Christmas French Toast Casserole

Not my picture but close enough!!

Preparation:
1 to 1 1/2 loaves of Texas toast
4 tablespoons butter melted
3/4 cup of brown sugar
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Custard:
10 eggs
3 cups eggnog
3/4 cup of milk


Topping:
3 TBS melted butter
3 TBS brown sugar
1 TBS maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg

If your bread is fresh and soft, you will need to "stale it". Heat oven to 300 degree's and layer bread on cookie sheet.  Baking for about 15 minutes, turning it over and baking 10 to 15 more.
This casserole is meant to be made the night before.
Use a deep 9x13 casserole dish or Disposable foil pan.  Mix the 4 TBS butter and 3/4 cup of brown sugar in a bowl, and layer on bottom of casserole pan.
Divide the bread into 3 sections.  Layer first section on bottom.  Mix the 4 TBS sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together. Sprinkle half of this mixture on bottom layer of bread. Layer with 2nd portion of bread. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon mixture on that layer. Top with last layer of bread.
Custard:
Mix eggs, eggnog, milk, and vanilla with whisk until very well blended.  Carefully pour custard over bread, being sure that the top layer gets wet. The bread will absorb the custard.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Topping:
Mix, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg and maple syrup together. Should have consistency of glaze.  If too thick microwave for 15 to 30 seconds.  Using fork tines, scatter or glaze the top of the casserole.  Place casserole on a cookie sheet in case of any boil overs. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degree's.  Let rest for about 20 to 30 minutes once you take out oven before serving. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with Apple pie topping, or syrup and whipped cream.
Very rich and serves 12 in large squares, or 24 in small servings!!  Try the  small servings or you will be on sugar overload!! 


  

Chicken pillows- Kay style

Chicken pillows
1 1/2 pounds of chicken tenders
italian seasoning
Garlic powder
olive oil and butter: About a tablespoon of each
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heat butter and olive oil in frying pan.  Season chicken tenders with garlic powder and italian seasonings.
Brown chicken in skillet until done. remove and let cool.
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1 onion diced
2 stalks of celery diced
bell pepper diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
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heat olive oil and butter in same skillet you used for chicken. Saute onion, celery and bell pepper on low until soft and transparent. Remove and set aside.
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8 ounces of onion and chive cream cheese
2 tablespoons of butter softened
3/4 cup shredded cheese of your choice
salt and pepper to taste
the cooked chicken and Vegetable mixture
2 cans of crescent rolls
2 tablespoons melted butter
Italian breadcrumbs

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mix cream cheese and  butter and shredded choice, add chicken and veggie mixture.  Salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.  Unroll your crescent dough and press together two triangles to create a rectangle. Make sure to press together the perforations well, so filling won't ooze out.  You should have 3 or 4 rectangles depending on how many rolls came in can.
spoon about 3 tablespoons of chicken mixture into center of rectangle. Fold each corner over the center of the filling. Press together to cover filling entirely.  Shape into a ball. Repeat with all rectangles. Once all pillows are formed, dip each in melted butter and then into italian bread crumbs, shaking off excess. Place each coated pillow onto the greases cookie sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes
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Gravy:
1 can cream of chicken
1 envelope chicken gravy mix
3/4 cup of water
1/2 tablespoon dried chives
2 to 3 tablespoons of sour cream
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In small saucepan, mix together cream of chicken soup, gravy mix, water and chives.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Just before spooning over pillows, stir in sour cream.

Sweet and salty cookies

Peanut butter cookies with caramel, chocolate and pretzel topping

Cookie dough ingredients:
2 cups of butter flavored crisco
1cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups peanut butter chips

Topping:
caramel kisses- 2 for every cookie
pretzels- 1 for every cookie


Cream together shortening, peanut buttter, sugars and eggs.  Add dry ingredients a little at a time. Adding peanut butter chips at the end.  Chill dough at least an hour.  Roll into balls, flattening with a fork in crisscross pattern.  Bake 10 minutes.  
Meanwhile,  unwrap kisses.  when cookies have baked for 10 minutes, remove from oven. place a caramel kiss in center, put back in oven for 1 minute. remove, place a pretzel on top of melted kiss. top with an additional kiss. place back in oven 1 more minute.  Remove to cooler racks to cool.
 

