Food Friday - Eggstravaganza

from Kris B.

When me girls were little and we had all of those dyed hard-boiled Easter eggs, I remember being so happy when I had eaten the final deviled egg and egg salad sandwich!  Those were the only things that I knew to do with the eggs once they had been hunted and were no longer  of interest to the kids and I didn’t want them to go to waste.  I wish that I had discovered Scotch eggs back then!  They would have provided me with another alternative and my non-vegetarian child would have enjoyed them.

What I’m sharing with you is more of a process than a specific recipe.  The process involves cooking eggs somewhere between soft and hard boiled, covering them in sausage seasoned somehow, then coating them in some crispy carbohydrate, and then cooking them somehow.  I’ll tell you how I did them, but know that there are variations that you may want to try.

INGREDIENTS

5 eggs

1 pound bulk sausage

1/2 finely diced yellow onion

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup fine bread, cracker, or corn flake crumbs

1/2 panko

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Hard boil four of the eggs.

Finely dice the onion and in a medium combine with the sausage.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Divide into 4 equal parts and flatten into patties.

Carefully peel the cooked eggs.  Pat them dry with a paper towel.  Dredge the eggs in the flour, then place each one on a sausage patty.  Wrap the sausage around the eggs, completely closing the seams.  

Whisk the fifth egg.   Dip each sausage covered egg in the beaten egg and then dredge them in the bread crumbs covering completely.  Then again dip them in the egg and this time coat them in the panko.

Place the eggs on a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the sausage is cooked through and contains no pink.  Turn the eggs over two or three times during the cooking process to achieve crisping on all sides.  Traditional Scotch eggs are deep fried.  I’m not a fan of deep fat frying anything so I baked mine.  This is one of the reasons that I double dipped the coating.  I wanted them to be as crispy as if they had been fried.

Serve immediately.  Or, let the eggs cool to room temperature and then freeze them in a plastic freezer bag.  To reheat, place on a baking sheet in a 375 degree oven or toaster oven for 25 minutes.  I would not advise reheating in the microwave.  

Scotch eggs are delicious served with your favorite mustard or mustard mixed with a bit of mayonnaise.

You may wish to season your sausage with a little thyme or rosemary.  You can also use this same recipe and deep fry your Scotch eggs if you wish.

from Tracey G

I love breakfast/brunch casseroles. I love the idea of preparing something the night before, throwing it into the fridge to sit overnight and it comes out ready to be baked the next morning. Talk about making a morning easy with just a small amount of effort the night before! So, these things are always popular with me for holidays. Especially the big ones, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Those are the mornings when there is so much going on, it's a nice convenience to be able to just throw breakfast (or brunch) in the oven and let it cook while you attend to other things, be it hunting Easter Eggs, prepping turkeys for the oven or opening Christmas presents. These kinds of things help take one more thing off your to-do list!

I have run across a lot of recipes through the years, and I'm always willing to try a new one, generally the combination of ingredients are ones you know you can't go wrong with. I found the original recipe for this at Taste Of Home, which can be found here: Farmer's Strata, and used it as a basic guide for my own twists.

Some of my tweaks were for convenience - as in I had a certain ingredient I wanted to use up AND it was already prepped, then some were for my tastes and preferences - for example I don't like soggy bacon, so instead of adding to cook in the strata, I decided to use it as a topping. It worked wonderfully, and kept it's integrity! But I was really pleased with what I ended up with by the time I got to eat it! There was only one thing I'd do differently, add more potatoes, I used 2 cups, but they could easily have been increased to 3 or 4!

Breakfast Strata

1 lb sliced bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 c chopped fully cooked ham (I used Smithfield brand fully cooked ham cubes for convenience)

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely minced

10 slices white bread, cubed

2 c cubed frozen hashbrown potatoes, thawed

3 c (12 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

8 large eggs

3 c milk

1 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tsp ground mustard

dash of salt and pepper

1) In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove from pan and set aside. Add onions, ham and garlic, and cook until onions are tender. Remove from pan and set aside. Add hashbrown potatoes and cook until tender, set aside.

2) In a greased 13x9-inch baking dish, layer half of the bread cubes, potatoes and cheese. Top with all of the ham/onion/garlic mixture. Repeat layers of bread, potatoes and cheese.

3) In a large bowl, beat the eggs; add milk, Worcestershire sauce, ground mustard, salt and pepper. Pour over all. Cover the pan and chill it and the cooked bacon overnight.

4) Remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake uncovered for about 65-70 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. About the last 10 minutes of cooking, top with the reserved cooked bacon to reheat and re-crisp.

Food Friday - Eggs Benedict Two Ways

From Kris B.

I have to say that although I love the look of dyed Easter eggs, I have never really liked doing the actually dying.  After the third or fourth year of coloring eggs with my girls, it seemed like way more trouble than it was worth.  Call me a bad mother…I’m just keeping things here real and honest.  That said, I do miss having all of the hard boiled eggs around to eat in the week after Easter.  I love egg salad, but because it is not the healthiest of salads, I don't make it very often.   I always looked forward to the excuse, “something has to be done with all of those easter eggs.”  

The real truth is that I love eggs, any kind of eggs - hard boiled, scrambled, as an omelet, quiche, casseroles - you name it.  If it contains eggs,  I like it.  

This may be why breakfast is my favorite meal.  Given a choice, I would eat breakfast three times a day...maybe not eggs at every meal, but some kind of breakfast food.  I don't think I will ever tire of oatmeal, pancakes, French toast, waffles, bacon, grits, hash browns…Have I ever mentioned that I am a carbohydrate addict?  If I haven’t, it should be quite obvious by what I have just said here. LOL.  Surprisingly though , I don't care for anything super sweet for breakfast.  Doughnuts or sweet rolls are never my first choice in the morning.

The problem with most standard breakfast fare is, that with the exception of an omelet stuffed with vegetables, breakfast is usually a veggie free zone.  That is the downside of my love of breakfast as an anytime meal.  I’ll almost always have some kind of fruit with my breakfast meals.  As good a thing as that is, it still is not vegetables.  Over the years, I have worked to find recipes that incorporate vegetables into some of my favorite breakfast meals, especially those that I often like to make for dinner.

Eggs Florentine is full of all the things I love - spinach, cheese, English muffin, and of course…eggs!  

The cheese comes from the fact that rather than being topped with the traditional Hollandaise sauce that usually accompanies Eggs Benedict, this recipe uses a cheese sauce.  It is super tasty and super easy.  Eggs Florentine make a great weeknight dinner as well as breakfast.

INGREDIENTS

8 Cups of fresh spinach  (I use 2 bags of the baby spinach available at the grocery store.  Of course, spinach from your           garden would be even better.  In a pinch, frozen spinach is an option as well.)

3 TBS butter

3 TBS flour

1 1/4 Cups low-fat milk

1 Cup freshly grated asiago cheese (Or, any kind of cheese that you like or have on hand.)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 TBS vinegar

4 English muffins

8 large eggs

Steam the spinach.  I use a rice cooker/steamer, but any method works.

To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat.  

Whisk in the flour.  Continue to whisk as you add the milk.  Once the mixture begins to thicken, add the desired amounts of salt and pepper and then the cheese.  

)I realize that you guys probably don't need to see photos to know how to whisk together ingredients.  I included these two photos because I have discovered that I have a weird fascination with photographing whisks.  They are really cool in terms of their shape and the shadows that they cast.  Before you laugh at me, try it.)

Stir until the cheese is melted.  Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

For the poached eggs, fill a skillet with with about 2 inches of water and add the vinegar.  Bring the water to a boil.  

The eggs should be cooked one or two at a time.  I have found it most efficient to crack one egg into a small prep bowl and pour from there.

Once the water is boiling, create a “whirling” motion in the water by swirling a spoon around and then quickly place an egg in the whirling water without breaking the egg's yolk..  The whirling motion keeps the egg white from spreading in the water.  You still may need to use a spatula to push stray parts of the egg back.  Cover the pan for 2-3 minutes until egg whites are firm.  Remove the egg to a plate with a large slotted spatula.  Repeat this process for the desired number of eggs.  If necessary, eggs can be rewarmed by placing them briefly back into the boiling water.

In the meantime, toast the English muffins.  If you are feeling decadent, and are not worried about extra calories, butter the muffins before toasting.

To assemble the Eggs Florentine, place two muffin halves on each plate.  Top each half with  a spoonful spinach, an egg, and drizzle with cheese sauce.

