Today's Special: Breakfast Edition

As a pre-cursor to this post, let me say that I do not make breakfast on weekdays. Seth is out the door by 4:30am and he's lucky if I'm half-conscious when says 'goodbye.'  My neighbors are lucky if I have my pants on when I rush out the door at 7:15am. However, I do try to make up for my lack of early morning meals by whipping up some good stuff on the weekends. Some of these are faster to make than others, but none of them require much skill. And according to Seth, you have to serve them all with bacon. Otherwise, it's just not breakfast.

German Apple Pancake

A super easy and fairly quick breakfast option. I made this in my cast iron skillet and it worked perfectly. This is one of those breakfasts that seems a little special... I mean, you don't get German Apple Pancakes everyday, right?

Denny's Style French Toast

I love, love, love this French Toast. It's not too eggy and always turns out so delicious. I think it's the addition of flour to the batter that makes it so good. I like to use Texas Toast bread or even better, leftover French bread. Regular bread works too, just not nearly as delicious as the thicker stuff. This is definitely one of my favorite breakfasts.

Crunchy Delicious Waffles

Seriously the best waffles ever. They always turn out wonderful. I typically use 8 tbsp. of butter (the recipe gives an option as to how much you can use). I've also made these with half wheat and half white flour and they were great that way too. For some reason these tend to turn out better on waffle irons with the larger squares (think Belgian waffle) than the traditional smaller squares. But still good either way.

Banana Pancakes

These are a great variation to traditional pancakes. I typically make these when I have a banana or two that are overly ripe. I like these because the banana flavor isn't too overwhelming and the texture of the pancake is always nice and fluffy. Try these with Blueberry Breakfast Sauce (also works well with mixed berries) and you'll probably die. Also, I have to call pancakes "pampcakes" because of this.

Baked Ham and Cheese Omelet

I've never been very good at making omelets, so this is a great alternative to the stove-top method. You can pretty much use any kind of filling you want... I've used cooked diced bacon instead of ham and I'm sure you could add onions, peppers, or mushrooms. This is VERY filling. I usually halve the recipe and there's still leftovers.

(Uh... I made this today but sort of screwed up and even though it still tasted fine, it looked a little odd so imagine a delicious looking omelet... or look at the pictures in the recipe link. See, I mess up sometimes too!)

Eggs On Toast

So the link to this one just goes to a basic white sauce, but that's pretty much all you need for this recipe. I  hard-boil about 4 eggs, chop them up and add them to the white sauce. Grind in some fresh pepper and salt then throw the sauce onto a couple slices of toast and you're done!

Today's Special: Pot Stickers w/ Soy Dipping Sauce, Chicken Wellington, Kelly's Chili, and Deep-Dish Apple Pie

I resisted the urge to raid my "new recipe" feeds on Google this week and dug out the old-fashioned cookbook. These are definitely some of my favorite recipes!

Pot Stickers with Soy Ginger Dipping Sauce- These pot stickers rock my world. It's a little time consuming to make all the individual folded pouches, but so worth it. Also, do not skip the dipping sauce, it'll take you five minutes to make it and it's amazing! I usually make double batches of these because it's more common to find 48 packs of the won ton wrappers (usually in the produce section) and a full pound of ground pork.

Chicken Wellington with Creamy Mushroom Sauce - So remember a couple weeks ago when I made Crap in Rolls? Well think of this as its more sophisticated, incredibly delicious older sister. The recipe calls for 8 small chicken breasts, but I used 4 large ones and cut them in half. I also pounded out the chicken to a uniform thickness to make sure they cooked evenly (I don't have a mallet... just used the side of a can of beans!). Also... I have a confession to make... I completely forgot about the corresponding Mushroom Sauce this time around. Which was fine... they are totally awesome on their own. HOWEVER. I have made the Mushroom Sauce before and it is awesome. And I would have made it this time had it not completely slipped my mind. Oh, and the recipe says to take the puff pastry out of the freezer 10 minutes before you use it. I'd say make it more like 20-30 minutes. But seriously... this looks really fancy but it's not hard at all to make!

