Veggie Pizza Appetizer

April 5, 2016April 5, 2016 The Ameri Brit Mom1 Comment

Last Tuesday night we had our final cLife meeting with our current church group. Next month we will begin a new term and our close knit body will be dispersing in different directions. It’s a good thing ultimately because it means we had outgrown one group, but it’s always sad when a good thing comes to an end.

In an act of finality I hosted a family game night. The children played. The dad’s built and sat around the fire pit all while the moms played a few hilarious rounds of Telestrations through whining and injured children, feedings, and countless other interruptions. It was a blast! I have truly gained a second family with my church group and feel blessed to have spent two years in community with each person who has crossed our path.

For the party I tried a new recipe I found on Pinterest. It was a huge hit so I figured why not share it with my blogging community too!?! It may not look like much, but this stuff is addicting and a huge crowd pleaser. Bon Apetit!

Veggie Pizza Appetizer

Ingredients:

-2 cans crescent rolls

-4 oz cream cheese, softened

-1/2 cup sour cream

-1 Tb fresh dill, chopped

-2 cups assorted veggies, chopped (broccoli, bell peppers, cauliflower)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine the sour cream, cream cheese, and dill. Stick in the refrigerator to chill.

3. Remove crescent rolls from the can and press into a large rectangle on a non-stick or parchment lined baking sheet. Pinch together all of the seams.

4. Bake for 6-7 minutes or until golden.

5. While the crust is baking, chop all of the fresh vegetables.

6. Spread chilled cream cheese mixture onto the cooled crescent roll crust.

7. Top with vegetables.

8. Cut into appetizer sized pieces.

9. This can be refrigerated for up to an hour before serving.

The Ameri Brit Mom

Sausage Balls: Breakfast-on-the-Go!

January 21, 2016January 21, 2016 The Ameri Brit Mom1 Comment

If your family is anything like mine, every morning there is a struggle to eat breakfast and get through the morning routine. All of my best intentions to be ready on time are often thwarted by the race against the clock. And when required to drop a part of the regimen usually I do the terrible deed of neglecting breakfast. We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Knowing this I’ve started a routine of cooking breakfasts on Sundays and freezing them for the upcoming week. This week I made Sausage Balls and thought I would share the recipe for those of you struggling to grab breakfast in the mornings. Gone are the days of fast food drive thrus when it only takes 40 seconds to cook an on-the-go breakfast.

Sausage Balls:

1 lb. medium ground sausage

2 cups Bisquick

2 Tb melted butter

10 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients by hand in a large glass bowl. Be sure to pull the sausage apart thoroughly to be sure ingredients are evenly distributed.

2. Form small balls of the mixture with your hands. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. (These smell amazing while baking!!)

4. These can be served immediately, but if you are choosing to freeze them wait until they are cool to place in a freezer bag. They keep well for up to two months.

**in order to reheat sausage balls, place them in the microwave wrapped in a napkin or paper towel. Heat for 40 seconds to a minute. Be sure to check that the sausage balls are cooked through before consuming.

This is such a quick and easy recipe that is a favorite in my home. No more neglecting breakfast or stopping at a drive-thru for a greasy breakfast sandwich for this family.

Monday Menu: Sausage Skillet Pasta

March 23, 2015March 23, 2015 The Ameri Brit Mom1 Comment

Oh, Monday how I loathe thee.

Mondays seem so taxing sometimes. If you’re anything like me you rush out of the office on Friday afternoons as quickly as possible only to return to work on Monday to a lengthy to-do list. I re-entered my classroom today with a list of tasks like finalize third quarter grades, schedule a background check, complete state license paperwork, and submit grades (not to mention also teaching six classes). Today I felt as though I had more energy than I normally do on Mondays, but I’m sure that’s due to the fact that I was beginning my final week before Spring Break. There’s always a high level of energy the week before long breaks.

Anyway, when I accomplished all I could muster the energy to complete today (which sadly was not my entire to-do list) I headed home to another list of chores, but ones I was much more excited to to tackle. I’ll take laundry and cooking over paperwork ANY DAY (especially if I can play with my daughter along the way)!

So…what’s on the menu this Monday?

Sausage Skillet Pasta

Ingredients:

-1 lb. smoked sausage, cubed

-1 Tb olive oil

-3 cloves garlic

-8 oz tomato sauce

-1 Tb tomato paste

-1 Tb Italian seasoning

-1.5 cups Chicken Broth

– 1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

-9 oz angel hair pasta

-1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1. In a pot with boiling water, cook pasta according to the package directions.

2. Meanwhile, in a skillet brown sausage in oil. Add garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute.

3. Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, chicken broth, and heavy cream. Bring to a boil.

4. Cover and simmer on low for 12-15 minutes.

5. Drain pasta and mix into sausage and sauce. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.

*This recipe serves 4-6 people depending on portion sizes.

This was a great meal for a long and cold Monday. I served it up with a salad and some Brown’n’Serve rolls. This is a family friendly meal that both my daughter and my husband enjoyed. I could have halved the recipe since I was only feeding three, but I like to pack leftovers for lunches so I boxed up extra servings. This meal is always great refrigerated and reheated.

Monday Menu (Slow Cooked Curried Chicken Stew)

February 23, 2015March 5, 2015 The Ameri Brit Mom1 Comment

There are few things I enjoy devouring more than a warm stew or soup on a cold frigid day. As you can gather from my recent postings I have spent quite a few consecutive days sequestered in my home. The snow and low temperatures have been relentless here in the mid-west not to mention the lovely flu bug that has finally swept its way out of our now sanitized home. So when it came to preparing a homemade meal for my family this weekend I had quite a few stipulations. I needed to cook meals that would settle well with those weak in the stomach and bring nourishment to replenish lost nutrients surrendered to the nasty sickness. The meal needed to also require ingredients which were readily available in my own pantry because venturing out during a snow emergency is virtually impossible. So while racking my brain to create a concoction to meet the needs of my family this weekend I created a new dish with which I am quite pleased.

This meal is very British in roots so my husband loved it immensely. He wants it to be added to our rotation of meals. I’ve never written a recipe of my own before so this may be rough and hard to follow, but I felt it was worth sharing.

Curried Chicken Stew

Ingredients:

1 Tb olive oil

2 pounds chicken breast, cubed

1 Tb garlic, minced

1 cup frozen green beans

1 cup frozen carrots

1/2 jar of favorite curry sauce or paste (I used Patak’s Original Korma Paste)

2 potatoes unpeeled and cubed

Recipe

1. In a large skillet heat oil. Add chicken and garlic. Cook until chicken is done.

2. Add frozen green beans and carrots to the skillet. Saute until vegetables are soft.

3. Pour chicken and vegetable mixture into a 4 quart Crock Pot or slow cooker.

4. Add potatoes and curry sauce.

5. Mix to coat all ingredients.

6. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

This recipe is simple and can be easily adjusted. I used a more mild sauce to achieve the soothing effects desired for someone conquering the flu, but a hotter sauce would be delicious as well. Curry is definitely more popular in England than it is in America. This dish was very nostalgic to my husband’s upbringing. If you find that your family likes curry I would recommend keeping a jar or two on hand at all times. I have found them at World Market and the North Market in Columbus, Ohio. I’m fairly certain many of the franchise grocery stores carry them in their international aisles as well. It’s a really easy staple to those nights where you just want to throw something together. I have literally made meals before where I have baked chicken in the sauce and served it over rice and it was delicious.

Enjoy!