Tag: skillet

Casseroles · Pastas

Cheesy Bacon Butternut Squash Gnocchi Skillet

cathysmahaLeave a comment

This Gnocchi Skillet is so easy and so delicious. In less than an hour, the dinner was prepared and on the table. This dish serves 3-4 people and the leftovers are equally as good. You could easily play with the ingredients and use noodles or fried potatoes instead of the gnocchi. Different cheeses could be used to suit your liking. Another great recipe from the creator, IowaGirlEats!

Cheesy Bacon Butternut Squash Gnocchi Skillet

INGREDIENTS:
  • 4 slices bacon chopped
  • 1 small sweet onion sliced in half then into thin slices
  • 2 cups 1” cubes butternut squash
  • homemade seasoned salt and pepper (I used regular salt and pepper)
  • 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup not pancake syrup
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 2 cloves garlic pressed or minced
  • 2 cups packed baby spinach roughly chopped
  • 3/4 cup freshly shredded gruyere cheese
  • 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • For the Crispy Gnocchi:
    • 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    • 12 oz gluten free gnocchi (I used regular gnocchi)
    • salt
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Add bacon to a large, oven-proof skillet (preferably cast iron) then turn the heat to medium and brown. Scoop cooked bacon onto a paper towel lined plate to drain then set aside. Reserve 2 Tablespoon bacon fat in the skillet.
  2. Add onions to the bacon fat in the skillet then saute until they begin to soften, 3-4 minutes. Add butternut squash cubes and maple syrup, season with seasoned salt and pepper, then saute until squash is tender, 15-20 minutes, stirring every so often and adding splashes of chicken broth near the end if the squash is taking a long time to soften and/or is beginning to burn vs caramelize.
  3. Preheat the broiler on high and place oven rack to the top position in the oven.
  4. For the Crispy Gnocchi:
  5. While the butternut squash is sauteing, heat extra virgin olive oil in a large, 12″, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add gnocchi then arrange into a single layer and saute until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, 2-3 minutes. Stir then season with salt and continue to saute until the gnocchi are fork-tender and golden brown all over, 2-3 additional minutes, stirring often. Set aside.
  6. Add garlic to skillet with onions and butternut squash then saute until very fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add baby spinach then saute until wilted and tender, 1-2 minutes. Add crispy gnocchi and bacon into the skillet then stir to combine. Sprinkle cheeses evenly over the top then broil until melted, 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Recipe from IowaGirlEats

Casseroles · Family Favorites · My Roots

Beef Macaroni Skillet–blast from the past!

cathysmaha1 Comment

Beef Macaroni Skillet, a  one skillet meal, was a regular menu item when my children were young.  It was a quick meal that I could put together after work.  I haven’t made it in over 20 years and it was a fun walk down memory lane.

My older daughter, Megan, and her girls were here to experience it.  Megan didn’t remember it but liked it as did her two year old daughter.  The five year old didn’t care for it, but then again, she’s in a phase of only liking what she knows.

The original recipe card is in my handwriting, probably around the age of 11 or 12, when I started my recipe box.  It’s funny to look back at it and find humor in the reference to ‘this main dish’.

BEEF MACARONI SKILLET

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cups tomato juice (add more if it becomes too dry)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2-1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

  • Brown beef and onion in a skillet.  Drain fat.
  • Add remaining ingredients and cook, covered, until the macaroni is cooked, about 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally while cooking to prevent from sticking.
Breakfast · Family · Family Favorites

Biscuits and Gravy…Tradition!

cathysmahaLeave a comment

Biscuits and gravy were introduced to me when I moved to St. Joseph, Missouri in 1975 and they’ve been a favorite breakfast in our house since.  My husband, Karl, made biscuits and gravy, with scrambled eggs, and sausage almost every weekend while the girls were young.

Biscuits were made from scratch, Bisquick mix, or even refrigerated buttermilk biscuits.  The gravy, however, was always made from scratch and the flour browned to just the right shade of perfection before adding the milk and watching the bubbly goodness thicken to our perfect gravy thickness. A cast iron skillet was always the cooking vessel of choice.

Daughter, Megan, stayed with me for a few days while her hardwood floors were being refinished and she wanted to make biscuits and gravy.  We tried a new drop biscuit recipe that we liked but she made the gravy the old fashioned way.

I love a little sweet with my savory so for my breakfast dessert, one biscuit with honey.  MMMM…

What a wonderful walk down memory lane and the chance to revisit family tradition.

DADDY’S DELICIOUS BAKING POWDER DROP BISCUITS

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

  • Preheat oven to 425º.
  • Combine all dry ingredients.
  • Blend in the warm butter.
  • Slowly add the milk to the mixture until the dough holds together.
  • Use two spoons to drop evenly sized biscuits on ungreased baking sheet.
  • Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned.

http://www.food.com/recipe/daddys-delicious-baking-powder-drop-biscuits

OLD FASHIONED SAUSAGE GRAVY

1 lb. bulk breakfast sausage
1/3 cup flour
3-4 cups milk
salt  and pepper to taste

  • Prepare biscuits and keep warm.
  • Cook sausage patties in a large skillet, preferably cast iron. Set cooked sausage patties aside and keep warm.
  • Add flour to sausage drippings and let brown (watch carefully or it will burn). Once flour is brown, add milk, salt and pepper and let gravy bubble until it thickens.  This may take about 10 minutes.  If the gravy becomes too thick, add milk to gain desired thickness.
  • Optional:  Add some crumbled cooked sausage into gravy.
  • Serve hot with biscuits, sausage patties and eggs of your choice.