Creme Brulee Fench Toast

 This is my favorite take to a potluck brunch recipe.  Easy to whip up the night before and bake in the morning.  If I'm making it at home I lower the calories by using whole milk, rather than 1/2 and 1/2.

It's always on our table on Christmas Morning!  I've used sourdough bread, without the crust, a baguette, with the crust and brioche bread from Trader Joe's and all turn out yummy.

Ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cube (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons corn syrup

1 8 - 9 inch loaf of sourdough bread, crust removed and cut in 1 inch  slices

5 large eggs

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon Grand Marnier

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13 by 9 by 2 inch baking dish.  Cut six !-inch thick slices from center portion of bread and trim crusts.  Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing slightly to fit.  In a bowl whisk together  eggs, half-and-half, Grand Marnier, vanilla and salt until well combined, pour evenly over bread.

Chill  covered at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.  

Preheat oven to 350 F and bring bread mixture to room temperature.

Bake uncovered in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 - 40 minutes.

Serve immediately.

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From Epicurious

Turkey Burgers with Chipotle Chili Tartar Sauce

 These have been a standard for grilling at our house ever since I discovered the recipe.  I love it with arugula, but often use whatever lettuce I have on hand.  The original recipe called for dill, but with the chipotles I decided to try cilantro.  We liked it so well and cilantro is a staple in my crisper, dill isn't, I haven't tried with dill.  I usually purchase the turkey burgers that are fresh, but prepackaged.  This is a favorite of both of the men in this family, it was one of the specialties Rob would cook for Grandma P.

In parenthesis I listed my changes to make it lower in fat.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup mayonnaise  (  I use the TJ's low fat)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil  (I skip this)

2 tablespoons minced red onion

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 tablespoon minced canned chipotle chilies (I add about 1 tsp., because of heat)

1 tablespoon drained capers

1 pound ground turkey

4 whole wheat hamburger buns, split

4 red onion slices

8 plum tomato slices

2 bunches arugula (about 1 ounce)

Directions:

Whisk first 6 ingredients in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. (Sauce can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.)

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Form ground turkey into four 1/2-inch-thick patties. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill burgers until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Grill buns until just toasted. Spread 1 tablespoon sauce on bottom half of each bun. Top each with 1 burger, then 1 more tablespoon sauce. Top each with 1 onion slice, 2 tomato slices, then 1/2 bunch arugula. Cover with bun tops. Serve, passing remaining chipotle tartar sauce separately.

Click here for printable recipe

Adapted from Epicurious

Asian Lettuce Wraps

This is a new favorite, I actually repeated it in the same month.  I've made it with ground turkey and ground chicken.  Both are good.  You feel so refreshed and healthy after eating this.  Leftovers are great for lunch.  The first time I made it I used romaine rather than iceberg lettuce.  The second time I used iceberg and it was added an element of crispness that really added to the dish.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients: 

2 tsp canola oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1 lb ground chicken*

3 ounces mushrooms, finely chopped (about 8 small mushrooms)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

4 C bagged coleslaw mix or thinly shredded cabbage

1 8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained, rinsed, and finely minced

1/2 C thinly sliced green onions

4 Tbs soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 lemon, zested and juiced (about 3-4 Tbs juice)

1/2-1 tsp sriracha or other hot sauce (1 tsp of Sriracha is fairly spicy in my opinion, so if you want less or no kick, just give it a little, or you can leave it out completely)

1/3 C roughly chopped cilantro

1-2 heads iceberg lettuce

*To prepare your own ground chicken, cut boneless skinless chicken breasts into large chunks and pulse in a food processor until ground.

Dipping/Drizzling Sauce

4 Tbs soy sauce

4 Tbs rice vinegar

3 Tbs water

2 tsp honey

1-2 tsp finely minced fresh ginger

Directions:

Heat a very large skillet to medium-high heat on the stove top.  When hot, add vegetable  oil and then garlic and ginger.  Saute for about 30 seconds, until fragrant, and then add ground chicken, chopped mushrooms, and kosher salt.  Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until chicken is cooked through.  (*At this point, sometimes I have some extra liquid in the pan from the chicken.  If it’s quite a bit, I tilt the pan and spoon it out so the chicken can cook and not boil.) Add cabbage/coleslaw, water chestnuts, and green onions.  Cook for about 2 minutes, until cabbage starts to wilt.  Add soy sauce, sesame oil, the zest from the lemon and the lemon juice, and hot sauce to taste.  Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

To prepare dipping sauce, combine all ingredients and whisk to combine.

