Country Breakfast Pizza

     

     After going back and reading all of my old posts, I've decided to format them a little differently. Unlike before I’ll list out both the ingredients and the steps instead of just including all of them in paragraph form. I’ll still provide a link to a recipe if applicable.

     The first post back from the two and a half year hiatus is for Country Breakfast Pizzas. Christine and I are always looking for new recipes to try and if they’re quick to make, all the better. She stumbled upon Pillsbury’s website and found a slew of recipes that we’ll be trying over the next couple months. One that I found interesting was ham and egg breakfast pizzas made with flaky biscuits as a base. After reading a few reviews someone suggested instead of making the mayo and mustard sauce, use country gravy. And instead of the ham, use sausage. I know, how healthy. We both decided they sounded better with the gravy and sausage. Because we radically changed the recipe, I’ll link you to it but please follow the instructions that I used because they’re a bit different. Instead of buying regular sausage and frying it up, I bought Jimmy Dean’s Turkey sausage crumbles because they’re somewhat healthier than the former option. Instead of making the gravy from scratch, to save time I opted to buy a packet of McCormick’s sausage gravy mix.

4 Eggs

1 Package Refrigerated Flaky Biscuits

1 Packet McCormick Sausage or Country Gravy

½ Package of Jimmy Dean’s Turkey Sausage Crumbles

4 oz Italian blend shredded cheese

4 oz Sharp cheddar shredded cheese

Pinches of salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic salt

1. While preheating the oven to 425 degrees, flatten biscuits to a ¼ or ½ inch thickness. Once preheated place the biscuits on a greased baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.
2. Crack all four eggs into a small bowl, season with salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic salt. Beat and then pour the eggs into a skillet over medium heat. Stir them lightly until they start to firm up but leave them slightly runny. Add the sausage crumbles and continue stirring lightly for 2 – 3 minutes until eggs are cooked thoroughly.
3. Make gravy according to directions on the packet, set aside. (I used the creamier version listed)
4. Take the biscuits out of the oven and check for doneness. Spread the gravy over each biscuit like you would pizza sauce on dough. Top with egg and sausage mixture and then with both cheeses.
5. Put under the broiler on high until the cheeses melt and then serve immediately.

     I don’t know if I didn't flatten the biscuits enough but they did start to rise considerably. So before topping them with the gravy and such, I made sure they were cooked through and then flattened them with a spatula. When I make these again I might use a rolling pin and get them really thin and just adjust the baking time. I think they turned out really well, but they are filling. The package of biscuits we bought had 8 in it so we ended up with 8 small pizzas. We both had three but couldn't eat the last two. The possibilities of these are endless because, after all, they are pizza. So let your imagination run wild and see what you can come up with. I’d love to hear what you've tried.

Rating: Yummy - Can't wait to try out different versions of these.

Sausage, Mushroom, & Pepper Pizza

     I like making pizza at home because you can do anything you want and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg for tons of topping. I have used raw pizza dough in the past but when loading up a pizza with a lot of toppings it is hard to cook the dough all the way through without burning the toppings. We decided to use a Baboli pizza crust which he hadn’t tried before but the fact that it was somewhat cooked already peaked out interest. We bought fresh meat and produce to make one of out favorite pizzas; peppers, onions, and sausage. Here is the recipe we came up with:

1 Baboli pizza crust

½ jar pizza sauce

1 8oz bag Mozzarella cheese

¾ pound sweet sausage, crumbled

1 green pepper, sliced thin

1 8oz package mushrooms, chopped

½ teaspoon garlic

Olive oil for sautéing

     Start off by browning the sausage in a pan until it is fully cooked through and crumbled. Put the sausage in a small bowl, leaving some of the fat in the pan. Add a little bit of olive oil and the garlic into the pan and let it cook for about a minute or so. At this point, turn the oven on to 450 degrees. I don’t like raw vegetables on my pizza so this next step works if you like them soft. Put both the peppers and the mushrooms into the pan and mix them until everything is coated with the oil. Once everything has softened up, pour everything into a strainer and let it drain for a minute or two just to get most of the oil and fat off. The last steps are to put the sauce, cheese, and toppings on before throwing it all in the oven. There is no set way of putting them on so just spread everything out evenly. This should cook for about 12 – 15 minutes but watch for the cheese to be fully melted and you’ll know it is done.

