Yes, I should sit…
I could sit at my sewing machine, at the desk to finish our taxes, at the table with my kids, at the tea bar, on the couch to watch a few shows on the DVR (anyone watching Dallas?!).
… but yesterday, I sat for a few minutes with my leftovers from a wonderful Easter weekend.
Over the holidays there was a lot, A LOT, of baking and cooking over here – family here from out of town, friends coming over, gifting. Well, breakfast around here can get monotonous so I tried this one morning for my peeps. A recipe from Costco inspired me. Easy prep and yummy! I think it’d be a delicious brunch item… but I’d double the recipe if you have a bunch of adults around the table.
Ham and Egg Cups (serves 6)
Ingredients
12 slices of ham (medium thickness)
1/2 cup softened or whipped cream cheese
4-6 eggs
milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. dried basil or parsley
3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 chopped cherry or grape tomatoes (optional, my kids don’t like tomatoes so much)
Preheat oven to 400 deg. Prep 12-cup regular muffin pan with spray/oil/butter. Place each slice of ham in each cup forming to fit. It’s okay if the ham sticks out. Smear some cream cheese in the ham cups, evenly dividing among the cups.
Now prep the eggs… I say 4 to 6 eggs because you might want your cup more egg-y. I cracked 4 eggs in a glass measuring cup, whisked and then added enough milk to make just about 2 cups of liquid. I brought out our immersion blender and whipped it all frothy. Add the salt and herbs. Pour mixture evenly into the ham cups. Top with cheese (and tomato).
Bake for approximately 10-15 minutes. Check center with a toothpick. Should come out clean. Take out of oven and let set for a few minutes. Serve hot, warm.
Hi everyone. Hope you enjoy this look back at some of my tutorials and recipes from the year. (I hope the links all work back to the original post! ACK! Might need to work on this still. The pictures aren’t linked, but the posts are all listed underneath.)
This year did not fail to amaze me… the good and the bad. But sharing ideas and meeting many of you near and far has been such a highlight of my year. I’m thankful and humbled by your continuing readership and friendship. May 2013 bring all of us peace. Blessings to you, friends!
Favorite tutorials and recipes from 2012
When my husband works late, or is out with the guys, my daughter will ask if I can make this for dinner. Like it’s her “mom-kids night” favorite? It’s cute to hear her say, “Ooh, chicken braid…” This time she helped put it together. Easy, so easy to make when you have some leftover chicken and broccoli. You could even use a bag of frozen broccoli (it comes in 12 oz. bag – perfect amount). Just thaw in the microwave. Just know, it’s not an original recipe but one that’s been changed to satisfy my family. I’m sure you can find countless recipes online, but here’s mine – a simple meal, easy brunch pot-luck dish… or even an appetizer. Use up leftover chicken, leftover broccoli… I bet it’d be tasty with an Italian spin of spinach and mozzarella! Let me know if you try it out!
Chicken Broccoli Braid (inspired by original Pampered Chef recipe)
Minutes to Prepare: 20
Minutes to Cook: 20-25
Number of Servings: 8-10
½ cup (4 ounces) shredded cheese (sharp cheddar, four cheese blend, mild cheddar)
½ cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dry oregano (Could use dill but my hubby doesn’t like dill too much)
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or chopped (I had a bit less, 1-1/2 cup seemed to be okay)
1-1/2 cup broccoli, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 packages (8 oz each) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 egg, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In medium to large mixing bowl, add cheese, mayonnaise, herbs and salt. Mix well. Incorporate chicken, broccoli and garlic to mixture. Set the bowl aside while you prepare the dough. Unroll crescent rolls – do not separate. Place both packages of rolls on a large cookie sheet side by side. Press seams together to form one long sheet of dough. Along outer side of dough, along each of two opposite sides, cut 1-inch strips from center toward end. Add filling down the center of between the strips. Don’t worry if it looks like a mountain…
Braid construction: Lift strips of dough, one at a time, at slight angle. Strips will meet in the center across chicken mixture. Continue alternating strips to form a braid. Tuck ends up to seal at end of braid. Brush with egg wash. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
These are more like instructions rather than a recipe since you’re not going to cook a thing! We served these at a party where kids and grown-ups gave us great feedback about the rice krispie sushi. This might be something fun to do for a kids (heck, for adults, too) birthday party, a potluck? If you gave up sweets for Lent, this is a sugary way to break your fast.
