Broccoli Hash Brown Cups

Broccoli Hash Brown Cups

INGREDIENTS:


2 medium potatoes
Pinch of salt and pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ head broccoli
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk



DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Scrub the potatoes clean and grate them with a cheese grater.

Add the grated potato into a large bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper and the olive oil.

Stir the grated potato so it’s well covered with the oil and seasoning.

Evenly divide the potato between 8 muffin cup molds and press it down into the bottom of the cup and up the sides, covering as much of the inside of the cup as possible.

Place the grated potato cups into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, until golden.

Meanwhile, wash the broccoli and chop it up into tiny pieces.


Place the broccoli into a microwave-safe dish with a little bit of water and steam in the microwave for around 4 minutes, until softened.

Crack the eggs into a medium-sized bowl and beat with the milk.

Remove the potato cups from the oven and evenly divide the chopped broccoli between them.

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Homemade Monkey Bread (aka Cinnamon Roll Bites).

Classic monkey bread is sweet pull apart bread baked in a bundt pan. And my version is made from scratch – heavy on the cinnamon sugar and sweet vanilla glaze!

Ingredients:


DOUGH
1 package (2 and 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast (recommended: Red Star Platinum)
1/4 cup warm water (110F-115F)
1 and 1/4 cups warm 2% milk (110F-115F, 2% or higher milk fat, no lower)
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon salt
5 cups all-purpose flour (measured correctly)
COATING
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 and 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
2/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
VANILLA GLAZE
1 cup (120g) confectioners' sugar
3 Tablespoons (45ml) heavy cream (or milk for a less creamy texture)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


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Directions:

Make the dough: In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir it around a bit and let it sit for about 2 minutes. Add the milk, melted butter, sugar, eggs, salt, and 3 cups of flour. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes (using a dough hook if you have a stand mixer or using a hand mixer). By hand add enough remaining flour to form a firm dough. About 5 cups total.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Do not over-knead, which will yield a tough, chewy bread. The dough is ready when it is smooth and when you can poke it with a finger and it springs back. Form dough into a smooth ball and place into a large greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. I greased the bowl with cooking spray. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
Make the coating: melt 1/2 cup of butter in a small bowl. Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon together in another small bowl. Set aside. You will use the rest of the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla later.
Spray a 10-12 cup bundt pan with cooking spray. Set aside. Punch the cold dough down very gently to allow the air bubbles to release. Pull apart pieces and roll into balls, about 1.25 inches in diameter. You will need 40-45 balls total, so be modest with their size. Dip each ball, one by one, in the melted butter and then generously roll in the cinnamon-sugar mixture to coat them. You may need more cinnamon-sugar depending how heavy you coat each ball. Arrange them in the bundt pan as you go. If you did not use Red Star Platinum yeast, cover the pan and allow dough balls to rise again for about 45 minutes at room temperature. If you did use Red Star Platinum yeast, move ahead to the next step and bake right away.
Preheat oven to 350F. Melt the remaining 1/4 cup of butter and whisk in the brown sugar and vanilla until combined. Pour the buttery mixture over the dough balls in the bundt pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on top. Cover loosely with foil if the top browns too quickly. Cool for 5-10 minutes and invert onto a large serving plate.

Make the glaze: Simply whisk all of the glaze ingredients together and pour over the bread. You may either cut the bread into generous slices or let everyone pick off the gooey pieces themselves.

Monkey bread tastes best served on the same day, but will stay fresh for 3 days if stored covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Make ahead tip: This recipe is designed to be made ahead! In step 2, you'll see that the dough needs to rise for at least 8 hours or overnight.

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CAULIFLOWER CHOWDER

CAULIFLOWER CHOWDER

INGREDIENTS:

4 slices bacon, diced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup 2% milk

1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped

1 bay leaf

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves

DIRECTIONS:

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.

Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in cauliflower and bay leaf. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chicken broth and milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until cauliflower are tender, about 12-15 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. If the chowder is too thick, add more milk as needed until desired consistency is reached.

Serve immediately, garnished with bacon and parsley, if desired.

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pumpkin cake roll

ingredients : 

• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour+1 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 2 tspn ground cinnamon+1 tspn baking powder
• 1 tspn ground ginger+1/2 tspn ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tspn salt+1 tspn lemon juice
• 1 cup granulated sugar+2/3 cup canned pumpkin
• Powdered sugar
• 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup butter, softened+1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tspn vanilla

directions :

step 1 : Allow eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Line bottom of pan with waxed paper or parchment paper; grease paper. Set pan aside. In a small bowl stir together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, ginger, salt, and nutmeg; set aside.

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step 2 : Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl beat eggs with an electric mixer on high speed about 5 minutes or until thick and lemon color. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating on medium speed until light and fluffy. Stir in pumpkin and lemon juice. Beat in flour mixture on low to medium speed just until combined. Spread batter evenly in the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with walnuts.

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step 3 : Bake about 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Immediately loosen edges of cake from pan and turn cake out onto a clean kitchen towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove waxed paper. Roll towel and cake into a spiral, starting from a short side of the cake. Cool on a wire rack.

