Tag Archives: food

Fruited Baked French Toast

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Breakfast, Brunch and tagged with , , , , , ,
Fruited Baked French Toast

Fruited Baked French Toast

Even though I already have several recipes  for  baked french toast here on the blog, I just had to include this one too. It is a little out of the ordinary because it includes fruit(s), and I had never encountered a recipe like it before.  Thanks to my daughter, who we visited over the Christmas holidays, we had this for breakfast on Christmas morning.  Everyone agreed it was just delicious.  Some of us liked it with a little (read, a lot of) maple syrup on it, others thought it was just right without any added sweetener on it.  What I particularly liked was the “tang” from the berries that you get in every bite.  And the cinnamon crumb topping on it is an added bonus.  This is definitely a recipe you will want to save and make again and again whether it be for guests or a special weekend breakfast.

As I’ve said before, this type of breakfast casserole is perfect for a late breakfast or brunch when you are entertaining, because you can make as much or as little as you need.  Slice up the bread the evening before and soak it overnight in the egg/milk mixture.  Then in the morning, make up the crumb mixture, sprinkle on the berries and the crumb topping and bake until golden brown.  Pretty simple to make really, and awesomely good.  This one just became my new favorite recipe for baked french toast.

IMG_6025

FRUITED BAKED FRENCH TOAST

Yield:    8 servings

Ingredients:

  • 1 small loaf day-old French bread (8-9 oz.)
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2  1/4 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 6 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries ( We used mixed berries, and cut the larger pieces in half.)

Directions:

1.  Grease 13″ x 9″ baking dish.  Slice the bread diagonally into 1/2-inch thick slices. Pack them tightly into the baking dish.

Cut up bread and fit tightly into the baking dish.

Cut up bread and fit tightly into the baking dish.

2.  In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla.  Whisk in the milk until well blended.  Pour this mixture over the bread in the baking dish, turning over the slices to saturate well.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3.  Heat oven to 375*F.  In a small bowl combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.

Measure out topping ingredients.

Measure out topping ingredients.

Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs….

Cutting in the butter.

Cutting in the butter.

4.  Turn bread slices over in the baking dish.  Scatter berries over the bread and sprinkle with the crumb mixture.  Bake about 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Sprinkle fruit, then crumbs over the bread/egg mixture.

Sprinkle fruit, then crumbs over the bread/egg mixture.

Browning up in the oven.

Browning up in the oven.

5.  Before serving, cut into squares and serve with syrup.

This is so delicious. :D

This is so delicious. 😀

SOURCE:   Unknown.

Smoked Soy-Glazed Flank Steak

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Main Dish and tagged with , , , ,

Real barbecue is bragging food.  Maybe it’s the great smoky flavor or maybe it’s the praise of the eaters, but somehow all pit masters develop into natural boasters.  They learn to tell tall tales, wear odd clothes, act in wacky ways, and otherwise promote themselves as magicians of meat.

When asked about their secrets, they often dance around their answer, hinting at mysterious ingredients in their own special dry rub, marinade or sauce.  It’s all part of the fun of barbecue, but beginners shouldn’t be deceived about the main secrets of success.  As long as you know your equipment and understand some barbecue basics you’re well on your way to becoming a master barbecuer.  For the newcomer to smoker cooking its important to get yourself a good cookbook on the subject.  One that describes the different types of smokers and the other equipment you would need to get started.  Having some basic recipes for rubs, marinades, and sauces is also a good place to start, then you can begin to modify a recipe to make it your own.

While visiting in North Carolina over the holidays, I was fortunate to experience this succulent flank steak that was marinated over night and then cooked in a smoker with Jack Daniels-flavored wood chips to produce the smoke and flavor.  Tender and flavorful don’t begin to describe the texture and flavor of meat that has been slow cooked in a smoker.  You must experience this for yourself to appreciate how great it was.

Smoked Soy-Glazed Flank Steak

Smoked Soy-Glazed Flank Steak

SOY MARINADE AND GLAZE

  • 3/4 cup soy sauce, preferably low sodium
  • 1/3 cup hot pepper sauce
  • 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 cup red wine
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar, or more to taste
  • 1  1/2 Tablespoons oil, preferably sesame
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 flank steaks, about 2 1/2 pounds total

Directions:

1.  The night before you plan to barbecue, combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl or lidded jar.  Whisk or shake to combine.  Place the flank steaks in a plastic bag or shallow dish and pour the marinade over them.  Refrigerate the steaks overnight.

