I have come a long way in the kitchen and so has Brian.  All it takes is practice, I promise.  We definitely aren’t experts by any means, but we both enjoy cooking together as a couple, especially on Saturday nights.  He is mostly in charge of breakfast on the weekends and usually makes everything from scratch.  He made these biscuits for us last Saturday night and they were amazing on Sunday morning.  We recently went to The Loveless Cafe, which is famous for their biscuits, and I have to say these were just as good, maybe even better.  They were perfectly light and flaky.  All we needed was their homemade jams and sausage/ham/bacon platter.  I promise these are easy and are worth the effort the night before.  Brian always wants me to label something as difficult if it involves yeast, but I promise they aren’t.  He made all of it, just chickened out when it came to rolling the dough.  He gave me the choice of finishing them or showering the boys.  I gladly chose the biscuits!

Overnight Angel Biscuits

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Serves	12
Meal type	Breakfast
From book	My Family Table

Ingredients

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)

Directions

Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the buttermilk and dissolved yeast and mix well. Using a pastry knife (or food processor) cut the butter into the mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of flour on the counter before you roll out the dough. Roll out the dough into a rectangle. Fold the two opposite sides in, making a triple layer of dough, making three flaky layers. Cut the dough into a 3-inch circle or square. Place on a nonstick baking sheet, cover loosely with saran wrap, and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 400. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. *We halved the recipe and it was perfect for our family of 5.

We’ve gone through all of our frozen meals this week.  I planned on saving them for the beginning of school, but with Luke being sick and slightly high-maintanence, we needed them this week. The best thing about these meals is that I just freeze half of it when I make them the first time, so basically you get at least 2 dinners out of them.  Doesn’t require any additional work and saves you time when you really need it.  Just thaw completely and bake or heat according.   Burgers, hamburger salad, and cheeseburger wraps are other quick meals we have during tough weeks that usually don’t require a trip to the grocery store.  You’ll just need plenty of grass-fed beef in your freezer!

Here are my 3 favorite beef entrées that freeze perfectly.

Lasagna

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

Crock Pot Beef Spaghetti Sauce

Tomorrow I’ll post some amazing overnight biscuits that Brian made us for Mother’s Day last weekend.  You’ll definitely want them for Sunday morning.  Have a great Friday!

These were awesome!  Our week so far has not been awesome and I really thought it was going to be.  It started with these tasty muffins, then went downhill from there. Luke has a double ear infection and pneumonia.  My diamond fell out of my engagement ring, into the garbage disposal.  Of course I discovered it was missing by running the disposal.  It was a beautiful diamond, but unfortunately did not stand up to the repeated grinding in the disposal.  We had a good 11 years together.

Luke has had to miss both his school program and last soccer game.  He is pretty sad, but isn’t he the cutest ever with his little missing tooth? I still really wish this cutie pie was in school this week and that I was wearing my ring.  At least we have these yummy muffin tin doughnuts!  And yes they taste exactly like cinnamon and sugar cake doughnuts without the frying part or trip to the doughnut store.

Muffin Tin Doughnuts

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Serves	12
Meal type	Breakfast
From magazine	The Cook's Country

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
• 1 cup sugar (coating)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon (coating)
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat to 400. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Whisk flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together. Whisk buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs together in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Scoop batter into prepared tin and bake until doughnuts are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tin for 5 minutes.

For the coating, whisk sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl. Remove doughnuts from tin and dip into melted butter. Roll in cinnamon and sugar, pressing to adhere.

This recipe seems more like a frittata or a quiche to me but it’s called Ham & Cheese Pie.  It’s so easy to make, especially since there isn’t really a crust involved.  This is a fantastic meal for Mother’s Day and it’s easy enough that your family could make it for you.  Either way, you won’t spend long in the kitchen preparing it.  Goes great with a side salad and a fruit salad.

All you need to do is shred about 2 cups of Gruyere cheese.  This is usually found in the fancier cheese section.  I don’t think you’ll have a problem finding it. And don’t worry, it has a mild flavor that is sweet and a little salty.

Grease your pie plate with the softened butter, then coat evenly with the Parmesan.  This is even easier than rolling out a pre-made pie crust.

You will usually find Samuel painting away while I make dinner, which I love until he freaks out from messing up.  He is a bit of a perfectionist.  No idea who he got that from.  I think he is working on his Kansas Jayhawk for the 15th time.

Combine Gruyere, ham and green onions in a bowl and sprinkle evenly in bottom of prepared pie plate.

Combine flour, baking powder, pepper and salt in a bowl.  Whisk in half and half, eggs, melted butter, mustard and nutmeg until smooth.  Slowly pour batter over cheese and ham mixture.

Bake until pie is light brown and filling is set, 30-35 minutes.  Let cool for 15 minutes.

Slice into wedges and serve warm.  This is so good! 

Happy Mother’s Day!

