I took a trip to Chicago this past weekend for a commercial shoot. On my way back, I had the pleasure of sitting next to a nice young man. I usually do not talk, but somehow we started a conversation and of course, it led to talking about food. He was from the South like me, and shared with me one of his favorite desserts. He said his mother, who had passed, would make him and his brothers Butter Rolls.

I was confused at first. He was talking about desserts but I was picturing something like yeast rolls in my head. He told me that he still had an aunt that would make them and called her right then and there so she could share her recipe with me.

It was a beautiful thing. From what I have heard since learning about these, this was a dessert that many would make using the scraps leftover from making biscuits. It is complete with a sweet milk sauce that you cover over the rolls.  It is sort of like cinnamon rolls, but it uses biscuit dough.

You will need:

Dough
3 cups of self rising flour
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of milk

Sauce
2 cups milk
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling
3 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 cup Sugar
4 tsbp butter


To begin making your dough, pour your flour in your mixing bowl. Using your hands ( or you can use a food processor) begin crumbling the butter into the flour. I place the butter in the flour and squeeze it over and over until it crumbles into the flour.


Once butter is crumbled into the flour, make a hole in the middle of the flour. Slowly add in 1/2 cup of milk. Take the flour and fold it over on top of the milk and pat down. The milk will escape but absorb into the flour, make another hole and fill with more milk. Repeat the process until you have a nice dough forming. Remove from bowl and on a floured surface, begin kneading.

Roll out your dough to about a half an inch thick. Trim sides. While butter is at room temperature, spread it evenly over the dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture.





Begin rolling. Slice into rolls.

Place rolls in nonstick baking pan.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until golden brown at the top.

In sauce pan, add in your milks and butter, Cook on meduim for 15 minutes, stirring. Remove from heat.

Once rolls are brown, remove from oven, pour milk mixture over them and bake for 10-15 more minutes. Serve warm.





*I placed mine back in the oven for the sauce to thicken. I had removed it too early for photos. It did thicken and was really good!



Since this is still new to me, I would love to try some recipes for Butter Rolls if you have any! Feel free to share! I have heard they can be made different ways.

Working on some exciting new recipes and content!  Until then, here is a super delicious must make meal perfect for cold months!

Here in the South, at least in Mississippi, there is not a place you can go to for a quick lunch that does not offer 'beef tips and gravy'.  Usually served with rice, sometimes it is sided with mashed potatoes. It is one of those dishes that working men love because hey, it's meat and potatoes and it is very filling.

It is a simple meal...no frou-frou ingredients...just meat, gravy and some onions/bell peppers. Season it just right, and this simple, traditional meal is so good.

My family loves it, but then again, we love mostly anything that comes paired with gravy. We are gravy addicts....at least I am and being that mama is, the kids happen to be too.

This meal is perfect after a long day's work or on a cool night.  I served mine with honey roasted carrots with bacon, but any green side will do just fine or a nice simple side salad.



You will need

Beef stew meat ( I used a large family pack for my family of 5)
1/2 large onion (sliced)
1/2 green bell pepper (sliced)
3 tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
1 tbsp pepper
3 tsp salt

(you can add more salt and pepper to taste. I like my food nicely seasoned, so sometimes I use a bit more. Don't be afraid to taste and add more if you need to)

In large pot of water, bring meat to a boil. Add in a tablespoon of salt to the boiling water and meat. reduce to medium heat and cook for about 40 minutes to an hour. This helps tenderize the meat.

Drain water and place meat in a skillet with onions and peppers. Add in your Worchestershire sauce  and seasoning. Stir well. Cook on medium heat until peppers and onions are softened.

Brown Gravy
1/4 cup unsalted butter or vegetable oil
1/4 cup flour
1/2  teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cups water
4 teaspoons beef bouillon cubes (crushed)

In skillet, add in your butter or oil, cook on high heat. Once it starts to heat up, immediately add your flour, sprinkling around the entire skillet.  Stir quickly and consistently. The flour will start to brown.  Add in your water (still stirring so it does not burn)  and once it starts to bubble, reduce heat to low.  Add in your crushed bouillon cubes and stir until dissolved. Add in your salt and pepper, stir again until smooth and turn off heat.

Pour your gravy over your beef and stir. Serve hot.

*You can also add in sliced onion before you add the flour...cook them for a minute or so in the hot oil and then follow the rest of the steps. 

I always tell myself I should do more baking. When I was growing up, my mom baked a cake or something each week. Seriously, my mom is my inspiration. You know how they always tell you that you come to appreciate things from your youth once you get older...it is true. As a mama myself now I realize just how important those little things were that my mom did for us...like her baking us something every single week.



