pillsbury Archives | Mama Harris' Kitchen

Caramel Apple Cake Mix Waffles

October 14, 2016 by MamaHarris 9 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BakeFallFavorites #CollectiveBias

We’re officially in the middle of Fall now, and it’s my favorite time of year. Sure, California weather isn’t always reflective of the seasons, but the scents and flavors of the season are all around. Fall is also when my kitchen heats up with baked goods, I love to come up with new recipes that are fun and tasty that my family can enjoy this time of year. Because of that, I was so excited to see new Fall flavors of Pillsbury™ baking mixes hit shelves for a limited time (from 9/4 through 11/5). With flavors like Halloween, Perfectly Pumpkin or Caramel Apple Cake Mix you’re sure to bake up plenty of fun seasonal goodies in a snap. I have a hankering for waffles and they’re perfect for brunch or even dessert, so I decided to try my hand at some cake mix waffles using the seasonal flavors. In fact, I also used the Cartwheel app for Target get an additional 10% off of all the Limited Edition Fall Flavor Baking Mixes and you can too, as long as it’s between 9/25 through 10/22. So go on and grab your mixes and come back for this super easy recipe!

Not only did I decide to make cake mix waffles, I also wanted to make an easy syrup for the waffles with the frosting. You just take a bit and heat it up, add a little milk to it and drizzle over your waffles for a mouth-watering treat. Add some fresh apples (since I made the caramel apple flavor), some fresh whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon sugar and you’re set! You could also supplement the whipped cream for some creamy vanilla ice cream to really make this more of a dessert waffle.

The texture of cake mix waffles is a tad bit different than traditional waffles. It’s a bit lighter and spongier, like a cake. It’s not as dense and the edges don’t get as crispy, but if you use a cooking spray it does help to create the crispier edges we all love. I really liked the texture, especially if we’re making these more of a dessert waffle. And the taste is delicious with that touch of caramel apple flavor, without being too overwhelming. Perfection.

For a true feast for the eyes and the palate, add pretty Fall themed touches to your tableware. I tied up a pretty napkin with sparkly twine and added a glittery gold leaf, this would make a great dessert for a Fall themed dinner party or a fun Fall brunch with friends!

Ingredients for Caramel Apple Cake Mix Waffles:

1 box Pillsbury™ Moist Supreme® Caramel Apple Flavored Premium Cake Mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
cooking spray
1/2 cup Pillsbury™ Creamy Supreme® Caramel Apple Flavored Frosting
1 tablespoon milk
apple slices
whipped cream
cinnamon sugar

Directions:

Begin by combining the cake mix, water, oil and eggs in a mixing bowl.

Whisk until smooth, the batter will be thick. Let the batter settle for a few minutes while the waffle iron warms up.

If you can adjust the heat on your waffle iron, set it to a medium/high heat. You don’t want it on the highest setting, but a bit above medium. Spray with a non-stick cooking spray and fill with batter based on the instructions that come with your waffle iron model. Mine used about 3/4 cup of batter.

Heat in the waffle iron until golden. They will be a bit softer than traditional waffles, but the spray will help get a little extra crisp on the edges.

Heat half a cup of frosting in the microwave, ten seconds at a time for a total of about 30 seconds. Stir between each break..

Once the frosting is smooth and melted, stir in the milk to thin it out a bit to create a syrup for the pancakes.

Pour the syrup on each waffle.

Top with apple slices, whipped cream, and cinnamon sugar.

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Cake Mix Waffles

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Caramel Apple Cake Mix Waffles

Fall flavors combine with boxed mix for these caramel apple cake mix waffles with cake frosting syrup, the perfect treat for brunch or dessert!