2.  Prepare the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200*F. to 220*F.

3.  Remove the steaks from the refrigerator.  Drain them and reserve the marinade.  Let the steaks sit at room temperature for 25 minutes.**

4.  In a heavy saucepan, bring the marinade to a boil and boil it for 5 to 10 minutes, until reduced by one-third.  Keep the mixture warm for glazing the meat.

5.  Brush the glaze over the steaks and transfer them to the smoker.  Brush the steaks with the glaze again after about 25 minutes.  Cook for a total of 45 to 55 minutes, until the meat is rare to medium-rare.

A view into the smoker.

A view into the smoker.

6.  Let the steaks rest for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain.  Serve the slices with additional glaze on the top or on the side.

Just removed from the smoker.

Just removed from the smoker.

**Allowing the food to come to cool room temperature before barbecuing promotes quick and even cooking, and with meat, fowl, and fish it reduces the chance that a cool center will harbor bacteria.

The flavor of this steak was deep throughout the meat, not just on the surface.  The smoky flavor from the wood chips penetrates evenly through the meat.  Some of us like our steak med-rare, others like theirs rare.  Using a meat thermometer helped to know the level of doneness, and when it was sliced it was perfectly cooked.  We all got slices that were cooked just the way we like it.

Perfectly cooked at medium rare.

Perfectly cooked at medium rare.

Having meat prepared this way was a special treat for me, as I’ve only had meat prepared this way only once or twice before.

It looks so good!

It looks so good!

Photography done in someone else’s home doesn’t always produce the same quality picture as what I can achieve at my home because of the difference in lighting.  However I hope you got a good idea of what this meat looked like.  So sorry you couldn’t taste it also 😀

SOURCE:  Smoke and Spice, by Cheryl and Bill Jamison

Butternut Squash & Cranberry Couscous

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Side Dish and tagged with , , , , , ,

 

Butternut Squash and Cranberry Couscous

Butternut Squash and Cranberry Couscous

For our Christmas dinner, this was one of the side dishes I made to go with Cider-Glazed Baked Spiral Ham.  

This colorful and somewhat unusual side dish may be served hot or at room temperature for a fall-inspired salad.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & CRANBERRY COUSCOUS

Yield:   Make 8 – 10 servings as a side dish or 7-8 as a salad

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups peeled and diced butternut squash
  • 1 Tbsp. and 1 tsp. olive oil, divided
  • 1 tsp. salt, divided
  • 1 tsp. black pepper, divided
  • cooking spray
  • 5 oz. pkg. dried cranberries
  • 4 cups water, divided
  • 10-oz. pkg.  couscous
  • 2/3 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/3 cup diced celery
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400*F.  Lightly spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

2.  In a medium bowl, toss the butternut squash with 1 teaspoon olive oil , 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper.  Place on baking  sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until tender.

Roasted squash with celery added.

Roasted squash with celery added. 

3.  In a small bowl, rehydrate the dried cranberries by combining with 2 cups hot water.  Soak for 1 minute, then drain.

4.  In a medium sauce pan, bring 2 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 Tablespoon olive oil to a boil.  Stir in couscous and cover, remove from heat, let stand 5 minutes.  Remove cover, fluff and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

5.  In a large pan or bowl, combine the couscous, squash, cranberries, celery and remaining ingredients.  Serve warm or allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

Cook the couscous and add the remaining ingredients.

Cook the couscous and add the remaining ingredients.

Butternut Squash and Cranberry Couscous

Butternut Squash and Cranberry Couscous

 

SOURCE:   Vegetarian

Eat These and Have Good Luck!

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Holiday and tagged with , , ,

Happy New Year, my friends!  I’ve been away from home for the holidays, and not doing a lot of cooking, (eating–yes,yes!) so my posts have been a little leaner than usual.  The subject of “foods that bring good luck” came up in a conversation, so I did  a little research and found some interesting facts that I thought might be of interest to you, as they were to me.  In planning meals over the next few days you might want to consider the following.

