Beasley Breakfast Casserole

This recipe comes from my mother-in-law and is one of Matt's favorite breakfast meals. It's really simple and can actually be prepared the night before and baked the next morning. Perfect for Saturday morning brunch!

1 package Jimmy Dean Sausage (12 oz)
8 eggs
1 cup milk or cream
1 1/2 cups croutons
1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly whisk eggs with milk.



Brown sausage in skillet.



Spread in the bottom of a baking dish.



Spread croutons over sausage.



Pour egg mixture over all and sprinkle with cheese.



Bake 30 min.




Number of Servings: 6

Breakfast Sausage

2 lbs of ground pork
1 tablespoon of sage
1 teaspoons of marjoram
2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Mix dry ingredients together.



Combine ground pork and maple syrup. Add to spices and mix well.



Form into patties and fry six minutes on each side.





Note: The spice measurements are not an exact science, so feel free to use a little less or a little more of the them to get your sausage just like you like it.

Burritos

Sorry, I forgot to take photos! I'm sure we'll be having this again soon so they'll be up eventually!

8, 8-10 inch flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups shredded chicken (beef or pork works also)
1 can pinto beans or about 1 cup of Cowboy Beans
1 cup salsa
1 tsp fajita seasoning
1 1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Heat tortillas. In large bowl, combine chicken, beans, salsa, fajita seasoning, and cheese. To assemble, place 1/3 cup chicken mixture onto each tortilla near one edge. Fold in sides of tortilla and roll up, starting from edge with filling. Place, seams down in a greased 13x9 baking dish. Bake, covered about 30 minutes or until heated through. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole. (I'm working on a poblano cream sauce...)

*Adapted from BH&G.

Charlotte's Sausage Jambalaya

Matt will be the first to tell you he is NOT Cajun. He is from northwest Louisiana, and people from those parts are Rednecks not Cajuns. So now that we have that settled, I can explain why I call this Charlotte's Sausage Jambalaya (Charlotte being my mom-in-law). It's because, although the Beasley clan is from northwest LA, they're not afraid of Cajun food. In fact, they embrace it. They even spent a few years in Lafayette, which is not northwest LA. Over the years, Charlotte has picked up some pretty tasty recipes. When Matt and I got married, she gave me one of her Cajun cookbooks, complete with her very own notes and substitutions. Her jambalaya is one of Matt's favorites from this cookbook. So that is why this is Charlotte's Sausage Jambalaya (even though she puts shrimp in it sometimes - I won't here because there is no coast in the Czech Republic and I feel funny buying seafood in a country with no coast, even if it's frozen).



1 1/2 lb smoked beef or pork sausage (about 4 large links)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup choped green onion
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 cups chicken broth
1 can tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 whole bay leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 black pepper
3/4 tsp thyme
(feel free to add shrimp or chicken, also, but I've been advised to put seafood only in the portion you'll eat that day and not save it for leftovers)

In a deep skillet, slice sausage and pan fry.



(my skillet is too small to cook all of the sausage at one time so I had to do it in two parts)

Remove sausage, leaving the grease in the pan.



Now it's time for the veggies! Here you have some options. Charlotte had a few *ahem* picky eaters sit around her table over the years so she used to pulse the veggies together in a food processor to make them less obvious. My picky eater grew up and decided he didn't mind veggies so I don't have to do that anymore. I just chop 'em up and throw 'em in.



Add celery and saute about 3-5 minutes, or until they begin to soften.



Add remaining vegetables and saute until onions are clear. If necessary, add olive oil.



Return the sausage.



Add chicken broth, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasonings.



Simmer until thickened.



Serve over rice.



Serves 8.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches *Updated!

*UPDATE: After some taste testing, I've tweaked this recipe a bit, combining what I think is best from both Emeril and Pioneer Woman. I hope you like!

