Sausage Balls

This recipe isn't from pinterest (shocker!), but it is an oldie and a goodie! My mom used to make sausage balls for as long as I can remember, and I LOVE them. I also make these for work potlucks, movie nights (shout out to the Estates crew!), pool parties, tailgates, brunches, pretty much any time I can make these, I will. They're ridiculously easy to make, but I recently found a new trick that makes them even EASIER... my KitchenAid! (Okay, so I found this tip from pinterest.)

Sausage Balls
1 package breakfast sausage (I get the spicy kind, you can get the regular stuff, but you probably don't want to get the syrup flavored sausage)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup Bisquick

Put all ingredients in your mixer with the paddle attachment (the one you make cookies with).

Mix until incorporated. (You might want to lock the top part down.) It takes a few minutes so have faith, all the Bisquick will mix in!

Action shot!

If you don't have a mixer, you can do this part with your hands. I used to do it this way! I always let the sausage set out for a bit before, because my hands would get really cold.

Then form into balls (I forgot to take a picture.. oops.) And place on a non-stick baking sheet with sides maybe an inch apart (they don't expand much). You want one with sides because these give off quite a bit of grease and you don't want it all over your oven floor. Also, don't try to put these on aluminum foil to spare yourself a greasy cleanup--they stick and it's a hot mess trying to get them off!

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on a cookie rack covered with some paper towels (again, more grease). These are amazing warm, but also good at room temperature or cool! I just really love them, so I'll eat them any way I can get them. :)

Semi-Homemade Pizza

This pizza was the first thing I made for my roomie and I after moving into our new place. I cheated a little and got store-bought pizza dough from Publix. Maybe one day I'll blog about making pizza dough from scratch. When I was growing up (and to this day if my brother or I are home), my mom made pizza from scratch every Friday night for dinner. I can only remember a few times we ever ordered in, and if my mom was away, my dad would make little pizzas from English Muffins. I order in Papa Johns WAY too often now, which is shameful, because this was so easy!

Grab a package of pre-made pizza dough from your local grocery. Publix is super awesome and puts the sauce, cheese and some toppings next to the pizza dough in the bakery for you. :) But if you don't go to Publix, the sauce is next to the Spaghetti sauces (make sure you get Pizza sauce!) and you can use either mozarella or an Italian blend of cheese. Try not to get diet or fat-free cheese, it just doesn't melt as well. We just used cheese, but feel free to add on your favorite toppings. When I want veggies, I always saute them a little to take the raw bite out of them and then throw them on top.


I have a pizza stone that I bake my pizzas on (among other things), but if you don't, just use a regular cookie sheet. Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes (or whatever it says on your package) until the bottom is crusty and the cheese is all melty. 

Enjoy!!

Banana Cupcakes!

Today, we had a baby shower/potluck at work for the girl I share my office with. I was supposed to make carrot cake cupcakes but they turned out a DISASTER. I dunno what I did wrong, but it was bad. Unsalvageable-bad. So, I had to make something else at the last minute and had 2 ripened bananas so I decided to make my old favorite Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter-Cream Cheese Frosting. They were a BIG hit! I also made sausage balls, which I'll blog about later this week.

Enjoy!

Garlic Knots

If you need a super easy garlic bread for your next Italian dinner, these garlic knots are your answer! Once again, I found these on pinterest and whipped them up one day.

Parmesan Garlic Knots
1 package refrigerated biscuits
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (I used the cheap kind in the jar with the green lid)
garlic powder
Italian seasoning
salt & pepper

POP the biscuit package (and admit it, it still scares you every time too!) and let the biscuits rest for a bit (I find it's easier to work with them when they're not from-the-fridge cold). Form each biscuit into a 9-12" rope and tie in a knot. Bake according to the package directions until golden brown. While baking, mix the remaining ingredients. Right after taking the knots out of the oven, spoon the oil mixture over each knot. Serve warm.

I even microwaved these and had them for breakfast the next few days at work. Yes, I'm one of those people that has no shame at eating non-breakfast food for breakfast.. AT WORK.

4th of July Strawberries

For the 4th of July this year I was invited to a fun pool party in Wilton Manors (a super trendy and awesome neighborhood in Ft Lauderdale). I was asked to bring a dessert, but I wanted to do something healthy and I found on pinterest (of course, do you see a theme?) some adorable 4th of July Red, White & Blue strawberries. They were so easy to make and a BIG hit! Except, everyone's mouth turned blue from the sprinkles! ;)

4th of July Strawberries
strawberries (I bought 3 pints because that day at Publix the strawberries looked a little sad and I wanted enough that I could use that were "pretty"... yes I'm crazy!)
white candy melts (I found these at Michael's using a coupon, but you could also use white chocolate)
blue sprinkles

Wash and dry the strawberries. It's very important to dry them well otherwise the candy melts (or chocolate) won't stick! Pour the sprinkles in a bowl (a bowl is easier than using a plate). Put the candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl, microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until melted. Dip a strawberry about 2/3 the way up in the candy melts. You might have to roll from side to side to get it fully covered. Then dip about 1/2 the way up in the sprinkles and roll from side to side until evenly sprinkled. Lay on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or tin foil. Refrigerate until firm (this won't take that long, maybe 30 mins-1 hour). Take to a party and show off to all your friends how cute and creative you are! :)

[These would also be super cute for Christmas with green sprinkles.]

ENJOY!

My AMAZING Fridge!

So when my roomie and I moved into our fabulous townhouse in Ft Lauderdale, it had fancy stainless steel appliances and we were SO excited. Turns out, the fridge kind of sucks at space. There's all these awkward shelves and drawers and it's pretty much a hot mess. The freezer is EVEN worse. BUT, this weekend I found out a special fact about my fridge that changed my opinion totally.... my fridge fits TWO half sheet pans on one shelf!

Yes, that's right, you're looking at two half sheet pans (with chocolate chip cookies) on ONE shelf. It's amazing. Just thought I'd share my excitement over this! If you bake, you know how exciting this is!!

Honey Beer Bread

This is another pinterest-inspired post! Seems like I'm cooking and baking my way through that website. I came across this on Saturday and decided to make it on Sunday as a treat. Here's the original blog post from a super cute blog called Lemon Sugar. If you think you can't make bread, THINK AGAIN. This was literally the fastest and easiest loaf of bread I have ever made. No kneading necessary!

Honey Beer Bread
3 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey
1 12-ounce bottle beer (I used Dogfish Festina Peche -- it's peach flavored and really delicious to drink all by itself too!)
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking power & salt) in a large bowl. Add in the honey & beer. Stir until mixed. In a greased loaf pan, pour half the melted butter into the bottom. Pour in the batter. And pour the rest of the melted butter on top. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (How easy is that??)

This turned out amazing. The edges were crumbly and moist (thanks to the melted butter) and the inside was warm and delicious. The only thing that could've made it better would've been some honey butter! Hope you enjoy!