In many cultures certain foods are thought to bring good luck, especially those eaten on New Year’s Day.  With today being the first day of the new year I though it might be fun to see what some of those foods are and possibly how to incorporate them into a celebration menu.

In Spain, revelers mark the New Year by quickly eating a dozen grapes at midnight.  The fruits are thought to be a predictor of the year ahead:  each sweet grape represents a good month, each sour grape a less-than-lucky one.  You might adopt this tradition by threading grapes onto skewers and serve each one in a glass of Champagne just before the countdown.

In Italy, lentils are served because an abundance of the tiny legumes symbolizes wealth.  Turn this tradition into a flavorful and hearty lentil soup, to ensure the best year possible.

Circular foods, those that are in the form of a ring, are thought to bring good luck.  Possibly because they symbolize “coming full circle”.   A big bag of doughnuts seems like a fine idea for making this one a reality.

In some Eastern European countries, a coin baked into a loaf of bread is said to bring luck to the person who finds it.  A marble pound cake with a coin or two baked in it would make a fancy enough dessert if served with a dessert wine.

One of Japan’s beloved foods, soba, or buckwheat noodles, are customarily eaten at midnight on December 31, when they are called  toshi-koshi (“from one year to another”) soba.  The noodles symbolize longevity, so the longer they are, the better.  Any Asian dish that incorporates soba noodles would make a perfect entree for this custom.

In the southern U.S. many folks eat greens on New Year’s Day.  Collards and other greens are considered lucky because they look like greenbacks.  Collards and black eyed peas are a common combination for the New Year. (Often served with ham.)

Going along with the above tradition is this one for eating pork.  Ham, because of its fat is served to bring a New Year rich with happiness.

Cornbread is another southern dish that gets served along with the ham, collards and black eyed peas.  Cornbread, because of its yellow color, represents the glories of gold.

If I were serving a meal to ring in the New Year (which I am not),  my menu might look something like this:

Champagne Cocktail with grape skewer garnish

Sausage & Lentil Soup

Asian Noodle Salad

Orange Marmalade-Glazed Baked Ham

Collard Greens and Black-eyed Peas

Cornbread with Chive Butter

Chocolate Ganache-Glazed Marble Pound Cake

Cake Doughnuts with French Vanilla Ice Cream

Coffee

Thankfully, I won’t be eating a meal like this one.  If I did I would need a  crane to lift me away from the table!  I think in the end, you could overdo this “good luck” thing, but it was fun playing around with it.

However you will be spending the first day of 2014,  I hope you have fun with family, friends and, of course, good food.

Spinach Artichoke Bread

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Appetizers and tagged with , , , , , , ,
Spinach Artichoke Bread

Spinach Artichoke Bread

In my experience one of the most popular appetizers around is hot spinach dip, or a combination of spinach and artichoke dip.  Hot, cheesy, gooey spinach dip.  Oh yes,  addictively delicious with crackers or chips.

Since we would be sitting at a table with a plate onto which we could place our appetizers, I thought that in place of crackers or chips I would use bread to do two things;  add more substance, and provide a larger surface to carry all that lucious dip.  So this recipe seemed like the perfect solution.

This is great for parties, or could be used as a snack or light lunch, which is what we did with the leftovers.  Wrapped in foil and reheated in a warm oven, they were as good as new.

IMG_6011

 SPINACH ARTICHOKE BREAD

Yield:   12  servings

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened ( low-fat is OK)

    Only low-fat ingredients allowed! :D

    Only low-fat ingredients allowed! 😀

  • 3/4 cup (6oz.) plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach,  defrosted and well drained
  • 12 oz. can artichoke quarters, in water, drained
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
  • 4 French rolls, or 2 French baguettes

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375*F

2.  With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add yogurt, continue mixing until smooth.

3.  Chop artichokes, and squeeze out spinach to remove excess liquid.  Add to cheese-yogurt mixture.  Add onion powder, garlic powder, salt, 1/4 cup mozzarella and Parmesan.  Fold well to incorporate into a uniform mixture.

4.  Cut the French bread in half.  Slightly hollow each half by removing some of the bread from the middle.  Fill with the spinach-artichoke mixture and level the filling.  Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella.

