another old favorite

I've been really craving eggs lately.  And since it was Saturday morning, I decided it was time for a big, hearty, rustic frittata.  I love these things.  You can pretty much do whatever the heck you want with them.  This time I used orange bell peppers, purple fingerling potatoes, onions, manchego and ricotta cheeses, and spinach.  With salted yellow and red cherry tomatoes and fresh parsley leaves for garnish.

5~6 purple fingerling potatoes, cleaned and sliced thin
1 Spanish onion, cut in half and sliced thin (pole-to-pole)
1 orange bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, diced small
handful of fresh baby spinach, chopped
6 eggs
2 egg whites
splash of milk
1/2 freshly grated Manchego cheese
1/4 c (ish) ricotta cheese
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

1.  In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, milk, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
2. Meanwhile, in a large, oven-safe (preferably nonstick) skillet, heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and potatoes, and cook until almost tender, 5~8 minutes.  Add peppers, and cook until tender.
3. Once peppers, potatoes, and onions are tender and starting to caramelize a little, add another 1/2 tablespoon of oil to prevent sticking, and add spinach and eggs.  Drop heat to medium-low, and periodically pull the sides into the middle as they cook.  Once the eggs are about halfway cooked, turn on the broiler.  Dollop a few spoonfuls for ricotta on top of the eggs and evenly sprinkle the manchego.  Place skillet under the broiler until eggs are set and the cheese is golden and bubbly.  The time will depend on your broiler.
4. Pull out from under the broiler and let cool for a few minutes.  Serve warm, cut into wedges.

best granola ever

My sister introduced me to a glorious recipe for granola.  Ever since then, I've been dreaming about it.  My healthy stuff didn't cut it anymore.  I had to have the real stuff.  And really, if you eat it in moderation, it's not that bad for you anyway.  I made some adjustments based on what I had in the pantry and my own likes and dislikes, but I fell in love with the idea of dowsing it in vanilla.  Amazing!  Why didn't I think of that before?

Serve it with some plain yogurt and fresh fruit and you have a dreamy breakfast.  (And if you have as much of a sweet tooth as my sweetie, drizzle with a little honey.  Though it definitely does not need it)  Best breakfast ever, in fact.  Well, it's up there with a few other things, maybe.

Homemade granola
makes about 7 (-ish) cups

4 C rolled oats (not quick-cooking or instant)
3/4 C wheat germ or 1/2 C ground flax seeds
1-1/2 ~2 C nuts (I used chopped hazelnuts, halved pecans, and whole almonds--my favorites)
1 C flaked (shredded is fine, too) unsweetened coconut (sweetened is fine, but will obviously turn out a lot sweeter)
1/2 C light brown sugar
1/4 C honey
1/4 C canola oil (or if you're ok with a little fruity flavor, go extra virgin olive oil!  It bakes up really mild and SO tasty!)
1 T pure vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
1/4 t cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a small pot, heat oil and honey until smooth and honey is thin.  Stir in vanilla and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine the oats, wheat germ (or flaxseeds), nuts, coconut, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
4. Pour the honey/oil/vanilla mixture over the oat mixture and stir to combine.
5. Spread all ingredients onto a rimmed baking sheet in an even layer.  Bake for 30~35 minutes, until fragrant and lightly browned, tossing once or twice during baking.  Let cool completely, then store in an airtight container.  
6. Serve with yogurt, milk, fresh or dried fruit and some extra honey.

if you can call them leftovers ...

When I made my cinnamon swirl brioche, I made 2 loaves so that we could have some french toast with the second loaf.  And I know, I keep saying I'm trying to lose weight and eating brioche is probably the stupidest thing I could be doing to reach that goal ... But it was a special weekend and I'll run it off this week.  Hopefully;)

If you're making French toast with a delicate sweet bread like brioche or challah, I recommend the America's Test Kitchen method, which is to toast the bread first.  I just put the slices on a cookie sheet, stuck them in a 250° F oven for a while until they got dried out and just barely crispy.  Flip them over, and do the same on the second side.  This worked out well because last time I tried to make French toast with brioche, the slices had a hard time holding up in the custard.  But these guys did awesome!  And they soaked in the custard perfectly and it was delightful.  I was a good girl, though, I only had one slice.

