Wings.

Well, the Super Bowl is this weekend, so if you are wondering what to make, wonder no longer.  Wings.  Every man alive is genetically wired to love wings.  If you want to get some really good points as a wife, or girlfriend, or mother make them wings.

I, in fact, am not making wings this weekend.  I've had a request from my sister who is trying to be healthy to make This Shrimp Cocktail instead (I am also making these, hopefully they'll make up for it a bit: Philly Cheesesteak Crescent Bites from Cook The TV).  Sorry husband.  I guess I think I have enough love?  Nah, I told him I'll make him some wings another time.  Just helping a sister out.

Here's the deal with today's post.  The pictures were taken for Super Bowl 2012 and I never posted the recipe...until now! Also, I was watching Late Night with Jimmy Fallon the other night and he had a wing guy on who said to fry once, salt, freeze your wings, and then right before game time, pop them back in the oil for about 5 minutes and you will have the crispiest, most delicious wings around.  I dunno, haven't tried it.  Here's how I make wings.

What you need to make rocking wings:
A dutch oven
A thermometer used for deep frying
Canola Oil, about an inch deep. Enough to cover the wings completely in the dutch oven
Paper towels for sopping up oil
Wings
Salt
Louisiana Hot Sauce (I use Frank's)
1 stick butter

You are going to cook your wings in batches.  This way you don't overwhelm the oil and they cook up nice and crispy.  It takes longer, but you will be rewarded.

Preheat your oil to 375 F.    Throw in a few wings at a time.  About eight a time. Turn occasionally.  Let bubble away for about 15 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

Remove from oil using slotted spoon and let drain on several paper towels.  Salt lightly.  BEWARE do not salt before you fry.  I tried both ways and my oil almost over-floweth when I added the salted ones.  I haven't done any research as to why.  I would just say, don't do it.

Bring oil back up to 375 F and cook the rest of your wings in this sequence.

Meanwhile, have a large saucepan ready with 1 stick of butter, melted and an entire jar of Frank's Red Hot mixed in.  Toss your wings into the pot and get them nice and doused in the buttery, vinegary goodness.

It's very important to have everything you need within arms reach.  Have your plate with the paper towels close by so you're not dragging oil all over everything.  Have your pan to put the finished, sauce covered wings in right next to you so you're not dragging sauce all over.  This will keep the mess you're going to make a small disaster versus a large one.

Throw the drenched wings into a large pan, like this cake pan, and serve with Ranch Dressing and Blue Cheese Dressing.  Include the obligatory carrots and celery, and pretend you're eating something that's good for you.  Drenched in dressing.  And deep fried.  In butter sauce.

Enjoy the big game!

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Heather

Frito Pies....Because sometimes that's how we do things over here.

Now look, I know this isn't exactly what some people would call a recipe.  But, I when I told people this is what I was having for dinner tonight, several of them had no idea what I was talking about...granted two of them are from the Southern Hemisphere....but I can't let this go on another moment!  Frito Pie time!

This is a fun and unique meal to try sometime.  As long as your children are up for fun and unique meals to eat.  Mine...if it isn't something they've eaten before in their lives, they are highly skeptical and reluctant to try it.   But, I got these bags of Fritos from a church social last weekend (they were what were left of the variety pack), and have been holding onto them for the perfect time to make my kids expand their culinary horizons...if you can call it that.

 There are only three ingredients in it...which makes it a winner in my book.

And very little work involved.  Here goes....

Frito Pies

Shred some cheese.
Open individual packets of Fritos, one for every person who is eating that night.
Heat can of chili.   You could be much more gourmet than I was and actually make chili, which would be much tastier than the canned variety.

Pour chili into bag of Fritos, top with cheese and proceed to eat Frito Pie out of bag with a spoon.  You can also top these with a myriad of ingredients.  Anything you'd put on chili would be great!

Here are my children eating their very first Frito Pie.

This is how our conversation went.

My Oldest:  I'd rather drink my smoothie.
Me:  Eat your Frito Pie first.
My Youngest: Are you sure this is actual food?
Me: Yes, now eat!  
My Oldest:  Tastes alright, I guess I can eat this.
My Youngest: Do I really have to have a bite?
Me: Yes, you'll like it, it's got chips and cheese, you like cheese!
My Youngest:  heavy sigh.  Oh, Alright.
::::::::::::::::
Silence...Thinking about the daunting task ahead of her of eating something...different....
:::::::::::::::
 chew, chew, chew, chew...swallow.
:::::::::::::::
My Youngest: How many more bites do I have to have?
Me: heavy sigh.  Two more bites.
My Youngest:  Okay, two more bites.