Breads filled and ready for the oven.

Breads filled and ready for the oven.

5.  Place the loaves on a baking sheet.  Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, until filling is bubbly and the cheese on top is browned slightly.  Allow to cool for several minutes before slicing and serving.

The bread gets toasty, and the filling gets melty and warm.

The bread gets toasty, and the filling gets melty and warm.

IMG_6012

SOURCE:   Happier Holidays Recipe Book

Baked Brie Bites

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Appetizers and tagged with , , , , ,
Baked Brie Bites

Baked Brie Bites

Christmas Day was fast approaching and we (my family, who we were visiting, and I) were planning a big meal, so for Christmas Eve. we decided to make a meal out of just appetizers.   We each made a couple, and there was a nice variety.

Awesome !!

Awesome !!

Since appetizers are useful at any time, but especially now with New Year’s Eve coming up, I thought you might be interested in what we had.  The major requirement was that they be pretty simple to prepare and, of course, delicious to eat.

Steamed shrimp with cocktail sauce

Cocktail meatballs in barbecue sauce

Spinach Artichoke Bread*

Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

Baked Brie Bites*

Hot cider with Honey Liqueur

The starred items were my contributions, so you will find recipes for them here today and tomorrow.

Brie cheese pairs so well with fruit, and this particular mixture of apples, walnuts, bacon and orange is an outstanding combination.  Each one is topped with a cranberry, making them festive and cute.  They can be eaten with your hands and each one is just a bite or two.  These are the perfect option for a snack or to take along to a party.  They will definitely be a crowd pleaser.  Once you taste them, you will be making them time and time again.  Socks optional because they will be blown off!

IMG_6017

BAKED BRIE BITES WITH CRANBERRIES

Yield:   Makes 24 bites

Ingredients:

Get all the ingredients ready.

Get all the ingredients ready.

  • 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
  • 1 orange, zested and juice reserved
  • 2.5 oz. pkg. real bacon bits
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup chopped apple
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 3  Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2  8-oz. pkgs. Crescent Rolls
  • cooking spray
  • 8 0z. Brie cheese round
  • dried cranberries

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375*F.  Coat 2 mini muffin pans with cooking spray.  (or use 1 large pan with 24 cups)

2.  In a small saucepan, melt butter.  Add orange juice, bacon bits, walnuts, apple, cinnamon and 3 tablespoons broan sugar.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until sugar has dissolved and apples begin to brown, 3 – 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in orange zest.  Allow this mixture to cool a bit while you prepare the dough and cheese.

Cooking up the apple mixture.

Cooking up the apple mixture.

3.  Unroll crescent rolls and pinch together seams to create 1 large sheet with each package of dough.

Pinch the seams together to make one square of dough.

Pinch the seams together to make one rectangle of dough.

Cut each rectangle into 12 squares.  Place a square of dough in each muffin cup.

Put a square of dough in each cup and add a piece of brie.

Put a square of dough in each cup and add a piece of brie.

4.  Cut brie into 24 pieces and place in the center of the dough squares.  Top with apple walnut mixture.

Top with some apple mixture.

Top with some apple mixture.

Bring edges of the dough to the center and pinch to create a seal.  Place one dried cranberry in the center of each bite.

Fold each one closed and center a cranberry on top.

Fold each one closed and center a cranberry on top.

5.  Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.   Serve warm.

IMG_6019

SOURCE:    Happier Holidays Recipe Book

Onion Chicken in Balsamic Sauce

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Main Dish and tagged with , , , , ,
Onion Chicken in Balsamic Sauce

Onion Chicken in Balsamic Sauce

It’s been snowing here all day and the inches are accumulating.  A good day for staying indoors.  My oven was already warmed up from having baked a dessert, so I decided to put together a meal that would be mostly cooked/baked in the oven with only a short period on the stove top for some pre-browning.  I love it when the whole meal is in the oven, and I can set the table and relax while its cooking, don’t you?

