marinate overnight in the refrigerator; but, you can also mix and then use immediately.)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

For a flatbread, I chose the “Tandoor Baked Naan” from Stonefire Authentic Flatbreads for my pizza base. (You can also use Boboli, pita bread or any kind of flatbread that is out on the market now.) The Naan bread had all these cool bubbles that create nooks; and, I thought it made a really tasty crust. Plus, two came in the package and they were nicely sized for individual pizzas or as appetizers for a group. The package I bought had two flatbreads that were football shaped! Festive and appropriate!

Top the bread with the buffalo chicken and celery mixture.

Then, loosely cover the buffalo chicken with the shredded mozzarella cheese and place in the pre-heated oven just long enough to heat up the chicken and melt the cheese, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Once you’ve removed the pizza from the oven, sprinkle the crumbled blue cheese over the buffalo chicken pizza. Finally, drizzle the ranch dressing on top. Slice and serve.

Yowza! Slices of pizza with thick chunks of buffalo chicken, topped off with tangy blue cheese crumbles and creamy ranch dressing. It’s very filling and gives you the punch of the buffalo flavor (without bones and a messy cleanup) all on a thin slice of pizza. It’s a nice, new addition to the football watching menu at our house!

Shrimp Quesadillas: The Recipe

My trip up to Philadelphia for our Bottom Dollar Food Frugal Chef Class was so much fun! The Taco Sliders were so delicious and amazing. I hope you had a chance to make them for yourself for Cinco de Mayo.

The other recipe from the class was “Chicken and Refried Bean Quesadillas.” I wanted to try and do something a little different. I’ve had shrimp tacos a few times so I adapted the quesadilla recipe with shrimp. I thought they turned out amazing…so here’s the recipe.

Shrimp Quesadillas

1 pkg frozen Medium shrimp (thawed, peeled)

½ pack of Taco Seasoning Mix

2 cloves garlic, minced

3-4 Tbls. Butter

½ lime

Flour tortillas, burrito size

Shredded Mexican cheese

Onion, finely chopped

Black olives (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Thaw frozen shrimp and remove/discard shells. In a separate bowl, use half a packet of Taco Seasoning Mix and coat shrimp thoroughly. Set aside in refrigerator for half and hour (or more).

In a deep skillet, melt butter and then add minced garlic on medium-high heat. Stir garlic to keep it from burning. Add shrimp to the butter and garlic mixture, stir to coat the shrimp completely. After five minutes of cooking, squeeze the juice from the lime over the shrimp. When the shrimp have finished cooking, after 7-9 minutes, it should be opaque and slightly smaller in size. Put aside and keep warm.

In a shallow skillet on medium, heat a burrito sized flour tortilla until warm to the touch. Flip tortilla onto other side and add a layer of shredded Mexican cheese over the entire tortilla. As the cheese begins to melt, add the chopped onion and black olives. Using a spoon, place cooked shrimp on top of cheese on half of tortilla. Then fold tortilla over to “seal.” Continue to warm tortilla until the cheeses melt and then remove from heat.

Use a sharp knife to cut into triangle wedges and serve warm.

 

Taco Sliders: The Recipe

Back in mid-April, I met with several Philadelphia area bloggers for a Frugal Chef class. I called it “Cinco de Mayo on Little Dinero” and the whole idea was to make fun recipes with fresh meat, produce and store brand items from Bottom Dollar Food. We get the recipes from the amazing Chef Dan D’Angelo. He’s the Executive Chef over at the Art Institute of Philadelphia’s Culinary Arts School.

 The event was a lot of fun and the kitchen smelled so good….

 Last night, I finally got around to making the Taco Sliders. Just think about taco seasoned meat formed into hamburger patties with a chunk of spicy cheese melting and oozing out. They were really, really good—and what a fun and new way to enjoy Cinco de Mayo! They’re compact and full of flavor—plus, they’re kid friendly. (Dunc loved them!!) And, you get to top them with your traditional favorites like salsa, black olives, tomatoes and dare I say it? Guac!!

**FYI: For my version, I used two pounds of ground beef, two packages of Taco Seasoning Mix and left out the parmesean cheese and cilantro. This gave me a total of 15 taco slider patties.

Taco Sliders by Chef Dan D’Angelo

1 1/12 pounds ground beef

1 1/2 packs of taco mix

2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley and cilantro  

2 small garlic cloves, crushed with a garlic press

6 ounces Cheddar, Pepper Jack, cut into 1/2-inch cubes any kind of cheese  

8-10 (2-inch; a.k.a. party size or dinner) soft rolls

Gently combine meat, taco mix, cheese, parsley mix, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper with your hands. (Do not over mix). Form 3 oz. of meat mixture into about 8-10 meatballs. Push a cheese cube into center of each ball and encase meat around cheese, then slightly flatten each ball to a 2-inch diameter. 

Broiler directions: Preheat broiler. Put half of sliders on an oiled rack of a broiler pan and broil, turning over once, until just cooked through (no longer pink), 4 to 8 minutes total. Repeat with remaining sliders. 

Grill directions: For easy entertaining, go with a gas grill. Preheat all burners on high, covered, 10 minutes, and then adjust heat to medium-high. Grill sliders for 4 to 8 minutes, turning once. 

