Puffed French Toast

The Sodahls were on breakfast at the cabin this weekend - so figured we couldn't go wrong with bread and sugar!!  And as my nephew Vince said "THESE ARE SOOOO YUMMY!!!"  It was a HUGE hit!!  Hey sibs - have fun on the ride home with your kids....they are all hyped up on sugar!!

Makes 12 triangles - OBB

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups milk
1 cup flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
12 slices Texas style toast, cut in half diagonally

Cinnamon Sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

In a large skillet or frying pan, heat about 1/4 inch of canola oil over medium heat.  Heat the oil to about 375 degrees.  Test the oil heat by flicking some water into the frying pan.  If it sizzles it's just right.

While the oil is heating, whisk the eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla, milk, flour, and baking powder together in a shallow dish or pie plate.

Working quickly, take each half slice of bread and dip both sides in the mixture.  Don't allow the bread to become too soaked in the butter.  Gently shake the bread to remove excess batter and place in hot oil.  Cook, until puffed, golden brown, and a nice, crispy crust has formed on each side (probably 3-5 minutes per side; you really need to babysit them and make sure they're cooking correctly.)  and then remove the oil and drain on a paper towel.  While cooking remaining French toast, keep cooked pieces warm in an oven set to the lowest temperature it will go.

When ready to serve, roll each piece in cinnamon sugar.  We made up Strawberry Sauce also, and drizzled this on top!!

Strawberry Sauce

Made this to go with Puffed French Toast - and it was great!!  Figured this would be awesome to drizzle over ice cream, waffles, pancakes, or cheesecake!!  Super easy and yummy!!

Makes 2 cups of sauce - OBB

Ingredients:
1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled, and roughly chopped
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla

Combine berries, sugar, and vanilla in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Cook for five minutes, stirring constantly and breaking strawberries up with a wooden spoon.

After 5 minutes, remove from heat and allow to cool before blending.  When cool enough, transfer the mixture to blender and pulse until desired consistency is reached.  Refrigerate unused sauce for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.

Slow-Cooked Pork Sliders and Easy Slaw

We spent Memorial Day weekend up at the cabin - so we are always looking for good recipes for the whole group!!  These were super easy and YUMMY!!!  We used Famous Dave's Tangy BBQ sauce and Devils Spit....I preferred the Spit :)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
3lb pork roast
1/3 cup pork rub
oil
1/2 cup water
ciabatta rolls
favorite BBQ Sauce

10 oz bag of coleslaw
1/2 cup light mayo
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
salt and pepper

Sprinkle pork loin roast with pork rub.  Brown pork loin in a preheated skillet with 2 teaspoon oil for 3-4 minutes on all sides.  Transfer pork to a 4-quart slow cookers; add 1/2 cup water to skillet, scraping any browned bits from bottom of pan.  Pour over roast.  Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 8-9 hours, or on high for 4 hours.  Place pork roast on a cutting board and allow to cool slightly.  Shred using 2 forks.  Return the meat to cooking liquid and keep warm.  Spoon pulled pork onto bottom halves of ciabatta rolls, top each with a spoonful of your favorite BBQ sauce and a dollop of slaw and top with roll.

Slaw: combine coleslaw, mayo, cider vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Oven Roasted Broccoli

Whooo oh so good!!  This was AWESOME!!  Figured you could add some garlic, pine nuts, and some lemon juice to add a little variation of this.  Maybe even some raisins or something would be good too!!  Must try!!

Serves 6-8 - OBB

Ingredients:

4-5 cups broccoli, cleaned and stems trimmed

3 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place broccoli on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle the broccoli with olive oil and then toss to combine and coat each piece.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place the baking sheet in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until stems are golden brown and slightly crisp looking.  Remove broccoli from oven and immediately sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Toss and serve.

Glazed Pork Chops with Apricot Ginger Sauce

Just got back into town, so found a quick and easy recipe to make before we head to the cabin tomorrow (sorry miss Graycie!)  Ross said "um this might be my new favorite meal"....nice!!  Made this with Oven Roasted Broccoli - really good match!

Serves 4

Ingredients:
3/4 teaspoon salt / pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
4 boneless loin pork chops, about 1/2 inch thick each
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced ginger
1/2 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup bottled apricot preserves

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  While the pan is heating, combine the salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder.  Sprinkle half of spice mixture evenly over one side of pork chops.