My kids love peaches. While I don't usually cook with canned or frozen goods these days, we keep non-perishables in our pantry in case of emergencies or for those lazy days when I do not feel like doing much.  We have a ton of canned peaches and I was a bit tired of making only peach cobbler so I thought it would be awesome to find another pie idea for my bajillion cans. 


And thus peach and apple butter handpies were born. Dude. These are so easy. You only need three things: pie dough/pastry dough, apple butter and peaches. You do not need sugar, vanilla or anything extra. The apple butter adds in the perfect touch of cinnamon and the peaches combined brings about the perfect sweetness. And you don't have to do any cooking of the fruit before hand either! Perfection, yes!

You will need:
Roll out pie dough or pastry dough
Kyvan Apple Butter
Canned Peaches in heavy syrup


Drain syrup from the peaches, cut into smaller cubes and pour peaches into a bowl. Mix in 4 tablespoons of apple butter and mix.

Roll out dough and cut out 4 inch circles.  Scoop 1-1 1/2 spoonfuls of peach and apple butter mix into middle of dough circles.  Fold over one side of the circle and use a fork to crimp the edges. Use a knife and cut small vent lines in the top of the handpie.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream or with a simple powdered sugar icing drizzle.

My mom claimed she did not want prime rib or ham for Thanksgiving as my menu so beautifully stated.  Of course, she got a serious side eye and a "What would you like instead?" 

I was serious. This is my mama and even though I was in charge of Thanksgiving dinner and my kids and other invited family members had no say in what I was making, my mama was the exception. Shoot, I still remember those epic punishments I would get when I kept running in and out the house as a kid, so there was no way I was going to say, deal with it mama. Instead, I asked her what she wanted and she answered with chicken.



I consider myself I foodie. I was not just going to do any kind of chicken for her, I planned out this epic worthy whole baked chicken that was sure to knock her socks off but exxxxxcuse me when she called me up and said, Never mind on the chicken, your Aunt Angie bought me some. Now, ok. It's only the day before Thanksgiving. I head to the kitchen, glance in the fridge at the lone whole chicken that is chilling inside and give it a "Maybe tomorrow" salute.



And then tomorrow came. Not thinking, I left most of the leftovers at my mom's, so I was limited on corn, bread, salad and that lonely whole chicken that never made it to the rack of the oven.  I decided that it would make a nice lunch for my crew.



I opened my pantry and pulled out some Kyvan bbq dry rub, Honey Apple BBQ Sauce, some balsamic vinegar and decided, hey, let's make it happen.

Look at that drizzle...Oh yeah.

Thus, this lunch was born.


This is a super tasty and easy to make dinner or lunch for your crew.



My kids could not get enough of the bbq dry rub croutons so I had to use my entire leftover loaf of crusty italian bread to make them more. They popped them like popcorn, so this is a nice way to use leftover bread, an addition to a great salad, or an amazing snack option.

You will need:

Chicken
Whole Chicken (cleaned)
1/2 cup Kyvan BBQ Dry Rub
1/2 cup Kyvan Honey Apple BBQ Sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1.2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup softened butter

Spread softened butter all over chicken. Pat on and spread the dry ingredients. Bake at 450 degrees in oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat in oven to 350 degrees and cook 25 minutes per pound.

Once roasted, coat chicken with bbq sauce and place in oven for 10 minutes.



Kyvan BBQ Vinaigrette 
1/2 cup olive oil
1⁄2 cup balsamic vinegar
1⁄3 cup Kyvan Honey Apple BBQ Sauce
1⁄2 lemon squeezed
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1 tablespoon fresh oregano or parsley, chopped fine
1⁄4 teaspoon ground ginger

Mix all ingredients well. Shake well before serving and refrigerate after making and use.



Kyvan BBQ Croutons
Bread (cut into one inch cubes)
Kyvan BBQ Dry Rub
Olive Oil

On baking sheet line cut bread cubes. Sprinkle lightly with olive oil and then sprinkle bbq dry rub.

Herb Salad
1/2 cup basil
1/2 cup mint
1/2 cup dill
2 cups of arugula spinach mix
1/2 cup micro greens
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup of almonds




Check out Kyvan and purchase their deliciously southern products here.

Parmesan potatoes with gouda, provolone cheeses.

My mom and I alternate cooking duties on holidays. Most often it is her doing all the cooking but this year she told me she would decorate the Thanksgiving table and I do the cooking, and on Christmas we would swap.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I do NOT do cooking for large crowds nor do I cook large quantities of food. I am one of those weirdos who knows how much each person should have and I cook accordingly.