Kelly's Chili- I'm not usually big on chili. In fact it's typically one of my least favorite "soups." But this chili is so good! It always turns out with the perfect amount of heat and it doesn't have a lot of beans in it. In fact I add an extra can of beans to make the meat/bean ratio a little better. I made this for a work party once and everybody loved it. And Seth and I were able to make it through an entire crockpot full of this stuff before it went bad, so that's saying something!

Deep-Dish Apple Pie- This week a friend of mine at work gave me a bag of homegrown apples so of course I had to make a pie! I love making this pie because it always turns out delicious. And look how beautiful! This isn't exactly a fast recipe to make (what apple pie is?) but it's well worth the effort. I use an apple peeler thingy which helps cut down the prep time a lot. A food processor is also a very useful tool with this one.

Today's Special: Oreo Balls, Chicken Enchiladas, To Die for Crock Pot Roast, and Pork with Dried Apples & Proscuitto,

Oreo Balls- New Recipe. So I've had these in my "To Try" folder in my Recipezaar account for a long time, but for some reason never got around to making them. The other day a co-worker shared one of these with me and I knew I had to have more. So I made some! These were seriously so awesome. They're just blended up Oreos with cream cheese but man... they rocked! Plus they were actually really easy to make so that was definitely a bonus! Corinne... you better not make these. You'll probably die. Or gain 50 pounds.

Chicken Enchiladas- New Recipe. So I first saw this recipe on the Blue Muse's blog and thought it looked awesome. The night I made this the Internets were down at my house so I had to guess on how to make it. I basically did everything as it says in the recipe, except I didn't add any onions or garlic because I forgot about them. But it still turned out so good! I think the rotisserie chicken made a huge difference in the flavor. Also, I'm not sure if I've used white corn tortillas before or not, or maybe it was the brand I bought (Mission), but these ones were a million times better than the corn tortillas I've used before. Usually they break when I roll them, but these held together very well. I'll definitely buy them again. Anyway, this recipe was definitely easy AND delicious. I'm sure I'll be making them again!

To Die for Crock Pot Roast- Repeat. This is my favorite pot roast recipe. It always turns out good and it makes its own gravy! The gravy is very salty straight out of the pot, so I always thin it out with water and then use a thickener to get it back to a good gravy consistency.

Pork with Dried Apples and Prosciutto- New Recipe. I really liked this recipe. It definitely had a great "Fall" flavor. It was super easy to make and fast and used up some prosciutto and sage I had in the fridge! (You know you're out of control when you have leftover sage and prosciutto). I don't normally like pork chops much, but these were delicious!

Today's Special: Ranch-Parmesan Chicken, Korean Chicken & Peanut Noodles, Crap in Rolls, Beef Stroganoff, and BLTs

Ranch-Parmesan Chicken- New Recipe. I made this on the spur of the moment because I hadn't gone to the grocery store yet. It turned out surprisingly good. Not healthy in the slightest, but good!

Korean Roast Chicken (new recipe) with Peanut-Ginger Noodles (repeat)- The Korean chicken turned out surprisingly well. I actually used boneless skinless thighs and it worked just fine. It did reduce the cooking time to 45 minutes. I'd probably let these marinate longer if I were to make them again. And the noodles? What can I say? This is my favorite peanut sauce/noodle recipe I've tried. And it's super easy.

Crap in Rolls- Old family favorite. OK so there's a story to this one. These things are actually called "Chicken Rolls." We pronounce it more like "crap'n-rolls." My now brother-in-law JR was coming over for his first Sunday dinner at the Holley home. When asked what we were having, Corinne said something like, "I don't know... crap in rolls or something." And he still came over. Bachelors sure are desperate for a home cooked meal. Don't worry, they're better than they sound. And my mom still gets pissed off when we called them Crap in Rolls.

Crap in Rolls

Rolls
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 can mushrooms
1 stalk celery, diced
2 tbsp. butter, melted
2 cups breadcrumbs
2 cans Refrigerated Crescent Roll dough (16 rolls)

Sauce
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
Milk

Combine chicken, lemon pepper, cream cheese, mushrooms, and celery. Roll out dough. Spoon mixture onto dough (about 1 rounded tablespoon each), roll up, and seal. Dip in melted butter and then into bread crumbs. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

To make sauce combine cream of chicken soup with enough milk to thin to desired consistency and heat. Spoon over hot rolls.

