Stuffed French Toast

I'm not going to pretend that French toast isn't breakfast, but I actually really like breakfast for dinner.

I decided to make this for a bridal shower over the weekend. I made the pieces small so they could be finger food and it worked out nicely. I actually don't know if I've ever had stuffed French toast before. If I did, it wasn't that memorable. This was my first attempt at making it and I was happy with the results.

For an extra treat, serve it with homemade creme fraiche -- yes you can make your own! All you need is 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 cup heavy whipping cream. Measure into an airtight container, shake it up, set it on the counter for 24 hours, stir it, and then refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving. Oh, and I add a few drops of vanilla to flavor it a little. It's wonderful.

Stuffed French Toast:

1 loaf white bread
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk or cream
1 tsp vanilla

Mix ricotta and sugar in a bowl. To make the "finger" french toast, cut crusts off bread slices. Flatten slightly with your hand, spoon 2 teaspoons of ricotta mixture onto bread, fold in half and seal edges with your fingers.

Whisk eggs, milk and vanilla. Dip stuffed bread into egg mixture and fry in buttered frying pan until done on both sides. Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.

Serve with creme fraiche.

Apple Crisp

I needed this recipe, because I had a whole bag of apples that was going to go to waste. So this was perfect, because I really don't like pie. I made a couple adjustments to Creede's recipe, but really, you can't go wrong with this.

Apple Crisp

6 apples peeled and sliced

2 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks softened butter

1/2 tsp salt*

1/2 oats*
Cinnamon and or Nutmeg to your liking

Press half of mixture in a baking dish and top with apples. (I sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on top of the apples before spreading the crumble..)

Top apples loosely with remaining mix. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. Apples should be tender and crumble top golden.

*These were my adjustments.

Perfect Cold Day Soup

Jaime Oliver's Leek and Potato Soup

It is SO simple, and SO delicious, I almost need to double the recipe so I have leftovers. I like to leave it chunky and not puree it, the flavors stand out more.

ingredients

• 2 carrots
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 medium onions
• 1 pound leeks
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 ¾ quarts chicken or vegetable broth, preferably organic
• 1 pound potatoes
• olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make your soup
Peel and roughly slice the carrots. Slice the celery. Peel and roughly chop the onions. Cut the ends off the leeks, quarter them lengthways, wash them under running water, and cut them into ¼-inch slices. Peel and slice the garlic. Put the broth in a saucepan and heat until boiling. Place a large saucepan on a high heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add all your chopped and sliced ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon. Cook for around 10 minutes with the lid askew, until the carrots have softened, but are still holding their shape, and the onion and leeks are lightly golden. Peel the potatoes and cut them into ¼-inch dice. Add the boiling broth to the vegetables . Add your potatoes. Give the soup a good stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on

To serve your soup
Remove the pan from the heat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve like this or pulse until smooth using an immersion blender or liquidizer. Divide between your servings.

Maple Roasted Pumpkin Salad

Dinner last night was SO good. My roommate Mandi had guests coming over to our house so she thought she'd invite me to stay for dinner as well. And then I volunteered to make a salad. This is my favorite salad for fall. I used acorn squash instead of a pumpkin though. And agave because I didn't have any maple syrup...but I would have used maple syrup if I had some. Also, we had two surprise guests so I bulked up the arugula with some spinach. It's better with just arugula.

What I liked about dinner was that half of it was prepackaged (Buitoni mushroom ravioli with store-bought pesto) but the rest of it was homemade. It took a lot of the pressure off. The salad takes some time, but it's worth it.

1 sugar pumpkin, cut into 1 inch chunks

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

salt and pepper

Juice of one lime

5 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp dijon mustard

red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

Arugula

1/4 cup pepitas

6 oz feta cheese

Toss the pumpkin with oil and salt and pepper. Roast in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. Toss with maple syrup and roast another 10 minutes so you can get a nice glaze.

Make the dressing and set aside. Top arugula with pumpkin, feta and pepitas. Toss with dressing just before serving.

Steak and Arugula Salad

I took this recipe from iVillage, it is my kind of salad. Nice and beefy :)

1/2 cup buttermilk, for the dressing 1/3 cup mayonnaise, for the dressing 1 clove garlic, minced, for the dressing 1 tablespoon lemon juice, for the dressing 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese 1 hanger steak (about 1 3/4 pounds) 2 tablespoons canola oil 7 ounces baby arugula 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon lemon juice Salt and pepper 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved Read More http://www.ivillage.com/steak-and-arugula-salad-blue-cheese-dressing/3-r-211525#ixzz10gIKkGE9 Sign up for iVillage Special Offers

To make the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Stir in the blue cheese. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Chill in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Salt and pepper both sides of the steak. In a heavy, oven-safe frying pan over medium-high, heat the canola oil. Brown the steak for 5 minutes on each side. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook 20 minutes for medium-rare, depending on the steak’s thickness. Transfer the steak to a cutting board, let it rest for 10 minutes and then thinly slice the steak. In a large bowl, toss the arugula with the olive oil, lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Divide the arugula among 4 plates. Place 3 or 4 slices of steak on each plate and sprinkle the tomato halves over the top. Drizzle with blue cheese dressing and serve.

