Smashed Avocado on Toast

2 avocados
1/8-1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1/4c feta cheese
5 or 6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
splash of lemon juice
sunflower seeds
pine nuts
Sour Dough Bread

Peel and seed the avocados.  Mash in bowl.  Add red onions, feta cheese, and quartered cherry tomatoes.  Add a splash of lemon juice.  Mix together. Salt and pepper to taste. Spread on freshly toasted Sour Dough bread.  Sprinkle with sunflower seeds and pine nuts.

Fruit Plate

 

 

I started with a dinner plate and small bowl for the center.  I sliced up some cantaloupe, pineapple, and kiwi.  I layered the fruit around the bowl.  Then I added some strawberries for color and filled the bowl with blueberries.  Watermelon slices would be lovely, too.  This is a nice addition to the picnic table (or any pot luck).

Homemade Bagels

I've been living in the outback of Australia for about 10 months now.  While there are loads and loads of great things to eat, from time to time I miss a certain food from home.  Today I decided to try my hand at homemade bagels.

 

3 c plain flour
3 tsp yeast
1 1/2 c warm water
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
extra 2 Tbsp sugar
Sesame Seeds (optional)

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, yeast, 3 Tbsp sugar, salt, and warm water.  Beat with an electric mixer. Add the remaining flour and mix on low for 1 minute.  Raise mixer speed one or two speeds higher and continue to mix for 3 minutes using a spatula to get the dry ingredients off the side of the mixing bowl.

Sprinkle some flour on the counter top.  Knead the dough for about 10 minutes.  The dough should be smooth and elastic.  Cover the dough and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.

Divide dough into 12 portions.  Shape the dough into smooth balls. Poke a hole in the center with your finger and gently enlarge the hole while working the bagel into a uniform shape. 

 

 

 

Cover the dough and let it rise for about 20 minutes.

 

 

While your dough rises, bring 4 liters of water to a boil.  Stir in the remaining 2 Tbsp of sugar.  Reduce to a simmer.

 

Put 4 or 5 bagels into the water and boil for 7 minutes, turning the bagel once.  Drain.  If desired, dip boiled bagel in sesame seeds to make 'em fancy.  Place on a greased baking tray and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 30-35 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit.  Eat hot or cold.

 

 



I served these bagels with cream cheese and chives as well as smoked salmon.  Allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature.  Mix in chopped chives.  Store in refrigerate until needed.  The smoked salmon came prepared, but I rolled the salmon and added some chives for a lovely presentation. Yummo!  It was a hit!

 



Spinach Frittata

A frittata is an Italian-style omelet.  I only recently learned of the concept of the frittata, but it's been a huge success with the kids, especially in the "breakfast for dinner" category.  As with omelets, you can enriched your frittata with any number or combination of ingredients. This is one of our favorites.

 

 

7 eggs

chopped spinach leaves

diced ham

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1 Tbs olive oil

nutmeg

salt and pepper

 

 

Heat oven proof skillet on med heat with olive oil.  I use my cast iron skillet, my mother would be so proud! Turn down lead to med low. In a bowl, scramble the eggs.  Add the chopped spinach, ham, 1/4 cup of Parmesan, and a dash of nutmeg.  Salt and pepper lightly.  Pour egg mixture into skillet and cook (without stirring) for 5-7 minutes.  It will still have some liquid.  Add the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan to the top.  Put skillet int eh oven under broiler for 3 to 4 minutes until puffy and golden.  Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

Cheesy Grits

When I think of grits, I think of My Cousin Vinny (1992). There is a scene where Vinny and Lisa order breakfast. When it arrives, Vinny looks at his skeptically...

Vinny Gambini: Whats this over here?
Grits Cook: You never heard of grits?
Vinny Gambini: Sure I've heard of grits. I just never actually *seen* a grit before.