Stovetop: Cook in a skillet on med-high heat for 4 to 8 minutes, turning once.

Toppers: lettuce, sliced tomatoes, Salsa con queso, sliced raw onion and/or sautéed golden brown onions, salsa, pickled jalapenos, refried beans, avocado or sour cream

 

Mine were amazing! I even adjusted the spiciness of the cubed cheese and gave the hubby a hotter habanero cheese…hee-hee.

 

Here’s a picture from last night’s festivities, I made one topped with tomato, onions, black olives and picante while the other had a dollop of guac. Just amazing…you should really give these a try.

The Royal Wedding Omelet: The Recipe

You are cordially invited to watch the Royal Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton at the crack of dawn. But who wants to watch all that pomp and pageantry at 5am on an empty stomach?

Besides, the E! channel’s website had a Royal Name Generator and mine popped up as Her Majesty Queen Angela Eugenia Snidercott of Charlotteshire. So, naturally, I feel it is my duty to give you, my loyal readers, an omelet befitting such a smashing occasion!

It is by my royal decree that I put on my favorite faux sapphire ring (bought on eBay) and share with you one of my favorite recipes for a very filling and tasty omelet.

The Royal Wedding Omelet

2 large eggs, beaten

1 tbsp salted butter

2-4 pieces deli-sliced ham, diced

1 wedge, Laughing Cow Light Garlic & Herb spreadable cheese

Salt & pepper to taste

Chives, for garnish

In a skillet, heat to medium-high and melt butter. Add beaten eggs to skillet, stir gently to incorporate melted butter into eggs but then let it begin to set. Add salt and pepper. As eggs begin to cook and firm, turn the heat down to medium-low. Add in pieces of the spreadable cheese and diced ham onto one half of the eggs.

Once the eggs have mostly firmed, use a spatula and fold over the top half to form the half-moon shape. Immediately plate and top with chopped chives.

For this version, I used the deli sliced smoked ham. It really balanced out the nice zing of the garlic and herb flavored spreadable cheese.

So what beverage do we pair with the Royal Wedding Omelet? Why Taylors of Harrogate Scottish Breakfast Tea, of course! I’ve had this box in my cabinet for a while now and I’m down to the final three bags.

I think it’s a nice touch that Prince William and Kate met at St. Andrews in Scotland. (Scott and I attended St. Andrews together as well….only the one that’s located in Laurinburg, NC) Plus, I’ll get to sweeten my hot tea with some local honey given to me by my co-worker Reeves!

Love the Smell of Banana Bread!

Ever notice that bananas are fine for about a week and then they immediately go downhill and turn into yucky, speckled mush? It looks terribly nasty but the smell of banana is really intense. What a great time to bust out the Banana Nut Bread recipes!

After writing about the four cookbooks I found at the thrift store back in January, I went flipping through them looking for a recipe. I noticed that the Two and Company church cookbook had that awful smoker’s house smell. It’s really acrid—especially when you start turning the pages. That unleashes the bitter smell, ugh! But, when comparing Banana Bread ingredients, it had the more interesting looking recipe.

I doubled the amount called for walnuts and when baking, this was the most wonderful smell. It really counteracted the pungent smell of the smokey cookbook.

Here’s the recipe! 

Banana Bread: The Recipe

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

½ cup butter

¾ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

2 eggs

1 cup mashed, very ripe bananas (about 2-3)

½ cup milk

1 Cup finely chopped walnuts 

Sift flour, soda and salt together. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and bananas to the butter/sugar mixture. Beat until light. Add flour and milk alternately. Fold in walnuts and mix thoroughly. Pour batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour (or until tester comes out clean).

Second Batch with Brother Boniface

Okay, so I switched refreshments duty with someone else at church. I had to come up with a “spread” for Sunday. Since I already had all the ingredients (except the can of pumpkin), I decided to take another chance on the Pumpkin Bread from Baking with Brother Boniface.

I really liked the first batch but wanted to see how it would taste without the nutmeg and double the pecans. Plus, I learned that when I baked both loaves together, they needed a little bit of extra time in the oven. Here’s what I got…:

The loaves came out much taller!

Can you see from the side view? They’re like the Himalayas! The peaks on these loaves were so high! 

Plus, take a look when I sliced it open. You can really see how doubling the pecans really made a difference.

The Recipe (My version)

4 Cups all-purpose flour

3 Cups sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

½ tsp coves

¼ tsp ginger

1 Cup vegetable oil

1 can solid-pack pumpkin

2/3 cup cold water

4 eggs

2 Cups chopped pecans

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Sift dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center and add vegetable oil, pumpkin and cold water. Mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, and blend. Fold in pecans.

Divide batter into two greased and lightly floured loaf pans and bake for about one hour and fifteen minutes (or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean).

Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 2 loaves (Recipe can be halved for 1 loaf and may be frozen for longer storage). 

 

If you want the original recipe used by Brother Boniface, add in 1 tsp of nutmeg and only use 1 cup of chopped pecans. Want to get your own copy? It’s still available through amazon! Here’s the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Baking-Brother-Boniface-Francis-Kline/dp/0941711390