Name: Sausage & Roasted Red Pepper Mini Quiches
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Yield: 8 mini-quiches
Ingredients: 8 ounces (1/2 package) breakfast sausage; I used Odom's Tennessee Pride®Country Sausage mild variety; pastry for a single crust pastry (I used one crust from a packaged pie crust); 1 roasted red pepper (jarred, or make your own - see notes for directions), chopped; 4 ounces smoked cheddar cheese (1 cup, grated); 4 large eggs; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Sausage and Red Pepper Mini Quiches

March 12, 2018

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Sausage and red pepper mini quiches come together so quickly and they’re so easy to make…and delicious, of course. They’re great for brunch!

Are you a brunch person? For me, brunch = life. I mean, breakfast food is always perfect…am I right? How can you go wrong with biscuits and gravy? Bacon? Eggs? Sausage? Answer: you can’t. Breakfast foods are awesome any time of day. I mean, it’s not really universally accepted to eat spaghetti for breakfast, but it is totally universally accepted to eat pancakes for dinner.

The really great thing about brunch is that most of the time brunch foods are pretty easy to whip up but when you say that something is “brunch” it becomes totally fancy and special. I mean, serve up a mimosa beside just about anything and it’s fancy, right? Easy, crowd-pleasing, and fancy? Hello!

Quiche is one of my absolute favorite brunch foods. First of all, quiche is an awesome “clean out the fridge” food. Throw in a little bit of this and a little bit of that and add some eggs and you have an incredibly delicious and well-balanced meal.

The thing that always makes me laugh about quiche is that a lot of men think of it as “girly” food. I mean really, how can food be girly? And who really cares? What matters about food is that it tastes good. Honestly, I’m really not sure how food that includes pie crust (I mean, would you turn down apple pie?), cheese, and eggs should somehow only be consumed by women because it has a French name. Can we all just agree that that is silly?

Especially when the quiche in question is this sausage and red pepper mini quiches. With Odom’s Tennessee Pride® Country Sausage, roasted red peppers, and smoked cheddar cheese, these quiches are substantial…but baked in a muffin pan, it’s miniature in stature so everyone gets their own baby quiche…no annoying attempts to cut a slice out of a pie-shaped quiche, because we all know how annoying that can be.

My mom has bought Odom’s Tennessee Pride Country Sausage since I was a kid. Once, I bought another brand because the store where I was shopping didn’t have Tennessee Pride (tragic, I know). I should have made another stop (I could have picked some up at Walmart, which is where I got this), because I was sorely disappointed with the other brand. Odom’s Tennessee Pride Country Sausage always has the right balance of herbs and spices and it browns up perfectly. It’s just how sausage should taste to me. It’s perfect in this quiche with the smoked cheddar and roasted red pepper (which I roasted myself, but you can totally buy a jar).

These sausage and red pepper mini quiches are so easy to make…the whole thing comes together in about 15 minutes, and then they’re baked and ready to eat in 25. You could even make them the night before and stick them in the oven when you’re ready to bake…and this sausage and red pepper quiche is delicious hot or at room temperature.

These sausage and red pepper mini quiches would be perfect on your Easter brunch table!

Mary

Yield: 8 mini-quiches

Sausage & Roasted Red Pepper Mini Quiches

15 minPrep Time:

35 minCook Time:

50 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

8 ounces (1/2 package) breakfast sausage; I used Odom's Tennessee Pride®Country Sausage mild variety
pastry for a single crust pastry (I used one crust from a packaged pie crust)
1 roasted red pepper (jarred, or make your own - see notes for directions), chopped
4 ounces smoked cheddar cheese (1 cup, grated)
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°.
Preheat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage until browned.
Roll the pie crust into a rectangle and cut into 8 equal pieces. I don't get too precious with this - just estimate how big you think it needs to be for 8 mini quiches. Press the 8 squares each into a cup of the muffin tin.
Divide the sausage, chopped red peppers, and cheese among the 8 pastry crusts.
Whisk the eggs, salt, and pepper in a bowl or large measuring cup. Divide the egg mixture evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Recipe Type: breakfast, brunch, main dishes

Notes

To make your own roasted red peppers, heat a broiler to high with a rack 6-8 inches from the broiler. Cut the sides off of a large red pepper. Place the red pepper skin side up on a baking sheet. Place under the broiler and broil until the skin is blackened. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand for 15 minutes then peel off any blackened skin.

https://chattavore.com/sausage-and-red-pepper-mini-quiches/

A picture of roasted red pepper and sausage mini-quiches stacked on a cutting board. One quiche is cut open, revealing the sausage and red peppers inside

Instant Pot Mojo Pork + Video

January 23, 2018

Instant Pot mojo pork is so easy to put together – just a few ingredients and it cooks up in just about an hour start to finish. It’s got amazing flavor and works well in so many applications! Scroll down for video!