Ingredients

1 box Pillsbury™ Moist Supreme® Caramel Apple Flavored Premium Cake Mix
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
cooking spray
1/2 cup Pillsbury™ Creamy Supreme® Caramel Apple Flavored Frosting
1 tablespoon milk
apple slices
whipped cream
cinnamon sugar

Instructions

Begin by combining the cake mix, water, oil and eggs in a mixing bowl.
Whisk until smooth, the batter will be thick. Let the batter settle for a few minutes while the waffle iron warms up.
If you can adjust the heat on your waffle iron, set it to a medium/high heat. You don't want it on the highest setting, but a bit above medium. Spray with a non-stick cooking spray and fill with batter based on the instructions that come with your waffle iron model. Mine used about 3/4 cup of batter.
Heat in the waffle iron until golden. They will be a bit softer than traditional waffles, but the spray will help get a little extra crisp on the edges.
Heat half a cup of frosting in the microwave, ten seconds at a time for a total of about 30 seconds. Stir between each break..
Once the frosting is smooth and melted, stir in the milk to thin it out a bit to create a syrup for the pancakes.
Pour the syrup on each waffle.
Top with apple slices, whipped cream, and cinnamon sugar.
Enjoy!

https://mamaharriskitchen.com/2016/10/caramel-apple-cake-mix-waffles/

What do you love to bake with Pillsbury?

There will be a second offer for Cartwheel users between the dates of 10/27 – 10/30, so be sure to get your hands on these flavors! You can find the Limited Edition Fall Flavors on display near the food section at Target on a special end cap. For more fun Fall baking ideas with Pillsbury, you can follow along on Facebook.

Spicy Cheeseburger Grilled Pizza

June 11, 2014 by MamaHarris 9 Comments

I was provided with product from Pillsbury to develop this recipe. All thoughts are my own.

Ah, Summertime.. the time for fun in the sun, travel, vacations and doing what we can to bask in the sun and also escape the heat. This is a time that many of us love to throw entire meals on the grill, whether it’s breakfast,lunch or dinner – hot dogs, veggies, seafood, burgers, and even pizza.

I know that grilling pizza is something new to a lot of folks, but I’ve seen some amazing pizzas come off the grill. I’m no stranger to the pizza crusts from Pillsbury, I’ve had some fun with them and gotten pretty creative with my toppings and methods, but putting their crust on the grill was something new for me, so I did go to their site for some great tips after seeing this video that came from Pillsbury, so you know I just had to try my pizza grilled using their pizza crust.

Be sure to check out my other Pillsbury Pizza posts for great recipes for Garlic Chicken on Artisan Wheat Crust, Salami & Italian Sausage Stromboli, Pepperoni, Mushroom & Olive Pizza, and Dessert Calzones.

Don’t they make it look so easy? I must confess, Big G is the grill master in our home. About the only experience I have with grilling is marinades and prepping our food for the grill. He starts up the barbecue, and he sits outside in the heat flipping the food after it’s perfectly finished. I was up for the challenge, though. This time he started the coals and I did the rest.

I thought, since we’re talking about grilling and all, aren’t cheeseburgers the #1 thing that most of us usually grill during the summer? Of course there’s other things for either adults or kids, but cheeseburgers are pretty universal, right? Kind of like pizza. So why not combine them? Cheeseburger toppings, on a pizza.. GRILLED. Oh, yes. It’s magnificent, and everything you thought it would be. The dough comes out crispy on the outside and soft and flaky in the middle. Now I understand the obsession with grilling pizzas. Unfortunately, we have a sad little mini grill in our backyard. But making these pizzas has inspired us and made us realize how much we’ve been missing out. I can’t wait to get a larger, fancier grill and try these again. Maybe that’d be a great Father’s Day gift? I digress..

I cheated a little and purchased some turkey burger patties that are already seasoned and made with diced tomatoes and red bell pepper, which once cooked I just crumbled up as a topping. I also prepared some bacon, because.. well, why not? In addition, I used my two favorite kinds of cheeses, some diced tomatoes, and a little bit of chopped jalapeños. Once it was all cooked through, I topped it all off with some chopped lettuce.

BOOM, Spicy Cheeseburger Grilled Pizza!

Do I even have to tell you that everyone loved it?

Spicy Cheeseburger Pizza Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1-1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

Spicy Cheeseburger Grilled Pizza Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon Parmesan cheese
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1 turkey burger patty, cooked then broken into pieces
2 slices of bacon, cooked then broken into pieces
1 tomato, diced
6 jalapeño slices, chopped
1-2 tablespoons chopped green leaf lettuce

Directions:

Begin by heating up your grill. You want it on a low heat, where you can place your hand over it for a few seconds and not burn yourself. While the grill is heating, take out the pizza dough to bring it to a slightly warmer temperature, and prepare your toppings. Once your pizza is on the grill everything will move fast, so you want to be prepared ahead of time.