As for the custard, I think everyone has their own family/individual recipe.  I'd never made french toast until I was married (because it's my husband's absolute favorite) so I had to figure out a recipe I liked.  And I LOVE it.  What do you like to put into your custard?  Cinnamon?  Vanilla?  Nutmeg?  What's your egg:milk ratio?  Do you sweeten it?  Tell me, tell me!  I'd love to know how other people do it.

weekend breakfast

This weekend is a special weekend for my family.  Of course it's Easter, which is such an important day to celebrate the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior.  Definitely one of my favorite holidays.  And as if that wasn't cool enough, our church is holding it's Semi-Annual General Conference.

It's a really important occasion for me, so I like to make it enjoyable for my family.  Especially for my kids who are still a little too young to appreciate it fully.  So I've planned a bunch of fun activities for my toddler, and of course I made a fantastic breakfast to start off our day.  I made my usual brioche recipe from my favorite bread book, but found this idea from their blog and decided to give it a go.  Mine didn't turn out looking quite as cool as hers (but she is, afterall, a CIA graduate, and a pastry chef, no less), but it did turn out beautifully.  And it was delicious!  I usually make cinnamon rolls, but this was a nice variation.  And this way, I can have my favorite savory breakfast foods like creamy eggs and perfect hash browns, while my cute husband gets his fill of sweet food.  Can't wait to make French toast with the leftovers tomorrow.

no high fructose corn syrup

Just thought that title would get some people's attention. But really, I'm not all into 100% organic and natural foods, simply because it's not financially practical, but after watching the Martha show this week, I've been a little weary of over processed food. Well, I mean, I make most of my food from scratch anyway, but I'm talking about cereal and things like that. And my sister made me this amazing granola when I visited her last Summer, and I've basically been dreaming about it since. And granola especially is usually packed with high fructose corn syrup. Not a huge fan of that idea. Not super opposed to it, either, but still not a huge fan.

After my last depressing weight gain at the OB/GYN last week, I decided it was time to not let myself succumb to my serious pregnancy cravings (that seem to have suddenly appeared in the last trimester) too much. See, usually I'm a huge savory food person. Sure, I love my chocolates and sweet things, but in general I'd rather eat up the calories in pasta or rice or bread instead of cakes or pies or pastries. Not the case when I'm pregnant. I need my sweet food. NEED IT. So, for breakfast this morning I made us a nice low fat (sort of ... I'll explain), healthy granola. The thing about granola is, though, that no matter how "healthy" it is, you have to seriously watch portions. This one doesn't have any added fats, but is packed with nuts and other good things instead. Which is why it's "sort of" low in fat. But nuts are still fatty--no matter how much you try to justify it by saying it's "good fat". Good fat is still fat. So a portion size is about 1/2 C. Which I'm totally ok with. Plop on some fat free plain Greek yogurt and some fresh or frozen fruit, and you've got yourself a delicious and healthy way to start your day. And I'll admit, I was really satisfied. Which is hard to accomplish these days.

Healthy Nutty Granola
makes about 10 half cup portions
1.5~2 C various raw and unsalted nuts, chopped coarse (I used about 1/2 C each of pecans, almonds, and hazelnuts)
1/2 C puffed brown rice cereal ($1 for a HUGE bag at Walmart)
1/4~1/2 C ground or chopped flax seeds (optional. Another option would be wheat germ)
3 C old fashioned oats
1/3 C honey
1/3 C pure maple syrup
1/4 t coarse salt
1/4 t cinnamon
*optional: 1/2 C dried fruit. I don't add this because I think the chewy texture is distracting and I prefer fresh fruit, but by all means add it if you like it!

1. In a small sauce pan, heat the maple syrup and honey on low heat.
2. Meanwhile, combine all of the other ingredients in a large bowl and preheat the oven to 300°F. Prepare a baking pan by giving it a quick pray with vegetable spray and set aside.
3. Once the syrup and honey are warm and quite a bit thinner, pour it over the dry ingredients and stir quickly to get everything covered. Spread it out on the prepare baking sheet and bake in the oven for 30~35 minutes, tossing occasionally, until nuts are toasted and everything is evenly browned.
4. Place on a cooling rack and let cool completely. Place in an airtight container and enjoy all week!

Here's a picture of my cutie enjoying her granola breakfast. And peanut butter toast, since I can't hide the smears on her cheek.

finally a new post!

