Chicken and Cheese Biscuits

Who doesn't love a good comfort food recipe? And nothing is better than good comfort food on a cold night! I found the recipe on tidymom.net and it met all the qualifications for comfort food. the biggest ones being warm, easy and ingredients I normally have in my kitchen.

1 stick of butter
1/2 cup flour
4-5 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
1-14oz can chicken broth
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
milk (as needed)
1 can biscuits

Place the already cooked and shredded chicken in the bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bring butter, salt, pepper, and chicken broth to a simmer in a sauce pan. Whisk in flour until the sauce is smooth. Thin down with milk if needed. Pour sauce over chicken. Top with cheese and biscuits. Bake according to biscuit directions. (It took mine about 20 minutes and the biscuit directions were 8 minutes).

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

My pumpkin obsession has continued. These cookies are awesome, one of my coworkers called them the crack cookies because she was so addicted to them after 1 bite. They aren't overwhelming with pumpkin flavor but just a hint to make them festive. This recipe is from Bunny's Warm Oven but I found it on Cooking with Christine.

1 cup butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Place the butter in a bowl and mix it for 1 minute. Add 1 1/2 cups sugar and pumpkin and mix until blended. Beat in cream of tartar, vanilla, baking soda and salt. Beat in the egg. Add the flour and beat in as much as possible with the mixer then stir in with a wooden spoon. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for an hour. In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon. Heat oven to 350. Drop teaspoons of the batter into the sugar mixture, roll around and place on an ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Repeat until all the dough is done. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Tzatziki Sauce

I love Tzatziki Sauce, I mean love love love. I love dipping raw veggies it in, I love it loaded up on my gyros, and I LOVED it on those greek burgers from yesterday. Now there are so many different recipes circulating on the Internet of how to make the best Tzatziki sauce. I honestly read about 10 different recipes then came up with this one on my own based on the advice from those recipes.

1 cup of Greek Yogurt

1/2 tbsp dried dill

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup of grated cucumber

Add all the ingredients to the food processor and blended until relatively smooth.

Greek Burgers

These burgers were awesome, they were quick to make and so tasty. They felt so much lighter with the feta mixed into them than a burger smothered in cheese. Don't read that wrong, I love a burger smothered in cheese this was just a good change. The recipe is from Food for my Family. I cut the recipe in half for the two of us and we were able to eat them the next day for lunch too!

2 lbs. ground beef
15 Kalamata olives (give or take) chopped (I used less than this because Gray hates olives)
½ cup feta cheese
3 scallions chopped
½ tsp fresh black pepper
½ tsp kosher salt
Mix together all the ingredients then pattie them out. Put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before grilling them. Heat your grill and place the patties on the grill. Cook on each side for 4 minutes flipping them twice on each side. Remove and top with Tzatiki, Cucumber, Tomato, Lettuce, ect.

This recipe was featured on Eat at Home Cooks Ingredient Spotlight for Ground Beef. 

Oven Baked Potato Wedges

I have been looking for a good potato recipe like this forever. I have tried so many that never would get soggy and not crisp up or would burn really quickly and the middle would never get done. Finally, this recipe from Pennies on the Platter came in and saved the day.

Potatoes
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Seasoning (I used Paula Deen's silly salt that my mom got me as a gift while she was in Savannah)

Heat oven to 400. Wash, scrub and dry the potatoes. Remove skin if necessary then cut into wedges. Mix the potatoes with a bit of olive oil, you want them to just be coated. Season with salt, pepper and seasoning of choice. Place on a baking sheet in one layer. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes turning every 10 minutes.

Cheesy Chicken, Bacon, Avocado Quesadillas

These were amazing. I was pretty sure this recipe wouldn't be a fail but I had no idea how creamy the avocado would make these quesadillas and how all of the flavors would flow perfectly together and yet you would be able to taste each item. Homerun! The recipe is from KevinandAmanda.com they seriously have some awesome recipes but as always it is slightly adapted.

4 medium-sized flour tortilla shells
1 lb chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper
1/2 cup scallions, diced
8 strips of bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 avocado, diced
cheese, shredded (I used colby jack)
2 tbsp butter

Fry bacon is skillet. Set aside 1/2 tbsp of bacon drippings and rinse pan. Add bacon drippings back to pan and saute the scallions for 2 minutes. Add the chicken, salt and pepper. Cook until chicken is golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken and scallions, rinse pan.

Add 1/2 tbsp of butter to pan over medium heat, place the tortilla in the pan, add the chicken, bacon, avocado and cheese to half of the tortilla then fold the the torilla in half. Cook for about 1 to 2 more minutes on each side. Repeat until all the quesadillas are made

7UP Biscuits

These are some of the easiest and most delicious biscuits I have ever made. I have seen the recipe on multiple recipe blogs but they all point back to Plain Chicken. They reminded us of Cracker Barrel biscuits.