Makes 16 rolls.

Beef Stroganoff- Repeat. Comfort food at its best. I always add mushrooms to the meat/onions when they're sauteing.

BLTs- Repeat. So I'm pretty sure the name is self-explanatory of the recipe for this one. Unless you want to get all technical and say it doesn't include the mayo or bread. But come on. If you don't know how to make a BLT, there's no help for you. Quit now.



Today's Special: Pressure Cooker Meals

So about a week before my birthday my mom called me to chat. Sometime during the conversation she asked me what I wanted for my birthday present:

Me: Um.... hmmm.... I know I want lots of stuff... let me think for a second.

Mom: Corinne got a really cool 3-in-1 steamer/pressure cooker/slow cooker. She really likes it.

Me: I know there's something I wanted I just need to think for a second.

Mom: Has she told you about it? It's really amazing.

Me: Wasn't there some sort of fishing thing I needed?

Mom: So I have one of these 3 in 1 pressure cookers too. It's really amazing. It's ELECTRIC.

Me: Wait, what?

Mom: Yeah it's an electric pressure cooker.

Me: Really? Does it work good?

Mom: Oh yeah. You can just type in the amount of time you want it to go for and after it's done it shuts down to a "warming" mode. It's a steamer too. You can cook rice in it and use it as a slow cooker. And it has a delay cooking option.

Me: I've never even heard of such a thing! I need one!

Mom: You can think about it if you want and let me know.

Me: Nope I've made up my mind. I need a 3 in 1 electric pressure cooker for my birthday.

Mom: Ok, if that's what you really want.

Isn't my mom so geniusly talented at getting me to want stuff? It was like some sort of Green Beret tactic of making me ask for the thing she already had in mind. Those are some serious skills.

So I use my pressure cooker on a regular basis, but usually just to cook potatoes or frozen chicken breasts. But now that I had this new fancy contraption, I had to expand my mind and use it as intended... a quick one dish delicious meal producer.

I scoured the Internets and found a handful of recipes that sounded enticing and thought I would share them with you in this week's theme: Pressure Cooker Meals. Enjoy.

Corned Beef & Cabbage: This was by far my favorite meal of the week. It wasn't exactly fast at about 90 minutes, but much faster than a regular corned beef meal and definitely tasty. Plus since I didn't have to watch the pressure cooker at all, I was able to fit in a pre-dinner run . I don't know if the recipe producer had a giant sized pressure cooker or what, but I wasn't able to fit all my veggies in the pot. I will definitely be making this again.

Navy Bean Soup- This one took a little preparation to soak the beans overnight, but it was hardly time consuming or difficult. I couldn't find a 3 lb. ham shank... only a bunch around 10 pounds, so I thought maybe it was supposed to use ham hocks instead. So that's what I used. They look really disgusting but the soup turned out great. I cooked mine a little bit longer as I noticed the recipe says to cook it at 15 psi and the high setting on my pressure cooker is 9 psi. Oh, I also ended up using both my regular pressure cooker and the electric one because this made a ton of soup. If you only have one regular sized cooker, I suggest cutting the recipe in half. This was a very good soup and one I would make again. If you've never tried Navy Beans (aka White Beans) you're missing out. They are very buttery and delicious!

Ham with Vegetables- While this wasn't a gourmet meal by any means, it was a good solid meat and potatoes type meal and it was fast! If you like ham and vegetables, this would be a nice addition to your weekly menu.

BBQ Ribs- I picked up some pork baby back ribs on impulse when I saw they were on sale. Turns out you can cook them in the pressure cooker too! I think they could have used a few extra minutes in the cooker as the meat wasn't quite as tender next to the bone as I would have liked, but the sauce was great! I cut back on the sugar by 1 full cup as suggested by other reviewers and doubled the cayenne pepper (they were not spicy in the slightest). I may like this recipe even more than my regular standby. Awesome!

Today's Special: Wow No Red Meat Again!