I, too, was recently introduced to a grit. It is so yummy. If you've never had grits, you don't know what you are missing. Grits are roughly ground corn boiled in water with either salt or sugar. It's usually associated with the south, but it's actually of Native American origin. This recipe isn't sweet at all. It's not salty either. You can taste the hint of cheesiness and the garlic is just enough to have you scooping that second portion into your bowl. For this recipe, you'll need:

1 cup instant grits
8 oz Velveeta
3 cups water
1 egg
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1 stick butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Cook the grits, water and salt together as directed on the package. Add a stick of butter and 8 oz of Velveeta. Stir the butter and Velveeta cheese into the grits as they melt. I usually cube the cheese and butter so that it melts faster. It is very important that the cheese melts completely. You don't want pockets of Velveeta cheese throughout your grits. In a bowl whip together an egg and 3/4c of milk. Stir into grits mixture. Pour into 8x8 casserole dish and bake 350 30-45 min until top lightly browns. Double the recipe for 9x13 dish.

You can also make up this recipe the night before, refrigerate, and cook it in the morning. It's a great recipe to bring to a pot luck brunch because it looks great and is easy to transport. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pancakes

It's that time of year again...when the pumpkins are in season and all the trees are lovely shades of yellow, orange, and red. I love this time of year. It's the time of year that I start putting pumpkin in everything!!!

2 1/2c Bisquick
1c milk
2 eggs
1c pumpkin puree (or canned pumpkin)
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp cinnamno
1/2 tsp nutmeg

In a bowl, mix together the milk, pumpkin, and eggs. Mix in the spices. Add the bisquick. The consistence of your batter is going to vary depending on how "wet" your pumpkin puree is. Don't be afraid to add a bit more bisquick to get your batter to a good consistency for pancakes.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the pan, using about 1/8-1/4 of a cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides. Serve hot with syrup.

Simple Crêpes

These are treats we'd buy the kids at German festivals for about 4 Euro ($5.30) apiece. I'm not sure if they are European in origin, but to our family they will always be a European treat. One batch made enough to feed four ravenous kids (about 10 crêpes) so next time I will have to double the batch so the adults can have some, too.

In a blender, Purée:

1 cup flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2c milk
4 eggs
3 Tbsp butter, melted

Let batter sit at least 15 minutes at room temperature. (You can also refrigerate for up to 1 day, just whisk before using). Pam a 12-inch skillet. Pour 1/3 cup of batter into the skillet. Swirl skillet to completely cover the skillet. This is going to look too thin, but remember, this is a crêpe, not a pancake. Cook over medium heat until the underside of the crêpe is golden brown...about 1 1/2-2 minutes. Loosen the edge of the crêpe with a spatula, and then flip the crêpe quickly with your fingertips. Cook for 1 minute and move to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter, spraying the pan with PAM between crêpes.

The kids really enjoyed these crêpes with Nutella and bananas. In fact, one of the little food critics sleeping over (whose Dad makes the best crêpes, EVER) says that mine were "really good!” I always consider it the highest of compliments when other people's children will eat what I cook.

If Nutella is not your thing (For example, if you are over the age of 15) you can also fill these crêpes with ham and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, powdered sugar, strawberry jam and whipped cream...or anything else left over in your fridge.

Christmas Morning Egg Bake

I am always looking for an easy breakfast food that tastes great and can be made ahead. That way I can spend Christmas morning playing with my kids and their new toys instead of cooking. This recipe is also really good for a lady's brunch at church.

You'll need:
8-10 hashbrown patties, cooked and broken apart
1 egg, beaten
salt and pepper

7 eggs
1/2c milk
1 can green chilies
mushrooms, sliced and sauted
1 1/2c cheddar cheese, shredded

Mix the hashbrowns and 1 egg. Pam a 9X13 casserole pan. Flatten the mixture into the pan with the back of a spoon. In a bowl, mix 7 eggs, milk, chilies, mushrooms, and cheese. Pour over hashbrown crust. Bake at 400˚F for 20-30 minutes.

