Calling All Breakfasts

What do you gals eat for breakfast?

Lately I've been eating:

1/2 cup raw old fashioned oatmeal (I like it chewy and raw...not cooked and slimy)
1/2 cup fresh blueberries (or strawberries or raspberries, but blubes are my favorite and most low maintenance)
1/2 cup milk
sprinkle of sugar
(measurements are approximate)

It's like a healthy blueberry shortcake.

Some yummy recipes I've tried lately...

(sorry, I'm not giving each its own post)

Roasted Chickpeas  (here from Our Best Bites)
These remind me of corn nuts ... except way healthier and cheaper. Sammy and I gobbled them all down. Yummy snack.

Ingredients:
1 15-ounce can chickpeas
1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain and rinse chickpeas and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the spices and the olive oil. Toss the chickpeas in the spice mixture and spread the seasoned chickpeas over a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes and then remove the pan from the oven. Use a spatula to toss the chickpeas, then replace the pan and cook for another 15-20 minutes or until browned (but not burned) and crispy. Allow to cool. Snack away.

Bruschetta  (here from Pioneer Woman)
Entirely, completely delicious. Made it for Valentine's day as an appetizer (I know, so fancy) while I cooked the rest of the meal. The tomato mixture is good by itself, but once it's on the buttery baguette, HOLY MOLY! I loved it. I cooked the bread on a my grill pan. I so felt like Giada ... and was saying bruschetta with her Italian accent. I don't totally love fresh basil, so I went a little easy on it.

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 5 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
• 1 pint Red Grape Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise
• 1 pint Yellow Grape Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise
• 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
• 16 whole Basil Leaves (chiffonade)
• Salt And Pepper To Taste (don't Oversalt!)
• 1 whole Baguette
• 8 Tablespoons Butter

Preparation Instructions

In a small skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir, lightly frying for about a minute, removing before the garlic gets too brown (it can be golden.) Pour into a mixing bowl and allow to cool slightly.
Add tomatoes, balsamic, basil, and salt and pepper to the bowl. Toss to combine, then taste and add more basil if needed, and more salt if needed (don't oversalt, though!) Cover and refrigerate for an hour or two if you have the time.
Cut the baguette into diagonal slices to allow for the most surface area possible. Melt half the butter in a large skillet and grill half the bread on both sides, making sure they're nice and buttery. Cook till golden brown on both sides. Repeat with the other half of the butter and the other half of the bread.
To serve, give the tomato mixture a final stir, the spoon generously over the slices of bread. Serve on a big platter as a first course or appetizer.

Chicken Salad (here on Cheeky Kitchen)
I gotta say, this is hands down my new favorite chicken salad. I saw a few people had this posted on Pinterest (no I don't have an account, but I like to snoop around once a month) and it looked so pretty, so I had to try it. I was skeptical since there isn't much to the salad, but no, no. It's delicious. I love that it's not super mayo-y/creamy. And eating it in an avocado --- little difficult and awkward, but the av is soooo good with it. Yum. I made this in like 2 seconds. Really easy. Oh my gosh, I'm still drooling over this. AND I added some sliced almonds instead of corn chips.

But hold on before you go make it --- it makes hardly any, so either make it for 2 people or double the recipe (or triple). 

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken breast, cooked and shredded
¼ cup corn
¼ cup black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup green onions, chopped
¼ cup tomatoes, diced
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
¼ cup corn chips, crushed
2 tablespoons white vinegar
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
Salt to taste
2-4 avocados, sliced in half with pits discarded

Directions:

In a medium bowl, toss the chicken breast, corn, black beans, green onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and corn chips together. Add the vinegar and mayonnaise to mixture and toss to coat. Salt to taste. Spoon salad into halved avocados. Serve immediately with a spoon and fork. Enjoy!

 

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped carrot
1 stalk celery, finely chopped (feel free to add more celery if you like celery; I don't, so I don't add much)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
4 cups chicken broth (I usually use a mixture of low-sodium chicken broth and broth made with chicken soup base because it gives it such nice flavor) well, i used chicken bullion. that's what sharley did, and i like the flavors it brought
2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 Tablespoon flour
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup milk
2 cups chopped broccoli
2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese (use velveeta for smoother cheesiness)
and i also added some shredded chicken.