Combine the pizza sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard and dry parsley in a bowl. Stir to combine, then set aside until you’re ready to spread onto the crust.

Begin by rolling out the refrigerated pizza dough on a floured surface.

Let rest a few minutes, then spread it out into the shape you want.
Once it’s the size and shape you want (try to make it as even as possible in thickness) place foil over the dough and flip it over on top of the foil. You can trim the foil so it’s about the same size of the dough, for easier manageability.

Slowly lie the dough on top of the heated grill, trying to place it in the center of the grill. Once in position, peel away the foil and let the dough sit on the heated grill uncovered.

The dough will begin to bubble, let it cook on the first side for about 2-4 minutes before you flip it over.

Once the first side is grilled, flip to the other side for just a minute or two. That side won’t need to be grilled as long because it will go back on the grill once your topping are on.

Carefully remove the dough from the grill, brush melted butter on the edges of the crust and sprinkle with garlic salt, Parmesan cheese, and then the sunflower seeds.
Spread the sauce across the center.

Sprinkle with both cheeses,then top with crumbled hamburger meat.

Top with crumbled bacon, tomatoes, and jalapeños.

Now it’s ready to go back on the grill. Carefully place pizza back on the grill for another 2-4 minutes, or until cooked through and cheeses are melted and bubbling. Close the lid of the grill while it’s cooking.

Doesn’t it look great? Yum!

Remove from grill, then top with chopped lettuce.

Doesn’t it remind you of a deconstructed cheeseburger? I love it!

Enjoy!

What’s your favorite flavors on a grilled pizza?

Spicy Cheeseburger Grilled Pizza

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Serving Size: 1 square of pizza

Spicy Cheeseburger Grilled Pizza

Aren't cheeseburgers the #1 thing that most of us usually grill during the summer? Of course there's other things for either adults or kids, but cheeseburgers are pretty universal, right? Kind of like pizza. So why not combine them? Cheeseburger toppings, on a pizza.. GRILLED. Oh, yes. It's magnificent, and everything you thought it would be.

Ingredients

For the Spicy Cheeseburger Pizza Sauce

1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1-1/2 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

For the Spicy Cheeseburger Grilled Pizza

1 Pillsbury refrigerated pizza dough
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon Parmesan cheese
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1 turkey burger patty, cooked then broken into pieces
2 slices of bacon, cooked then broken into pieces
1 tomato, diced
6 jalapeño slices, chopped
1-2 tablespoons chopped green leaf lettuce

Instructions

Begin by heating up your grill. You want it on a low heat, where you can place your hand over it for a few seconds and not burn yourself.
While the grill is heating, take out the pizza dough to bring it to a slightly warmer temperature, and prepare your toppings. Once your pizza is on the grill everything will move fast, so you want to be prepared ahead of time.
Combine the pizza sauce, barbecue sauce, mustard and dry parsley in a bowl. Stir to combine, then set aside until you're ready to spread onto the crust.
Begin by rolling out the refrigerated pizza dough on a floured surface.
Let rest a few minutes, then spread it out into the shape you want.
Once it's the size and shape you want (try to make it as even as possible in thickness) place foil over the dough and flip it over on top of the foil. You can trim the foil so it's about the same size of the dough, for easier manageability.
Slowly lie the dough on top of the heated grill, trying to place it in the center of the grill. Once in position, peel away the foil and let the dough sit on the heated grill uncovered.
The dough will begin to bubble, let it cook on the first side for about 2-4 minutes before you flip it over.
Once the first side is grilled, flip to the other side for just a minute or two. That side won't need to be grilled as long because it will go back on the grill once your topping are on.
Carefully remove the dough from the grill, brush melted butter on the edges of the crust and sprinkle with garlic salt, Parmesan cheese, and then the sunflower seeds.
Spread the sauce across the center.
Sprinkle with both cheeses,then top with crumbled hamburger meat.
Top with crumbled bacon, tomatoes, and jalapeños.
Now it's ready to go back on the grill. Carefully place pizza back on the grill for another 2-4 minutes, or until cooked through and cheeses are melted and bubbling. Close the lid of the grill while it's cooking.
Remove from grill, then top with chopped lettuce.
Enjoy!

https://mamaharriskitchen.com/2014/06/spicy-cheeseburger-grilled-pizza/

#PillsburyGrilling

Creative Ideas with Pillsbury Pizza Crust

January 7, 2014 by MamaHarris 7 Comments

Disclosure: I was provided free product from Pillsbury to try and was not compensated for this post. All thoughts are my own.

