Tag: Taste of Home

Breads · Breakfast · Casseroles · Daily Thoughts · Holiday Fare · Uncategorized

Monte Cristo Casserole & Raspberry Sauce

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Years ago we use to have a restaurant in Texas that had the best Monte Cristo sandwiches. It is no surprise that this breakfast casserole caught my eye in the December Taste of Home. After reading the recipe and realizing that I could make it the night before, it became the breakfast of choice for Christmas morning this year. Cannot wait to serve it with a side dish of hash browns and a fruit compote.

1 loaf French bread, cut into 20 slices
2 tables Dijon mustard
1/2 lb sliced deli ham
1/2 lb sliced Swiss cheese
1/2 lb sliced deli turkey
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 teas sugar
2 teas vanilla extract

Topping
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teas ground cinnamon

Raspberry Sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1 tables cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

Line a greased 13×9″ baking dish with half of the bread. Spread the mustard over bread. Layer with ham, cheese, then turkey and remaining bread. Dish will be full.
In a large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla. Pour over top. Place in fridge, covered overnight.

Preheat oven to 375. Remove casserole from fridge while oven heats. IN a small bowl, mix topping ingredients, sprinkle topping her the casserole. Bake, uncovered, until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.

While casserole is baking, using a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water, lemon juice and maple syrup until smooth.
Add raspberries. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Cool slightly.

Let casserole stand 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm with sauce.

Serves about 10

Vanilla Cream Fruit Tart
Breakfast · Desserts · Fruit · Uncategorized

Vanilla Cream Fruit Tart

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Wow, this is delicious. Because I had ladies over this morning for Bible Study, it is so exciting to me to look for new things to make for them. When I ran across this Taste of Home, 2017 magazine the other day, the picture of the fruit grabbed my attention. I did vary it just a touch as I didn’t have pineapple juice in the house so just substituted orange juice. It was wonderful.

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 pkg (10-12 oz) white baking chips, melted and cooled
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 pkg (8 oz) softened cream cheese

1/2 cup pineapple (or orange) juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 tables cornstarch
1/ teas lemon juice
1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh strawberries (I didn’t have strawberries I used blackberries)
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 300. Cream butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in flour. Mixture will be crumbly. Pat unto a lightly greased 12″ pizza pan.
Bake until lightly browned, 25-28 minutes. Cool
Beat melted chips and whipping cream until smooth. Beat in cream cheese until well combined. Spread cream cheese mixture over cooled crust. Place in fridge while making the topping.
In a small saucepan, combine fruit juice (pineapple or orange), granulated sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Cool.
Arrange all berries over cream cheese layer; brush with pineapple mixture. Refrigerated at least 1 hour before serving.

Soups · Uncategorized

Mexican Wedding Soup

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Randy and I love Italian Wedding soup, so when I saw this in the new Taste of Home Magazine, I got excited to see that I could have a recipe that would make it with a whole new taste. Am looking forward to having this soup over the weekend. Thanks Taste of Home!

1 tables veggie oil or canola

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 medium celery ribs, chopped

1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed

1/2 cup chopped onion*

1/2 teas garlic powder

2 qts chicken stock

1 cup soft bread crumbs

1 envelope reduced sodium taco seasoning

1 large egg

1 lb ground chicken

1  cup acini di pepe pasta

2 tables minced fresh cilantro

1/4 teas salt

Cubed avocado and sour cream

In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, onion and corn; cook until tender. Stir in stock. Add garlic powder, if desired. Increase heat to high; bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, combine breadcrumbs, taco seasoning, egg and chicken; mix lightly. With wet hands, shape into 1 1/2″ balls. Reduce heat to simmer. Gently drop meatballs into stock. Cook, covered, until meatballs are no longer pink, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in pasta. Simmer, covered until pasta is tender, 6-8 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro and salt. Serve with avocado and sour cream.

*I added about 1/2 teas garlic powder and the onion to the soup.

Salads

Veggie Lovers Combo Salad

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Summer time, summer time, sum sum summertime! Salads are made for the summer!

This is taken from Taste of Home and is a great way to use the summer bounty of fresh veggies.

2 cups cut fresh green beans

2 cups fresh or frozen peas, thawed

2 medium sweet red or yellow peppers, chopped

2 plum tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil or (Italian parsley leaves)

2 tables red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, quartered

Optional toppings; chopped cashews, chopped pecans, toasted sesame seeds and cooked and crumbled bacon

In a saucepan, bring 4 cups water to a boil. Add green beans; cook, uncovered 2-3 minutes or just until crisp-tender.

Remove beans and immediately drop into ice water. Drain beans and pat dry; place in a large bowl. Add peas, peppers, tomatoes and onion.