Open-Faced Sandwiches with Ricotta, Arugula, and Fried Egg - New Recipe. I wasn't sure I'd like this as I'm not a big fan of fried eggs. But, not only did I like this... I loved it! I actually used fresh spinach instead of arugula, but otherwise made this as written. This technique for making fried eggs made them turn out perfectly and I didn't have to mess with flipping them over and accidentally breaking the yolks. This recipe made me realize that I do in fact like fried eggs (so long as they're not touching any maple syrup!).

White Chili with Chicken- Repeat. This doesn't really taste like a classic chili at all, but it's good anyway. It has a very fresh taste from the cilantro and lime and is a great healthy meal.

Ramen Shrimp Pouch- New Recipe. This is a recipe I stumbled upon from Alton Brown on Good Eats. I used a couple new ingredients with this one... mirin and dried mushrooms. Mirin is kind of a sugary rice wine and the black wormy looking things in the picture are the mushrooms (or "black fungus" as labeled on the package :D ). Anyway, I thought this turned out pretty good and it was simple to make. It took probably about 10 minutes longer to cook than it said in the recipe (the noodles weren't cooked through yet and the mushrooms were still dry). Aside from that it all went smoothly. I thought the broth for the soup was good, though a bit sweet for my tastes... I think it's from the 1/2 cup of mirin. I'd probably cut that back next time to about 1/4 cup and up the veggie broth. Seth and I both added a bit of Thai garlic chili paste and extra soy sauce to our individual bowls just for some added spice and flavor. This was good "as written" though and a fun experiment.

Meat & Grain Burgers with Shrimp Louie Pasta Salad: New Recipe. So I thought these burgers sounded kind of weird but they looked delicious and I had a whole bunch of bulgur to use up so I thought I'd give it a try. I also branched out and tried using ground turkey instead of beef. I thought these turned out really well and weren't weird at all. I was a bit worried after I made the patties because they seemed kind of mushy, but the texture was just fine after they were cooked. I'd probably stick with using regular hamburger next time just because beef has a lot more flavor to it, but turkey wasn't bad by any means (these were actually better then next day).

As for the shrimp salad, it was exactly what I was looking for... a basic pasta shrimp salad. It was good right after I made it, but even better the next day after all the flavors had a chance to blend and the pasta was completely chilled. I'm a sucker for a pasta salad, especially ones like this that remind me of all the potlucks from my childhood. Definitely a keeper. Oh yeah, I substituted celery for the red peppers.

Today's Special: Trying to Increase My Processed Meat Intake

Grilled Ribeye Steaks with Mashed Potatoes- So this isn't really a recipe. Just salt and pepper some good ribeye steaks and throw them on a hot grill. The mashed potatoes are an inborn Idaho man secret. Or technique. Either way, only Seth can make them at our house. Sorry, you'll have to find your own Idaho native to make them for you.

Fancy Hot Dogs- New Recipe. Don't knock it til you try it is all I got to say about this one. This was a lot like stroganoff, but with hot dogs. I added mushrooms to this which I thought worked really well. I sauteed them along with the hot dogs and onions. Also, I know you're all going to be scandalized by this, but I've found a new brand of hot dogs. I had been using Ballpark Grillmasters for a long time, but decided to try Hebrew National Kosher Beef Hot Dogs this time. They taste more like a classic hot dog and aren't quite so greasy as the Grillmasters. I can see this recipe making it to the second round.

Tuna Casserole- Old Favorite. This is one of the recipes my mom always made. Super easy and you can keep all the ingredients on hand for a quick dinner. I tried using a couple green onions in place of the minced onions in this and was very pleased with the results.

Baked Cod with Chorizo and White Beans- Repeat. I made this recipe once before and decided it was good enough to make again. This time I actually used chorizo sausage instead of kielbasa sausage and it was great as well. I like this recipe because it doesn't involve frying or spices that cover the flavor of the fish. This works well with virtually any type of white fish.

Shrimp, Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya- Favorite. I love this recipe. One of my favorite things to make. It's an easy one dish meal (if you've got a big oven-safe skillet) and makes a ton. Although the andouille sausage is good in this, I prefer to use turkey kielbasa sausage. It's not so spicy and has a more mellow flavor. Seriously, this stuff is awesome.

