Sausage Souffle

This is a traditional Christmas breakfast dish for my family.

My Mom has been making this dish for Christmas breakfast for as long as I can remember. There have been a few times we didn't have this for breakfast and breakfast seemed different without it. 

I haven't tried very many different sausage souffles, but as far as I am concerned this one is by the best.

It is a very basic recipe of eggs, bread, cheese, sausage, salt and dry mustard. Which we left out cause we didn't have any but it still turned out delicious!

This recipe is an easy one, and one that you need to make ahead of time. It would be perfect for your Christmas breakfast, you would just need to pop it in the oven Christmas morning. 

This was the first time Dave and I have made it since we have been married. We did a half batch since it usually goes in a 9x13 pan. 

I love how it turned out with the nice golden/brown sides. The sides were my favorite part!

Having this for breakfast made me feel closer to home for the holidays.

Sausage Souffle

1 dozen eggs 

1 quart milk (4 cups) 

4 cups cubed bread 

4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese 

1 tsp. salt 

1 tsp. dry mustard 

1 lb. sausage 

dash pepper 

Brown sausage and drain fat. Mix with remaining ingredients and let sit in a 9x13 pan or glass baking dish for 24 hours. Bake at 350 for one hour, uncovered. If using glass baking dish, reduce heat to 325.

Homemade Corn Dogs

After I called my Mom to tell her I had just made some amazing homemade corn dogs, she informed me she used to make them when I was younger. And here  I had thought I had never had a homemade corn dog. I was real young when she made them. She would make them bite size instead of the whole corn dog.


I am probably never going to buy frozen corn dogs from the store ever again. Not that I do on a regular basis, but my husband craves them every so often. I usually refuse to get them because I don't think there is anything extra special about them. 


Now homemade corn dogs, I will definitely make these for him if he is craving a corn dog. They were delicious! You will want a good quality hot dog, like Nathan's or Hi-Grade (I used all beef BallPark) to make corn dogs, it will make a world of difference. 


The batter is going to be THICK, and that is perfectly normal, it makes it a little hard to just dip the corn dog. I just used my hands to spread it over the hot dog. Use a popsicle stick or I found long wood corn skewers, the corn skewers had a pointy end so just be careful.


Also I thought this would make a mess in the oil when I fried them, they don't! It was a very easy clean up.
Enjoy, you will love them a lot more then the frozen store ones!


Homemade Corn Dogs


1 Tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice
scant 1 cup milk
1 1/2 cup flour
1 cup yellow corn meal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
10-12 hot dogs
brochettes or wooden skewers (if real long, cut in half)


Preheat some oil in a deep fryer or large skillet to 365 degrees. You need it to be a couple inches deep and the pan needs to be large enough to fit the corn dogs in. I used my Lodge Dutch oven. You want to completely submerge the corn dogs in the oil. Place 1 Tbsp. of the vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measure cup. Then add enough milk to measure 1 cup. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add milk and eggs then whisk until well combined. 
Insert skewer in hot dog and dip in batter. Coat hot dog well and fry in 365 degree oil until golden brown. Drain on towels.

Recipe Adapted From: Real Mom Kitchen 

Barbecue Pork Spare Ribs (4th of July Celebration)

These pork ribs are amazing! 
The longer they cook the better they taste. They were fork tender after the 2 hours that they were cooked in the dutch oven. The few that had bones the meat of the rib just fell off them. They were absolutely delicious! 


This is the simplest recipe to do if you are just learning how to dutch oven, it's one that I don't think you could ruin if you tried! There are only 4 ingredients to this recipe. 1 is the marinade and the other 3 will go in the dutch oven.


They go perfectly with the dutch oven potatoes I posted earlier. 


Barbecue Pork Spare Ribs


5-6 lbs. boneless country style pork spare ribs
(1) 2 liter bottle Coca-Cola
3 sweet yellow onions, thickly sliced
2 cups Sweet Baby Rays Barbecue sauce 


Place ribs in a large bowl and pour coke over them until they are covered. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, place in the refrigerator and allow to marinade 12-24 hours. Pour liquid off ribs. Place one layer of ribs in a 12" deep dutch oven. Place a layer of onions over ribs. Repeat process until all meat and onions have been used. Pour barbecue sauce over the top of the ribs and onions. Cover and cook 90 minutes (I suggest cooking for at least 2 hours or longer) using 12-14 briquettes on the bottom and 12-14 briquettes on the top. 

Recipe Adapted From: Byron's Dutch Oven Recipes 

Pork Sandwiches With Cilantro-Jalapeño Slaw

Now I must admit I am not a huge fan of sweet pork. Well that has all changed! Now I made this recipe this last Sunday. I had bought a pork butt roast that was a little over 3 pounds. The recipe says to cook the roast for 6 hours. I decided I would put the roast in the oven once I got back from taking David to work in the morning. So I put it in at 5 A.M, and decided I would shred it when I got back from church. Which means the roast was going to be in the oven an hour more then planned. No biggie I thought. 


As I got walked into the garage I could smell the aroma of the meat. It smelled divine! I was so excited to see how delicious the pork would look. As I opened the dutch oven I was surprised to find a big black sticky glob! 


