Fluffly Eggnog Pancakes for Christmas!

You can take any buttermilk pancake recipe, and just use eggnog in place of the buttermilk -- it helps to add some cinnamon and nutmeg, too. Here's my recipe:

Eggnog Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c flour
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
(optional: a few generous dashes of allspice and/or ground clove)
1 egg
1 1/4 c egg nog
3 Tbsp vegetable oil

Preheat griddle to 325 degrees (just hot enough for a drop of water to dance around before sizzling away). Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place an ovenproof dish (I like to use a pie plate) on the center rack to warm with the oven.

Mix dry ingredients with a whisk.

Mix egg, egg nog, and oil in a small bowl.

Combine wet and dry ingredients.

Allow the batter to set for a few minutes. Not sure why... this just seems to help. 5 to 10 minutes should suffice.

On the griddle, drop 1/4 c of batter to form each pancake.

These won't get the "bubbles" on top quite as much as regular pancakes will (so you can tell when to flip them). You might see one or two bubbles, but really you just need to pay attention and check the color after a few minutes.

After cooking on both sides to the perfect golden-brown-ness, place finished pancakes in the pie plate in your oven to stay warm while you cook the next batch.

Enjoy with maple syrup or whipped cream on top!

Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake (Southern Living)

I have two favorite cooking magazines: Fine Cooking and Southern Living. They're both foolproof! I made several things from Southern Living's 2011 "Best Fall Baking" issue for Thanksgiving this year, one of which was this incredible pumpkin cheesecake. Everyone raved about it... personally I think half of what makes is so stunningly delicious is the praline topping. Do not skip that part!! As for the "pecan pie glazed pecans" that garnish the top... I suggest buying them pre-made at the grocery store -- Emerald brand is the best :)

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients 

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 4 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Praline Topping
• Garnishes: coarsely chopped Pecan Pie-Glazed Pecans

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 325°. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a bowl until well blended. Press mixture on bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
2. 2. Beat cream cheese and next 2 ingredients at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until blended and smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add pumpkin and lemon juice, beating until blended. Pour batter into prepared crust. (Pan will be very full.)
3. 3. Bake at 325° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until almost set. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven, with door closed, 15 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven, and gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan. (Do not remove sides of pan.) Cool completely on a wire rack (about 1 hour). Cover and chill 8 to 24 hours.
4. 4. Remove sides and bottom of pan, and transfer cheesecake to a serving plate. Prepare Praline Topping; immediately pour slowly over top of cheesecake, spreading to within 1/4 inch of edge. Garnish, if desired.
5. Try This Twist! Sweet Potato-Pecan Cheesecake: Substitute 1 1/2 cups mashed, cooked sweet potatoes for canned pumpkin. Proceed with recipe as directed, baking 1 hour or until almost set.

Praline Topping

Ingredients

• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Boil, stirring occasionally, 1 minute; remove from heat. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Let stand 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Use immediately.

Both of the above recipes are from Southern Living magazine and can be found online at allrecipes.com.

Apricot Cream Cheese Crescents

It's amazing the delicious things that one can do with some cream cheese and any Pillsbury dough. This is basically apricot preserves and a glob of cream cheese rolled up in a Pillsbury crescent roll. It's delicious just like that. Or you can fancy it up a bit with sugar and spices...

Apricot Cream Cheese Crescents

Ingredients:

apricot preserves (about 1 Tbsp. per crescent)*
cream cheese (about 1 tsp. per crescent)
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 can/tube large Pillsbury crescent rolls (8)

*strawberry preserves would also rock!

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and allspice.

3. Unroll crescent dough from the package.

4. Spread 1 Tbs. apricot preserves over each triangle.

5. Drop 1 tsp. cream cheese near the large end of each triangle. Don't spread. Just leave it in a glob.

6. Sprinkle the sugar-spice mixture evenly over each triangle.

7. Lightly grease a small baking dish (a pie plate works perfectly).

8. Gently roll each crescent, slightly tucking/pinching the ends closed around the cream cheese. They'll be sticky and gooey from the preserves and sugar - that's ok!

9. Arrange the rolls in the baking dish. Bake approx. 15 min or until golden brown on top. You might see/hear the preserves & cream cheese bubbling... that's ok! Just let it cool for a moment before serving.

It's possible to eat these by hand, but better to have a plate and fork :)

Special Saturday Breakfast: Fancy Burrito

Fancy Breakfast Burritos for Two (or Four)

Ingredients:

2 potatoes, diced into 1/2 in. cubes
6 links breakfast sausage, uncooked, sliced into 1/2 in. rounds*
1/2 yellow onion, small dice
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3-4 large eggs plus 1 egg white (separate)
2 Tbs. milk
4 Tbs. Taco Bell Bold & Creamy Sauce
1/2 c shredded pepper jack cheese
2 sheets puff pastry

*Or use 4-6 thick slices of bacon, chopped up.

