Cheesy Potatoes

Let me introduce you to my standard, go-to, breakfast casserole. This one is SO easy and so yummy! Every time I serve it, people talk about it and ask about it. I took it to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) this morning, and once again I received many compliments! I think that if I didn't bring it, people would be upset. The last time I was supposed to bring a dish to share at MOPS, I asked my Facebook friends if I should bring the cheesy potatoes or cinnamon rolls. They demanded the potatoes.

Cheesy Potatoes (The Yummy Version)

• 1 bag of Potatoes O'Brien (don't you love that you don't have to chop peppers or onions?)
• 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1.5 - 2 cups shredded cheese (I usually use cheddar, but I just used the remnants of a couple of different bags of free cheese.)
• dash of garlic salt (or more)
• pepper to taste

In a large bowl, stir together melted butter, sour cream, soup, garlic salt and pepper until well combined.

Add frozen potatoes (making sure there aren't any big lumps all stuck together) and mix well.

Add shredded cheese and mix well. Reserve a little bit of cheese to garnish the top later on!

Place in a baking dish.

This is when I usually cover it and put it in the refrigerator and go to bed.

In the morning, I get up and throw the uncovered dish into the oven at about 375° for 1 hour. When I'm short on time, I crank it up to about 400° for 35 minutes!

Important: It needs to be bubbly all the way in the middle of the dish. PU-LEASE don't pull it out before it is bubbly in the center! This results in crunchy, uncooked potatoes. If you are concerned about too much browning around the edges, you can always cover just the edges with a little bit of foil (not that I ever do!). Now, sprinkle a tiny bit of cheese on the top to make it pretty!

Quick Quiche

I made this today for lunch and it was SO delicious. I made it with fresh spinach, sausage and swiss cheese. I also substituted baking mix for plain flour (as some reviews suggested).

Quick Quiche link

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

I am not an early morning kind of girl. I wish I could get up at the crack of dawn, but then I am too tired! Anyway, this recipe is very easy and FAST for a family that loves coffee cakes, but doesn't want to wait for a delicious one to bake for an hour. I got this basic recipe from my jr. high cooking class.

3/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. shortening
1 egg

Mix above ingredients and stir in:
1/2 c. milk

Sift in:
1 1/2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Spread the batter in a greased and floured 9 inch square pan. Sprinkle 1/2 c. brown sugar mixed with 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon on top of batter. Gradually swirl the topping into the cake. Bake at 375 degrees for 15- 20 minutes. (toothpick test)
Enjoy!

Orange Knots

I'm making Orange Knots for Easter morning. I made them before, a few years ago, and couldn't find the recipe anywhere when I looked through my recipes. Their deliciousness remains in my husband's memory and he keeps asking for them. I finally found them at Rhodesbread.com. Here is the link: http://www.rhodesbread.com/recipes/view/2038

Ginger Pear Bran Muffins

A friend of mine brought these muffins to our Women's Bible Study and I fell in love and immediately asked her for the recipe. They are super healthy, too!

2 cups wheat bran

1 cup oat bran

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2/3 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup canola oil (I used vegetable oil because that's what I had on hand)

2/3 cup honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

2 cups peeled & mashed very ripe pears (about 3 pears) or 2 15-oz cans of pears, drained and mashed + 1/3 cup of the pear syrup

1/2 cup finely chopped candied ginger, preferably uncrystallized (crystallized is fine)

Place oven rack in middle of oven and heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a standard size muffin pan or line cups with paper liners .Combine wheat bran, oat bran, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine eggs, yogurt, canola oil, honey, and vanilla in a small bowl and mix well. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until combined.

Gently stir in the pears and candied ginger.

Generously fill muffin cups with batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 to 28 minutes.

Cool muffins in pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then carefully remove from pan and serve warm, or let cool on a wire rack.

Store muffins in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze. Defrost muffins at room temperature, or in the microwave if you're really in a hurry.

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Trader Joes sells bags of uncrystallized candied ginger in their dried fruit section. I used crystallized ginger from the bulk section of Fred Meyer. I also used vanilla yogurt and omitted the vanilla extract.

Granola

Yesterday I woke up thinking, "I must have granola!" Unfortunately I didn't have any granola, so I ate Cheerios and spent the day finding a recipe and going grocery shopping. Granola isn't a quick to make (takes about an hour in the oven), but it is great to have on hand for nutritious breakfasts and snacks. This recipe has wheat germ, flax meal, sunflower seeds, slivered almonds, a little sugar and honey. The smell in the house last night was intoxicating and it was everything I hoped for when I ate it for break fast this morning. I'd love to see other recipes, so please share if you have a favorite granola recipe.

Granola

Pumkin Muffins

I don't know about you, but I just can't get enough pumpkin this time of year. I spotted this recipe on an old friend's blog and had to try it. (She got it from someone who got it from a restaurant in Disneyland--so it must be good). They were fantastic. I was fresh out of cream cheese (or rather, out of fresh cream cheese), so I made them plain. They are totally addictive. I don't know if anyone could resist them with the icing. I also skipped the raisins. It just seemed weird to me. Let me know how it turns out if you try the raisins. The leftovers (yeah right) freeze great too.

