Sausage Gravy and Bacon Biscuit Wedges

Sausage Gravy and Bacon Biscuit Wedges

That's right ... heart attack on a plate. Now, I don't mean to cause anyone harm or ruin your health, but we don't eat this way every day. I think saving something like this for once in a while is just fine. After all, my grandma lived to 97 on this type of food and a happy heart.

All kidding aside, if you're going to eat something bad for you, do it right, just don't do it often. This recipe calls for real butter, real sausage, real bacon and real milk - and I don't mean the skim kind. If you really need to you can go for turkey sausage and turkey bacon, just please don't use margarine for those biscuits, they really won't taste the same.

Cut butter into small cubes - about 1/2" each and add to flour, baking powder and salt mixture.

Add crumbled bacon - about 8 slices will yield 1/2 cup.

The best way to get the butter into the flour mixture is to rub it in with your hands. You can use a fork or pastry cutter, but you won't be able to feel if there are larger lumps of butter left. 

Once the milk is added and the dough comes together it needs to be kneaded. About 5 folds and turns should do it; the less you handle the dough, the more tender it will be. When the bacon bits pop out of the dough (they will!)  make sure you push them back in there, you don't want to lose any of it. 

Roll or press dough into an 8-inch circle - even if it doesn't look like a circle when you're done.

Score and then cut dough into 8 even wedges.

Put wedges on a greased pan or use silicone as above. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 - 21 minutes.

Baked and risen bacon biscuit wedges. Let cool briefly before splitting. 

Cook sausage until no longer pink. Add flour and stir well until no dry flour is visible. Add milk slowly, 2 cups first then stir until it starts to thicken. Add remaining milk one cup at a time until thickened as desired.

Add as much black pepper as you like - we like 2 teaspoons for our double batch.

Around here we double the recipe and each person gets 2 biscuits and a bucketful of gravy.

Sausage Gravy and Bacon Biscuit Wedges
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

For the Bacon Biscuits

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup bacon crumbles - about 4 slices
1 cup milk or buttermilk


Directions:

1. Combine flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Cut in butter and bacon until mixture resembles large crumbs.
3. Add milk half a cup at a time until a soft dough forms.
4. Knead dough about 5 turns and folds - less is better.
5. Form into an 8-inch disc and cut into 8 even wedges.
6. Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 15-21 minutes or until risen and lightly browned.

For the Sausage Gravy

Ingredients:

1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper


Directions:

1. Cook sausage in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan until no longer pink.
2. Add flour and stir well until no dry areas are left.
3. Add milk, 1 cup at first, and stir until it begins to thicken.
4. Add remaining milk a cup at a time until the gravy is the consistency you like.
5. Taste for seasoning and add salt if you like.
6. Add pepper and stir well. Serve over bacon biscuits cut in half lengthwise.

Savory Breakfast Rolls

Savory Breakfast Rolls

Once again, I'm still here. Just in case you were worried. Life has gone and taken a complete 180% turnaround, though, and that's good. That's very good.

Savory Breakfast Rolls

I've moved again recently and am still getting settled. I'm pretty sure that will take the next year or so, but the kitchen (the most important room in the house) is almost finished and getting quite the workout already.

Savory Breakfast Rolls

I made these savory breakfast rolls today and the kids devoured them almost before I could grab a couple good ones for photos. Luckily for you, I was quick enough. The recipe is sort of whatever you'd like as a filling, but I'll tell you what I did and you can change it up to your heart's desire. I made one batch with sausage and bacon and the other with sausage, bacon and peppers.

Savory Breakfast Rolls

Savory Breakfast Rolls
Makes 8
Printable Recipe

One batch of biscuit dough for 8 rolls (or a can of 8 LARGE biscuits)
2 Tablespoons butter - melted
8 ounces breakfast sausage cooked and diced
4 ounces bacon cooked crisp and crumbled
1 cup prepared Alfredo sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

 Heat oven to 375 degrees F Roll biscuit dough to a 12 x 8 rectangle.
Spread with butter followed by 3/4 cup Alfredo sauce.
Sprinkle evenly with sausage, bacon and cheese.
Roll up from short end and cut evenly into 8 slices.
Place into a round baking pan that has been lined with parchment or otherwise greased.
Flatten each roll slightly.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool for 5 minutes and top each roll with remaining Alfredo sauce.

*If using peppers or peppers and onions, dice small and cook first until soft. Use approximately 1/2 cup.Add with meats and cheese.

 

What Do We Really Eat?

I am questioned fairly often about what a larger family eats for dinner each day. Mostly what we're eating is what I've posted either here, at A Thousand Soups, at Disney's Family.com or even at Half Hour Meals.

This week, however, I'm going to share what we're eating each day. This will be the good, the bad and the ugly - I'm sure. There is no way to have a family this size without having a snag here and there and I'm planning on sharing what our schedule is and what other extenuating circumstances, if any, there are each day.

So, are you ready? This evening for dinner I've done the very bad: Pancake Breakfast Sandwiches. I went uber easy with prepared and frozen pancakes and sausage, deli American cheese and fresh eggs.

