Friday, February 24, 2023

Smoked Sausage Stuffed Sandwich

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I wanted to bring you a recommendation for a pretty inexpensive dish, that you can definitely stretch and serve to a crowd, or make it even for just one or two people.  It's up to you.  

It uses very few ingredients, but the result is delicious and filling and just ooohhhhh.  Love it ♥

This recipe or rather this dish, is from Brasil and it's known as Buraco Quente.  It's usually made with ground beef, but you can certainly use beef, or chicken or smoked sausage which is what I used for mine.

If I have to translate exactly, word for word, to English, it means Hot Hole, and I don't know about you all, but that does not sound appealing at ALL when talking about food.  LOL

So, I just call them Stuffed Sandwiches.  Much better!
 
This is one of those sandwiches that your family will love, and will be talking about for a while.  The fact that it's so easy to make and you can change it up, using whatever meat you have on hand, is even better.  
 
 
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Smoked Sausage Stuffed Sandwich
Buraco Quente de Linguica


Bread Rolls (I made some of my french bread sub rolls, and cut them in half)
Drizzle of olive oil
1 package smoked sausage
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic
parsley and cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
oregano to taste
1 can Media Crema (table cream)
Shredded cheese


In an oven proof dish, take each roll, cut a small piece off the bottom so that it stands flat.  Place the rolls in the dish, then take a small knife and cut out the inside, creating a hole.  Don't leave the edges too thin, or it will fall apart when you fill it with the meat mixture.

In a saucepan, add a little bit of olive oil.  Dice up the smoked sausage.  I cut it into slices, then cut those slices in half then half again, creating little cubes.  Saute them in the olive oil, then add the onion and garlic and cook for a minute or two until the onion is translucent.

Season with salt and pepper and oregano, add the cilantro and parsley to taste, stir well to combine, then add the can of media crema, give it another good stir and remove off the heat.

Fill each sandwich with some of the sausage mixture, then add a sprinkle of shredded cheese of your choice.
 
Pop into the oven for a minute or so until the cheese is melted, then serve immediately.
 

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Tuesday, November 01, 2022

The Golden Girls Cookbook by National Geographic - TLC Book Tours

 

About National Geographic’s The Golden Girls Cookbook: Cheesecakes and Cocktails!

 Publisher: National Geographic (September 13, 2022)
Hardcover: 160 pages

Containing over forty new dessert and drink recipes from Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia, this follow-up to the first The Golden Girls Cookbook will make you feel like you’re relaxing on the lanai or getting set to win the Shady Pines bake-off.

Fans demanded more Golden Girls cheesecake recipes, and the Fab Four deliver with The Golden Girls Cookbook: Cheesecakes and Cocktails! Rose’s The Fall of St. Olaf Pumpkin Cheesecake and Dorothy’s Vodka and Black Underwear drink vie for your heart (and stomach) against Sophia’s Double Fudge Amaretto Ricotta Cheesecake and Blanche’s Big Daddy Mint Julep. With easy-to-follow tips, you’ll learn how to make your cheesecake the star of any kitchen table and your drinks something talk about over, well, drinks.

And if that’s not enough, Sophia’s guide to Caffè Corretto will make the rest of your day very correct-o. Welcome to 6151 Richmond Street, circa 1985, where joy and friendship abound, and the cheesecake is always ready for a late-night therapy session.

Filled with innovative recipes by renowned chef Christopher Styler, and beautiful photos by New York Times food photographer Andrew Scrivani–plus fun quotes, jokes, and photographs from the show–this is a must-have for all fans of The Golden Girls.

 

 
 
My thoughts:
What a fun cookbook to add to my collection.  
 
If you know me, you know that I am obsessed with cookbooks and cooking, hence my food blog along with this main one.  When I got the opportunity to review this cookbook, I was so excited, not just for the recipes within in, but I am such a huge Golden Girls fan.
 
My childhood revolved around The Golden Girls, I remember watching the show as a teenager.  My favorite was always Sophia, I mean, who didn't love the feisty old lady Hahahah  And then Dorothy, of course.  I didn't dislike Rose or Blanche, but Sophia and Dorothy were my favorites. 

I got the cookbook in the mail and immediately browsed through it.  I thought it would be just recipes but it's not, it has sections divided by the different ladies in the show, and each contains funny tidbits, along with recipes for cheesecakes and cocktails.  I mean, what is there not to like?

There are also cast and show photos, with little stories and even dialogue between the characters.  It was so much fun to read through, and the recipes?  Oh my.
 




I have many that I'll be trying, but I asked my kids to pick one for me to make first, and they both picked the Key Lime Pie Cheesecake Squares.  They were not only super easy to make, didn't use many ingredients, but oh my word, they are divine.  
 


 
If you love cookbooks, love The Golden Girls, love cocktails and just want a really cool cookbook to add to your collection, or to gift over Christmas, this is definitely one to get.
 
Thank you to TLC Book Tours and National Geographic, for providing me with a copy for review.
 

 

 

Monday, October 31, 2022

Menu Plan for October 31st to November 6th

Good morning everyone.
 
It is Monday, and that means a new week of meals is before us.  Now, I haven't posted this in a really long time, but with the prices being so high lately, I've started being a lot more conscious of what I'm making, using what I have on hand, and trying to eat at home as much as possible.
 