Do you have a fun weekly dinner tradition?

Since our family pizza night last month we’ve made a habit of getting together as a family every week or two and preparing some fun meals together. The kids have a great time preparing the food together, and I enjoy some company in the kitchen while I’m cooking.

Last I’d shared with you we had made 2 pizzas that were on the more traditional side with the Pillsbury Pizza Crusts. They were both delicious, but we wanted to do something a little different this time and see how the Pillsbury Pizza Crusts could stand up to the challenge.

The results were delicious and we just couldn’t get enough!

For our first recipe we created our own version of Stromboli. I remember in my teens I was introduced to the most amazing pizzeria. They specialized in Stromboli and it was love at first bite for me. Since I’ve moved to the suburbs I can’t find anything like it in my town, and I figured we could attempt our own with these Pillsbury Pizza Crusts.

It was absolutely as wonderful and delicious as I’d hoped, and the crust tasted amazing. No soggy areas where it had been wrapped up and it cooked evenly. I should have made two because it was gone in an instant!

For the second recipe we wanted to switch it up even more. It was just after the holidays and I had some leftover seasonal fruits. I thought combining the seasoned apples with my own recipe for cranberry sauce and topping it with blackberries that were just a smidgen overripe would be a great flavor combination when topped with some white chocolate drizzle. Once again we were pleased by the crust and how it didn’t explode! Yes, this was a real concern for me, but they came out amazing and they were gone just as quickly as they were prepared. The combination of the fruits was a great blend of sweet and tart, and the cinnamon sugar that was sprinkled on top of the crusts before baking was the perfect touch.

We’ve really enjoyed creating a little tradition out of pizza nights, and we’re already thinking of alternate flavors for the dessert calzones. Maybe filled with a few types of apples and topped with caramel instead of white chocolate. Or even strawberry filling and milk chocolate drizzle.

There’s so many fun ways to get creative, I hope you’ll be just as inspired!

Salami & Italian Sausage Stromboli

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of 16 ounce chub Italian sausage
1/2 cup onions
1/4 cup pizza sauce
1 Pillsbury Classic Pizza Crust
20 slices of salami
1/2 cup pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons spinach
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon Parmesan

Stromboli Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium skillet, brown the Italian sausage in one tablespoon of olive oil.

Add chopped onions about halfway through and saute until sausage is brown and onions are soft.

Add Pizza sauce and combine until the meat is soaked in sauce.

Here’s RiRi helping me brown the meat. Are we having fun yet?

While browning the meat, spray a large cookie sheet with cooking oil and spread out the pizza crust.

Lay out salami down the middle.

RoRo is helping!

So is D-Man!

Spread the sausage mixture on top of the salami.

Now wait for your kid to finish shredding the cheese…

Top with cheeses and finish it off with the spinach!

Roll it up, then place on greased cookie sheet seam side down.

Drizzle with remaining olive oil, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and basil.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden.

Perfection!

Let cool, then cut into slices.

Serve with pizza sauce to dip.

Enjoy!

Dessert Calzone Ingredients:

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon white sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 Pillsbury Classic Pizza Crust
powdered sugar (for rolling dough)
1-1/2 cup cranberry sauce (I just halved my recipe)
1 pint slightly overripe blackberries, quartered
1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar
1 square bakers white chocolate

Dessert Calzone Instructions:

Cut up the apple into small chunks, then sprinkle with lemon juice.

Top with brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Dust cutting board with powdered sugar, then spread out pizza dough on top.

Cut into four even sized pieces.

Roll each piece into balls, then roll out into oval shapes with a rolling pin.

Continue to add powdered sugar to cutting board, crust and pin whenever they get dry to avoid stickiness.

The powdered sugar will also help sweeten the crust for a great dessert taste!

Using a dinner tablespoon, add 1-2 scoops of cranberry sauce to one side of the oval.