Ham & Cheese Pie

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Serves	8
Meal type	Main Dish
From magazine	Cook's Country

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened plus 2 tablespoons melted
• 3 tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded
• 4 ounces ham, chopped
• 4 green onions, minced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup half and half
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350. Grease 9 inch pie plate with softened butter then coat plate evenly with Parmesan. Combine Gruyere, ham and green onions in a bowl. Sprinkle cheese and ham mixture evenly in bottom of prepared pie plate. Combine flour, baking powder, pepper and salt in a bowl. Whisk in half and half, eggs, melted butter, mustard and nutmeg until smooth. Slowly pour batter over cheese and ham mixture in pie plate. Bake until pie is light golden brown and filling is set, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes and slice into wedges. Serve warm.

It probably seems like all we eat is beef.  That’s partly true, but I try to mix it up every now and again with fish or chicken. We all prefer fish over chicken and my little boys always scarf it down.   This was the best salmon Brian says he had ever had and I have to say he cooked it perfectly.  Easy, healthy and delicious dinner when you need to choose something other than grass-fed beef!

Combine seasonings, sugar and salt in a small bowl.  Rub over all surfaces of fillets. Saute fillets in oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes.  Turn and saute an additional 2-4 minutes.

Blend marmalade and lime juice, swirl in skillet until melted.  Carefully turn fish to glaze on all sides.  Salmon is done when it begins to flake with a fork.  Serve with lime wedges and your favorite side dishes.  This was seriously fantastic and only takes a few minutes to prepare.

Orange-Glazed Salmon

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Serves	4
Meal type	Main Dish
From magazine	Cuisine At Home

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 boneless, skinless salmon fillets (6 oz. each)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• 2 tablespoons lime juice

Directions

Combine cajun seasonings, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Rub over all surfaces of fillets. Saute fillets in oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes. Turn and saute an additional 2-4 minutes. Blend marmalade and lime juice; swirl in skillet until melted. Carefully turn fish to glaze on all sides. The salmon is done when it begins to flake with a fork. Serve with lime wedges.

Brian is the leftover champ.  Never seen anyone finish leftovers like him.  I’ve also never seen anyone push the limits on how many days leftovers are safe to eat.  We like to call Brian “The Finisher.”  The guy cannot see food go to waste.   We haven’t had leftovers all week and Brian has been annoyed at how much he has spent for lunch at Subway.  Throw in the fact that it’s impossible for him to get full there,  I got the hint.  Leftovers.

We had everything on hand for this recipe and as you can see, it is enough for our family of 5 and then some.  Provides  a delicious dinner as well as a lunch or two or three for him.

Spaghetti Pie

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Meal type	Main Dish
Website	Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients

• 12 ounces thin spaghetti
• 1 pound grass-fed ground beef
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
• 16 ounces tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, divided

Directions

Lightly coat a deep pie plate with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the noodles until al dente according to package directions. While the noodles boil, heat a large 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat and add the ground beef. Add the onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally and continuing to break up the meat, until the meat is cooked through. Return the skillet to medium heat and stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, dried basil and oregano. Simmer the sauce over medium or medium-low heat for 10 minutes. When the noodles are done cooking, drain and return to the pot. Immediately stir in the cream cheese and toss the noodles by lightly lifting them up and over with tongs until the cream cheese is mostly melted. Stir in the cottage cheese, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Toss until the noodles are evenly coated. Stir in 2 cups of the red sauce. Keep the remainder of the red sauce warm on the stove. Scrape the noodles into the prepared pie plate and using a flat spatula, press the noodles evenly into the dish so they are tightly pressed together and evenly flat across the top. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese across the top. Bake the spaghetti pie for 20 minutes, until it is hot and bubbly and the cheese is golden on top. Let the dish rest for 10 minutes. Cut into slices and serve with remaining red sauce.

Brian’s parents visited this past weekend.   The weather was beautiful almost the entire time.  The twins got to show off their soccer skills and ended up with a win against a pretty tough team.

We went to the famous Loveless Cafe for breakfast Friday morning.  Wish I had more pictures, but it was freezing and we were stuffed full of biscuits.

My in-laws kept the boys so that Brian and I could celebrate our 10th anniversary.  We thoroughly enjoyed our evening at The Patterson House and Kayne Prime and learned a valuable lesson about ordering specials at Market Price!

We also went to some Honky Tonks downtown.  Something you must experience, at least once, in Nashville.

We leisurely walked around Centennial Park on Saturday morning.  I’m assuming this Parthenon replica is why Brad Paisley refers to Nashville as the Athens of the South.  It was pretty amazing.

The 7 of us had dinner at Puckett’s in downtown Franklin and listened to their live music.  It was a father/son band, which was fun to see.  After their exhausting weekend, Arlie helped Brian put together this basketball goal.  It took over 4 hours.  The twins haven’t quit shooting so hopefully it was worth the effort.

I cleaned house Monday morning and noticed this.  I disliked this chandelier even before it was filled with undies and socks.  Silly boys!

A huge thanks to Arlie and Pat for making the trip to Nashville and doing so much while they were here.  Great weekend!

The twins have soccer practice once during the week.  It ends when we are normally finishing up dinner so we need something really quick that I can prepare ahead of time.  I found this recipe, called Rattlesnake Bites, a few months back on Pinterest and it’s the perfect dinner for those soccer practice evenings.  I tweaked it a bit because I thought the original recipe was too bland.  Served with a salad, chips and homemade salsa makes the meal complete.