So the bread I've been making a few times a week now, has become a dinner table staple. I make it substituting 2~3 C whole wheat flour, and it still turns out chewy and soft and fluffy. And I feel a little better about feeding it to my family. I also make it into 4 smaller loaves instead, and it bakes for about 15 minutes. Really good. Try it.

Anyway, this morning we had a couple loaves in the freezer, and my cutie is home from work this week, so I had to make his favorite, French Toast. I served it with lingonberry jam and honey-vanilla whipped cream.

And I'm going to get on a bit of a soap box here. Let's not over-whip our cream, my friends. Over-whipped cream is greasy and lumpy. That's when you go beyond stiff peaks. And what's happenening is you're starting to make butter and whey. Not what you want when serving it over pies, tarts, crepes, or anything! So keep an eye on your cream, the difference between stiff peaks (which isn't necessary for this dish anyway, you want soft peaks) and over-whipped cream is a matter of 30 seconds sometimes. Or less. If you're making whipped cream in your kitchenaid, don't walk away. Please.

French Toast with jam and honey-vanilla whipped cream
And the festive little girl decided to dress up like Santa for breakfast:) I think it may have been her first taste of whipped cream. Definitely like her mommy.
1 loaf crusty French bread, cut into 1 inch slices
an array of tart jams

custard:
2 eggs
1 C whole milk
1 t cinnamon
1 T pure vanilla extract
2 T honey or sugar

butter or oil for the pan

1. Preheat the oven to 200°F and place an oven safe platter in the oven.
   
2. In a deep plate or a small baking dish, whisk the custard mixture until well blended.
3. Dip the bread slices into the custard, making sure it's coated on both sides, and place on a griddle or large frying pan over medium heat. Cook on the first side until lightly browned, flip over and repeat with the other side. Once cooked through, place on the platter in the oven. Repeat with all bread slices. Once finished, you can serve the whole warm platter so the cook can eat, too!

honey-vanilla whipped cream:
3/4 C heavy cream
1 T honey
1 t pure vanilla extract

1. Pour the cream into a medium bowl. Using a hand-held mixer, whip the cream to soft peaks. Add the vanilla and honey and continue to whip until they cream reaches soft peaks again. Serve.

Serve French toast with a tart jam and the whipped cream:)

golden day

My cute husband celebrated his golden birthday today, so I knew I had to make it a special day for him. I decorated in gold and made him gold food all day. They were all old favorites, so I kept forgetting to take pictures, but thankfully I have all of the recipes on this blog. We started the day out with this favorite golden cinnamon rolls. After church we had golden frittata with potatoes, onions, and kielbasa. For dinner we had, per his request, golden からあげ, or Japanese fried chicken (pictured below)
and for dessert, the ever so irresistable creme brulee. Nothing quite like creme brulee. I realize he didn't get a cake, but I'm pretty sure he was ok with that.

Weekend Brunch

Another food I sometimes crave right now is pancakes, but I don't love what they do to my love handles. And Blake makes some fantastic pancakes from Everyday Food magazine (pretty much every weekend), but this week we decided to try out their whole grain substitution. It was a total hit! And since I recently went blueberry picking, I made a really tasty simple blueberry syrup. We ate a few more than we probably should have, but I felt a lot less guilty this time!

Pancakes and Homemade Blueberry Syrup
Serves 4
First of all, here's Blake's usual basic pancake recipe. It comes from Everyday Food magazine, with a couple of our own alterations to make them the perfect Japanese-style hotcakes.

1 C all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 C milk
1 t pure vanilla extract
2 T butter, melted (or vegetable oil)
1 L egg
1 T vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 200°; have a heatproof platter ready to keep cooked pancakes warm in the oven. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, butter (or oil), egg, and vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not over-mix; a few small lumps are fine).
3. Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium. Fold a sheet of paper towel in half, and moisten with oil; carefully rub skillet with oiled paper towel. (I really like this method because you're not deep frying your pancakes, so it's way better for you, but still tastes amazing!)
4. For each pancake, spoon 2~3 T of batter onto the skillet, using the back of the spoon to spread batter into a round (you should be able to fit 4 on a square griddle).
5. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1~2 minutes. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until lightly browned on the other side, 1~2 minutes more. Transfer to the platter, cover loosely with foil, and keep warm in the oven. Continue with more oil and remaining batter. (You should have 12~15 pancakes.) Serves warm, with desired toppings.

