Biscuits and sausage gravy, yum!

Dinner tonight was amazing, if I do say so myself. I made this. Here's the picture:

See, we've had some frozen Brussels sprouts in the freezer since Thanksgiving. Bill has been using them little by little (he likes to eat them with his egg white omelette for breakfast). I haven't had the nerve to try said Brussels sprouts (ever), so when I found this recipe, I thought why not?

Bill wasn't sure about the roasted vegetables with biscuits and sausage gravy.

But it worked.

Here are a few changes I made; first, I didn't use baby carrots. I used regular carrots and cut them up.

Now, the next change I made may shock you. You've been warned. I didn't make the biscuits from scratch.

See, I had planned to have this dinner tonight, knowing I would be coming home from work. Yes, all six hours. A few weeks ago I had a coupon for refrigerated biscuits and I bought them. I had initially planned on using them for homemade donuts. Then I planned this dinner and decided I would give myself a break and use the refrigerated biscuits.

It's all about knowing your limits.

Of course I'll try the homemade biscuit recipe next time. Now that I know how delicious this is with refrigerated biscuits.

I'm thankful for Ellen, back at the Hallmark store in Taylor, who taught me how to make homemade sausage gravy.

I thought I blogged about it before, but if I did, I can't find the post. I don't remember the first time I had biscuits and sausage gravy, but I know I liked it. We did not eat this in our house while I was growing up. It became a dish I ordered when we went out for breakfast. One day, at the Hallmark store where I worked after Bill and I were first married, the assistant manager and I were talking. She told me about how easy it was to make sausage gravy. Do tell, I begged. She obliged. I could not believe it was that simple! If you don't know; it's as easy as cooking some pork sausage until it's browned, add several forks full of flour, add milk as you stir until you get the gravy constancy that you desire. Season with a little bit of salt and black pepper. Ta-da! It changed my cooking life. No, seriously. I believe it was the first dish I made without using a recipe (I do not count grilled cheese or fried eggs in that category).

Thank you Ellen!

fall flavors

I've mentioned before that growing up I was a picky eater. It has become the family joke. Apparently I ate nothing more than macaroni & cheese and hot dogs.

That is mostly true.

As an adult, as I've learned and experienced cooking, I have found many foods that Mom always tried to get me to eat, but usually ended up with me still sitting at the dining room table, the food cold, tears streaming down my face. I would choke down whatever vegetable it was (hello, had I even tried them when they were still warm I would have probably liked them, or at least disliked them less) with a second glass of milk. Swallowing them whole like prescribed pills. (I think I'm recalling most specifically lima beans and peas in this description.)

Now I like vegetables, mostly because I eat them while they're still warm. What a difference temperature makes!

One of the things I remember Mom making was acorn squash. She roasted the squash, buttered it, and sprinkled brown sugar on it.

She did the same thing with carrots.

Had we known then what we know now, she would have gone the simple route of olive oil, salt and pepper. Now, that is my favorite way to eat root vegetables.

Just like I don't enjoy carrots in cake (seriously, I'll lick the icing off of a carrot cake or refuse dessert), I don't enjoy brown sugar on vegetables.

I had my first un-brown sugared acorn squash at a friend's house recently. They baked them in a pan of water, essentially steaming the squash. Then, at the table, butter, salt and pepper were provided so each of us could garnish as we wished.

I liked it that way, but wondered if I could roast it with olive oil. That is how I cook butternut squash. Except that it's cut up into cubes.

I Googled it.

Sure enough, eventually I found a recipe where you cut the acorn squash in half around the equator, scoop out the seeds, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper and drop in a clove of peeled (and slightly crushed) garlic. Roast it cut side up at 350 for an hour.

Delicious.

But, what's the best part about a squash? Or carving a pumpkin? To me, it's the seeds. I have always enjoyed eating roasted seeds.

Recently, I discovered something about these seeds.

I have been roasting pumpkin seeds since Bill and I carved our first pumpkins.

When I made that acorn squash the first time, I saved the seeds and the next day roasted them.

Acorn squash seeds have way more flavor than pumpkin seeds.

If you haven't ever given acorn squash seeds a chance, I highly recommend that you do.

Thanks to Heather W., the best way to prepare the seeds is: soak them overnight in salt water. The next day, drain the seeds, toss with olive oil, season with salt, pepper, garlic & onion powder and bake in a 300 oven for 20 minutes. You don't have to eat them right away. They'll keep in a sealed container.

Excuse me, I have to go eat my acorn squash seeds, they're ready.