Then add a scoop of the cubed apples

Top with 1/4 of the blackberries.

Fold the empty half over the fruit filled half and pinch the seam closed.

Place seam side up on greased cookie sheet.

Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon sugar and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, or until golden.

Just before the calzones are done, melt the square of white chocolate in a microwave safe dish, stirring every 15-20 seconds. Once melted, remove from microwave.

Let the calzones cool, then place on top of parchment or wax paper.

Drizzle with melted white chocolate.

Serve once cooled.

Yum!

Enjoy!

What’s your favorite thing to make with Pillsbury Pizza Crusts?

It’s Family Pizza Night with Pillsbury Pizza Crust!

December 4, 2013 by MamaHarris 16 Comments

Disclosure: I was provided free product from Pillsbury to try and was not compensated for this post. All thoughts are my own.

My Pizza Night kit came complete with an apron, product coupons for
Pillsbury refrigerated pizza crusts, a cutting board and pizza cutter, and
an oven mitt. Complete with an adorable tote!

A few weeks ago I shared all about my visit to Pillsbury Kitchens with you. I had such a wonderful time visiting and seeing all of the behind the scenes action at Pillsbury, and even developing my own recipe right in their test kitchens!

Recently Pillsbury sent me my very own pizza kit to create my own family pizza night together with my kids. Needless to say they were all over this idea! We talked ingredients and discussed what we each wanted on our pizzas. My bigger kids donned our Pillsbury aprons and we went to work.

First up was the kids pizza. Pepperoni, mushroom and olive on a classic pizza crust. Pillsbury crusts are easy to work with, and cook quickly. You pre-bake in the oven for a few minutes, load on your toppings, then bake a little longer. Super easy and done in less time than it would take for you to call in an order for delivery. Not only that, but my kids had fun loading all that pepperoni on the pizza. Take a look.

Pepperoni, Mushroom, Olive Pizza Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury refrigerated classic pizza crust
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1-1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
one 8 ounce package sliced pepperoni
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup black olives, sliced

Instructions:

We were just getting started and RoRo was so excited!

Boobie helped by grating the cheese.

We started by pre-baking the crust at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Once done we spread the pizza sauce on. Then we topped the pizza sauce with tons of freshly grated Mozzarella cheese.

This is where we got to the fun part, adding the pepperoni, mushrooms and olives.

The kids enjoyed loading it all on!

All done and ready to go in the oven. Good job, boys!

It’s fully loaded! Just bake for another 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees and it’s all ready to eat!

We had plenty of help from the famous dough boy!

Scrumptious!

After the kids pizza, we made another one for the adults and older children. We decided on a garlic chicken pizza, complete with Alfredo sauce with a bit of pesto mixed in, as well as plenty of fresh veggies. Red onion, green bell pepper, tomatoes, and spinach all on the Pillsbury Artisan Wheat crust. It was delicious!

Garlic Chicken Pizza on Artisan Wheat Crust Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury Refrigerated Artisan Whole Grain pizza crust
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Alfredo sauce
1 tablespoon traditional pesto sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1-1/2 cups Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 boneless chicken breast, cooked and diced
1/4 small red onion, cut into thin strips
1 roma tomato, cut into thin wedges, deseeded
2 tablespoons lightly sauteed spinach

Instructions:

After we pre-baked the crust for 10 minutes, I brushed the edges of the crust with olive oil, then sprinkled with a bit of Parmesan cheese.

The next step was to spread the Alfredo sauce, then add a bit of pesto sauce, spreading the pesto outward with a small fork. Add the crushed garlic and spread out as much as possible.

Add the cheese, the chicken and the onion strips.

Then add the tomatoes and spinach. It’s ready for the oven!

Now, that just looks amazing, right?

We had a fun and successful family pizza night, all thanks to Pillsbury!
I have two more ideas in store that I’ll be creating next week the rest of our pizza crust! Stay tuned.

Chorizo & Egg Breakfast Pockets: Behind the Scenes at Pillsbury

November 20, 2013 by MamaHarris 13 Comments

Last month Pillsbury gathered together a group of bloggers to bring out to the kitchens located at the General Mills Headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota. If you happen to follow me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook then you probably knew that I was one of the nine bloggers in attendance!