2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup 7-up
1/4 cup melted butter

Mix the sour cream into the bisquick then add the 7-up and stir together. The dough will be pretty soft. Roll the dough out onto a flat surface sprinkled with bisquick flour and cut into biscuits. Place melted butter in the bottom of a 9 inch square pan and place the biscuits into the pan. Bake at 450 until the biscuits are gold brown.

Shrimp and Grits

This is southern goodness at it's finest! I have tried several shrimp and grits recipes and this one is the best. I knew it should be though because I got it off of the Southern Living website. Gray and I both enjoyed big bowls full of this goodness.

2 bacon slices
1 pound medium-size raw shrimp
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Cook the bacon is a large nonstick skillet until crisp. Remove bacon and crumble. Reserve 1 tsp of bacon drippings. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper then dredge in flour. Saute the mushrooms in the pan with the bacon drippings and oil for 5 minutes. Add the green onions and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the shrimp and the garlic and saute until the shrimp is slightly browned. Add in the chicken broth then add the hot sauce and lemon juice. Stir and cook for 2 to 4 more minutes. Place the shrimp and broth over cheese grits and top with crumbled bacon.

Cheese Grits

The other day I was looking through Southern Livings 100 recipes to "southern cooking", this is the grits that go with the Shrimp and Grits that will be posted tomorrow. The grits were great on their own and would be perfect for breakfast. They were quick and I had all the ingredients on hand which is always a plus. Just wait for the Shrimp part tomorrow though because they are good.

1 can chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
3/4 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

Combine chicken broth, milk and salt. Bring to a boil over medium high heat in a saucepan. Slowly whisk in the grits. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, mix in and serve hot.

Apple Dumplings

These guys are amazing. This is a famous Pioneer Woman recipe that had read a dozen times and finally made it for a friend's birthday dinner. They are sweet and warm and perfect. I swear that you will love them and be craving them for the weeks to come!

2 whole Granny Smith Apples
2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
2 sticks Butter
1-½ cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Cinnamon, To Taste
1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda

Peel and core the apples then cut into 8 slices. Wrap the crescent roll around each apple slice and place in greased 9x13 pan. Melt butter then add the sugar and just slightly stir. Add vanilla and stir then pour the mixture over the dumplings. Pour the mountain dew down the sides of the pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Serve right out of the oven with ice cream.

Simple Onion Burgers

And again...sorry for the crappy picture. I'm so mad that I dropped Gray's camera and I cannot get mine to take a good picture of food to save my life, it will take a great picture of the rug but then I try it with the food...horrible. Don't let the picture sway you in not making these burgers. I found the recipe on food.com adapted it slightly.

1 lb lean ground beef
1 package of dry onion soup mix
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp BBQ sauce

Mix all ingredients together. Form patties and grill.

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with a Brown Sugar Glaze

This recipe is from the Tasty Kitchen. This would be the perfect breakfast treat on Thanksgiving or Christmas morning. It was so moist and the glaze was the perfect amount of sweet to top off this cake!

⅓ cups Water
1 can Pureed Pumpkin (15 Oz)
2 whole Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 box Yellow Cake Mix (18 Ounce Box)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 cup Brown Sugar, Divided
½ cups Flour
⅓ cups Walnuts, Chopped (I didn't use nuts because so many people have allergies)
4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
¼ cups Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¼ cups Heavy Whipping Cream

Heat oven to 350. Mix together water, pumpkin, eggs, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice until combined. Add cake mix and baking soda and mix until combined. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. In a separate bowl combine 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of flour, nuts (if you are using them), and melted butter. Sprinkle over the top of the cake and bake for 25 to 35 minutes.

To make the glaze, combine 1/2 cup of brown sugar, granulated sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and heavy cream in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer then remove from heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

After removing the cake from the oven poke holes in it with a toothpick and pour the glaze over making sure it covers the entire cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

French Onion Dip

This recipe is from In Jennie's Kitchen. It's super easy and taste great, I love that it's something totally different. You don't normally see homemade french onion dip at parties, I took this with us to a football game and everyone loved it.

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup 2% Greek yogurt
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a medium size skillet, add the onions and season. Saute until they are soft and golden brown. Cover and reduce heat. Cook for around 10 more minutes until the onions are very tender. Place the onions in a bowl and let them cool for around 5 to 10 minutes. Add yogurt, sour cream, and onions to food processor. Pulse until onions are chopped and ingredients are combined. Refrigerate before serving.

Creamy Minestrone and Meatball Soup

And again, sorry for the lack of a picture. I found this recipe on Tablespoon and it was awesome. It was so perfect for a chilly night.


8 oz. Cream Cheese
1 lb. frozen Italian Meatballs (or make your own!)
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, shredded
1 30 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 large zucchini, chopped
1 15 oz. can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz. can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
48 oz. beef broth
3 c water
1 T dried oregano
2 T dried basil
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
8 oz small uncooked pasta

Put a large pot on medium high heat. Saute onion for 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and add carrots and tomatoes. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add every remaining ingredient EXCEPT the cream cheese. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add in the cream cheese and stir until it is melted and incorporated. Serve hot.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Muffins

 These guys are amazing. Seriously. They are too die for. I found them over at Cassie Craves and made them for one of our DVR and Dessert date nights. Yum Yum Yum!