Directions:

1. Begin to thaw puff pastry sheets. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Steam potato cubes until just soft enough to pierce with a fork.

3. Meanwhile, saute sausage slices in a medium skillet. Once all the pieces are browned on the outside, add olive oil and onion. Cook until onion is soft and sausage is cooked through completely.

4. Add steamed potatoes, cumin, red pepper flakes, and a dash of salt to the skillet. Stir everything together.

5. Whisk together eggs and milk (not including the 1 egg white). Add evenly to the skillet. Allow to set for a moment before stirring. Once the bottom has set, gently turn parts over until all of the egg has cooked. Remove from heat to cool slightly.

6. On cookie sheet lined with foil, place both sheets of puff pastry. The edges will hang over a bit for now. In the center of each, heap even amounts of cooled filling from the skillet. Drizzle the creamy taco sauce over each (about 2 Tbs per burrito). Sprinkle even amounts of pepper jack atop the filling for each (about 1/4 c per burrito).

7. Fold opposite edges of the pastry toward each other, wrapping the burrito shut. Brush egg white along the edges to seal slightly.

8. Bake at 350 until the pastry is a rich golden brown. Slice in half before serving. One half could easily serve one person... or this can be two huge, decadent burritos for two people... which is how we had it :)

 

 

Shadow Boxes Honoring the Glory Days

My darling boyfriend is an over-achiever -- he makes me so proud! Chris has run in three marathons (he's no longer allowed to run today, after having surgery on his back... twice). To honor his achievements, I put his Marathon Finisher medals in some shadow boxes.

I made black velvet pouches to hide the rest of the lanyard/ribbon in, then nestled the medal in place and pinned everything down. The actual boxes are from Hobby Lobby.

White Rock Marathon, Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, and Big D Marathon, in case you're wondering!

Since it's fitting for this post, I can't stop myself from showing off this marvelous photo from the finish line of the race in Oklahoma City:

Yay!!!

Chicken Cake!

One of my favorite coworkers is a sort of chicken fanatic - she raises them (yes, real chickens, right here in Dallas!), collects all sorts of chicken doodads, and her license plate even says BA-GAWK. Naturally, for her birthday today, I had to make a chicken cake for her!

 

Cute, right? :) Several people asked how I did it, so here's a little pictorial...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special Saturday Breakfast: A Savory Pastry

My favorite thing to make and eat is, without doubt, any kind of breakfast! Every Saturday morning, I fix up a "special" -- typically indulgent -- breakfast for us :)

Today we had a scrumptious, savory pastry... A shallow puff pastry 'bowl' filled with carmelized onions on a bed of baby spinach, topped with two eggs and crispy, crumbled baccon.



Yes, it was marvelous!

Yummiest Instant Oatmeal

This is a simple little thing worth sharing! To make your instant oatmeal sweet and flavorful, add this secret ingredient: apple juice. Instead of the amount of water you'd normally use, do half water/half apple juice. You won't believe the difference :)

"Cheater" Lasagna

This is officially the easiest lasagna recipe ever. When we're done here, you'll want to shake my hand, or maybe even give me a big fat kiss. ;) 

 Here's my big secret: Instead of lasagna noodles, make layers of refrigerated ravioli!

If you've ever tried to construct a decent lasagna from scratch, you'll know what I mean when I say I kind of hate boiling and handling lasagna noodles. This is a terrifically fast and flavorful way to circumvent that whole process. You only need a handful of simple ingredients and about 30 minutes.

I made a small dish because I'm only cooking for two, but you can easily increase the size or do beef instead of chicken. I'll offer suggestions at the end of this recipe!

To make a small chicken lasagna (feeds 4 people), you'll need:

•  8 x 8 baking dish
• 1 package refrigerated cheese ravioli (not boiled) 
• 1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed & chopped into bitesize pieces
• 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella 
• 2 c. ricotta cheese mixed well with 1 egg & 1 tsp. Italian seasonings (we'll call this the ricotta cheese mixture)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In the baking dish layer the ingredients in this order:

1. ravioli
2. chicken
3. half of the ricotta cheese mixture, maybe slightly more
4. ravioli
5. other half of the ricotta cheese mixture
6. shredded cheese

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top layer of cheese has reached the desired golden-brown-ness :)

What if you want to make a beef lasagna? Use ground beef instead of chicken (cook the beef first), and add some jarred spaghetti sauce (or home made!) on top before the final layer of cheese. Maybe even add a thin layer of sauce in the middle - on top of the beef, before the ricotta cheese.

What if you want to make a larger lasagna? To fill a 9" x 13" dish, just double or triple the amount of each ingredient. If you triple it, you may get to make a couple more layers.

Hopefully this little trick works out as well for you as it did for me!

