Adam Cooks: Ham and Cheddar Brunch Strata

From Crock-Pot Favorite Slow Cooker Recipes



Ingredients:
8 oz French bread, torn in small pieces
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
1 1/2 cups diced ham
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions, divided
4 large eggs
1 cup half & half or whole milk
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp ground red pepper

Directions:
1. Coat slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Cut parchment paper to fit bottom of stoneware and press into place. Spray paper lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Layer in following order: bread, 1 1/2 cups cheese, ham, and all but 2 tbsp green onions.

3. Whisk eggs, half & half, Worcestershire sauce, and red pepper in small bowl. Pour evenly over layered ingredients in slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 3 1/2 hours or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Turn off heat. Sprinkle evenly with reserved cheese and green onions. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes or until cheese has melted.

4. To serve, run a knife or spatula around the outer edges, lifting bottom slightly. Invert onto plate and peel off paper. Invert again onto serving plate.

Comments:
Adam made this so I can't speak of ease of preparation, but it tasted good. We skipped the inverting it part and just served it out of the slow cooker. Worked fine.

Sausage Pancakes-on-Sticks

From The Pioneer Woman via FoodNetwork



Ingredients:
16 breakfast sausage links
3 cups pancake mix
1 cup yellow cornmeal
Sprinkle of cinnamon
1 whole egg, slightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups water
Canola oil, for frying
Warm pancake syrup, for serving

Directions:
Cook the breakfast sausage links in a cast-iron skillet, turning occasionally until done.

In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix, cornmeal and cinnamon. Stir to combine.

Add the eggs, vanilla and water, adding more water as needed for the batter to become slightly thick (but not overly gloopy.) Start out by adding 1 cup, then work your way up to 3 cups or more.

Heat some canola oil in a large pot over medium-high heat to about 350 degrees F. Drop in a bit of batter to see if it's ready; the batter should immediately start to sizzle but should not immediately brown/burn.

Insert chopsticks into the cooked breakfast sausages so that they're two-thirds of the way through. Dip the sausages into the batter and allow any excess to drip off for a couple of seconds. Carefully drop into the oil (stick and all) and use tongs or a spoon to make sure it doesn't hit the bottom of the pan and stick. Flip it here and there to ensure even browning, and remove it from the oil when the outside is deep golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve with warm pancake syrup.

Comments:
I had some trouble with the batter and this recipe made about 10 times more batter that we needed. I used my deep fryer to cook these and it worked fine. They were good, but I don't know that we'd try them again. The batter threw the whole thing off I think...

Adam Cooks: Overnight Cinnnamon Rolls

From Allrecipes.com



Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs

FILLING:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins

Directions:
1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Add the butter and stir until melted; let cool until lukewarm.

2. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the milk mixture. Add the sugar, 3 cups of flour, salt and eggs; stir well to combine. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and supple, about 8 minutes.

3. Lightly oil a large mixing bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

4. Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 10x 14 inch rectangle. Lightly brush the far edge with water. In a small bowl combine the cinnamon and 3/4 cup brown sugar and sprinkle over the rectangles. Then sprinkle the raisins and chopped nuts over the dough. Roll up the dough into a log and seal the seam.

5. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces; place the pieces in a greased 9x13 inch baking pan, or 12 inch deep dish pizza pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rise overnight.

6. The next morning, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Take the rolls out of the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

7. Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden.

Comments:
Good lord, anything with seven steps is just too much work for me. Last night Adam decided he wanted cinnamon rolls. So he made these. He ended up using some Penzey's cinnamon sugar (the free item in the last catalog!) and left out raisins. Because he knows I hate them. He's nice like that. There's a glaze that goes with this (which you'll see in the original recipe if you follow the link) that he left out. Just used store bought cream cheese frosting. Yum. All in all, a pretty good way to start the morning.

Fruity Stuffed French Toast

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
3 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
A couple drops pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup raspberry or strawberry preserves
1 cup pure maple syrup
8 slices white bread
2 tablespoons butter

Directions:
1. In a wide, shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and vanilla and set near the stove. In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese and preserves; set aside.

2. Ask a GH (grown-up helper) to warm the syrup in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave on high for 1 minute.

3. Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over 4 bread slices. Top with the remaining 4 bread slices to make 4 sammies. Cut each sammy using a 4-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Snack on the crusts.

4. Have your GH melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Dip the hearts in the egg mixture and, with the help of your GH, cook in the skillet, turning once with a spatula, until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Serve the hearts with the warm syrup.

Comments:
Obviously I didn't need a grown-up helper and I skipped the cheesy heart-shaped bit. These were pretty good, although you'll notice the cream cheese didn't mix too well with the strawberry preserves. Kinda chunky. Kinda messy to eat too. But yummy.

