Breakfast

January 24, 2013 By

     I promised you the recipe for one of my New Years Eve brunch dishes.  Introducing…Overnight Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole!  Its delicious, you make it the night before, it makes great leftovers – and will leave your guests raving!

Overnight Blueberry Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole

12 slices french bread, cut up into 1 inch cubes (you can also use Texas Toast or sourdough – a thick bread so it doesn’t get mushy)

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 C fresh blueberries

3 T powdered sugar

10 – 12 eggs, beaten (use 12 for a less dense casserole, more like bread pudding)

2 cups milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 C maple syrup

Blueberry Syrup Topping (this makes the dish, don’t skip it!)

1 C sugar

2 T cornstarch

1 C water

1 1/2 C fresh blueberries

Directons:

1.  Prepare a 9×13 baking dish.  Arrange half the bread squares evenly on the bottom of the pan.  Top with the blueberries.  Beat the cream cheese and the powdered sugar and drop on top of the bread and blueberries with a spoon.  Cover with the rest of the bread cubes.

2.  In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, vanilla and syrup.  Pour evenly over the casserole.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3.  Remove the casserole from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Bake covered for the first 30 minutes at 350.  Uncover and bake another 25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown on the top. 

4.  While baking, make the syrup.  Mix the sugar, corn syrup and water and bring to a boil.  Stir constantly 3 minutes.  Add the remaining blueberries and reduce heat until your mixture is simmering and simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve on the side of your casserole while still warm.

(Recipe adapted from All Recipes)

**Now if you really want to enjoy this dish, you can also add a dollop of fresh whipped cream, or serve with heavy cream – seriously delicious this way!

     If you are the type of person who is resistant to entertain, a brunch is a great way to entertain with less stress.  You can prepare this the night before, and serve with some heat and serve breakfast meat, orange juice and fresh fruit.  I also found the cutest way to serve eggs via Pinterest – slice up some red, yellow or orange bell pepper thickly.  Place those in a heated, buttered frying pan and crack an egg inside the pepper – such a beautiful presentation!

Source 

Enjoy!

~Kris

 

 

 

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Sister’s Famous Recipe ~ Scotcharoos

June 28, 2012 By

     Most of us have a recipe we are famous for – and Sister is famous for her ooey gooey/chocolately/deliciously sinful ”Scotcharoos”.  She makes them the best and everyone loves them.  If you haven’t tried a Scotcharoo before, you do not know what you are missing!

Sister’s Scotcharoos

Ingredients:

1 C light corn syrup (*sister’s secret – add an extra dollop of syrup!)

1 C sugar

1 C peanut butter

6 C Special K cereal

Frosting:

1 C butterscotch chips

1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

     In a non-stick pot, stir together sugar and light corn syrup over medium heat until it boils.  Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter.  Once mixed, slowly add the cereal.  Once all cereal is coated, spread in a 9×13 non-stick baking pan.

     Now, make the frosting to spread while still warm.  Mix the two chips over medium-low heat until smooth and fully melted.  Pour over the bars and spread.

     There is nothing better than a warm, just cooked Scotcharoo.  Nothing.  (Well, maybe Grammy’s Almond Bars – stay tuned)  They won’t last long enough to store them, but if you are the kind of person with massive amounts of will-power,  just cover and store at room temperature.

*I should tell you that I think  Sister’s “secret” is to add a little extra corn syrup – then the bars are that much more gooey!  But she would never tell – I think she likes all of her neices and nephews begging her to make these for them…its an “auntie” thing…

XO!

~Kris

Filed Under: Cooking and Recipes, Sister 2 Comments

First Communion & Cinco de Mayo

May 11, 2012 By

     These two occassions seem an unlikley pair – but this year they fell on the same day…May 5th!  Son, a second grader, made his First Holy Communion on Saturday night and we had a dinner/pool party after for our family and some of his friends’ families.  It was fun to see Son all dressed up – for a boy who considers jeans TOO DRESSY for formal night on the Cruise, it was nice to see him in a shirt and tie instead of basketball shorts and sports team t-shirts.  In our church, First Holy Communion is a very special time – it would bring tears to any mother’s eye. 

