Name: Sausage and Waffle Casserole
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 2 h
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pounds waffles (I used homemade); torn into 1-2 inch pieces (if using frozen waffles, thaw first); 1 pound breakfast sausage; unsalted butter for buttering the pan; 6 ounces (1 1/2 cups or 3/4 of an 8-ounce package) cheddar cheese, shredded; 6 large eggs; 1/2 cup milk; 1/4 cup maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup!!!); 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Waffle Casserole with Sausage

February 25, 2015

Sausage and waffle casserole is everything you might imagine – waffles, sausage, eggs, cheese, and maple syrup. And amazing.

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Sausage and waffle casserole sounds like the stuff of dreams, at least to me. I mean, who doesn’t love a breakfast casserole? Whether it’s traditional, like my grandmother’s egg soufflé or a twist on a much more time consuming dish like French toast casserole, breakfast casseroles give the cook the freedom to spend time with their family or their houseguests while breakfast (or dinner, if you want to get really wacky) cooks.

When I first saw a recipe for a casserole made with sausage, waffles, eggs, cheese, and maple syrup in The Cook’s Country Cookbook, I knew they were on to something. I made the casserole, following their advice to use six Eggo waffles, stacking the waffles, whole, into the baking dish, and using maple sausage, which the recipe called for. Oh, and 1 1/4 cups of milk to six eggs.

All of the above turned out to be a mistake. We decided to make the waffles from scratch, but if you don’t want to put that much time and effort into it, go by weight (or at least estimate the weight by the amount in the box). There just wasn’t enough waffle in my casserole to soak up all that liquid from the eggs, the milk, and the syrup. But whoa, that’s a lot of milk…so I decided to scale that back too. And maple sausage…doesn’t taste that great. The maple syrup that I whisked into the eggs added enough maple flavor that I decided skip any artificial flavoring. Just go with regular sausage.

Second time around with this sausage and waffle casserole was much better. We put it together on Friday night, pulled it out of the refrigerator when we got out of bed on Saturday, and watched television while it baked. Is that the perfect weekend breakfast or what?

So if you need something to serve at your next brunch or family holiday breakfast, or really whenever, give this sausage and waffle casserole a go!

Mary

Yield: 4-6 servings

Sausage and Waffle Casserole

40 minPrep Time:

2 hrCook Time:

2 hr, 40 Total Time:

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Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds waffles (I used homemade); torn into 1-2 inch pieces (if using frozen waffles, thaw first)
1 pound breakfast sausage
unsalted butter for buttering the pan
6 ounces (1 1/2 cups or 3/4 of an 8-ounce package) cheddar cheese, shredded
6 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup maple syrup (NOT pancake syrup!!!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Spread the waffle pieces onto a baking sheet. Bake for 30-60 minutes, until dried out but not browned. While the waffles are toasting, brown the sausage and drain away any excess fat.
Increase oven temperature to 325 degrees. Butter an 8×8 inch pan. Place the waffle pieces into the pan. Spread the browned sausage over the top of the waffles then follow with the cheese.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, maple syrup, salt, and pepper. Pour over the casserole. Cover with foil. Place a small plate on top of the casserole and weight with a heavy can. Let sit for 25 minutes. Alternately, you can make the casserole the night before and leave it in the refrigerator overnight, in which case you do not need to weight it. If you do this, take it out of the refrigerator 25 minute before you plan to cook it.
Remove the foil from the top of the pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Turn the oven to broil until the top of the cheese has browned. Remove from the oven and let stand for five minutes before serving.

Notes

Cook time includes time to toast the waffles.

https://chattavore.com/sausage-and-waffle-casserole/

Click here to print the recipe for sausage and waffle casserole!

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Hong Kong Chinese (East Brainerd)

February 23, 2015

Hong Kong Chinese restaurant is a great Chinese restaurant with delicious food and great service on East Brainerd Road in Chattanooga.
I didn’t start eating Chinese food until I was a junior in college. Actually, it was probably more to impress a guy than anything else…but he married me so I guess it all turned out okay. Plus, it turned out that I actually liked Chinese food…I have no idea why I was always so convinced that I wouldn’t. I guess it’s too late to wonder, though. Anyway, when we were dating and early in our marriage, Philip and I used to frequent China Inn, a Chinese buffet in the TJ Maxx complex at Northgate. Friendly staff, good prices, and great food-we loved that place! We were crushed when it closed, though we shifted our affections toward Mandarin Garden…which then closed. And Philip doesn’t like Formosa (for the record, I do). In fact, we have found the Chinese options in our area to be rather disappointing overall.

