bacon and cheese croissants

last night i didn't sleep at ALL. for the past few days my neck & back have been KILLING ME! complements to my 72 metal screws in my back. (long story for another day). but you know what? i can't complain. because without these 4 metal rods, my 72 screws and shaved hip i  probably wouldn't be here today blogging with you. so with that being said GOD IS GOOD and i'm so grateful that i KNOW him! today is memorial day! its the day that we give thanks & pay our respect to all of the men and woman who gave their lives so that we can continue to live free. so because i am here today alive and well. i decided to put my complaining aside try something new for breakfast.bacon and cheese croissants! so simple and so good!

its made with just 5 ingredients :

1 sheet of puff pastry (cut into 6 rectangles)

1 egg

6 slices of bacon (cooked and cut into pieces)

1/2 block of good quality pepper jack cheese

1/4 cup of apricot or orange preserves

pre heat your oven to 350. line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. on the stove, cut up bacon into bite size pieces and cook until crisp (drain on a paper towel) . then cut 6 very thick slices of pepper jack cheese. 

to assemble:

cut puff pastry sheet into 6 rectangles. place cheese and bacon onto the egde of the dough and roll it over until you get a little croissant. repeat for the following 5. and then brush the tops with the egg.

bake until golden brown 20-25 minutes. 

when its done put 1/4 cup of preserves in the microwave for 25 sec until melted. brush on top of croissants. serve immediately with a side of eggs! 

the sweet of the preserves, spicy from the cheese, and salt from the bacon is an out of this world combination! i promise you will love it :) 

a rustic bridal shower.

i love cake! it's probably my favorite food!but to be totally honest im only a fan of certain types of cakes. i love old fashion pound cakes, rum cakes, bundt cakes , sweet breads. basically i like a hearty cake. not so much that you have to chew it forever or its dry. but i like it to be dense with some weight to it. there is nothing better than eating a thick slice of warm cake with some ice cream yummmmm! today i made this cake for a bridal shower & im so happy with the outcome. carrot cake with a coconut cream cheese frosting! sometimes simplicity is best.

easy beef wellington

i adore cooking for banquets. i swear its like the food just taste better. and lets not talk about all of the leftover food i get to take home ;) well one of the most requested things on the menu is beef wellington. which is basically a roast beef baked inside of a puff pastry. it's ridiculously easy to make and comes off super fancy. the only down fall is the roast is pretty expensive. so i found a way to enjoy all of the goodness of beef wellington with out the beef wellington price. and that's to use ground beef in place of a roast. and let me just tell you it takes little to no effort. and it taste delicious! i don't get caught up by the name . if you can form a meat loaf and roll a Pillsbury crescent roll. you can definitely handle this! enjoy!

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6):

1 medium onion
1 carrot
1 stick of celery
1 potato
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1.5lbs ground beef
salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 sheet puff pastry

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Peel and chop the onion, carrot, celery and potato into cubes.

Place all vegetables and rosemary leaves into a frying pan with olive oil. Fry and stir for about 8 minutes or until vegetables soften and color.

Put vegetables into large bowl to cool completely.

Add the ground beef to the bowl with salt, pepper, dried parsley and garlic powder. then and 1 egg. mix with hands to form a roll .

Place mince mix along one long side of pastry sheet, in sausage shape.

Brush edges of pastry with egg wash and roll pastry to cover the beef completely. Squeeze ends together. sprinkle with sea salt, and fresh pepper 

Put onto baking tray, brush with remaining egg. Bake for an hour until golden. Slice and serve with gravy.

the best thing i ever ate : parmesan baked eggs!

have any of you ever see that show that comes on the food network ? "the best thing i ever ate?" i love that show! well the first time i saw it i was wondering how they were going to keep it going? i mean how could a celebrity chef just pick "one thing??" so eventually it became the best thing i ever ate: sweet, savory yada yada yada. WELL this my friends is the best thing i ever ate Eggs! i have a love hate relationship with eggs. since i am a SAHM i make breakfast every single morning. which is great to some but sucks for me (the cook) because i feel like there is only so many things you can do at breakfast time before it becomes routine and dare i say "boring". its always bacon,eggs and something. i started to hate eggs so much so i stooped eating them all together. because i bake/cook so much i probably go through 3 dozen eggs a week! (just for my family) that's a lot of damn eggs! i know your probably asking whats the point of all that back story? well one random morning a few years back i was scrolling through pintrest and  found a recipe for these parmesean baked eggs. it sounded good and easy enough so i made it. and then it happened, i took a bite. one bite was all it took. for me to be in complete shock. and disbelief. i couldn't talk, i had to remind myself to breathe and i just sat there. seriously i sat still for about 3 minutes. and i think time actually stood still. i couldn't even muster up the strength for one word. not one! i was so lost in food paradise i thought i had died. after i collected my thoughts i had to take another bite to make sure of what had just happened to me was real. and im telling you the second bite was even better than the first. i sat there for a total of 6 minutes eating without stopping. and as i went back for another bite i came to the horrible realization that there was no more. it was done. i had just finished eating the best thing i ever ate. immediately i called corey (at work) and tired to explain to him over the phone what had just happened. and of course in regualr corey fashion he just didn't get it (to him food is just food) so i made it for dinner (he loved it) and for breakfast everyday for the whole week! im not going to lie, eventually i did too get tired of it but now i make it about once a month as a special treat. serve it with a toasted croissant or toasted buttered french bread, a few pieces of bacon. and im telling you. its magic! 

