Red Lobster Garlic Cheese Biscuits

The hubs loves seafood.  Me not as much.

I mean I love fish, crab (especially fresh in Seattle), and shrimp.  The rest I can't stand.  

Tastes way too fishy or seafoody.  And way too squishy.  The hubs on the other hand loves to find fantastic restaurants that sell scallops.  Those are his favorite.  When I went to Seattle I brought home fresh scallops and he was in heaven. 

He loves Red Lobster for their scallops and for their biscuits.  We don't have a Red Lobster within 200 miles of where we live, so I decided to make a homemade version one night so he could have his beloved biscuits.  He loved them and was quite happy.  Now if I would make scallops more often I think I might send him over the edge with happiness, but this girl doesn't cook scallops that often.  So gross!  I guess he will just have to survive :)

Red Lobster Garlic Cheese Biscuits

(click here for printable version)


Biscuits:
1  3/4  cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp dried parsley
5 tbsp cold butter
1 cup milk
1 up cheddar cheese, shredded

Topping:
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/8 tsp granulated garlic

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.  Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.  Set aside.

2.  In a large bowl add flour, salt, baking powder, pinch of garlic and parsley together and mix well. Cut your cold butter into chunks and add to the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender cut the butter into the mixture. Keep blending until it looks like coarse crumbs.

3. Make a well in the flour/butter ingredients and pour the milk right in the middle of the well. Using a wooden spoon, mix the ingredients together. Don't over mix (stop mixing just before everything is incorporated). Add shredded cheddar cheese into the bowl and stir just until incorporated.

4. Spoon the dough onto your prepared cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes, or until golden and crispy along the tops and bottoms.

5.  While biscuits are cooking, prepare topping.  Add the 1/8 tsp to the melted butter.  As soon as the biscuits are done, remove from oven and brush the hot biscuits with the garlic butter.  Serve immediately. They are best warm from the oven. Enjoy!

Source: Jamie Cooks It Up

Alice Springs Chicken

 We are in the middle of party planning mode at our house.  You see, Kathryn, is turning 8 (a very big, exciting, eventful birthday at our house) this Sunday.

My kids get to have "friend" parties when they turn 8, 12, and 16.  Mostly because with 4 children that is a lot of party planning and craziness, not to mention, they are so excited for these years that I think it's awesome.

Anyway, back to the almost 8 year old.  She has chosen "birds" for her theme this year.  No not Angry Birds, just plain birds.  She has found some fascinating books at the library lately and they are fictional stories about birds and she has been in love.

Well this mother has never seen or been to a bird party before so I have spent hours combing Pinterest (of course :) and the internet coming up with 8 year old appropriate ideas.  

Not to mention Easter is around the corner and I have not eaten one single cadbury mini egg yet (I know it makes me sad too, but my hips sure love it!).  So here's to planning Easter (because the 8 year old is picking the menu so I haven't given it much thought), planning a birthday party, and just trying not to go crazy!

By the way, this chicken was knock your socks off good!!  It is so close to the original from Outback, which I absolutely love, and so delicious.  It was a huge hit with the whole family :)

Alice Springs Chicken

(click here for printable version)


Honey Mustard Marinade:
1 cup Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
1 cup honey
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp lemon juice

Chicken:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper
paprika
8 slices bacon, cooked
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
2 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley

1.  Using an electric mixer, combine the mustard, honey, mayonnaise, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Whip the mixture for about 30 seconds. Place chicken in a Ziploc bag and pour in about 1/3 of the marinade. Seal the bag and press out as much air as you can and marinate in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.  Chill the remaining marinade until later.

2.  After the chicken has marinated, remove chicken from bag and discard the marinade that it has been soaking in. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and heat an ovenproof frying pan large enough to hold all four breasts and 1 Tbsp. oil over medium heat. (If you don't have an ovenproof frying pan, transfer the chicken to a baking dish).

