September 11th, 2008 · 1 Comment
This is a recipe that my boss Liz Cheek gave me on a recap of a weekend of cooking for her family a few weeks ago. She will spend whole weekends preparing meals for her family as well as church functions and this one was a traditional fare that was handed down through her family for a few generations. I did my best to remember all the ingredients, now with my own twist and having made it twice already I will share it with you now! This is also a perfect dish for any time of the day, not just for breakfast anymore!
Yield: 6 servings
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Ingredients
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Non-stick Spray
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1
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Cont.
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Crescent Rolls
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½
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Lb.
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Breakfast sausage, bulk
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6
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Each
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Eggs, extra large
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¾
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Cup
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Milk
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1 ½
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Cups
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Cheddar cheese, finely shredded
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2
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Cups
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Hash Brown Potatoes, or shredded potato uncooked
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¾
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Cup
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Italian bread crumbs
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To taste
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Garlic salt and black pepper
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Procedure Steps
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1.
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Pre-heat oven to 350° F.
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2.
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Spray a 9” X 9” X 2” square baking pan with non-stick spray
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3.
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Open the crescent rolls and line the bottom of the pan with the dough in one single layer covering the entire pan.
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4.
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Break up the breakfast sausage into chunks and brown in a separate sauté pan on all sides until cooked through, then drain on paper towels.
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5.
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Arrange the browned sausage in a single layer on top of the dough layer.
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6.
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Add the shredded potatoes (hash browns) in an even layer over and between the sausage layer.
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7.
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Break the eggs and mix them in a separate small bowl with the milk then add the shredded cheddar cheese and stir well. Add the salt and pepper to the egg/cheese mixture and stir again to mix well then pour it into the baking pan over the potatoes and sausage layers. Smooth out to even the top.
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8.
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Sprinkle the top with a nice thin layer of bread crumbs and bake in the oven for 30 – 40 minutes or until the eggs set up and the top is golden brown. Allow to rest a few minutes then cut into 6 even portions.
Also makes a great brunch menu item.
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Tags: Breakfast · Recipes
September 8th, 2008 · 1 Comment
Butter is one of those basic larder ingredients that we always have on hand, among many other staples. And typically we will have a pound of Land O Lakes in the fridge at any given time, but there are betta buttas out there you know!
On a recent visit to the NC Specialty Shops in downtown Wake Forest the shop owner Rusty Forrest introduced us to some locally made butter (click on image for a larger view) produced by Homeland Creamery, LLC out of Julian, NC which is about 78 miles west of us. This stuff is just about the best butter I have ever set my lips on. I know this stuff is available in limited quantities, and most likely not found outside the state of North Carolina, but I just had to talk about, you know!
A few weeks ago I was cooking up some omelets for dinner and as I set up the pan and melted the butter on high heat it did not burn and the flavor it added to the eggs was outstanding! This butta rocks! There really is nothing better than fresh local ingredients for your larder staples.
By the way, I am going be at the NC Specialty Shop this Saturday, September 13, 2008 from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm preparing some food tastings featuring some of my Cajun Cuisine and will demonstrate blackening some chicken on a cast iron griddle along with some Cajun Jambalaya too!
See Cajun Chef Ryan in Person at the NC Specialty Shops on
Sat. Sept. 13th from 10 am to 1 pm
Cajun Cooking Demonstrations using Carolina Ingredients
Chicken and Sausage Cajun Jambalaya
Hot Blackened and Blue Chicken
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NC Specialty Shops– A Taste of the Carolinas
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“Specializing in North Carolina Made Products”
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150 S. White Street
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Wake Forest, NC 27587
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919.320.2289
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919.270.1975
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Tags: Ingredients
September 8th, 2008 · Comments Off on Baked Tomatoes
A family favorite, this dish is one that Monique prepares whenever we have some tomatoes that need to be cooked or on a whim when we have the hankering for them too!
She made a batch of them and this time around I remembered to get the camera out to capture their look and feel as they just came out of the oven. Still hot these tomatoes are just oozing with flavorful goodness. This recipe is inspired from a Weight Watchers Annual Cookbook and goes well as a side dish with just about anything, even with a salad like we did with some Caesar salad the other night.
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Ingredients
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4
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Each
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Tomatoes, medium
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1
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Cup
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Mayonnaise
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½
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Tbsp
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Thyme
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½
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Tbsp
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Italian Seasoning mix
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½
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Tsp
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Garlic salt
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½
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Cup
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Parmesan cheese, shredded
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½
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Cup
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Italian Breadcrumbs
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Procedure Steps
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1.
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Pre-heat oven to 375° F.
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2.
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Combine the mayo, herbs, salt and Parmesan until well mixed.
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3.
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Cut the tomatoes into halves and place onto baking dish.
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4.
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Spoon the mayo mixture evenly onto each of the 8 tomato halves. Then sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top.
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5.
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Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until tops are golden brown and tomatoes are soft.
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Tags: Recipes · Vegetarian · Weight Watchers
September 5th, 2008 · 1 Comment
This is another one of those recipes that was handed down from family members and I went ahead and modified it…tweaked it a bit to add my own little flavor twist! I put this one together on the Sunday before Labor Day, and then refrigerated it for the flavors to marry a bit. The next day and just before baking them in the oven for the Labor Day feast I took them out of the fridge for a few hours to come up to room temperature or near to that and then baked them for 2 hours while the grill was working on the main events. The image shows some of the very last ingredients going into the baking dish. Unfortunately I was so interested in eating them that I forgot to take a photo of the final product, but I can tell you that they were all eaten within a few days.
BBQ Baked Beans
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Ingredients
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2
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Cans
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Baked Beans, 22 ounces each
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½
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Lb.
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Smoked Sausage, diced
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1
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Med.
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Green Bell Pepper, diced
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1 ½
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Cups
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Onion, diced
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2
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Tbsp
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Garlic, minced
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1
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Tsp
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Smoky Paprika
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½
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Cup
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Dark Brown Sugar
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1
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Tbsp
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Yellow mustard
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½
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Tbsp
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Garlic salt (Lawery’s)
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1
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Tbsp
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Worcestershire sauce
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Procedure Steps
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1.
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Pre heat oven to 350° F.
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2.
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Open and pour the beans into the baking dish with all the liquid from the can.
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3.
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Brown the smoked sausage in a large sauté pan and then add the onions, bell pepper and garlic and simmer until soft then add this to the beans.
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4.
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Add the remaining ingredients and stir well then bake in the oven covered for 2 hours, remove and stir well again before serving.
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Tags: Barbecue · Recipes