Brown 1 pound of ground beef until no longer pink along with 1 small can of diced jalapenos.   If using our ground beef, no need to drain.  You can substitute chopped green chilies if jalapenos are too spicy for your family.  Add 8 ounces of softened cream cheese and 1/4 teaspoon of cumin to beef and mix together.  You’ll want to add 1/4 teaspoon of chili powder along with the cumin if you use green chilies.  Let cool slightly.  You will need 2 tubes of crescent rolls.  Separate the crescent dough into rectangles and put a few tablespoons of beef mixture onto each.

Carefully roll up into a little pocket.  Doesn’t have to be pretty.  I put cookie sheet into fridge and we headed to practice.  All I had to do when we got home was pop into the oven.

Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.  Also makes great leftovers.

We just added Full and Half share options on our website.  We are able to lower prices because these shares basically fill a box and you get a portion of all cuts.  This simplifies things for us.  Your order ships usually in 2 business days, if ordered by early Wednesday.

Our shipping is a flat rate of $14 so the more beef you order, the less cost per pound.  Super easy and very convenient.  Great product and priced lower than what you will find elsewhere online.  It is priced just over $9 per pound for half share and under $9 for the full share.  Both include a portion of premium cuts of steak.

The beef obviously comes frozen and packed in dry ice.  We’ve shipped all over the country and so far haven’t had any issues.

                  A Full Share Includes: 

• 4 Premium Steaks (6-10 oz per)
• 2 Lbs of Everyday Steaks (2-4 items)
• 1 Boneless Pot Roast (2.5 lb avg)
• 20 Ground Beef (1lb per)
• 2 Green Cattle Beef T-shirts (while supplies last)

                 A Half Share Includes:

• 2 Premium Steaks (6-10 oz per)
• 1 Lb of Everday Steaks (1-2 items)
• 1 Boneless Pot Roast (2.5lb avg)
• 10 Ground Beef (1lb per)
• 1 Green Cattle Beef T-shirt (while supplies last)

This picture was a full share of beef.  People often ask me how I’m able to cook so much.  Part of it is because I always have beef in the fridge.  I try to plan out our menus and do my big grocery shopping on Saturdays or Mondays.   Our meals are very simple and I find ground beef to be our favorite and definitely take the least amount of time.  I know how our family raises the animals and what they are fed.  We’ve been to Krehbiels (our butcher in Kansas) and are in contact with them every week.  We trust them completely.  Most importantly I know it’s the healthiest for our family.

The boys get their tv time at the end of the day.  I get my time in the kitchen to cook.  As crazy as it might sound, it’s usually a stress-reliever for me.  That definitely hasn’t always been the case.  I’m also a bit of a loner to tell you the truth!  Anyway just takes practice and planing and lots of grass-fed beef!

Please feel free to email or call if you have any questions.  I can guarantee you’ll be very happy with your purchase.  We will make sure that you are!

This Oreo Cheesecake was the bomb!  Luke would not step away from it he wanted a piece so badly.   I try hard to fatten my twins up and they blew me away at how much of this cheesecake they were able to consume.  Haven’t seen any weight gain from them so I think you’re safe.  We don’t own any scales so I can’t promise that I haven’t gained any.  Lets just say that I haven’t.

Now you are probably going to freak out when you see how many ounces of cream cheese are in this recipe.  Just don’t eat the entire cheesecake.  Make it for a special occasion or just make an excuse to have an occasion and eat this delicious dessert.  We were supposed to have friends over for dinner, but they had to cancel last minute because of sick kids.   I promised her I would drop off half of the cheesecake the next day.  I lied and am pretending that conversation never happened.  I’m hoping a few pounds of ground beef might make it up to her.  You know you are a Lohrding when you try to solve your problems with grass-fed beef.

Speaking of beef, we have a BIG spring promotional coming up very soon!

Oreo Cheesecake

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Serves	12
Meal type	Dessert
From book	The Cook's Country Cookbook

Ingredients

• 30 Oreo cookies, broken into pieces
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 12 Oreo cookies, broken into pieces

Directions

For the crust: Process the cookies and butter in a food processor until finely ground. Sprinkle the mixture into a 9-inch springform pan and press evenly onto the bottom and sides. Refrigerate until set, at least an hour and up to 2 days.

For the filling: Heat 3/4 cup of the milk in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Meanwhile whisk together the egg yolks, flour and remaining 1/4 cup milk in a bowl until smooth. Slowly whisk the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Return to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thick and glossy, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, whisk in the white chocolate until melted. Transfer the custard to a bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Refrigerate until set, at least an hour and up to 2 days.

Using a mixer on medium speed, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium low and mix in the custard until just combined. Pour one-quarter of the cream cheese mixture evenly into the prepared pan and sprinkle one-third of the cookie pieces over the surface. Repeat the process twice, then top with remaining filling. Refrigerate until set, at least 6 hours. Remove cake from the pan and carefully slide onto a platter and serve. (The cheesecake can be wrapped in plastic wrap for up to 3 days.)