3.  Sear the chicken in the pan for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove pan from heat but keep chicken in the pan. As the chicken is cooking, in a small frying pan saute the mushrooms in the butter. Brush each seared chicken breast with a little of the honey mustard marinade (make sure to save a little extra that you can serve on the side later with the chicken).

4.  Season the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika, to your taste. Stack two pieces of cooked bacon, crosswise on each chicken breast. Spoon the sauteed mushrooms onto the bacon, being sure to coat each breast evenly. Sprinkle 1/4 cup Monterey Jack cheese evenly onto each breast followed by 1/4 cup of cheddar.

5.  Bake the pan of prepared chicken breasts for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is thoroughly melted and starting to bubble and chicken is completely done in the middle. Remove from oven and sprinkle each breast with 1/2 teaspoon parsley before serving. Put extra honey mustard marinade into a small bowl to serve on the side.  Enjoy!


Source: Favorite Family Recipes

Cafe Rio Dressing

Okay so you all know I live in Idaho...and I love it!

Even after traveling other places I am always so excited to come back to Idaho (if you've never been you are sure missing out I promise!).  

One thing I always notice when I come back is a lot of my fellow Idahoans don't drive the speed limit.  I get a little upset following them because I am a speed limit kind of girl.  It's especially bad after I come back from driving in Seattle where no one ever does the speed limit, in fact is there a speed limit in Seattle Jenny (just kidding I know there is)? I coast along with traffic and it's great.  I never get upset with anyone driving too slow there!

Anyway...so I'm getting off topic...but one part of living in a fairly small town (hey we almost doubled our population in the last 10 years--that's exciting) is that we don't have a lot of restaurants to choose from.

About a year ago Cafe Rio came to town.  Oh man you should of seen the lines.  I'm not kidding!  For days the line would got out the doors and you would have to wait quite a while to get your food BUT that was totally worth it because we got a new restaurant in town.  So exciting!!!

I have to admit though, I had never eaten at Cafe Rio before. After one dinner I was hooked, at least to the Pork Salad.  I never have anything else there.  I always say I am going to branch out and nope when it's time to order I get...yep..you guessed it, the Pork Salad.  Part of the reason is because I love the dressing.

So after trying several recipes, this is my favorite so far.  It is excellent on salad and excellent on tacos--beef or chicken. We love it at our house, hope you will too.

Cafe Rio Dressing

(click here for printable version)

1 packet regular Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)

1 c. mayonnaise

1 c. buttermilk

2 tomatillos, remove husk, diced

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro, washed and chopped

1 clove garlic

juice of 1 lime

1 jalepeno (if you like it spicy leave the seeds in, other wise remove the seeds)

Mix all ingredients together in the blender until smooth.  Refrigerate until ready to use, we'll thick as it gets colder.  Enjoy!

Source: Favorite Family Recipes

Sharing this with: Alli-n-Son, Choochmagooz, Whipperberry, Tidy Mom, Paisley Passions, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Be Different Act Normal, Quit Eating Out.

Zuppa Toscana

Do you ever have recipes that you put off making time and time again?  This recipe kept getting pushed back to another week, I just wasn't in the mood for it.  But after getting some kale in my Bountiful Basket--have you ever heard of this amazing thing--I knew that I should just make it and stop putting it off.

Wow!  This was so yummy.  I have had it several times at Olive Garden and I thought it was even better than the restaurant if I do say so myself.  My 10 year old absolutely loved it, even having it for a snack after school.  

3 cans (14oz) Chicken Broth

2 cups whipping cream

red pepper flakes, to taste (and totally optional)

salt and pepper, to taste

1 small onion, diced, sauteed

1/2 pkg. bacon, cooked and crumbled

4-5 cups chopped kale

3 to 4 potatoes scrubbed and cut into slices or small chunks, skins left on

1 lb Johnsonville mild Italian sausage (shaped into small rounds, browned, and put on paper towels to de-grease... or if you are in a rush, just brown the sausage like you would ground beef--that's what I did and I preferred it that way.  You get a piece in each bite).