Ratatouille

My dear friend Jenifer made me this dish, out of the kindness of her heart, and I absolutely loved it. The cheese and the salt are very important...so don't skimp.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1 eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• salt to taste
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced into rings
• 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat bottom and sides of a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until lightly browned. Mix in parsley and eggplant. Saute until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
3. Spread eggplant mixture evenly across bottom of prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Spread zucchini in an even layer over top. Lightly salt and sprinkle with a little more cheese. Continue layering in this fashion, with onion, mushrooms, bell pepper, and tomatoes, covering each layer with a sprinkling of salt and cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Honey Chicken Kabob's

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 cloves garlic
• 5 small onions, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 2 inch pieces
• skewers

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, honey, soy sauce, and pepper. Before adding chicken, reserve a small amount of marinade to brush onto kabobs while cooking. Place the chicken, garlic, onions and peppers in the bowl, and marinate in the refrigerator at least 2 hours (the longer the better).
2. Preheat the grill for high heat.
3. Drain marinade from the chicken and vegetables, and discard marinade. Thread chicken and vegetables alternately onto the skewers.
4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Place the skewers on the grill. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, until chicken juices run clear. Turn and brush with reserved marinade frequently.

Chicken Schnitzel

Oh man. I may make this again this week, because it was a huge hit. I got it of of iVillage again, but I made my own changes. I used lemon, and I used Panko Crumbs in stead of bread crumbs, and I added the noodles with lemon sauce. You can make this however you want and I'm sure it is just dandy.

Chicken Scnitzel

2 large chicken breasts

2 cups Panko crumbs, sauted till golden with butter in a frying pan

1 egg

2/3 c flour

salt and pepper

Canola oil

1 package soba noodles (yummy buckwheat noodles that are SO good for you, found at Whole Foods or even better- Sunflower Market)

Sauce

2 T butter

1-2 T flour

1/3 cup heavy cream

3 T capers

salt pepper to taste

squeeze of lemon

Place your chicken breasts between two pieces of wax paper and one at a time, beat with a rolling pin till 1/4 inch thick. Cut in half, length-wise so you now have four schnitzel's. Beat the egg, and put in a shallow bowl. Put the flour in another shallow bowl and season with salt and pepper. Put your toasted Panko crumbs in another bowl. Dip each schnitzel one by one first in the flour, then the egg, then the panko crumbs. Make sure to press into the panko crumbs to get good coverage. Place on a plate and refrigerate for 30 min.

Meanwhile, boil your soba noodles just until tender and drain. Melt the 2 T butter in a small sauce pan and add the flour. Keep stirring, and always try to keep the mixture moving. Add the cream and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Add the capers.

Rinse your soba noodles and drain as much as possible. (They are pretty slimey... don't worry about it.) Toss the noodles with the sauce and set aside to keep warm.

In a large skillet warm up the oil and when hot add the refrigerated schnitzel. If doing them not all at once, warm the oven to 175 degrees to have a place to keep them warm. Fry the schnitzel's for 2-3 min on each side at med-high heat, or until golden brown and cooked through. Keep warm in oven till ready to serve.

Curl up a pile of noodles on the plate and place warm schnitzel on top, and serve!

Watermelon Limeade

Such a lovely twist on the citrus beverages. I am going to try using raw sugar next time, to make the taste a bit more natural.

Watermelon Limeade

8 cups of cubed water melon

1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

1/4 c. sugar

mint/limes (garnish)

Blend up the watermelon in the blender (it may take two cycles), then strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Stir in the lime juice and the sugar and mix till completely dissolved. Chill- and serve.

S'mores Bars

These are on my TOP FIVE favorite treats list. They are so good, and so satisfying- it's almost sinful. I got this recipe from Brit- so thank you for making my life all the better.

S'mores Bars

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 8 graham crackers)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows) *I used a whole jar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and/or line an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt.
Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan.
4. Place chocolate bars over dough (2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate if necessary to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick).
5. Spread the marshmallow fluff over the chocolate.
6. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles or panels and laying them together).
7. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

(I put chocolate chips on top because I am JUST that desperate for more sugar, calories, and deliciousness.)

Caprese Pasta Salad

I whipped this up pretty quick and it is SO GOOD. The recipe is from iVillage, so credit goes to them.

Caprese Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

8 oz dried rigatoni

1 cup cubed fresh mozzarella

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup pesto sauce (homemade or store bought)

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook the rigatoni in some salted water with a dash of olive oil, just until tender.

While pasta is cooking, cube the mozzarella, halve the olives, and mix them with the pesto.

When pasta is ready, rinse in cold water, then pat dry with paper towel. Toss gently with the pesto mixture, and serve.

(If making ahead of time, take out of the fridge a half hour early, as it is to be served at room temp.)