Goat Cheese Puff Pastry with Tomato and Basil

If you enjoy goat cheese, tomato, and basil, then you will love this recipe.  My daughter is not a big fan of basil so we leave the basil off a few of them for her.  I have to give credit to Jenny Steffens.  I took a cooking class that she led right before Valentine's Day a few years ago.  She made this delicious treat and cut the puff pastry into the shape of a heart with a cookie cutter.  You can make the puff pastry into whatever design you want for any occassion.  I have been addicted to this recipe ever since she cooked it for us.  Thanks Jenny!!   This is a recipe worth sharing.  It tastes like a million bucks, and it is so easy to make.  It looks beautiful on a plate too!  Although, none of mine last long on a plate. 

Use the ingredients in this first picture. 

 Lay out a sheet of puff pastry and let it sit until it thaws.  Cut it into squares and score the inside with a pizza cutter or sharp knife.  You have to score the inside because it will puff up, and this will make a nice well in the center.

 Brush with olive oil.

 Add goat cheese.

 Add a slice of tomato.

 Cook in a 450 degree oven for 7 - 8 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

 Take out of the oven and add fresh basil. 

Enjoy!

Chicken Movers

Years ago, my mom bought this chicken mover thing.

 

I'm sure there's a technical name for this. Other than "chicken mover thing."

Anyway, my mom bought it because she thought it was cool. We lived in a subdivision at the time, so it has just been sitting in our breakfast nook ever since my mom bought it. We never thought we'd actually be using it. But this past weekend, we did.

Our chickens have spent the past five weeks living in our building.

My dad built this pen for them. The giant screen on top is to keep other animals out. And to keep our chickens in. We knew that we couldn't keep the chicks in this pen much longer. They were already trying to fly out when we lifted the screen.

 

So my dad began work on our chicken coop. The frame of the coop had already been built. We just had to fix it up.

 

My dad built a door. Nothing is going to be getting in through this door. I can barely get in it.

 He built roosts and ladders and added a couple windows.

We laid straw down Sunday and got ready to move our chicks in!

 

We were excited about moving the chicks, but we were also a bit concerned about how well our chicken mover thing was going to work. 



My dad and my brother climbed into the chicken pen and started gathering up the chicks.

Once we had several in our chicken mover, we carried it out to the coop and let them go.

 

Our chicken mover thing worked very well for the larger chickens. However, we were a bit worried about putting the smaller chicks in there.

 

My dad put the chicken mover thing into the pen and gathered up one of the smaller chicks. My brother picked up another one, and they put the chicks into the mover. It took the chicks less than five seconds to escape. They were small enough to fit through the rungs of the mover!



We decided to use a blue crate to move the smaller chicks. My dad grabbed the crate and tried to herd the remaining chicks in. Which was rather difficult. The smaller chicks are much faster than the bigger ones.

We finally got all of our chickens moved into their new home. And they seem to be liking it.

 

Lazy Gal's Chocolate Pie

 The real recipe I want to share with you is the Lazy Gal's Pie Crust.  You can use any pie recipe for the filling.  Yesterday, I made chocolate pie.  When that is gone, I will make banana cream pie.  Yum!  Lazy Gal's Pie crust is a recipe that my grandmother Edyth shared with me a long time ago.  Whenever she would have left-over crust, she would put it in the oven with some cinnamon and sugar on it.  That was an extra treat!  My grandmother loved to bake, and we loved to eat what she baked.  Cooking was my grandmother's hobby.  The great thing about this pie crust is that you can make it in the pie plate.  I think that is why it is called Lazy Gal's Pie Crust.  There is no clean up!  This is a no fail recipe. 

First put 1 and 1/2 cups of flour in your pie plate.  Make a basin.  Sprinkle 1 tsp. of salt over the flour. 

 Put 1/4 cup of water in the microwave until it comes to a boil.  Quickly add 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and then pour into the basin.

Mix with a fork until moist.  Then use your hands to cover the pie plate with the crust.  Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork.  Cook in a 350 degree oven for 15 min.  Then add your favorite pie filling.  Leave uncovered until it cools.  Eat it warm or refrigerate.  Enjoy!  The crust is very flaky and light.   The salt adds a nice taste to offset the sweetness of the pie!

Goat Cheese & Basil Chicken Bryan

If you like Chicken Bryan from Carrabba's, then you will love this simple rendition of the dish.  It is easy to make, no mess, and delicious.  You need the following ingredients:

Goat Cheese

Basil (I picked mine out of my garden, yum)

Lemon

Butter

Seasonings that you like

Chicken

Foil

 I pounded the chicken a bit to flatten it and make it cook easier.  Then I put a pat of butter, seasoning, basil leaf, lemon juice from a fresh squeezed lemon, and Italian seasoning on a piece of foil.  I put the goat cheese on after it had cooked for a while.

 Wrap the chicken and other ingredients tightly in a piece of foil.  The more it is sealed, the better it will cook. 

 After it has cooked for about 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven, add the goat cheese.  Cook for 10 more minutes. 

Once the chicken is cooked, I took it out of the foil and poured some butter lemon juice on top.  I added fresh basil to the top.  I love basil!  I served with Italian bread sticks and creamy garlic mashed potatoes.  Delicious!  The clean up is so easy.  Just throw away the foil and viola, you are done!

Southwest Breakfast Casserole

Yesterday was a day of cooking for us. We tried a couple new recipes, but we also made one of our favorite recipes for breakfast.

This recipe is delicious, simple, and versatile. It is our Southwest Breakfast Casserole.

First, gather your ingredients.

 What you will need:

Hash browns
1 bag of shredded cheese
8 eggs
1 can of Rotel
1 roll of sausage
1 small container of Half & Half
Salt & pepper


After you have gathered all your ingredients, preheat your oven to 450 Degrees.  Grease the bottom of your pan. Our pan is 9" x 13". Press the hash browns into the bottom of your pan. You may not use the entire bag of hash browns. You just need enough to cover the bottom of the pan.

 Put the hash browns in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

While that is in the oven, cook your sausage.

In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, Half & Half, and Rotel. Make sure you drain your Rotel before mixing it in the bowl; if not, your casserole will be too watery.

 After the hash browns have finished cooking, take the pan out and add the sausage. Decrease the heat in your oven to 350 Degrees.

 Next add the cheese. We like our cheese, so we used a generous amount.

 Next, pour the egg mixture on top.

 Bake the casserole for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted comes out clean.

There are many great things about this recipe. It is easily changed to fit your family's tastes. You can use different types of hash browns. You can pick a spicier sausage if you so desire. Whipping cream can be substituted for the Half & Half. You can also use a variety of cheeses. You can make these changes without compromising the casserole.

This dish even tastes great as a leftover meal. Whenever we make this, we eat it for two or three days afterward.

We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have!