Sausage Gravy

Sausage Gravy

INGREDIENTS
1 pound sage-flavored bulk pork sausage
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart milk
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Dash hot pepper sauce
Biscuits

DIRECTIONS
Crumble sausage into a large saucepan; cook over medium-low heat. Add onion; cook and stir until transparent. Drain, discarding all but 2 tablespoons of drippings. Stir in flour; cook over medium-low heat about 6 minutes or until mixture bubbles and turns golden. Stir in milk. Add seasonings; cook, stirring, until thickened. To serve, slice biscuits and spoon gravy over halves. Yield: 4-6 servings.


I found this recipe in a "Taste Of Home" magazine several years ago and it quickly became a family favorite. The addition of nutmeg, worcestershire sauce and hot sauce all blend together to make a truly scrumptious gravy. Over fresh, hot bisquits? Nothing better!! A good sausage gravy is worth its weight in gold. I think this one is the whole mine. :)

Sunkist Orange and Carrot Cake

I found this recipe on the Sunkist website. I have to admit that I haven't tried it yet, but I absolutely LOVE carrot cake and this sounds like a real winner. I really liked the crate labels the site showcased. Like the one above. They're just fun. Enjoy!

Fresh Orange and Carrot Cake

1 Sunkist® orange , unpeeled
1 ½ cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ tsp. salt
2 cups shredded carrots
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup raisins

Fresh Orange Cream Cheese Spread (below) or Fresh Orange Ice Cream (below)
FRESH ORANGE CREAM CHEESE SPREAD
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 Sunkist® orange -grated peel
1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream, whipped
FRESH ORANGE ICE CREAM
1 quart vanilla ice cream, softened
1 Sunkist® orange - grated peel
To make one portion:
Trim a thin slice from each end of the orange; cut the fruit in half lengthwise.
With a shallow "V" shape cut remove the white center core.
Cut the halves into small chunks.
In a blender or food processor, purée the orange chunks to yield 2/3cup.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar and oil.
Beat in the eggs one at a time.
Sift together the dry ingredients and gradually add them to the egg mixture.
Stir in orange purée, carrots, walnuts, and raisins.
Pour the batter into a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.
Bake at 350o F for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack.
Frost with Fresh Orange Cream Cheese Spread or serve with Fresh Orange Ice Cream.

ORANGE CARROT CAKE ROLLS: (Each cake makes 8 to 12 servings)
Prepare the batter as above. Line two 15-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 1-inch jellyroll pans with greased aluminum foil. Divide the batter equally (about 3 cups each) between the prepared pans. Bake, one at a time, at 350o F for 25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes. Invert each cake onto a large, wax paper- lined cookie Invert sheet; carefully remove the foil. Roll up each cake with wax paper from the narrow end; cool completely on wire racks. Unroll one cake and spread with Fresh Orange Cream Cheese Spread. Reroll without the wax paper and refrigerate. Unroll second cake and spread with softened Fresh Orange Ice Cream. Reroll without wax paper and freeze. To serve, sprinkle cakes with confectioners' sugar and garnish with orange half-cartwheel slices, if desired.
HALF-AND-HALF VARIATION
Bake half the cake batter in a jellyroll pan as above. Bake the remaining batter in a greased 8- or 9-inch square baking pan at 350o F for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
FRESH ORANGE CREAM CHEESE SPREAD
Makes about 3 cups. In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and orange peel. Fold in the whipped cream and chill.
FRESH ORANGE ICE CREAM
Makes about 4 cups. In a bowl, combine the ice cream and orange peel. Return to the freezer
Makes 12 servings

Erma Says

It is ludicrous to read the microwave directions on the boxes of food you buy, as each one will have a disclaimer: "THIS WILL VARY WITH YOUR MICROWAVE." Loosely translated this means, "You're on your own, Bernice."


Erma Bombeck (1927-1996)

Doughnut Muffins and The Hillbilly Housewife

Here's a recipe that I found years ago at http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com. It's become one of my favorites. Brings back memories of baking day with mom without all the fuss!

DOUGHNUT MUFFINS

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1 medium egg

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup milk

* * * *

1/2 cup powdered sugar, mixed with:

1 teaspoon cinnamon

* * * *

1/4 cup melted margarine

In a mixing bowl,mash together the shortening and sugar. Add the egg and whisk it all up until it is smooth. Make sure you use shortening. Not margarine. The shortening gives this recipe it's special texture. Measure the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg into the bowl. Pour in the milk. Mix the batter with a whisk until it's smooth. Drop the mixture into 12 oiled muffin cups. Make sure not to overfill the muffin cups. 1/2 to 2/3 full is full enough. Bake the muffins at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the muffins are brown on top. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool slightly. When they are cool enough to handle, dip the tops of the muffins into the melted margarine. Then dip them into the powdered sugar/cinnamon mixture.Arrange the muffins on a large plate and serve while still warm. Makes a dozen.

Visit Miss Maggie at Hillbilly Housewife and find lots of budget saving ideas and recipes.

Pistachio Pineapple Mallow Dessert

Here is an easy dessert that your family will enjoy. It's been my youngest sons favorite for years. Maybe it will become yours, too.

Pistachio Pineapple Mallow Dessert
Prep Time: 10 min Total Time: 1 hr 10 min Makes: 16 servings, about 1/2 cup each

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1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Pistachio Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1/2 cup PLANTERS Walnut Pieces
3-1/4 cups JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows, divided
2 tubs (8 oz. each) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed
3 maraschino cherries with stems

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STIR dry pudding mix, pineapple with juice, walnuts and 1 cup of the marshmallows in large bowl until well blended. Gently stir in 1 tub of the whipped topping.EMPTY remaining tub of whipped topping into separate medium bowl. Add 2 cups of the marshmallows; mix lightly. SPOON half of the pudding mixture into large serving bowl; cover with layer of half of the marshmallow mixture. Repeat both layers. Top with remaining 1-1/4 cups marshmallows and the cherries. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

Welcome to The Sassy Chef

The idea for "The Sassy Chef" originated with a journal I was doing on AOL by the same name. I just wasn't happy with the way that blog was turning out, so I decided to start over here.

I have always loved to cook and bake. I remember, when I was little, my Mom spent every weekend baking bread and cookies and making homemade doughnuts. The smells coming from the kitchen were intoxicating.

When I entered high school, just imagine my delight to take home ec classes!! I absolutely hated the sewing, but when it came to the cooking aspect I was enamored!! That's where I made my first homemade noodles and learned to check cost according to portion sizes at the grocery store.

Then onto adult life. I started low on the totem pole in the food business. Dishwasher and waitressing (which I abhorred) before I graduated to cook and shift manager. A couple of years ago I got my Illinois Food Service Certification and was thrilled. At the moment, I'm not working in the food sector, but hope to change that soon by starting my own small business. Haven't quite worked out the avenue I want to take, but have been making plans. In the meantime, here I am. I hope you enjoy this blog and stop by often.

~Nan