Dutch Oven Bourbon Mashed Potatoes

-DUTCH OVEN BOURBON MASHED POTATOES-

I N G R E D I E N T S 

• 2 1/2-3 pounds red potatoes
•whole stick of butter
•2/3 cup chicken stock
•2/3 cup Bourbon
•2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
•half a block (give or take) of cream cheese
•3 Tbsp chopped green onion
•12 whole cloves garlic
•salt & Pepper
•1/2 Tbsp chicken bouillon 

I N S T R U C T I O N S: 

Put half stick of butter into Dutch oven and heat on medium/low. Sauté whole garlic cloves in butter until they become SLIGHTLY brown, then add chicken stock and bourbon to Dutch oven, season with a fair amount of salt and pepper, and allow to cook for about 30 minutes over moderately low heat (it's crucial that you don't allow anything to burn because it will RUIN the dish). You want to simultaneously be boiling the red potatoes in a separate pot until they are tender. If you get lucky, the potatoes will be just the right texture, and your Dutch oven mixture would have cooked out all of the alcohol and become slightly syrupy at the same time!  Once this happens, you can spoon out the whole cloves of garlic and discard (the garlic cloves flavor the mixture nicely, but I don't always leave them in the dish) or just leave them in to be mashed with other ingredients. Next, strain your potatoes and dump them (skin and all!) straight into the Dutch oven full of the yummy bourbon "sauce".  Add in the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, remaining butter and mash together. SLOWLY add chicken bouillon, regularly testing, to ensure that they are not too salty. You want the potatoes to be mashed, but still have some texture.  Finish by sprinkling chopped green onion over the top. Serve right away or cover Dutch oven and leave over LOW heat until ready to serve! Enjoy!

5 Minute Mushrooms

I N G R E D I E N T S

1 package of organic mushrooms

1-2 Tablespoons organic butter

3(ish) Tablespoons Marsala Wine

Salt & Pepper

1 Teaspoon dried parsley flakes

D I R E C T I O N S 

Melt butter in frying pan and sauté mushrooms with plenty of black pepper but minimal salt (the Marsala Wine is salty). Once the mushrooms begin to cook down (about a minute or two), splash in the Marsala and crank up the heat until most of the liquid is cooked down and the mushrooms are nice and caramelized, stirring frequently. Sprinkle dried parsley on the top and serve!

Enjoy!

Bryt xoxo 

Balsamic Roasted Cauliflower

-Balsamic Roasted Cauliflower-

Ingredients:

2 Heads Cauliflower

Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Salt 

Pepper

Directions:

Cut cauliflower into small slices or chunks, lay on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, drizzle with desired amount of vinegar, and salt and pepper generously.  Then roast at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, tossing cauliflower half way through.

Quick. Easy. Healthy. And YUMMY!

Enjoy,

Bryt
xoxo

Homemade Apple Cider

Homemade Apple Cider

10 apples (a variety: granny smith, gala, red etc.)

2 whole oranges

6 Cinnamon Sticks

1/2 Teaspoon ground ginger

12 whole cloves

3/4 gallon of water

Any sweetener to taste (the sweeter the apples used, the less sweetener will be needed)

All I can say is that I LOVE this stuff.  My house smells heavenly and holidayey (like that made up word?) and I'm getting more and more excited for Christmas.  MAKE THIS.  You will thank me.  All you need to do is slice up your fruit, add some spices and let the crockpot do ALL the work.

How gorgeous are those colors?

Can't you just smell it now?

Once all of the flavors are happily wed (after about 8-9 hours cooked on low), use a fine mesh strainer to remove apples, cinnamon sticks and cloves, and add your choice of sweetener to taste.  Pour in a festive Christmas mug and drink a little sip of heaven. You can make it even more delightful by serving it up with additional orange and/or apple slices and extra cinnamon sticks!

Enjoy, my friend. Enjoy.

Bryt

xoxo

Homemade Chai Tea

All I have to say is that this recipe is OFF THE CHAIN! I made my first crockpot full of this delicious yumminess the other day for Halloween.  Besides this being one of the tastiest beverages you will EVER have, the AROMA that fills your house as it cooks is just so.....practically pleasant:).  Don't make the same mistake I made, though, and have about 7 cups while trick-or-treating with your kids.  Let's just say that I did not sleep AT ALL that night and was a complete zombie at church the next morning. This recipe makes a ton and would be plenty for a medium sized party or enough to store in refrigerator for a few days.  Making a bigger batch and freezing it would also give you some serious homemaker brownie points.  So here goes....

~Homemade Chai Tea~

Ingredients:

12 Cups water

12 Black English tea bags (cut off tag but leave enough string to keep tea bag intact)

1 1/2 Cups of Sweetener (plain white sugar, brown sugar, agave, whatever you love to use is fine)

20 WHOLE cloves

1 TBS of Ground Cardamom

10 whole cinnamon sticks

12 slices of fresh ginger

Half and Half for serving (or any substitute you would prefer)

Directions:

Place all ingredients (except half and half) into a crockpot and set to high for about 2-3 hours or low for about 3-4 hours or until ingredients are boiling hot and flavors have entered into a blissful marriage.  Strain mixture into a bowl (or just do what I do and scoop tea straight out of the crockpot and try to dodge the floating tea bags and whole cloves) and serve with half and half and additional cinnamon sticks! (I like to fill about a 1/4 of a mug with half and half and then slowly pour spoonfuls of tea over the cream until mug is full.  It slowly warms the half and half and seems to be the perfect ratio of cream to tea!)

If you want to up the fancy factor, perhaps for a dinner party or just because you are feeling fancy, serve the tea in glass mugs and add a dollop of whip cream on top! AND you could also serve this over ice for a scrumptious iced Chai Tea! Enjoy!