My preference would be to make the pancakes myself from homemade and sausage myself as well, but feeling as I have been, and having wiped myself out yesterday going to the kids' first parade of the year, I'm doing simple and not-so-good-for-you.

Line up!

I don't have a real recipe for these - but it's very simple, cook one egg and one sausage patty (or a strip of bacon if you prefer) for each sandwich and layer together with a slice of cheese between two small pancakes. Serve up with hashbrowns or potato pancakes and orange juice. Easy even for 9 people, just get an assembly line going and you'll be done in no time.

Bacon Pie

Bacon Pie

Bacon pie, it turns out, may be just a joke. Dear George asked if I ever made bacon pie - my response was, "What's that?" He told me he had friends who talked about a pie that was popular in Upstate New York and made it out to be the best stuff going. The only reference I could find online was at an urban dictionary - something about it being consumed with root beer. I also consulted Mr. Dave, author of Ridiculous Food Society of Upstate New York and he told me the only pie he could recall having was more akin to the Bisquick 'Impossible Pie' type and served with gravy rather than having gravy in the pie. Oh, and Dave has more bacon recipes than a person should and each one looks heart-stoppingly delicious. And I do mean heart-stoppingly.

No matter, I came up with my own recipe based on what George told me, which was, "eggs, sausage, bacon and gravy". There are several other names I could think of for this pie like: Heart Attack Pie, Stroke-For-Sure Pie, Go-Broke-Quick Pie or Lard Butt Special, but I think for now we'll just go with Bacon Pie.

I had one child tell me, 'this should be a daily food here'. Yeah -- it's good. As always, eat at your own risk.

Bacon Pie

Bacon Pie
Serves 8
Printable Recipe

1/2 pound bacon - cut into small dice
1 pound breakfast sausage - cut into small chunks
12 eggs
1 double pie crust for 9-inch pie
flour
milk or water
salt and pepper to taste

Prepare pie dough and set aside. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat eggs well and cook until no longer runny (scrambled eggs - folks). Set aside in a large bowl.
Cook bacon and sausage in the same pan until the bacon is crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and put into the same bowl with the eggs.
Turn the heat to medium-low and add flour to the drippings - there should be about 1/2 cup of drippings to which you would add 3/4 cup flour. Whisk the flour into the drippings and slowly add water or milk (it really is just a preference here) until a thick gravy forms. Cook for several minutes to cook out any flour taste. Salt and pepper to taste.
Add eggs, sausage and bacon back into the gravy. Stir until everything is well coated.
Pour into the bottom pie crust, top with remaining dough and vent with a knife.
Bake for 30 minutes or until top is browned and filling is bubbling out the sides of the crust. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Don't eat this more than once a year.

Sunday Breakfast - Royal Foodie Joust Entry

This month's RFJ ingredients seemed to throw several of us for a loop. They are: acorn squash, sage and orange. My first attempt at a submission was truly horrid. I made a dessert acorn squash stuffed ravioli with an orange/sage relish. I actually gagged at first bite. Something about the flavors put together that way just didn't work, but I refused to give up.

This morning I made an excellent breakfast of acorn squash pancakes and chicken sausage with a maple-orange glaze. It was truly delicious!

Acorn Squash Pancakes
Printable Recipe

2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon each powdered ginger and cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed or pureed acorn squash
2 eggs
1/2 to 1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine squash, eggs, and vanilla and blend well. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Add flour mixture to squash mixture alternately with milk until a loose batter forms. Drop by 1/4 cup onto a hot griddle and cook until bubbles form on the top and the edges are dry. Flip over and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Chicken Sausage with Maple-Orange Glaze
Printable Recipe

1 pound ground chicken
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine all and blend well. Form into small balls or patties and fry until golden. Add the juice of one orange, 1/2 teaspoon orange zest and 1/3 cup maple syrup. Simmer for several minutes and make sure all sausages are coated well.

Accidental Soup

If you cook like I do, you know exactly what "Accidental Soup" is. If not, let me enlighten you. Accidental Soup is one of those perfect soup moments created by 'throwing things together' from whatever is on-hand. The soup you wish you'd written a recipe for so you can re-create it.

I made one of those soups yesterday and, as usual, I didn't write anything down. I'll try to pass on what transpired, though and maybe you can make this for yourself.

I had quite a few potatoes sitting around that I cooked at the same time I cooked potatoes for the Sausage Pasty I posted. It's gotten so chilly here that it seemed the perfect time to use them up in potato soup. The combination of sausage and potato in the pasties was so good that I wanted to carry it on, so I made this potato/cheddar/sausage soup and everyone, even the pickiest eaters, loved it. I have to say, it was really good - I even had some for lunch today.

Potato, Sausage and Cheddar Soup
Printable Recipe

1 pound bulk sausage
5 large potatoes - cooked and diced
6 cups chicken stock or broth
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon dry thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground sage

Break up sausage and brown well in a large and heavy soup pot.
Add potatoes, stock, milk, thyme and sage. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 - 45 minutes; use the longer time for a thicker soup. Mash slightly with a potato masher if you like and add cheddar cheese. Remove from heat, stir well and serve.