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Cheddar Jalapeno Biscuits, from scratch

Get ready for the good stuff.  Because, all I am saying is that cheddar cheese, jalapenos and fluffy homemade biscuits can't be wrong.

 

I am re-posting this recipe for cheddar jalapeno biscuits that I originally posted about on a cold day when I made chili and these as a dipper. They are a must, so good.  The fun thing about them, is they use sour cream instead of the normal amount of butter!!!  I adapted them from Smitten Kitchen's recipe and they are simple, use wholesome ingredients and whip up quickly. 

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I use Kosher)
2 Tbl. cold butter, cut into small cubes
A nice sized pile of shredded cheddar....I would guess a little over 1 cup....but this isn't vital to measure, just shred some and if it looks like enough, toss it in.
Several pickled jalapenos, chopped into small pieces...again, just go with the amount you think looks tasty.  I probably used 8 pepper slices.
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add the butter.  I just used my fingers and mushed the butter until it was well-combined throughout the flour mixture. Add the cheddar, stir so all the cheese is covered by the flour mix.  Add the jalapenos and stir them as well.  Add the sour cream and mix until it forms a wet  dough (my sour cream must have been seriously cold, because it had a hard time incorporating, I just put down the spoon and used my hand to combine and it worked great.  Try not to over work it).

Dump the dough onto a floured counter top and using your hands, just pat it down so it's about 1 1/2 inches thick.  Using a cup that looks like the size you want, cut out as many biscuits as you can get...plus, use the scraps...even if they're oddly shaped they will bake up just as tasty.

Bake for about 15 minutes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, until the tops are golden brown and delicious looking.

Devour.

Thanks for reading!

Heather

 

Best Mini Pigs in a Blanket...AKA Perfect for the Super Bowl

There's not much to say about these mini pigs in a blanket except that...they are completely, 100% tasty goodness. If you are wondering what to make for the Super Bowl party you are going to this weekend...wonder no more.  They are salty and savory and bite-sized and a sure-fire hit.  I have never met anyone who hasn't loved these at first taste.  I make them quite often, kids birthday parties, get togethers, baby showers...Super Bowl Parties...

What makes them so good...and better than the ones you make...perhaps using store-bought croissants and hot dogs...is that, well, the dough is home-made. And as we all know, except with cakes and brownies, everything is better home-made. 

Too Sticky

The other thing that makes them better than your average pig in a blanket is...there's cheese in the dough and you are using Li'l Sausages to make them.  So they've got this smokey kick that gives it a grown-up flavor, but they're still kid friendly.  And they're so tiny.  So that means kids love them...if the kids can get to them before the adults have snatched them all up.

And...they can be made a bit in advance.  I'm not talking a day or anything, but a few hours.  And then when you get to your venue, pop them in the oven and a few minutes later you have a warm and amazing savory treat.

Best Pigs in a Blanket
adapted from the lovely Nigella Lawson
Quantity: about two baking sheets full....a lot!

2 1/4 C. Flour...plus more for dusting your work surface
1 heaping tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Baking Soda
A pile of shredded cheddar cheese...I know this is vague, but it's really how I do it.  I grate some and think...that looks like enough.  I would say around 1/2 C to 1 C
1 C. Milk
1 Beaten Egg
3 Tbl. Vegetable Oil
2 packages of petite sausages like, Li'l Smokies

Egg wash
1 egg, beaten
Splash of milk
1/2 tsp. Salt

Preheat your oven to 425 F.

Combine the flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.  Stir around with a fork.  Add in the cheese and mix it into the flour. 

Combine the milk, egg and oil in a measuring cup, stir to combine.  Pour into the dry ingredients, combining as you go.  I have found it is easiest to just get my hand in there and mix it.  (Notice the picture above of my hand...you'll see that the dough is too sticky to roll out.  This is where you need to use your judgement and add some more flour until the dough is of a consistency that can be rolled out without sticking all over the counter.  Also, if you feel your dough is too dry....that's never happened to me before...add some more milk.)

Flour your work surface liberally.  Roll out your dough fairly thin.  I would say around 1/8" to 1/4" thick.  Now you need to cut it into strips.  What works for me, is to put a sausage down and determine how long they are.  Cut your dough strips just a tad smaller than the sausages are long.

Now you need to section those strips into smaller pieces that can be wrapped around each sausage.  There should be a little bit of overlap so you can get a nice seal.