To serve, carefully remove the individual leaves from the head of lettuce.  (The closer you get to the center, the easier it becomes!)  Place chicken mixture in the leaves and serve with sauce.

Yield: about 5 C chicken mixture.  Makes 14-16 lettuce wraps.

From:  Our Best Bites

Chocolate and Vanilla Angel Food Cake with "Dipped Cone" Icing

 When I saw the picture of this I knew I had to make it.  What better time than Easter.  The whipped cream made it off the low fat diet, but it was the first dessert we'd had in the house in over a month.  I did opt out of making the cake from scratch and used a Betty Crocker Angel Food Cake Mix.  Mark said he doesn't really like Angel Food Cake, but this was one of the best he's had. 

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup cake flour
1-1/2 cup sugar–divided (I like superfine)
1-2/3 cup egg whites (10-11 large eggs)
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons Dutch chocolate, sifted

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift together cake flour and 3/4 cup sugar. Using stand mixer and wire attachment, begin mixing egg whites and cream of tartar on low for one minute. Add salt. Increase speed to medium-high and mix until egg whites are thick and billowy. With mixer running, pour the remaining 3/4 cup of sugar in from the side–slowly. Continue beating egg whites until glossy and soft peaks gently tip over when you pull the wire beater up. Add extracts and turn the mixer on for a couple of seconds to incorporate.

2. Use your largest rubber spatula to delicately and carefully fold sifted flour and sugar into whipped egg whites. I add only about 1/4 cup of the flour and sugar mixture at a time. Slice with spatula perpendicular to whites down to bottom of bowl and turn spatula slightly to pull up batter from the bottom and lay over the top. Turn bowl 1/4 turn and repeat slice with spatula until flour and egg whites are just mixed. The folding process should be done with patience and a light hand. Practice helps. If you overdo the mixing, your cake won’t be as high as your hopes.

3. Pour slightly more than half of cake batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan with a removable bottom. Use a spoon to draw a trough around the middle. Carefully fold sifted cocoa into remaining batter until completely mixed. (Do not skip the sifting or you will have little chunks of cocoa in your batter.) Fill trough with the chocolate batter and then smooth over the top.

4. Bake for 50-55 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately turn over to cool for several hours. I recommend overnight. Use a firm hand and a skinny knife to loosen cake from edges of pan and invert cake onto cake plate.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:
2/3 cup heavy cream
4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate bar

Whipped Cream Icing

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cup heavy cream, chilled
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 

Whip cream in chilled bowl with wire attachment. When thick with soft peaks, add powdered sugar and continue to whip until cream makes stiff peaks. Go too far and whipped cream will be dry looking or turn into butter. Watch it! Spread smoothly over angel food cake.

Directions:

1. Heat heavy cream in small glass bowl for 1 minute in microwave oven. Add chocolate bar broken in several pieces to hot cream and allow to sit and melt while you ice the cake.

2. When chocolate is completely melted use small wire whisk or spoon to mix making small circles at first, then larger and finally, mixing chocolate and cream until smooth.

3. Pour warm chocolate ganache into a small Ziplock bag. Snip one corner about 1/4 inch. (Eyeball it.) Turn over a cereal bowl and practice running chocolate along the edge till you get the effect you want. If it’s too thick to make nice “runs”, add a few drops of warm cream. If too thin, let cool a while longer.

4. Here is where it gets a little tricky. Run ganache along the upper/outer edge of cake and slowly squirt ganache from small hole in the corner of your Ziplock bag making “runs and drips” around the entire cake. Do the inner edge the same way. Squirt remainder of ganache over top of cake and use a spoon to quickly spread evenly. You have a small window to get it smooth because the cold whip cream icing will harden the ganache on contact. Chill at least one hour before serving. Best eaten within 24 hours but still amazingly good for a couple days.

