Easy Barbecue Tarts and Biscuit Recipe

You will be getting two recipes in this post. The first one will be a homemade biscuit recipe from the Betty Crocker Cookbook and the second one will be the BBQ Tarts from the Great America Home Baking. Both are delicious and quick to make.

 This is what you will need for the Baking Powder Biscuits found on page 29 in the Betty Crocker cookbook. 1/2 cup shortening; 2 cups flour; 1 tablespoon sugar; 3 teaspoons baking powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 3/4 cup milk.

 I didn't bake them as biscuits but for you to do so you will want to preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Cut shortening into flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt with pastry blender until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk until dough leaves side of bowl (dough will be soft and sticky).

 Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead lightly 10 times.

 Roll or pat 1/2 inch thick. Cut with floured 2 1/2-inch round cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet about 1 inch apart for crusty sides, touching for soft sides. Bake until golden brown. 10 to 12 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. I didn't this instead I did the following.

 I preheated the oven to 375 degrees and sprayed my muffin tins with non stick spray. I patted out my round biscuit dough and put them into the muffin tins as shown. I will give you the recipe for the BBQ but I used chili instead. You will need to brown one pound of ground beef and drain. To that you will need to add 1/2 cup ketchup, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

 Spoon approximately 1/4 cup of the either mixture into each biscuit-lined muffin cup.

 Bake for 10 minutes and then sprinkle with cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes longer.

Cool the tarts in the pan for 5 minutes before serving. I did have to bake mine a little longer than 10 minutes. Every oven is different. My recipe made 18 tarts. If you don't want to make your own biscuits you can buy them in the dairy section of the store.
My family really like these and they usually don't last long. I also freeze them. They defrost quickly and the boys love being able to take them to school and reheat them in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
I hope you give these recipes a try and let me know what you think. Until next time keep safe and enjoy your day.

Pork Roast With Rosemary Recipe

I have another recipe that I want to share with you. I got this recipe from Betty Crocker's Cookbook. This is a pork recipe and you can find it on page 221.

 For this recipe this is what you will need.
4-pound pork boneless top loin roast (mine was just under 2-pounds); 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, crushed; 2 cloves garlic, crushed (I used garlic powder)

 Sprinkle pork roast with salt and pepper: rub with rosemary and garlic. Place pork , fat side up, on rack in shallow roasting pan. Insert meat thermometer so tip is in center of thickest part of pork and does not rest in fat. Roast uncovered in 325 degree oven until thermometer registers 170 degrees about 2 1/2 hours.
My roast didn't have a lot of fat and it only took about 1 1/2 hour to cook. I also didn't have a rack that would fit this pan. I added just a little water about half way through so that the roast wouldn't be dry.

This is what it looks like when it was done. I served it with mashed potatoes, gravy and green beans. It was still a little dry but once you put some gravy on it it was good.

I hope you give this recipe a try and change it up if you need to. Let me know what you think if you try it.
Until next time enjoy your day and keep safe.

Baked Chicken Primarvera Recipe

As this stay home order is still in effect I am posting another recipe that you can use items that might left over from a previous meal. I got this recipe from great American home baking. It is a one dish meal. I hope you enjoy this and give this recipe a try. Let me know what you think if you try it.

For this recipe you will need the following:
1 pound cooked chicken, cut into 1-inch cubes (2 cups); 1 (12 ounces) frozen mix vegetables (thawed); 1 small onion, chopped (about 1/3 cup); 8 ounces corkscrew pasta, cooked (any pasta will do); 1 cup whipping cream; 1/3 cup prepared pesto sauce; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese.

1. Preheat oven to 375 degree. Spray a 3-quart casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. I used a 9x13 pan.
2. Combine the chicken, vegetables, onion and pasta in a large bowl. Set aside. Combine the whipping cream, pesto sauce and salt in a medium bowl. Add the cream mixture to the chicken mixture and stir gently until combined. Spoon into the prepared dish.
3. Bake, covered, until heated through and the vegetables are tender, 40-50 minutes. I baked it for 50 minutes.
4. Remove the dish from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve.

I hope you give this dish a try. It serves 6.

Pork Chops with pineapple fried rice recipe

Here is another recipe that I think you might like. I got this recipe from a magazine but I can't remember which one. I didn't do a step by step photo shoot. I was kindof in a hurry and just did a finished shot.

For this recipe you will need.
2 tablespoons butter; 1/2 pineapple, peeled, cored, and cut into thin wedges (I used canned pineapple chunks); 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 4-6 boneless pork chops (or one for everyone in your family); salt an pepper to taste; 1 large onion thinly sliced; 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce, more as needed; 1 tablespoon rice vinegar; 2 tablespoon honey; 1 tablespoon sriracha or other hot sauce ( I used the other); 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1 tablespoon minced ginger ( I used powdered); 3 green onions, thinly sliced; 2 large eggs, whisked; 1 cup frozen peas ( I used frozen peas and carrots); 1 4oz jar diced pimientos, drained ( I omitted this); 1 1/2 cup long-grain rice, cooked according to the package directions.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the pineapple in a single layer, cook the pineapple until it's lightly browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.

In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat, then season the pork chops with salt and pepper and add them to the pan.

Cook the pork chops on both sides until they have a nice deep golden color and are almost cooked through, 4-6 minutes total, depending on the thickness. Remove them to a plate and set aside.