Have you ever been craving a food so much that you would go to just about any length to make it? We re-watched the movie Chef on Christmas Eve, and I have been wanting a Cuban sandwich ever since. There’s really no sandwich that compares to a Cuban…roasted pork, ham, swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard on Cuban bread. We went to Ceniza while I was on break but…I forgot that they don’t open until dinner time during the week.

So, I had to resort to my own resources. I had watched a Binging with Babish video where he made a perfectly roasted mojo pork shoulder that he marinated with about a million ingredients then rubbed with a million more. Looked amazing but that’s a few too many ingredients for me. This Instant Pot mojo pork is a little more my style. Just a few ingredients that I can throw together in about ten minutes and cook in about an hour, start to finish. I don’t claim that this is an authentic recipe but it does have amazing mojo flavors: garlic, citrus, and pork shoulders.

Instant Pot mojo pork is perfect for Cuban sandwiches but it’s also great for tacos, burritos, or just as the meat mean dish on your plate. Warning: there are 8 cloves of garlic in this and your Instant Pot sealing ring is going to be super-stinky. Store the lid upside down or separate from the pot to minimize the stink!

Shared on The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!

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Mary

Instant Pot Mojo Pork

10 minPrep Time:

1 hrCook Time:

1 hr, 10 Total Time:

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Ingredients

2-3 pound pork shoulder, boneless or meat cut off the bone, cut into 4-6 pieces with large chunks of fat trimmed away
salt and pepper
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup lime juice
8 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried cumin

Instructions

Salt and pepper both sides of the pork pieces. Place the pork in the Instant Pot.
Whisk together the orange juice, lime juice, garlic, oregano, and cumin. Pour over the meat in the Instant Pot.
Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set the vent to sealing. Select the manual or pressure setting and set the time to 25 minutes.
When the cook time on the Instant Pot is up, press the "cancel" button to turn the Instant Pot off. Allow the Instant Pot to depressurize naturally.
When the float valve drops, remove the lid and use tongs to remove the meat from the Instant Pot to a cutting board. Turn the Instant Pot to sauté and allow the liquid to reduce while you shred the meat.
Place the meat in a bowl and pour the reduced liquid over the meat. Serve as desired.

Recipe Type: pork, main dishes, Instant Pot, pressure cooker

Notes

Cook time includes the time to allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure and depressurize naturally. It may take slightly more or less time depending on the temperature of your ingredients, altitude, etc. This recipe can also be made in the slow cooker - just place the meat and the sauce ingredients in your slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours, until tender.

https://chattavore.com/instant-pot-mojo-pork/

Instant Pot mojo pork is so easy to put together - just a few ingredients and it cooks up in just about an hour start to finish. It's got amazing flavor and works well in so many applications! #instantpot #instantpotpork #instantpotrecipe #instantpotcooking | recipe from Chattavore.com

Easy Sausage Balls from Scratch + Video

December 3, 2017

These easy sausage balls from scratch are a classic party favorite without the need for boxed mixes! Scroll down for video!
There are so many things to eat at Christmas. I could never pick a favorite. I mean, ranch Goldfish? My grandmother’s egg soufflé? All the cheese balls?? For Christmas dinner, we eat prime rib and twice baked potatoes. Can you see why I❤️Christmas?

At every Christmas gathering (including my family’s Christmas breakfast) you are likely to find sausage balls. Little nuggets of breakfast sausage, cheese, and biscuit mix (aka Bisquick), these things are addictive. They’re low-calorie too, so you can eat as many as you like (⬅️that’s a total lie). Truth be told, though, I don’t wait for Christmas to make sausage balls.We love to eat them for breakfast or for an occasional Saturday night snack (Saturday night is snack night in my house).