However, Philip has a friend who lives in East Brainerd and they frequently visit Hong Kong Chinese, which is in the complex where the East Brainerd Publix is. I know when they’ve been because Philip comes home with a box of cereal, a telltale sign that he had to buy something in order to get cash back at checkout-Hong Kong only accepts cash or checks. He has sworn to me for a couple of years now that the food at Hong Kong is delicious, but it’s a little bit of a trek especially when you never carry cash, so it’s taken us a little time to get out there.

It’s been quite a week here in Chattanooga, what with ice and snow and temperatures nearing zero. Us Southerners aren’t built for that type of weather and neither are our Public Works departments…I mean, it really doesn’t make financial sense to spend a lot of money to purchase a lot of equipment meant to deal with weather events that may happen once or twice a year if that. So…I was off work all week (and I might add…Tennessee schools tack a little time on to the end of each day so that snow days are built in, so it’s not like we just get free days-I’ve seen a little complaining about that this week) and feeling just a little stir crazy after being in the house 95% of the week. We ventured out in still a little bit of slush so Philip could check out the craft beer selection at Sigler’s, then we headed to the Kitchen Spice Indian store next the to East Brainerd Goodwill…then we went to Publix and bought cereal so we could eat at Hong Kong.

There were no other customers eating in the restaurant, which looks pretty much like your stereotypical mom and pop Chinese restaurant-a few basic tables, some floral border on the walls, and pictures of menu items above the counters. The people in the back were very busy preparing to-go orders and the phone rang frequently (not to mention the steady stream of people picking up their orders). The lady who took our order recognized Philip and told him that they were out of tofu, because apparently he likes to order tofu. Anyway….

We got there at 3:01 so we were just a little too late to order off of the lunch specials menu, which includes entree, chicken fried rice, an egg roll, and soup or a soda. Instead, for $15 and some change (plus a little that Philip dropped in the tip jar), we ordered the combination plates. When I asked Philip what was good off of their very large (as Chinese menus tend to be) menu, he assured me that everything he’d had was good (by the way, I’ve included the menu at the bottom of the post). In the end I got an order of sesame chicken and he decided on chicken with cashew nuts. Each order came with chicken fried rice and an egg roll, and we drank water.

Sesame chicken is my favorite Chinese menu item but I often find that the sauce is so thick and sweet that it becomes cloying. I did not find this to be an issue with this chicken, which was sweet but not tooth-aching, crunchy, and not too sticky. There was a little broccoli, though I would have liked to have had more. The rice was well-cooked and peppered with peas and carrots. My only real complaint is that the egg roll had a little bit of weird pink pork in it…which always freaks me out a little bit. The pink color just comes from the salt used to cure it, but the neon hue is just a little unnerving. Still, the egg rolls were delicious.

Philip’s chicken with cashew nuts was far more vegetable-laden than my sesame chicken, with lots of carrots, celery, water chestnuts, mushrooms, and cashews. Rather than being breaded like the sesame chicken, the cashew chicken was simply velveted (coated in cornstarch before being sautéed) and had a light, slightly sweet sauce. The portions were decent sized but not overly gigantic…we both ate most but not all of our meals and didn’t feel stuffed after.

For the price and the friendly service (I saw some reviewers on Urbanspoon refer to the service as rude and state that they’ll walk away if you aren’t ready, but they’re BUSY. While we decided on our order, the lady taking the orders walked away to work in the kitchen, then she came back after a couple of minutes to take our order), I think that Hong Kong Chinese is a great option. It was definitely the best Chinese food that I’ve had around Chattanooga in quite a while, and it didn’t leave me with an MSG aftertaste or a telltale MSG bloat after (too much MSG makes me feel puffy and swollen). Obviously, the location will prevent us from going on those work nights when I just don’t feel like cooking…

…but when I have a Chinese craving that I can’t shake Hong Kong Chinese will be my go-to. Judging from the number of people picking up takeout, it seems that quite a few people in the area agree.

Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant is located at 8644 East Brainerd Road, Suite C2, Chattanooga, TN 37421. They are open daily, 11 a.m.-10 p.m., except Sundays when they are open 12 p.m.-9:30 p.m. You can call them at 423-899-4878.

Also in this area: Bones Smokehouse

Easy Spaghetti and Meatballs

February 21, 2015

This easy spaghetti and meatballs tastes like traditional spaghetti and meatballs but it’s easy enough to make on a weeknight!
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure statement.