Melt the butter in a large soup pot. Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender. Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes. Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender. Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened. Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through. Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

Sharley also made this and it was good. It's like broccoli and cheese soup except lots more veggies and less cheese.

Recipe found here.

Roasted Broccoli

2 bunches broccoli
olive oil
salt n pepper
4 garlic cloves minced
1 lemon
parmesan cheese

Take 4 to 5 pounds of broccoli (I just got two large bunches), cut into florets (but relatively big ones.)

Here’s the key that she doesn’t mention in the recipe: dry them THOROUGHLY. That is, if you wash them. I saw an episode of Julia Child cooking with Jacques Pepin once when Pepin revealed he doesn’t wash a chicken before putting it in a hot oven: “The heat kills all the germs,” he said in his French accent. “If bacteria could survive that oven, it deserves to kill me.” By that logic, then, I didn’t wash my broccoli; I wanted it to get crispy and brown. If you’re nervous, though, just wash and dry it obsessively.

Now, it’s easy. Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. (She says 5 Tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 tsps kosher salt, 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, but I just eyeballed it.) Now add 4 garlic cloves that are peeled and sliced and toss them in too.

Roast in the oven 425* for 20 to 25 minutes, until “crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.”
I shook the pan around a bit as it went, but not sure that’s necessary.

When it’s done, take it out of the oven–and here’s where it gets really good–zest a lemon over the broccoli, squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli, add 1.5 Tbs more olive oil, 3 Tbs toasted pine nuts (I left those out), and 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. She also has you add 2 Tbs julienned fresh basil, but I left that out too.

recipe found here.

Sharley made this as a side for dinner, and I can't really remember what the main dish was...

Yummy Meat Soup

This is Kim's recipe (where did you get it Kim?). Its real name is "Hungarian Sausage Soup" but either way, it is delish. I made it tonight for dinner, as per Rob's request. You can't skip out on the caraway. It's what makes the flavor. We added a bit of red pepper flakes to our bowls to kick it up a notch. Oh, and I added extra yummy meat.


Ingredients:

• 3 Chicken bullion cubes
• 8 oz. Kielbasa (sausage)
• 5 C. Water
• 1 pt. Canned tomatoes
• 1 C. Onion
• 1 C. Carrot
• 2 C. Potatoes (or substitute one can of rinsed Cannellini beans)
• 4 C. Shredded Cabbage
• 1 tsp. Caraway seeds
• ¼ tsp. Pepper
• 1 TBS Paprika
• 1 tsp. Salt
• Sour Cream

Directions:

Bring water bullion, onion, paprika, and caraway to a boil. Add carrots and potatoes. Simmer till veggies are tender. Stir in cabbage, Kielbasa and tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes. Ladle in bowl and stir in a dollop of sour cream.

Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower

I recently bought a head of cauliflower, but didn't really know what to do with it. Then today Our Best Bites posted this recipe!  
I've heard cauliflower is super good for you too.

Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Cauliflower
Recipe by ourbestbites.com
Ingredients
3-4 tbs olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 head cauliflower
kosher salt and pepper
2-3 tablespoons crumbled Parmesan cheese (stuff in a green can a-okay!)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place olive oil and garlic in a small bowl. Heat in microwave for about 20 seconds and set aside.
Remove stem and leaves from cauliflower head and trim into large florets. Slice each floret into 1/4 inch slices and place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and garlic mixture and sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper. Use clean hands to toss to coat. Add more olive oil if needed. Bake for 15 minutes and then toss with spatula. Bake 10 more and then toss with Parmesan cheese. Continue baking for 5-10 minutes until slightly golden brown on edges.

Best Pancakes EVER

This is hands down the best pancake recipe I've ever made. It wasn't necessarily the blueberry lemon flavor (which yes, is totally good), but just the pancake itself. So good. I've never felt like I figured pancakes out until now. Mine were always sub par, brick-ish ... and I don't overmix. They just never turned out perfectly. AND I got to use fresh lemons from my tree :). Oh, and I didn't have cake flour, so I used AP flour. Still totally soft and good. Can't wait to make them with sliced bananas (my fave way to make pancakes).

Sammy kept calling them "cupcakes" when we were making 'em. Sorry darling, you are going to be disappointed if you think we are making cake.