Now here's the recipe for whole grain yogurt pancakes:

1/2 C whole-wheat flour
1/4 C corn meal
1/4 C wheat germ
2 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 C milk
1/2 C plain low fat or fat free yogurt
1 t pure vanilla extract
2 T canola oil (or melted butter, of course, but we're going for healthy here, and it's really good with the oil)
1 L egg
1 T vegetable oil

1. Preheat the oven to 200°; have a heatproof platter ready to keep cooked pancakes warm in the oven. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, wheatgerm, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, yogurt, oil, egg, and vanilla extract. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not over-mix; a few small lumps are fine).
3. Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium. Fold a sheet of paper towel in half, and moisten with oil; carefully rub skillet with oiled paper towel. (I really like this method because you're not deep frying your pancakes, so it's way better for you, but still tastes amazing!)
4. For each pancake, spoon 2~3 T of batter onto the skillet, using the back of the spoon to spread batter into a round (you should be able to fit 4 on a square griddle).
5. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1~2 minutes. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until lightly browned on the other side, 1~2 minutes more. Transfer to the platter, cover loosely with foil, and keep warm in the oven. Continue with more oil and remaining batter. (You should have 12~15 pancakes.) Serves warm, with desired toppings.

Homemade blueberry syrup
*I think that blueberries tend to taste a little bland and musty when they're cooked, so I added the lemon to brighten the flavor. It's really good! And not too sugary sweet. If you like things sweeter, add more sugar or even better, dust the pancakes with a teeny bit of powdered sugar right before serving.

1/2 C~ 1 C fresh or frozen blueberries
juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
2 T honey
1~2 T sugar

1. Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the blueberries all burst and soften and the sugar starts to thicken. Take it off the heat, and let cool slightly. It will get slightly thicker as it cools. Serve over pancakes.

*try this with other berries as well. But if you're using strawberries, I recommend cutting them into small pieces and combining them with some other berries. Strawberries don't have much flavor once they're cooked.

mother's day feast

For Mother's Day, my sweet husband got up early and made me a beautiful breakfast in bed. I thought Just in case any of you wanted to learn how to make some of these things, I would show you so you can treat someone to breakfast in bed, too!

Eggs en Cocotte
makes 4
4 eggs
2 t minced fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1 t freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese (optional)

4 small ramekins
1 9x13 inch baking pan

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Fill a kettle or small pot with about 2~3 C water and bring to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, crack one egg in each ramekin. Sprinkle each with a little salt and pepper, and divide the parsley and cheese (if using) evenly between each egg.
3. Place the filled ramekins into the 9x13 inch baking pan, leaving plenty of space in between each ramekin and the sides of the baking pan. Once the water has come to a boil and the oven is preheated, place the pan in the oven, and pour the boiling water into the pan, about 1/2 up the sides of the ramekins.
4. Bake for 15~18 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs. Remember, the eggs keep cooking once you take them out of the oven, so don't leave them in any longer, even if they look a little underdone after 18 minutes.

Greek Yogurt
Either you could buy one of these, for $5Or make it yourself with one of these for $2You'll need a fine mesh strainer, a deep bowl, and coffee filters. Place three coffee filters in the fine mesh strainer, suspended over the bowl like this:Then pour in your yogurt.Let that sit in the fridge for a few hours, and you'll be amazed at how thick and creamy it is! And it's FAT FREE! (IF you use fat free yogurt, of course) Of course, discard the water that collects in the bottom of the bowl, then you can transfer your new Greek yogurt into a container and keep it in the fridge.

Serve it with fresh fruit and honey, and you'll be so glad you did!

My recipe for Shrimp Scampi can be found here.

Garlic bread
4 T butter, softened
3~5 cloves garlic (to your liking), minced
fresh parsley, minced (optional)
1 loaf of good quality chewy dense bread such as Ciabatta

1. Preheat the oven to 300°. Slice the bread to a desired thickness.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the garlic and butter. Butter each slice on both sides with a little of the garlic butter. Sprinkle with parsley, if using. Cover the loaf generously with foil, and place in the oven until completely warmed through. Serve warm.
   

new treat

My amazing sister, Lisa, just sent me another cute children's heathly eating cookbook (just because she's nice and super thoughtful) that I love to read. And I've been thinking a lot lately about how I can improve the sugary cereal for breakfast situation that Blake is in without having to get up at 5 am with him. And this was the perfect solution. (Except there's kind of a lot of butter in this recipe, so I think I'll try to reduce it a little next time) So thanks, Lisa! Your book will not only help Ella in a couple of months, but it's helping Blake out now! And you should try this recipe out, too.