INGREDIENTS

• ½ tablespoon butter
• ½ teaspoon oil
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
• ½ tablespoon fresh thyme, minced
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 6 eggs
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small saucepan, heat butter and oil. Add shallot and saute until soft and fragrant, 3-5 minutes. Add herbs and salt; remove from heat and stir to combine. The mixture should be somewhat coarse and just a little buttery.
2. Preheat the oven to 375. Place a small pat of butter (about 1 teaspoon) in the bottom of each of 3 ramekins. Place in oven until butter is melted.
3. Remove ramekins from oven, add 1 teaspoon of cream to each, and crack 2 eggs into each ramekin without breaking the yolk. Sprinkle the herb mixture over the top of each ramekin and return to the oven. Bake for about 7 minutes.
4. Turn up the heat to the broil setting and let the eggs broil for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from oven when egg whites are just set and yolks are still soft. Let stand for 3-5 minutes before serving. Season with salt and pepper.

NOTES

I found the timing of this to be really important - down to the minute. The eggs might look like they aren't done if they are runny on top, but that can just be the cream rising to the top of the ramekin. If you cook these too long, the yolks get hard and they aren't as good. Also, if you want the cheese to be melted on top, add the cheese before putting the ramekins in the oven. I didn't do this because it made it trickier to see if the eggs were done or not.   

s'mores cupcakes with graham cracker crust and toasted marshmallow butter cream!

i love s'mores ! something about them just make me feel like a kid (it puts me in the happiest of places) mentally and physically . and if your a food lover like me, there is such a place! certain foods just bring me back to memories and places i've been. its a great feeling! and let me tell you that's what these cupcakes do to me. the other day when i posed about those banana cupcakes (still to this day, the best cupcake i EVER ate) besides this one ;) lol i had left over marshmallow buttercream. it was so good i could't throw it away. so for the past few days i've been sitting here thinking what on earth could i use it on that would be just as good if not better than those? and folks this morning after breakfast it finally hit me. s'mores cupcakes !! i mean why didn't i think of this before? all i did was make a graham cracker crust as you would for a pie, then fill it with the BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE recipe i EVER made and topped it with this toasted marshmallow buttercream! my mind has officially been blown!

and really really quick let me talk you about these chocolate cupcakes. the recipe that i used for these is old and true and NEVER disappoints. chocolate cake is one of those things that you either love or really hate. i used to be on the fence for this one because i always found that there was just nothing that special about it; it always seemed dry and not flavorful. WELL LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING! i was WRONG! and you were too if you have never tried this chocolate cake recipe. there are so a many little secrets that make this cake so special. today was the first day that i ever tried it in cupcakes and it is just as good if not even better!!  if your not in the mood for these cupcakes (which i don't see why you wouldn't) or you just want to make a regular choclate cake. please try this one out. i promise you will like it . i will also attach my chocolate buttercream frosting too !!


chocolate cupcakes or cake :

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 cup milk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

1. Preheat oven to 350  Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.
2. For the cake:
3. Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
4. Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter. Beat on high speed for about 1 minute to add air to the batter.
5. Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.

Toasted Marshmallow Frosting:

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 10 oz regular sized marshmallows (about ½ bag of large marshmallows)

Toasted Marshmallow Buttercream:

1. Place room temperature butter in your stand mixer and mix until light and fluffy, about a minute or two. Stop and scrape down the bowl and then slowly add in powdered sugar and salt, then mix in heavy cream and vanilla.
2. Now, toast the marshmallows in the oven. Set your broiler 
3. Then prep a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper and lay marshmallow down in a single layer.
4. Toast these for about 5 minutes, watching constantly, or until they're golden brown and melty! You may need more or less time depending on the placement of your oven racks - mine was just in the middle. Immediately scrape the toasted marshmallows into the mixer and beat until fluffy.
5. Set aside. The frosting won't be thick enough to frost the cupcakes yet. That's why I make the frosting first, so it has a chance to set while you make and cool the cupcakes.

