Hearty Gnocchi and Sausage

With school back in session and busy days ahead, I love simple one-pan meals. I picture a hungry crew coming in and setting down to shovel in bits of this easy dish. It's cowboy approved!

Sausage Gnocchi

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork sausage

1 package gnocchi

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Directions:

In a large cast iron skillet (10-inch was the size I used), brown crumbled sausage until cooked through and no longer pink. While it is frying, set a pot of water on to boil.

Using paper towels, absorb the grease. While the paper towels are doing their thing, add gnocchi to boiling water and cook to package directions (should take about 3-4 minutes). Drain gnocchi and add to skillet. Stir in soup and Parmesan cheese. It will only take a minute or so for the soup to get hot. Top with a sprinkle of cheese and a garnish of sage or parsley, and enjoy!

NOTE: You can also cook the gnocchi in the skillet with the sausage, it just doesn’t get quite as soft or plump.

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes.

When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna is a member of Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West.

Visit her website for more information about her books: https://shannahatfield.com/

Did Someone Say Biscuits? ~ D.K. Deters

When I wrote The Texan’s Favor, one of the main characters, Kat, a farm girl with plenty of cooking experience, relied heavily on tried and true classic recipes.

Have you ever wondered what some of those old-time recipes taste like? Well, I decided to try one out. Full disclosure: I’m not a cook. I also used a conventional oven.

Recipe for baking biscuits (from the Tallahassee Museum, Tallahassee, Florida):

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup shortening (Shortening could be substituted with butter, lard, bacon grease, or chicken grease. The latter two will give the biscuits a different flavor.)

¾ cup milk

Preheat oven to 450F degrees.

Sift the flour in a medium bowl. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in shortening using a pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through the ingredients) until it looks like fine crumbs. Stir in milk until dough leaves the side of the bowl. Place on a floured surface. Knead 10 times. Roll or pat ¾ inch thick. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

In the 1800s, pioneers typically used a wood-burning stove on the farm and a small Dutch oven (a cast iron pot with a lid) on the trail.

Some cooks would gauge the stove’s temperature by placing a water kettle on the front burner. When the water boils, the stove is around 450F degrees.

Interestingly enough, the idiom “on the back burner” stems from placing a pan on the back burner of a stove where it’s not as hot.

       

LOL, as you can see, I used the pat method rather than a roller. These aren’t too pretty, but they were flaky, and the consistency was what I expected. 😊 My husband used them for sliders and thought they were good. So, there you have it.

On the trail, Kat would often make Soda Biscuits. I think of these as a no-frills biscuit. She’d cook the biscuits in a Dutch oven surrounded by hot coals.

Another method, which I’m sure many of you are familiar with, is to wrap a biscuit around a large stick and hold it over the campfire.

Have you ever tried an old-time recipe? How did it turn out?

Blueberry Brunch Bread

 

Even cowboy mamas (or maybe especially mamas of cowboys) need a day to be pampered. With Mother's Day coming right up, here is a delicious blueberry brunch bread recipe perfect for serving with breakfast in bed.

 

 This moist, flavorful bread  truly (at least to me) tastes like springtime! 

 It's perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert, and would make a beautiful addition to any meal!

Lemony Blueberry Bread 

 Ingredients: 

 BREAD 

 1 3/4 cups flour 

 2 teaspoons baking powder 

 1 cup granulated sugar 

 1/4 teaspoon salt 

 1 cup sour cream, room temperature 

 1/4 cup vegetable oil 

 2 large eggs, room temperature 

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

 2 tablespoons lemon juice 

 2 teaspoons lemon zest 

 2 cups fresh blueberries 

 GLAZE 

 1 cup powdered sugar 

 2 teaspoons lemon zest 

 2-4 tablespoons lemon juice lemon zest

 Directions: 

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Prepare a 9x5 loaf pan by lining with parchment paper then coating with non-stick spray. 

 In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, and salt. Set aside. 

 In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, vanilla, sour cream, lemon juice and zest. 

Blend the dry ingredients into the liquid, stirring until just combined. Fold in 1 3/4 cups of the blueberries. Pour batter into loaf pan and sprinkle remaining blueberries on top (reserve a few for garnish if desired). 

