Blue Cheese-Honey Biscuits with Honey Butter

So apparently blue cheese & honey is like this amazing combination, and we had no idea. So we decided to try it. Normally you get toasted bread and spread on blue cheese, then drizzle honey on top, but we decided to make blue-cheese honey biscuits with some honey butter for a breakfast item. It turned out really well! We're enjoying them right now, and hopefully soon you will too!

Blue Cheese-Honey Biscuits with Honey Butter

For the Biscuits:

2 ¼C AP Flour

2 ½t Baking Powder

1T Honey

¾t Baking Soda

1t Salt

6T Butter, Chilled & Cut into Cubes

1 ½C Blue Cheese, Crumbled

1C Buttermilk

For the Honey Butter:

1 Stick Butter, Softened

1T + 1t Honey

¼t Vanilla

Dash of Cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 450 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with Pam.

2. To make the biscuits, start off by blending the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cubed butter in a food processor until it is crumbly. Dump this mixture into a bowl and pour in the buttermilk, honey, and blue cheese. Mix until incorporated, but do not over-mix because it will make your biscuits tough. Scoop this dough with a spoon (or I used an ice cream scoop) onto the lined baking sheet. This recipe should make about 12 biscuits.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, rotating halfway through.

4. While the biscuits are baking, make the honey butter. Put the softened butter, honey, vanilla, and cinnamon in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer, so the butter becomes light and fluffy. Serve this on the side for those who want a sweeter biscuit.

5. Serve the biscuits immediately with the honey butter, so it gets nice & melted!

source: drop biscuits

Chicken Piccata with Balsamic Broccoli

Hello all! I've been a little lazy on the cooking this weekend, but I have a recipe for you tonight! We decided we wanted something Italian, but couldn't really put our finger on what we wanted to make. And Clayton has never really had Chicken Piccata, so we figured that would be a good choice. I served our Chicken Piccata with Balsamic Broccoli and whole wheat pasta. I hope you enjoy :)

Chicken Piccata with Balsamic Broccoli & Whole Wheat Pasta

For the Balsamic Broccoli:

½ Bag Broccoli, Steamed

½C Balsamic Vinegar

½C Honey

½C Brown Sugar

¼C Honey

1T Olive Oil

For the Chicken Cutlets:

4 Chicken Cutlets

Salt & Pepper

½C AP Flour

1 Egg

¼C Milk

1C Italian Bread Crumbs

1T Olive Oil

1T Butter

For the Piccata Sauce:

1C White Wine

¼C Lemon Juice

1t Garlic, Chopped

1T Pesto

1t Honey

½C Chicken Stock

1t Corn Starch

1 3oz Jar of Capers, Drained

2T Butter

Salt & Pepper

Directions:
1. To make the balsamic glaze, combine the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, honey, and soy sauce in a pot. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15-20 minutes, while whisking constantly. Let the mixture cool before cooking with it.
2. In a sauté pan, drizzle in the oil and cook the steamed broccoli on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Now, toss the broccoli with some of the balsamic glaze (this just depends on how sweet you want it).
3. Preheat the oven to 400 and put a rack on a baking sheet (so the chicken can drain). To make the chicken cutlets, season the cutlets with salt and pepper, then dredge them in the flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs. In a sauté pan, melt the butter and olive oil together. Fry the breaded chicken cutlets at high heat for a couple minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Place the fried chicken cutlets on the rack and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes (or keep them warm while you are making the sauce).
4. In the same sauté pan, pour in the white wine and lemon juice. Whisk in the chopped garlic, pesto, and honey. Let the mixture come to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken stock and cornstarch to make a slurry. Slowly whisk the slurry into the wine. Bring it back to a boil for about 2 minutes. Add the capers and a dash of salt and pepper, to taste. Lastly, whisk in the butter until it is melted and the sauce is thick and glossy.
5. Drizzle the Piccata sauce on top of the chicken and serve with the balsamic broccoli and pasta and serve!

White Chocolate-Banana Bread French Toast with Salted-Caramel Sauce & Caramelized Bananas

So, it feels like it's been forever since I last posted... stupid school work! Anyway we bought a bunch of bananas yesterday, and we weren't quite sure what we wanted to make with it. Eventually we decided to make banana bread, but I added some white chocolate chips to make it extra yummy! So we saved a couple slices and let them become stale overnight for some banana bread french toast for this morning. We topped it with some of my left over salted-caramel sauce, caramelized bananas, and fresh whipped cream. It was really good and super decadent! I hope you enjoy :)

White Chocolate-Banana Bread French Toast 
with Salted-Caramel Sauce & Caramelized Bananas

For the White Chocolate-Banana Bread:

1C + 2/3C AP Flour

1t Baking Soda

¼t Cinnamon

½t Salt

1C + 2T Sugar

2 Eggs

½C Vegetable Oil

3 ½ Ripe Bananas, Mashed

2T Sour Cream

1t Vanilla

1C White Chocolate Chips

For the Batter:

3 Eggs

¾C Milk

½t Vanilla

½t Salt

¼t Cinnamon

1t Honey

For the Salted-Caramel Bananas:

1 Ripe Banana, Sliced into Rounds

½C Salted Caramel Sauce*

2T Butter

For the French Toast:

4 Slices White Chocolate-Banana Bread, Thick Cut

French Toast Batter

½C Salted-Caramel Bananas

1 Spoon Fresh Whipped Cream

Butter, For Frying

Directions:
1. To make the Banana Bread: First, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, sugar, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and sugar, until light and fluffy. Then, beat in the sour cream and vanilla. Add the flour mixture slowly until incorporated. Next drizzle in the vegetable oil. In a small bowl, mash the bananas until it is a mushy. Fold in the mashed bananas into the other mixture, followed by folding in the white chocolate chips. Line a pan with tin foil and spray with Pam. Bake at 350 for about an hour, depending on the heat of your oven.  Let the bread cool completely before cutting. Slice into thick slices (to your liking) and place on a baking sheet to let the bread become stale overnight.
2. The next morning, retrieve your stale banana bread slices. Make your batter for the French toast by whisking together the eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and honey. Dip the slices of banana bread in the batter, making sure they are coated and let soak for about 5 minutes.
3. Bring a sauté pan up to medium-high heat with about a tablespoon of butter for each slice in the pan.  Fry the slices of bread in the butter, about 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Once all of the slices have been browned, put them on a baking sheet and keep them warm in an oven (about 300).
4. Meanwhile, make the caramel sauce.  In the same sauté pan, fry the banana rounds until golden brown. Add the salted-caramel sauce to caramelized bananas, and cook until melted.
5. Now you need to assemble the French toast. Start off by drizzling the salted-caramel sauce on the plate, then stack one slice of toast, drizzle more sauce, another slice, and top with more sauce and the caramelized bananas. I like to top mine off with some fresh, whipped cream, but it’s really up to you on how you serve it.
6. Serve immediately and enjoy!
*I still had some of the salted-caramel sauce left over, so we decided to use that instead of maple syrup. But if you want to top it with something else, go for it!

source: banana bread. salted caramel

Maple Glazed-Bacon Donuts

For breakfast this morning, we were really wanting some donuts. And I remember as a child, my mom used to make donuts out of a can of biscuits (I know I find it so bizarre). Then just this week, Paula Deen was on the Food Network doing the exact same thing. My mom used to just shake the donuts in powdered sugar, and Paula did a chocolate glaze. We wanted something a little different then plain ole' donuts, so we made maple glazed donuts with bacon on top. They were really good, a little sweet & a little salty. I hope you like enjoy them :)

Maple Glazed-Bacon Donuts 

For the Maple Glaze:

1 ¼C Powdered Sugar

½C Maple Syrup

1t Vanilla

For the Donuts:

1 Can Biscuits

4 Strips Bacon, Cubed & Cooked

1Q Peanut Oil

Directions:
1. Preheat the oil in your deep fryer to 350.
2. To make the Maple Glaze, whisk together powered sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Set aside for the donuts.
3.Using the biscuits, find a cookie a cutter to cut out a circle from the inside of a biscuit. Continue until all the biscuits look like donut rings. Fry the donuts for 2-3 minutes, flipping halfway. The donuts should be golden brown on each side and not doughy in the inside.
4. Let the donuts cool and then dip them in the glaze, then quickly add the cooked bacon, so that it will stick to the glaze.
5. Serve immediately!

Southern Burgers

We couldn't really decide what we wanted for dinner tonight, but I happened to have the homemade pimento cheese spread and vidalia-bacon mayo still in the refrigerator, so a burger instantly came to mind. We topped the burger with the pimento cheese and some candied bacon, while also spreading some of the vidalia-bacon mayo on each of the buns. It turned out fabulous! Yummmmm, I love me some southern food, and hopefully you will too! Enjoy :)

Southern Burger with Pimento Cheese & Candied Bacon 

For the Candied Bacon:

6 Strips of Bacon, Thick Cut

½C Brown Sugar

¼t Garlic Salt

Pinch of Cinnamon

½t Cajun Seasoning

½t Paprika

½t Ground Mustard

For the Burgers:

1 Burger Bun, Toasted

Pimento Cheese Spread*

Vidalia-Bacon Mayo*

3 Strips Candied Bacon

1 Ground Beef Burger Patty (80/20)

Salt & Pepper

Vegetable Oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 and line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with Pam. To make the candied bacon, mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large plastic bag, then put the slices of bacon in the bag, and shake until the bacon is completely covered with the seasonings. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes on each side or until the bacon is crispy. Set the candied bacon aside until the burger is ready to be assembled.