Add the onions to the same skillet, still over medium-high heat. Stir and let them cook for a good couple of minutes.

When the onions are starting to soften, add 6 tablespoons of the soy sauce, the rice vinegar, honey, and sriracha.

Stir and let the liquid cook and bubble up for a good couple of minutes until the sauce starts to reduce. Taste and adjust the seasonings as you wish.

Return the pork chops to the pan, reduce the heat to low, and let them simmer while you make the fired rice. Check on the pan occasionally; if the liquid level seems low, splash in 1/4 cup of water.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a separate large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and two-thirds of the green onions and sauté for 1-2 minutes to release the flavors.

Add the eggs to the skillet, stirring to scramble them...

Then stir in peas, pimientos, and remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce.

Add the rice, turn the heat to high, and stir-fry the rice for 1-2 minutes...

Then turn off the heat and stir in the pineapple. Done

To serve pile the fried rice on a plate and set a pork chop on the top. Then spoon on as much sauce as you like (make sure to include onions).

This was good but I didn't like the way they have you make fried rice. The eggs stuck and there really wasn't much flavor in the rice. It is a good way to use up what you have on hand. I hope you give this recipe a try and let me know what you think about it.  As always enjoy your day and stay safe.

Weekly activity during the quarantine of CoVid-19

This has been a hard time for everyone. I had many projects and have decided that is the perfect to start getting them done.

 You have probably seen this photo before. I have finally gotten my canning caught up. I had several bags of tomatoes in my freezer that I just didn't get to in the fall. I made tomato sauce. I won't need any for a while.

 I have been working this lap afghan for the veterans since November and finally finished this. I will wait November to donate it the veterans home.

 This is a baby afghan I crocheted while listening to a book. I like to have several on hand just in case. Some of them will go the veterans who are active duty.

 This is my stove and we decided it was time to pull it out and give it a good cleaning. It really wasn't that bad.

 I sewed up four burp rags. I have more to sew but ran out of the binding.

 Two bibs were also sewn. Again didn't get them all done because I ran out binding.

The boys were excited when we decided to make homemade ice cream. Yes we could buy it from the store but this taste so much better.

I still have a few more things to finish and will have time to do so. Life is getting a little boring and trying to find things to change it up is a challenge. I know we need to stay home and get through this.
I hope you all are safe and until lnext time enjoy your family and day.

Slow Cooker Salisbury Steaks Recipe

I have another recipe for you today. I got this recipe from The Knead homesteader. She has a you tube channel and she posted this recipe a couple of years ago.

 These are the ingredients you will need for this recipe.

 Sprinkle any type of seasoning you like on your burgers. I am using Weber gourmet Burger seasoning.

 You need to pre cook the patties to seal in the flavors.

 In 4 cups of water you need to dissolve two good size spoonful's of beef base.

 In the slow cooker you will need  to add some onion powder, chives, dried onions and parsley. I don't have any amounts to give you just what you think looks good or to your taste.

 Add the liquid into the pot and mix up the spices.

 You will add another 2 cups of water with 2 packets of brown gravy. I used 6 tablespoons of gravy mix.

 This is what the burgers should look like before you add them to the cooker.

 Putting the patties into the cooker.

 Make sure the patties are covered with the liquid. You cook them on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8 hours.

This is what it looks like after it is done. It was really good and the family likes it.
I hope you will give this recipe a try.

Cinnamon Crisps Cookie Recipe

This is a new recipe that I have decided to try. I got this recipe form one of cozy mystery books. I am almost positive that it came from the Hannah Swenson series. I can't remember which one though. We have eaten a few and they are delicious. So here is the recipe.

 Here is everything you will need . I did forget to put the eggs in this picture.
2 cups melted butter (4 sticks); 2 cups brown sugar (loosely packed); 1 cup white granulated sugar; 2 beaten eggs ( just whip them up with a fork); 2 teaspoon vanilla; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon cream of tartar (critical!); 1 teaspoon salt; 4 1/4 cup white flour (not sifted);
Dough-ball rolling mixture: 1/2 cup white sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Add the sugars together.

 Melt the butter and add to the sugars. Mix well and let the mixture cool to room temperature.

 Beat the eggs and then add them to mixture.

 Add the vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix well.

 Add flour in increments, mixing after each addition.

 Not a very photo but this is what it should look like.

 I transferred to another bowl and put it in the refrig. I had to finish this recipe later in the day.
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Use your hands to roll the dough into walnut-sized balls. (If dough is too sticky, chill for and hour before rolling).

 Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl to make the dough-ball rolling mixture. )Mixing it with a fork works nicely). Roll the dough balls in the mixture.

 Then place them on a greased cookie sheet.  12 to a standard sheet. Flatten the dough balls with a greased or floured spatula. I didn't do this step, but my cookies came out just fine.

 Bake for 10-15 minutes. (They should have a touch of gold around the edges). I had to bake mine for about 19 minutes because I made them a little bigger and didn't flatten out.  Cool on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes, then remove the cookies to a rack to finish cooling.

Here is what they look like. I bag them up for the boys lunches and left some for us to eat. This yields approximately 8 dozen cookies depending on the size of the cookie.

I hope you give this recipe a try. Let me know what you think. If you have a recipe you would like me try just leave me a comment below.
Until next time enjoy your day.