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes (Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cup Cake Flour
• 1 Tablespoon (additional) Cake Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1-1/2 cup Evaporated Milk (more If Needed)
• 1 whole Lemon (more If Needed)
• 1 whole Large Egg
• 1-1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
• Zest From 1 Lemon
• 1 cup Heaping Blueberries
• Extra Butter
• Maple Or Pancake Syrup

Preparation Instructions

Heat heavy skillet or grill over medium low heat.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix evaporated milk, juice of 1 lemon (more if lemon isn't very juicy), and lemon zest. Allow to sit for five minutes, then add egg, vanilla, and melted butter. Mix to combine.
Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine. Splash in more evaporated milk if mixture is overly thick. Stir in blueberries. Again, check to make sure mixture isn't overly thick.
Melt butter in heated skillet. Drop batter by 1/4 cup measures and fry pancakes on both sides until golden.
Serve with softened butter and warm syrup.

Corn Salsa

This is yummy!

1 can of corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained
2 chopped tomatoes
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 bunch green onion, chopped
1 envelope Italian dressing (made according to pkg directions)
2 avocados, chopped

Mix all ingredients except avocados.  Add avocados just before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Sweet twist on crusty dutch oven bread

I made this while I was in Fallon at new years, here's the recipe:  Make the dough as the recipe calls.  Crusty Dutch Oven Bread  sprinkle a handful of pecans and a handfull of white chocolate chips on the dough before you fold it 3 times to rise making sure the nuts and chocolate chips are tucking inside the dough so they don't burn in the oven.  After cooling a little  cut bread and spread with salted chocolate butter.

Salted Chocolate Butter

1 cube unsalted butter (normally I ignore the unsalted part of a reciped calling for butter, but  you're       supposed to salt this yourself with course salt)
1 1/2 TBS powdered sugar
1 TBS cocoa
1/4 tsp course salt
handfull of chocolate chunks

Mix first 4 ingredients with mixer, (it's supposed to be kinda salty so taste to see if it needs more).  Mix in chocolate chunks and spread over bread

Mom's Beef Stew

I'm sure you all have this recipe (the old ward cookbook), but it's definitely Eat or Die worthy.  I made this for Sunday dinner yesterday and it tasted better today.

2 lbs cubed beef
1 1/2 c. onion
Brown cubed beef and add onion.
Add:
1 1/2 c. canned tomatoes
3 TBS tapioca
1 1/2 c. beef broth
1 clove garlic
1 TBS parsley
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp peppers
6 medium carrots
3 large potatoes
1/2 c. celery

bake 350* for at least 2 hours... Or brown meat for a few minutes then dump everything into a crockpot and cook all day.

The Best Cornbread

I found the recipe here. I tweaked it a little, but it's so good. The honey butter is delish too, but it makes tons! I would 1/2 or even 1/4 the recipe. I've undercooked this recipe so so many times, so make sure you bake it long enough. Just check it with a toothpick.

My Go-To Cornbread

Cornbread:
½ cup cornmeal
1 ½ cup flour
2/3 cup sugar (You could definitely do less if you want to)
1 tablespoon baking powder (I accidentally used soda once. bad news...)
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 ¼ cup milk

Honey Butter: (makes tons)
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

DIRECTIONS:
For the cornbread, add dry ingredients, make a well and add oil, butter, eggs, and milk into the center. Stir until just mixed (don't over mix!) (batter will be runny – don’t be alarmed!). Bake in an 8” square pan at 350 degrees for 35 minutes (I usually bake it for at least 40 minutes. Check it until a toothpick comes out clean). This doubles perfectly for a 9X13-inch pan.

For the honey butter, whip all together with an electric mixer and serve at room temperature (can be refrigerated and softened).

Sweet Heat Louisiana Chili

We had this recipe for dinner while Kel was in Fallon, so I thought I'd post it. This is my absolute favorite chili. It's got an interesting kick to it with the Balsamic Vinegar and the cajun seasoning. It calls for sun dried tomatoes but they're expensive and a lot of work so I always leave them out. It really makes a difference if you have the time to simmer this for 2 hours like it says. It's good without it, but much thicker and more like chili instead of soup if you do. Recipe source is here, of course.

