Jamie’s Recipes

The new year is coming fast, we are just days away from 2010. Can you believe that? I am sure everyone has satisfied their sweet tooth with all the delicious Christmas candy, sweets, and treats (I know I have). I had a couple more Christmas candy recipes I wanted to share with you, but instead my computer charger decided to fizzle out on me. My battery died moments after posting my chocolate covered toffee recipe and it was a long ten days before a new charger arrived. My battery is now fully charged, but I figured my readers did not want to hear about chocolate-covered-this and peanut-butter-smeared-that. I will spare you the sweets and save it for next Christmas.

Many of you may have plans to attend or host a New Year’s Eve party or a New Year’s Day brunch. Here are some recipes from my archives that may inspire you. I hope you all have a happy and healthy 2010. Thank you for reading, I enjoy your comments and feedback so keep it coming.

See you in twenty-ten!

Jamie

NEW YEAR’S EVE IDEAS:

Boneless Chicken Wings

Olive Penguins

Date and Cheddar Cheeseball

Homemade Irish Cream

NEW YEAR’S DAY BRUNCH IDEAS:

The Best Cinnamon Rolls Ever

Gluten Free Sticky Rolls

Marbled Chocolate Banana Cake

Breakfast Cups

Egg Bake or Breakfast Casserole

Broccoli was another ingredient in my box of produce from Black Sheep Farms. My husband loves broccoli. Currently my favorite way to enjoy broccoli is serving it roasted (directions at the bottom of the page). Since it is Father’s Day weekend, I am doing a special recipe for my husband. Broccoli Quiche. I made a ham and broccoli quiche, and a sausage and broccoli quiche. You can use your favorite breakfast meat or leave the meat out entirely. Brunch type foods are my favorite and these quiches are no exception. It is a great way to use ingredients that are in season. The great thing about this recipe is that you can choose the ingredients according to your personal preferences, it is also a great way to use up your leftover meat and veggies. Another great thing is that aside from the pie crust, I could find all the ingredients at my local farmers market. Buy Fresh, Buy Local, and eat a damn good meal!

BROCCOLI BREAKFAST QUICHE
1 pie crust
4 eggs *
1 1/2 c milk
1 tsp onion powder (you could use less)
1 c cheddar cheese
1/2 lb sausage, cooked (or ham, bacon, etc.)
2 c broccoli, steamed (asparagus is good too!)
1 Roma tomato, sliced
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place pie crust in 9 inch pie tin. Place cooked sausage in bottom of pie crust and top with steamed broccoli. Beat eggs and milk together until thoroughly combined. Add onion powder, salt & pepper and 1/2 c cheese, to egg mixture and stir well.  Pour egg mixture over sausage and broccoli. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 c cheese over the “pie”. Lay tomato slices over everything. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until egg mixture is set. ENJOY!

*I used 3 egg whites and 1 egg –just to lighten it up a bit.

OTHER RECIPES USING BLACK SHEEP FARMS PRODUCE:
Beet Greens and Garlic Scapes with Pasta
Tom Thumb Lettuce Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette
Baby Bok Choy Pesto

ROASTED BROCCOLI
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
2 T EVOO
salt & pepper
shredded Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss broccoli with oil and salt & pepper. Let broccoli cook for 10-15 minutes, turning half way through. ENJOY!

My mom recommends serving with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese –I haven’t tried it this way yet, but I am sure it is delicious. The broccoli picks up a delicious nutty flavor when roasted. I am addicted to roasting almost all my veggies.

Take note fathers and children, Mother’s Day is quickly approaching. Do you want to serve your mother or wife breakfast in bed? Bless your heart! These breakfast cups take little effort to put together, and they can be personalized to your family’s flavor preferences. In the bottom of my cups I have colby-jack cheese and bacon, you could substitute any meat or cheese you would like. I left my egg whole, but you could lightly beat it and stir in some chopped veggies, which would be delicious. Using crescent rolls from the refrigerated section at your local grocery store make this breakfast a cinch. Have fun coming up with your favorite meat, cheese, veggie combos! I think these would also be cute for a bridal shower or baby shower brunch. Yum!

BREAKFAST CUPS
Serves 4

1 package crescent rolls
4 eggs
2 pieces bacon, cooked
cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 4 muffin tins. Unroll crescent rolls, pinch together two triangles and fit to muffin tin. Place a little cheese and half a slice to bacon in bottom of crescent-lined muffin tin. Carefully add egg. Cook for 10-15 minutes. You want the crescent roll to become golden brown and the egg to be set. ENJOY!

Egg Bake Before

My egg bake was a success this morning! I thought it was so good that I ate it again for lupper (my late lunch). Enjoy this recipe and don’t be afraid to make it your own, by adding your preferred mix-ins (potatoes, veggies, different meats).

When I was preparing my egg bake last night, I used a loaf of crusty French bread that was several days old. When I bought it at the store, it was already a day old, and I think I purchased it last week. It was so hard and crusty that I thought I would need to use a chain saw to cube it up. I managed to get it cubed using a really sharp knife and some muscle power. The bread was so dried out that it absorbed the eggy goodness perfectly. So, if you don’t have any old bread on hand, you could cube up some fresh bread and leave it out on the counter overnight to dry out. Or if you have some leftover croutons, I am sure that would work as well. Plus the croutons would add some extra flavor to the dish.

Bacon & Egg Bake

12 eggs beaten

3 c milk

1 T maple syrup

2 c shredded colby-jack cheese

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb. cooked and crumbled bacon

1/2 loaf day old bread cut into 1 in. cubes

Grease your 9X13 in. pan. Spread your bread cubes in a single layer in the bottom of the pan (it may require more or less bread to cover your pan). Place bacon crumbles on top of the bread. Even spread the cheese over the bread and bacon. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper, and maple syrup together. Pour over the bread mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour, preferably overnight. In the morning preheat your over to 350 degrees, bake uncovered for 50-60 minutes, or until a knife stuck in the middle comes out clean. ENJOY!

Egg Bake After

Brunch, it’s not quite breakfast, it’s not quite lunch. I love the idea of eating a late breakfast. The reason I like brunch so much is because you are usually guaranteed to eat an egg bake. An egg bake consists of my favorite breakfast foods layered in a greased 9X13 pan, topped with cheese and baked in an oven at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. What’s not to love about that? The best part is, you make it the night before, so in the morning you just pop it in the oven. Now, I prefer to eat my brunch at home. Some restaurants will offer brunch buffets on Mother’s Day or another holiday, but my restaurant brunch experience has always left me disappointed. Sure, you may be offered a fancy meat, carved by some greasy, hungover looking dude wearing a chef’s hat; but who wants a side of roast beef with their eggs? Not me! I would rather sleep in and eat a tasty egg bake, in my pajamas, at home. Never had an egg bake? There are many different variations on this tasty breakfast casserole. Most include eggs, a breakfast meat, cheese and a filler (bread or potatoes). Tomorrow is Saturday, and I am going to make a delicious egg bake for my husband. So sleep in and enjoy a tasty egg bake!

My egg bake will consist of bacon, day old (many days old, in my case) bread, and cheese. I will add the recipe tomorrow after it is approved by quality control aka Alex