Place on cookie sheet with parchment, to avoid any sticking.  Using a pastry brush, brush your egg wash glaze over each little bundle of goodness.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes until they are slightly puffed and golden brown.  Let cool a bit.

Devour and enjoy thoroughly!

Thanks for reading!

Love if you'd follow the Hearth on Facebook!

Heather



It's the Olympics fault...time for the best Biscuits.

I cannot...not...watch hours and hours of TV at night right now.  It's the Olympics fault.  So, what's a sewing/crafting type person to do?  On a normal night, I don't feel the need to sit before the tube, consuming all that London has to offer.  But, I can't resist the lure of the athletes.

So, I hand quilt.  Luckily for me, My Youngest's Quilt is just begging me to finish it.  Since I have sworn off machine sewing anymore of it than I already have, that leaves the simple pleasures of hand sewing it while...watching...(which actually means listening) to the Olympics.   My Youngest has been asking me when I was going to get her new warm blanket done.  I guess I better get my act together.  Good thing the Olympics last about forever.  It should be done in another week and a half I would say.

I wanted to do something kind of fun for the quilting, so I measured 1/2" in from the edge of the hexagon and drew an outline...and then I went another 1/2" in from that and drew another outline.  I like it. 

Now, even though I am not sewing much, we still must eat, and I mentioned a few posts back when I made Bacon Corn Summer Hash that I was going to give you the recipe for The Best Biscuits On The Planet!!!!  Are you ready?  Can you stand it?  It's gonna happen.  Prepare yourself for a revelation of epic proportions...actually, rewind.  I don't know, can a biscuit recipe live up to all that hype?  Yeah...it is the best.

Okay, I don't really make biscuits like you might think of biscuits.  I don't roll out the dough and then use a biscuit cutter and get beautiful, perfectly round bits of flaky doughy goodness. 

Too much work! 

I grew up on drop biscuits (thanks Bisquick) and that's the way I like 'em.  And this recipe is the best.  I have adapted it from America's Test Kitchen which is one of my favorite sources for recipes.  They claim they are drop biscuits as good as rolled and much less fuss.  Now, remember, there is a bit of fuss to make these.  And that's okay.  Even My Sister, who hates fuss, makes these for her family as they have won her over with how good they are...and once you've made them a time or two, you forget the fuss because they really are easy and worth it.  If you are going to make anything from scratch, please make these...and pancakes....and bread...okay, I love making things from scratch, but everybody must make these, at least.

Best Buttermilk Drop Biscuits...made from scratch
adapted from America's Test Kitchen
2 Cups Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Kosher Salt
1 tsp. Sugar
1/2 Cup....yup, that's an entire stick of butter (melted and cooled)  Plus....2 Tbl. melted butter to be used at the very end.
1 Cup Cold Buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Seriously, I know it's hot.  Just do it.

Now, the very next thing you must do, before anything else, is get a small saucepan and put your stick of butter in it and start melting it over low heat.  As soon as it's mostly melted, remove it from the heat, pour it into a small bowl, and let the residual heat melt the rest. This will help to cool the butter a bit faster.  I just let it sit in a bowl and wait until I'm ready for it. (if it's too hot I stick it in the fridge).  You want it to be just a bit above room temperature, I would say.  Once you have poured the 1/2 Cup of butter out of the sauce pan, put the other 2 Tbl. of butter in and I just let it sit on the warm burner and melt slowly.  I don't actually turn the heat on again for this step.  You will use this butter at the very end, so just hold onto it.

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.

Pour your buttermilk into a measuring cup, then pour the cooled, melted butter into the buttermilk.  Now stir.  You want the cold buttermilk to rapidly cool the butter so that it makes nice hard little chunks in the buttermilk. The reason for this is SCIENCE!!!  Once the biscuits go in the oven, the butter is going to melt and create steam which is going to make for light and fluffy drop biscuits.  It's going to mimic what happens in a rolled biscuit.  SCIENCE!

Now pour your buttermilk/hardened butter chunks into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.  This is tricky.  Here's how I do it.  I stir with a wooden spoon and I mix in the dry ingredients.  AS SOON AS ALL FLOUR IS JUST INCORPORATED....stop stirring.   Call it good.

Take a cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper on it and portion out the above dough into 12 dough balls.  I like to make them taller versus wider.  This is because when I am splitting the biscuit, I find it's easier.  Just a tip.

Now, I cook mine for exactly 13 minutes.  They come out lightly golden and poofed and wonderful.  Yours might take 11 minutes.  Or 15.  You'll have to pay attention the first couple of times and then just remember.  Place them on a cooling rack. 