This chicken dish was served with stuffed acorn squash.  I thought that chicken would be good with the squash, but wasn’t sure how I wanted to prepare it, so I went looking on the all recipes.com web site and came up with this recipe.  Everyone who had made it rated it very highly for ease of preparation and outstanding flavor.  So I decided to give it a try.  I’m sure glad I did, because I have joined the ranks of all those other folks who made it and loved it.  Although I was missing one of the ingredients, I substituted roasted red peppers for the sun-dried tomatoes with equally tasty results.  I don’t think that I would ever have made a sauce from chicken broth and balsamic vinegar, but here it works and the aroma of this dish while it’s cooking will certainly get your taste buds salivating.

Roast red peppers were a tasty addition.

Roast red peppers were a tasty addition.

ONION CHICKEN IN BALSAMIC SAUCE

Yield:  serves 2  Adjust amounts accordingly to serve more.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 chicken leg quarters
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1  1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350*F.   Lightly spray a 9-inch baking dish or 13 x 9-inch pan.

2.  In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and reduce heat to low.  Allow onion to caramelize, stirring only enough to prevent sticking and to be sure that all sides are fully cooked.  Add garlic and sauté briefly.  Transfer to prepared baking dish.

3.  Increase heat to medium.  Add chicken pieces to skillet and brown on both sides.  Remove chicken and place in baking dish.

Pre-browning the chicken before baking.

Pre-browning the chicken before baking.

4.  Combine the chicken stock and vinegar.  Deglaze the skillet with this mixture, then bring to a boil and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened.  Add in the sun-dried tomatoes, or in this scenario, roast red peppers.  Pour mixture over chicken.  Cover dish tightly with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 45 – 50 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

This chicken went very well with the stuffed squash.

This chicken went very well with the stuffed squash.

Note:  Some modifications can be made to this recipe such as using chicken breasts or thighs instead of leg quarters, add sliced mushrooms to the onion/garlic mixture, serve over pasta of some sort to take advantage of the great sauce.  These are all suggestions by others who made this dish.

SOURCE:   Allrecipes.com

Slow-cooked Ragu

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Main Dish and tagged with , , , , ,
Slow-cooked ragu served over cheese-filled ravioli.

Slow-cooked ragu served over cheese-filled ravioli.

My slow cooker has been a life saver during the past couple of weeks.  I call it “Old Faithful” because I’ve had it for a long time and it just keeps on going and going, working for me, while I’m busy attending to other things.  On those days when I planned on baking several batches of cookies, I would get something started in the slow cooker early in the day, then not worry about dinner except for some finishing touches.

Maybe, like me, you’ve had some disappointments using a slow cooker.  Rather than getting an entree that’s luscious and tasty, it emerged rather tired, defeated and exhausted.  Unless you are following a recipe specially written for a slow cooker that can happen because of the added moisture that a slow cooker/crockpot produces.  Meat can also become dried out and stringy instead of tender due to overcooking.  So how do we solve those problems?   First I’ll talk about the four main ingredients, then I’ll give you a recipe for a well-seasoned meat sauce – a ragu- that you can use in a variety of ways.

1.  Meats:  For the slow cooker, select meats with a moderate amount of fat or internal marbling, such as chuck roast or pork shoulder.  For poultry that is immersed in liquid, try to keep cooking time to about 4 hours; longer than that you will get dry stringy remnants.

2.Vegetables:  Only hearty vegetables like root vegetables can survive 8 hours in a slow cooker and they need to be cut into large pieces, not bite-sized.  Place them in the bottom of the cooker with meat and sauce or liquids poured over the top.  Other vegetables, like tomatoes, will stew down nicely and become sauce-like.  Tender, more delicate vegetables like green beans, corn, squash, and greens should be added in the last 30 minutes of cooking time.

3.  Seasoning:  If a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of oregano, use 2.  Slow cookers have a funny way of diluting flavor so you will need to add more at the start.  When converting a conventional recipe for the slow cooker, double the amount of herbs or spices you think you need, even ones that are intense, like crushed red pepper.

4.  Garnishes:   When something looks good, it seems to taste better, so sprinkling a fresh garnish onto a completed dish is an easy way to bring the meal to life.  Try using fresh herb leaves or sprigs, or ingredients with a crunch like bread crumb topping or crisp chips to contrast with the softer textures of the dish.

The recipe for this meaty sauce is great ladled over any kind of pasta.  I also use it when making lasagna, sometimes thinning it with traditional spaghetti sauce, and it makes the dish more hearty with veggies.  It makes a large quantity and leftovers freeze well.