 Bake for 60-70 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle. Cool before removing from pan and glazing. 

 For the glaze, mix powdered sugar with lemon zest and enough juice that the consistency is thick, yet pourable. 

Top with a few berries and lemon zest. 

 Store wrapped in refrigerator for up to five days. 

 Yield: 10 servings

After spending her formative years on a farm in Eastern Oregon, hopeless romantic Shanna Hatfield turns her rural experiences into sweet historical and contemporary romances filled with hope, humor, and hunky heroes.

When this award-winning author isn’t writing or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, Shanna hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:

ShannaHatfield | Facebook | Newsletter

Peachy Pockets

 

This time of year, when the produce is fresh and abundant, I love trying out new recipes. 

We've been enjoying in recent days fresh-from-the-tree peaches. The kind where the sweet juice drips off your chin and leaves your fingers blissfully sticky.

Here's a fun, easy recipe for peach hand pies, but you could use any type of fruit!

Peachy Pockets

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh peaches, peeled and sliced

1 teaspoon corn starch

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tube of crescent roll dough 
1 tablespoon butter (melted)
1/4 cup whipped cream cheese

1/2 cup cream cheese frosting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir corn starch and sugar into peaches. Let "rest" about ten minutes.

Roll out crescent dough, pressing two triangles together to form a rectangle. Make sure to seal the perforated lines. Spread a layer of cream cheese over each piece then top with peaches. Fold the two ends up and over the pile of fruit. Carefully seal the edges by crimping them together then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or foil and lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray.

Bake for about 10 minutes, or until crescents are light brown. If, like me, you failed to seal all those perforated lines, you’ll see juice bubbling by this time, too.

Remove from the oven. Warm frosting in the microwave for about 10 seconds and drizzle over tops of peachy pockets.

Let cool about 15 minutes before serving.

Yield: 4 pockets

Enjoy!

USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield grew up on a farm where her childhood brimmed with sunshine, hay fever, and an ongoing supply of learning experiences.

Shanna creates character-driven romances with realistic heroes and heroines. Her historical westerns have been described as “reminiscent of the era captured by Bonanza and The Virginian” while her contemporary works have been called “laugh-out-loud funny, and a little heart-pumping sexy without being explicit in any way.”

When this award-winning author isn’t writing or testing out new recipes (she loves to bake!), Shanna hangs out at home in the Pacific Northwest with her beloved husband, better known as Captain Cavedweller.

http://shannahatfield.com

Ice Cream

 

On a hot summer day, there's nothing like cool, creamy ice cream.

Ice cream can be traced all the way back to the 4th century B.C. Roman emperor Nero (A.D. 37-68) ordered ice to be brought down from the mountains and mixed with fruit toppings. 

 King Tang (A.D. 618-97) of Shang, China had a method of creating ice and milk mixtures. 

 Ice cream was more than likely brought over to America from Europe. After the dessert was imported to the United States, it was served by several famous Americans, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. 

 The first ice cream parlor in the United States was opened in New York City in 1776. American colonists were the first to use the term “ice cream” which came from the phrase “iced cream” but later shortened to ice cream.

Since ice cream uses such few ingredients it is important to use premium ingredients to ensure the best frozen treats!

Here's one of our favorite recipes for homemade ice cream! Enjoy!

Banana Ice Cream
5 eggs
2 1/2 cups sugar
4cups whipping cream
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. banana flavoring
4 cups milk
4 ripe bananas, mashed

* Warning! Consuming raw eggs may increase your risk of food borne illness. If you do decide to make this and use the raw eggs, please choose eggs that are fresh with no cracks in the shell.

Start by beating the eggs until they are foamy and light. I let mine go about six minutes.

 Add in sugar and continue mixing. Slow the speed on the mixer and add in the cream followed by the salt, vanilla and banana flavoring. 

Continue mixing and add in the milk, blending in the bananas last.

 Pour into your ice cream freezer and freeze according to machine directions.

If you have any leftovers, freeze for up to a week.

Happy July (which also happens to be Ice Cream Month! Yum!)

USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes. When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.

Shanna loves to hear from readers. Follow her online at:

ShannaHatfield | Facebook | Newsletter