So, I don’t want anyone getting mad or jumping on me because this recipe for easy spaghetti and meatballs doesn’t resemble that of your Italian grandmother or the little mom & pop Italian restaurant with the red checkered tablecloth in your hometown or the upscale-ish Italian joint you like to frequent. I have a few factors working against me: (a) I am not Italian; (b) no one in my family made spaghetti and meatballs when I was growing up, at least not that I recall. In fact, my most vivid spaghetti and meatballs memory were made by Chef Boyardee; and (c) I don’t have a favorite restaurant version either.

I get it, I get it. People are passionate about the foods that they grew up eating and they want to have them just as they remember. Perhaps it is best to say that these spaghetti and meatballs are best for those of you who, like me, have no preconceived notion of what spaghetti and meatballs ought to be. If you’re looking for meatballs that are the size of baseballs so that everyone only needs one, or Sunday tomato gravy simmered for long hours on the stovetop and stirred by a sweet old lady with a cute apron, you are looking in the wrong place, though I do have some cute aprons that I frequently forget to wear, resulting in lots of laundry nightmares usually consisting of oil stains (however, I found a great trick for getting rid of them recently!).

I’ve mentioned here a time or twenty that my original obsession with cooking came from watching episodes of Nigella Bites on the now defunct Style Network. My first attempts at making spaghetti and meatballs were from a Nigella recipe, though I can’t remember if it was from her show or from her book How to Eat, which I read from cover to cover like a novel obsessively. While it was delicious, I recall that the meatballs, which were just dropped raw in the simmering sauce, seemed to be lacking something, and eventually I just stopped making it.

I recently developed a craving for spaghetti and meatballs, so I turned to one of my standbys-my America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook. Between Alton Brown’s Good Eats Collection, Smitten Kitchen (and The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook), I know I can always find at the very least a good starting place for a recipe I’m working on. Often, as with this recipe, I make a change or two and I’m good to go. With this one, the only change that I made was to sub crushed crackers for the bread in the original recipe, because I always feel like soaked bread is too squishy and visible.

So…if you’re looking for spaghetti and meatballs that live up to some romantic childhood memory that you have, this may not be the place to look. I cannot vouch for any sort of authenticity in this recipe, but what I can vouch for is perfectly browned meatballs in a simple but flavorful sauce. The meatballs are small so they cook through quickly and look at how many meatballs you get in your bowl! The sauce is just a few ingredients. This recipe doesn’t require hours over the stove…

…in fact, it’s simple and quick enough that if you have an hour to put into dinner you can put these easy spaghetti and meatballs on the table on a weeknight.

And if you are lucky enough to have leftovers, you can make meatball subs with them-and why wouldn’t you??????

Mary

Yield: 4-6 servings

Spaghetti and Meatballs

This recipe is adapted from the America's Test Kitchen Complete TV Show Cookbook.

20 minPrep Time:

40 minCook Time:

1 hrTotal Time:

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Ingredients

For the meatballs

2 ounces saltine crackers (about 15)
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 pound ground beef, 85% lean
1/4 pound ground pork
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons parsley
1 egg yolk
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
vegetable or canola oil

For the sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped basil
salt & pepper

To serve

12-16 ounces spaghetti
grated parmesan

Instructions

Crush the crackers and place in a large bowl. Stir in the buttermilk and let the crumb mixture sit for about ten minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except the oil) and use your hands to mix. You want to just combine the ingredients but not overmix.
Fill a large skillet (I used a 12-inch skillet) about 1/4 inch deep with oil. Heat over medium high heat. Roll the meat into 1 1/2 inch balls (I use a 1 1/2 inch scoop for this). I got 29 meatballs. Place half of the meatballs into the oil and cook, turning, until brown on all sides, about 6-8 minutes. Remove to a paper towel lined plate and repeat with remaining meatballs.
While you make the sauce, cook the pasta according to package directions.
Drain the oil from the pan. Set the pan back over medium heat and add the garlic. Cook just until fragrant-this will happen very quickly. Add the tomatoes and cook until thickened, about ten minutes. Add the basil and salt and pepper to taste. Add all of the meatballs into the sauce and cook, turning occasionally, for about five minutes.
Drain the pasta. Stir in a small amount of the sauce to coat the noodles then divide among the bowls. Top with meatballs, more sauce, and grated cheese.

https://chattavore.com/easy-spaghetti-and-meatballs/

Print the recipe for easy spaghetti and meatballs!