SLOW-COOKED RAGU

Yield:  Makes about 12 ( 2/3) cup servings

Ingredients:

  • 2 ounces pancetta, chopped.  Use bacon in a pinch.IMG_5942
  • 1 pound ground beef, 90% lean
  • 12 ounces ground pork
  • 1 (4-ounce) hot Italian sausage link, casing removed
  • 1 Tbsp. canola oil
  • 1  1/3 cup diced onion
  • 2/3 cup diced carrot
  • 2/3 cup celery
  • 1/4 cup unsalted tomato paste
  • 2 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 2 cups unsalted chicken stock
  • 1 (15-ounce) can unsalted crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tsp. salt, divided
  • 1 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 1 bay leaf

Directions:

1.  Place pancetta or bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat;  cook 4 minutes or until beginning to brown, stirring occasionally.  Add ground beef;  cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble.  Place beef mixture in a 6-quart electric slow cooker.

Browning up the beef.

Browning up the beef with bacon.

2.  Return skillet to medium-high heat.  Add ground pork and sausage;  cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble.  Add pork mixture to slow cooker.

Browning the pork and sausage.

Browning the pork and sausage.

3.  Return skillet to medium-high heat once again.  Add oil and swirl to coat.  Add onion, carrot, and celery; sauté 4 minutes.

The big three: onions, carrots and celery.

The big three: onions, carrots and celery.

Add tomato paste and garlic;  Cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add wine; bring to a boil.  Cook 2 minutes or until wine mostly evaporates, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Add chicken stock, tomatoes, 3/4 tsp. salt, pepper, and  bay leaf;  bring to a boil.  Carefully pour this mixture into slow cooker; cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours.  Discard bay leaf.  Stir in remaining 1/4 tsp. salt.

Everything together in the crock pot.

Everything together in the crock pot.

The hands-on time spent in the preparation of this sauce is about 30 minutes.  Then you will need a few minutes before dinner to cook up some pasta.   A great dinner without a lot of your time spent on preparation.  I hope you enjoy it.

Easy meal, yet so good!!

Easy meal, yet so good!!

SOURCE:   The Slow Cooker Recipe Book

Cranberry-Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bread, Rolls, Brunch and tagged with , , , , , ,
Cranberry-Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Cranberry-Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

In case you are still frantically searching for something to serve on Christmas morning, or for a holiday brunch,  these breakfast rolls are just the ticket.  Easy to make at the last minute, a beautiful cheery color, and divine flavor.  They are a cinch to put together.  No yeast dough, no kneading, no rolling of dough.   They get baked in muffin tins with all the good cranberry filling on the bottom, and a tender dough that’s a lot like scones on top.  After they are baked, turn them upside down on a serving platter, and there you are.  A gorgeous color for the holidays, not too sweet, just right with coffee or tea.

My food processor was out and I was chopping cranberries for cranberry relish, and also to make a batch of my Cranberry Liqueur.  So while I was on a roll, (pun intended) I continued chopping enough cranberries to quickly make up these cranberry rolls.   Because I was also chopping up orange to put in the cranberry relish,  I put about 1/4  cup chopped orange in the topping of my rolls too.  WOW!  Spur-of-the-moment decisions are often the best.   Deeelish!

CRANBERRY-PECAN CINNAMON ROLLS

Yield:  Makes 12 rolls

This is what makes the topping.

This is what makes the topping.

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp. butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup brown rice syrup or light corn syrup
  • 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
  • OR,  3/4 cup cranberries and 1/4 cup chopped orange, optional
  • 1/3 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda

    Ingredients for dough.

    Ingredients for dough.

  • 2 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces
  • 1 cup cold buttermilk
  • 2 Tbsp. canola oil

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375*F.  Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray.

2.  Combine melted butter, brown sugar, brown rice syrup ( or corn syrup), cranberries, pecans and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl.  Divide among the muffin cups, spreading about 1 tablespoon in the bottom of each.

Put in the bottom of muffin cups.

Put in the bottom of muffin cups.

3.  Whisk the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and remaining 1/2 tsp. cinnamon in a large bowl.  Add cold butter and, using two knives or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until it’s the size of small peas.  Pour in buttermilk and oil, stir just until combined.  Spoon the batter on top of the cranberry mixture, using about 2 Tablespoons for each.