Please don't think that I'm straying from my Texas roots by including pork in the 'barbecue' category. I'm just expanding my horizons a bit, spreading my wings. For those of you who don't understand what I'm talking about, pork barbecue is more of an 'east of the Mississippi ' thing, whereas most barbecue in Texas is beef. In fact, I didn't even know about pork barbecue until I was in college and visited my brother in North Carolina. I know, I lived a (relatively) sheltered life. Anyway, this recipe mainly comes from Emeril on the Food Network with a few tweaks here and there. It's great in barbecue, but could also be Tex-Mex'ed up and served in tacos (minus the barbecue sauce, of course). Talk about a winner! And the Emeril's Essence Creole seasoning would be great on grilled chicken legs (which is exactly what I plan to make later this week).

1 pork shoulder roast (Boston Butt or Picnic roast), about 6 to 8 pounds
4 teaspoons Essence, recipe below
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 whole onion
2-3 cloves garlic
2-3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2- 1 cup chicken broth
Homemade Barbecue Sauce
10 to 12 sandwich buns

Remove the pork from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before proceeding. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil (you could also use a dutch oven). To begin, just throw the Essence, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and brown sugar into a food processor or blender. Cut one onion into quarters and put it in the food processor with the spices. Blend mixture until totally combined and then pour it over the pork shoulder. Now thoroughly rub over the meat. Place a roasting rack inside the roasting pan and place the seasoned pork on the rack, fat side up. (I don't have a roasting rack so I just rolled up pieces of foil and lined them up in the bottom of a baking dish, just enough to lift the roast off the bottom of the pan - it worked great. If you have a slow cooker, you could use that to; it comes out so tender - it literally falls apart!) Then place the pork into a roasting pan or Dutch oven and pour chicken broth in the bottom of the pan/dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 6 hours, turning once every hour. (If you're using a slow cooker, use a little less chicken broth and cook on high for 6-8 hours.) When it is fork tender, turn up the heat, remove the foil from the roast and continue to bake about 15-20 minutes until the fat on top becomes crispy. Remove the pork from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. Remove any excess fat from the roast and discard if desired. Using 2 forks or your hands, shred the pork into bite-sized pieces.



Serve with sauce and buns to make sandwiches.



Number of Servings: 12

*adapted from Emeril's (on foodnetwork.com) and Pioneer Woman's recipes.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Yield: 2/3 cup



I would also like to shout out to my mom-in-law, who bought, and my mom, who brought to us, this giant bag of brown sugar which has made all of this week's barbecue yumminess possible. Seven (yes, you heard me) pounds of brown sugar! Notice I placed pen beside the bag so you can see how monstrous the thing is. I love it!

Chicken (and you could add Pork) Lo Mein

I came up with this recipe a couple of years ago in Ft. Worth when a serious craving for PF Chang's Lo Mein hit and I couldn't stand the cost or calories. This recipe is relatively low in calories and fat (about 400 calories and 15 grams of fat per serving) compared to the restaurant version. I've been craving it for a few weeks now but couldn't make it because I couldn't find hoisin sauce here in CZ. Upon our usual sweep down the international aisle in Tesco this week - lo and behold! - there it was. I had a huge crisis of conscience, though, as the bottle of hoisin sauce you see pictured below was 179 czech koruna (about $12 right now). I justified it, though, by reasoning that I could make at least 6 batches of Lo Mein from the one bottle and that was much cheaper than eating at a restaurant.

Please just smile and nod.

The original recipe I made called for 3/4 lb pork tenderloin, cut into bite-sized slices, and 1-2 chicken breasts, cut the same. I'm not really quite sure how to pick out pork tenderloin here, so I just used 4 small chicken breasts this time. Try it with the pork tenderloin, though. It adds a lot of flavor.

8 oz. linguine, cooked
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 small chicken breasts (about 1 lb)
1 red bell pepper, sliced julienne
1 c. sliced cabbage
3/4 c. snow peas
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. bean sprouts
3 tbsp hoisin sauce (Emeril calls it chinese barbecue sauce)
2 tsp sesame oil



Cook linguine according to package directions. Cook pork, chicken, and onion in olive oil.



Add vegetables and cook until crisp tender. Cook them until you think to your self, "A couple more minutes and they'll be done." Stop cooking them right then because they'll continue to cook as you add the pasta and sauces (any longer and they'll be mushy).

Add linguine, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil and toss until coated. Serve with soy sauce.

Number of Servings: 6