Nothing tastes better than a good, home-cooked meal. Whether you’re looking for a breakfast that will have everyone out of bed in minutes or a dessert that visitors will talk about for days, here are a few unique spins on familiar favorite recipes, all from Our Sweet Basil Kitchen.
Apple-Bacon Cheddar Waffles with Apple Butter Syrup
Waffles
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 8 slices cheddar cheese
- 6 slices applewood-smoked bacon, cooked crisply and crumbled
Heat waffle iron. In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, sugar, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and heavy cream. Using a wooden spoon, stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just a few streaks of flour remain and batter is almost mixed together. Add melted butter and stir until just combined. Allow batter to rest 15–30 minutes.
Brush butter on both sides of hot waffle iron. Pour ⅓ cup of batter onto iron. Quickly add 1–2 pieces of sliced cheese and 1 heaping tablespoon of crumbled bacon, then gently but quickly pour a little more batter over the top. Finish cooking according to waffle iron instructions.
Serve warm with apple butter syrup.
Syrup
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ¼ cup butter
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup apple cider
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons Karo syrup
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
In large, heavy pot (not regular saucepan) sauté apples and oil over medium heat until soft, about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add butter, buttermilk, apple cider, sugar, cinnamon, and Karo Syrup.
Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda. Place back on burner and simmer for 3 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Serve immediately over apple-bacon cheddar waffles.
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 teaspoons roughly chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 2 Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped in ¼-inch pieces
- 1 heaping tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 cups half-and-half
- 2 cups chicken broth or stock
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- 1 (12 oz.) bag frozen peas and carrots
Heat oil in large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Add onion and cook 2–3 minutes or until translucent and tender. Add garlic, thyme, parsley, and potatoes and cook an additional 30 seconds, stirring once or twice.
Quickly whisk in flour and cook another 30 seconds, stirring continuously. Pour in half-and-half, chicken stock, cream, and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, season with salt and pepper, add chicken and veggies, and simmer up to 2 hours, checking often to ensure liquid does not cook off. If preparing ahead of time, simmer for only 30 minutes before cooling and refrigerating.
Remove bay leaf, adjust seasonings if needed, and serve with warm buttermilk biscuits, cut into squares.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Meatballs
- 2 pounds ground beef
- ⅔ cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons dry minced onion
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- 1½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400° F. Grease 9×13-inch baking pan. If using slow cooker, lightly oil cooking insert. In large bowl, mix beef, bread crumbs, onion, egg, coconut milk, ginger, salt, and pepper with hands until just combined. Form into 1-inch balls and place in prepared baking pan or slow cooker. Bake, covered with sauce, 20 minutes in oven or set slow cooker to low and cook 3–4 hours.
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- ⅓ cup chopped red bell pepper
- ⅓ cup chopped yellow bell pepper
- ⅓ cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoons onion powder
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- ½ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ (11 oz.) can mandarin oranges, smashed with their juices
- 2–3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ cup cold water
- Sesame seeds and green onions for garnish
In saucepan over medium heat, add oil, chopped peppers, and garlic. Sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Add onion powder, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. Stir to combine and then add mandarin oranges. Bring to a boil.
Meanwhile, stir cornstarch and water together in a separate bowl before whisking into sauce. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes.
Serve over meatballs with sesame seeds and green onions for garnish.
Raspberry Lemon Tart Bars
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla
- 2½ cups, plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
- 1⅓ cups powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut in small cubes
- 1⅓ cups raspberries
- ¼ cup, plus 1½ cups sugar, divided
- 4 large eggs, lightly whisked
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ⅔ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
In small bowl, whisk buttermilk, egg yolks, and vanilla together with fork; set aside. Combine 2½ cups flour, powdered sugar, and salt in food processor. Pulse to combine. Add butter pieces and pulse 10–12 times. With food processor running, pour in buttermilk mixture. Once dough begins to come together, turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and press into a disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator 1 hour or the freezer 15–20 minutes. Coat 9×9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Remove dough from refrigerator and press evenly to all sides of sprayed pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375° F. Remove plastic wrap from prepared pan and bake 20–25 minutes, until crust is no longer doughy but isn’t golden.
While crust bakes, gently fold together raspberries and ¼ cup of sugar in small bowl; set aside. In seperate bowl, prepare custard filling: whisk together eggs, remaining 1½ cups sugar, remaining 3 tablespoons flour, and lemon zest until mixture is thick and pale yellow. Add lemon juice and whisk until smooth.
Once crust is baked, remove from oven and reduce temperature to 325° F. Drain juices from the berries into custard filling and whisk to combine. Scatter berries over crust and pour custard over berries. Bake 20–30 minutes or until center does not jiggle. Remove from oven and cool completely.
Images from Our Sweet Basil Kitchen.
Find a variety of more fresh twists on traditional favorite recipes in Cade and Carrian Cheney’s new cookbook, Our Sweet Basil Kitchen: Fresh Twists on Family Favorites with Recipe Mashups and Unique Flavor Combinations. Available at Deseret Book stores and deseretbook.com.
Find this and other great stories like "The Write Stuff" and "Reunited After 62 Years" in the March/April 2017 issue of LDS Living.