I have nothing against Bisquick. My mom makes her sausage balls with Bisquick and Cheez Whiz (because Cheez Whiz helps them to mix up more easily) and those things are goooood. I’m a biscuit purist, though, so I don’t keep Bisquick or any other type of baking mix in the house, so I’d rather just make my own than go buy a box when I want to make sausage balls.

These take approximately one minute longer to make than sausage balls made with a baking mix (that minute being used, of course, to measure the ingredients) and they are every bit as delicious. So, whether you want to go the traditional route and use a baking mix or make these easy sausage balls from scratch, just make some sausage balls. It’s Christmas!

Shared on Meal Plan Monday on Southern Bite!

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Yield: about 60 sausage balls

Sausage Balls from Scratch

20 minPrep Time:

20 minCook Time:

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Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and chilled
1 pound breakfast sausage (mild or hot, your choice)
1 pound cheddar cheese (2 8-ounce blocks), grated
milk

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. If desired, spray 2 sheet pans with cooking spray (I actually never bother).
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add the sausage and cheese to the bowl along with a couple of tablespoons of milk. Using your hands, work the ingredients together until well-combined, adding milk a tablespoon at a time to moisten the mixture so that you can get all the dry flour (you can also use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment to do this, but I just prefer to use my hands).
Portion the sausage ball mixture into tablespoon size pieces (I use a cookie scoop to do this) and roll into balls using your palms before placing them onto the baking sheets.
Bake the sausage balls until lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes. Stack on paper towels for a few minutes to absorb excess butter. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

https://chattavore.com/easy-sausage-balls-from-scratch/

No-Velveeta Sausage Queso + Video

October 13, 2017

No-Velveeta sausage queso is a perfect tailgating or party snack. It comes together in 15 minutes with no processed cheese involved! (scroll down for video)

Don’t get me wrong, I can throw down some Velveeta dip, and I will never deny that nothing (nothing) melts like American cheese (which is why I almost always use it on my burgers). But when cheese is the star of the show, like it is in any queso dip, I want to go big on the flavor, and, of course, I don’t want to use processed cheese food in everything I make.

Sausage queso is a Southern staple for tailgating, birthday parties, or (if you live in my house) a quick snack supper. Here is my method for getting it just perfect with only a few ingredients.

1) Easy on the oil
I just use the drippings from the sausage and don’t add any butter or oil to this recipe. With all that cheese, any more oil and this sausage queso dip would be swimming in orange grease. That’s never a good thing.

2) Make a roux
I learned the hard way when I was a new cook that most cheeses (aside from the aforementioned American) don’t melt well in plain old milk. Stringy city, baby. Tossing shredded cheese into a creamy roux (made simply by mixing flour with the drippings then adding some milk – like we’re making a classic sausage gravy) keeps everything perfectly smooth; that’s how I start all of my cheese sauces these days.

3) Just enough liquid
The milk is enough to get this dip, well, dippable. Any more liquid and it would be runny, which is why I drain my tomatoes well before I add them to the dip.

4) Seasoning is key
You can certainly go for some cayenne, cumin, garlic powder, or onion powder – whatever sounds good to you. For the sausage queso here I kept the seasoning simple – just a sprinkle of salt. The point is, you have to make sure you check the salt level. Sure, there’s salt in the sausage and there’s salt in the cheese, but the milk dilutes it and if you don’t check your seasonings you might end up with an awfully bland dip.

5) Garnish!
I chose cilantro, but maybe you’re one of those souls who thinks that cilantro tastes like soap. You could use some fresh or pickled jalapeños, chopped green onions or chives, or chopped tomatoes. Even some crumbled queso fresco would be great here. A little garnish goes a long way in adding some color and flavor!

Shared on The Weekend Potluck on The Country Cook!

Mary

Yield: About 3 cups dip

No-Velveeta Sausage Queso + Video

5 minPrep Time:

10 minCook Time:

15 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

8 ounces breakfast sausage
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 can diced tomatoes and green chilies, well-drained
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheese - I like a mixture of cheddar and Monterey jack; pepper jack would work well too
salt, to taste
garnishes - chopped cilantro, jalapeños, green onions, tomatoes
tortilla chips, for dipping

Instructions

Preheat a 10-inch skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat. Add the sausage to the pan and cook, using a wooden spatula or spoon to break up the sausage, until well browned.
Turn the heat down to medium. Sprinkle the flour over the sausage and stir to combine. Cook for about one minute. Add the milk and tomatoes and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Add the cheese to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until completely melted and well-incorporated. Salt to taste and serve with desired garnishes and tortilla chips for dipping.