     Two years ago when Daughter made her First Communion, I hired a professional photographer who did a full shoot of her in her dress and veil and she created custom invitiations for the dinner after.  For Son, I quickly rushed him to the back yard and snapped the world’s fastest photo and then found an invitation online that could ship quickly.  Lucky for me, the picture turned out pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself:

 And here are a few photos from the Service:

     After the Mass, the Church had a reception for all - two HUGE cakes with each of the communicant’s names on it (they each got the piece with their name) and lemonade.  After that we went back home for a Cinco de Mayo themed dinner party and the kids all swam like fish in the pool all night.  Here are some party details and recipes:

Sources:  Paper Flowers, Tissue banners and salsa bowls here, tablecloths from Walmart, large beach towels from Target, Tissue Pom Poms from Party City and all ribbon and tulle from Hobby Lobby.

 

Dinner was a taco bar with beef or chicken and all the fixings.  Instead of plates, I used these foil to-go containers that I bought at the Dollar Store.  If you plan ahead, you can buy these much cheaper at an on-line restaurant supply company.  The downside is you have to buy 200, but only $20!  Everyone loved eating from these and it was less mess with the tacos.

 

I served individual layer dips and displayed them on top of a sombrero.
I made these the night before and trust me, they were delish.

 

The dessert bar – yum!  I served lemon cupcakes (on a sombrero), brownies, strawberry pound cake trifle, chocolate chip cookies and sopapilla cheesecake (not pictured.)  The recipe for the amazing trifle is at the end of this post – super easy and you can make the day before!

 

Water bottle labels and food label table tents from Etsy - awesome, last minute service!

 

Every single Coronoa was consumed…when in Rome Mexico! 

 

Make-ahead Mason Jar Margaritas.  I love anything in a mason jar so when I found this reicpe on Pinterest, I had to try it – muy bien!  
See the full recipe below. 

 

Last but not least – I bought some stick-on mustaches at Party City and hot glued them onto skewers and put them at the head table along with some sombreros – people could then pose for pictures using the mustache and hats – made for some funny pics of our friends!

 

RECIPES

 Strawberry Pound Cake Trifle

- 1 Sara Lee Pound Cake, thawed (this dense cake works best for this recipe so it doesn’t get mushy)
- 2 or 3 pints of fresh strawberries – sliced and tossed with 1/2 Cup sugar
- 1 1/2 Cup sugar (1/2 cup used above)
- 2 eight oz packages of cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups whole whipping cream, whipped to make 4 cups

1.  Slice the pound cake into 1 inch cubes.

2.  Beat the cream cheese and 1 C of sugar until smooth.  Then add then whipped cream and mix lightly.

3.  Start the first layer of your trifle with pound cake and place along the bottom of your trifle bowl.

4.  Layer the pound cake with the juicy, sliced strawberries.

5. Top the strawberries with a thick amount of the whipped cream mixture.

6.  Repeat layers one more time until top layer is whipped cream.

7.  Garnish with a whole strawberry or even white or dark chocolate shavings.

*You could also add blueberries and make this dessert look patriotic for Memorial Day or 4th of July! 

*This recipe can be made the day before – this will give the pound cake time to absorb the strawberry juices.

Make Ahead Mason Jar Margaritas
I made 3 batches of these margaritas which filled 24  1/2 pint mason jars.  Save your packaging and freeze the jars in it to save freezer space.

- one 12oz can frozen limeade
- 1 C Tequila
- 1/3 C Triple Sec
- juice of 2 limes
- 4-5 cups of ice

In a blender, combine all ingredients except the ice and blend.  Then fill the blender to the top with ice and blendy until slushy.  You do not want any big ice chunks.  Pour into 1/2 pint mason jars and screw the lids on tightly.  Freeze until ready to serve.  The margaritas will thaw to a slushy consistency in about 5-10 minutes.  Do not put them immediately into an icy cooler like I did – the ice will stick the the mason jars and is hard to remove.  I would recommend putting them into a cooler or drink bin without ice until they have thawed. 