For the final step, you could use a pastry brush...but I find that is too fiddly.  You want to pour the last 2 Tbl of butter evenly over all of the cooling biscuits. I just grab a teaspoon and get to drizzling.  If you want to be very fancy, go for it and use the pastry brush.

Then, you eat.  And your husband asks you to marry him all over again.  And your children swear to be angels the following day and not fuss at each other over who gets to play with the pig's tail and bladder...ahem....just teasing.  We're reading Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder...and those youngins in the wilderness didn't have much for toys.  At least my daughter's now know how to butcher a hog...I think...and maybe they'll appreciate their toys for once.

And then, this is dinner.  Yeah, I said dinner.  I don't do fancy breakfast for breakfast, I find it is under appreciated.  But breakfast for dinner is always beloved.

Thanks for reading, and definitely put these on the menu tonight.

Shared here:
Try New Recipe Tuesday

Heather

Neutrals???

I don't do neutrals.  Let's just put it out there.  I like neutrals...I really do.  In fact I wear them on a regular basis...and when people use neutrals themselves in their own projects, I think, wow, that looks so good! But, to craft with neutrals...is something I just don't do.  Why would I when the colors of fabric are so beautiful.  That's the best part of quilting you know...playing with your fabric.

Last year for Christmas, The Mister only wanted one thing.  ONE THING.  Some shirts that weren't robin's egg blue, or lavender or sunset orange (can I just say too, the only reason The Mister has yet to receive a shirt that's Daffodil....is his coloring. He just blends into his clothes if they're too beige...and in turn makes him beige...but don't think I'm not keeping my eyes out for the perfect yellow shirt with his name on it). Now, the one thing The Mister wanted from Santee Clause was shirts in neutral colors...like... Navy and... Forest Green. 

Barf.

Whatever.

As the loving wife that I am...I got him shirts in turquoise and heathered sea grass instead... Just teasing.  I got him navy and forest green as he requested.  So, as I am considering how to make his quilt...I of course take into consideration his lack of vibrant, bright, color love...sort of.

Yeah...this is as neutral as I get.  And, as my first attempt to make a man quilt...this is as mannish as I get apparently.

A man quilt...with butterflies?  You say...ummm...yeah, but look at them, they're really tough butterflies...yeah, and, they're in neutral colors, and, in fact, the more I look at these butterflies, I realize they are in fact moths....and as we all know, moths are a manly insect.  So, yeah....moths.

And the flowers?  You ask...well...ummm....look, they're really stylized flowers and look more like art than real flowers.  So...yeah...these artistic flowers are very manly. 

Well, I love it so far...and one of the best things, this quilt is pretty fast to put together.  It is pure fun.  I get to use gorgeous fabrics..  Paper Piece, which I love.  And, it's a quilt that I've been waiting to make for...over a year.  I first saw this quilt, called Urban Lattice, on the Tracyjay Quilts Blog which is a blog I really enjoy, by the way...and knew it was The Mister's future quilt...but I had a few projects I had to finish up before I got to his.

Now, my husband is off on business...so even though I have two...ahem...yes two quilts that need me to complete their hand quilting , I am moving onward with some piecing on the Man Quilt...Love.

So, Tracyjay Quilts was making a quilt that originated from Me? A Mom?'s Urban Lattice Quilt Along and Tracyjay altered Cara's design a bit: she added another string of black fabric (which I think looks amazing).  The thing Tracyjay didn't do, was, she decided not to paper piece hers.  I like paper piecing because...I may or may not be the most accurate fabric cutter...ahem...and so with paper piecing, you really get much better accuracy.  I'm still not 100% accurate...that's due to my inherent impatience, but it's pretty darn close.

So, I took Tracyjay's idea, went to Cara's tutorial and made a few modifications and am now making Tracyjay's take while paper piecing to Cara's instructions.  Lots of fun!!!

Thanks for reading!

Heather

my new favorite go-to dinner

I love cooking something that has been prepped in advance.  It makes dinner seem so much easier.  I am going to share a recipe with you that I have made no less than 6 times in the last month....maybe 8 times...I'm a fan.  The really awesome part of this meal, for those of you who are time management challenged; it takes the same amount of time to cook both components.  So you don't have to think about it too much, just when to start the cooking process so dinner's ready when your family is hungry.

May I present Buttermilk Roast Chicken courtesy of Smitten Kitchen.  Go to this website and check out this recipe.  If you're anything like me and like a quick and easy dinner that your whole family will eat...then this is it!

I like this recipe because the night before I begin the marinade, and by cooking time next day or a couple days later, it's just sitting there waiting for me to just put it on a cookie sheet and pop it in the oven.  Very little work.  Yay!

