Monday, April 26, 2010

Twice Baked Potatoes

Courtesy of Allrecipes.com

Ingredients
4 large baking potatoes
8 slices bacon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
8 green onions, sliced, divided

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour.
3.Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
4.When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, milk, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese and 1/2 the green onions. Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon.
5.Bake for another 15 minutes.

Modifications:  We made a half batch, turned out great. Also make sure you coat the outside of the potatoes with kosher salt (use a little water to make it stick).  This would be delicious!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon

Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon, a birthday present from my best friend, my sister Laura.

This was a nice smooth Cabernet, just perfect on a lazy Friday night. 



4 stars out of 5.

English Muffin Bread

This English Muffin Bread is delicious. Takes just like an English Muffin once toasted, and very easy to make!  I got the recipe from One Ordinary Day.

Ingredients:
5 1/2 c. flour
2 Tbsp. dry yeast
1 tbsp. honey
1/4 c. warm water
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 1/4 c. warm milk
butter and cornmeal for greasing and dusting two loaf pans

Prepare loaf pans by coating with butter or cooking spray, then dusting with cornmeal.
Mix the yeast, honey, and water in your mixing bowl. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together salt, baking powder, and flour.
Add the milk and 1 c. of the flour mixture to the yeast mixture. Blend well. Add the remaining flour and beat until you have a soft, “goopy” dough.
Spoon the dough into your prepared pans.. Set aside in a warm place until batter has doubled and has risen to the top of your pan or a little above. Dust the tops with cornmeal. Heat oven to 425 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes. Loaf will sound hollow when tapped. Bake up to 25 minutes for a crisper crust.
Cool and slice.

Pancakes

This has been my go-to recipe for pancakes the last few times. Pretty good, and easy to make.  Straight from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
cooking spray

Directions
1.Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".
2.Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
3.Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Quick Crustless Quiche

This turned out pretty well!  I need to figure out how to incorporate the flour a little better - I had some crunchy flour spots in the crust, but otherwise seemed to be a cross between a quiche and a breakfast casserole (sans potatoes/bread).  I got it from Allrecipes.com and make my own modifications (ham, mushrooms, peppers, green onions).  Delicious.

Ingredients
8 slices bacon
4 ounces shredded Swiss cheese
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk

Directions

1.Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

2.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch pie pan.

3.Line bottom of pie plate with cheese and crumbled bacon. Combine eggs, butter, onion, salt, flour and milk; whisk together until smooth; pour into pie pan.

4.Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, until set. Serve hot or cold.