Cereal Fruit Cupcakes
makes 12
7 T butter
1/3 C honey
1-3/4 C rolled oats
1-3/4 C unsweetened crispy rice cereal
1 T white sesame seeds
1 C mixed dried fruit (I used dried cranberries and apples), chopped
1/3 C toasted cashews (or any other type of nut you want)

1. Melt the butter and honey in a small pan over low heat.
2. Mix the rolled oats, crispy rice, sesame seeds, dried fruit, and chopped nuts together in a bowl. Add the melted butter and honey, and stir to combine.
3. Sponn into a muffin pan lined with peper liners and press down well. Place in the fridge for at least 6 hours.
   

quick breakfast

Last night we had a sinful dessert (you'll see in the next post) so I decided it was time for a healthy start to our day. So I made a simple frittata and had some whole grain toast on the side, and we were happy. What a great day.

Simple breakfast frittata
serves 2
4 eggs
3~4 T low-fat milk
one small handful of greens (I like spinach or parsley)
1/4 C finely grated pecorino romano cheese
canola oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat broiler. Using a fork, gently mix together the milk, eggs, salt, and pepper together.
2. In a small skillet, heat the oil to medium heat until shimmering. Add the eggs, and with a silicone spatula, pull in the sides once in a while. Add spinach and continue.
   
3. Once the eggs are set on the bottom but will runny on top, sprinkle the cheese and place the skillet under the broiler for 3~5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and browned and bubbly.
4. Pull out of the oven and let rest for a couple of minutes. Release from the skillet and cut into wedges to serve.
   

Per Lori's Request

My dear friend Lori Mower asked for the waffle recipe, so here it is:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup quick oats
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter
2 Tbsp sugar

Combine wet ingredients, and then stir in the dry ingredients until well incorporated.

Saturday Brunch again

We've been waiting to buy the perfect waffle iron, but as we were walking through Target they had a cheapie one for $7.99, and since Blake LOVES waffles, I thought it was worth it as a stand-in until we get a better one. And they were fantastic waffles. Thanks for the recipe, Lisa!

Improvising

Last week we had a couple of friends over for Christmas Eve dinner. I was on the phone around the time I knew I needed to start on the rolls, so I attempted to get them started while talking ... and ... they looked weird when they came out of the oven. So I ate one and realized I forgot to add the salt! So, I had to start all over again, and thankfully, things turned ok. But I felt like it was such a waste to throw away these rolls, so I let them dry out a little for a couple of days and froze them, thinking maybe I'll make croutons or panzanella with them. But today I suddenly felt inspired to make some savory bread pudding for dinner, and I'm so glad I did! And I still have plenty for some croutons for later. Anyway, this recipe will work really well with some left over dinner rolls from all of your festivities, or use some day old bread from the store. I liked it with the dinner rolls because it was a nice combination of slightly sweet and salty. If you're going to buy bread at the store, I recommend croissants or a nice hearty crusty bread like ciabatta or french. Or, if you happened to have messed up your Aunts beautiful dinner roll recipe, feel free to use those, too. Don't throw them out. It's too much of a waste to throw away bread that you used over 7 C of flour on ... But maybe I'm the only idiot that forgets to add salt to rolls.

Savory Bread Pudding
serves 6~85 large eggs
2 C milk
1/2 C heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste (I had to use a little extra salt because the bread was tasteless ...)
1 t fresh rosemary, chopped fine
4~5 day old dinner rolls, cut in half or into big pieces
1 C freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
3 strips of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, salt, pepper, rosemary, and cheeses, until combined.
2. In a small skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.
   
3. In a 9x13 baking dish (or I used a 7x11 or 2.2 qt baking dish), place the bread in a single layer, equally spread out. Spread the bacon around evenly. Pour the egg and cheese mixture on top, and with a fork or spoon, gently press down on the bread to make sure the eggs get absorbed.
4. Bake in a 350° oven for 40~50 minutes until the eggs are set and the top is browned.
   

Another Take

I was watching Rachael Ray and she made a "spaghetti alla carbonara frittata". Now I'm not a huge fan of her ideas when she starts mixing genres and such, but this one reminded me so much of a pizza I loved in high school from pizza shmizza that had spaghetti on it, so I thought I'd give this idea a try. But I don't think I'll call it spaghetti alla cabonara frittata because it doesn't really taste like carbonara at all. I don't want to take away from the perfect goodness of that dish. But it was good and really easy and nice and cheesy! You can't go wrong with eggs, bacon, and cheese, right?

