Praline French Toast Casserole

We knew well ahead of time that the Big Chubb wouldn't be going to school at his normal time today (Tuesday) due to the cold cold weather. Monday it was so cold, that I decided we needed to use the oven more to heat the apartment up some, and while searching for recipes, I came across this one, which I had been saving so that Big Chubb could enjoy eating it with us.

It is from Paula Deen.

8 eggs
1 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
10 to 12 slices soft bread, 1 inch thick

Topping:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup backed light brown sugar
2/3 cup maple sugar
2 cups chopped pecans

1. Generously butter a 13x9 inch pan.
2. Mix the eggs, half-and-half, maple syrup, and sugar in a bowl. Place the bread slices in the prepared casserole dish and cover with the egg mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and let soak overnight in the refrigerator.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from the refrigerator.
4. Make the topping: Melt butter in a saucepan. Add the sugar and maple syrup and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the pecans. Pur the mixture over the bread and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 8

I will admit, I didn't follow the recipe exactly because I wasn't going to go and buy half-and-half and pecans. Plus, I used up some cinnamon swirl bread I had made a few days earlier.

I turned out okay. I didn't care for the nuts (I used walnuts instead) because they tasted like they had burnt in the oven. And, the butter I used for the topping had a very slight taste of freezer that I felt like it hadn't been completely hidden by all the rest of the goodness in the topping.

Big Chubb liked it and Little Chubb ate one piece before he threw a fit about drinking his orange juice.

White Chocolate Cherry Shortbread Cookies

Sorry for the bad picture

I thought these cookies were ideal Christmas cookies, so I made them for the masses while in Wisconsin.  I think they got a pretty good rating from those who ate them.  Shortbread cookies are always delicious and adding white chocolate and cherry chunks made them even better. I left the paper recipe at Mom and Dad's but it is the same as this recipe, from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter
• 4 ounces white baking chocolate, finely chopped (about 2/3 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• White candy coating or additional white baking chocolate for dipping
• Sprinkles for decorating, optional

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spread the chopped cherries on paper towels to drain well.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the drained cherries and chopped white chocolate. Stir in the almond extract and enough reserved juice to form a smooth ball. Gradually add a tablespoon of the juice at a time and mix with your hands until the dough comes together.
3. Shape the dough into 1- or 2-inch balls. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.   Using the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in sugar, flatten the balls to about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick.
4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the centers are set. Cool for a minute or two on the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, dip the cookies in melted white chocolate (or white candy coating) and before they set roll the edges in sprinkles. Let the chocolate set before stacking or serving. The cookies can be made, dipped (if desired) then covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese ala Alton Brown

Before Christmas, I was looking for a pretty quick homey dish to make, and this one was the winner.

Ingredients

1/2 pound elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
6 ounces evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
10 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

Directions

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Return to the pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

It was pretty easy to make. I had to run to the school and get Ben and Russell, so I cooked the macaroni, tossed it with the butter and then mixed the next set of ingredients together. Then when we got back 5 minutes later, I mixed finished the recipe.

I cooked it a little longer just to make sure that the eggs got cooked. We all liked it. The consistency was just what I wanted, and the taste was almost just what I wanted. I would add less/different hot sauce if I made it again.

I know it isn't the awesome mac-n-cheese recipe Mom loves, but it was pretty darn close (and used less cheese).

Fondue For You

I volunteered to cook meals for Christmas Day. Since we usually have the big meal on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day was wide open for any food I pleased. For my wellness challenge, I was supposed to eat three meals a day (harder than it seems if you're pregnant), so this also helped me to be sure to eat meals.

For breakfast I made a non-Cupboard Project recipe that was very good (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/the-ultimate-breakfast-for-dinner-sausage-and-spinach-egg-strata-recipe/index.html) along with fruit soup. Yum! They were great, and there were leftovers for the next morning. I thought about making cinnamon rolls or French toast, but it was for Christmas morning, when I generally gorge on candy and sweets. This was a nice alternative.

For dinner I made two fondue recipes from a Taste of Home magazine. It made a nice easy-to-eat meal for a group.



Pizza Fondue

TOTAL TIME: Prep/Total Time: 25 min.
MAKES: 22 servings
Ingredients
1/2 pound ground beef
 1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
 1 medium onion, chopped
 1 garlic clove, minced
 1 tablespoon cornstarch
 1-1/2 teaspoons fennel seed
 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
 2 cans (15 ounces each) pizza sauce
 2-1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
 2 tablespoons chopped ripe olives
 Breadsticks, bagel chips, baked pita chips and/or tortilla chips

Nutritional Facts
1/4 cup (calculated without breadsticks, bagel chips, baked pita chips or tortilla chips) equals 97 calories, 6 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 23 mg cholesterol, 222 mg sodium, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 7 g protein.

