Easy Chocolate Custard with Oreo and Bailey's Truffles

I made a dessert for the kids to take on their ski trip this weekend, and I had the ingredients left over to make this custard and truffles! 

1 1/3 cups Heavy Cream
1/3 cup Sugar

3/4 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

4 Egg Yolks

Heat cream and sugar over medium heat, just to a bubble. (Do not boil) Remove from heat and add chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth. Beat the egg yolks and temper them (add a tiny bit of the hot liquid at a time until the eggs are warm). Add them to the chocolate mixture and return to heat. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened, about 6-8 minutes. (Do not boil) Cool and pour into 3 ounce custard cups or bowls. Cover and refrigerate until set, about one hour.

Truffles:

12 Oreos, ground into crumbs
1 cup Whipped Cream
2 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Creme

Combine the ingredients and spoon into a small bowl or pan. Freeze until firm. Scoop with a small melon baller. and serve on top of custard.

Beef and Broccoli with Cauliflower Rice

Beef and Broccoli served over rice with a substitution of cauliflower rice for those on the New Year's Resolution diets is the casserole of the week! Comfort food doesn't have to be fattening or loaded with carbs! Cauliflower is a great substitution for carb loaded vegetables and starches. It has a neutral taste that blends well with any flavors it is teamed. Try using it in place of rice or mashed potatoes!

 Cut carrots at a diagonal and boil in salt water until tender-crisp. Cut the broccoli into florets. I also used some of the stems. I sliced the stems thin and boiled them the same as the carrots. I also sliced onions into large wedges and cooked them in a little butter covered to steam them until tender-crisp also. It is important not to over cook the vegetables.

Cooked and cooled vegetables.

London Broil, sliced thin against the grain, marinading in 1/4 soy sauce and 2 cloves of minced garlic for an hour or overnight. Bring a skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil to medium high heat. Add the beef and cook about 1 minute per side or until done. Don't over crowd the pan. I cooked it in three batches.

Cauliflower Rice
Grate one head of cauliflower. I used my hand grater that I use for grating cabbage for slaw. Melt 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan, add the grated cauliflower and toss to coat. Salt and Pepper to taste. Add a little water (about 1/4 cup or less) to create steam. Steam the cauliflower for about 6-8 minutes or until desired texture.

Make the sauce and add the vegetables and meat. Toss to coat and cook 1-2 minutes until hot. Serve over cauliflower rice or regular rice.

Beef and Broccoli

Beef

1 1/4 lb beef flank steak, cut into thin slices

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Sauce*

1/3 cup hoisin sauce

1/3 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Stir-Fry

2 cups fresh small broccoli florets

1 1/2 cups carrots, cut lengthwise
1 large onion, cut into wedges

Cauliflower Rice
1 head Cauliflower, grated

2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup water

In medium bowl, mix beef, soy sauce, garlic; set aside.

In small bowl, mix sauce ingredients with wire whisk until well blended; set aside.

In a 12-inch skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over high heat about 1 minute. Add beef mixture, breaking up clumps of beef with wooden spoon; cook 1 minute without stirring. Flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until beef is browned around edges. Transfer beef mixture to clean bowl.

Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet; heat over high heat about 1 minute. Add broccoli and toss. Add ¼ cup water; cover and cook 2 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is tender-crisp. Boil the carrots in salted water until tender-crisp. Cook onion in butter and a little water until tender-crisp.

Mix sauce mixture again with wire whisk to recombine; pour into skillet. Return meat and vegetables to skillet.  Stir to coat mixture with sauce. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened. Serve over cauliflower rice.

* As a short cut or money saver if you don't keep hoisin sauce around, you can use SunBird Beef & Broccoli Seasoning Mix. This mix has no MSG. I used it and it was delicious.

Simple Beef Stew

Sometimes the most comforting foods can be the simplest to make. I had stew meat in the freezer. I didn't have carrots or whole potatoes on hand, but I did have mashed potato flakes that the hubby bought when he went shopping last week. He also got some of that macaroni in the blue box! I know! Anyway! I dressed it up with sweet peas that I had on hand. My son rolled his eyes when his girlfriend, Aly mixed the stew, potatoes and peas all together, but I like it that way also! To each his/her own!