Pasta breakfast frittata
serves 6
4 strips bacon, cut small and cooked until almost crispy
1/4 lb spaghetti
1/2 onion, sliced thin
olive or vegetable oil
1/4 C grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 C grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese
6 eggs
1/2 C ricotta cheese (optional)
1/4 C milk
salt and pepper to taste

1. Turn on the broiler.
   
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until just short of al dente. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile in a medium oven-proof oven, add about 1 T oil and sauté onions with a little salt and pepper until soft and slightly golden.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together ricotta cheese (if using), eggs, milk, and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Once onions are golden, add the speghetti to the pan and cook until golden and slightly crispy. Add bacon, and if necessary, a little more olive oil to coat the pasta. Pour in the egg mixture and pull in the sides once in a while, leaving the pasta and bacon evenly distributed throughout.
   
5. Once the eggs seem mostly set on the bottom, top with cheeses and place under the broiler for 5~7 minutes, or until eggs are set and cheese is browned and bubbly.
6. Pull out of the oven (using an oven mitt!) and let cool for 10~15 minutes before carefully releasing the frittata from the pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into 6 wedges. Serve warm.
   

Happy Birthday, Blake!

Since it was Blake's birthday today, I decided to follow the tradition my sister has with her family, and let the birthday boy decide what we're having for breakfast. Blake asked for Cinnamon Rolls, which I have actually never made before. So I set out on a search for a good cinnamon roll recipe when I remembered my sister telling me that my Aunt Carolyn's dinner roll recipe works well for cinnamon rolls. And for the filling, I turned to my favorite America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. And I made my own cream cheese frosting for the top. I added just a teeny bit of cinnamon just for looks.

Carolyn's dinner rolls recipe makes 24 rolls, and since I didn't want 24 cinnamon rolls sitting around our house, waiting to join my love handles, I decided to make 12 cinnamon rolls and 12 dinner rolls. We had Blake's favorite "chicken cheese sandwiches" with the rolls. And though my rolls didn't turn out quite as well as when Carolyn or Lisa make them, I think they were the best sandwiches I've ever had!

*Thanks so much for sharing your amazing talents, Aunt Carolyn!*

For dinner, Blake requested one of his favorites, かつカレー (Pork cutlet and curry rice), and for dessert, a moist chocolate toffee caramel cake, which actually has another name I won't bother mentioning. So here are some of the recipes from my busy day in the kitchen.

(... does anyone want to come over and help me do the dishes and eat some left over cake and cinnamon rolls? Please?)


Carolyn's Dinner Rolls:
2-1/2 C warm water
1/2 C sugar
2/3 C powdered milk
1/3 C butter
3 T rapid rise yeast
1 egg
2 t salt
7~7-1/2 C flour (all-purpose or bread flour, either works just fine)

1. Pour water into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add powdered milk, sugar, and yeast. Mix with whisk attachment until combined. Let the yeast proof.
2. Add egg and cooled melted butter. Mix.
3. Switch to the dough hook attachment and add 5 C flour and mix for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides, and add salt. Beat for another 4-5 minutes until the mixture is smooth and very elastic. Add 1 more C of flour. As you beat the dough, comtinue adding flour a little at a time until the dough is still slightly sticky.
4. Cover and let stand until double it's size.
5. Punch down and divide into 2 parts.
6. For the dinner cresent rolls: Roll each part into a circle 18 inchs in diameter. Butter with a thin coat. Cut into 12 pie sapes. Roll into a cresent shape. tucking the ends as you roll it up. Place on a buttered cookie sheet with the little point down. Let rise in a wamr place until double it's size. Place in a preheated 350° oven and bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Brush with butter when done.
7. For the cinnamon rolls: Roll one ball into a 16x12 inch rectangle. Sprinkle with cinnamon roll filling. Roll up tightly and pinch the end seam. Slice into 12 equal pieces and place in a 9x13 metal baking pan (I used ceramic and it was fine) and let rise to double its size. Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 18-20 minutes. Let cool completely and spread cream cheese frosting on top.