For variation, sometimes I add cooked sausage to the hashbrown crust. You can also sprinkle cooked bacon over the top of your egg bake before cooking it.

Cinnamon Rolls for Autumn

These cinnamon rolls have been calling to me for weeks, months maybe, ever since Jen shared the recipe. Ironically, I'm trying to watch my weight right now so I'll be sending most of these to work with Roger to endear myself to his new co-workers.

I've adapted this recipe from a website called Don't Eat Off the Sidewalk. Good advice, but do you think she takes the five second rule into consideration?

Now that I'm more comfortable cooking, I've started looking at a recipe and automatically making substitutions for things I have in the house. This recipe was originally vegan, but I don't keep soy milk in the fridge, so I'm substituting skim milk. Also, the original recipe calls for 3/4 c pumpkin, but I froze my pumpkin in
1 c increments, so I'm tossing it that last 1/4 cup because I'm too lazy to re-measure it out.

Dough:

1 package dry yeast
1/4 c warm water
1 c pumpkin puree
1/4 c milk
1/4 c margarine, melted
1 Tbsp white sugar

2 1/2 flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger

3/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp oil

Filling:
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cinnamon
2 Tbsp chilled margarine, cut into small peices

Glaze:

3/4 c powdered sugar
1 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

In a large bowl, combine the warm water with the yeast and whisk together. Let stand for five minutes. Add the pumpkin, milk, margarine, and sugar to the yeast. Lightly mix. Add 2 1/2 cups flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Beat together until smooth.

Turn dough out onto your floured kitchen counter. Take the remaining flour and use it to flour the top of the dough and your counter as your kneed the dough (about 10 minutes). The dough will be elastic, but soft and still a little sticky to the touch without being floured. This was the part that Kaitlyn liked the best. I let her pull her stool up to the counter and let her knead the dough with me. Of course, then she wouldn't leave the dough alone while it was rising so I had to shoo her out of the kitchen while the dough was trying to rise.

Place the dough in a large bowl coated with oil, turning the dough to coat the top of the dough as well. Cover and let rise until dough doubles in size.

Punch down the dough, cover and let rise for five minutes.

Combine the sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in the margarine with fork until mixture resembles coarse little balls.

Roll the dough into a 12X10 inch rectangle on your floured counter. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Roll up the rectangle tightly, from the long side, pinch seam, and ends to seal the dough. Cut roll into 12 (1 inch) slices. Place into a 9 inch square baking pan coated with cooking oil.* Cover and let rise until it doubles in size (about 25 minutes).

Bake the rolls for 20 minutes or until golden brown in a pre-heated (375 degrees) oven.

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, water, and vanilla. Whisk together until smooth. Drizzle over the cinnamon rolls.

*If you want to eat these hot and fresh in the morning (Saturday morning, maybe?)without having to get up before first light to start them; you can cover them with plastic wrap at this point and store them in the fridge. In the morning take them out and continue with the recipe (they will take a little longer to rise, probably an hour or so, because they are chilled). Take this time to shower, enjoy a cup of tea, dig out your fat pants, and call your sister to wake her up on the one morning her baby actually let her sleep in.

Green Eggs and Ham

In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday (born March 2, 1904), it has become a tradition at our house to have Green Eggs and Ham for dinner.

Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks and add three or four drops of green food coloring. Whisk the egg whites and add them to the hot frying pan. I spray the pan with Pam first so the eggs don't stick. Cook for about 20 seconds. Add the yolks to the pan and cover with the egg whites (now green). Cook until the yolks are firm. In a second pan, fry up some thick slices of ham. I usually just buy four thick slices of ham from the deli counter since we don't usually eat ham. Serve with toast.



Variations:
Green scrambled eggs
Crack the shell of a hard-boiled egg (do not remove shell). Place the egg in water with green food coloring for about ten minutes. When you remove the shell, you will have a green marbled egg.