Graham cracker crust: 

10 graham crackers

1 stick of butter 

in your food processor, pulse the butter and graham crackers until blended. in your cupcake liner, press 1 table spoon of graham cracker into the bottom of each cup. top with batter and bake for 18-20 minutes or until tooth pick comes out clean. wait for them to cool and top with marshmallow butter cream! 

****Chocolate Buttercream:

• 1½ cups butter (3 sticks), softened
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 5 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ½ cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon espresso powder

Beat the butter for 2-3 minutes. slowly add in cocoa powder, sugar, milk, vanilla  and espresso powder. (mix the espresso powder into the milk) 

butter biscuits & sausage gravy!

confession: i cannot make biscuits to save my life. seriously i suck at making biscuits, they always come out perfectly golden brown and raw in the middle , hard as rocks or just burnt. why is this such a big deal? well because i freaking LOVE biscuits !! something about them get me every time. but not just any old biscuit. no, it has to be tall, fluffy, with a somewhat crunchy top and a buttery inside . and these my friends is what im talking about:

these biscuits are so buttery so flaky, so perfect, you could serve them to Jesus himself! lol ok maybe i took it a tad to far. so scratch that last line, i will just go with the president. yeah, you could serve these to the president! call me crazy (its okay because i am) but i could eat these every day for breakfast, snack, brunch, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, and snack, snack and snack again! don't believe me? go make it! there is no way to mess these up. ever ! its fool proof!

what you need:
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 3/4 cups of butter milk
2 tsp of salt
4 tsp of sugar
4 tsp of baking powder

1 stick of butter melted
 8-inch square baking dish

what to do:
pre-heat your oven to 450. in a bowl melt a stick of butter and put it aside. in a separate bowl combine all other ingredients until just combined (with a spoon). take your melted butter and pour in your baking dish (it should fill the entire bottom) then spoon on top the dough (it gets messy) butter will also start coming up the sides (that's okay too) once you spread the dough evenly over the butter cut out 9 squares with a knife (just as you would marbling a cake) this will make it easier to cut the biscuit once its done cooking. once your done cutting lines for your biscuits bake for 20-25 minutes and your done! eat with honey, butter, jam, or in this case today, its biscuits and gravy! enjoy :)


Sausage Gravy:

• 1 pound Breakfast Sausage, Hot Or Mild
• 1/3 cup All-purpose Flour
• 4 cups Whole Milk
• 1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
• 2 teaspoons Black Pepper, More To Taste

With your finger, tear small pieces of sausage and add them in a single layer to a large heavy skillet. Brown the sausage over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Sprinkle on half the flour and stir so that the sausage soaks it all up, then add a little more until just before the sausage looks too dry. Stir it around and cook it for another minute or so, then pour in the milk, stirring constantly.

Cook the gravy, stirring frequently, until it thickens. (This may take a good 10-12 minutes.) Sprinkle in the seasoned salt and pepper and continue cooking until very thick and luscious. If it gets too thick too soon, just splash in 1/2 cup of milk or more if needed. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Spoon sausage gravy over warm biscuits and serve immediately!

peach tea!

i adore sweet tea. its the natural southerner in me. as a child, i would spend my summers in north carolina with my dads family in a small little town called new bern. and let me tell you the two things i looked forward to (other than seeing family) was my aunt toni's sweet tea and biscuits! i swear it was my heaven on earth! but sadly after my grandmas passing everyone kind of scattered and moved around and according to my aunt, she hardly makes biscuits and tea anymore. so i had to learn how to make it and although it could never be as good as her's its really quite wonderful! and it brings me back every time <3




1 cup of water
1 can of peaches in heavy syrup
3/4 cup of sugar
5 tea bags

in a sauce pan bring 5 tea bags to a boil. once boiling for a minute or so, turn off heat and cover for 5 -10 minutes. mean time fill a pitcher (mines only holds about 5 cups) with cold water and set aside. back to the stove take out tea bags and add sugar to the tea and mix until the sugar is dissolved. depending on how much peach flavoring you like (that's how much syrup you pour in) i also like to add in some of the peaches as well. mix it all together, and if the weather allows sit on your porch with a nice book and enjoy over ice :)