Cinnamon Roll filling:
3/4 C packed light brown sugar
2 t cinnamon
pinch salt

1. Mix ingredients in a small bowl.

Cream Cheese frosting:
1 package cream cheese
2 C confectioners' sugar
1/3 C butter, softened
1/8 t cinnamon, optional

1. mix ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth and completely combined.

Chocolate Toffee Caramel Cake:
1 box devil's food cake mix
1 container whipped topping
1 jar caramel sauce
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 bag of heath bar toffee bits or 2-3 heath bars, crushed

1. Bake cake in 9x13 pan according to directions on box.
2. Once the cake is done, let cool for a few minutes, and while still warm, poke hole with a fork throughout the cake. Drizzle contents of the caramel sauce jar and sweetened condensed milk can all over.
3. Once completely cooled, spread whipped topping on top and sprinkle heath bar toffee bits on top.
   

Day 15

I had to cut back on my budget this week, but I didn't want to sacrifice taste, so I searched my cookbooks and I'm pretty impressed with my menu for the week. Tonight we started with a Martha Stewart everyday food recipe for Potato and Onion Frittata (and don't worry, Celeste, she didn't say "frit-ha-t-ha"! What a miracle!). Frittata is a sort of Italian rustic omelet. You can serve it for any meal of the day, really. I added bacon and Pecorino Romano cheese and I served it with a simple green salad. I also don't like rosemary that much, so I replaced that with my favorite herbes de provence. And I don't like to waste eggs so I used 10 whole eggs instead of 5 whole eggs and 5 egg whites. I thought it was a great cheap, hearty, and tasty dinner.

Oh, and make sure you use an oven-proof skillet!

Frittata
serves 4
olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 russet potato (about 8~12 oz) peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 t herbes de provence
salt & pepper
10 eggs
1/2 C flat leaf parsley, chopped coarse
1/4 C grated Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese
4 slices bacon, cut into little pieces

1. In a medium (10-inch) non-stick skillet, heat 1 T oil over medium heat. Add onion, potatoes, and herbes de provence. Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
2. Cover the skillet and let the onions and potatoes cook through, about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, parsley, 3/4 t salt and 1/4 t pepper. Place the bacon pieces on a paper towel on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 3 minutes or until bacon is cooked through but not yet crispy.
4. Heat the broiler. Add another tablespoon of oil to the potatoes and onions. Turn the heat down to low and add the bacon and eggs. Periodically pull the edges of the eggs into the middle and cook until the middle looks set, about 10 minutes.
5. When ready to put into the oven, sprinkle cheese on top and place under the broiler. Cook until top is set and lighty golden and cheese is bubbly. Run a clean silicone spatula around the edges to loosen the frittata and slide onto a serving plate and cut into wedges.

p.s. don't forget to use an oven mitt to take the skillet out of the oven and after. I almost burned my hand when I picked it up again ... oops!

Saturday Brunch 4

Blake's favorite foods are anything with peanut butter, anything with caramel, and anything with blueberries. And he's been asking me for a long time to make blueberry muffins and I kept telling him to wait until Summer when I can get fresh ones. But then I found this recipe from Cook's Country Magazine that prefers frozen blueberries. And I had all the other ingredients, so I realized I had no excuse anymore. So for Saturday brunch this morning I made their "Best Blueberry Streusel Muffins", and I have to say, they are pretty much the best blueberry muffins I have ever had.

Best Blueberry Streusel Muffins from Cook's Country Magazine
makes 12Streusel:

1-1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/3 C packed dark brown sugar
1/3 C granulated sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon
pinch salt
7 T butter, melted

Muffins:

4 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus extra for preparing the muffin tin
1 large egg
2 C all-purpose flour, plus extra for preparing the muffin tin
1 t vanilla extract
1 C granulated sugar
1 t grated lemon zest
1/2 C buttermilk
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1-1/2 C frozen blueberries*

* don't take the blueberries out of the freezer until the very last second, otherwise it'll streak your batter too much

1. For the streusel: Combine flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Drizzle with melted butter and toss with a fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout.
2. For the muffins: Preheat oven to 375°. Grease and flour 12-C muffin pan. Whisk egg in a medium bowl until plae and evenly combined, aout 30 seconds. Add vanilla, sugar, zest and whisk vigorously until thick, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in melted butter, add buttermilk and whisk until combined.
3. Reserve 1 T flour. In a seperate bowl, whisk remaining flour, baking powder, and salt. Forl in egg mixture until nearly combined. Toss blueberries with reserved flour and fold into batter until just combined.
4. Divide batter in muffin pan and top with streusel. Bake until light golden brown and toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out with few dry crumbs attached, 23~27 minutes. Cool muffins in tin for 20 minutes.
   