Next up – Daughter’s dance recital and her birthday party.  Then I am taking a nap.  A really, really long nap.

~Kris

 

Filed Under: About Me, Cooking and Recipes, Entertaining, Family, Kids, Parties, Son 5 Comments

Pain Au Chocolat

April 11, 2012 By

 

    That’s my fancy pants way of saying “chocolate croissant”.  One of my girlfriends had a girl’s-night-out Valentines party and one of her many decadent desserts included still warm from the oven chocolate croissants.  Ooh-la-la.  We were all ga-ga and could not stop eating them.  I assumed they took hours to make but she said they were easy.  So, I asked for the recipe and decided to make them for the family for Easter dinner.   And yes, I served them warm from the oven.

     The good news is they really are easy peasy.  Only 4 ingredients…2 of which you probably already have in your fridge and pantry.  Its almost hard to post this recipe so I can keep it my own little secret,  but really…it is too good not to share.  Now you can wow and amaze your friends and family with your incredible “French” cooking skills!

Recipe for 24 pastries:

-2 sheets puff pastry, thawed according to package directions
-2 large Symphony chocolate bars (you will have extra)
-1 large egg mixed with a splash of water for egg wash
-sugar in the raw for dusting

1.  Spread out the puff pastry and cut into 12 equal squares per sheet (this is the hard part – I had some  long, some short – but that’s ok!)


2.  Cut up the Symphony bars into small pieces.
3.  Line each pastry shell with several chocolate pieces.


4.  Roll the pastry up tightly and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, seam side down.
5.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours, and up to 24 hours.
6.  When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
7.  Brush the tops of each pastry with egg wash and then sprinkle with sugar.
8.  Bake about 15 minutes – tops will be lightly browned and the croissant will have risen to almost double its size.
9. Eat until your button pops!

 

Bon appétit!

~Kris

 

Filed Under: Cooking and Recipes 2 Comments

Christmas

December 15, 2011 By

 It’s the most hectic, frantic, stressful time of the year!!!  We all have lists a mile long, Christmas cards to get the perfect picture for not to mention address, stamp and mail, relatives coming to visit, meals to plan and prepare, presents to shop for and wrap, school parties, teacher gifts, blog posts to write…phew, I’m getting exhausted just typing this list.  This will most likely be my last post in 2011 (read list above!) and I wanted to leave you with a few Christmas ideas!

We are all invited to a lot of parties at this time of year and it can be challenging to find a good hostess gift.  This year I bought a few small silver trays and added a jar of Harry & David red pepper jelly and cellophaned it with a big bow!  Speaking of the red pepper jelly – look at this cute idea from Pinterest.  Cut your cream cheese and form into a triangle, add a green onion trunk and a green pepper star and voila, a Christmas tree!

 Chocolate Covered Popcorn – Have you ever tried Peterbrooke chocolate covered popcorn?  This is a famous chocolatier based in Jacksonville, FL – as a lower cost way to provide samples they poured their chocolate over popcorn and it soon became one of the most popular items.  One bite and you would know why.  It is simply the best thing I have ever tasted – the only thing on my Christmas list this year (hint hint)!  There is no way to re-create this popcorn, but I tried.  This recipe is good and easy and would make a fabulous hostess gift, decked out in some pretty packaging.  I made a batch just the other day and it was delish!

2 bags microwave popcorn, popped (I used one with no butter and lightly salted)
1/2 C butter
40 marshmallows
1/2 C chocolate chips
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t salt

Put the popcorn in 2 greased cake pans. Melt butter, chocolate chips and marshmallows over low heat.  Then add vanilla and salt.  Pour over the popcorn and then stir to coat all the pieces.  Bake at 250 for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through.  Cool on wax paper and then store in an air tight container (if it lasts long enough to store!) 