Bonus: Dessert

Granny's Chocolate Cobbler- New Recipe. I saw this recipe on the Pioneer Woman website and had to try it. I thought it turned out really good.... kind of like one of those hot fudge cakes that make their own fudge sauce. I used dark chocolate cocoa to give it even more chocolate flavor.

Tip of the Week: Garnishes

Until I started taking pictures of the meals I make, I completely ignored garnishes. I saw them as an optional ingredient and rarely ever used them. I mean, how much of a difference can chopped parsley or cilantro make to soup or a Mexican dish? Why should I bother with the toasted almonds on a casserole or a sprinkling of green onions? Let me tell you... garnishes make a huge difference!

Garnishes are actually incredibly important. Not only do they make the meal look more appetizing, they can also give an extra little punch of flavor that brings the whole dish together. There are so many meals I've made that have been dramatically altered by a seemingly small finishing touch. So don't skip the garnishes! I  guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results.

Today's Special: Cinco de Mayo

Blackened Salmon Sandwich- New Recipe. Wow this was really great. A big surprise as far as flavor and it's healthy too! I would definitely make this again.

 
Nogales Steak Tacos- This was the second time I've made this. So so good and easy to make. You do have to plan ahead of time (the onions and steak need to marinate overnight), but it makes for a fast meal that's full of delicious flavor.

Brats and Sauerkraut- New Recipe. So I don't know that this really counts as a recipe as there isn't much added to the brats or sauerkraut. I mainly saw "Brats and Sauerkraut" and thought it sounded really good. I served this on fancy hot dog buns from the bakery (which I later saw were labeled at 'Brat Buns'), and mustard. It was really good and hit the spot.

Homestyle Macaroni and Cheese- Favorite. I LOVE this mac and cheese. I've tried a lot of homemade mac and cheese recipes and they are usually bland and don't have much flavor. This stuff is awesome. The Dijon mustard gives it an extra little kick of flavor and matches really well with the cheddar. This is one of my favorite recipes.

Bonus: Dessert

Ginger-Lime Coconut Cake with Marshmallow Frosting- New Recipe. After looking at about a million cake recipes, I chose this one to make for my mom's birthday. It was a bit time consuming, but turned out really good. I thought it was kind of a "key lime pie" cake. The lime curd filling was really good and the frosting was addictive. I kept eating the leftovers out of the bowl... it was just like marshmallow fluff. The cake turned out a lot more dense than I thought it would, but it was still really good. It was a really beautiful cake and I was really pleased with how it turned out.

Today's Special: The Motherload

Spring Chicken & Barley Soup: New Recipe. This turned out really well. Very fresh tasting and different than your normal chicken soup. The fresh basil, garlic and orange zest garnish was what made this soup stand out, so if you can't get those things or are tempted to substitute, DON'T. You will be sorry and I can guarantee this will turn out bland and not nearly as good. I would make this again and I think I would add more barley as there wasn't quite enough of it for my tastes.

Poached Salmon with Creamy Piccata Sauce- New Recipe. I especially liked the sauce in this recipe... creamy but not too heavy and the capers gave it a nice tangy flavor. I substituted onions for the shallots because I'm not paying $2.50 for 3 tiny shallots when I can buy a 3 lb. bag of onions for the same amount. Oh, this was my first time poaching salmon and though it turned out good, I think next time I will just sear it in olive oil in a cast iron pan like usual. I like the crust and extra flavor searing gives the fish. And it looks prettier and more appetizing too. Plus, it saves the cost of the extra wine this recipe used for poaching. Win-win.

Peanut Noodles with Shredded Chicken & Vegetables- New Recipe. This turned out great. For me it had the perfect blend of peanut flavor and spiciness. For the vegetables I used 2 12 oz. bags instead of the one it called for, mainly because I wanted broccoli, carrots and snow peas, but I couldn't find them all together in one bag. So, I bought 1 bag of broccoli, carrots and cauliflower and 1 with just snow peas. I'm glad I did. I think the ratio of all the ingredients was better this way. Also, I thought the snow peas were really good in this so I'm glad there were more of them than the other veggies.