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step 4 : Meanwhile, for filling, in a medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar.

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step 5 :  Unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cake with filling to within 1 inch of the edges. Roll up cake; trim ends. Cover and chill for 2 to 48 hours. 

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Heaven Patti Mills

INGREDIENTS

• Strawberry Cream Cheese Bread heart emoticon
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 (3 ounce) cream cheese, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk (half 'n half)
• 1 1/2 cups strawberries, chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

THE METHOD

1. 1 With electric mixer cream butter, sugar and cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Mix in vanilla.
2. 2 In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend flour mixture with butter mixture just until blended. Add half 'n half and only stir just to blend -- do not overstir!
3. 3 Drain strawberries and blot dry. Carefully just fold in strawberries and nuts. Dough mixture will be thick.
4. 4 Grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes. Let bread mellow for one day and then serve.

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Microwave Chicken and Dumplings

Ingredients
Filling: 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 sprig fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken (from about 1/2 chicken)
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
Dough: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions
For the filling: Whisk together the chicken broth and flour in a microwave-safe 8-by-8-by-2-inch baking dish for an 1,100-watt oven or a 4-quart microwave-safe bowl for a 700-watt oven, until there are no lumps. Stir in the onions, celery, butter, thyme sprig, 3/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cover tightly with plastic wrap; cut a small slit in the center with the tip of a paring knife to vent excess steam. Microwave on high (at 100 percent power) for 5 minutes in an 1,100-watt oven or 8 minutes in a 700-watt oven.

Remove the dish from the microwave, and remove the plastic wrap (be careful to avoid the hot steam). Carefully whisk the broth mixture until there are no clumps of flour at the bottom. Put the dish back in the microwave, uncovered, and cook on high (at 100 percent power) until the broth is bubbly and thick, 5 minutes in an 1,100-watt oven or 8 minutes in a 700-watt oven.

For the dough: Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Add the milk and oil in the center, and stir everything together with a fork until the dough just comes together (it will be sticky and wet).

To assemble: Remove the dish from the microwave. Remove and discard the thyme sprig, and whisk the broth mixture again. Stir in the shredded chicken and frozen peas and carrots. Arrange rounded teaspoons of the dough (about 16 dumplings) about 1/2 inch apart along the perimeter of the dish or bowl. Grind a little pepper over each dumpling.

Cover the dish tightly with a new piece of plastic wrap; cut a small slit in the center. Microwave on high (at 100 percent power) until the dumplings are puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 6 minutes in an 1,100- or a 700-watt oven. If they are not cooked through, microwave them again in 30-second increments, testing with a toothpick after each.

 

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Cracker Barrel Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli

Cracker Barrel Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli

Here’s a great copycat recipe for the famous Cracker Barrel Chicken Broccoli Casserole.
Is there anyone who doesn’t love Cracker Barrel’s great comfort food?

Cracker Barrel Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli

I’ve seen a number of copycat cracker barrel recipes floating around for this chicken and broccoli casserole, but I never much cared for the sauce(s) that came with it.  So I perfected my own sauce.
Now I know that Velveeta isn’t everyone’s dish of tea.  I rather like it and I like one thing most about it–sauces made with it do not separate like ones made with natural cheese.  You can add natural cheese too, so long as there’s a fair amount of Velveeta.  I’ve tried it.  It works.  However, if you really hate the stuff or have an allergy to it, alternate sauces can be made.

Cracker Barrel Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli

The first alternate is, of course, a cheese sauce made with a medium white sauce with yellow cheddar cheese.  The second alternate is a can (10.5 oz) of condensed cheddar cheese soup to which you add 8 oz evaporated milk.  So take your pick; you have 3 choices!

Naturally evaporated skim milk may be used as well as 2% Velveeta and/or cheddar cheese, and reduced-fat crackers, but please use the butter.  It’s really necessary for the flavor here!

Ingredients

• 4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 cups frozen or fresh broccoli florets
• 2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1½ cups Ritz cracker crumbs (about 1 sleeve)
• 3 tbs butter, melted
• ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar
• Sauce:
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 tbs butter
• 1½ cups cubed Velveeta

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray or grease the bottom of a 11 x 7-inch baking pan.
2. Place chicken breasts in prepared pan. Sprinkle seasoned salt over the chicken breasts. Set aside while making sauce and buttered crumbs.
3. Place sauce ingredients in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HI in 30 second intervals stirring after each 30 seconds, until Velveeta is melted and sauce is smooth.
4. Prepare buttered crumbs by processing the crackers either in a food processor or placing them in a bag and using a rolling pin. Be careful not to overprocess the crumbs!! You want some larger pieces in there for the crunch factor!! Drizzle with the melted butter and stir until all the crumbs are coated.
5. Pour half the sauce over the chicken breasts. Add broccoli evenly across the top of chicken. Pour remaining cheese sauce over broccoli and chicken. Top with the buttered cracker crumbs.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes, or until chicken test done (180 degrees F) in the thickest part.
7. Remove from oven and top with the shredded cheddar

Cracker Barrel Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli

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