     There is no way the weight from the toppings would let raw dough cook all the way through so it was good that we used a precooked crust. I would have liked a more bready crust but the amount of toppings made up for that. Because the toppings layer was so thick, I used a knife and fork to eat most of mine. The sausage was from Spera’s and had a ton of flavor from the spices that they add when they grind it. Sautéing the peppers and mushrooms added another dimension that I don’t normally get from pizza shop pizza. The garlic and olive oil gave them a sweet taste that went well with they semi-spicy sausage. My favorite part of it all I think was the sauce which is just Wegmans brand pizza sauce. I’m not sure what it is about the sauce but I could eat it with a spoon, it is that good. Overall not a bad attempt at pizza but the crust needs some work.

Rating: Yummy – Who doesn’t like homemade pizza?

Mom's Sauce & Baked Penne

     I have never made homemade tomato sauce before for a couple of reasons: 1) I’m not a huge red sauce fan despite having Italian in me 2) Everyone I know who makes sauce says it is a pain to make. We were having guests over so I decided to use my mom’s sauce recipe to make baked penne with. I’m not sure if my mom wants everyone in the world to have her recipe so I won’t post the exact measurements needed to duplicate it. It is very important that you do not use any metal utensils or pots when making this sauce as the acidity of the tomatoes in it will take on a metallic taste if you do. I used a wooden spoon to stir with and a plastic ladle to scoop the sauce out. I don’t have a Dutch oven so I substituted my large crock pot in its place.

     You need to render some of the fat from the sausage which is near impossible to do in a crock pot because it won’t get hot enough. Since there was no tomatoes used in this step, I sautéed the sausage with olive oil in a pan. Cook the sausage for about 10 minutes and then remove it from the pan. Since I was using a pan I had to modify the next step slightly, I added garlic to the drippings and sautéed that for a few minutes. Next, I added the drippings and garlic from the pan into the crock pot and mixed them with tomato paste. I had plugged the crock pot in and put it on high so it was hot enough to do the rest of the cooking needed. Once the mixture of drippings, garlic, and tomato paste turned a few shades darker, I added tomato puree, crushed tomatoes, and some water. I stirred everything up and dropped in the sausage links. The following seasonings are sprinkled on top: oregano, basil, parsley, salt, celery seed, and sugar. Stir the seasonings into the sauce until completely mixed with the tomatoes. If using a Dutch oven, turn the heat down to low and allow this to simmer for 3-4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Since I was using the crock pot, I left it on high and just kept an eye on it.

     About 30 minutes before adding the sauce to the pasta, I took all the sausage links out and chopped them down into small pieces and mixed it all back into the sauce. Thinking we were having 6 people total, I boiled 2 pounds of pasta in a large pot. Once the pasta was done, I ladled the sauce over it and mixed until it was all covered. As a final step I sprinkled mozzarella cheese over the pan of pasta and stuck it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. Once the cheese began to bubble and turn a golden brown in spots, I pulled it out and served it up.

     Everyone enjoyed the penne and I think the sauce had a lot to do with it. Like I said before, I’m not a huge fan of red sauce but it was good and I’m glad I took the time to make it from scratch. The sauce was very light and smooth which is nice for those of you who don’t like the chucky sauce most restaurants serve. Everyone had seconds so there was little left over and what was left was sent home with people and I’m having the last of it for lunch today.

Rating: Yummy - I know I'll make this again but it isn't a "must".

Fluffy French Toast

Click Here For The Recipe

     I have made this recipe quite a few times but I keep finding ways to make it better so I have decided to share. First off, the most important ingredient in this recipe is the bread. You can use sandwich bread but it will not be as good as it can be. I have found that using a soft Italian bread with a golden crust has turned out the best results. Do not use a bread with a floury crust because it will absorb too much of the liquid you dip it in. I suggest buying a loaf that is not pre-sliced and cutting it yourself at home so you can cut the slices thick.

     When preparing the mixture follow the recipe exactly as stated. The first step is very important. You must whisk the flour and milk first until well mixed. If you just put all the ingredients in the bowl, the flour will not mix in correctly. The only changes I made to the recipe are for personal preference. I add one additional egg yolk because I like the toast to look a bit more yellow. Also, I add about a quarter to a half a teaspoon more cinnamon for taste.

     I use a large 13" skillet so I can make four slices at a time. That way you aren't waiting for the other slices to cook while the ones you have already made get cold.

Rating: Delectable - This is the only french toast recipe I will use.