Red Beans and Sausage with Rice

Red Beans and Sausage with Rice

 



2 pounds dry red beans                                                         4 pounds sausage
1 large onion chopped                                                          2 stalks of celery chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped                                                        1 tbls. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. cayenne                                                                      ¼ tsp. oregano
¼ tsp. thyme                                                                         1 tbls. Chili powder
½ tsp .garlic powder                                                             Salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves                                                                          Louisiana hot sauce (optional)

24 hours before serving soak beans in hot tap water for 3-4 hours. Once beans
are soaked, rinse and put in crock pot (must be 6 quart) on low with enough
water covering beans well. Add all other ingredients except sausage, cover and
stir occasionally and check water level (must always be enough to cover beans) 
6-8 hours before serving cut up sausage in ½ to 1 inch chunks (your preference)
put in crock pot and cover wait till 24 hour mark and serve.

Creamy Potato Bacon Soup

Creamy Potato Bacon Soup

 

• 6-8 medium potatoes (peeled and chunked in 3/4  inch squares)
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons minced onions
• 1  package (6 ounce) real bacon bits
• salt and pepper to taste
• milk (amount determined while you are cooking)

 

 

1. Cover potatoes with water and boil in  pan on the stove until tender.
2. Drain the water
3. Add enough milk to cover the potatoes
4. Use a potato masher and mash the pan several times but do not mash all of the potatoes (there still needs to be chunks)
5. Add all the other ingredients
6. Cook over low-medium heat for 15-20 minutes (stirring often),  until it becomes a thick soup.



Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread Recipe

 

• 2 packages yeast
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup warm milk
• 5 cups flour
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

Dissolve the yeast in warm water. Then add eggs, sugar, salt and milk. Mix together and then slowly add the flour until it turns into a soft dough.
Then let it sit and rise until it has doubled. After it has doubled punch down the dough and roll it out. Then cut it into odd sized strips. Melt the butter. Then dip the pieces into butter and put into a bundt pan. Let it rise until doubled again and then bake in a 350* oven for 30 minutes.

***You can also use this recipe to make crescent rolls, you would roll them into crescents instead of dipping in butter and placing in the bundt pan***

Quadruple Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today (10/1) is National Homemade Cookie Day. So in honor of this I made some cookies.

Quadruple Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup  baking Cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

 

Preheat the oven to 350º F.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in all the chips. Place on a baking sheet (I put parchment paper on mine)

Bake for 9-10 minutes depending on your oven

 

 

 

*Recipe adapted from Nestle

Resident Chef- BLT Dip

A huge shout out to the Resident Chef. This brand makes fabulous dips that are great for any occasion. I made the BLT dip for the Razorback football game this past Saturday. These dips are great to take anywhere and make excellent appetizers.  They are also super easy to make. The ingredients that you add are dependent on whether it is savory or sweet. For the BLT mix it was 1 cup of sour cream and 1 cup of mayonnaise. If you get a chance I would check out their website and order some dips. They are great!

Mini Pies

I saw a great idea on pinterest a few weeks ago and modified it and started making mini pies. These are great way to take someone a pie where you would not be able to have plates and forks. These mini pies are bite sized and are great to take tailgating (which is where I took mine!).  

So what you need is a mini muffin pan, premade pie crust dough (you can find these at the grocery store all rolled up), round cookie cutter, canned pie filling (fruits of your choice), powdered sugar, and milk.

To start you unroll the pie crust and use the round cookie cutter to cut out circles. After you cut them all out reroll out the dough and cut some more until you finish all the dough. Next you place the circles in the holes of a mini muffin pan. They make the cutest little pies. After they are all in there it is time to add the filling. Each little pie needs a spoon of filling. I used apple (it will need to be cut though), cherry, strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry. After all of the filling is in it is time to bake the mini pies. It takes 18-20 minutes in a 400* oven. When they are done baking and have cooled slightly mix together 1/2 cup of powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of milk. This makes a yummy glaze that you can sprinkle on top of the mini pies. After that its time to eat! :)

Horseback Riding

So I went horseback riding for the second time over Labor Day weekend. It was an unique experience. The ride itself was not too bad and was very pretty. I went in Ruidoso, New Mexico through a place called Inn of the Mountain Gods. For my outfit I went with skinny jeans from NEw York and Company, a Arkansas Razorback Tank Top (it was game day!) from Victoria's Secret, and my Cowboy Boots from Cavenders (kids!).  Here are a few pictures. My horse's name was Nugget.