Sausage Pasty

Sausage Pasty

Non-traditional, but oh-so-good, these pasties go together easily and bake quickly for a warm and delicious handheld Autumn dinner.

Delicious Insides!

Sausage Pasty
Printable Recipe

3 large potatoes, boiled and crushed (between a dice and a mash)
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 country-style sausages, cooked and diced small
salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together well and set aside to make dough.

Pasty Dough:

2 sticks butter
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
flour, as needed - (anywhere from 3 to 4 cups)

Melt butter in a saucepan and add water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, add salt and flour, a cup at a time, stirring constantly until a smooth dough forms. Remove from heat. The dough is correct when it pulls away from the sides of the pan and is pliable. Let cool to room temperature, covered.

Separate dough into 8 pieces and roll each into a circle, about 8 inches in diameter. Drop 1/8 of the sausage and potato mixture into the center of each circle. Fold dough over sausage mixture and seal edges well. Vent each pasty by making a small cut into the top of dough. Bake on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet in a 375 degree F oven for 30 minutes or until dough is golden brown.

Sunday Breakfast

My famous Pumpkin Pancakes and sausage patties. No problem waking the kids for this one.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 1/4 c flour
3 T  brown sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t grated nutmeg
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 c milk
1 c canned pumpkin
4 large eggs-separated
1/2 stick butter-melted
1 t vanilla extract

2 c maple syrup
1/2 c chopped walnuts
2 T butter


Blend flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, stir together milk, pumpkin, egg yolks, milk, 1/2 stick butter and vanilla until well blended. Add wet ingredients to dry in 2 parts until smooth--don't over beat.
Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into pancake mixture. Drop by 1/4 to 1/3 cup onto a hot griddle or non-stick pan. Cook until edges are dry and centers are bubbly, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes until springy in the center.
Continue until all batter is used. Keep pancakes that are already done in a very low oven (about 200 degrees F) covered with a lightly dampened tea towel.

Combine syrup, butter and walnuts in a heavy saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes until hot. Serve over pancakes.

Leftover Sausage and the Sausage Sandwich Tart

*Disclaimer: These photos are really bad. My poor old camera is not doing so well, I guess, but a new one is absolutely out of the budget for now. Hey, it still looks like food, right?*

My mother brought over the mammoth of all sausages - a full 3 1/2 pounds from her favorite butcher. I have no idea why she thought we needed that much, but she was thrilled that they still use real butcher paper and tape, and so, I humored her and told her how fabulous I thought it was. In truth, I still get meat from my own butcher in real butcher paper, but I let mom have her moment.

I cooked all of it at once, knowing we would never eat it all in one sitting, and set aside what we didn't eat with homemade waffles and thought on what else I'd like to make. I had a bit of puff pastry leftover and some lovely red and green peppers and a very nice yellow onion. I really enjoy a good sausage sandwich and decided a tart based on that would be pretty darn good. I was right.

I pressed the pastry into a 10 inch round baking pan, caramelized the peppers and onions and sliced the sausage thinly and layered it all together. I think it baked for a total of 30 minutes at 400 degrees F and it was far prettier than my photos captured. Far more delicious, too!

Hobbit Food

I've written about what we'll be doing on New Year's Eve for Disney and these are some recipes that go along with that post. I've also included a photo of what NOT to do when you're making Toad in the Hole.

Welsh Rarebit
Printable Recipe

4 T butter
2 t mustard
1 t Worcestershire sauce
dash Cayenne Pepper
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 c beer or milk
8 slices toast

Melt together butter, mustard, Worcestershire, cheddar and beer. Stir until smooth. Add cayenne and stir. Top each slice of toast with cheese sauce and place under a broiler until bubbly and browning.


Mushroom Blanquette
Printable Recipe

I learned to make veal blanquette in school, and there is nothing else like it. I figured the way that Hobbits love mushrooms, I'd make it with just mushrooms and no veal.

4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 lb button mushrooms - cut in halves our fourths
2 T butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 c heavy cream
10 blanched pearl onions

Cook mushrooms in butter until tender. Add stock and heat to a simmer. Combine egg yolk and heavy cream until well blended. Temper this by adding a half cup of hot stock and whisking like mad so the egg yolk does not cook. Add the cream, egg, stock to the mushrooms in a thin stream, whisking all the while. Let simmer until thickened and add the onions. Salt and pepper to taste.


As for that Toad in the Hole - do NOT try to make food for a post at the same time you're trying to get dinner for 9 in an 8ft x 8ft kitchen! Things happen - bad things - and stupid things, like forgetting to heat the casserole dish you're adding the Yorkshire Pudding to. If you miss that crucial step, you don't get a pretty crimped edge around your sausages, you get a flat I-don't-know-what. It tasted fine, but looked bad:

Ready, Set, Cook! #32

OK boys and girls, before you take a look at today's ingredients, PLEASE click the link above for the NEW rules of play. They were changed just last week and it's important that you check them out.

Today's three are from my third child. She called them; we'll play them.

sausage
eggs
green pepper

Easy, no? I'll be "seeing" you Thursday with links to submissions!

*Note: If you want to play but don't want to post your recipe to your own blog for whatever reason, let me know and I will post it here for you.