Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Quick Stuffed French Toast


I love to make DH breakfast every morning....yes it is a sick problem of mine for years but i love sending him off with a home cooked meal in his belly and us having enjoyed some time in the morning together. This is a super easy breakfast that takes about two minutes to put together. Once again no acutal measurments....and no finished pictures because he ate them before i could take any!!!!


Quick Stuffed French Toast for 2


8 slices of cinnamon bread

1/2 block of cream cheese

couple dashes of cinnamon

couple dashes of sugar

2 eggs beaten

little bit of milk

splash of vanilla

couple pats of butter


In a small bowl combine the cream cheese, cinnamon and sugar. mix until combined.

In another small bowl combine eggs, milk and vanilla

Lay out four slices of bread and evenly spread the cream cheese mixture ; top with the other four slices.

Heat a saute pan till the butter is melted and bubbly.

Soak each "stuffed" piece of bread on each side in the egg mixture for a least 10-15 seconds. Hold it up and let the excess mix drip off.

Cook until each side is golden brown.

Top with butter and syrup.......yum!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake....YUMMY!


First off the pictures do not do this cake justice! I would HIGHLY recommend making this for anyone you want to show your love and appreciation for! This recipe is from Barefoot Contessa with a few tweaks...


So DH and I were invited to a Sunday dinner that was a "breakfast". Being that I am the baker I volunteered to bring the "dessert" for the meal. This coffee cake was so moist and flavorful and awesome that i cannot wait for another excuse to make it! At the end of the night we divided up the leftover coffee cake so that everyone could enjoy a piece the next morning for breakfast...i got several very happy emails that their Monday morning was much better thanks to this cake!


Bakers Tip: When making this cake be VERY aware of how much you incorporate the flour. You want to mix it till it is JUST beaten in. This will help result in a light and fluffy cake as opposed to a dense and glutenous blog.


Sour Cream Coffee Cake

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups granulated sugar

3 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sour cream

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt


For the streusel:

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup chopped pecans


For the glaze:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

6 tablespoons real maple syrup


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.


Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.
For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.
Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Chili


DH and I have this strange facination with chili be it meat, veggie, chicken ect ect. He loves to eat it with fridos scoops or tostidio chips and i love all the fun stuff you can put on top ( hence the everything but the kitchen sink part). He is know for demolishing an entire bag of chips with one bowl of chili...that is how much he love his chili and chips and i have been know to put as much as seven different items on top of mine. I am not one for measuring...but rather go on taste as it simmers so all of the measurements are not exact. Being pregnant I have to be careful because i love anything SPICY and i guess i have been taking it a bit far lately even for DH...what is wrong with five big dashes of tabasico in a bowl ;)


So here is my version of a fantastic pot of stick to your ribs chili...I usually just simmer it on the stove for several hours if I am going to be home but I did make it in my slow cooker this time and it was just as good!


Everything But the Kitchen Sink Chili- Meat Version


2 lbs ground beef

1 large onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic chopped

1 large can of chili beans

1 large can of chopped green chilis

1 large can of stewed tomatoes with peppers and onions

1 small can of tomato paste

4 tbs of cumin

4 tbs of chili powder

2- 3 hearty squirts of ketchup

salt and pepper

couple good dashes of cayanne pepper


Saute onions and add ground beef and garlic plus some salt and pepper unit no longer pink. Drain any of the fat.

In a large pot or slow cooker combine all ingredients, stir and let simmer for at least an hour up to seven hours.


Top with the following items of your choice...

chopped onion

shredded cheese

sour cream

chopped tomatoes

chopped cilantro

diced avocado

tabasico or your choice of hot sauce

scallions


and of course have a big bag of chips handy!



The Baby Suite..Construction Begins!



I am so blessed to have such a handy husband! With less than 15 weeks till the arrival of our two baby boys DH ( darling husband) is in full construction mode with the room. This will not just be any room...oh no. He plans on outdoing any project he has done in the past in this room and let me tell you he has done some projects! I will update accordingly with his great progress and cannot wait to see how it turns out. I have warned him that he is only opening up a can of worms because our master bedroom is on the "to do" list and i plan on having just as nice a room as my children!!!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

First Slow Cooker Attempt


With the weather being as cold as it was today...and my husbands love of red meat that i rarely indulge in I decided to give my new slow cooker a shot with brisket. Being that I have 1. never cooked a brisket 2. never used a slow cooker before and 3. am not much of a meat eater myself....I thought the meal was decent. My darling husband went back for seconds, contemplated thirds and said he cant wait to make a brisket sandwich tomorrow so i say this is a winning recipe. I found this on food network and changed a few things like not adding parsnips but baby potatoes instead and using gara masala spice mix in place of the sweeter spices and corriander and did not serve it over the couscous because of the baby potatoes. I also made a gravy out of the juices in the bottom of the cooker to top it with.
Keep in mind this is a "sweeter" recipe with the apricots and hints of cinnamon.
Moroccan Beef Brisket
1 large red onion, sliced into thin wedges
2 parsnips, chopped
2 pound boneless beef brisket
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch nutmeg
1 cup whole dried apricots
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup couscous
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Arrange onion wedges and potatoes in bottom of slow cooker. Season beef all over with salt and black pepper. In a small bowl, combine coriander, cumin, cinnamon, garlic powder, and nutmeg. Rub spice mixture all over beef. Arrange beef over onions and parsnips in slow cooker. Arrange apricots around beef.In a small bowl, whisk together wine, broth and honey. Pour mixture over beef and vegetables. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. Cook couscous according to package directions. Serve beef, vegetables and apricots over couscous. Pour over extra sauce from slow cooker and top with cilantro.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

the trial run!

So my new years resolution this year was to get over my fear of the computer...not the basics but the nitty gritty stuff that i have been able to avoid for the last few years! I figured a blog was a great way to jump into this world of computer savy people.

I am figuring my first few posts will be pretty remedial and will lack photos and all that jazz while i figure out how it all works. I am also going to blog about everything not just food because in the end it all comes back to food for me.

Happy reading, Happy New Year and I can't wait to see what the year brings.