Everyone coming knew that was the case this Thanksgiving. There was no room for pop up visits because seriously, they would be eating crumbs. I just do not overcook. lol

Anywho, within the next few days I will be covering the recipes for these dishes, but here is a photographic recap.

It was such a good time among family and I was reminded just how awesome my mom, kids, sister and aunt are...they all seriously rock.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Apple and Cranberry Pie

Chocolate Cake with vanilla icing and blueberry preserves filling.

Herb salad with goat cheese and cranberry

My mom's awesome table setting

Cornbread dressing...the only thing my mom made because seriously hers is the BEST. If I had one word for it, it would be 'golden'. Or creamy. Or delicious.  Or cornbready, chickeny goldeny goodness.

I remember growing up, and picking wild blackberries in the woods surrounding our house. We would venture off into the woods and battle the many thorns to come home with bowls of berries. Back then, we were fans of anything salty or sour so we would sprinkle our berries with salt. Oh the good ole days.



Blackberry cobbler/pie is one of my all time favorite desserts. I love these berries. I love the gooey filling in the cobbler and the pies. I love it.  I am not a fan of cooked or baked fruit but when it comes to blackberry, oh my, everything goes out the window


Filling

2-3 cups blackberries, cleaned
1½ cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Juice of half a lemon
1½ cup water

In a pot, bring the ingredients to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Reduce heat to low and stir. Cook for 5 more minutes and remove from heat. The mixture should be thick when cooled.



Pie Crust via Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening
6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water


Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.



Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.



Coat your pie pan with the pie crust, trim edges. Fill with your filling and use remaining pie dough to cover or decorate your pie as you wish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes until top is golden brown. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, or ice cream and fresh blackberries.

Here in the South, shrimp and grits has always been something on the menu at a higher end restaurant. It is not an everyday dish that families just make for dinner. It is a soothing comfort food but usually only eaten when spending a night out on the town. Don't expect to visit your down south relatives and find this waiting on the table when you arrive, but boy oh boy is it easy to make and simple and quick and oh delicious. (Did I say enough 'ands'?)

Even though this is not an everyday dish, it sure is good. Grits are common enough here in Mississippi. It is a common breakfast meal that is similar to polenta. I would say it is like cream of wheat or something but it is coarser and grittier. I like mine with just a wee bit of pepper and salt with a pat of butter. It makes for some simple good eats. Really.

The good thing about grits is that it can be changed. You can add cheese, bacon, ham, gravy and it is the bomb.com. Add some fresh biscuits to the mix and oooooo-weeeeee, slap yo' mama gosh dang.

Seriously, easy to make and impress your friends and folks with this.

You will need:
4 cups of  water
1 cup of uncooked grits
1 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of butter
2 cups of medium shrimp (peeled and no tail)
4 slices of bacon
2 slices of smoked porkchops/ham (diced)
1 tbsp of creole seasoning
1 tbsp of worcestershire sauce
1 tsp of dried italian seasoning or chopped fresh parsley

In pot, bring water to a boil, add in salt and slowly begin stirring in the grits. Lower the heat to low-medium. The grits should start to bubble (be careful, these badboys are hot if they hit you). Stir regularly so they do not stick to the pot. Cook for ten minutes then lower the heat to low and cook for about 20 more minutes stirring regularly. Stirring will prevent the grits from lumping up and sticking to bottom of the pot. If your grits look too thick, slowly add in water, stirring until you get the consistency of a coarse pudding. Turn off the heat and cover.

In medium sauce pan on medium heat, add in butter and shrimp. Sprinkle with seasoning, worcestershire sauce, and add in bacon and porkchop pieces. Cook until bacon is done. Reduce heat. The shrimp mix should have made it's own gravy. If not enough, add in another dash of worcestershire and 2 tbsp of water.

You may need to add more creole seasoning. Don't be afraid to taste it to see if there is enough to your liking. I like well seasoned foods, so add more if you need to.

Spoon the grits into a bowl and top with a large spoonful of shrimp, bacon and ham and make sure you put some of that good ol' potlicker on it. (Once again, if your grits have gotten too thick--as they will thicken the longer they sit--add a little more water and stir to bring it back to a creamy nature) Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley and garnish with a twig of rosemary. Serve with fresh biscuits and you have a winner.

Serves 4.

Here in the South during the holidays there are certain desserts that you just know will be at almost every family dinner. One of them is the must have, pecan pie.

Pecan trees are a'plenty here and while some make their way through heavily leaved yards and gather them, most of us resort to the grocery store for a bag or two of super expensive pecans already de-shelled.