Cranberry Bread

So it seems silly to write a good post about something not made from scratch, but I am going to do it anyway!  This bread mix is pretty good.  I have made it a number of times, and if you like cranberry bread, I say grab it at your food store and get "baking". : )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Oh yum! I can taste those tangy cranberries!

Breakfast Braid

I pin so many recipes so I have been trying to actually get better and making them too! : )

 

I gave this one a try a few weeks ago and it was big hit!  And it can pretty much be made with many different combinations of ingredients based on what you have in the house, but for this first time, I did loosely follow the recipe.

 

 

Jalapeño, Sausage, Jack, and Egg Breakfast Braid

from myrecipes

 

Ingredients:

1 can refrigerated pizza crust dough

cooking spray

1 tablespoon olive oil

1.4 cup chopped onions

4 ounces chicken sausage with jalapeno peppers, chopped

2 large eggs

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 cup chopped seeded jalapeno peppers

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

As I said, I only loosely followed the ingredient list, nor did I actually measure anything, so no need to be exact with any of the above.  I only did peppers on one half, and I did Garlic Chicken Sausage since I am not too much of a  pepper girl. Next time I am going to use more egg, since I don't think 2 was enough.  Oh and I snuck some garlic in with the onion.




Preparation:
 

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Unroll dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; pat into a 15 x 10–inch rectangle.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sausage; cook 9 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in eggs; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until set. Remove from heat.

4. Sprinkle Monterey Jack lengthwise down center of dough, leaving about a 2 1/2-inch border on each side. Spoon egg mixture evenly over cheese. Sprinkle cheddar over egg mixture; top with jalapeño peppers.

 

 

4. Make 2-inch-long diagonal cuts about 1 inch apart on both sides of dough to within 1/2 inch of filling using a sharp knife or kitchen shears. Arrange strips over filling, alternating strips diagonally over filling. Press ends under to seal. Brush with egg white. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut crosswise into slices.

 

 

 

It made a pretty easy and yummy weekend breakfast!  You should try it!

                              

Some recipes to try

I like to share my successful recipes, but I don't always take pictures when I cook.  Here are some recipes I have tried recently that I have liked.  All are easy, since I have been trying to hunt down easy recipes for work nights.  Enjoy! (Click on where they are from for link to recipe)

 

....All found on Pinterest....

 

Better Than Takeout Chicken Fried Rice

from Rachel Schultz

 

 

 

Pesto Pasta with Brussels Sprouts and Sausage

from Gimme Some Oven

 

 

 

Banana Oatmeal Cups

from Green Lite Bites

 

 

Snow Storm Strada

(First cooking post from the new house!!!!!!)
So, per usual, Nicole made something yummy and I copied her. : )    I had slept over and she made a strata for breakfast and it was so good (especially when you had drank too much wine!) so I decided to make it myself.  I had made it a while ago while we were in the apartment and I just made it again for the 2nd time. It is snowing and will keep snowing, so I figured it was a yummy stuck in the house breakfast for a chilly day!

I couldn't find the recipe I used the first time, but the one on Annie's Eats looked the same or similar so that is the one I went with this time around. (Her website can be found on the right since it has become one of my go-tos)

Not only it this super yummy, it is nice that you do all the prep work and clean up the night before you serve it, so when you are ready to make it, all you need to do is pop it in the oven!

I was excited to have the ipad to read the recipe off of instead of my little iphone. Yay Ipad! (Colin bought one, but he loves me so he shares ((as long as I don't put close up flower pictures as the background! Say What?? Who me??)))

 

 

Spinach and Cheese Strata

recipe from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1½ cups onion, finely chopped
2 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

one was plenty!!!!

 1 tsp. salt, divided
½ tsp. pepper, divided
 Dash freshly grated nutmeg

(Or the powered variety that is a few years old that you purchased at a dirty bodega)

 8 cups cubed French or Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 oz. coarsely grated Gruyere (about 2 cups)

I had to get a block and grate it myself

 2 oz. finely grated Parmesan (about 2/3 cup)
9 large eggs
2¾ cup milk

Since I shopped pre 'Blizzard of the Century' snow storm, I had to just get what was available, so I ended up with organic cage free extra special extra expensive eggs and rolls rather than a loaf of bread.  But the rolls looked thick and crusty and yummy so I figured it would be a-ok!

 

 

 

Colin commented last time I made it that he wished there was meat in it...ugh, men and meat! So this time around I added breakfast sausage. I had wanted the fresh sausage, but again, since I was shopping pre-snow, I had to get the frozen pre-cooked stuff. I added about half the small box in and I figured he could make the other half as a side.

Colin was a good helper, he chopped onions (I HATE chopping onions, tear, tear),  whisked up the egg mixture and measured out the cheese. It was some good team work!

Directions:
Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions to the pan and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add ½ teaspoon of the salt, ¼ teaspoon of the pepper, and the nutmeg, and continue to cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the spinach, remove from the heat and set aside.

Butter the inside of a 2½-3 quart baking dish. Layer the bottom of the dish with one third of the bread cubes. Top with one third of the spinach mixture and one third of each of the cheeses. Repeat these layers twice more with the bread, spinach and cheese.

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk, the remaining ½ teaspoon of the salt and ¼ teaspoon of the pepper. Whisk together until blended. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread and spinach layered in the baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours or up to 1 day.

Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Bake uncovered until puffed, golden brown and cooked through, 45-55 minutes. Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving.

I got to use my new wood utensil from target.  What is this utensil called??? I had gotten one from Macy's (Martha Stewart of course!) and it was the most used utensil in my kitchen.  But sadly, I let it soak in the sink too long and it got a long split in it! I keep meaning to go back and see if they still sell them, but I noticed a similar one at Target last week. : )

 

 

Side Note: Do we like this rug from my old place in the new kitchen??? IDK how I feel, I threw it down just to see if I liked it, then never picked it back up again.  It needs to go the cleaner if I decide to keep it there... OR I have a red flower one from Colin's apartment, but that one needs to be cleaned too! haha Guess it is time to try out a dry cleaner in the new neighborhood!

 

 

Snow and Strata, what a good morning! : )