We had a busy schedule that included background information on how Pillsbury has become what it is today, how they develop their recipes, current food trends and, our main subject, easy weeknight dinners! Pillsbury tries to create their recipes with easy ingredients, keeping the list of ingredients short. (Salt & pepper and water don’t count as additional ingredients!)

There was a demo that included 3 easy recipes to create fun family dinners with Pillsbury Grands Biscuits and Pillsbury Crescent Rolls. Then, later in the morning after a tour of the kitchens, pantries and prop closets, we’d be pairing up together to create a dish of our own!

All nine bloggers that attended this event. From Left to Right.
Emily from Busy Mommy, Amanda from Amanda’s Cookin’, Jill from Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons,
ME, Sara from Sensibly Sara, Rachel from Rachel Ferrucci, Dorothy from Crazy for Crust,
Carrian from Oh, Sweet Basil, and Angela from About A Mom.
(Photo credits to Jill From Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons)

This would be the lovely kitchens we would be working in, each including their own fully stocked station. I loved the lighting in this room and the large work space. This is where many of the recipes on the Pillsbury website are tested again and again before they get published!

Just a (very) small portion of the supplies located in the closets.

There’s many closets, with many dishes, linens, and anything else you could possibly think of.

I wanted to bring my shopping cart and just collect a few things!

See? Dishes, pots and slow-cookers galore!

Soon enough we were back in the test kitchens and ready to be paired up. The rules were that we had to create an easy meal using anything on this table. It was only to include five ingredients or less, with one of the ingredients being a Pillsbury dough.

I was partnered with Emily from Busy Mommy, and we sorted through many ideas before we found the chorizo chub and quickly decided to make a chorizo and egg pocket using Pillsbury Grands Biscuits.

Look, I know it was supposed to be easy weeknight meals, but in our house our kids love when we switch it up and make breakfast for dinner. And really, this pocket can be eaten any time of day, it’s so delicious! Here’s our five ingredients:

Chorizo & Egg Breakfast Pockets Ingredients:

2 tablespoons chorizo
3 large eggs + 1 egg white
1/4 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 canister Pillsbury Buttermilk Grands refrigerated Biscuits
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
a few pinches of salt

Directions:

Begin by opening up the chorizo chub and spooning out the uncooked meat.

In a medium skillet, brown the meat, no oil necessary.

Whisk the three eggs together and add them to the skillet once the meat is browned.

Here’s Emily and I cooking in the Pillsbury Test Kitchens!

Add the diced bell peppers to the egg and chorizo mixture and continue to stir every so often until the eggs are scrambled and there’s no excess liquid.

In the meantime, flatten out the biscuits so they’re flat like a pizza dough.

Place a flattened biscuit on a cookie sheet. Fill with 1/4 of the filling. Sprinkle some cheese on top.

Place another flattened biscuit on top, then press edges together with fork.

Once complete, brush egg white across the tops and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.

Bake at 350 for about 23 minutes, or until tops are golden.

Place on cooling rack for a few minutes, once cooled cut each cooked pie in half to create a pocket.

We served it with a spiced up sour cream to dip the pockets in. This was just sour cream with some cayenne pepper mixed in. These were easy, and so good!

Each of our groups got to present our creation to the other bloggers and many of the Pillsbury staff.

Everyone did so good, and it was fun to see the different creations that were made in that time frame.

After our lunch we got to take a tour of the rest of the General Mills building. We checked out the photo studio and got some great photography tips. All of the photos taken by Pillsbury and General Mills are all edible. They don’t add anything to make it inedible, matter of fact they had just eaten a salad they’d photographed right before we arrived.

The prop rooms were my favorite. There was just anything you could possibly imagine needing. There were so many different wood panels for a table appearance in photos.

Just stacks and stacks of everything. Items are picked up from yard sales, thrift stores, you name it!

I loved the varieties of cake dishes!

There was so much that we learned and I had such a wonderful day.

Thank you Pillsbury for the opportunity to come out and spend the day with you!

You can follow Pillsbury on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Be sure to search for the hashtag #MakeItTonight and you can locate all the updates from that day!

Stay tuned, I have more fun with Pillsbury coming soon!

What are your favorite recipes that include Pillsbury products?