Add a side a fruit for a colorful and healthy addition to this meal.  If you have serious carnovires in your home, the traditional Canadian bacon found on Eggs Benedict can be added to the Eggs Florentine.  Bacon or sausage can also be served as sides.

from Tracey G

I've come to love - and I mean love, Eggs Benedict. And it was a love I've come to just recently, well, not like "yesterday" recent, but in the past 10+ years or so. I must also say from the get-go: I've never made homemade Hollandaise sauce. When I make this at home, I *gasp* use a packaged mix. I've had it out in a lot of places, and I can honestly say I love the Knorr mix for when I make it at home. It's rivaled the restaurant versions I've experienced, so I figure I might as well go the fool-proof easy way. But again, if you've a recipe that you love for Hollandaise, by all means use it! I choose the mix, because for me, it gives the same yummy experience with less work and fuss. 

Speaking of less work and fuss - I was delighted when I ran across this recipe. It's a pretty handy recipe for when I'm not wanting to take the time to make it the traditional way, by means of poaching the eggs, preparing the bacon and so forth. This is also wonderful for when you need to have or just want to have something put together ahead of time - this is perfect as you make it the night before and bake it off the next day. It's great for a breakfast or brunch on holidays or any day you want to have a nice breakfast/brunch the following morning! The other lovely thing - it couldn't be easier! It's so simple and fast to throw together you're hardly spending any time to get it ready. And truth be told, from a girl who loves and lives for sauces of all kinds, I even like it without the sauce on it, lol. First day it's great with the sauce of course, but by the 2nd day - officially left-over day - it's pretty tasty without it, lol. :-) For me, there's one more bonus - Harry likes it, well, without the sauce, lol. ;-)

The ingredients for the casserole are pretty simple: English muffins, Canadian bacon, eggs and not pictured - milk, onion powder and paprika. That's it. 

The prep work is simple and minimal - cut the English muffins in approximately one inch pieces, and chop up the Canadian bacon.

Crack your eggs and measure your milk...

Grease a 9x13" baking dish, layer half of the chopped Canadian bacon on the bottom, then top with the cut-up English muffins.Sprinkle the remaining Canadian bacon on top.

Combine the milk with the eggs, and add your teaspoon of onion powder. Whisk it all together until eggs are beaten and it's all combined well. Once you get that done, pour the egg, milk and onion powder mixture evenly over the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When you are ready to bake it, preheat your oven to 375 F. Take the casserole out of the refrigerator while the oven heats, sprinkle with the paprika. Bake covered, 35 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10-15 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. 

Now is the time, while the casserole is "resting", to make your sauce, either homemade or packaged mix, and serve it with the casserole. 

This recipe sure makes having a yummy breakfast easy and fuss-free!! 

Eggs Benedict Casserole

Makes 12 ServingsPrep time: 25 min + chilling Bake: 45 min

6 English Muffins, split and cut into 1" pieces

12 oz. Canadian Bacon, chopped

8 eggs

2 c milk (I use 2%)

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp paprika

1or 2 packages Hollandaise sauce mix or 1 batch homemade Hollandaise sauce

1) Layer half the Canadian bacon in a greased 9x13" pan, top with the cut up English muffins and then the remaining Canadian bacon.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and onion powder. Pour over top of the muffins and bacon. Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

3) Preheat oven to 375F. While the oven heats, remove the casserole from the refrigerator, and sprinkle the paprika on top. Cover and bake 35 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. 

4) Prepare Hollandaise sauce and serve with casserole. 

Enjoy! 

Food Friday - Spring Sweet Treats

from Kris B.

What's that saying, “Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.” or something like that…That phrase seems to sum up where i have been this week. Tuesday I wrote about being “grown-up” but still being most comfortable in my Converse, not much different from forty years ago, and today it is my favorite ingredients for treats.  No matter how old I get, I will never outgrow my love of two childhood favorites - peanut butter and graham crackers.  And when you combine those two things with a little chocolate, the kid in me couldn’t be happier.

Neither of our recipes this week are diet friendly, but they sure do taste good!  What is Easter or Passover without a bit of a sweet treat?  And homemade candy sure is a lot better than those bags from the store!  Another plus to this week’s recipes is that they are simple, simple, simple!

As a church musician, this is the busiest week of services of the entire year.  Our choir rehearsed on Monday evening and then we have seven services to sing between Wednesday evening and Sunday afternoon. Come Monday morning, Jesus may be risen, but church musicians and clergy are pretty much dead!  (I did miss singing last night’s service because we had plumbing issues at home, but that is a whole other story!)