Creamy Cheddar Potato Soup- Re-evaluation. I made this soup a long time ago and had it in my Recipezaar cookbook. I don't remember it being anything spectacular, so I decided to make it again to see if it was worthy of keeping. It was a very basic recipe but very good and easy to tweak to our liking. I used extra sharp cheddar for more flavor and garnished with fresh dill and bacon bits. I think next time I'll add some peas or broccoli for even more depth.

Grilled Mustard-Glazed Pork Loin- New Recipe. Ok, so I actually made this recipe last week and I'm pretty sure I got this recipe off of the America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Country website and for some reason it doesn't like me anymore and won't let me on without paying. SO, I don't have the recipe, but if you want it, that's where I got it from. I thought this turned out really well. It was really easy and had great flavor. Also, if you're looking for a good recipe for green beans, try this one: Italian Green Beans.

Jo Mama's World Famous Spaghetti- One of my staples. I love this spaghetti sauce. It's got great flavor, it's easy and it makes a ton! I try to keep some in the freezer at all times for a quick dinner. It also works great in lasagna and manicotti.

Kitchen Staple of the Week:

Capers

Though they look a lot like small peas, capers are actually small pickled flower buds. I didn't start using capers until recently, but they've quickly become a favorite ingredient. They give recipes a great tangy boost of flavor. I've used them frequently in pasta and fish recipes as well as in dips like tartar sauce. They're very versatile and great staple ingredient to keep in the fridge. You can find them by the pickles and olives in the grocery store.

Today's Special: A Bunch of Crazy Sounding Stuff You'll Probably Like

Sunday: Sauerkraut Chowder- This is one of my favorite recipes. It's different but delicious! Be careful not to use too much water when cooking the veggies or your chowder will turn out too soupy. This time I used low-fat cream cheese & turkey kielbasa sausage to make it a little healthier and it tasted just as good.

Monday: Spaghetti with Creamy Spinach and Tarragon- I've made this pasta before and it always turns out good. Great way to use up some fresh spinach.

Tuesday: Herbed Zucchini Soup- New Recipe. I made this to use up some zucchini I had. I thought it turned out really good and it was really fast to make. I thought it tasted kind of like broccoli soup. Anyway, it was a bit lighter of a soup than I expected so I threw some grilled cheese sandwiches together at the last minute to go with it. Delicious!

Wednesday: Corned Beef & Cabbage in Guinness- New Recipe. I know this is about a week early, but I had a head of cabbage I needed to use up, so I decided to make this. Oh I mean, I planned it this way so you'd have a good recipe to use for St. Patrick's Day. I've never made corned beef so I was a little worried how it would turn out. It took several hours to cook on the stove so it wasn't a fast dinner by any means, but man was it good! Definitely worth the wait!

Thursday: Leftovers

Bonus: Orange Rolls- New Recipe.... sort of. So, I had some fresh mandarin oranges I needed to use (we don't like to eat them plain because they're full of seeds) so I decided to make some orange rolls. I've made cinnamon rolls before using my sister, Corinne's recipe, which is awesome (and lets me use the dough cycle on my bread machine... which I also got from her!). So, I thought maybe I could tweak the recipe and make orange rolls instead. I'm not very experienced at making my own changes to recipes for baked goods, so I wasn't quite sure if this would turn out or not, but I was pleasantly surprised when it did... and that they were incredibly delicious! So, I thought I would just write the recipe out as I made it, in case you want to try it too!

Dough:
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 cup orange juice, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp. orange zest
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, softened

Icing:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons orange zest
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Place all dough ingredients in bread machine in order recommended by manufacturer. Select DOUGH cycle and press Start.

In separate bowl combine cinnamon and sugar.

After dough has finished, turn it out onto lightly floured surface and roll into a 16x24 rectangle. Spread dough with butter and sprinkle evenly with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in lightly greased 9x13 pan. Cover and let rise until almost doubled (about 30 min). Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake rolls for 14-16 minutes (do not overbake!). While rolls are baking, mix together frosting ingredients. Spread on rolls when they are still warm. (I heat the frosting up in the microwave a little so I can pour it on the rolls instead).