Directions
In a large skillet, cook the beef, mushrooms and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in the cornstarch, fennel, oregano and garlic powder until blended. Stir in pizza sauce.
Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Gradually stir in cheeses until melted. Stir in olives. Keep warm.
Serve with breadsticks, bagel chips, pita chips and/or tortilla chips. Yield: 5-1/2 cups.
Originally published as Pizza Fondue in Taste of Home December/January 2008, p49

For this one, we decided to leave out the meat since we had already eaten meat at like every meal. I made some breadsticks to go along with this, and it really did taste like pizza when you dipped a breadstick in the dip. I think it was too hot when I put the cheese in because some of the cheddar cheese cooked instead of melted. It still tasted good.

Super Sausage Dip

TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. Cook: 35 min.
MAKES: 40 servings
Ingredients
1 pound bulk pork sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
1 package (8 ounces) PHILADELPHIA® Cream Cheese, cubed
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
Tortilla chips

Directions
In a large skillet, cook the sausage, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Stir in tomatoes and chilies. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add cream cheese; stir until melted. Stir in sour cream; heat through. (Do not boil.) Transfer to a fondue pot and keep warm. Serve with chips. Yield: 5 cups.
Originally published as Super Sausage Dip in Taste of Home December/January 2008, p49

I think most people liked this one better. At least, more of it was gone. We had tortilla chips and pita chips to dip (and the breadsticks). Dad also liked this dip cold.

Twice Baked Potato Casserole

It's the holiday season.  That means vacation to the parents, which in turn means more recipes posted here.  I am too poor/cheap to buy special ingredients needed in a lot of these recipes, but Mom isn't.  So today we had this potato casserole.  I've been wanting it for a long time and it goes well with the ham we had.  It was rich and tasty, but we all decided it was incredibly similar to your average funeral potatoes with extra calories.  So I don't think I would spend the extra money to buy all the ingredients.  Still Good though.

Ingredients:

10 large russet baking potatoes
8 tablespoons, plus one tablespoon butter, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 t salt
1.5 t pepper
3/4 lbs. bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
1/2 lb. sharp white cheddar, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 lb. mild cheddar, grated, 3 cups
1/2 cup finely cut green onions
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400.  Scrub potatoes well and rinse under cool running water.  Pat dry with paper towels and prick potatoes in several places with a fork.  Place potatoes in oven and bake for one hour to one hour 15 minutes, or until tender.  Remove from oven and cool enough to handle.
When potatoes have cooled, cut each potatoes in half and, using a spoon or melon baller, scoop flesh out of the skins, leaving as little flesh as possible.  Place potato flesh in large bowl and add 1 stick butter, sour cream, heavy cream, salt, pepper and mash chunky smooth.  Add bacon, cubed white cheddar, half of grated cheese, onions, eggs and mix thoroughly.

Butter a 9x13 casserole with remaining T of butter and reduce oven to 375.  Place seasoned potato mixture in prepared casserole and top with remaining grated Cheddar.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly around the edges and heated through and the cheese on top is melted and lightly golden.  Serve hot.

Peanut Butter Paisley Bars

We needed a little pre-Thanksgiving snack a few days ago, so I whipped up these bars.

Peanut Butter Paisley Bars

1/2 c butter
1/4 c peanut butter
1 c sugar
1 c packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 t vanilla
2 c flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/2 c chocolate syrup

Blend butter and peanut. Add sugars; mix well. Add eggs; beat well. Add vanilla. Add mixed dry ingredients. Spread half in a greased 13x9 pan. Spoon syrup on top. Spread remaining batter. Swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 degrees 35-40 minutes.

These were good. I'm not a huge peanut butter bar fan. Apparently C is. Once I caught her on top of the table helping herself and going "nom, nom, nom" as she chowed down. The chocolate syrup made them pretty, but it was kind of hard to taste any chocolate in there. I think I would have liked chocolate chips better, but then they wouldn't be paisley bars.

Not the Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

First thing's first:
Everyone in my family needs a cutesy blog name for when I mention them.  My inspiration comes from the SHAYTARDS (thanks Mom).  And I know at least one other author of this blog calls her husband and child Big Chub and Little Chub, respectively.  So I feel the pull to virtually name my husband and child.  I have previously referred to my husband as the Hungry Runner Boy, so I guess I'll keep that for him, but what name should I have for the new little one?  I need suggestions.

Anyway.

We all had a hankering for chocolate chip cookies (we've eaten our way through a ridiculous number of treats since the baby came), so one evening when I felt particularly peppy I whipped these up.  I doubt they will be making their way onto your table any time soon, because there are many choco chip cookie recipes far better than these.  They were a kind of weird mix between being a chewy cookie and being a cakey cookie and weren't rich enough for me.  But they were a cookie, so I still ate five as soon as they came out of the oven.

Not the Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookie

(They were nameless, so I named them)

4 C flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 1/2 C butter
1 1/4 C sugar
1 1/4 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 T vanilla
3 C mixed chips

375 degrees
ungreased.

I cooked them for 10-12 minutes.