Place mayo, basil, vinegar and garlic in a food processor; process until blended. Add to veggies and toss to coat.

Refrigerate,covered for at least 1 hour before serving.

just before serving sprinkle with additional toppings as desired.

Serves about 8-10

Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Holiday Fare

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

The pumpkins are out and am excited to find new delish ways to make use of them. I do remember the first year that Peter Pumpkin and I were married, I ask him to take me to the pumpkin patch down at Farmer’s market to pick out the perfect pumpkin that would adorn our porch. When we found it, I was so excited. There in the car seat beside us would be the first pumpkin that we had picked out and bought together. When “she” became (yes, it became a she as I named her Penny pumpkin), should we say a little decayed, ok, rotten, I ask him to bury her in our yard so we would always have  her with us. I do seem to get attached to things. He knew that if he buried her in our yard,  we would have a yard full of pumpkin ivy the next year, so he had just thrown her over the fence, and came in and told me he had taken care of her.  I didn’t bake any pumpkin dishes for a few days, just out of memory of Penny.  He didn’t tell me that until years later when we were in the heat of an argument how he had really “taken care of Penny” when he blurted out the words, “oh, and remember the year you told me to go bury Penny in our yard, well, I didn’t, I just threw her over the fence!” How cruel can a husband be??? So from that point on, I knew that this was not a man I could trust….I don’t let him pack away all my snowmen at Christmas now either, I just can’t take the chance. So, in honor of Penny,  here is a recipe that I found in a 2010 Taste of Home that I am making this weekend.

2 cups finely crushed pecan shortbread cookies (I will use Lorna Dune)

1 tables flour

3 tables butter, melted (as if the cookies don’t have enough in them already)

Filling:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 (3 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 can (15 oz) solid-packed pumpkin

3 tables flour

1 tables milk

1 teas ground cinnamon

1/4 teas each: ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves

3 eggs, lightly beaten

In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, flour and 3 tables melted butter; press into an ungreased 9″ deep-dish pie pan. Bake at 350 for 9-11 min or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin, flour, milk and spices. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.

Pour into crust and bake at 350 for 40-50 min or until center is almost set. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 min to prevent overbrowning if necessary* (see below).  Refrigerate for at last 4 hours before serving. Top with whipped cream

*an easy way to cover edges is to place the pie plate on a piece of foil that is large enough to lap over the edges when it is brought up around them. I go ahead and do this at the beginning of the baking as it is so much easier to do this before dish is hot, then just remove the foil from the edges, leaving it under the pie, to finish baking about 25-30 min before pie is done.

 

Beef · Meats

Cilantro Sauce & Grilled Steaks

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Why do I do this?  Why do I seem to think that just because it is August I have to grill out every night to make up for all the times during the summer I didn’t grill out? It’s like it finally dawns on me that summer will be over in a couple of weeks (even though the temps won’t drop for at least another 3 months) and we haven’t used our new barbeque pit more than a dozen times. So I feel like I have to grill out every night so I will feel like I have used my summer lazy days to grill. I would hate for Southern Living Magazine to show up on my door step one summer day to find me in the kitchen making chicken and dumplings instead of outside on the back porch, with my little grill fork in my hand and my bowl of fresh fruit sitting on the table beside the barbeque pit. What would they think?

In order to keep my southern roots reputation in tact, I guess I should hurriedly get those tongs out and light up the fire. Tonight, we are having grilled steaks with cilantro sauce. Taken from Taste of Home (do these people know how to cook, summer style or what?) this sauce has become a favorite. I can put it on anything from tacos to tapas, from steaks to salmon (and since I’m one of the 3 people in the world that doesn’t like salmon, the cilantro covers up the taste so I can at least swallow it, without gaging,  when family insists on having it. Do not send me hate mail, I still wont’ like it).

2 cups fresh parsley leaves

2 cups fresh cilantro leaves

1 cup fresh mint leaves

8 garlic cloves

1 3/4 teas kosher salt, divided

1/2 teas, plus 3/4 teas freshly ground pepper, divided

2 cups olive oil

2/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 tables lemon juice

1/2 teas crushed red pepper flakes

4 lbs beef flat iron steaks or top sirloin steaks (1″ thick)

Place herbs, garlic, 1 teas salt and 1/2 teas pepper in food processor; pulse until herbs are chopped. Gradually add oil, vinegar, lemon juice and pepper flakes, processing just until blended.

Sprinkle steaks with remaining salt and pepper. Grill, covered over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until meat reaches 145 degrees (medium would be 160 and well done would be 170)

Cut steaks into 1/4″ slices; serve with sauce

Chicken · Fruit · Salads

Sesame Chicken Noodle Salad

Chocolate Castles2 Comments

This is the second one I couldn’t wait to post.