Cannoli French Toast

From Everyday with Rachael Ray



Ingredients:
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
12 slices sandwich bread

Directions:
Sift 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl, then stir in 1 cup ricotta cheese. In a medium bowl, beat together 2 eggs and 1/2 cup milk. Trim the crusts off 12 slices sandwich bread and, using a rolling pin, roll out the bread to flatten. Add 1 tablespoon of the sweetened ricotta to each slice, fold over and pinch the edges together. (The edges will seal during cooking.) In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. Working in 3 batches, dip the stuffed bread slices in the egg mixture and transfer to the skillet. Cook, turning once, until puffed and golden, about 3 minutes. Dust with more confectioners’ sugar before serving

Comments:
This was really good. I wasn't sure I was going to like these since I'm not a fan of ricotta, but these are just sweet enough that they were ok by me. Really simple, quick, and tasty.

Adam Cooks: Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

From Cooking Light



Ingredients:
Dough:
1 1/2 packages dry yeast (about 3 1/4 teaspoons)
3/4 cup warm fat-free milk (100° to 110°)
1/4 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided (about 11 1/4 ounces)
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (about 7 ounces)
Cooking spray

Filling:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup raisins

Glaze:
3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 teaspoons fat-free milk

Directions:
To prepare dough, dissolve yeast in warm milk and 1/4 cup warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until foamy. Add butter and next 5 ingredients (through egg white); stir well. Lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 2 cups all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour, stirring until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel sticky). Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; roll into a 16 x 12-inch rectangle on a floured surface. Coat surface of dough with cooking spray.

To prepare filling, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg; sprinkle over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle raisins over dough, pressing gently into dough. Roll up rectangle tightly, starting with a long edge, pressing firmly to eliminate air pockets; pinch seam to seal. Cut the dough into 16 rolls. Place the rolls, cut sides up, in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375°.

Uncover rolls. Bake at 375° for 22 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

To prepare glaze, place powdered sugar and vanilla in a small bowl. Add 5 teaspoons milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, stirring to form a thick glaze. Drizzle glaze evenly over rolls.

Comments:
Adam made these. They're good. Very yeasty. Not sure why the baking bug bites him every once in a while, but whatever. Now if I could only get him to rinse his dishes off... :-)

Bistro Breakfast Panini

From Taste of Home



Ingredients:
6 bacon strips
1 teaspoon butter
4 eggs, beaten
4 slices sourdough bread (3/4 inch thick)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 ounces Brie or Camembert cheese, thinly sliced
8 thin slices apple
1/2 cup fresh baby spinach
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Directions:
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels to drain.

Meanwhile, heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add eggs; cook and stir until set.

Place eggs on two slices of bread; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Layer with cheese, apple, bacon, spinach and remaining bread. Butter outsides of sandwiches. Cook on a panini maker or indoor grill for 3-4 minutes or until bread is browned and cheese is melted.

Comments:
These were delicious! I omitted the spinach, but other than that I stuck to the plan. I used Granny Smith apples and these cute mini brie wedges:



Wee Brie! Adorable!

I still can't get them to brown on the press. I even cranked it all the way up this time. I'm not sure what that's about. But they tasted just fine. At least they weren't soggy like the turkey sandwiches always turn out to be.

Apple Pancakes

From Penzeys Spices



Ingredients:
1/4 Cup butter (1/2 stick), divided
4 eggs
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 Cup all-purpose flour
3/4 Cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
2 medium baking apples, peeled and thinly sliced
3 TB. cinnamon sugar, divided

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. Divide butter evenly between two 9 inch pie plates and put them in the oven to melt the butter. Rotate the pie plates until the butter coats the bottom and the sides. To make dividing the ingredients between the two plates easier, we used a 4-Cup measuring cup as our mixing bowl. Beat eggs, vanilla, flour, milk, and salt on medium speed for 1 minute. Toss the sliced apples with 2 TB. of the cinnamon sugar. Arrange 1/2 of the apple slices in each pan so they cover the bottom in pretty much a single layer. Pour 1/2 the egg mixture over the apple slices in each pan. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar over the batter in each pan. Bake until puffed and golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Serve right away, while still puffy, with warm syrup.

Comments:
When Adam picked up juniper berries a while back he also picked up a catalog. This was a recipe that caught his eye. I had originally planned to make it last weekend, but luckily the apples toughed it out and were still good this morning. I used a deep dish pie pan so it doesn't look like the picture on their website, but it was still good. I cut everything in half to make only one, but we probably could have eaten two of them. Yum! Oh, and I didn't use butter - I just sprayed the pie pan with Pam and it worked fine.