 

A few more ideas from my Pinterest Christmas Board to wow and amaze your family and friends..

Cheese Ball Snowman

Seriously…Christmas Mojitos…yummmmm!

Santa Hat Brownies

 Super cute and healthy party favor!

A hot chocolate bar…genius!

Or, if you live somewhere warm like me, how about frozen white chocolate?

Who doesn’t love chocolate covered marshmallows?

A chalkboard runner like this would be great for parties – this one is no longer available through 
Napastyle.com but a DIY version would not be difficult!

And last but not least, one more recipe worth sharing that I first tested on Thanksgiving.  Cranberry salsa – great with tortilla chips (they have red and green ones in stores now!) and even better poured over cream cheese and served with tortilla chips or wheat thins.

 12 oz package fresh cranberries, chopped
1/4 C green onion, chopped
1/4 C cilantro, chopped
1 1/4 C  sugar
1/4 t cumin
2 T lemon juice
dash salt

Add these ingredients together and refrigerate overnight.  Serve in a bowl with chips, or pour over cream cheese.

 

From my family to yours – have a very Merry Christmas!  (Photo and card designed by the uber talented Otis and James in Minot, ND!)

~Kris 

Filed Under: Cooking and Recipes, Entertaining Leave a Comment

Sunday Dinner

August 15, 2011 By

 

1.  Teriyaki Chicken and Veggie Kabobs
2.  Risotto Primavera 
3.  Baked Beans
4.  The best chocolate sheet cake…ever

School starts in a week so I decided to get back in my routine of making Sunday dinner.  I could list a million reasons why I don’t cook that often – but the number 1 reason is I often feel like a short order cook because of one picky, picky eater.

Sometimes things are so good you just have to share!  I tried some new recipes last night after I stumbled on The Pioneer Woman cooking blog. Here is what I made, along with my modifications:

1.  Teriyaki chicken and veggie kabobs – This picture was taken when I made these at the Lake this summer.  I marinate the chicken in the teriyaki marinade and then about 2 hours before grilling, I assemble the kabobs.  I used chicken, mushrooms, peppers and purple onions.  A great tip for onions is to let them soak in water for an hour or two to reduce their potency – I do this when I add them to salads!

2.  Risotto Primavera – I pretty much followed her recipe, but I did not use broccoli and I added some chopped red and orange pepper from the kabobs. I did not use the goat cheese, just parmesan.  This recipe is my new favorite – it is SO good and makes really great leftovers!

3.  Baked Beans – This was in the Food Network magazine this summer.  It is a very unusual recipe, but it is a crowd favorite.  I did not use the ginger or the pancetta and just added more bacon.  I used the already cooked thick cut bacon to make it easier.  I’m not one for fancy ingredients and ginger and pancetta seemed too fancy!

4.  Chocolate Sheet Cake – the Pioneer Woman says this is the best chocolate sheet cake…ever…and I think she’s right.  This reminds me of Zoe’s cake if you’ve ever had it?  Mmmm!  This summer my mom made Almond Bars (no nuts – I hate nuts!) and they are the best thing you have ever tasted – melt-in-your-mouth good.  Next time I make them, I will take photos and share this secret recipe.  Anyway, my cousin at the Lake said the almond bars reminded her of her Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake so I googled it and that is how I stumbled on the Pioneer Woman blog.

Milk bottles have been all over the blogosphere this summer and I think they look so cute with the fun paper straws at a party.  Milk bottles are hard to find unless you have access to flea markets or get lucky at a yard sale.  A few places have popped up selling them, but they sell out faster than you can hit “buy now”!  So yesterday I was at Wal-Mart and I saw these YooHoo bottles - they look a lot like the milk bottles!  You can order paper straws like these here.  And one party I saw had the cutest way of storing salad and fruit in these glass cansisters – with lids!  I found those at Wal-Mart yesterday for under $10.  Happy party planning!

Kris

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