Honey Pecan Granola

Honey Pecan Granola
From Martha Stewart 

I have a love-hate relationship with Martha Stewart.  On the one hand I want to be her (minus the divorce, then I'd have to change the name of my blog! jk).  She makes everything look perfect and effortless.  She makes you think things like "why wouldn't you give beautiful homemade gifts to everyone on your Christmas list??"  So true, Martha!  I'm on it!  I saw her show about homemade granola a few weeks ago and was immediately compelled to do what she was suggesting - make a massive batch and put it in adorable jars and give it to everyone I know.  Great idea!

But following every great Martha idea comes the inevitable moment when I hate her guts for causing me such grief.  This time that moment came in the form of a Ball Jar wild goose chase.  I'd decided to use Ball Jars with special storage caps to package my granola because they are cheap and I have been seeing them in every grocery store for months now.  Little did I know, the "months" I had been seeing them are also known as "summer."  Since Illinois is not one for a December harvest, the canning season officially ended about a month ago.  So after driving to 3 city grocery stores during rush hour 4 days before Christmas, I was about ready to compose some hate mail to one Ms. Martha Stewart.  In a last resort I started calling every grocery store in the city (side note, most customer service people have never heard of a Ball Jar and a few almost hung up on me for what they thought was a prank call...), I finally located the ONE store that still had some in stock.

Long story short, anyone who doesn't read this blog and received this granola was probably very impressed and will forever think that I am that much closer to being Martha Stewart.  As for the rest of you, you'll always be able to imagine me wearing sweats and glasses in a fit of rage at my 3rd grocery store, seriously contemplating punching the bell ringing Santa guy and/or bursting into tears...  At least the granola itself is easy to make!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!


Ingredients

• Pam or other nonstick cooking spray
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups rolled oats (there's a million kinds of oats out there, make sure you buy ROLLED OATS)
• 2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cup dried fruit (any kind you like)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees and place racks far enough apart to allow 2 baking sheets at the same time.
2. Lightly coat two baking sheets with cooking spray.  Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine oil, sugar, honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt.
4. In a large bowl toss oats and pecans to combine.
5. Pour liquid mixture over oats and pecans, scraping the small bowl to get all the liquid out.  Stir until thoroughly combined.
6. Spread mixture out on baking sheets.
7. Bake for 27-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and immediately add fruit and toss.  It will seem a little soft, but don't worry, it hardens before you know it.
9. Allow to sit 10 minutes or until granola is cooled and crunchy.
10. Store in airtight containers for up to 3 weeks, or freeze.

Makes about 7 cups of very addicting granola.

Read More

Breakfast Souffle

Breakfast Souffle
From John's Grandma ABC (Rosemary)

Actual conversation:

John: Geez, this is easy to make, I don't know why my mom only makes it Christmas morning.
Tera: Well it makes so much food, it's not like you can just whip it together for 4 people or something.
Pause.
Tera: Wait, that's how many we're making it for.
John: Yeah.....

So yes, this is John's family's official Christmas morning breakfast casserole, and it most certainly serves their family of 6 and then some.  But it's also really delicious and super easy to make, and since it calls for 9 eggs we decided it just couldn't be cut in half.  In retrospect, all the ingredients are pretty simple multiples of 3, so it could actually be cut down quite easily, but there's no Monday morning quaterbacking allowed in the HMK.

Frankly, it's probably for the best that we made so much of it since we enjoyed it while drinking Bloody Marys and screwdrivers at 9am before the Bears game this past weekend.  Considering the amount of cocktails that we ultimately consumed on Sunday, I'm sure we needed all the food we could get to soak up some of the alcohol.  (As you probably noticed, I'm breaking my perfect record of 7am Monday posts thanks to the ensuing hangover...what's that?  you didn't notice...oh, well, sad but true).  In the end the Bears may not have won, but at least this casserole didn't let us down!


Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs bulk breakfast sausage (the stuff that comes in a big log 'o meat)
• 9 eggs
• 3 cups milk
• 1 Tbsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 slices white bread, cut into 1/4" cubes
• 1.5 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Preparation

1. Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high, using a wooden spoon to crumble it up.
2. Whisk eggs, milk, mustard and salt in a large bowl.
3. Stir bread, cheese, and sausage into egg mixture.
4. Pour egg mixture into a greased 13x9 pan.
5. Refrigerate overnight, covered.
6. Uncover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Serves a lot more than 4...probably closer to 8-10.

Read More

Fried Turkey and [Stuffing] Waffles

Fried Chicken Turkey and [Stuffing] Waffles
From Longman and Eagle via Daily Candy 

I swear I am being 100% honest when I tell you I was going to post something healthy today.  I had a lovely broccoli saute all cued up to post since I figured people are probably really full from Thanksgiving and could use something refreshingly light.  That was the plan.

Then this recipe found its way to my inbox.  Stupid inbox, gets me every time.

