Day 272: Blueberry Sausage Cake

Today I have a breakfast recipe.  For some reason, breakfast recipes seem harder to find.  Its probably because mornings are busy and there never seems to be enough time to make anything good!  That's my reasoning for not trying this recipe sooner.  We finally decided to have "Brinner" (breakfast for dinner) just so I could try this recipe.  I got this from Randy Goodman.  He says this dish is one of the most requested meals at a bed and breakfast run by his relatives.

Blueberry Sausage Cake
12" dutch oven

2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
1 lb. pork sausage, cooked and well drained
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and baking powder; set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the flour mixture and sour cream, beating until combined.  Fold in the sausage and berries.
Pour the batter into a greased dutch oven.  Sprinkle nuts on top.  Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Use 1 1/2 rings on top and 1 ring on the bottom.  Serve warm with blueberry sauce (recipe below).  Serves 12-15.

Blueberry Sauce

1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1/2 cup water
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

In a medium sauce pan, combine the sugar and cornstarch.  Add the water and blueberries.  Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.  Cook and stir 2 minutes more.  Stir in lemon juice.  Cool slightly.  Makes 2 cups sauce.

The Finished Product

The Review

This was SERIOUSLY good!  The combination of sausage and blueberries may sound weird, but it is delicious!  I ate way more of this than I should have.  The 9 of us ate all but 2 pieces.  We had this with scrambled eggs and it was a hearty meal.  This is a perfect Sunday breakfast, and it would be awesome to wake up to this when you're camping.  We ran out of sauce, so you'll want to double it for sure.  This gets an A.

Day 271: Turkey Lattice Pie

Yesterday was our last night of soccer--thank heaven!  I love watching my kids play, but it makes my evenings very hectic!  It will be nice to be back on a normal schedule.  So last night I had to make something that was really fast and easy.  And even with something simple we still didn't eat until after 7 pm.  My poor kids were starving!

Turkey Lattice Pie
14" dutch oven

3 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls
4 cups cubed cooked turkey or chicken
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or Swiss cheese
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/3 cups milk
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
Dash pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten

Unroll two tubed of crescent roll dough; separated into rectangles.  Press them into the bottom and 1/4 inch up the sides of a dutch oven to form a crust, sealing seams and perforations.  Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes.  In a bowl, combine the turkey, cheese, broccoli, soup, milk, mustard, onion, salt and pepper; mix well.  Spoon over the crust.  Unroll remaining dough; divide into rectangles and seal perforations.  Cut each rectangle into 5 strips.  Using the strips, make a lattice design on top to the turkey mixture.  Brush with egg.  Bake 20-25 minutes longer or until top crust is golden brown and filling is hot.  Serves 12-16.

The Finished Product

I forgot to brush mine with egg, so it didn't brown as well as it should have.

The Review

This recipe is just okay.  The gravy was really thin, almost soupy.  I would cut the milk down to 3/4-1 cup.  I also wasn't super thrilled with the crescent roll dough.  The flavor of it kind of overpowered everything else.  I would have liked it better with a pie crust.  It also needed some spices, maybe a little thyme.  That being said, it was still good.  It was very easy to make and since I already had some cooked chicken it only took a few minutes to put together.  But since I probably won't make this again, I'm giving this one a C.

Day 270: Easy Chicken Curry

This is the first curry dish I've ever made.  Come to think of it, I really haven't eaten a lot of curry dishes.  I wasn't sure what to expect from this recipe.  It was very mild and had a very unique flavor.  I need to make more of these kinds of foods.

Easy Chicken Curry
10" dutch oven

1 1/2 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
Salt to taste
2 tsp. curry powder
1 (14 oz.) can unsweetened coconut milk (In the Asian section at the grocery store)
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 Tbs. tomato paste
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 cups packed fresh baby spinach
Rice

Heat the oil in a dutch oven over a full spread of coals.  Add the onion and 1/4 tsp. salt.  Cook the onion, stirring often, until soft.  Add the curry powder and continue stirring for one minute more.  Stir in the coconut milk, tomatoes and tomato paste.  Continue cooking the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly.
Add the chicken, stir well, and cook until the meat is cooked through.  Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted.  Add more salt to taste.  Serve over rice.  Makes 4 servings.

The Finished Product

The Review

This was good.  I haven't quite acquired a taste for the coconut milk yet.  But sometimes all it takes to like a food is getting used to the flavor combinations.  Everyone except my 2 youngest children ate this and liked it.  But none of us loved it...yet.  I think after I exposed my kids (and myself) to these kind of flavors more they will really like it.  I'm giving this a B.

Day 269: Southern Sunday Chicken

We had a really nice day yesterday!  We had some unexpected company, but we had a wonderful time visiting with old friends.  This is one time I'm extra glad I learned to cook in my dutch ovens.  I would never have been able to find a pot big enough to cook this meal for 16 people.  God bless my 14" dutch oven.  I tripled the recipe and it worked out perfectly.

Southern Sunday Chicken
10" dutch oven

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp. butter or margarine
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 fresh mushrooms, sliced (I left these out)
1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth
3 Tbs. flour
1 cup evaporated milk
Hot cooked noodles or rice

In a large resealable bag, combine the first 6 ingredients.  Cut the chicken pieces into thirds; place in the bag and shake to coat.  In a dutch oven over a full spread of coals, melt the butter.  Brown the chicken on all sides; remove and keep warm.  Add the onion, celery and mushrooms to the dutch oven and cook until tender.  Return the chicken to the pan and add the broth.  Cover and simmer 20-25 minutes.  In a small bowl, whisk the milk and flour until smooth.  Add to the pot and cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly.  Serve over noodles or rice.  Serves 4.

The Finished Product

Sorry this pic is so bad.  Its is the last 2 pieces of chicken that I had to reheat for the picture. 

The Review

We really liked this dish.  It was very simple and didn't have a lot of flavors going on.  The chicken was also really tender.  The only thing I'd change is to add a little more in the way of vegetables.  I'll probably double the amount of celery and onion, and maybe add some shredded carrot.  Other than that, it made a really nice meal.  Our guests really liked it as well, and went home with the recipe.  I'll be keeping this one.  Grade B+.

Day 268: Cheesy Skillet Vegetables and Bacon

I'm so sorry about the late post!  I was running behind and almost didn't make it to church, then we had unexpected company.  I finally have a few minutes to sit down and write this post!  But I can't complain, it was a great day!

Cheesy Skillet Vegetables and Bacon
12" dutch oven

1 lb. bacon
2 (16 oz.) pkgs. frozen broccoli and cauliflower blend
1 lb. baby carrots
1 small onion
2 cloves minced garlic
6-8 potatoes
2 cups grated cheese

Brown bacon in a dutch oven over a full spread of coals.  While the bacon is cooking, cut the onions, carrots and potatoes into bite sized pieces.  When the bacon is done, place on a paper towel to cool.  Brown the onion in the bacon grease.  When brown, add the vegetables and garlic.  Cook until tender, about 20 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  While the vegetables are cooking, crumble the bacon.  When the vegetables are cooked, sprinkle with cheese and bacon.  Place a lid on the dutch oven and allow to sit until cheese is melted.  Serves 6-8.

The Finished Product

The Review

This was really good!  Even my picky eaters ate this well.  I wasn't expecting this to be as good as it was.  The bacon really put this over the top.  I'll be making this again.  While mine was cooking, it was taking forever, so I put the lid on and put 8 or 10 coals on top to keep in the heat and help it cook faster.  This was really simple and easy.  Grade B+.