Pumpkin Muffins with Cream Cheese Icing

Pumpkin Muffins:
2 cups pumpkin purée (canned)
1½ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
¾ cup canola oil
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
1½ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. cinnamon
¾ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ cup raisins


Preheat oven to 325ºF.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla until well blended.
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg over the pumpkin mixture and whisk until just blended. Over mixing may result in less tender muffins.
Fold in the raisins until consistently distributed.
Portion mixture into muffin pans and bake at 325ºF for 25 minutes.
Insert a toothpick into center of muffin and remove. If toothpick is clean, the muffins are ready. If not, allow muffins to cook an additional 1-2 minutes or until toothpick is clean.
Allow muffins to cool for 30–60 minutes.

Cream Cheese Icing:
1 cup unsalted butter
1½ cups cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon

Allow cream cheese and butter to soften at room temperature for about an hour.
Mix cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
Add vanilla extract, powdered sugar and cinnamon, and mix until well blended.
Remove from mixer, and cover and refrigerate until needed.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star tip with icing.
Poke a hole into the center of each cooled muffin and squeeze icing directly into the middle of the muffin, finishing with a rosette on the top.

Ode to Zucchini

It's that time again ladies. What to do with all that zucchini? Gosh - I don't even have a garden this year and it's still coming out my ears. I LOVE this squash (can I say that?). In the past weeks I've eaten zucchini sandwiches, feta and zucchini fritters and of course zucchini bread. My recipe for Zucchini Bread comes from "More with Less" by Dorris Janzen Longacre. This recipe book is really a good investment if you don't already have it.

Zucchini Bread

Preheat to 350.

Combine:
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (I used half vegi oil, half applesauce)
2 C raw, peeled and grated zucchini
1 tablespoon vanilla

Sift:
3 C flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons cinnamon (I used 2)

Add to zucchini mixture and stir until blended
Pour into two loaf pans and bake for 1 hour.

Baked French Toast

Hi everyone! My name is Jeana and I went to college with Annie. I mentioned my new found love of cooking on Annie's blog and she invited me to join you guys here. I'm so excited to try out your recipes and share some that I've been discovering.


I've been reading through the the past recipes and I had to chuckle at the MOPs breakfast casserole competition comments. It's SO true! Well, here's a variation that won me LOTS of compliments this Christmas. I bet it could win a trophy at MOPs. :)

Baked French Toast

Ingredients:
1 loaf french bread
8 large eggs
2 cups half & half
1 cup milk
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
dash of salt


For topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup softened butter
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
cinnamon and nutmeg (optional)



Directions:
Slice bread into 1'' thick slices. Arrange slices in 9x13 buttered baking dish slightly overlapping. In a large bowl combine all other ingredients (except for topping ingredients). Beat with beater until blended but not bubbly. Pour mixture over bread making sure to completely cover. Spoon mixture between slices if necessary. Cover with foil, refrigerate overnight.


In the morning, mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle evenly over casserole.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

My father in law and my husband like to eat this with maple syrup but I think it's sweet enough as is. Enjoy!

Coffee Cake

Coffee cake is one of my favorite things to make. My husband is not a fan of traditional cake, but he loves coffee cake. I made it this evening, and since I misplaced my old standby coffee cake recipe, I went to allrecipes to find a new one. Let me tell you this, it was heavenly. It was everything that coffee cake should be.

Here is the recipe.

I made some changes to it. As you can see, I halved it for just the two of us. Except - I didn't halve the topping - I wanted extra. Also, my favorite way to eat coffee cake is with fruit on the bottom, so I sliced up two pears and put them in the bottom of the greased pyrex before I poured the batter in. I found that I had to bake it a little longer than expected - probably because of the pears.

There are few things more exhilarating to me than finding a perfect recipe. I have already planned who I will make this for and other experimentations. Allrecipes is great for me. In some ways it is even better than a cookbook because others have already experimented / commented on it. I have tried Epicurious.com with mixed results. A little too gourmet for me. At this stage in my life, with a baby, recipes have to be easy because, let's face it, I don't have the brainpower or the time.

Maple Sausage and Waffle breakfast Casserole

Here are my complaints about the typical breakfast casserole: too egg-y, soggy, boring, and not delicious. I decided to be brave and try this one from Cooks Illustrated magazine. Joy, joy, joy! This is our new Christmas morning tradition. Sweet, salty, cheesy, wonderful. And as long as you leave yourself a little prep time the night before , it's easy too.
Ingredients

6-8 frozen Eggo Home Style Waffles
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp. salt
12 ounces Maple Sausage (pork or turkey)
6 eggs
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375-degees and toast waffles on a baking sheet on both sides for about 10 minutes. Brown sausage until no longer pink and drain on paper towels. Coat an 8 X 8 inch square baking dish with non-stick spray or butter. Arrange 4 waffles in the bottom and sprinkle with half the sausage and 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat layer, with remaining waffles, sausage and 1/3 of the cheese. Wisk eggs and milk in a bowl with the syrup, salt, and pepper. Pour egg mixture over the waffles layers. Cover with plastic wrap and set a weight on top. (I used another square pan set on top of the plastic wrap, with canned food set in the empty pan.) Refrigerate over night or for at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 325-degrees, uncover casserole, add remaining cheese and bake 45 to 50 minutes until edges are puffy. Cool 5 minutes and serve. Serves 4-6.