Monthly Archives: April 2017

Breakfast Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Stromboli

We traveled back to Pennsylivanna recently, and I was rummaging through the kitchen trying to find a dish to prepare for breakfast. Low and behold, I found a frozen homemade pizza dough in the deep freezer at the house. I always try and make a double or triple batch to keep on hand in case of an emergency. 

As we continue down the journey of relocating, I press on at trying to be resourceful with staple pantry items. I have been utizling several of my stowed away items from one of our three freezers for it seems like months. Now if we were in the middle of blizzard we would be safe and never hungry! However, since we are moving I have found it a challenge but the good news is we just cleared an entree refrigerator/freezer combo out completely and it is up for grabs.

Nevertheless, I sure felt lucky to be back in my kitchen, and bake breakfast for my hubby. As far as I am concerned apartment baking leaves little to be desired.  I am looking forward to a spacious kitchen. 
Recipe yields: 4 Servings 

Ingredients:  

1 pound of homemade pizza dough, if frozen allow to completely thaw

1/2 pound fully cooked breakfast sausage

3 eggs, scrambled seasoned with kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon of salt free garden blend seasoning

1 tablespoon dried Parsley

1/2 cup shredder 2 % cheese monterey jack

Scant olive oil, optional 
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper down on a half sheet baking pan. Set aside. 

2. Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into a rectanglar shape. Scatter the sausage evenly on the dough. 

3. Layer the scrambled eggs on top of the sausage. Next, add the cheese evenly on the top of the eggs and generously sprinkle the dried parsley & salt free seasoning on top of    

    the cheese. 

4. Take the longer side of the rectangle, start to roll up the dough (like a cinnamon roll). Continue to roll and tuck the seal on the bottom side. 

5. Seal the ends of the Stromboli, and fold them under the dough. Lastly at an angle cut with a sharp knife a few steam slots to allow for thorough baking. Place the dough 

    (seal down) on parchment paper lined sheet pan. Brush with olive oil. 

6. Place the Stromboli in the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool slightly before slicing into. 

 

Roasted Cashew Oat Bars with Dark Chocolate Drizzle

My hubby loves cashews, last night we made ginger cashew chicken and we had some leftover cashews. I have been wanting to try cashews in a bar for a while now. He will be heading back to the burgh in a few a days so I thought I make these for him to snack on during his commute. Hopefully they will hold him over so he doesn’t have to make too many stops at Sheetz. 🙈

This recipe yields 12 bars
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups raw whole cashews, unsalted (divided); chop roughly 

2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

2 Tablespoons hemp seeds

3 Tablespoons canola oil

2 Tablespoons milled flaxseed

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup raw sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground Vietnamese Cinnamon 

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup dried cranberries, low sugar

1/3 cup Dark Chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli), optional 

Predirections: 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  • Take a glass 8 by 8 baking dish and line with parchment paper. Set aside.

Directions:

1. Place 1/2 cup of the cashews and all the oats and hemp seeds on a parchment paper lined 1/2 sheet baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes and toss with wooden spoon and bake for 5-10 more minutes (until oats and cashews turn golden brown). 

2. In the meantime place remaining cashews, canola oil and flaxseed in food processor and purée until nut butter consistency. Set mixture aside. 

3. While the oats continue to bake, place a 2 quart sauce pan on medium heat, add honey, raw sugar, cinnamon and salt. Allow contents to heat for 4-5 minutes, remove from heat and add cashew butter mixture. Stir to combined. 

4. Once the oats have baked to desired golden hue, using parchment paper siphon the baked contents into large glass bowl, add the dried cranberries. Pour warm liquid cashew mixture over oat mixture. Fold all the ingredients together with spatula. Make sure to incorporate all ingredients together until there are no signs of dry residue. 

5. Take mixture and press into prepared baking dish. Press flat & even using another piece of parchment paper. 

6. Place the dish in the center rack of the oven and bake 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set on wire rack and allow to cool & harden (about an hour). Using the sides of the excess parchment pull out of the pan and set on cutting board and cut into 12 bars. Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 seconds and stir and continue to heat in 30 second intervals, stirs after each interval until smooth.