Back to the graham crackers, peanut butter and chocolate…and a few more basic ingredients…

Other than melting some butter and chocolate chips in the microwave, this recipe requires no cooking.  I told you it was easy!  

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER SQUARES

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup Graham cracker crumbs

2 sticks melted butter

1 Cup chunky peanut butter

3 3/4 Cups powdered sugar

1 bag of chocolate chips

Combine the Graham crackers, peanut butter, melted butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl. 

Once mixed, use your hands to pat the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish.  Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave.  I did it in 45 second increments and I believe it took three rounds.  Watch the chocolate carefully though as all microwaves are a little different and you don’t want the chocolate to burn.  Once melted, use a spatula to spread the melted chocolate in a thin layer over the Graham cracker mixture.  

Place the pan in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.  Once set, remove from the refrigerator and allow to return to room temperature,  Cut into once inch squares.

The squares can also be frozen and saved if you are not up to eating the whole pan on Easter Sunday!

from Tracey G

With Easter approaching, candy - or some form of sweet treat, seemed like a good idea. But, as I was to be out of town, I needed something easy to do while Harry and I were visiting Grandma and Grandpa for the week ;-) My brain settled on Chocolate Covered Marshmallows on a stick, they seemed like a good choice on all counts, easy and yummy! I then had to think, how am I going to present them, that was a little more tricky than the actual coming up with the idea of what I wanted make, so a trip to Michael's was in order! :-) I had bought some wooden skewers to use for the sticks, but they weren't very pretty so I picked up some blue polka-dotted paper straws and some green-striped paper straws to slip over the wooden skewer. It wasn't until after I bought them that I wondered if they'd actually fit over the skewers, lol. Thank goodness they did! Then I found the pretty green ceramic mason jar with the word "Hope" on it which seemed very Easter-appropriate, spiritual or not, there's all kinds of hope going on at this time of year. :-) So, I had the jar, I then found some paper Easter grass to fill the jar, so that I could stick the marshmallows in and make a bouquet - presentation solved! And it was pretty too, would make a great way to give them as a gift, which in fact we did while we were there, with another container filled with the grass and our pretty little marshmallow bouquet arranged. ;-)

The actual "recipe" is easy as could be, ingredients were minimal to say the least, lol. You need 1 cup of chocolate chips, I tbsp vegetable shortening, marshmallows, sprinkles of choice and skewers. These could be done anytime, for any holiday by just varying the colors and whatnot. I used pretty much a whole regular-sized bag of regular-sized marshmallows and had plenty of chocolate to do them - there was only a few marshmallows missing due to the quality-control checking that Harry and I did. ;-)

The first thing I did, was get the marshmallows on the sticks, that was the more time-consuming (if it can be called that, lol) aspect of the project. 

Then I got my various sprinkles put into little bowls for easy dipping. I discovered that smaller sprinkles looked prettier than the larger ones, so I only did a few with the bigger sprinkles before I decided to just stick with the other two.

Now was time to get the chocolate melted. I combined 1 cup of chocolate chips in a measuring cup along with the 1 tbsp of vegetable shortening. I couldn't tell you how long I microwaved them until they were melted, as the microwave I used had a chocolate melting setting, lol, so I used that. But from what I'd read in the recipe/method I'd found, it's like 1 1/2 - 2 min on high stirring occasionally (about every 30 seconds to be safe) until melted. I did end up adding a bit more shortening as my chocolate mixture seemed to be a bit on the thick side, so I'd say I added another 1 tsp to 1/2 tbsp more. 

All that's left is to dip your marshmallows ;-) What I did was, dip one, shake off the excess, then hang on to it while I dipped another - that way it "set up" a little bit before dipping into the sprinkles. Then I set them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Once I got them all dipped, I then placed them in the refrigerator to set up all the way. After they were all set, I slipped on the paper straws and popped a few into the jar, the rest into a zip-top bag for storage, and I did keep them in the fridge as well.

Here again, is the "recipe" I used:

Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows

1 bag marshmallows

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1tbsp vegetable shortening

sprinkles of choice

wooden skewers

Skewer the marshmallows on the sticks. Combine the 1 tbsp of shortening with the 1 cup of chocolate chips; melt on high in the microwave about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes  until melted and can be stirred smooth. Then dip your marshmallows, shaking off excess. Dip into sprinkles of choice, place on wax paper. Once done with all the marshmallows refrigerate until firm.