Lisa's Kitchen Blog

When you try a recipe from our sister site, Better Homes and Gardens, you KNOW it's going to be good! I have had the pleasure of visiting the BHG Test Kitchen on several occasions, and I am telling you, the folks who work there know what they're doing! It's incredible! When I saw this recipe on their site, I knew I had to make it for my boys. They LOVE frozen toaster waffles, so I thought it would be fun to make them with a twist!

The best thing is that the work is all done the night before. I mixed this up last night, set my alarm for 5:00, got up and threw the casserole in the oven, and went back to bed until 6:00. When I woke up, the house smelled amazing and breakfast was ready. You can't beat that! The casserole was a hit, and I'll definitely be making it again! This would be a fun one to serve the morning after the kids have a sleep-over, or when family is visiting overnight.

1 pound bulk pork sausage
6 frozen waffles, toasted and cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
6 eggs
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Frozen waffles, toasted (optional)
Maple-flavored syrup or pure maple syrup (optional)

In a large skillet cook sausage until brown. Drain off fat. (I did this a couple of days ago when I was cooking sausage for something else, cutting my work in half!)

Arrange 3 of the toasated, cubed waffles in a 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Top with half of the sausage and about 1/3 cup of the cheese. Repeat layers. (I actually used a 2 1/2-quart baking dish, so I used 8 waffles total, to cover each layer completely.)

In a large bowl beat eggs with a fork; stir in milk, mustard, and pepper. Pour over layers in dish. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover and bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup cheese. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. If desired, serve on toasted waffles and drizzle with maple syrup. (I highly recommend this last step!) This makes about 8 servings.

Buying apples by the bag or bushel can mean a good deal at the market, but then what do you do with all those apples? After we each eat a few, we're ready for something different. Making these bars is a great way to use those apples! My mom made these the other night for our Cub Scout Pack's Pinewood Derby, and they were a huge hit. These bars are moist and tasty, and you'll love them!

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-1/2 cups diced apple
1-1/2 cups walnuts, finely chopped
Powdered sugar for top of bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large cookie sheet with sides or a jellyroll pan. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar with a wooden spoon until smooth. Stir in the beaten egg and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the apples and walnuts. Mixture will be very stiff. Spread into prepared pan using a buttered silicone spatula.

Bake 20 - 25 minutes , until the bars are golden brown and spring back when lightly touched. Sift powdered sugar over top of bars after removing from oven. Let bars cool in the pan. Cut in squares. Makes 48 bars.

My mom recently made a big platter of tassies for a family get-together, and they were such a hit, I knew I had to blog them! She made four different flavors: chocolate fudge in a peanut butter cookie shell; and pecan, lemon, and raspberry in pie crust shells.

She has a small tassie-tamping-tool, and was nice enough to get me one, too. It's the perfect size for mini muffin pans. Just put in a piece of dough, press with the tamper, and you get perfectly shaped mini pie shells! These little treats would be perfect for tea parties, birthdays, potlucks, and, of course, school lunches!

Peanut butter-chocolate tassies

1/2 roll refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough (or you could use my peanut butter cookie recipe)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a mini muffin or mini tart pan with non-stick spray. Place a rounded tablespoon of dough into each cup. Bake for 9 minutes until the edges are lightly browned and the dough is slightly firm, but not set.

Remove from oven. Using a tassie tamper or the back of a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon, gently press a shallow indentation into each tart shell.

Bake 2 minutes longer, or until edges of tart shells are firm and light brown. Let cool in cups on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Carefully remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

For the filling, combine the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until the chocolate is melted. Spoon into the cookie shells and cool, allowing to set. Makes 24.

Pecan pie tassies

Crust:

6 oz. cream cheese
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:

1/8 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease or spray 30 mini tart tins or muffin cups.

To make crust, in a medium bowl, cream together cream cheese and 1 cup butter until light and fluffy. Blend in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, forming a smooth dough. Roll into 30 balls and press into each tart or muffin cup so it lines the bottom and sides like a pie crust.

For the filling, cream together 1/4 cup butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla until thoroughly blended. Stir in pecan. Fill each pie crust half full. It will rise as it bakes.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool in tins, then use the end of a table or paring knife to flip each tart out of its tin.

Lemon and raspberry tassies

2 cups flour
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. oil
6 Tbsp. ice water
Jar of lemon curd and/or seedless raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.For dough, mix flour, oil, and ice water until flour is no longer dry in the bowl. (This is enough dough for a double pie crust.)

Roll dough into rounded tablespoon-sized balls and place in mini muffin or tart pan cups. Press to cover the bottom and sides. You'll want it to be fairly thin, because the dough does puff up a bit.

Fill crusts with prepared lemon curd or raspberry jam. You could use any flavor of jam, really! Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let cool in tins, and remove with a knife.

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We spent Christmas day at my parents' house, and enjoyed a relaxed, all-day buffet rather than a sit-down meal. We had bunches of cookies and candies, cheese and crackers, relish trays, and salads. It was all good. And in lieu of a turkey or ham, we had a pot of my dad's chili, and a pot of Italian tortellini soup that my mom made. Thankfully it made way more than she thought it would (she doubled this recipe), because that meant we got to take the leftovers home!

1 lb. Italian sausage
1 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dry red wine
8 ounces fresh tortellini pasta
1 cup sliced carrots
2 cups stewed tomatoes
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini
2 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into bite-sized pieces
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
Parmesan cheese

Remove sausage from casings, if needed. Cook sausage, drain, and reserve 1 Tbsp. drippings.

In a large pot, sautee onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Add broth, water, wine, carrots, tomatoes, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and the sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Add vegetables, parsley, and tortellini. Simmer another 25 minutes, covered. (If you are using frozen tortellini, simmer 45 minutes.) Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.