Breakfast Sausage

 Making your own breakfast sausage is easy.  You can grind your own pork or buy ground pork and use that.  If you do grind your own double grind it, first on coarse than on a finer blade.

Homemade Breakfast Sausage

Ingredients:

• 1 T. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. dried sage
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. dried marjoram 
• 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 2 pounds ground pork

Directions:

1. Mix together brown sugar, sage, salt, black pepper, marjoram, red pepper flakes, and cloves in a small bowl.
2. Place pork in a large bowl. Add spice mixture and mix with your hands until well combined.  Form mixture in to patties. 
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add patties and sear until browned and crispy, about 5 minutes per side.
4. Can be frozen flat on a cookie sheet and bagged up after frozen.

Scallion and Cheddar Cathead Biscuits

 I found this recipe in the sales magazine from King Arthur Flour.  It is a tasty biscuit recipe.

Scallion and Cheddar Cathead Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 cups Cake Flour
• 2 T. Baking Powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 16 T. unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup scallions, chopped
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 tsp. black pepper
• 1 1/2 -2 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg beaten with a pinch of salt, (egg wash)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees with racks in upper and lower third.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt and sugar.
3. Add butter and toss to coat.  Working quickly, cut in butter with a pastry blender or fingertips until it ranges in size from large chunks to small bits.
4. Add scallions, cheese, and black pepper, tossing to mix well.
5. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients, add 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, and mix until dough is crumbly but starts to come together.  If it looks dry, gradually add up to 1/2 cup more buttermilk.  It should be moist and slightly sticky.
6. Finish mixing the dough, turning it onto itself a few times until cohesive.  Still in the bowl, gently pat down dough until it resembles bread dough and dust top with flour.
7. With a scone or muffin scoop (I used a 1/4 cup cookie scoop) drop rounded mounds of dough onto prepared baking sheets, arranging at least 1 inch apart. With floured hands, gently flatten biscuits to about 1 1/2 inch tall.  Brush tops with egg wash.
8.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, until golden brown.  Serve the biscuits hot out of the oven or at room temperature.

Lemonade

 We moved to Peoria, Arizona and in our yard we have a lemon tree that gives us lots of lemons.  My husband does a great job keeping lemonade in our refrigerator!

Fresh Lemonade

1 cup lemon juice

1 cup sugar

Add to a 2 quart container and mix. Taste and add more lemon if desired.

Fill container with water.

Stir well and store in refrigerator.

Mini 6 inch Chocolate Cake

Sometimes I need a little cake to go along cupcakes for a Birthday celebration.  Or maybe you just want a little layer cake. This makes a 6 inch layer cake that will serve 8.

Mini 6 inch Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (plus 2 tsp.) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 T. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (or regular milk mixed with 2 tsp. lemon juice or vinegar)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup (plus 2 T.) hot coffee for hot water 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (or spray) two, 6 inch round cake pans that are 2 inches deep.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar). Mix well with a whisk and set aside.
3. In another mixing bowl, add all the liquid ingredients (except the hot coffee or water) and whisk well.
4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Mix with an electric mixer on medium to medium-high only until the ingredients are well combined.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for only about 5-10 seconds.
5. Add the hot coffee (or hot water) and mix until well combined.  Be careful not to over mix.  Once it's well combined, stop mixing.  Don't mix for several minutes, as that is too long and could sue the cake to be dense and/or dry.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for only about 5-10 seconds.
6. Divide the batter between the two, 6 inch round cake pans.  Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 35-40 minutes.
7. Cake layers are done when a toothpick inserted into the middle of each layer comes out with a few moist crumbs on it or clean.
8. Set cake layers on wire racks to cool for about 10 minutes, then take the cakes out of the pans and let cool completely on the racks.
9. Once cool level the cakes with a knife.  Add a layer to a cake plate or cake board and a add frosting, ganache or any filling desired. Then add the second layer of the cake.  Frost with cream cheese frosting, buttercream or whatever frosting you desire.

Fire and Ice Pickles

I got this recipe from Les' family.  

Fire and Ice Pickles

Ingredients:

• 1 gallon of whole pickles. 
• 2 cups sliced jalapeños 
• 4 cups sugar
• 8 whole cloves 

Directions:

1. Pour off and save the juice from the pickles.
2. Cut the pickles into thick slices, and put them back in the jar.
3. Put the sugar, jalapeños, and cloves on top of pickle slices.
4. Pour the pickle juice back on the top. (All the juice may not fit back in the jar).
5. Cover and refrigerate for a week.  After a day or 2 gently shake the jar a bit to keep things well mixed.