Challah French Toast

This is a wonderful breakfast/brunch recipe especially for Christmas morning. You can prepare it the night before, pop it in the oven for 45 minutes while everyone is opening gifts, then you have a delicious meal to savor, plus no slaving on Christmas morn.

Recipe:

1 large challah bread
8 eggs
3 c milk
1/4 c sugar
1 T vanilla
1 tsp salt

topping: butter, cinnamon, sugar, maple syrup

Cut the challah bread lengthwise and into 2 inch squares. Place lightly side by side in a 13x9 greased pyrex casserole dish. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over challah bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Dot with butter and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon over top. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Serve with maple syrup.

Optional: add raisins on top before cooking

Happy Holidays!

Holiday Toffee

This is a favorite in my house at holiday time and a great gift for friends. So easy too! This recipe comes from a novelty cookbook called Carol's Collection.

Recipe:

saltine crackers (about 35)

2 sticks butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 12-oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 10 x 15" jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with a rim) with aluminum foil. Place saltines in tight rows all across foil. Place butter and sugar in a glass bowl and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Afterward, stir with a whisk until thoroughly blended. Pour sugar/butter mixture over crackers and spread out as evenly as you can with a spatula. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Once they are starting to melt, smooth over with a spatula. Sprinkle the nuts on top. Chill for 30 minutes in the freezer. Pull toffee away from the foil and break into bite-sized pieces. Will keep well in the fridge or freezer. Just enough chocolate to get you through the holiday madness!

Poblano Shrimp Enchiladas

We gobbled down these enchiladas so quickly that I forgot to take a photo! We had an abundance of little poblano peppers in our garden that we picked just before the first freeze. I decided to make these delicious, easy enchiladas.

Recipe:
3/4 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
olive oil
1 large poblano or 2-3 small, halved and seeded
1 large onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 c sour cream
8 corn tortillas
1 (10 oz) green enchilada sauce
1 1/2 c shredded monterrey jack cheese

Coarsely chop raw shrimp and set aside. Line a jelly roll pan with foil, then cover with cooking spray. Place peppers (skin side up) under oven broiler for 5-10 minutes until the skin is blistered. Remove from the oven and place peppers in a paper sack for 5-10 minutes to steam. Then the skin should peel easily away. Dice poblanos and place in a skillet with 2 T olive oil and chopped onion. Saute for a few minutes. Add tomato and spices and continue cooking for 4 minutes. Add shrimp. Once shrimp is cooking through, remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in sour cream.

Heat tortillas in microwave until malleable. Fill with shrimp mixture, then roll up and place on jelly roll pan. Top with enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Can be made ahead and chilled in the refrigerator until you're ready to cook. Serve alongside a green salad with sliced avocado and cherry tomatoes tossed with Paul Newman's Family Style Italian dressing. Enjoy!

Chocolate Marshmallows

I'm afraid I don't have any Thanksgiving recipes to share since our extended families always host us in Houston. So, I've decided to dive right into SWEETS! Let's call it the Holiday Cookie Countdown.

So, Number One Son was at a friend's house recently where he tasted a homemade chocolate marshallow. That very day he was obsessed with making his own. He found this recipe on http://www.candy.about.com/. While I don't consider it to be "cooking on a whim" because it is time intensive, these marshmallows were so incredible and worth it. (Plus, I hardly had to do a thing.) You should plan to make these a day in advance because they have to sit for 10 hours.

Recipe:

1/3 c + 4 T cocoa powder, divided

1 1/4 c plus 2T water, divided

3 envelopes gelatin

2 c sugar

3/4 c light corn syrup

1/2 c powdered sugar

2 T cornstarch

1) Coat a 9x13 pan with foil and spray liberally with cooking spray.

2) Microwave 1/4 c + 2T water for 2 minutes; pour 1/3 c cocoa over warm water. Whisk.

3) Pour 1/2 c cold water into large mixing bowl. Sprinkle gelatin on top of water and let it sit 5 min.

4) Spoon warm cocoa water into gelatin, mix together on low.

5) Combine remaining 1/2 c water, corn syrup, and sugar into a saucepan over med. high heat. Stir to dissolve.