Teriyaki pulled pork sandwiches- Crockpot

 3/4 cup DR Pepper
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1 can chunk pineapple with juice
3/4 cup Teriyaki sauce or Teriyaki marinade
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 pork shoulder
Garlic powder
Italian seasoning
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Line 6 quart crock pot with liner.   Season pork shoulder with garlic powder and Italian seasoning.  Brown in olive oil in a skillet on stove until all sides are seared.  Meanwhile mix- Dr. pepper, soy sauce, brown sugar, pineapple chunks with juice and teriyaki sauce in crock pot.   After browning pork shoulder, add to crock pot.  Cook on high the first 2 hours and then lower to low for another 6 to 8 hours.
When pork is falling apart, remove from crock pot.  Drain sauce in colander, into another container to reserve juice. Also reserve pineapple in another container.    Add ice cubes to sauce and fish out any solid fats that rise.  After getting rid of most of the fat, put juice back in crock pot, turn to high and make a slurry with corn starch and some cold water.  Add to sauce, whisk and reheat for about 30 minutes,  Add pineapple and shredded pork, and serve on buns.

KFC coleslaw.. Knockoff.. with a few of my own added tweaks

Ingredients: green is my own tweaks!!
1 bag of coleslaw mix
1 bag of shredded carrot
Dressing ingredients:
2 tablespoons of finely grated onion {original recipe said finely minced, but I don't like raw onion unless its grated}.

1/8 cup to 1/4 cup of chopped finely- bell pepper- any color

2 1/ tablespoons of lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons of vinegar
1/2 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of ground pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup buttermilk[ I was out- so mix 1/4 cup of milk with 1/4 tsp of lemon juice or white vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes.]
1/2 cup mayo
1/3 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons of lemon zest

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Mix carrot and cabbage in large bowl.

In separate bowl mix, onion, bell peppers, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, milk, buttermilk, mayo, lemon zest, sugar and lemon zest.

Pour over cabbage carrot mixture, mix well and cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Mix again before serving or dressing will all settle at bottom of bowl. 

Orange soda meatballs

 Meatball Ingredients
2 pounds of ground meat(beef- chicken- pork or turkey.. your choice)
1 egg
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced celery
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic
1/4 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
1/2 cup of saltines crushed into fine crumbs

Sauce Ingredients
2 cups of diet orange soda
2 cups of ketchup
2 tablespoons of Stir Fry Sauce
1 tablespoon of Soy Sauce
1/4 cup of diced onion
1/4 cup of diced- red or green or yellow sweet peppers

Rice or noodles
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Mix all meatball ingredients in a small bowl.  Brown in a mixture of oil and butter.. turning to brown evenly.
Meanwhile mix ingredients for sauce. Pour over meatballs.  Simmer covered for 15 to 20 minutes, lowering temp if the sauce seems to cook too quickly.   Serve over rice or noodles.

Spud Nut Doughnuts!!

Ingredients:
2 1/4 tsp of yeast
1/ cup of warm water
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup of unsalted butter- cut into small cubes
2 cups of scalded milk
1 cup of Mashed Potatoes
2 beaten eggs
6 to 7 cups of flour.... I ended up using  8!!

Put yeast into warm water.  Add salt sugar and shortening to scalded milk and let cool slightly. Add Mashed potatoes, egg, yeast and flour to mixing bowl.  Mix until combined.  Knead lightly adding flour as needed.  This makes a really soft, some what sticky dough.
Place in oiled bowl and let rise in warm place till doubled.