We came back from our holiday adventures in the suburbs on Saturday morning and immediately whipped up two batches of these - one with leftovers of the stuffing we made last week, and one with the leftovers we brought back from John's family.  Then, after we stuffed ourselves silly, we mixed what remained of both batters and made a combo batch the next morning.  See, that's the great thing about this recipe - it totally doesn't matter what variety of stuffing you have on hand.  And all the other ingredients are pretty standard pantry and fridge staples, so chances are you can whip these up without a trip to the store.  Of course you do have to have a waffle maker, but even our crappy $15 Walmart variety one worked just fine.  And if you're really in a bind, you can probably get away with a pancake of sorts instead.

As for the turkey, well, it's buttermilk fried turkey.  Do you doubt it's good?  Maybe it's because neither of our families does the deep fried turkey thing, but we were seriously enthralled with this concept.  We agreed unequivocally that this was the best use of leftovers we have ever tried.  I know it's already been 4 days, but seriously, if you have ANY leftovers still hanging around, MAKE THIS!!!


Ingredients

Fried Turkey

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 Tbsp seasoned salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (if you only have regular milk, mix 1 Tbsp white vinegar with 1 scant cup of milk, let stand 5 minutes)
• leftover turkey pieces - we think we used about 2-3 cups of chunks of dark meat
• vegetable oil

Stuffing Waffles

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup leftover stuffing
• 2 cups flour
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• butter (for serving, optional)
• syrup (for serving, optional)
• leftover cranberry sauce (for serving, optional)

Preparation

Fried Turkey

1. Mix flour and seasoned salt in a shallow bowl.
2. Set up a dredging station with the seasoned flour and another shallow bowl with the buttermilk.
3. Dip each piece of turkey in the milk, then the flour.
4. Heat enough vegetable oil to thickly coat the bottom of a high sided skillet.
5. Fry each piece of turkey until golden brown, turning as needed to brown each side.  Do this in batches so that you only have single layers of turkey each time.

Stuffing Waffles

1. Mix eggs and next eight ingredients, through vanilla extract, with a hand mixer.
2. Pour batter into waffle maker, according to manufacturer's instructions.
3. Top with fried turkey and serve with butter, syrup, and cranberry sauce, if desired.

Makes about 10 small waffles.

Read More

Chilaquiles

Chilaquiles
From the Honeymoon Kitchen

Probably one of the biggest things John and I have going for us as a couple is a mutual non-pickiness when it comes to food.  I mean, we both prefer good food, but as ingredients go, we're not opposed to much.  We use this to our advantage regularly in our quest to sample as much good food as possible.  For example, we almost always split food at restaurants, allowing us each to eat two entrees.  This strategy makes me happy ALMOST all the time.  Brunch at Feast, a restaurant we've been frequenting for years, is the exception.

Feast has, hands down, the best chilaquiles I have ever had.  We've tried them at countless other venues and nothing compares.  The only problem is that we can't find a single other half decent item on the brunch menu.  As a result, the same scene plays itself out time and time again.  We sit down, order chilaquiles and XYZ mediocre second dish, relax until the food comes, and then engage in an all out battle for more face time with the chilaquiles, alternating choking down the crappier dish and scarfing the as much chiliaquiles as possible before the other person demands a switch-back.  In theory we could just get two orders of chilaquiles, but it just feels too defeatist.

In an attempt to reduce our trips to Feast, and thus our morning stress, we've resorted to making our own version of chilaquiles at home.  While it's certainly no Feast, the version is pretty delicious and definitely satisfies our craving...at least for a little while!


Ingredients

• 4 oz Mexican chorizo (the tube of raw, crumbly stuff)
• ¼ of a white onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
• 2 dried chilis
• 1 cup of your favorite jarred salsa (something saucy like most jarred varieties, a pico de gallo won’t really work here)
• 1 Tbsp heavy cream
• ¼ tsp salt
• 30 Tostitos rounds tortilla chips (I guess they don't HAVE to be Tostitos, but I find that they perform best when baked)
• ¼ of a white onion, sliced
• ½ cup shredded chihuahua cheese, or a Mexican shredded cheese blend
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 green onion, sliced, for garnish

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place chorizo in a cold skillet and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until cooked and fat is released.
3. Remove chorizo and drain over paper towels.  Leave drippings in pan.
4. Add onion, garlic, and whole dried chilis to drippings and turn heat up to medium-high.  Saute until translucent, about 5 minutes.
5. Add salsa, cream and salt to pan.  Turn heat down to low and simmer 10 minutes.
6. Remove both chilis and set aside.  Taste the sauce and decide if you want it hotter.  Chop up the reserved chilis and add back in the amount needed to reach desired level of heat.  We added one back in and tossed the other.
7. Spread 15 tortilla chips across the bottom of an ungreased baking dish.  Sprinkle the chips with ½ of the onion slices, ½ of the cooked chorizo, ½ of the sauce, and ½ of the cheese.
8. Add another layer of 15 tortilla chips, the remaining onion slices, chorizo, sauce and cheese.
9. Bake for 25 minutes.
10. When the chiliquilas are almost done baking heat butter in a small skillet over low heat.
11. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and then pour them into the skillet.
12. Cook over low heat, stirring gently but constantly for about 5 minutes, until eggs are soft scrambled.
13. Remove chiliquilas from oven and top with eggs and green onions.

