Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

I found these on another website and wanted to share with you guys. They promise to be better than the restaurant version, and they sure sound like it! Enjoy! 

Biscuits
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup  sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (for topping)

Garlic Butter Topping

4 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
garlic salt, to taste 

Adjust oven rack upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.  

Line baking sheet with parchment paper or grease for easy removal of biscuits.

Whisk together flour, cheddar cheese, sugar, baking powder, salt, and garlic in a medium bowl.  

Add milk and stir until ingredients are mixed, be careful not to over mix.  

At this point the dough should be fairly sticky but not runny or dry.  Add more flour or milk as needed to achieve desired consistency.
Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet with a large cookie scoop (about 3 tablespoons worth of dough).  Top each biscuit with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. 

Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to brown.
In a small bowl, melt the butter along with the garlic and parsley in the microwave.  Brush tops with garlic butter mixture and sprinkle with garlic salt to taste.

Spiced Sweet Potato

This is our first vegan recipe. It's courtesy of my friend Alicia W. and works great as a side dish or a snack. Alicia says this dish has a good amount of fiber and helps fight toxins. 

I would love to add other vegan or vegetarian recipes, so if you have any, send them my way! foodie5287@yahoo.com I take all other recipes too! :) 

Sweet potato

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp fresh cut ginger root

1 tbsp milled flax seed

honey

Put olive oil into a saucepan and heat over medium

Dice the sweet potato and add it to the pan, along with the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger root and flax seed

Fry until lightly browned

Remove from heat and drizzle with honey

Tomato, Avocado, & Grilled Corn Salad

I found this recipe on Pinterest, but it came from a blog called Within the Kitchen. The original recipe is huge, so I've halved it and it was still MORE than enough for my family of 3. This is a great summer side dish.

1 avocado
1 cup cherry tomatoes
3 ears of corn
1 lime
1 1/2 tbsp of olive oil
salt and pepper

The following ingredients are optional and I didn't use any of them. The salad was still good without them!
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
chopped cilantro
chopped parsley

Husk corn and place on grill over medium heat
Turn frequently, until cooked through. This only takes a few minutes, so keep a close eye on it! I used white corn and I knew it was finished when it started to turn golden brown. It's ok if some of the pieces turn black!
Chop the avocado or scoop it with a melon baller (I chopped mine)
Set aside 1/4 cup of the avocado
Cut the corn off of the cob and mix with tomatoes and remaining avocado
In a small bowl, mash the 1/4 cup of avocado
In another small bowl, juice the lime. (I also added some lime zest to mine)
Add the oil (and vinegar, if you're using it) Whisk until combined
Combine the dressing and mashed avocado until creamy and smooth
Add the dressing to the veggies.
Add salt and pepper, then mix.
If you're using the cilantro and parslesy, garnish and then serve

Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad

This yummy recipe comes from my friend Jessica B. I have to be honest and say that I had never heard of garlic pepper until she sent me this recipe. (I hope I'm not the only one!) It sounds like a seasoning that I definitely want to try.
As a side note, I'm ALWAYS on the hunt for good recipes to post here on the blog. So, if you have something, send it my way! Email it to me at foodie5287@yahoo.com

1 (12 ounce) package uncooked tri-color rotini pasta
10 slices bacon
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons dry ranch salad dressing mix
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic pepper
1/2 cup milk, or as needed
1 large tomato, chopped
1 (4.25 ounce) can sliced black olives
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Stir in rotini pasta and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2.Place bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook until evenly brown. Drain and chop.
3.In a large bowl, mix mayonnaise, ranch dressing mix, garlic powder, and garlic pepper. Stir in milk until smooth. Place bacon, tomato, black olives, pasta and cheese in bowl and toss to coat with dressing. Cover and chill at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. Toss with additional milk if the salad seems a little dry.

Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes

These are soo good! What's better than cheese, bacon, and ranch?! (For those of you who aren't fans of ranch dressing, at least give them a try. I've had people who didn't like ranch still eat these potatoes and love them!)

2 lbs small red potatoes
1/2 cup ranch dressing (I always use Hidden Valley)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 cup bacon bits (DO NOT use the crunchy kind. Use the real bacon bits. Hormel makes a good one that I love. The one with the black lid.)
Salt & pepper
I always use a little more than the above called for ingredients, so feel free to add extra for extra flavor!

Chop potatoes and put into a greased 13x9 baking dish
Add salt and pepper to taste
Add remaining ingredients and mix until well coated
Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes
Remove foil and bake an addition 5-10 minutes, until potatoes are tender

Summer Salad

Summer Salads (at least the way we make them in my family!) are a simple, delicious addition to any meal.

