Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits

This is an amazing copy cat recipe for the famous Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits. I'm ashamed to say these buttery delights are the only reason I will ever go to Red Lobster. The recipe is from an awesome book my Mom has that details hundreds of restaurant dishes and how to make them at home. It's a gold mine and I highly recommend buying a copy: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes by Todd Wilbur. This man is a genius and there are THREE editions.

"Cutting the butter" with the Bisquick

 

Consistency of the dough after all ingredients have been mixed

 

Take biscuits out after 10 minutes of baking and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 5 more mins.



Ingredients:
2 and 1/2 cups Bisquick
3/4 cup milk (I prefer to use whole milk...biscuits need the fat)
1/2 stick cold butter
3/4 teaspoon garlic salt (original recipe calls for garlic powder, but I like the saltiness (duh) from the garlic salt)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Recipe:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. This is called "cutting the butter" and is a technique that is also used when making pastry dough. See picture above for an example.

3. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and ¼ teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.

4. Make 1/4 cup balls with your hands and place on ungreased baking sheet. The original recipe says to use an ice cream scoop, but your hands work fine. Just make sure not to "manhandle" the dough too much, you still want the butter to be cold when it goes into the oven.

5. Total bake time is 15 minutes, or until the biscuit is just starting to brown. I bake mine for 10 mintes, remove from the ove, sprinkle with grated cheese and pop back in for the last 5. The melted cheese on top really adds to the presentation. The original recipe calls for melted butter to be brushed on top of the buscuits when removed from the oven, but I think they are rich enough without it! Optional: top with chopped fresh parsley.

Recipe makes 12 nice portions!

Moroccan Chicken & Vegetables

This dish was adapted from a slow cooker Moroccan stew, although I think the vegetables in this are very similar to Tikka Masala, an Indian dish I really like. There are a a few components to this recipe, but prep and cook time is under 45 minutes. As usual, some ingredients make this dish semi-homemade.

Ingredients:
- Skinless chicken thighs, defrosted and with any fat removed
- One yellow and one red pepper, chopped into 1/2 inch slices
- One large onion, chopped into 1/2 inch slices
- One can diced tomatoes
- Uncle Ben’s microwavable Basmati rice pouch
- Cumin to coat the outside of chicken
- Salt and pepper to coat chicken
- 1 & 1/2 tablespoons cumin
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons ginger
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- Vegetable oil
- Dollop of plain yogurt (Greek yogurt will work too)


Recipe:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375F. Heat skillet to medium high heat. Lightly coat the chicken with vegetable oil and cover with salt, pepper and cumin. Allow a crust to develop, about three minutes, and then flip to the other side. Let the chicken cook on new side for another three minutes and then transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for about 35 minutes or until juices run clear.

2. While the chicken is baking, toss the peppers, onion and garlic in vegetable oil and sautee in the skillet over medium-low for about 15 minutes, or until the pieces are tender.

3. Add the can of diced tomatoes with half of the liquid drained to the pepper and onion mixture. Add remaining spices: additional cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and reduce heat to low.

4. Keep the vegetables on low until the chicken is finished cooking. When the chicken is cooked, add a dollop of yogurt to the vegetables and stir.

5. Add the chicken to the skillet and coat with the juices. Meanwhile, heat Basmati rich pouch in microwave and layer on plate: rice for the base, followed by the vegetables and the chicken on top.

This meal is very tasty and filling. I ate mine without rice and was just as satisfied at the end. It tastes even better the next day! The flavors were a nice change-up from traditional chicken recipes.

Cinnamon Apple Crisp

My resident taste tester told me this was “the best dessert” he had “ever eaten”!!! So, I’d say it’s a successful recipe! Total prep time is about 10 minutes, of which about 90% was spent slicing the apples. It’s absolutely necessary to serve the crisp warm with vanilla ice cream on top! I use Publix’s Sugar Free Vanilla Ice Cream and I don’t miss the sugar at all. Definitely give it a try if you need an sweet fix without feeling guilty.

Ingredients:
- 3 red apples (for a 9x9 dish), sliced very thinly.
- I would recommend peeling the apples, but not a big deal either way
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3/4 cup oats
- 1/2 stick butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon nutmeg

Recipe:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375.

2. Slice apples very thin, try to make them similar in thickness, so cooking time will be even.

3. Toss apple slices with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. Layer on the bottom of the 9x9 pan.

4. Mix remaining ingredients together- melted butter, flour, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and nutmeg- until combined. Spread over the top of the apples and cook for 40 minutes, or until apples are tender and the top is browned.

5. Serve warm and DON’T forget the ice cream, duh.

Simple Shrimp Pasta

Semi-homemade meals are kind of my thing; the less time I can spend in the kitchen means the more time I can spend eating the food.

Inspired by my love for Italian and hatred of missing any of my Real Housewives of New Jersey episode, this meal only needs your attention for the equivalent of two commercial breaks.

Ingredients:
Angel hair pasta
Pre-cooked shrimp, defrosted (I used a 12 oz frozen bag, already peeled and de-veined)
One can of tomatoes, diced
Fresh basil leaves, ripped by hand (MUST be fresh)
Mozzarella, diced (I used half of a small block)
3 tablespoons of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Instructions:
1.) Boil water and cook pasta

2.) Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to an uncovered skillet thats been heated to medium-low. Make sure the pan is not too hot or the garlic (which is added next) will burn and become bitter.

3.) Immediately add the 3 tablespoons of minced garlic to the heated oil and allow to cook, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes.

4.) Drain about half of the liquid from the can of tomatoes and then add to the skillet with the oil and garlic. Allow to heat through and let some of the liquid evaporate, do not cover the pan.

5.) Reduce the heat on the skillet between low and medium

6.) Pat shrimp dry with a paper towel. When your pasta is about 3 minutes away from being done, add the shrimp to the skillet with the tomato and garlic. Again, the shrimp is fully cooked, so you only need to heat the shrimp through and allow it to absorb some of the garlic flavor. (I really like garlic, so I added about a teaspoon of garlic powder at this point)

7.) Let the shrimp cook in the mixture for 3-4 minutes, any longer and the shrimp will become rubbery. Stir occasionally.

8.) Drain pasta well and add to the skillet mixture, tossing ingredients together. Add a few tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese (the powdered Kraft kind works better than fresh, since we're using it as a thickening agent)

9.) Plate shrimp and pasta and top with liberal amounts of diced mozzarella and fresh basil.

Tips & Tricks:
- I found the meal to be plenty salty, probably due to the canned tomatoes, so I did not add any of my own salt.

- Keep it simple; avoid the urge to add a lot of dried herbs or additional ingredients. Let the fresh mozz and basil shine.

- Using angel hair pasta, rather than fettuccine or spaghetti, kept dish feeling nice and light.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Seriously, this is the best banana bread recipe! Banana bread doesn't keep very well; luckily it never lasts more than two days around here.

The key to making this recipe easy is flouring the pan after its been greased. You'll get a perfect turn out, every time.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/ teaspoon nutmeg
3 ripe, not too firm, bananas
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Instructions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix sugar and vegetable oil together, forming a paste.
3. Add eggs, lightly beaten, to the mixture and mix together.
4. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg and salt together.
5. In three separate parts, add flour mixture to oil and sugar mixture, mixing thoroughly.
6. Mash the bananas and add to the flour and oil mixture.
7. Fold in chocolate chips (or nuts, if you prefer).
8. Grease the inside of a loaf pan and then dust with flour. Transfer batter into loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes. (If using a bundt pan, bake for 45 minutes).