Serves 2-3.

Read More

Crepes

Crepes
From All Recipes 

Strange but true: in high school I was a professional crepe maker.  I had a brief stint working at an adorable crepe and gelato place that has long since closed and turned into a Subway.  Part of my job was making giant, gorgeous crepes on a huge circular crepe griddle, spreading out the batter with this special stick/rake thingy.  I made and ate about a bajillion crepes that summer, and then spent the next decade under the impression that you can't make them at home without all that fancy schmancy equipment.  Well folks, the crepe fast has officially come to an end!

This recipe is super simple and the crepes turn out as delicate and delightful as, albeit much smaller than, the ones from that little creperie of my past.  Later this week I'll post a great recipe for a savory crepe filling.  For now though, I'll let these guys stand on their own.  They're great with a little powdered sugar, and can be filled with just about anything.  Nutella and bananas, anyone???  Mmmmmm.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2/3 cup flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

Preparation

1. Combine eggs, milk, flour, salt, and oil in a blender.  Process until smooth.  It only took my blender like 20 seconds.
2. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.  I've done it for only 30 minutes, and I've done it for 3 or 4 hours.  It's all good.
3. Heat a 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat.  If your skillet is bigger or smaller, adjust the amount of batter per crepe accordingly.
4. Spray skillet with cooking spray and pour 1/4 cup of batter into pan.  Tilt pan around to spread the batter out.
5. Cook 2-3 minutes per side.  Use a spatula to check for desired level of browning before flipping.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 with remaining batter - including re-spraying with a light layer of cooking spray.  After about 3 crepes we had to wipe the pan out with a paper towel and let it cool a little because the old, super hot cooking spray buildup was causing the crepes to burn a little.

Makes 7-8 crepes.

Read More

Mix and Match Breakfast Sandwich

Mix and Match Breakfast Sandwich
From the Honeymoon Kitchen

First and foremost, I have to give a shout out to my FABULOUS new sister in law, Mary, for changing the entire course of Honeymoon Kitchen's future.  Ok, well maybe it's not that drastic, but it's pretty awesome.  She gave lent us her amazing Nikon digital SLR camera for use in the Honeymoon Kitchen!!  AND she's been showing us some nifty Tumblr tricks, so hopefully we'll have some cool new features pretty soon.  She's also our one-woman PR team, and thanks to her we've got a following of like 5 people.  Sure, they're all related to us, but still!

Now, back to the lovely mix and match breakfast sandwiches at hand.  We are those people who get up 6/7 mornings a week and make a real breakfast.  What can I say, I wake up hungry!  Sometimes we get creative, but most days we fall back on some sort of breakfast sandwich.  The beauty of this thing is its ability to clean out your fridge.  Today's version was pretty classic, with ham, egg, and cheese, but there are SO many alternatives out there.  Basically, if you've got it in your fridge, heat it, salt it, stack it, and you're golden!

Ingredients

• BREAD: Today we used sandwich rolls that doubled as sausage buns the night before.  Other great options include English muffins, baguettes, ciabatta, bagels, or just regular sandwich bread.
• EGGS: Our favorite is to fry them up over-easy.  However, in our morning haze we often break the yolk or just forget to pay attention and they end up over-medium or just scrambled.  It's all good.
• MEAT: You don't need meat, since eggs are pretty filling, but if you've got some on hand, go for it.  This morning we used deli ham, but bacon, other deli meats, and even crazier things like summer sausage have all made appearances.
• CHEESE: This one has provolone, but of course any cheese will do.  Don't be afraid to think outside the box with something like a goat cheese.
• VEGGIES: Today's version skipped this section of the ole' food pyramid.  However, we do often include any left over roasted veggies from the night before, such as asparagus, zucchini, peppers, and onions.
• SAUCES & CONDIMENTS: Our number one condiment is giardiniera.  We LOVE it.  A lot.  Other than that, John is a devoted honey mustard guy, and I like to add a light layer of fruit jam if the mood strikes me.

Preparation

1. Toast your bread product so that it can handle any condiments or soft cheeses you'll be spreading on it without tearing or becoming soggy.
2. Add condiments to bread.
3. Cook or heat your meat in a skillet.  Even deli meats - the get a little crispy on the edges and release some of their oils - it should only take a minute.  Remove meat and place on bottom half of bread.
4. Add a little cooking spray or oil to the skillet.  If your meat was something like bacon and gave off a lot of grease, you can skip this step.
5. If your veggies need to be cooked or reheated, you can do this in the skillet now.  Remove veggies and place on top of meat.
6. Add more cooking spray or oil to pan if needed, and cook your eggs however you like.
7. Place cheese on sandwich, followed by egg and top half of bread.  Squish everything together, helping the hot eggs to melt the cheese and allowing beautiful runny egg yolk to run out if you went with over-easy.
8. Eat immediately and enjoy being full all morning at work/school!

Read More