On lightly floured board roll dough and cut into 1/2 inch spud nuts.  Let dough rise for 1 hour. 

Fry in deep fat 350 degree's. Glaze with mixture made with  2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla and a little warm milk. I did 1/2 with glaze and 1/2 with cinnamon sugar combo. This Recipe made 62 doughnuts, but it depends on size you cut out. 

Yummy Egg Rolls!!!

1 bag of cole slaw mix
2 cups shredded carrots
2 red or green or yellow bell peppers diced
3 cooked chicken breasts chopped
1/4 cup of soy sauce-divided into 2-1/8 cups
1/4 cup stir fry sauce-divided into 2- 1/8 cups
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 pkgs egg roll wraps
oil for frying egg rolls
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Cook chicken by boiling on stove until cooked through.  You can use canned chicken as well, or leftover chicken from another meal.  Dice chicken into very small bite size pieces.  pour 1/8 cup of soy sauce and 1/8 cup of stir fry sauce over chicken. Toss chicken to coat.  I did this at lunch time and let it marinate in mixture until dinner time.
In large bowl combine, coleslaw mix, carrots, and bell peppers.  Mix1/8 cup of stir fry sauce, 1/8 cup of soy sauce, sugar and salt in a smaller bowl. pour over vegetable mixture.  Toss to coat, let it sit covered for about 15 to 20 minutes to break down vegetables.  It will appear quite dry at first but as it sits more liquid gathers in the bottom.  Continue to toss, add chicken. 

Open all of your egg roll wrappers and set them where you will be rolling the egg rolls.  Using a small bowl of water, dip your fingers in the water and coat the inside of egg rolls.  Be careful not to use too much water or they will "pop" in the oil.
 Place a small amount of veggie.chicken mixture in the corner of the wrap.  Be careful not to add too much to the wrapper or they will break, about a tablespoon full.
 Fold up the corner over the mixture, pinch the bottom 2 edges to seal them together. fold the now take the left and right sides and fold over the middle.  Now roll tightly like a burrito.  Fry them in the pan until they are golden brown and drain on paper towels.

I made home made sweet and sour sauce.
1 1/2 Tablespoons of cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of pineapple juice
1/4 cup of water.
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan, whisking to combine. Bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes.  If it seems too thick add more pineapple juice a tablespoon at a time till the desired thickness.  You can also add red food coloring if you like the traditional "red" sweet and sour sauce.

 

My Rissotto style LO MEIN

Okay, I doubt this is true Lo mein, but its my version!!

Ingredients:
1 onion diced
4 stalks of celery diced
4 carrots sliced diagonally
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon butter
8 cups of water
4 chicken bouillon cubes
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 cups of dry broken spaghetti noodles
6 strips of bacon
3 chicken breasts- sliced into bit size chunks
sliced chunk ed ham- deli style or ham steaks.. whatever you have on hand
1 cup of frozen peas
granulated garlic powder
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melt butter in large fry pan. add oil.  Brown onions, celery and carrots until onions and celery are soft.
In the meanwhile in a separate pan bring water to boil with bouillon cubes.
add broken spaghetti to vegetable mixture.  Add boiling broth 1cup to 1 1/2 cups at a time to spaghetti vegetable mixture.  Stir and boil off liquid.  When liquid is almost gone in spaghetti mixture, add more same measurements. Keep adding stock, stirring and boiling down until carrots are cooked and pasta is cooked through. You may not use all the broth.
Meanwhile in another small fry pan, cook bacon until crispy, drain on paper towels.  Add another tablespoon of butter to fry pan.  Brown chicken in oil. Don't crowd the pan you may have to do in several batches.  Drain chicken on paper towels.   Add chopped ham to any left over oil in chicken/bacon pan.  Brown until its the desired color you like.  Add the frozen peas to ham and stir fry till peas are heated through.  Add Chicken, ham, peas and crumbled bacon to spaghetti mixture.  Sprinkle with garlic powder to taste and stir until all is combined.
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I think it turned out yummy.  I added all the meat to keep the protein count a little higher.  The peas add protein as well.  You could also use pork chops instead of chicken.  Or whole wheat pasta.