A Pretty, Tidy Kitchen Countertop

Problem:
In our new apartment, our kitchen has this large, wonderful island... I love it! But the sink is in the island, so if I have the soap, sponge, and scrubby brush right there out in the open, it junks up the look of the room.

Solution:
I got these plain white dishes at Target for about $25 -- a plate, a gravy boat, and a pitcher that all sort of match. I got a glass candle pedestal to set the plate on top of, so it actually looks somewhat like a cake stand. I put the sponge and sink stopper in the gravy boat, and long handled scrubby brush in the pitcher, with the soaps perched atop the plate stand. These clean, unassuming items make the perfect display for all my sink accessories! It's actually kind of decorative. :)

By the way, I put a little square of rubber grippy material (it's sold in rolls as kitchen cabinet liner, I think -- not the sticky kind) between the plate and candle pedestal to keep the plate from moving around. It worked perfectly! You'd never know they're two separate things. This is so much better than gluing them together, because I can still put the plate in the dishwasher any time I want. Of course you can get a cake stand, but I couldn't find one that was this inexpensive.

So there's the solution to my countertop conundrum!



Leftover Cakeballs

Sure, leftover cake is rare... but it happens! Here's how you can easily "restyle" that uneaten cake into a whole new, super-fun treat.

You'll Need:

• Any amount of leftover cake or cupcakes, with icing
• Chocolate bark / microwaveable chocolate coating
• Possibly some extra icing* depending on how heavily iced your leftover cake is.

* Here's the deal with the icing... If I were starting with a whole cake instead of leftovers, I would use an entire container of icing. You can use less, but keep in mind that the icing is a binding agent for cake crumbs.

1.  Your cake will probably already be iced (if it's leftover)... Mine wasn't iced yet because I made too many mini-cakes and didn't finish icing them. Either way, the cake needs to get completely crumbled and mixed with the icing until it forms a sort of paste.
2. 
3. 
4. Chill the mixture in your fridge overnight.
5. Once the mixture is firm (think of cold cookie dough) scoop out about 1 Tbsp at a time -- I highly suggest using a cookie dough/melon baller, but you can do this by hand, too. A good size for your cakeballs will be about 1" diameter. Smaller than a ping pong ball.
6. Once the balls are all rolled, return them to the fridge in order to keep firm while working on the chocolate coating.  
7. I won't lie... the chocolate coating process is kind of a pain. Just try to have fun.
8. Line 9 x 13 baking dish (or cookie sheet) with foil.
9. Follow the instructions on the chocolate bark package to melt.
10. One at a time, gently drop each cake ball into the melted chocolate. Coat completely, and remove as quickly as possible. The cakeballs will start to fall apart as they get warm in the chocolate. Once removed from the chocolate, set each cakeball on the foil to cool.
11. When all of the cakeballs are coated, cover the dish (this is why I prefer the 9 x 13 dish - it's harder to cover a cookie sheet without touching the melted chocolate) and refrigerate again.
12. If you want to decorate with sprinkles, do so before refrigerating... obviously... :) Since my leftover cake was carrot cake, I used white chocolate and decorated them with currants.
13. 
14. To store them, I recommend keeping the cakeballs somewhere cool.
15. Enjoy... yum yum!  
    
    

Breakfast-Muffin French-Toast Bake

Here's how to make a "special" breakfast out of whatever muffins you like!

The story (if you're interested)...
You might ask, "Why not just eat the muffins?" You could do that. The story behind this dish begins with my boyfriend buying groceries while he was hungry. He does this all the time - it's the baked goods that always get him. He ends up buying a dozen muffins (a half dozen of this flavor, a half dozen of that, because they both look so good) from the supermarket bakery. Needless to say, too many muffins for two people to eat before they go stale, unless we both eat a muffin for breakfast every day of the week. I don't eat sweets for breakfast unless it's something special... so, here's how to make a "special" breakfast out of those leftover muffins!

You'll Need:

• 8" x 8" baking dish, or a pie plate might work
• 4 large muffins (I used banana nut)
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 c milk
• maple syrup for topping

Instructions:

1. Mix the eggs and milk in a small bowl.
2. Slice the muffins each into 3 pieces horizontally (I sliced off the top, then cut the bottom in 2 even halves).
3. Grease the baking dish.
4. Using only the bottom parts of the muffins, arrange them in the baking dish so that they make a basically solid layer. You will have to cut some into smaller pieces. It's like a muffin puzzle! I filled in the corners by cutting 1 slice into 4 pieces.
5. Pour half of the egg mixture evenly over the first muffin layer.
6. 
7. Using the muffin tops (in the center of the arrangement) and the remaining muffin slices, make a second layer in the dish. Again, you may have to cut the circular slices into smaller pieces, like so...
8. 
9. Pour the remainder of the egg mixture evenly over the dish.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25-30 min. or until golden brown...
11. 
12. Serve warm with maple syrup!
13. Yummmm.