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Red Wine Brownies with Cheesecake Swirl

February 14, 2015

Red wine brownies with cheesecake swirl are a perfect combination of chocolate, a subtle hint of red wine, and a rich cheesecake batter.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure statement.
Red wine brownies with cheesecake swirl were supposed to be red velvet cheesecake brownies. I’ve been planning on posting them this weekend (you know, because of Valentine’s Day) for months, then I looked at Pinterest and at my BlogLovin’ feed and realized that everyone else and their brother had already posted a recipe for some sort of red velvet something this week. I’d been wanting to make a bundt cake version of the red wine cake from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook for a while now and needed a dessert for a work lunch, but iced bundt cakes don’t really travel all that well and brownies do, so I did a little reading and came up with these.

Red velvet is one of my very favorite cakes, probably more because of the thick layer of cream cheese frosting than anything in the actual cake. Because of its red color, of course, it’s a standard Valentine’s Day dessert. But really, isn’t red wine a little more Valentine’s Day than red velvet?

Honestly, the truth is that I don’t care. Philip and I started dating the week before Valentine’s Day sixteen years ago (sixteen years, what? How old am I again?!?!?!?!) so we were a little too early in our relationship to worry about Valentine’s Day that first year. The next year we decided that we’d rather celebrate our dating anniversary, and then after that we decided that Valentine’s Day was just not really our thing. And despite the fact that ladies that Philip has worked with have told him that no matter what I say, I REALLY DO want him to buy me a Valentine’s gift, I really, really don’t.

Unless he wants to give me these red wine cheesecake brownies. I mean, these are pretty fantastic. They’re dense and rich and extremely moist. The red wine doesn’t overwhelm, but you definitely taste it in the background and it pairs perfectly with the chocolate. Plus, how can you go wrong when you swirl cheesecake batter into chocolate?

These red wine brownies with cheesecake swirl are basically perfect.

Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? If so, what are your plans?

Mary

Yield: 16-32 brownies

Red Wine Cheesecake Brownies

The brownie batter is adapted from The Domestic Rebel . The cheesecake batter is from Smitten Kitchen .

20 minPrep Time:

35 minCook Time:

55 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

For the brownie batter

1 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup Merlot
2 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
pinch salt

For the cheesecake swirl

8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 pan (or 9×13 pan, if you are doubling the recipe) with foil or parchment paper. Spray the foil or paper with nonstick cooking spray.
Place the chocolate chips and the butter in a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until completely melted. Stir in the red wine and allow to sit for one minute.
Whisk the eggs into the chocolate mixture. Add the vanilla and sugar and whisk to combine. Whisk in the cocoa, flour, and salt until completely incorporated. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the cheesecake batter ingredients until smooth (there may be a few lumps). Drop spoonfuls of the cheesecake batter all over the brownie batter. Drag a knife through the cheesecake batter until well-marbled.
Bake the brownies for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then use the parchment or foil like a sling to remove the brownies from the pan. Cool completely then cut into squares and serve.

https://chattavore.com/red-wine-brownies-cheesecake-swirl/

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Red wine brownies with cheesecake swirl are a perfect combination of chocolate, a subtle hint of red wine, and a rich cheesecake batter. | recipe from Chattavore.com

Gooey Lemon Chess Bars

February 11, 2015

Who doesn’t love a lemon square? These gooey lemon chess bars are sweet, a little sticky, and have just the perfect amount of lemon flavor!

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my disclosure statement.
If gooey lemon chess bars sounds like I couldn’t decide between calling my bars “lemon chess bars” or “gooey lemon butter bars”, well, it’s because that’s exactly what happened. Am I a bad Southerner if I admit that I have never ever had a “traditional” chess bar? Because I haven’t. So when a reader suggested that I make chess bars, I honestly wasn’t sure where to start.

I checked all my cookbooks. Every recipe included a cake mix. Now, I am not above a cake mix-they’re my cake ball bread and butter-but I wanted to make these from scratch. Try as I might, though, I could not find a recipe for chess bars from scratch. What? It was kind of like the pumpkin angel food cake incident…every single recipe that I happened upon started with a yellow cake mix.

Then…a funny thing happened. After comparing several recipes, I realized that chess bars and gooey butter bars are basically the same thing. Not even basically. They are the same. thing. So I started looking for from scratch gooey butter bars. The search was also basically fruitless, until I remembered the recipe for gooey cinnamon squares from my Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. It started with a cookie base then had a gooey topping. Hmmmm.

A little searching and I had settled on a recipe…Deb‘s cookie base with a cream cheese topping from Kevin & Amanda’s Recipes, with lemon for additional flavor and a bruleed sugar top. Bruleed sugar top? YES. These gooey lemon chess bars were chewy, sweet but not too sweet, and with a crunchy sugar top. Perfection.