Basically, you take fresh veggies, add salt and pepper, then toss them in your choice of dressing, and allow it to sit for awhile before serving, so the veggies soak up all the flavor.
Typically, for our Summer Salads, we use
tomato
cucumber
green pepper
red onion or white onion

You can cut everything into strips, or just do a rough chop.
For the dressing, you can use Zesty Italian or Balsamic Vinaigrette.
I've also made my own Red Wine Vinaigrette that tasted great. You do 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. For example, 3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil to 1/4 cup red wine vinegar. Shake really well and pour over veggies.
Another yummy alternative is to use a water/white vinegar mixture. (This is where you would use the white onion as opposed to the red onion.) Use the same 3:1 ratio, and I also add 1/2 tsp to a full tsp of sugar. It cuts down on the strong taste from the vinegar.

Remember to let everything sit for awhile and give it a good stir just before serving!

Breakfast Potatoes

This is another one of those recipes that I sort of threw together and was happy with the end result! It's also another one where the ingredients are "to taste". But they're easy and everyone I've made them for loved them! I usually make these when we have company and I do a big brunch.

2 1/2 pounds Idaho or Russet potatoes (This is an approximation. I usually have a 5lb bag on hand, and I use about 1/2 the potatoes. Enough to fill an 11x13 baking dish.)
1/4 to 1/2 white onion
pepper
Lawry's seasoning salt
Mrs. Dash Table Blend Seasoning
garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350
Spray baking dish with Pam or other non-stick cooking spray
Chop potatoes and put in baking dish
Season potatoes with pepper, Mrs Dash, Lawry's & garlic powder. All these are to taste. If you like more or less of something, add more or less. I just liberally apply a coating to the potatoes
Stir potatoes so seasonings are evenly distributed
Chop onion into large pieces and layer on top of potatoes. I use these purely for flavor. When the potatoes are finished, I take the onions off and throw them away. You can keep them in and eat them if you wish. If you do, then I suggest cutting the onion into small strips and mixing it in with the potatoes.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.
Remove foil and allow to cook, uncovered, for an additional 3-5 minutes.
These are great on their own or dipped in ketchup!

Honey Mustard Potatoes

This recipe comes from Jaime C. I make them a lot and they are amazing!
You will notice that with some of the recipes I post on here (this is one of them), you kind of eyeball it with the ingredients or season to taste. I don't mean to be vague, but unless I found it on a website or got it from a friend, then I've either made it up or it's been passed down. Meaning the measurements aren't always exact. However, I'll never leave you to completely figure something out on your own. I'll guide you from my own experience. Besides, when cooking, you should learn to have fun and experiment! :) Without further ado, here are the Honey Mustard Potatoes...

Ingredients
about 2/1 pounds potatoes. (you can use red, idaho, russet, whatever you have on hand. I just cut enough potatoes to fill my rectangular baking dish.)
honey mustard dressing. (the only kind I use is Ken's Steakhouse Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce and Dressing.)
Mrs. Dash Table Seasoning
salt and pepper

Directions
Spray a rectangular baking dish with Pam or other non stick cooking spray.
Preheat oven to 350
Chop potatoes and place in baking dish
Season potatoes with salt, pepper, and Mrs. Dash. (There are no specifics on the amounts. Just give the potatoes a good dusting!)
Drizzle potatoes with honey mustard and mix just until coated.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
Check potatoes for doneness. Remove aluminum foil and continue to bake, uncovered, an extra 5 to 10 minutes.
When the potatoes are finished, remove from oven, drizzle with additional honey mustard (a good coating), stir and serve.

Cheesy Butter Noodles

I stole this recipe from my step-mom! It's easy & yummy.

Ingredients
1 bag egg noodles
1 stick butter (Use real butter, NOT margarine. It won't taste the same!)
chopped chives (You can use fresh, or dried. I keep some dried ones in my spice cabinet.)
grated parmesan romano cheese (Don't use the kind in the green Kraft container. While I love that kind, it doesn't work here! You can freshly grate it yourself or they sell the glass jars in any grocery store.)

Directions
Cook noodles according to package. Drain. Rinse for just a minute. You want them warm, not scalding. Set aside.
Melt your stick of butter over low heat. Once it's completely melted, add chives to taste. Allow the chives to cook in the butter for a minute or two.
Pour your butter mixture over the noodles and mix well.
Add parm romano to taste and mix well. We use a lot of cheese around here! :) If the noodles are too hot, the cheese will get clumpy.
I like to throw some freshly grated black pepper in there too.
Serve and enjoy!

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

This is another recipe from Emily B. The best part? You can pre-make it!

Prep: 25 min. Bake 40 min.

10 servings

3lbs potatoes (about 9 medium) peeled and cubed

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup butter, cubed

1/4 cup 2% milk

1 1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. pepper

6 bacon strips, chopped

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese

3 green onions, chopped

- Place potatoes in a Dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain; mash potatoes with cream cheese, sour cream and butter. stir in milk and seasonings.

- In a small skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towel; drain.

- Transfer potato mixture to a greased 13-in x 9-in baking dish; sprinkle with cheese, onions and bacon. cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

- Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350degrees for 40 to 50 minutes or until heated through.