When pan is hot, add the olive oil.  Place pork, spice side down, in the hot pan.  Sprinkle the remaining spice mixture on the top of the pork chops.  Cook the pork for 3 minutes and then flip and cook 3 additional minutes.  Remove the pork from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter.  When melted, add the garlic and ginger.  Saute for 30 seconds while stirring.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer.  Use a spatula to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan and continue to simmer for 1 minute.

Whisk in the preserves.  Bring the sauce to a simmer and return the pork to the pan.  Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes on each side or until cooked through to an internal temp of 160 degrees.

Remove from heat and let the pork chops rest for 5 minutes before serving.  Serve over white or brown rice and spoon the sauce from the pan over each piece of pork.

Roast Chicken and Veggies

I kind of have a weird thing with handling raw chicken - so the fact that this was a whole chicken was really gross...I got over it quickly when I had to put stuff into the cavity of the chicken....again - use gloves.  (Jenn - just another time I used my rubber gloves in the kitchen - I love them sooo much!!)  But for real - check this dish out ....how fancy does that look ?!  This was almost too easy to look that hard :)  You must try it - sooo yummy!!  I cut up all the chicken and threw it right in there with the juices / veggies....so tasty!!!

Serves 2 - Bride and Groom Cookbook

Ingredients:
3 carrots, cut into thirds
6 small red potatoes, quartered if large
1 medium yellow onion, cut into 6 wedges
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or olive oil
salt and pepper
1 chicken (3-4 lbs)
1 lemon, quartered
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Put the carrots, potatoes, and onion in 9x13 glass baking pan.  Toss the veggies with 1 tablespoon of butter.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spread veggies to the edges of the baking dish, making room for the chicken.

Remove the neck and giblets from the cavity of the chicken and discard (this should come in a bag so don't panic).  Rinse the bird under cold running water - and pat dry.  Put the garlic cloves on the bottom of the open space in pan (prevents them from burning if chicken is on top).  Put the chicken breast side up, in the center of the baking dish,.  Brush the chicken with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter.  Season the cavity and skin generously with salt and pepper.  Put the lemon quarters and rosemary sprigs inside the cavity.

Roast for 45 minutes.  Remove the dish from the oven - using tongs, tilt the chicken, pouring the juices from the cavity onto the veggies.  Shake to coat.  Baste the chicken with the pan juices.  If the bird is browning too quickly, cover with foil.  Continue roasting until the chicken is a deep golden brown and the juices run clear when the tip of a knife is inserted into the thigh joint, or until instant read thermometer inserted into the thigh, away from the bone, registers 175 degrees; 25-30 minutes more.

Transfer the chicken to a platter, cover loosely with foil, and let stand for 10-15 minutes before carving.  Using the back of the spoon, mash the garlic and squeeze some lemon into the pan juices.  Toss the juices with the veggies.  Carve the chicken and serve with the veggies alongside.  Drizzle any remaining juices over the chicken.

NOTE: One way to serve roasted chicken is to carve all the meat from the bones after the meat has rested and chop it into bite-sized pieces.  Then return the meat to the garlicky, lemon pan juices, re-season it with more salt and pepper, and toss with the veggies.  This way, every last bit of the chicken is well seasoned and moist throughout (breasts included).

Beef Stroganoff

We just got back from New York - and we had some Philly Cheesesteaks at Yankee Stadium that tasted like beef stroganoff, so I was totally craving the real thing!!  I've made/posted this before - but wanted to try a healthier/different recipe.  Got this from OBB cookbook - and it was really good!!  Super easy to make - and has easy ingredients!!  Really liked the steak instead of hamburger...and the sauce was amazing.  Fresh mushrooms really made a difference too!!

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1lb top sirloin or tenderloin steak (I used tenderloin)
salt and pepper
3 tablespoon butter
8oz sliced mushrooms
3/4 cup diced onion (about 1 small onion)
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules, beef base, or one bouillon cube
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
egg noodles / rice

Slice steak into strips 1/4 inch thick and about 2 inches long.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.  Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet, over medium heat and then add mushrooms, onion, and garlic to pan.  Saute for 4-5 minutes or until mushrooms are browned and onions are tender.  Remove mushrooms, onions, and garlic from pan and set aside.

Slightly increase the heat and melt 1 tablespoon of butter in pan.  Add beef and saute, stirring, for 3-5 minutes or until pink is no longer visible.

While the beef is cooking, whisk water, bouillon, flour and Worcestershire sauce together until smooth.  Add this mixture to the beef and return the mushroom mixture to the pan as well.  Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 1-2 minutes to thicken.  Remove pan from heat and stir in sour cream.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve over egg noodles or rice.