Spoon dough over cranberry topping.

Spoon dough over cranberry topping.

4.  Bake rolls until lightly brown around the edges, 18 to 20 minutes.

Bake till lightly browned around the edges.

Bake till lightly browned around the edges.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges of each to loosen. Place a large serving tray over the pan and invert the rolls onto it.  Spoon any topping left in the pan onto the rolls.  Serve warm.

These are so pretty,

These are so pretty,

If all the rolls are not eaten when served, they rewarm very well in the microwave.

SOURCE:   Slightly adapted from Eating Well

St. Lucia Buns

Posted by deliciousonadollar in Bread, Rolls, Holiday and tagged with , , , , ,
St Lucia Buns

St Lucia Buns

As I write this post it is St. Lucia day.  The day that Scandinavian families celebrate Saint Lucia, a symbol of hope and light in dark times.    Briefly, the festival of St. Lucia begins the Christmas season in Swedish custom, and she comes as a young girl crowned with fresh greens and lit candles carrying a tray of baked goods.  These sweet spiral buns are traditionally served on this day.  However they can be served anytime, and so I include the recipe today with thoughts of how special they would be on Christmas morning.IMG_5988

Originally candles were woven into the greens making up the wreath, but now-a-days, battery operated candles are used instead.  A young girl is chosen to represent St. Lucia and wearing a long white garment with a crown of greens and candles on her head, she carries the tray of buns and leads a procession of young girls and boys, singing the traditional St. Lucia songs.

Lucia celebrations include ginger snaps and sweet saffron-flavored buns shaped like curled up cats.  Sometimes raisins are placed in the center of the spirals to represent eyes.  You eat them with glögg (spiced wine) or coffee.

Delicious with coffee for breakfast.

Delicious with coffee for breakfast.

St. Lucia Buns are also called Swedish Saffron Christmas Bread.  This is one of the easiest yeast breads I’ve ever made.  It’s almost no-knead, and the dough can be refrigerated overnight, which is a nice convenience if you’re considering these for breakfast.  The flavor of these buns is outstanding and the golden color is achieved through the inclusion of saffron.  They are light and airy with a sprinkle of pearl sugar on top.  Swedish pearl sugar is a non-melting sugar that can be found in some large grocery stores or ordered online.

St. LUCIA BUNS:  SWEDISH SAFFRON CHRISTMAS BREAD

Yield:  24 buns

Ingredients:

  • 2 packages active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup warm water, 110*F to 115*
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 1/4 tsp. crushed saffron threads
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 4 to  4  1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze:

  • 1 egg
  • 2 Tbsp. milk
  • Swedish pearl sugar

Directions:

1.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the yeast in the warm water;  stir gently and briefly with a fork.  Add 1 Tablespoon of the sugar;  stir again.  Let the mixture stand until the yeast foams, about 5 minutes.  Add the remaining sugar, butter, cream, milk, saffron, salt and eggs.  Fit mixer with the paddle attachment and beat well on medium-low speed until combined.  Remove paddle attachment from mixer and fit with the dough hook.  Add flour 1 cup at a time mixing well with each addition to keep the dough smooth and satiny.  You may not need to use all of the flour.

2.  Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, or up to 24 hours.

3.  Preheat oven to 375*F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

4.  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 24 even pieces (about 2-inches square.)

Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces. (good luck with that!)

Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces. (good luck with that!)

Roll each square into a long rope, about 12-inches long.  Curl each end of a rope in opposite directions, creating an “S” shape.

Form the ropes of dough into spiral shapes.

Form the ropes of dough into spiral shapes.

Lift the bun onto the parchment; repeat curling with remaining dough ropes until there are 12 per baking sheet.

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5.  For the glaze, beat the egg in a custard cup and stir in the milk.  Brush each bun with the glaze then sprinkle pearl sugar over the top.  Place baking sheets in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

6.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and puffy.

An egg wash before going into the oven makes a shining golden crust.

An egg wash before going into the oven makes a shiny golden crust.

St Lucia Buns

St Lucia Buns

SOURCE:   The Big Book of Bread Recipes