Archives for November 2013

After a delicious, hearty breakfast on this crisp morning, the girls of Sweetgrass Social decided the best way to Date Night at Home this week would be in bed… with brunch! How great does a lazy morning sound, snuggled in the warmth of your bed with a delicious breakfast and your future hubby by your side?! Everything about that just sounds perfect. We’ve got savory, healthy and of course sweet!

Hearty Breakfast Biscuit Stacks
Ingredients
1 recipe Flaky, Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
12 slices bacon
1 1/2 Fried eggs
Vegetable oil for deep-fat frying
1 cup all-purpose flour
1tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 cup buttermilk or sour milk
6 chicken breast tenderloins

Directions
Prepare Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy.
Cover gravy and set aside until read to use.
Cook bacon until crisp and prepare fried eggs; keep warm.
In a deep-fat frier or large deep saucepan, heat about 1 inch of oil to 365 degrees F.
In a shallow dish, stir together flour, garlic salt and pepper. Pour buttermilk into another shallow dish.
Dip chicken into flour mixture, turning to coat. Dip into the buttermilk, allowing excess to drip off.
Dip again into flour mixture, turning to coat.
Fry chicken, half at a time, in hot oil about 5 minutes or until coating is golden brown and chicken is no longer pink.
Remove chicken and drain on paper towels.
To assemble, ladle 1/4 cup of the gravy onto a serving plate.
Split a biscuit and place the bottom half on the gravy. Top with a fried chicken piece, two slices of bacon and another 1/4 cup gravy.
Add a fried egg to the stack; top with the biscuit top.
Repeat with the remaining biscuits, gravy, chicken pieces, bacon and fried eggs.
Serve and enjoy!

Kale Goat-Cheese Frittata
Ingredients
2 cups coarsely, torn fresh kale
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 tsp olive oil
6 eggs
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 cup drained oil-packed dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Directions
Preheat broiler.
In 10-inch ovenproof non-stick skillet, cook and stir kale and onion in oil over medium heat for 10 minutes until onion is tender.
Meanwhile, in medium bowl whisk together eggs, egg whites, salt and pepper.
Pour over kale mixture in skillet.
Cook over medium-low heat.
As egg mixture sets, run a spatula around the edge of the skillet, lifting egg mixture so th euncooked portion flows underneath.
Continue cooking and lifting edge until egg mixture is almost set but still glossy and moist.
Sprinkle egg mixture with dried tomatoes and goat cheese.
Broil 4-5 inches from the heat for 1-2 minutes or until eggs are set.
Cut into wedges to serve and enjoy!

Vanilla French Toast
Ingredients
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half or light cream
2 tbsp sugar
tsp vanilla
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmet
8 slices dry white/whole what bread
2 tbsp butter or vegetable oil
Maple-syrup (optional)
Sliced bananas (optional)

Directions
In a shallow bowl, beat together eggs, half-and-half, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Dip bread slices into egg mixture, coating both sides.
In a very large skillet or on a griddle, melt 1 tbsp of the butter over medium heat.
Add half of the bread slices and cook for 4-6 minutes or until golden, turning once.
Repeat with remaining bread slices and butter.
Serve with syrup and bananas!

Today’s blog post comes from The Huffington Post’s Maressa Brown and is titled “Wedding Day Planning: The 7 Things You Need to Know“. Thanks Maressa for these great tips!

You can read every article in every bridal magazine, every Q&A or checklist on wedding websites, and pick your married friends’ brains for months and still be unprepared for some of the “OMG” (both wonderful and cringe-worthy) moments you’re bound to encounter while wedding planning and finally walking down the aisle. That’s why just about anyone who has ever been a bride has coulda/shoulda/woulda thoughts well after they’re someone’s Mrs.
While it’s not healthy to dwell on those thoughts, it doesn’t hurt to dish on what you only wish you had known! Hey, it could be the heads-up that saves another bride’s day. Here, seven things brides often wish they’d been warned about before their Big Day.

1. Fights: With potential for emotions to run high, money matters to set people off and family drama galore, you could very well end up having the biggest fight of your entire relationship with your fiance in the lead-up to the wedding. Hell, maybe even on your wedding day! Wedding stress can make even they most even-tempered person act occasionally crazy and out of character. I wish more of us would admit this is perfectly normal and does not mean you need to tear off like a runaway bride. As long as you’re able to cool off and talk it over at some point, it’s all good.
2. Budget: For various reasons — season, location, timing, procrastination, etc. — certain vendors/services/other wedding details can end up costing a lot more than you expected. And while you can do your best to negotiate and trim the fat or DIY as much as possible, sometimes you have no choice but to grin and bear shelling out a few hundred more for that chuppah or extra hour of open bar or summer Saturday night.
3. Emotional Moments: You might get super-emotional about something you didn’t expect to … like the dance with your dad or a speech that comes out of the blue. Just consider it a reason to ask the Maid of Honor to tote some tissues and touch-up mascara in her clutch!
4. RSVP Drama: Guests you thought were shoo-ins find out they have to work or are going to be eight months pregnant or have some other reason they can’t attend. Guests you thought in a million years wouldn’t show say they’re coming and bringing all of their +1s. And worst of all, you may get an RSVP for people who decide not to show at the last minute — which is why it’s always best to tell your venue that you have fewer people, because it’s always cheaper to add than subtract at the eleventh hour!
5. Promises: What everyone keeps telling you is supposed to be the happiest time of your life can quickly go south if promises regarding finances aren’t kept. Many brides wish they had been warned to get everything in writing when discussing with their parents and their partner who would pay for what.
6. It’s Not Over Til It’s Over: Last-minute requests for things you never even thought about — a toiletry basket in the restrooms or a Kosher/vegan/nut-free dinner or dessert or cocktail hour option, particular shots taken by photographers, etc. — can have a way of popping up no matter how much you prepare ahead of time. And be prepared for this to continue even well after your wedding day, whether people expect thank you cards by a particular deadline they deem appropriate or they’re hounding you for photos/video, etc.
7. Wardrobe Malfunctions: Whether it’s uncomfortable shoes or too-tight Spanx or earrings that aren’t hypoallergenic, any sort of wardrobe malfunction that can happen will. Or at least can. Good to have a plan B — like flip flops waiting in the wings to replace those 4-inch heels wreaking havoc on your tootsies!