Saturday Brunch ... at 2 pm

Since Blake and I decided to be good this morning and go to the gym, I didn't have a chance to get started on our Saturday Brunch until about 11 am (yes, we slept in until about 9 and took it easy until we went to the gym around 10). And today I was determined to try making my own pie crust because I found a super simple recipe. I've never had much success with pie crust, and since store bought pie crust is so nice and flaky, I've never really bothered trying. But like I said, I found a "No-fear pie crust" recipe at Cook's Country Magazine and decided to make it today. And boy was it worth it! I don't think I'll ever be able to go back to normal pie crust or store bought. This is just too yummy! And perfectly flaky. Those people are geniuses, I tell you!

So along with the no-fear pie crust, I decided to make a lovely, slightly healthier version than the traditional quiche. And it turned out perfectly:)


Spinach, Mushroom and Bacon Quiche
No-fear Pie Crust
makes 1 9-inch pie platePie crust:

1 1/4 C all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
1/4 t salt
8 T butter, softened but still cool
2 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened but still cool

1. Lightly coat a 9-inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt.
2. With your electric mixer at medium-high, beat butter and cream together until combined, scraping down the sides when needed. Add flour mixture and combine on medium-low until dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Scrape down the sides of the bowl (and if using a kitchen aid mixer, change to the paddle attatchment) and set speed to medium-high and beat until dough begins to form a ball, about 30 seconds. Reserve 3 T of the dough and turn the remaining dough onto a lightly floured surface, flatten into a 6-inch disk. Place the disk to the middle of the pie plate.
3. Press the dough evenly with the heel of your hand, and when needed with your fingers, until the dough is translucent through the bottom of the pie plate (not opaque). Work the dough up the sides of the plate as well.
4. Roll the remaining 3 T of douhg into a 12-inch rope. Cut into 3 and make each other those about 8 inches in length. Add the rope pieces onto the edge of the pie plate and press into the dough. Make a fluted adge. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Quiche:

1 pie crust
4-6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch wide pieces across the width of the bacon
2/3 C half-and-half
1/2 C low-fat milk
4 eggs
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley
1/4 C spinach, cut into wide strips
5-6 white button mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 C cheese (I used a combination of Parmesan, Mozzarella, and Colby Jack)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Cook bacon in a small frying pan until crispy. Remove and let drain on a paper towel. Discard some of the grease and add mushroom and sautée until softened slightly. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, half-and-half, milk, and salt and pepper. Once combined, add cheese, parsley, and spinach.
3. Pull pie crust out of the fridge and place cooled bacon and mushrooms evenly across the bottom. Pour egg mixture over the top. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown and the eggs are set.

*You might need to put foil along the edge of the crust to avoid burning.

Saturday Brunch 2

It's become kind of a favorite family tradition I'm starting with the Saturday brunch thing. This week I was watching Rachael Ray (I know, I know, don't judge me! I get bored right around 3 pm) and she made individual quiches. I've made it before on my own, but she used puff pastry instead of pie crust, which I thought was a great idea! And since I had puff pastry in my freezer, I decided to give it a try. And since quiche can be pretty heavy, I decided to make a couple adjustments (to cut back on the heavy cream) and it actually worked out pretty well. And I served it with a nice yogurt fruit salad on the side. It was perfect.

Puff Pastry Quiche
makes 9 quiche1 sheet puff pastry dough, thawed
3 eggs
1 C 1% milk (or whatever milk you have)
2 T light sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
4 pieces bacon, cooked crispy and broken into little pieces
1/2 C mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 T finely grated Parmiggiano Reggiano cheese
3 T parsely, chopped fine

1. Preheat oven to 400°. In a large measuring cup, mix eggs and sour cream until smooth, add milk and salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray. Roll out the puff pastry and cut into 9 equal squares and gently place them into the muffin pan.
3. Place equal amounts of cheese, bacon, and parsley into each pastry. Pour in the egg mixture into each pastry, fold over corners and bake for 25 minutes or until eggs are cooked through and pastry is puffed and golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes. Using a toothpick, loosen the sides and serve warm.