Biscuits & Gravy

I'm not a huge breakfast fan, I know what a travesty. I have this weird rule that I can't eat breakfast food after 10:30 am unless its a special occasion or I decide to be a rebel and eat it for dinner....what a rebel! This recipe makes me think of our college days. Working full time and going to school full time was a little crazy, but set the stage for our Air Force life. Our roommate in college taught me how to make this gravy, and I absolutely LOVE it. It's really simple too.

Ingredients
1/2 pound ground sausage or ground beef (I prefer the sausage)
1/4-1/3 cup bisquick
3-6 cups of milk
4-6 pieces of bacon (optional)
Season Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Directions
Brown the beef or sausage. Sprinkle the bisquick over the meat, make sure there are no clumps. Gradually pour in the milk a cup at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Add season salt and pepper to taste. I really like to put crispy bacon on top of the biscuits* and pour the gravy over everything. It's delicious with or without the bacon.


*As for the biscuits, I usually use pillsbury dough boy because I have yet to find a biscuit recipe I like or have time to make in the morning.

Yummy Bars

These yummy bars are aptly named and one of my pilot's favorites. We usually make these for the holidays, but sometimes you need a little pick me up! It was something he grew up with, and my mother-in-law was kind enough to share the recipe with me. It is basically a peanut butter rice krispie treat on crack. There's something about peanut butter, chocolate, and butterscotch that I just love. However, I'm allergic to peanuts. I used to eat them, but recently my allergy has become more noticeable. I miss PB&J's like no buddies business and unfortunately I'm allergic to almonds as well, so I can't even substitute almond butter. Oh well, anyone know if they make cashew butter? I cut the recipe in half because it's just the hubby eating them and he can't possibly eat an entire pan or he might just end up in a diabetic coma. 

Ingredients

1 cup Sugar

1 cup light karo syrup

1 1/2 peanut butter

1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 package butterscotch chips

6 cups rice krispies

*Please note this is the full recipe, and pictures depict the recipe cut in half

Directions

In a sauce pan on medium-high, heat the syrup and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Turn heat off, and stir in the peanut butter until smooth and creamy. Add the rice krispies. Pat rice krispie mixture into a large baking sheet. Pour the chocolate and butterscotch chips on top, while still warm, let melt, then spread with knife. Sometimes, I'll put it in the oven at 350 degrees for a minute or two in order melt everything completely. (Just make sure to watch them carefully).

Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells

This is probably one of my favorite recipes to serve guests. For one it serves many, can be easily doubled and frozen for another time. With all the cheeses, the garlic, its just plain good. One of my dear friends from when I was growing up started a food blog with her mom, and I was grateful they posted this recipe. I've tweeked a few things, it originally contained chicken, but she suggested omitting it and I just thought red sauce and chicken sounded weird together. Hope y'all enjoy it as much as I do!

Adapted from Tried and True Cafe

Ingredients
22 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
1 cups frozen or fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15oz) container ricotta cheese
1 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese divided
1 (26oz) jar spaghetti sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° Cook shells according to package directions, drain and set aside. Lightly grease 13x9x2inch baking dishes. In a large bowl, stir together spinach, onion, garlic, ricotta, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, lightly beaten egg, parsley, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Spoon cheese mixture into the cooled shells. Spread half of a jar of spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange shells over the sauce and top with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining cheeses. Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake for an additionally 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and brown. Serve with garlic bread.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Has it really been over a year since my last blog post?? Time sure does fly. Last year was a busy one for Kirkwood's. Derek deployed two weeks after he arrived at Hill AFB, I had already been living in Utah for a month. While he was gone, I made so many good friends and reconnected with old ones, and I started working for a wonderful company. Upon his return we went to Yellowstone, a friend's wedding in Bozeman, and went camping with the pups a few times. We recently finished a kitchen update. I always get compliments and requests for the recipe. 

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

2/3 C. Shortening
2/3 C. Butter (Softened)
1 C. Sugar
1 C. Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
2 tsp. Vanilla
3 C. Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 Pkg. Chocolate chips 

*(The hubby likes extra chocolate chips, so I add about 1/4th of another bag. You can add anything to the batter; m&m's, white chocolate chips, or pecans).

