Pancake & Sausage Casserole

Pancake & Sausage Casserole

1.5 lb pork breakfast sausage. use bulk so you can break it up easy while it cooks.
3 C white flour
3 TB white sugar
3 TB brown sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 3/4 C plus 1/8 C milk
2 Tbsp oil
4 tsp vanilla extract

What to do:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Brown and drain your sausage. In bowl mix dry ingredients and then add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix WELL! Fold in the sausage. Pour into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let it cool for about 5-10 minutes after you take it out.
Serve with maple syrup or alone...whatever you like!

It really tastes like a McGriddle but A LOT less greasy plus it is super easy to whip up for a quick dinner or big breakfast if you have a crew to feed.

Photo and recipe courtesy of mrsbsrecipes.blogspot.com

Chicken Tamales

6 C Corn Maza
6 C Chicken Broth
1 C Corn Oil (I used canola oil but I would imagine that corn gives it more flavor)
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Powder
4 chicken breasts
2 med bottles of Salsa verde (I used La Victoria brand because it was on sale

1 bag of Corn Husks

*Fill pot with chicken and enough water to cover. (I sprinkled a little bit of bullion in the water while the chicken was cooking just to give a little burst of flavor.) Boil for 30 minutes or until the chicken breasts are cooked through.
*Drain the water into a bowl and let chicken cool slightly.
*Shred the chicken either with two forks or do it the easy and much quicker way and use a hand food chopper.
*Pour the salsa verde over the chicken and put mixture to the side.
*Next place the corn husks in WARM water to soak. You need 'em soft so you can work with them later.
* Now the star of the show...maza. You need 6 cups of chicken broth. I like to use the chicken bullion from the latino section of the store mixed with 6 cups of water...WONDERFUL flavor.
*In a large mixing bowl, combine the maza and the dry ingredients with the oil and chicken broth. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer, and mixed it until well combined. It will be moist but not runny.
*Take out the corn husks one at a time. Spoon some maza onto a corn husk. I just used my fingers and had a bowl of water to dip my fingers in to spread it out evenly onto the top-wide part of the husk. I just put it on the top (widest part) of the husk so I would have a "tail" to close up the bottom after I fold it up.
Drop a spoon full of chicken onto the middle of the maza covered husk and fold sides into the center so they over lap. Fold the "tail" toward the seam.
*Place into steamer. I don't have a tamale steamer but I do have a big pot with a lid and a colander so I used those and it worked great. I had so many tamales that I used my electric food steamer too and it worked fabulously.
*Steam for 45-60 minutes. When the husk pulls easily away from the maza they are done.

Enjoy!!
Makes approx 3 dozen tamales.
Giving credit where it's due...
Thanks to my buddy Jamie at mrsbsrecipes.blogspot.com for the recipe. I have made a few changes and noted where I made some changes.

Cowboy Caviar

I had this for the first time when I worked at Modern Display in Salt Lake City. The girl that made it said she just called it yummy salsa...I agree but I like the name of Cowboy Caviar better.

Cowboy Caviar
1 pkg zesty italian dressing packet
Oil
Balsamic vinegar
Red wine vinegar

Mix zesty italian dressing according to package directions. I like to use half red wine vinegar and half balsamic vinegar but you can use just red wine vinegar- I don't recommend just balsamic vinegar though because it throws the flavor off in my opinion. Set aside to let the flavors meld.

2 avocados, diced
4 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 can black eyed peas OR 1 can black beans
1 can white corn
1 jalepeno pepper, minced (optional)

Cut up the vegetables to about the size of a corn kernel. Place all the above items in a bowl and pour dressing over and stir/fold together.

I like to let the mixture sit for a couple of hours to let the flavor of the dressing soak into the vegetables.

Enjoy with corn chips. I have also eaten this over a grilled chicken breast and it was fantastic!!

Lettuce Wraps

I loved Chili's lettuce wraps when they had them but I was always told the P.F. Changs are better. I found this recipe on Recipezaar.com Recipe # 15865 . I made a few modifications and have noted them below. So yummy! We decided this will be in the regular rotation of meals that we enjoy at our house and I have to agree these are much better than Chili's!

P.F. Changs Lettuce Wraps Knock off

3 Tbsp oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 small can water chestnuts
2/3 cup mushrooms
3-4 green onions, I just used the white part
1 teaspoon minced garlic (oops I forgot to add this but it would taste good)
1 bunch of green leaf lettuce, cut off the stem

Special Sauce

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp hot mustard- can add more if you want more heat
2 tsp garlic and red chile paste

Stir Fry Sauce

4 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp rice wine vinegar

Directions

- Make special sauce and set to the side while you prep and cook the remainder of the meal.

- Bring oil to high heat in a large frying pan

- Fry chicken breasts for 4-5 minutes on each side or until cooked through.

- Set chicken aside to cool while prepping vegetables

- Mince water chesnuts, mushrooms, onions & garlic
**The recipe say peas size but I chopped mine very fine to hide the mushrooms from hubby since he doesn't care for them, if he can see them. (yes I'm tricky)

- When chicken has cooled, mince into small pieces. (I used my Pampered Chef chopper for veggies and chicken and it worked great)

-Prepare stir fry sauce in a small bowl

- Heat 1 Tbsp oil in pan and add chicken and veggies, cook for 2- 3 minutes

- Add stir fry sauce to mixture and cook an additional few minutes.
** I added a teaspoon of the red chile and garlic paste to the chicken too because we like heat!

- Serve in lettuce leaves and spoon a small amount of special sauce on each lettuce cup

- Enjoy!

Orange Sauce

My grandma Sullivan always made our birthday cakes for us during our growing up years. This was always my favorite and I made it the other night for J.D. to try and he said it was just as good as I have always talked about.

Orange Sauce

Juice from 4 oranges
1 cup white sugar
4 egg yolks

Cook on the stove top until thick and let cook completely.

Whip in:
1 pint whipping cream ( you have to use the real whipping cream not cool whip)

It will be a thick and fluffy mixture. Spoon onto a slice of angel food cake just before serving. Store the remainder in the fridge for up to a week (if it lasts that long).