I am a nancy though and like to cook my chicken for a little longer than her.  I use a whole chicken that has been broken down, and can I just say my chickens have the biggest bosoms EVER!  So I give it a few more minutes than she recommends.  I also do one more step, once I have my meat on the roasting pan, I pull back the skin from each piece and give it a little extra dousing of salt and pepper, then replace the skin so that the chicken is extra tasty good.

If you ask Mr. Because I can, the best part of this dinner is the chicken skin.  It gets extra crispy and the almost burned bits, according to him, because I don't eat chicken skin, blech, is to die for.

My Youngest who is notoriously picky will eat an entire leg of this, which is a miracle, truly.

My go to side dish for this meal is Tyler Florence's slow cooked green beans with bacon and onions  Yum is all I can say.  I have also made this dish several times this month.  Nothing smells better than this meal.  My tip on this dish is to cut the bacon into extremely large pieces.  I probably cut in strip of bacon into 3 pieces...maybe 4 but I doubt it.  I am not a fan of eating soggy bacon, and that's what you get here.  The flavor has gone into the beans and has left the bacon flaccid and nasty.  So if it's in large pieces, you can fish it out easier.

Make this meal, you won't regret it.

Thanks for reading!

Heather

Please meet Mini Mr. Because I Can

Before we get down to business...I have a little story to tell.  At my loving husband's work, he doesn't often see his co-workers in person as they are all over the place, so to put an image to his name and voice, they took a picture of Michael Flatley, Lord of the Dance, and transposed his head with Mr. Because I Can's head.  So, that's what he looks like to his distant co-workers.

A few months or so ago, he mentioned to me how funny it would be if I were to make him an amigurumi of this image so he could take it to work...I forgot about it...until about a week before his birthday and a week before we were to go on vacation....PANIC!  I knew that I had to make my husband a dolly for his birthday and had to get busy FAST!

I present...Mr. Because I Can's mini me...

Isn't he a dapper lad?

After scouring the web for images of Michael Flatley, I discovered that many a time he is sans shirt.  Of course I had to make my hubby's ami sans shirt as well!!  Nipples were always in the plan.  They're quite light, so look hard...I didn't want to make them vulgar, after all.    You should have seem me cutting felt circles to the smallest degree possible.

Adding the eyebrows was fun as well.  My beloved has the craziest eyebrows, they can grow to lengths untold if I don't rein them in with the pluckers on a regular basis...so of course mini him had to have some wild, untamed brows.

Then came the chest hairs thanks to an inspired idea from my dear buddy.  I have to warn people not to run their fingers through his chest hair...else they'll rip them out.  They're not exactly secure.

And then the belt. Mr. Because I Can mentioned the crazy big belt that his work image has...so of course I had to make a big belt and bedazzle it with sequins.  There are star sequins going around the belt strap.  Love me some bedazzling...Ummm...sister of mine, again that's Be-dazzling, not Va-jazzling.  Just to be clear...she gets confused sometimes.

The back of his mini-vest needed something as well.  So it is also bedazzled.  I kind of envision if we ever go to another Neil Diamond concert that I will have to make him this...human-sized and have him wear it.  It would be my greatest wish fulfilled. 

Thanks for reading!!  Long live Lord of the Dance!!

Granny Square Pic of the Day

This one is pretty much true love!  Love the color combo! 

Heather

My husband cannot go further than this title page.

It's Mr. Because I Can's birthday next week and I have a particularly special surprise for him. 

I would say it's along the lines of this...

...but infinitely more awesome!!!!

It's not done yet though...but I can hardly contain myself.  I had to take it into the office to show the gals...I'm their hero now.

Just a sneak peek because I can't resist!!!!  I spent a good portion of my week hooking while Mr. Because I Can was at work.  It really takes a surprisingly long time to hook a head of hair.  I made myself a little outline that you can see so that I knew where the hair line went.  Turned out perfect!

One last little image...tehehehe...my favorite...

Oh yes!!  Joy of joys!!!  Chest hair on an amigurumi!!!  I have to give credit where credit is due on this one...thanks Karen for the inspired idea!

Whoo boy!!  I am in fact my own hero for doing this.

Granny Square Pic of the Day

If you are not in the in crowd of quilt blogging, then you might not be aware of the latest and greatest fad quilt block that's going around right now.  It's the granny square block and it's awesome!

Go check out Blue Elephant Stitches Granny Square Tutorial for all the deets! 

Thanks for reading everybody!

Heather