Recipe Type: snacks, appetizers

https://chattavore.com/no-velveeta-sausage-queso-video/

No-Velveeta sausage queso is a perfect tailgating or party snack. It comes together in 15 minutes with no processed cheese involved! | Recipe from Chattavore.com

Sweet Tea Brined Grilled Pork Tenderloin

July 24, 2017

This grilled, sweet tea brined pork tenderloin is an amazingly simple and delicious weeknight dinner! It only takes about 15 minutes of active prep/cooking!

Those of you who know me well know that this blog is chicken thighs and pork shoulder, not chicken breasts and pork tenderloin. I am a firm believer in a couple of principles: (1) fat is flavor; and (2) moderation is the key to eating whatever you want. I decided a long time ago that I was willing to eat a little bit less of something if I thought it tasted better or had a better texture than the thing that I could eat more of.

Did that even make sense? I feel like I was ramblinggggggg. Sorry about that. It happens sometimes.

The thing is, another principle that I live by is never say never. I actually don’t have anything against chicken breasts and pork tenderloin, I just happen to like thighs and shoulder a little bit more. Here’s the thing about pork shoulder, though: as much as I love it, it is a bit of a pain to cook. I mean, it’s easy enough. Low and slow, you know, or you can do it in the Instant Pot and that goes pretty quickly. However, this is the summer of grilling for me, and I was certainly not going to be tending a pork shoulder for hours on the grill or in my smoker. Sooooo…if I was going to grill some pork, tenderloin or chops seemed to be the way to go.

I am sure that most of you have heard of sweet tea brined fried chicken. One of my favorite places to eat fried chicken here in town, Public House, brines their fried chicken in sweet tea and it is 💯🙌🏻👏🏻. I like to let other people fry chicken for me, though, so I knew that I wasn’t going to go there. A sweet tea brine, though, seemed like the perfect way to season a grilled pork tenderloin and keep it good and juicy. And you know what? IT WAS./em> Another way to keep your grilled pork tenderloin from drying out is to not cook it to death. DID YOU READ THAT? You don’t have to turn your pork into shoe leather to safely eat it, regardless of the rumors that you may have heard. You want to cook it to an internal temperature of about 140˚ and then let it rest to redistribute the juices and allow just a little bit of residual cooking. Listen to me and your pork will be just a little pink, but totally safe to eat, and so tender you won’t believe your taste buds.

This sweet tea brined grilled pork tenderloin deserves a spot on your dinner table. Trust me. The brining takes 5 minutes of active work, then 10 minutes of grilling, and quick rest, and dinner is on the table. I even threw some broccoli on the grill for a perfect side dish. Try it!
Shared on The Weekend Potluck on Served Up With Love!

Mary

Yield: 4 servings

Sweet Tea Brined Grilled Pork Tenderloin

5 minPrep Time:

10 minCook Time:

15 minTotal Time:

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Ingredients

1 pork tenderloin, trimmed
4 cups sweet tea (see notes for recipe, or use store-bought)
1/2 cup kosher salt
BBQ sauce, for serving (optional)

Instructions

In a container large enough for the pork tenderloin, whisk together the sweet tea and the salt. Place the tenderloin in the container, cover, and refrigerate for 12-24 hours, turning once.
When you are ready to grill, remove the tenderloin from the brine. Pat dry with paper towels and let stand at room temperature while you prepare the grill.
Preheat the grill to high. Generously brush the grates with oil. Grill the tenderloin for 10-12 minutes, turning every 2 minutes, until the tenderloin reaches an internal temperature of 140?.
Remove the tenderloin from the grill and wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Rest wrapped in foil for 10 minutes. Slice and serve with BBQ sauce if desired.

Recipe Type: pork, main dishes, grilling, Southern

Notes

Prep/cook time does not include inactive time to brine or rest the tenderloin. To make sweet tea, boil 1 cup water and steep a family size tea bag in the water for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup sugar and stir until dissolved. Add 3 cups cold water and refrigerate until cold.

https://chattavore.com/grilled-sweet-tea-brined-pork-tenderloin/