7.  Place the chocolate in a snack size ziplock bag and clip the end of the bag with food sissors and drizzle away. 

Blueberry Almond Fresh Toasttins

These are very easy to prepare. They are perfect for a quick grab and go breakfast item. Bonus they also freeze well. This is a spin off my original post French Toasttins. 

Yields: 10 Toasttins 

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 TB pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground Vietnamese Cinnamon 

1 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk

2 Tablespoon pure maple syrup 

2 Tablespoons dried blueberries 

2 Tablespoons sliced almonds

1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar

10 slices of light whole grain bread heels (35-45 calories a slice), cubed 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously cooking spray 10 muffin vessels in muffin tin. Set aside. 

2. In a large bowl whisk together the first 5 ingredients. 

3. Toss in the cubed bread. Fold with rubber spatula. Make sure the bread soaks up all the liquid. 
4. Take an 1/3 cup measuring device and portion out a heaping amount of the bread batter into prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle with blueberries, almonds, and vanilla sugar. Place the pan in center rack in oven. 

5. Bake for 25 minutes. Enjoy as is or add additional maple syrup or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Golden Apple and Raisin Pork Roast with Sweet Potatoes & Carrots

I love my slow cooker! We were out and about yesterday since it was my sister’s last day in town, and my husband was coming back to NC, I wanted to make sure we all came home to a hot homemade meal. 

It only took me a few minutes to brown the meat and throw all the ingredients into the slow cooker. Before you knew it, we were out the door to enjoy the beautiful Eastern North Carolina 80 degree weather. 

The house sure smelled good once we got home. 

This recipe Yields: 6- 8 servings 

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

(1) 2-3 pound boneless pork loin

8 ounces unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon chicken base (I prefer penzeys)

8 ounces of boiling water
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger 

1/2 teaspoon ground dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon dried parsley 

1/2 teaspoon kosher Salt

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 medium- large sweet potato, quartered  

1 (1 # bag ) of baby carrots

1 small yellow onion, quartered 

1/2 cup raisins 

Directions:

1. In a large nonstick skillet on medium high heat brown all 4 sides of the pork loin in the olive oil.

2. While the meat is searing, go ahead and mix the next nine ingredients in the slow cooker vessel (applesauce-garlic). Turn the slow cooker on the low heat setting. 

3. Once the meat is finished browning cut in half and rotate the meat in the applesauce mix. Place the pork sides next to one another on top the applesauce mixture. Now arrange the carrots, sweet potatoes, onions, & raisins on top of the meat. Cover the dish with the slow cooker lid and allow to cook for 8 hours on low. 

Enjoy! 

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Bars

I’ve been so lucky this week my sister, and nephew have been keeping me company down in North Carolina. Today, I was able to take off from work to spend the entire day with them. I prepared them these bars for breakfast. These banana bars are a spin off of your traditional banana bread or muffins.

I enjoy this recipe because it is super easy to prepare and clean up! Not mention another great way to use up ripe or frozen bananas.

This recipe was adapted from TOH Banana Squares. 

Prep time: 10 minutes 

Bake time: 35 minutes

This recipe yields: 12-15 bars

Ingredients:
2 eggs, separate whites and yolks

1/3 canola oil

1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup mashed bananas; about 3 medium  (I used frozen)

1/4 cup low fat buttermilk

1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Pre-directions:

  • Line 9 by 13 inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees


Directions:

1. In a stand mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; pour into small bowl and set aside. In same stand mixer bowl cream peanut butter, canola oil, and sugar. Beat in egg yolks; mix to combind. Add the bananas and mix well.

2. Combine flour and baking soda; add to creamed banana batter alternate the flour with buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Fold in egg whites. Lastly, fold in chocolate chips.

2. Pour the batter into a prepared 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. I did use a dark metal pan, which does effect the bake time. Cool pan on wire rack before cutting into bars.

3. After the bars have cooled completely store the bars in an air tight container in the refrigerator.