We have never been a family that eats out a lot, just the occasional take out on payday.  But, the prices of take out are ridiculous at the moment, so when we have a craving for something, I try to make it at home as well.
 
With that in mind, I am cooking from my fridge and freezer the next two weeks, and really trying to use what is already available.  Here is this week's meal plan, and I'll be back next week with the new one for that week.




Monday October 31st
Breakfast:   Coffee, Toast with butter and liver spread
Lunch:   Clam Chowder, Oyster Crackers
Dinner:   Best Chili Ever, Rice, Homemade rolls


Tuesday November 1st
Breakfast: Instant Pot Oatmeal, Coffee
Lunch: Leftover chili
Dinner: Million Dollar Gnocchi, Salad, Garlic Bread


Wednesday November 2nd
Breakfast: Pancakes, Orange Juice, Coffee
Lunch: Salad
Dinner: Cracker Barrel Hamburger Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli


Thursday November 3rd
Breakfast: Toast with Apple Butter, Coffee
Lunch: Tuna salad
Dinner:  Bifanas (pork sandwiches), Air Fryer Potato Wedges


Friday November 4th
Breakfast: Cinnamon Toast
Lunch: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Sandwich
Dinner:   Copycat Uno's Pizza


Saturday November 5th
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Toast
Lunch: Leftover pizza
Dinner:  Breakfast for dinner - biscuits and gravy, hashbrown casserole


Sunday November 6th
Breakfast: Sausage Biscuits, Coffee, Juice
Lunch: Frozen Pizza
Dinner:   Onion and Potato Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Fluffy Hamburger Buns

 
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Imagine if you will, a light and fluffy hamburger roll that reminds you of store bought buns, but were made right in your home.  That is what I am bringing you today.  I am sharing these amazing, fluffy, delicious hamburger buns, from Alyona Demyanchuk.   I have made many a hamburger buns over the years, but none have ever been so light and fluffy, and so close to store bought, as these are.  They are going to be my go to burger bun.
 
At first, I thought about cutting the recipe in half, since this recipe makes 32 buns, but I decided to go ahead and make the full recipe and just freeze half of them for a later day.  Although, I did have them this morning with some ham and cheese, for breakfast, and they are so yummy.  So, so good.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.
 
 
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Fluffy Hamburger Buns
Yield: 32 rolls 

 

Ingredients 
Dough: 
 
2 cups warm water 
4 Tbsp dry yeast 
1/2 cup sugar 
1 Tbsp salt 
2 eggs 
1/2 cup shortening 
6 1/4 cup flour 
 
 
Instructions 
How to Make Hamburger Buns: 
 
 
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water. Whisk in the sugar, salt, eggs, and shortening. Stir in the flour and knead 7 minutes. Let rise 30 minutes or until doubled. 
 
Cut dough in half and then cut each half into 16 equal pieces. Roll all 32 pieces into balls and place onto a cookie sheet about 2-inches apart (9 rolls fit into a large 18x13 cookie sheet.) 
 
Let buns rise in the cookie sheet until tripled in size or the size of a hamburger bun. 
 
Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes on the lower rack of the oven.


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Thursday, September 15, 2022

Slow Cooker Pecan Pie

 
Today I am bringing you a recipe that I just recently tried myself, and it was a huge hit.  As with all new recipes, there are things I often have to change for the next time I make it.  

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With regards to this slow cooker pie, I need to keep an eye on it, and probably cut down the cooking time slightly, because some of the edges of the pie were a bit dark and hard from the filling.

Aside from that, this was so good, sooooo good, and I think it will be going on my Thanksgiving menu.  I have a pumpkin pie one to try as well, in the slow cooker, and if that one turns out good as well, then it will go on the menu right alongside the pecan pie.

If anything, the fact that it is cooked in the crockpot, and I don't need to faff over it, is a huge plus.


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Slow Cooker Pecan Pie 
 Source:  The Country Cook
 
 
Ingredients 
1 refrigerated pie crust 
4 large eggs, lightly beaten 
1 ⅓ cups light corn syrup 
 1 cup sugar 
⅓ cup salted butter melted
 ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon (optional) 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
2 cups pecan halves, divided use 
 
 
Instructions 
 
Line a 6-quart oval slow cooker with parchment paper (12.5 inch x 16 inch). Press the paper down into the slow cooker to create an outline of the bottom of the slow cooker. Remove parchment paper and place unrolled pie crust onto the parchment paper (lining it up with the creases from the outline in the parchment paper). 
 
Gently roll up the edges of the pie crust and make small indentations to help the crust stick to the parchment paper and to keep in the filling better. Place parchment paper/pie crust into slow cooker (pastry should extend 2 to 3 inches up the sides). Bend and fold the pastry as needed to get it to fit properly. In a bowl combine the eggs, corn syrup, sugar, melted butter, cinnamon and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of the pecans. 
 
Gently pour batter into crust in the slow cooker. Then top with remaining cup of pecans. Placing them evenly in a pattern to make a nice presentation. Place a layer of paper towels on top of the slow cooker then cover with the lid. Cook on high for 3 to 3 ½ hours or until filling is puffed and set. Turn off slow cooker. Let stand, uncovered, 1 hour. 
 
Cut and serve straight from the slow cooker. Or gently lift the parchment paper out of the slow cooker, then slice and serve. 
 
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