Semi Home made Chicken Parmesan

Ok.. I really hate that cook on the TV Food network who does the whole "Semi Home made" thing.. But how else do you describe food that you have cooked that you made with some store bought products and your own love?

So I am "borrowing" her terminology, even though I think the woman is KOOKOO for KOKOPUFFS!!

The Ingredients for the chicken:
Shake and Bake Parmesan Crusted
3 Table spoons of Parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon of oregano
2 tsp. of garlic powder
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves.
Shredded Mozzerella Cheese

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Veg or olive oil
 1 onion diced
1/2 green pepper diced
2 small cans of mushrooms
garlic powder
Italian Seasoning
1 can of diced tomato's
1 can of Ragu Pizza sauce- or you can use your fav. bottled sauce.  Thats all I had in the pantry.
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Empty shake and bake seasoning crumbs into bag provided. Add Parmesan cheese, Oregano,2 tsp of garlic powder and shake till blended.  Shake each piece of chicken in crumbs as directed on box.  Bake in foil lined pan for 20 minutes at 400F for 20 minutes or until Chicken is done {165F}

While chicken is baking, melt butter and oil in a saucepan.  Add diced onion and green peppers and cook on low heat till soft.  Add mushrooms and sprinkle with garlic powder to taste.  Cook till mushrooms are heated through and add tomatoes and Italian seasoning.  I smashed the tomatoes with a fork as they cooked so it would be saucier.  Add the Pizza sauce to onion mixture during the last 5 minutes of chicken baking.  Spoon over the top of Crusted chicken and top with grated mozzerella cheese.  Bake for 5 minutes more.
I spooned osme of the leftover sauce onto the plate and then topped with the chicken breast. I also added some "not Home made pasta" to the meal.  I just cooked the Pasta Roni brand- Garlic and Olive oil Vermicelli as directed on the box.
It was yummy!!
Especially with my fresh bread!!

sour dough bread starter

I am trying my hand at sour dough bread making.  I found a recipe for sourdough starter last Monday and started fermenting it on my counter.    Early this morning I added 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of barely warm water to the starter.  I am hoping to be able to make my own loaves on Sunday or Monday.    I will post a recipe if this works!!  I have been googling all kinds of  methods and recipes and mostly its a matter of letting your "pet" ferment and "feeding " it. 
Its an interesting process.
If any one out there has already attempted this with some success, I would love to hear about your process and recipe!!
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OK Sunday afternoon and here is the finished product!!

It is not as "sour" as I wanted, but I have also read that this takes time.  You can't expect a "sour" sour dough bread on the first run of your Sour dough starter.  But I mixed up the bread last night and put it out to raise about 10:30 pm.  Went to bed.  I woke up around 2 am and it had doubled in size.  I punched it down, and went back to bed.  I punched it down again around 6:30 am,  Kneaded in about 3/4 more of a cup of flour. You do this to give the bread a little more "food" so it can rise again.  the reason you give it so much of a longer time to raise, is it can take longer with no "store bought" yeast in the dough.  You are using naturally occurring yeast and that takes a little more time.

Made it into a loaf.  Covered it with a damp towel and then a dry towel On top of that. Placed it  on my baking sheet with a silpat underneath to prevent sticking.
Went to Ward council and came home for a few minutes around 10:15 am and it had spread out of proportion on the pan. so I punched it down again. Rolled it more tightly this time and when we got home around 2:45 I started it in a cold oven at 350 f. and baked for 45 minutes.  I spread butter over the top and baked for 10 minutes more and then let it finish on a cooling rack for 30 minutes.
I think its pretty good for my first try!!