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From Salad In A Jar

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Seems we just don't have the time to take the pictures and cook the recipes right now, so I've decided to start posting the recipes sans pictures with the hopes of adding pictures in the near future.  My quest since Mark came home from the hospital has been for recipes that are low fat and low salt.  This salad is both and yummy at the same time.  If I weren't keeping it low fat goat cheese would be a nice addition.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Ingredients:
For the dressing:
1 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar
Pinch of salt

For the salad:
Baby spinach leaves, rinsed and dried
Sliced almonds, for topping
Sliced fresh strawberries, for topping

Directions:
In a blender or food processor, combine the strawberries, vinegar,  sugar and salt.  Process until the mixture is well combined and completely smooth.  Transfer to an airtight bottle or container and refrigerate until ready to use.

To serve, portion baby spinach leaves out on salad plates.  Drizzle with the strawberry champagne vinaigrette.  Top with sliced almonds and strawberries.  Serve immediately.

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From Annie's Eats

Fruit and Almond Granola

Something tells me this photo won't be here long before it's replaced by a better one.  This is my first post after Mark's long hospital stay and I don't want to bother him with setting up his camera for the shot, so here's my quickie with my phone.

I decided to make my own granola while trying to find healthy breakfast items that were low in salt and fat.  Now I realize how over priced store bought granola is.  I cleaned my cupboard of dried fruit to make this, but am listing the fruit the recipe suggested.  I used a total of 1 1/2 cups of apricots, golden raisins and cherries.  Can only imagine making it with pecans and dates.

Printable Recipe

Yield 8 servings
Prep Time:  15 minutes
Bake Time:  45 minutes

5½ cups traditional rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ cup light brown sugar
¾ cup applesauce (I use natural/unsweetened)
¼ cup honey
1½ cups chopped or slivered almonds
¾ cup dried cranberries
¾ cup chopped dried apricots
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, applesauce and honey until thoroughly combined.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well, until all of the oats are moistened. Spread on the prepared pan in an even layer.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven and turn the granola over very carefully using a wide spatula (you’ll probably need to do this in sections). Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden.
6. Cool completely on the baking sheet.
7. Break up the granola into chunks and stir in the almonds, dried cranberries and apricots. Store in an airtight container.

Adapted from The Brown Eyed Baker

Baked Chipotle Beef Taquitos

I'd planned to make chicken taquitos tonight, until I realized I had way to much chicken on the menu this week.  We rarely eat pot roast, but the idea of cooking it all day and having it ready for the taquitos was appealing.  I forgot to keep the extras out before baking, so we'll see how the left overs fare.  My teaching partner suggested Guerrero Tortillas to me, they really worked well in these.  3 were really filling!

Printable Recipe

Makes 20 taquitos

3 C cooked, shredded beef roast

4oz green chilies, undrained

1/4-1/2 t minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (I used about 1 teaspoon)

3 t adobo sauce from the canned chipotle peppers

1 t garlic powder

1 t coriander

1/2 t cumin

1 t chili powder

zest from one lime

1 T fresh lime juice

2 cups grated pepper jack cheese

6" white corn tortillas (about 20)

kosher salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Take your shredded beef and slice any larger pieces across the grain so you have pieces about 1/2-1" long. Place in a bowl and set aside.

Combine chilies, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, garlic, coriander, cumin, chili powder and lime zest and juice in a bowl. After stirring to combine, gently toss together with shredded beef.

Wrap a pile of about 10 tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave for 1 minute to soften. (after those are used, do the next 10) 

Working with one tortilla at a time, sprinkle about 1T cheese in a line across the center of the tortilla. Top with 1-2 T shredded beef mixture and roll up.

Place seam-side down on a lightly oiled/sprayed baking sheet. Use cooking spray or lightly brush olive oil on the top of each one. (I used Pam Olive Oil Spray) Lightly sprinkle kosher salt on the top of each one.

Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and your house smells like a Mexican restaurant.

Take them out of the oven and let them cool for just a few minutes. Eat 'em hot!

Freezer instructions:  Make as noted through the step where you sprinkle the tops of the taquitos with salt.  Place in a dish a single layer, not touching each other and set in the freezer.  After frozen, place in zip-top bag.  To cook, preheat oven to 425.  Place taquitos on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake until edges are golden brown.  About 30 minutes.

From Our Best Bites