6) Using a candy thermometer (we cheated and used a meat thermometer), cook sugar mixture until the temperature reaches 240 degrees. This will turn into a hot candy syrup. Occasionally run the mixer over the separate bowl of cocoa/gelatin mixture to keep it from setting.

7) Pour hot syrup (from the saucepan) gradually into the cocoa/gelatin mixture. Take care because the syrup is very hot. Start mixing on low then gradually increase to high. Whip for 15-20 minutes until stiff and shiny. (This is the part where your child comes in real handy because that is a long time to mix! Unless you are one of those with a self-propelled mixer.)

8) Pour into the foil lined pan and let sit at room temperature for 10 hours.

9) Sift powdered sugar with 4T cocoa and cornstarch. Sprinkle onto a large sheet of wax paper. Flip pan of marshmallows onto this dusted surface. Using a sharp knife (coated with cooking spray and powdered sugar mixture), cut in squares and roll in powdered mixture.

10) Store in dry, airtight container for about a week.

Serve marshmallows with fresh strawberries, blueberries and blackberries topped with whipped cream for a delicious light dessert.

Multi-Grain Scones with Lemon Topping

Breakfast is the most challenging meal for me. My kids dislike cereal and we tend to have an unhealthy dependence on refrigerated crescent rolls. So, when I find something that is tasty, yet has fiber, a little protein, and a reasonable amount of sugar, I jump up and down (but not until after I've had my coffee.) This recipe is adapted from The Healthy Kitchen cookbook. Trust me, they taste much better than they look!

Recipe:
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
5 T grapeseed or canola oil
1/8 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup wheat bran
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2 T poppy seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup milk

Zesty lemon topping:
3 T lemon juice
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk egg, sugar, and oil together in a bowl. Mix lemon zest and dry ingredients together in separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet and create a thick dough. Add milk and mix well.

Cover a pan in parchment paper (or grease pan). Plop a scoop of dough (about the size of a small donut) onto the pan with 2 inches between mounds. Bake 15-20 minutes until crust is barely golden. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes. Mix lemon topping with fork and drizzle over each scone. Can be made the day before and warmed in the oven before serving.

Chili

Chili is the perfect hearty meal for these cold autumn nights. I love this recipe adapted from The Family Chef cookbook. I always find chili recipes too sweet but this one had just the right spice and flavor.

Recipe:
2-3 lb. beef sirloin cut in very small pieces
Seasonings: 4 T chili powder
4 T cumin
1 T garlic powder
salt, pepper
2 sweet onions, chopped
4-5 peppers (combined yellow, green or orange bell, stemmed seeded, diced small)
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
2 serrano chilis, chopped fine (I didn't use these in my recipe)
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 large can diced or crushed tomatoes
5-6 c beef stock
2-3 cans beans (any kind you like)

In a large pot, brown the meat with a little olive oil, using half the seasoning mixture. Remove meat and set aside. In same pot, saute all veggies except tomatoes. Add rest of seasoning. Return meat to pan, add tomatoes and beef stock. Simmer 10 minutes. Add beans and simmer 30 minutes to an hour. Add salt or pepper if needed. The longer you cook it, the better.

We serve ours with crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheddar and a little hot sauce (like Tobasco) on top. There was enough for us all to have a smaller side cup of chili the following night. Delish!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

I heard "ughs" from my kids when I mentioned we were having a side dish of acorn squash.
But then...they ate every bite and admitted they liked it. Love it when that happens!

Recipe:

2 acorn squash (serves four)
melted butter (about 4 T)
salt
feta or goat cheese
chopped pecans
maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seedy middle. Brush the interior of the squash with butter and sprinkle with salt. Place squash cut side down on either parchment paper or foil on a jelly roll pan (rimmed baking sheet). Cook for 30 minutes.

In a bowl, combine pecans with a glug of maple syrup. Turn the squash cut side up and fill with half the pecan mixture. Crumble the feta or goat cheese on top of the pecans, then the rest of the pecan mixture. Bake upright for 10 more minutes.

I served these with baked salmon, green salad, and sliced sourdough bread. It was a savory autumn meal.