Chicken Pot Pie made with Pillsbury Pie Crusts

March 19, 2013 by MamaHarris 33 Comments

As a child I grew up eating those cute little frozen pot pies. I learned at a young age how to poke holes in the top and heat them up. To be honest, it’s still a comforting meal to me, and sometimes I’ll find them on special at the grocery store for $.75 each and buy a few.

I like to recreate some of my favorite boxed or frozen meals that I enjoyed growing up, and make them homemade without all that nasty sodium and preservatives. A few months ago (before our move) I posted a status update on my facebook that I was making a chicken pot pie using Pillsbury Pie Crusts. I asked if anyone would like the recipe and some interest was shown so I had planned to share it with you during our move. Unfortunately over the course of that move I misplaced my folder that I write all my recipes down in that I’m making and testing. Thankfully I found it, (in my son’s dresser drawer – what’s that about!!??) so now I can share this delicious recipe (adapted from this one) with you! Maybe it will bring about fond and comforting memories for you as well!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, sliced
10 baby carrots, sliced
2 medium yukon potatoes, peeled and diced
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1-3/4 cup chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning (such as Old Bay)
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup frozen peas
2-1/2 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 box refrigerated pie crust (like Pillsbury), brought to room temperature

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Begin by sauteing your onion with the butter in a medium saucepan.

Add the garlic and celery, heat until just softened.

In a separate pot, bring water to boiling. Add carrot slices, then potatoes. Heat until just tender.

Stir in flour and whisk quickly until well blended.

Slowly add chicken broth, whisking immediately.
Add seasonings and continue to mix.

Add milk, and whisk often keeping pot over medium heat until thick.

Once sauce has fairly thickened, add carrots and potatoes, frozen peas, then the shredded chicken.
Mix to combine.

Roll the first refrigerated pie crust into a pie dish, cutting any excess crust off the edge.
Fill the crust with the warm pot pie mixture.

Cover with the second pie crust. Center the crust over the bottom one, then flute the edges.

Cut a few slits in the center of the crust so steam can escape while it cooks, and bake for about 50 minutes. During the last 15-20 minutes, cover the edges of the crust with foil or pie crust savers.

Once done, the crust will be a beautiful golden color and the crust will have puffed up a bit and have a wonderful flaky texture. I typically allow the pie to cool for quite a few hours, or even refrigerate overnight. That way the filling has a chance to set and won’t make a mess when you cut into it!

Here’s an example of a nice clean cut slice of chicken pot pie.

Enjoy!

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts are my own.

Pull-Apart Sticky Buns

December 8, 2012 by MamaHarris 13 Comments

A few months back I discovered this delicious Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring on Pinterest. It was a pretty popular pin that was making its rounds on all of my friends boards, so of course I repinned. I had to try it, and it was so good! It’s basically what most of us would recognize as Monkey Bread. This would be perfect to serve with brunch on Christmas Morning or as a snack to have just lingering on one of your serving tables. Kids and adults both go nuts over this, and they always request I make more!

I did change it up just a bit, since I’m trying to eat healthy I quartered the biscuits to make the individual servings a lot smaller. Some of the measurements are a little different from the individual recipe, and I also used real maple syrup which takes this to a whole different level. The original poster has some amazing photos though, I wish mine were that good! I know with food the photos can make ALL the difference in the world. Hopefully you enjoy this, it never lasts long in our house. I think this batch lasted all of two whole hours!

Ingredients:

1 can Pillsbury Grands Biscuits, Homestyle Buttermilk flavor
4 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, melted
3/4 cup real maple syrup
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts, I used walnuts and almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Melt butter, then add syrup. Whisk together in a bowl until combined. Set aside.

In a separate bowl combine the sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Mix until well combined.

Spray or lightly grease a bundt or fluted pan. Pour about half the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan. Then sprinkle about half of the sugar/nut mixture over it.

Now add the biscuits to form a ring. You can leave them whole, or quarter them like I did.
It’s totally up to you! Pour the second half of syrup over the biscuits.

Sprinkle evenly with the remaining sugar/nut mixture.
Place in the oven and bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Perfection! Let cool for about 5-10 minutes.

Once cooled a bit, invert onto a cake dish or plate. Let cool at least another 5-10 minutes. The pieces are sticky and very hot! Kids will be tempted to grab a piece, so be careful!