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Using a kitchen-aid or hand mixer; cream shortening, butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla together. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Using a cookie dough scooper drop dough two inches apart on onto the greased baking sheet. Bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until they are light brown. Remove cookies from pan to cool.

***Please note I did not create this recipe myself, after many hours of internet searching I do not remember where I found this recipe. 

Blue Cheese Sauce for Steak

     Put away the traditional steak sauce add this to any steak, and it brings so much flavor.

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 3-4 ounces Blue Cheese
- 1 Tablespoon Chives
- 1/2 Clove Garlic (minced)
- Salt & Pepper to taste

In a small saucepan bring heavy cream, chives, and garlic to a boil over medium high heat. Stir constantly to avoid scorching. Once the cream starts to feel thicker, add cheese, salt, and pepper. Once the cheese is melted pour over the steak and serve. You might even want to put the cheese sauce in a bowl for dipping.

Best Steak EVER (No need for a grill)

     About 2 months ago I was at home, flipping through the channels and of course nothing was on so I ended up watching the food network. Normally I'm not a fan of Barefoot Contessa, but this recipe caught my eye since I'm always looking for a good steak recipe. I'm very picky about how my steak is cooked and I like it well done. When I'm at a restaurant people always say, "you're ruining the steak ordering it well done," and only on rare (pun intended) occasions does the steak come to the table with ZERO pink in the middle.  My theory is chefs think I don't really want my steak cooked well done because I know nothing about steaks. I promise, I know what I like and I'm not one to hesitiate to send food back either, you just need to be polite about it.

     I made this for a date night in on New Years Eve, it was PHENOMENAL, we couldn't stop talking about how tender and juicy the steak was. The cheese sauce you make with it, just adds something to it. I don't know if I'll be able to order another steak at a restaurant because now I can make one without it being tough or using a grill. You'll need to use a oven proof pan, I use the cast iron skillet and a couple strings of cooking twine.

This picture is from the first time I made the steaks, I omitted the extra seasoning because I think the salt, pepper, and garlic are enough. 

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
- 2 Filet Mignons
- 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 2 Cloves of Garlic (Minced)
- Sea Salt
- Freshly Ground Pepper
- Olive Oil

Heat up cast iron skillet and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour sea salt and freshly ground pepper on a plate (you want enough to completely cover the steak). Cover steak with olive oil and dip each steak in the salt and pepper mixture making sure to cover completely. Tightly tie cooking twine around each steak. Once the skillet is hot, brown each side of the steak including the edges. Place 1 tablespoon of butter on top of each steak and sprinkle with minced garlic. Put the steak in the oven and bake until you get the desired amount of pink. Remember it will continue to cook once removed from the pan, so adjust time accordingly. For well done, cook for about 25 minutes, medium well about 20, minutes, medium about 15 minutes, medium rare about 10 minutes, and rare about 8 minutes. Once the steak is cooked to your liking, remove from the pan onto a plate. Put remaining pads of butter on the steaks and cover tightly with foil for 5 minutes. Pour Blue Cheese Sauce on top.

Daddy's Orange Julius

I apologize for the lack of recipes, things have been very busy at the Kirkwood household, we PCS'd to a new base, bought a house, and have been trying to make it our home. Please forgive me for being a little lazy with the blog, now that things are settled my plan is to post a new recipe once a week.

This recipe gives me found memories of my childhood, watching a movie with the fam and my daddy would be in the kitchen whippin these drinks up for us. It's so easy and you only need two ingredients; orange juice and vanilla ice cream. You could even add some orange liquor for an adult night in.


Ingredients
3-4 Large scoops of vanilla ice cream
1/2-2 cups of orange juice

In a blender, put the vanilla ice cream and 1/2 cup of the orange juice and blend on high. Depending on the consistency you want, add more ice cream or more juice. Pour into a glass and add a straw. It's as easy as that, I hope you enjoy it!