What You Need
One batch of prepared Rice Krispie treats
Cooking spray (like Pam)
Candy: Swedish Fish, Fruit Roll-ups (fruit leather, preferably dark in color), cake decoration sprinkles
For the Nigiri (hand-rolled) Sushi
Spray or coat your hands lightly with cooking oil. Butter, magarine works okay too. Create an oblong mound of rice krispies in the palm of your hand. Top with a Swedish fish and wrap with a thin strip of cut fruit leather.
For the Maki (rolled) Sushi :: inside-out roll featured in first picture
This one is a little trickier. Make sure your hands are well coated. Using your hands or a rolling pin, you will need to press or roll the rice krispie treats to a thin thickness. 1/4″ – 1/3″ inch should work. Swedish Fish in a row along one end of your prepared rice krispie treat. Roll the end of the rice krispie treat up and over the candy fish until they are covered.
(I have to say, at this point, we forgot to add strips of fruit roll-up for the “seaweed”. Lay down some fruit roll-ups before the Swedish fish. You can see it better in the very first picture of this post.)
Trim away from the remainder of the rice krispie treat. Shake some sprinkles on the roll (like sesame seeds), and using a sharp, buttered knife, cut into circles – like you would cut cookies.
For regular maki
You’re going to follow similar directions as above, but save your strips of fruit leather, and roll it around the rice krispie treat after you’ve cut them into shapes.
If you attempt to make these, I love to hear how it turns out! Share your pics and links! Enjoy…
Been sick as a dog for about one week… thought this might be a good time to look back at some favorite recipes like the time I made candied orange and lemon peels. I think I may do this for a baby shower favor next month – a cellophane bag, scrapbook paper in the party colors, some twine or raffia. Perfect.
(First posted March 26, 2009)
Lemon and Orange Peels Drying
Over the weekend, a friend brought over the most beautiful lemons from her parents’ lemon tree. Note, we’re in Illinois. Her parents’ tree is in Arizona. She was sharing because her folks had a bumper crop this spring. My friend was greeted by 3 dozen lemons… what to do, but share! She mentioned juicing the lemons and freezing the juice in ice cube trays. Then she mentioned saving the peels to candy them. Aha! Lemon, citrus, orange, citrus… helloooo?! I thought it’d be delicious, AND I was planning on making some candied orange peel this week. I’m experimenting with frozen peels; thawing them first and then continuing with the typical recipe.
Just type “candied orange peel” in your favorite search engine and there are tons! They’re all basically the same. Mine isn’t that different.
After 1st blanch
Using a 3-1/2 qt. pot, I filled it with about 4 cups of water. This should be enough to cover the peels. Heat until boiling, then add the peels. Blanch the peels for about 3-4 minutes. Turn off heat, drain/remove the peels (I just used a slotted spoon not a colander), discard water and repeat. You will blanch the peels 3 or 4 times. This is to soften the peels, but more importantly, to remove the bitterness. It sort of cooks out, cooks down any pith, too.
In your clean, empty pot, combine the water and sugar. Heat until you get a rolling boil. You can use a candy thermometer, and heat until 210 degrees. Add peels, boil for a couple minutes, and then lower heat to a simmer. Continue to simmer peels for 45-60 minutes, or until peels are translucent. (I’ve read recipes where they only simmer for 30 min.)
Newly candied, before sugared
Remove peels after they are to your liking and dry on a cooling rack. While still warm, dip the peels in sugar and lay out on the racks to dry. I like to leave them out overnight. The next day you can take the dry candied peels and dip or drizzle with chocolate!
The workbench
After sugar dip
I love the blast of citrus flavor (not to mention the sugar), and it doesn’t take but just a couple pieces to satisfy your taste buds. This sweet treat is also gluten free, a big plus for friends with allergies!