The butter, sugar, cinnamon and syrup caramelize while cooking and taste amazing. Deliciously sticky!

Once cooled just enough, you can serve!

So tempting, nobody will be able to eat just one.

See? That’s my daughter, RiRi, picking away!

This is less than an hour after removing from the oven!

Enjoy!

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts are my own.

Perfect Brunch Quiche with Pillsbury Deep Dish Pie Crust

September 10, 2012 by MamaHarris Leave a Comment

Growing up, I remember my mom making a quiche every so often. From a large quiche to cute little mini ones, and they were always a favorite of mine. We typically had them for dinner, or the little ones could be considered an appetizer. I, however, love to make it for my family for a breakfast or hearty brunch.
A quiche is even a great breakfast for either Thanksgiving or Christmas morning. It’s also great to have ready for house guests served with a warm cup of coffee. Of course, it doesn’t have to be a special occasion in order to serve this. If you’ve never had a quiche, think of it as an omelette in a pie. There’s many different fillings you can make for it, as well as many cheeses. This time I made it with some zucchini I had gotten from a friend who had a ton in their garden. I’ve been finding ways and dishes to sneak it into, and that’s what’s great about a dish like quiche. You can customize it based on what you have on hand, and what season it is. I typically make it just how I did here, but I replace ham with the turkey sausage, and instead of broccoli and zucchini I use spinach. I will share with you what I used to create the quiche pictured here, but I will also share with you how to customize it so it will be fool proof no matter what fillings you use! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 Deep dish pie crust, I use the Pillsbury ones, they come with 2 in the package and you can find them in the freezer aisle at your grocery store
4 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper, to taste
Herbs of choice, for this I used a little Parsley and a little Basil, just a few shakes. Also I added some ground ginger to the meat mixture.
1 cup grated cheese, I used 1/2 Monterey Jack, and 1/2 Mild Cheddar
Filling ingredients of choice, should equal about a cup worth. I used the following:
3 slices of thick cut bacon
a little less than 1/4 cup uncooked turkey breakfast sausage
1/3 cup of chopped yellow onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 small jar of diced pimentos
1/2 a small can of mushroom slices
3 sliced of zucchini, chopped
5 broccoli florets, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Take out the Pie crust to thaw in the metal tin for about 15 minutes.
Start cooking your bacon.

While the bacon is cooking, prick the pie shell generously with a fork. Then line with parchment paper, wax paper, or foil and place dried beans or pie weights inside. Bake in oven for about 11 minutes. (the beans or pie weights prevent the pie from bubbling on the inside and losing it’s shape.

Now the crust has a nice golden color. Remove the wax paper, remove the beans, place the crust on a cookie sheet and lower your oven to 350 degrees and set the crust aside while you prepare the filling.

Cook the bacon till it has a nice brown color, but not to crispy. You want it a little tender.
Remove bacon from pan, and add the onion, garlic and pimentos to the bacon grease and saute.

Add the breakfast sausage and cook until browned. This is where I added a few shakes of ground ginger.

Once the sausage is browned, turn off the heat. While still in pan, add zucchini and broccoli and break up the bacon into little bits and add. Stir well.
Once mixed, add all the filling to the crust.

Now add your cheese.

Next, break the 4 eggs into a bowl. Add the Heavy whipping cream and whisk together well. Add your salt and pepper and whatever herbs you desire. I just shake them in with not much measuring. I used Parsley and Basil. Once blended well, pour the egg mixture over the cheese.

Here’s my little secret how to get perfect pie crust every time. These are pie crust savers. If you’ve ever made a pie, you know that the crust tends to get crunchy and black. You pick up these babies and put them on for most of the cooking time, remove about 15 minutes before your pie is done and you have perfectly flaky, delicious pie crust. If you can’t find these you can wrap the crust edges carefully with foil.

Place your pie in the oven and bake for about 40-50 minutes, until the egg mixture sets. You can stick a toothpick about an inch from the crust edge and if it comes out clean it’s done. Make sure you remove your crust savers 15 minutes before the timer goes off!

Viola!! Perfection!

Let it cool a few minutes before you cut into it.

Yum!! Hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts are my own.