No need to fear though! 
As I dug into the pork to see what the inside look liked it was perfect!
Even though I had over cooked my little roast (I went back to the recipe and noticed they had used a 7 pound roast) it had a nice coating of flavor.
Now after you shred the pork you are suppose to put it back in the juices that were in the dutch oven. Well since I couldn't do that I decided to put it in a crock pot and pour more Dr. Pepper in. 
It worked well, but I do think it would have tasted just a little bit better if it had a chance to sit in the onions and chilies too.


So note to self: when trying new recipes DO NOT LEAVE UNATTENDED. :)


Also this pork would be great for tacos, burritos, or salads as well!


Now if you don't like spicy things, just leave out the jalapeño in the coleslaw. With the cayenne pepper and the jalapeño together it makes for some good heat in the slaw. 
And if you don't like coleslaw at all, that is okay as well! I think these sandwiches would be good with some melted pepper jack cheese on them or just plain on the bun.


Pork Sandwiches with Cilantro-Jalapeño Slaw


1 whole Onion, Peeled And Quartered
1 whole Pork Butt (pork Shoulder Roast)
Salt And Pepper
1 can (11 Ounce) Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce
2 cans Cola (Dr Pepper, Coke, Etc.)
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
12 whole Good Quality Kaiser Or Deli Rolls
12 Tablespoons Butter
1/2 head Cabbage, Sliced Thin
1/2 head Purple Cabbage, Sliced Thin
1 whole Jalapeño, Halved Lengthwise And Thinly Sliced
1/2 cup Whole Milk
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1 teaspoon White Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2 cups Cilantro Leaves, Barely Chopped


MEAT

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Generously salt and pepper the pork roast, then set it on top of the onions in the pan.

Pour the can of chipotle peppers over the pork (include the sauce.) Pour in both cans of Dr Pepper. Add brown sugar to the juice and stir in.

Place lid tightly on pot, then set pot in the oven. Cook for at least six hours, turning roast two or three times during the cooking process. Check meat after six hours; it should be absolutely falling apart (use two forks to test.) If it’s not falling apart, return to the oven for another hour.

Remove meat from pot and place on a cutting board or other work surface. Use two forks to shred meat, discarding large pieces of fat. Strain as much of the fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can and discard it. Return the shredded meat to the cooking liquid, and keep warm until ready to serve. (You can also refrigerate the meat and liquid separately, then remove hardened fat once it’s cold. Then heat up the liquid on the stovetop and return the meat to the liquid to warm up.)

SLAW

Combine shredded cabbage and sliced jalapenos in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix milk, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and cayenne. Pour over cabbage. Toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate two hours.

Before serving, toss in cilantro leaves.

SANDWICHES

Butter both halves of Kaiser rolls, then brown them on a griddle or skillet until golden and crisp on the surface. Load up each sandwich with shredded pork, then REALLY load them up with the slaw.

The magic is in the combination of the hot liquid from the meat and the cool, creamy liquid from the slaw.

Recipe Taken From: The Pioneer Woman

Ham Fried Rice

Around Easter I bought a ham. They were on sale, and David really likes ham. So since it is just the two of us and we can't eat a ten pound ham we had the butcher cut it into slices for us. We froze some, and Dave was making ham sandwiches with what was in the fridge. After a few days of seeing the ham in the fridge, I remember I came across this recipe for "Perfect Ham Fried Rice" from Deals to Meals.

What a brilliant idea on how to use up some of the ham! We made a very large batch of this, it made for good lunch left overs during the week. (I always try to make enough for lunch leftovers, so that way we aren't spending money to eat out everyday, plus its healthier I think.)

Ham Fried Rice


3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
1 c. frozen peas
1 c. celery, diced (I didn't have any, so I left it out)
1/2 c. green onions 
1 1/2 c. cooked ham, cubed
4 c. white rice, cooked and cooled slightly (a long grain rice works the best- long, jasmine, etc.)
4 Tbsp. stick butter
1/4 c. soy sauce
Seasonings: salt, pepper (or Montreal Steak Seasoning), garlic powder (or you can use fresh garlic cloves) and powdered ginger (about 1/2 tsp.)

Cut all of the vegetables and ham and set aside until ready to cook/saute.

In a large pot or skillet bring the pan to medium high heat. Add 1 T. of butter to the pan and saute the eggs that have been beaten until they are scrambled. Once the eggs are cooked through, break them up with your spoon into medium sized pieces. Remove the eggs from the pan and set aside. Add to the pan the remaining butter. Let the butter heat up and then add the chopped onions, celery and carrots to the pan and saute until the vegetables are tender and soft (not overly cooked though). To the sauted vegetables add the cubed ham, sliced green onions and frozen peas. Heat through for about 2-3 minutes. To the pan, add the cooked rice that has been slightly cooled before adding to the pan (if you use rice that is steaming hot it will cook the peas and vegetables too much and add too much moisture to the dish). Stir the rice into the vegetables and then add the scrambled egg back to the pan and stir. Season the rice with more salt, pepper, garlic powder and ginger powder. Add the 1/2 c. of soy sauce to the rice and stir until rice is a light brown color (don't add too much or the rice will be soggy).