Okay here is the link to guy who I got the starter recipe from.
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm

This is the recipe I used because I didn't have any whole wheat flour in the house, and The guy above uses that in his recipes.
Link to her page.http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/FrenchSourDoughII.htm

San Francisco-Style Sourdough French Bread - Version II
1 1/2 cups sourdough starter, room temperature*
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons lukewarm water (110 degrees F.)
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil {I used Veg Oil.. didn't have olive oil in the house.}
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 cups bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour**
Cornmeal-{i didn't use this as the Silpat or silicone mat worked great!!}


** The thickness of your sourdough starter can determine how much flour needs to be used. If you think the dough is too moist, add additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is looking dry and gnarly. Add warm water (a tablespoon at a time).{ I ended up using almost a 3/4 cup of flour more because mine looked too wet. }

Standup Mixer Recipe:

In a large bowl or in the bowl of a 5-quart stand mixer, add all the ingredients except cornmeal. Using dough hook, mix everything together into a uniform dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead until elastic, about 15 minutes. NOTE: In an electric mixer, it should take about 9 minutes.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. 

After resting, knead dough (see kneading tips below) on a lightly-floured board by pulling the dough towards you and then pushing down and forward with the palms of your hands (kneading gives the bread the elasticity and lets it rise).

Kneading Dough Hints & Tips:

Lightly dust your work surface with all-purpose flour or bread flour. Place a small mound or a measuring cup of flour near the work surface as you will use this flour to sprinkle over the dough as you knead to prevent sticking. Also lightly dust your hands with flour to keep the dough from sticking to you.

Gather the dough into a rough ball and place on your floured work surface.

When you knead, you will use only the heels of your hands. Push down on dough with your hand heels.

Fold the dough in half. Turn the dough about 45 degrees and knead with your hand heels again. Continue to knead, fold and turn the dough for the required length of time or to the consistency suggested. I usually knead the dough around 5 minutes. Well-kneaded dough should feel smooth and elastic. Press your fingertip into the dough; it should spring back.
 

Place the dough in a lightly-oiled large bowl. Place a damp towel over the bowl and then cover with plastic wrap (the humidity in the bowl helps in the rising process). Let rise until it doubles in volume (when you can put your finger in the dough and it leaves and indentation and doesn't spring back out) approximately 4 to 8 hours (depending on the temperature and the starter used, the rising time can vary as much as 2 hours). 

Oven Bread Rising: Sometimes I use my oven for the rising. Turn the oven on for a minute or so, then turn it off again. This will warm the oven and make it a great environment for rising bread. If you can't comfortably press your hand against the inside of the oven door, the oven is too hot. Let it stand open to cool a bit. Sourdough rises more slowly than yeast bread; Always remember, the longer the rise time, the more sourdough flavor.
Cool or Refrigerator Bread Rise: If I don't have the time to wait for the rise to finish or I know that I will be interrupted before the completed rise, I do a cool rise. A cool rise is when the dough is place in the refrigerator and left to rise slowly over night approximately 8 to 12 hours. I usually do this after the first rise and the dough has been shaped into a loaf. As this is a longer rise time, it improves the sourdough flavor in your finished bread.
After dough has risen, remove from bowl, and place on a lightly-floured board. Knead in flour to feed it one more time before baking.
Shape dough into a loaf shape and place on a cookie sheet that is dusted with cornmeal or use the Silicone Baking Mats. I personally recommend that you use the Silicone Baking Mats as nothing sticks to them.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 to 3 hours.
Do not preheat oven - place bread in your oven; turn oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until nicely browned.  {I ended up baking for 10 minutes more because it didn't seem brown enough.. it was done at that point. I also brushed with butter the last 10 minutes because, well I love butter!!}
Remove the bread from oven and place the bread on a wire cooling rack to cool. Let baked loaf cool for 30 minutes before cutting (this is because the bread is still cooking while it is cooling).
Makes 1 large loaf.