2. With the ground beef, form a burger patty big enough for your burger bun. Once formed, sprinkle each side with salt and pepper and cook on high heat in a sauté pan with a little bit of oil. Brown each side for about 2 minutes and put on a baking sheet. Spoon some pimento cheese on top of the burger and broil for 2 minutes.

3. Get your toasted burger bun and spread with the Vidalia-bacon mayo on each side. Next, place the burger with the melted pimento cheese down then top with the candied bacon and top bun.
4. Serve immediately with some French fries.
*These recipes I posted earlier on in the blog and I had extra around to put on the burger. Look back if you would like those recipes.

Redneck Tacos with Creamy Coleslaw

For the next recipe today, we were really in the mood for some barbecue & some tacos. I know a really random combination to want. So we decided to combine both of them and make some southern tacos. But instead of a flour tortilla, I wanted to put a southern hoecake (or pretty much a cornbread pancake). It's unique, but doesn't taste too weird since all of those flavors are often served together at a restaurant. We really liked them, and I hope you do too! Enjoy :)

Redneck Tacos with Creamy Coleslaw & BBQ Sauce

For the Coleslaw:

3C Coleslaw Mix

1 Green Onion, Chopped

2T Feta Cheese, Crumbled

¼C Mayo

¼C Sour Cream

1t Yellow Mustard

1t White Vinegar

1t Sugar

1t Lemon Juice

Salt & Pepper

For the Hoecakes:

1C Self-Rising Flour

1C Self-Rising Cornmeal (from a mix)

2 Eggs, Beaten

1T Sugar

¾C Buttermilk

1/3C + 1T Water

¼C Vegetable Oil

Butter, For Frying

For the Redneck Tacos:

1C Pulled Pork

1C Creamy Coleslaw

Barbecue Sauce, For Drizzling 

Directions:
1. First, make the coleslaw. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mayo, sour cream, mustard, sugar, vinegar, lemon, salt, and pepper. Toss this mixture with the coleslaw mix, green onions, and feta cheese. Set aside until the tacos are ready to be assembled.
2. Next, mix the hoecakes. Combine all ingredients together except for the butter. Once it’s a cohesive batter, heat up a skillet to medium-high heat and melt some butter for frying. Fry each hoecake until brown and crispy, just a few minutes on each side. Set these hoecakes and aside so that you can begin to assemble.
3. To assemble, place a hoecake flat on the plate, top with some of the pulled pork, followed by the creamy coleslaw, and then drizzle with some barbecue sauce.
4. Serve immediately with some chips or baked beans.
*Since the recipe can be either complicated or easy to make, it just depends on how much cooking you want to do. You can easily buy the coleslaw, pulled pork, and barbecue sauce. Or if you have certain recipes that you like that are homemade you can easily substitute them to fit your taste.

source: coleslaw

Baked Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Maple Butter

So when we moved to Savannah a couple weeks ago, we didn't really know anyone, but we ended up meeting the girl that lives above us! And her sweet mother bought us this delicious blueberry cobbler bread from a bakery back where she lives. So we couldn't really decide what we wanted to do with it, I mean it was delicious enough to eat on its own, and then we thought that it would be awesome as french toast. We ended up making it into a baked french toast casserole and it turned out so good! We topped ours with some homemade maple butter and fresh whipped cream. But also, don't feel obligated to use blueberry bread, you could substitute any kind of bread you wish or even add chocolate chips, fresh fruit, or nuts. Just get creative! Enjoy :)

Baked Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Maple Butter & Whipped Cream

For the Bread:

1 Loaf (or 24 oz) of Blueberry Bread, Cubed & Dried

2t Brown Sugar

1T Butter, Cubed

For the Batter:

4 Large Eggs

1C Half & Half

½C Whole Milk

1T Sugar

½t Vanilla

¼t Cinnamon

¼t Salt

1t Brown Sugar

For the Maple Butter:

½C Maple Syrup

4T Butter 

Directions:
1. For the bread, you first need to cut the loaf of bread into cubes. Place these cubes onto a baking sheet and let them become stale overnight. Once these cubes are stale, grease a baking dish and stuff them into the dish and press down as hard as possible, so it’s fully packed.
2. Next, you have to make the batter to soak the stale bread cubes. In a medium mixing bowl, add the eggs, half & half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, and brown sugar. Using the immersion blender, blend the mixture until it’s completely creamy. You can use an immersion blender or a whisk will work just fine. Pour the batter over the bread cubes and press down so that the batter soaks into all of the cubes on top.
3. Cover the dishes with tin foil and let it sit over night.
4.The next morning, preheat the oven to 350. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on your oven and what size baking dish you used. We used to individual baking ramekins, but you could easily do this is a large pan as well.
5. Serve hot with whipped cream, maple syrup, or maple butter.

source: baked french toast casserole