8 oz uncooked angel hair pasta

2 cups cubed chicken breast

1 1/2 cups coleslaw mix

1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, drained

1 medium sweet red bell pepper, julienned or finely chopped

1 cup fresh sugar snap peas, trimmed and halved

2/3 cup reduced-fat Asian toasted sesame salad dressing (can you believe I am actually posting a recipe that has the word “reduced fat”) I am so proud of me

1/4 cup chopped salted peanuts (I added about 1/2 cup, love the peanuts in this)

Cook pasta according to package directions and then set aside after draining to cool.

In a large bowl, combine chicken, coleslaw mix, oranges, red pepper, snap peas and green onions. Sprinkle with salt. Toss to combine.

Add pasta and dressing to chicken mixture; toss to coat. Sprinkle with peanuts. YUM….

Breads · Breakfast · Meats

Italian Brunch Torte

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

I had a hard time deciding which if the two new recipes that I found over the weekend, taken once again from Taste of Home. If you even just want a magazine that gives you pretty much nothing but good, down home, (boy do I sound like a real “hick” or what) food, Taste of Home is your go to magazine. The recipes are usually so simple with not a lot of ingredients that you wouldn’t have around the house or just easy pick up at the grocery store. So this first one is such a easy recipe that is perfect for those late Saturday or Sunday breakfast when you are wanting something besides a granola bar or bacon and eggs.

2 tubes (8 oz each) crescent rolls, divided

1 teas olive oil

1 pack (6 oz) fresh baby spinach

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

7 eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 teas Italian seasoning

1/4 teas pepper

1/2 lb thinly sliced ham

1/2 lb thinly sliced hard salami (opt) If you choose, just add another 1/2 lb of ham or turkey

1/2 lb sliced provolone cheese

2 jars (12 oz ea) roasted sweet red peppers, drained, sliced and patted dry

Preheat oven to 350. Place a greased 9″ springform pan on a double thickness of heavy duty foil (about 18″ square).

Securely wrap foil around the pan. Unroll one tube of crescent dough and separate into triangles. Press onto bottom of pan to form a crust, sealing seams well. Bake 10-15 min or until set.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add spinach and mushrooms; cook and stir until mushrooms are tender.

Drain on paper towels, blotting well. In a large bowl, whisk six eggs, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and pepper. (I added a little garlic powder)

Layer crust with half of the ham, salami, provolone cheese, red peppers and spinach mixture. Pour half of the egg mixture over the top. Repeat layers; top with the remaining mixture.

On a work surface, unroll and separate remaining dough into triangles. Press together to form a circle and seal seams; place dough over filling. Whisk remaining egg and brush over top of dough.

Bake, uncovered 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until thermometer reads 160 degrees. Cover loosely with foil if needed to prevent overbrowning.

Carefully loosen sides from pan with a knife; remove rim from pan. Let stand for 20 min before serving.

Cakes · Chocolate

Chocolate Cherry Cola Cake

Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Image

Taken from the summer issue of Taste of Home, this cake got great reviews last night when I took it to a dinner party. Before leaving home, I ate 4 cupcakes I had made with some of the batter, just to try it out, of course. Because of the marshmallows and cherry coke, the cake is so moist and the chocolate flavor is amazing.

1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallow, ( I had found chocolate mini ones, so I used those)

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teas baking soda

1 cup butter, cubed (so it melts quicker)

1 cup cherry-flavored coke

3 tables Hershey’s cocoa

2 eggs at room temp

1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don’t keep this on hand, make your own with plain milk and vinegar)

1 teas vanilla

Frosting:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow

2 tables cherry juice (recipe called for 2 tables frozen cherry-pomegranate juice concentrate, but my store didn’t have any so bought a can of sweet cherries in heavy syrup and used the syrup from that)

Fresh sweet cherries with stem for decor

Preheat oven to 350. Line bottom of two greased 9″ pans with parchment paper; grease paper also after they have been put in pan. Divide marshmallows between pans.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar and baking soda. In a small saucepan, combine the cubed butter, cola and cocoa. Bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until blended.

In a small bowl, whisk eggs, buttermilk and vanilla until blended. Add to flour mixture, whisking constantly. Pour into prepared pans, dividing batter evenly. Marshmallows will float to the top.

Bake for 25-30 in or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 min and then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

For frosting:  *(IF you want enough frosting to frost sides of cake, double the frosting ingredients)in a medium bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in marshmallow cream and juice on low speed just until blended. Place one cake layer on serving plate. Spread top with 1 cup frosting. Top with remaining frosting.