1.  Put everything except for potatoes together in a large crockpot and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. Add potatoes the last 40-60 minutes (if you add them too soon they will get soggy).  Enjoy!

These would be awesome with focaccia bread.

Source:  Favorite Family Recipes

Somoas

Ever since the girl scouts "made" me buy their cookies I have wanted to make some of my own, I mean don't you want more?  I tried this recipe from My Sisters Kitchen and I really liked it.  It's not exactly like the real kind but it's close.

Cookie Base:
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 c. butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the flour and salt until the mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour the crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer, using your hands.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on wire rack before adding the topping.

Topping:
3 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels (will make melting easier)
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (I used chocolate chips)

* Preheat oven to 300 degrees while the cookie base cools. Spread coconut evenly on baking sheet and toast for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

* Unwrap caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, stirring every minute. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a greased spatula. Put spoonfuls of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the greased spatula (this is important so everything spreads smoothly), spread the topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled.

* When cooled, cut into 30 or so bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter. Once the bars are cut, melt half of the chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Melt more chocolate, little by little, if needed. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt more if you need to) into a piping bag or a Ziploc bag with a tiny corner snipped off and the drizzle bars with chocolate to finish.  Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container. I recommend keeping them in the fridge. Makes roughly 30 bar cookies.

Note: You can simply drizzle chocolate on top of the bars before slicing them up if you’re looking for an easier way to finish these off. You won’t need quite as much chocolate as noted above, and you won’t quite get the Samoas look, but the results will still be tasty.  If you noticed, I spread the chocolate over the shortbread base and then added the coconut.  I would recommend dipping the bottom in the chocolate,as stated above, because the cookie base won't taste so thick, if that makes sense.

Gino's East Pizza

Has anyone been to Chicago and eaten at Gino's East?  Several years ago we took a family trip to Chicago and everyone told us we just had to eat there.  It was a fabulous place with the best deep dish pizza.  I was so excited when I came across this recipe at FFR and knew we had to try it.  It was a hit and highly recommended!

Crust:

1 c. warm water

1 package yeast (or 2 1/4 t.)

1/3 c. corn oil

1 T. sugar

1 t. cream of tartar

1 lb. bread flour

* In a bowl, put water, yeast, oil, cream of tartar and sugar.  Mix until yeast dissolves.  Pour in bread flour a little at a time.  Mix and knead with your hand (curve your hand like a dough hook, hold the bowl and mix, scooping from the bottom to the top).  Knead it until it becomes firm, adding more flour if needed.  The secret is in the kneading, should take about 10 minutes straight.  Roll into a ball, put into bowl, brush the top and sides with a little oil and cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.  Let sit atleast 6-8 hours, unrefrigerated.  Only let it rise once.  Portion and use.

Sauce:

Jar of pizza sauce

1 28oz can plum or roma tomatoes,

1 t. salt

pinch of basil

pinch of oregano

pinch of black pepper

* In bowl, mix pizza sauce and tomatoes.  Using a potato masher or your hands, mash the tomatoes until there are no bigger pieces than a quarter.  Then add salt, basil, oregano and pepper.  Adjust salt/pepper to taste.  Don't add too much basil or oregano.  

Toppings:

4 c. low-moisture part skim mozzarella (DO NOT use low fat)

Pepperoni

Italian sausage, uncooked and in small pieces

*  To assemble, Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  After the dough has risen, take your deep dish pizza pan (or a round cake pan with straight sides) and coat the inside of it with a very healthy coating of melted butter or oil.  Roll the dough out to about 3 inches larger than the bottom of the pan and pinch the dough up along the sides of the pan.  Put your cheese in (right on the crust).  Add your pepperoni and sausage pieces (don't worry the sausage will cook completely in the oven) and finally your sauce.  Bake in the oven until the crust is starting to brown and cheese is staring to bubble up through the sauce, about 45 minutes.  Serve.