Cinnamon Bun Breakfast Casserole

I saw this recipe on the Cooking Channel when they had Pillsbury on one of their cooking shows. This is not for the calorie conscious. One slice is 400 calories! There are a few substitutions you could make to lessen the calories like choosing the lite cinnamon buns, using non-fat milk vs. the heavy cream, lite butter, or Egg Beaters in place of the eggs. On one half we didn't use the syrup or the icing. The recipe calls for a cup of syrup. This would be perfect for a brunch or a special event breakfast like Christmas morning.

Cinnamon Bun Casserole
2 tubes cinnamon buns reserve the icing
1/4 cup butter
1 cup of syrup (I used 1/2 c. lite)
1/2 cup heavy cream (or non-fat milk)
6 eggs beaten
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract

powdered sugar for topping
reserved icing for topping

Start by melting the butter in a microwave safe dish for about 25-45 seconds. Place the melted butter in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish and add the cinnamon rolls that you will cut into 8ths.

cinnamon buns cut up

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour the syrup over the cinnamon bun pieces and then the beaten eggs that are mixed with the cream, vanilla, and cinnamon. It forms a custard like consistency when baked. Bake until the eggs are cooked, about 25-28 minutes.

Heat the icing up in the microwave and drizzle over the top of the casserole.

with the egg custard on top

Spicy Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken

This weekend we have been eating internationally. Saturday I made Indian food: chicken Tikka Masala and Aloo Gobi which is a spicy cauliflower and yesterday I made Thai Peanut Noodles with Chicken. The creamy peanut butter and coconut milk blend to made a silky sauce.

I am also using rice noodles in this dish. These are shaped just like linguine but almost look translucent when boiled and some variation can be found at mostly all food stores.
In a pot of boiling water cook the rice noodles for about 6 minutes or until your desired texture is reached.

In a frying pan fry about one pound of diced boneless chicken breast along with one diced red or yellow pepper. When the chicken is no longer pink turn off heat. In a medium sized bowl combine 1 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/2 c. lite coconut milk, 3TBSP soy sauce, 1 TBSP fish sauce, 3 TBSP lime juice, and a tsp full of Sambal or other hot sauce. For added texture you can use chunky peanut butter. Mix all the ingredients and pour over the hot chicken. The peanut butter will begin to melt. Stir in the drained rice noodles. Garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro. Serve with Sambal on the side.
*If you can't find rice noodles, use linguine. I also use chunky peanut butter sometimes for added texture.

Tilapia and Hushpuppies

Fish Fridays are a tradition here in Milwaukee. We have many famous places to eat fish fry's like Serb Hall. That can be pretty costly. A great inexpensive alternative is Tilapia. It has a mild flavor comparable to catfish and is very inexpensive.

You can either use seasoned  bread crumbs, eggs, and flour to bread the fish or a packaged coating like Magic Bake. Have a plate with plain flour on it and one with the bread crumbs and a bowl with a beaten egg and 1/4 cup milk in it. First dip the fish in flour on both sides, then into the egg and then into the bread crumbs. This will give you a better coating.  Heat the oil until you begin to see ripples. Then add the fist. Depending on the thickness of the fish, you can be eating within 10 minutes. I am using about a inch and  a half of canola oil in the pan. I flipped the fillets over after 5 minutes. The fish is done when it is light brown and flaky. Let drain on paper towels before serving. And season with salt and pepper.

I served the fish with Trisha Yearwoods' Jalapeno hush puppies. The complete recipe can be found on foodnetwork.com. I cut back on the jalapenos and made them a bit bigger but they turned out awesome!

Jalapeno Hush Puppies

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
1 cup self rising flour
1 whole jalapeno seeded and finely diced
3 TBSP jarred jalapenos chopped
1/3 milk, you may need to add more
2 eggs
salt for seasoning

The batter should not be runny like traditional cornbread batter. It needs to be mixed but will look like a thick batter. Heat about 5 inches of oil in a pot until you see the ripples at the bottom of the pot. Then add the batter by teaspoons full into the hot oil. I used a medium high heat. They need to be turned once and take about 3-5 minutes of cooking time.

Remove the hush puppies to a paper towel and drain. Serve with the fish and enjoy!

Super Bowl Shooperbowl

Since the Packers are out of the mix, I really don't care who wins the Superbowl. My husband says we are rooting for the Ravens however! For me it's more about watching the commercials and eating! Today I am trying too new recipes. One of my own for Crock pot cranberry jalapeno glazed chicken wings and the other is a Trisha Yearwood recipe for Sausage Hours d' Oeuvres. I will post some pics later.

Cranberry Jalapeno Chicken Wings

3 lbs chicken wings defrosted
1 can of jellied cranberry sauce
1 jalapeno seeded and diced
1/4 c. water

I first took the cranberry sauce, about 1/4 cup water, and the jalapenos, and added them to a medium pot. I used a potato masher to break up the cranberry jell.

Broil the chicken wings for about 5-10 minutes on a tin foiled baking sheet. This helps the wings stick together. Add about 2/3's of the  cranberries and jalapeno over the chicken wings and  cover the wings in the crock pot. Reserve the other 1/2 for when you are ready to serve. The wings produce a lot of liquid which you will have to drain off before serving.  Set on high for 3 hours and check to see that they are cooked through. Drain the wings one last time and use the remaining glaze to coat the wings.  Enjoy!

Sausage Hour d'Oeuvres from Trisha Yearwood
yields 50 sausage balls

1 lb pork sausage (I am using Odoms)
10 ounces cheddar cheese grated
3 cups baking mix or self-rising flour
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine sausage, cheese and baking mix and stir til combined. The mixture resembles the batter for Mexican wedding cake cookies. You think you need some liquid but you are able to form balls in your hand with the sausage dough. Make the sausage into one inch balls and place them on a ungreased baking sheet. Bake until brown or 20 minutes. Spinkle with salt and pepper and serve with your favorite dip.

Notes: I used the self rising flour and they came out a bit dry. I also had a problem with sticking so on the second batch I greased the sheet. Some PAM might also come in handy for browning.

Tasty Meat Filled Pitas

I love this recipe from Aarti Party on the Food Network for Arayes which are meat filled pockets of deliciousness. Aarti served these as an appetizer, but I serve them as a meal. They are a great alternative to the classic hamburger. I have made these several times and have varied the ingredients as to what I have on hand. My daughter requested I make this one this week. I served them this time with some lentils and carrots that cooked up in about 25-30 minutes.

Lebanese Meat Filled Pockets

6 halves of whole wheat pitas cut in half

1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro or parsley
1 lb ground beef
1 large Roma tomato diced
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tsp lemon juice
salt
oil the pan

Heat an oven to 400 degrees. I mix this by hand or you can use a food processor. Take the 12 pita pockets and stuff with about 2 TBSP of the meat mixture. Place on a oiled baking sheet. You will have some oil from the meat draining on to the pan. Bake for 20 minutes. I press the pitas down about half way through baking and flip them over. You can serve them with your favorite yogurt sauce or lentils like I did.

Carrots and  Lentils

1/2 bag of lentils
4 cups chicken broth
2 carrots cut into coins
salt and pepper

I rinsed the lentils and placed them in the chicken broth and covered them with a lid but left room for venting. I boiled them on high heat checking for the liquid level. The liquid should be covering the lentils. Check them periodically for liquid and stir. Check for doneness at the 15 minutes mark. Season with salt and pepper.