Sweet Heat Louisiana Chili

1 medium onion, diced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
3 cloves of garlic, smashed or diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound of ground meat (I used ground beef)
1 quart of meat stock (I used beef but Brad and Cass used 1/2 chicken stock and 1/2 beef stock)
2 large cans (28 oz. each) of whole stewed tomatoes (I use 2 quarts of my home bottled tomatoes instead)
1 can of kidney red beans
1 can of black beans
2 cups sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
3 bay leaves
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cayenne pepper (1/2 or less is good and mild for kids)
3 tsp creole or cajun seasoning blend
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I only put a little more than 1 tbl, but Rob likes the full amount)
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Over medium heat, saute first four ingredients (onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic) in 1 tbsp
of oil. Once the onions begin to sweat, add your choice of ground meat. Brown to perfection. (Drain fat)
When the meat is cooked, add the stock, bay leaves, dry mustard and cayenne. Simmer over
medium heat, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half. Rehydrate the sun-dried tomatoes and
dice. Puree the stewed tomatoes in a food processor or blender. Add to pot. Rinse the canned
beans in plenty of water, add to the pot along with brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt and the
cajun or creole seasoning. Mix well and simmer over low heat for two hours, stirring
occasionally. (fish out the bay leaves) Take off heat and allow to stand covered for five minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Soup

Chicken and Sweet Potato Soup (Kitchen Cafe)
*Note: Increase the red pepper flakes if you like more heat. The 1/4 teaspoon in the recipe will give gentle and flavor but is not overly spicy (as in, my kids ate it with no problem).
 
*Serves 6-8
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon butter
1 red onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
7-8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 pounds chicken, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (or use about 3-4 cups of shredded, cooked chicken)
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 - inch pieces
1 can (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
DIRECTIONS:
In a large pot (4 or 5 quarts), melt butter over medium heat and add onions. Cook, stirring often, about 5-6 minutes, until softened. Add bell pepper, celery, and garlic. Cook 5-6 more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender. Add remaining ingredients (don’t add the cooked chicken, if using, you’ll add it near the end), stir well, and bring to a low boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for about 40-45 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and chicken is cooked through. If using cooked chicken, stir it in at this point and let it heat through. Discard bay leaves and serve.

We really liked this soup!

I've been looking up lactogenic foods because I feel like I'm losing my milk (I started taking More Milk Plus - hope it helps). Basil, marjoram, and yams were listed ... a coincidence?

French bread.

1 pkg dry yeast
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp soft shortening
1 1/2 cup very warm water
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water.  Dissolve sugar and salt in remaining 1 cup water in 2 quart bowl.  Add shortening and yeast.  Mix well.  Add flour and stir well.  Cover.  Work through dough with spoon at ten minute intervals for 5 consecutive times.

Turn dough on lightly floured board and divide in half.  Shape into balls and let rest 10 minutes.  Roll each ball into a 9 x 12 inch shape , then roll up like a jelly roll.  Start with long side.  Seal edges.  Place on greases baking sheet.  Score top 6 times diagonally.  Cover with towel and let rise 1 1/2 hours.  Bake at 400° for 30 to 35 minutes.  Brush with butter.

Call Kim For tips

Eggnog

My sister called and asked me for the "Sorensen family eggnog recipe." Aka, the one out of Better Homes and Gardens. :) I thought I'd post it since I had it all typed up. 

1/3 cup sugar 

2 egg yolks

1/4 tsp. salt

4 cups milk

2 egg whites

3 tablespoons sugar 

1 tsp. vanilla

brandy/rum flavoring to taste (I leave this out)

1/2 cup whipping cream, whipped

nutmeg

Beat 1/3 cup sugar into egg yolks. Add salt; stir in milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, till mixture coats spoon. cool. Beat eggwhites till foamy. Gradually add 3 tablespoons sugar, beating into soft peaks. Add to custard and mix thoroughly. Add vanilla and flavoring. Chill for 3 or 4 hours. Pour into punch bowl or cups. Dot with "islands" of whipped cream; dash with nutmeg. Serves 6 to 8.

It says till mixture coats spoon, but I don't really know what that means. I just do it till it's good and hot and cooked through. You can cook the nutmeg in with it to add more flavor too.

Remember last year when a girl in Wal-Mart asked me if I wanted to sample her eggnog and in the most snobbish way I said, "No thanks, we make our own." Seriously, I'm still reeling over that one. So embarrassing.