1-2 pounds of beef sirloin, cubed
flour
salt, pepper and garlic powder
1-2 tablespoons oil
1 pkg onion soup mix
beef broth or water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix about 1 cup of flour with a generous amount of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Coat the cubes of beef with the flour mixture. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Brown on all sides. If there is oil left in the pan, move the meat to the side and add a little flour to absorb the oil. Stir until smooth. Add enough broth/water to cover the meat. Stir in the onion soup mix. Cover and put the skillet in the oven. Cook for about 45 minutes or until the meat can be cut with a fork. Remove from the oven and place back on the stove top. If the gravy is watery, make a slurry of water and flour (about 2 tablespoons flour and just enough water to get rid of lumps) and add to the pan a little at the time, stirring constantly. Bring the stew to a boil. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Creamed Tomatoes (AKA Tomato Gravy)

Being Southern, I was shocked that I never had the traditional Tomato Gravy. Mama never made it. We had plenty of tomatoes on the table all summer, but she never made gravy or creamed them. Maybe she didn't know about it, or maybe she didn't like it. I'll never know, but I had to try it! It isn't like spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce. It is more like creamed tomatoes. Most Southerners that make tomato gravy, make it a lot thinner than mine. I like to leave the tomatoes chunky. It has more texture and doesn't turn into soup! This is the easiest "gravy" you'll ever make!

Creamed Tomatoes over Biscuits

1 pint chopped tomatoes*
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup milk
salt
pepper
3 Tbsp butter

Put tomatoes and garlic into saucepan over medium heat. While tomatoes are simmering, whisk together flour and milk in a bowl. Add milk mixture to warm tomatoes. Bring to a low boil. Stir in butter, salt and pepper. Serve over rice, biscuits or buttered toast.

*I prefer tomatoes with onion. I can my own with spices and onion added, but you can also find them in most grocery stores.

Winter Comfort Food... Soups, Stews, Bread and Cornbread

With the threat of winter weather (ice, freezing rain and snow) this weekend, I think we could all use some comfort food! Check out these recipe links to my favorites soups, stews, breads and cornbread! The links are under each picture! Thanks and Enjoy!

 Loaded Baked Potato Soup

15 Bean Soup with Ham

 Beef Stew

Mama's Catfish Stew 

Deluxe Cheeseburger Soup 

Simple Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup 

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup 

Tuscan Soup 

Hushpuppies 

Cornbread Recipes 

Upside Down Vidalia Cornbread

Pizza Monkey Bread 

Italian Herb and Cheddar Loaf 

 Stuffed French Loaf

Stuffed Biscuits 

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Ham & Cheese Biscuit Pie

This pie is wonderful to use up leftover biscuits and ham. You can substitute your favorite biscuits, meats and cheeses! The combinations are endless! You can even change the savory flavors to sweet ones! The choice is yours!

1 package Bisquick Garlic Cheese Biscuits,
   (prepared following package directions)

10 slices Ham, chopped

1 cup Cheddar Cheese
¼ cup Parmesan Cheese

1 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

2 T butter, melted

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9inch pie pan with cooking spray. Cut biscuits in half and line the pan with the bottom slices. Fill in gaps with pieces of the tops. Sprinkle hams pieces over the top, then sprinkle with cheddar and parmesan cheeses. Mix milk and eggs and pour over the pie. Crumble the tops of the biscuits and spread over the pie. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the egg mixture is set. (or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean) Mix butter, garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Drizzle butter mixture over the biscuit crumbles and bake another 2-3 minutes. Serve warm.

Chicken Alfredo Casserole

2 Chicken Breasts, browned and chopped
2 cups chicken broth

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup heavy cream

¼ teaspoon white pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

1½ cups grated Parmesan cheese

1 lb Penne Pasta, cooked

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat add broth, garlic, cream, pepper, and salt.

Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 8 minutes.*

Remove from heat and slowly add cheese.

Return to stove on low and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Serve hot.

*If you want a thicker Alfredo, or it doesn’t reduce to the correct thickness, make a slurry of 3 tsp corn starch and 2 tsp water. Add to boiling sauce and stir or whisk constantly until desired thickness.