Breakfast Corn Dogs

I made this recipe to use up left over breakfast sausages. We love the Isernios chicken sausages. These pancake corn dogs are wonderful. If you have little ones try these they will love them!

Ingredients
1 1/4c whole-wheat flour
1/4c cornmeal
1tbsp. brown sugar
2tsp. baking powder
1/2tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
11/2c buttermilk
1 egg
2doz small breakfast sausages
canola oil, for cooking
wooden coffee stirrers, Popsicle sticks or bamboo skewers

Method
Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl; add buttermilk, egg, and whisk until smooth. Let stand 5 minutes (batter will thicken). If it’s too thick to pour easily, thin with more buttermilk.
Cook the sausages and let them cool, then stick them on the wooden stirrers. In a wide, medium-large pot, heat a few inches of canola oil until hot but not smoking. Dip each sausage into the batter, holding it by the stick and rolling it around until well coated – dip into the oil and cook, turning as necessary, for a minute or until deep golden. Cook only two or three at a time, without crowding the pot, which could cause corn dog collisions and cause your oil to cool down. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately, with maple syrup.

Frozen Lemon Custard

My Grandma C Made the yummiest dessert ever. It is a Frozen lemon custard. It was a very special dessert. She didn't make it often, only for special times. It has a wonderful hint of lemon. Try it for the specialist occasion.

Ingredients
1 box Vanilla Wafers

½ on top ½ on bottom

3 eggs separated

½c Sugar

1 lime or lemon juiced and rind or zest

1c whipping cream

Method
Beat egg yolks until lemon color add sugar and lemon juice and rind. Cook in double boiler until thickened. Cool. In a clean bowl with clean whisk or beaters, whip egg whites until light and hold peaks. Fold custard in egg whites. Then separately whip cream until peaks and fold into custard mix.

Pour over ½ vanilla crumb and top with the rest of the vanilla wafers. Freeze until frozen. Cut into squares.

Cranberry

This recipe came from my mothers mother. My Grandma makes this cranberry mold for Turkey feast it is better then the basic cranberry. My grandmother uses fresh cranberries. I will try that the next time I make this dish. She also uses Queen Anne Cherries, but they are hard to find, so my mother substitutes them with Mandarin oranges. It is easy to make and should be made at least 1 day before your meal. It has been in our family for as long as I can remember, I make it every year for our Thanksgiving feast.  

Ingredients  

1 can whole berry cranberry

1 pkg raspberry jello

1 8oz pkg of cream cheese cubed

1/2c chopped pecans

1 can of Queen Anne cherries or Mandarin Oranges

Method

Heat cranberry on stove, add Mandarin orange or cherry juice and jello, cook for recommended time on box. Turn off heat and add remaining ingredients. Pour into a mold and refrigerate until firm and comes clean from the mold.  To remove from mold dip into warm water until loosened. place plate on top and turn over onto plate.

Peanut Butter Cereal Treats

I  recently made a cake for Starbucks. It was a big cake that I am proud to have accomplished.  Prior to making the cake I expearimented with baking medias in order to make the cake. I perfected a delectable treat, in my process. These are sure to disappear fast.

Ingredients

6c Rice Krispies

1 10.5oz bag mini marshmallows
¼c unsalted butter
1¼c creamy peanut butter

1 bag semisweet chocolate chips
1c peanut butter

Method
Melt butter and marshmallows in medium saucepan. Add peanut butter  and melt remove from heat and fold in cereal. Make sure the mixture is well coated and not soggy, if too wet add more cereal. Press into a greased Pyrex pan. Melt chocolate in a double boiler add peanut butter and spread on top of cereal bars. Cool until set.

Yellow Birthday Cake

I made this cake for a 3year old's birthday. It was fun. 3 layers...for 3 years. I used a simple yellow cake recipe that I found from Martha. I used my own buttercream recipe. The cake was perfect for layers, dense for stacking but moist enough to love

Ingredients

1c  unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/2c all-purpose flour

1/2tsp baking powder

1/2tsp baking soda

1tsp salt

1 1/2c sugar

2 large eggs

3 large egg yolks

2tsp pure vanilla extract

1c low-fat buttermilk

Method

Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour two 8-by-2-inch cake pans, tapping out excess flour.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.



In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in vanilla. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture;



mix just until combined.



Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake until cakes pull away from sides of pans, 32 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pans 10 minutes. Run a knife around edges of pans and invert cakes onto a wire rack. Let cool completely. Place one cake, bottom side up, on a cake stand. Using an offset-spatula or table knife, spread top with Buttercream. Top with remaining cake; frost top, then sides.

Brine your Bird

If you want the best Turkey do a brine. It will be the most moist and flavored to perfection. Not to mention you will have the best gravy ever. My German Grandmother made the best Thanksgiving ever. I believe the turkey and gravy were so amazing because of the brine. I buy a fresh bird, not frozen, start your brine the night before the turkey will cook. I put the turkey and brine in the garage in a clean cooler. Its cold enough to keep your bird at the right temperature. I also do not stuff the bird with stuffing I use aromatics.

Brine

1 turkey

1cup kosher salt

1/2cup light brown sugar

1 gallon stock

1tbsp black peppercorns

1 gallon heavily iced water

Aromatics
1 cinnamon stick

1c water

4 sprigs rosemary

6 leaves sage

1 apple quartered
1 onion quartered

Method

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, with ice, The night before you'd like to eat: Combine the brine, water and ice in COOLER Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine. Place the bird on roasting rack upside down inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 350. Halfway through flip the turkey over and insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast. Add Turkey stock to the bottom of the pan. Set the thermometer alarm to 161° degrees. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil  for 15 minutes before carving.

Better than your Mama's MeatLoaf

Meatloaf is one of those meals that don't sound to great, too many bad experiences with the mystery meat. I love my mothers meatloaf. Its easy and very good. I serve the meatloaf with twice baked potatoes or a garlic mash. You cant go wrong with this meatloaf.

2 lbs of 80/20 Hamburger
Onion Chopped
1 box Stouffer's stuffing
2 eggs
5 strips of bacon

Knead together all ingredients except bacon, Mold into a loaf pan. Lay strips of bacon on top of the meatloaf. Bake at 350° until meat thermometer reads 155°. Take out drain off fat. Slice and serve.