Yankee Grits

Here is another recipe that I made for Easter morning. This recipe was given to me from the mother of a friend who passed away last year. It's a great recipe that's easy to put together and has great flavor. The original recipe is for 14-16 people so I halved all of the ingredients. It's from the website Bed & Breakfast Inns. If you have a chance go check that website out. It has a lot of yummy looking recipes!

Ingredients: (these are halved)
1/2 lb bacon
1 cups quick grits
4 cups water
1 tsps salt
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese
6 eggs
1 Tbsps chopped fresh chives (or 1/2 Tbsp dried)
1/2 cup half 'n half

Directions:

Cook bacon until crisp and set aside.

Cook the grits according to package directions, add 1 tsp salt. Add the butter and cheese and cook until they have melted. Then remove them from the heat and cool a little. Next stir in 2 of the eggs, beaten, and pour all into a 2-qt. casserole dish.



Crumble the extra bacon bacon and sprinkle it over the casserole, setting aside about 1/2 cup of the bacon crumbs.

Beat the remaining 4 eggs and the half 'n half together, and pour the mixture over the bacon and grits. Sprinkle the rest of the bacon on top.



At this point, I wrapped the casserole with tinfoil, put it in the refrigerator and baked it in the morning. Saves a lot of time that way! Just take it out of the refrigerator while your oven is preheating to 350. Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes.



I left mine in the oven for longer than 45 minutes so yours shouldn't be quite this brown. It still tasted great though!

Baked French Toast Casserole

The recipe title just sounds delicious, doesn't it? Making your mouth water a little? Yeah, it did the same thing to me.



(Edit 4/4/2010: I've made this three times and the 2nd & 3rd time the french toast was a little soggy on the bottom. Still tastes great but the next time I make it I may pour out some of the liquid before baking to see if that helps - or reduce the milk/half & half. Just an FYI!)

I haven't always liked french toast (I know, I'm weird) but in the past 5 years it has become one of my favorite breakfast foods. My friend Stacy suggested I give this french toast casserole recipe a try. It's by Paula Deen and it's great because you make it the night before. In the morning all you have to do is bake it for 45 minutes. Easy & delicious!

Ingredients:
1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces)
Butter, for pan
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Praline Topping:
2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans (I only used half a cup because pecans are freakin expensive right now!)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:
Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch thick each. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch baking dish in 3 rows, overlapping the slices.

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.



The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Take casserole out of the refrigerator and start making the praline topping. Combine the praline ingredients into a bowl and blend well. I took the slices and flipped them over. The top looked dried out and the bottoms were soaked in the egg/milk mixture. I just flipped all the slices over and then put the praline topping over the bread. The topping is thick and sort of hard to spread. Just do your best!



Bake for 45-60 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. I ended up baking mine closer to an hour to get the tops crispy, which I recommend. I made this a second time and only cooked it for 45 minutes and thought it was too soggy. I didn't think it needed the syrup that Paula Deen recommends serving this with. We had this Easter morning and actually it didn't need any syrup at all!



Thanks for suggesting this recipe Stacy, it's definitely a keeper!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chipsters

I love peanut butter and I love oatmeal cookies. I am always on the search for recipes that I can combine the two together to have both of my favorites in one cookie. I found this recipe on Two Peas and Their Pod. The original recipe came from Baking, From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan. I've heard a lot about Dorie Greenspan but had not made anything of hers until now.

I followed the recipe on Two Peas and Their Pod exactly.

Ingredients:

3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup peanut butter - I used smooth but chunky would work too
1 cup white sugar
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or chunks (I used chocolate and peanut butter chips - next time I think I would just use chocolate)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine oats, flour, baking soda, spices & salt.

In a large bowl mix the the butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. (I used my stand mixer but a handheld one would work fine too) Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, beating only until blended. Mix in the chips with a wooden spoon.



Cover and chill the dough for about 2 hours or for up to one day (or you could put in the freezer for 20 minutes)

Scoop rounded spoonfuls, roll between your palms. I then flattened mine a bit in my hands before placing on the prepared cookie sheets.

I tried baking mine like the instructions said. "Bake for 13-15 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 7 minutes." At 12 minutes my cookies were way too brown for my liking. I was also baking these cookies at an Open House and I forgot pot holders so all this switching around hot pans with paper towels was not really working for me. :) After a few trays I ended up just cooking for about 10 minutes and they came out perfect. I would just check after 9-10 minutes and see if they are ready to come out.

Let cool for a minute or two on cookie trays then transfer to cooling rack to finish cooling.

I thought these cookies were good but they could have been moister for my tastes. I would definitely make these again but would be more careful of how long they baked for. They were great with milk and just okay for me on their own. I guess I'm still looking for that perfect peanut butter oatmeal cookie that is moist without milk!

Beef Broccoli Wellington

I have been a bit of a slacker in the kitchen lately. Not many recipes to share, I apologize! The good thing is that I have the urge to do some baking this weekend. I'll keep you posted on what I end up making! I'm thinking cookies.....



Back to the wellington recipe - very easy, and very good. The recipe calls for 1 pound ground beef but ground venision is also nice with this recipe if you have some. This is one of Jordan's favorites although I tend to forget about this recipe for some reason. I found it in a Pillsbury cookbook especially for hamburger.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 (9oz) pkg frozen cut broccoli, thawed, drained
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cans crescent dinner rolls
1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Cook ground beef & onion in skillet until beef is cooked thoroughly. Drain well.

Add broccoli, sour cream, salt and pepper; mix well. Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes. Add cheese, mix well.

Unroll can of dough into 2 long rectangels. Place rectangles on one end of cookie sheet with long sides overlapping 1/2 an inch. Press preferations and edges to seal.



Spoon half of beef mixture in 3 inch strip lengthwise down the center of dough. Leave 1/4 inch at each end. Bring long sides of dough over beef mixture overlapping edges slightly; pinch edge and seal. I should have put mine vertical instead of horizontal. I ended up having to use two cookie sheets.



Repeat with second can of dough.



Brush both rectangles with beaten egg. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until deep golden brown.



Depending on how big your family is you can freeze the second wellington. When you are ready to eat it just pop it back in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. While I type this I have our second one in the oven reheating right now!!