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 cup cream
1 inch vanilla bean (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 400 and grease your muffin tin or set up liners. Beat together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, cream and vanilla. In a separate bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the cream cheese mixture and stir just until the flour is incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon the mixture into the muffin pan until 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until tops are golden.

Garlic Parmesan Green Beans

These green beans were quick and easy, they had great flavor and were a great side item and something different from our normal garlic green beans. I found the recipe on Tasty Kitchen.

1 pound Fresh Green Beans, Stems Removed
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
⅛ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Steam green beans for 6 to 8 minutes. Melt butter in skillet, add garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the green beans and coat well. Let the green beans saute for 4 to 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and add the Parmesan cheese. Toss and Serve.

Swiss Chicken

My cousin has been telling me to make this one forever and I kept avoiding it, bad move on my part. This was my kinda comfort food at it's finest! Make this one right away!

6 chicken breast

6 slices swiss cheese

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/4 cup milk or white wine

1 package of chicken stuffing (8 oz)

1/2 cup butter (melted)

Heat oven to 350. Place chicken breast in a baking dish. Put a slice of cheese over each piece of chicken. Mix together the chicken soup and milk (or white wine). Pour the mixture over the chicken. Top with the stuffing. Pour melted butter on top. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes to an hour.

Loaded Potato Soup

This potato soup is so good and so easy. I loved that it didn't make a ton so we didn't have leftovers for days. I hate leftovers. The recipe is from Ezra Pound Cake.

4 (6-ounce) red potatoes
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 1/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 bacon slices (cooked and crumbled)
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
4 teaspoons thinly sliced green onions

Wash the potatoes, prick them with a fork and microwave on a plate for 13 minutes. Cut them in half and set to the side. While the potatoes are in the microwave, heat the oil in saucepan over medium high and add the onion. Saute for around 3 minutes. Add the broth to the onions. In a bowl combine flour and 1/2 cup of milk. Add that to the broth along with the 1 1/2 cups of milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly and let cook for about a minute. Remove from heat and add sour cream, salt and pepper. Scoop the potato pulp out of the shell and add to the soup mixture. Mash the pulp into the soup. Serve hot and top with crumbled bacon, cheese and green onions.

Pumpkin Dip

Oh Tasty Kitchen, you bring me so much joy! This is a GREAT fall recipe, especially in the south were it is still blazing hot in the fall.

15 oz can Pumpkin
5 oz Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
16 oz Frozen Whipped Topping, Thawed

Mix together the Pumpkin, Vanilla Pudding and Pumpkin Pie Spice. Fold in the Whipped Topping and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Service with Ginger Snaps and Apple slices.

Honey Garlic Meatballs

These were great! Gray even felt the need to sing about them the next morning when he realized he got to take the leftovers to work, hm...wonder how he would feel about me sharing that. It was another winner from over at the Tasty Kitchen!

Meatballs:
1-½ pound Ground Round
1/4 cups Finely Shredded Fresh Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cups Dry Breadcrumbs
1/3 cups Chopped Fresh Parsley
1/4 cups Tomato Sauce
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
3/4 teaspoons Dried Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced

Sauce:
2 Tablespoons Butter
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
¾ cups Ketchup
½ cups Honey
¼ cups Soy Sauce

Combine all the ingredients together for the meatballs and shape. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until done, drain grease. While the meatballs are cooking, melt the butter and saute the garlic for about a minute. Add the remain ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes, add meatballs and serve.

Apple Bread

I found this recipe on Le Petit Pierogi but she adapted it from Allrecipes.com but then I adapted it further so who knows if it is close at all to the original recipe. This was the perfect way to use up some lovely apples I had from a friend. This bread was really good, sweet but not overly sweet and you could really taste the apples in it.

3 Cups All Purpose Flour
3 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Cup White Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar, packed
2 Eggs, Beaten
1/2 Tsp. Vanilla
2 cups apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
3 tbsp applesauce or apple juice

Heat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl combine the vegetable oil, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, apples and vanilla. Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Add the applesauce. Divide the batter between two 8x4 greased bread pans. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until done. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then remove from pan and cool on rack.

Roasted Garlic Zucchini

This is a great and very very very simple recipe. I found it on Simply Recipes! This might be my new favorite way to fix Zucchini.

1 lb zucchini, cut into spheres
1 Tbsp fresh minced garlic clove
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 450. Lay the zucchini pieces on a foiled lined cookie sheet, skin down. Mix together the olive oil and garlic then spoon the mixture over the zucchini. Place in oven and check after 5 minutes, if it is not starting to get brown then cook for 2 to 5 more minutes. Once it is out of the oven season with salt and pepper.