Simpler Times French Toast Casserole

Overnight French Toast casserole is a favorite in our house. Especially this one. Simpler Times Blueberry French Toast Casserole. Always a request from my son and his friends, especially when they were back on break from college. But planning ahead is not really my thing, or theirs, so we sort of skipped the overnight part and gave it abut an hour for the bread to soak up the custard. A little mash and stir helps that along and even with just half an hour to soak, it comes out perfect. This time I even went for the real bacon and not the pre-cooked. No comparison! A pretty perfect breakfast. Tomorrow it's back to the cheerio's!

Simpler Times French Toast
Source: David/ Lakeguy (GW Cooking Forum), original recipe by Chef & Innkeeper Cindy Belford, Simpler Times Inn
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

1 whole Challah or Brioche cut in 1" cubes
5 eggs
1/2 cup sugar (original recipe called for 1 cup, I used 1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
3 cups milk or half & half
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar

Put bread cubes in large bowl. Whip eggs, sugar and nutmeg until light in color and thick. Add milk, stir and pour over bread. Cover and place in fridge overnight, if you can't make it ahead, let it soak for at least an hour and mix the bread well in the custard mixture.

In the morning, mix 1 cup blueberries and 1/2 cup pecans into the bread mix and put into a greased pan; sprinkle rest of the blueberries on top, then the pecans. In pan, melt butter and brown sugar until bubbly. Pour mixture over blueberries and pecans.

Bake at 325 degrees for one hour or until puffed. Serve hot with syrup.

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Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter

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Fresh with Jamie Oliver

It's strawberry season! And over at I Heart Cooking Clubs they are getting fresh with Jamie Oliver this week. Not just berries, anything that is summer fresh! Except my berries weren't exactly fresh but they were perfect for joining in. It was buy one get one at the grocery store, and these were sitting in the frig a little too long. I looked for something I could use with the berries and found Jamie Oliver's Creamiest Rice Pudding with the Quickest Strawberry Jam. That was be perfect. I had everything the recipe need. Almost. I guess that's why it's called adapted!

Yeah, well, the recipe said meringue cookies. Since I wasn't running to the store on a Saturday morning with the other hundreds of people who forget one thing, I made do with amaretti cookies leftover from the Tortoni's!  It was actually a great sub, and to keep it going with the almond flavor, I used almond extract instead of the vanilla sugar and topped it with slivered almonds.

To hull the berries I used a very cute, very cool gadget!  And even better, it really works. The claw scoops out the leaf and the hull of the berry with just a twist and a pull. Reminds me of a B movie. THE CLAW! And to think I was skeptical. Love this gadget. Says it will core tomatoes, too! I'll let ya know.

Creamy Rice Pudding with Quick Strawberry Jam
Source: original recipe from “Jamie at Home” by Jamie Oliver and the Food Network
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

For the jam:
2 pounds strawberries, hulled, washed and drained
1/2 cup sugar

For the rice pudding:
5 cups whole milk (I used 4 cups 1% and 1 cup heavy cream)
7 ounces medium-grain rice (I used carnaroli rice)
3 tablespoons sugar, more or less depends on your taste
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 ounces amaretti cookies, crumbled
a few wild strawberries and some slivered almonds, to garnish (optional)

Place the strawberries in a wide, stainless steel pan and sprinkle the sugar over the top. Scrunch the strawberries up with your hands or a masher. You want all the sugar to dissolve in the strawberry juice before you put the pan on the heat and bring it to the boil. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes on a medium heat, and every 5 minutes or so come back to your jam to skim off the foam. It should be thickened, but don't worry if it's still a bit liquid. Remove the pan from the heat and put aside.

Meanwhile, place the milk, rice, sugar and almond extract in a deep saucepan. Bring to a medium simmer and put on the lid. Cook for half an hour, stirring occasionally, until the rice pudding is thick and creamy. If it ends up being a bit too thick, you can thin it down by adding a little more milk.

To serve, divide the rice pudding between your bowls. Spoon over a big dollop of the strawberry jam, then slowly swirl it in so it ripples through the rice pudding. Sprinkle over the amaretti pieces and scatter with a few strawberries and some almonds, if you like.

Joining

 I Heart Cooking Clubs to celebrate Getting Fresh with Jamie Oliver!

and

  The Little Red House for Mosaic Monday! 

and I am usually off season, but finally I have something seasonal, so I am joining The Tablescaper with Seasonal Sundays!

and
  Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter

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Strawberries with Chocolate Mint Whipped Cream

Chocolate mint is a very nice mint, it has a delicious scent, sort of like a peppermint patty! Mint with a subtle taste of chocolate. It's a bit invasive to say the least so mine has been in a pot, right next to the spearmint on a table in the yard. It keeps coming back, year after year after year.

The first strawberries were peeking out of the pot this afternoon so I grabbed all four before the birds could get them and supplemented with some store bought berries to make a really nice dessert. Strawberries with Mint Whipped Cream. I had made it before and thought the chocolate mint would be so nice with the berries. It was. It was delicious with the berries. Nice hint of chocolate mint, was perfect with the sweet strawberries!

Strawberries with Chocolate Mint Whipped Cream

Source: original recipe @ Martha Stewart, Everyday Food - May 2007
Adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

1/4 cup sugar
1 packed cup fresh mint leaves and stems, coarsely chopped (recipe called for 2 cups, but we found it fine with one and I used chocolate mint leaves)
1 cup heavy cream
1 quart strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

mint sprigs for garnish

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar, mint, and 2 tablespoons of water to a boil. Remove from heat; steep for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a cup, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids. Let cool (makes about cup).

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in one cup syrup You can re-whip the cream to stiffen, if necessary.

Starting with strawberries, spoon alternating layers of strawberries and mint cream into four serving glasses. Garnish with a mint sprig.

 Joining
 The Little Red House for Mosaic Monday! 

and

 Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter 

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Chocolate! Cakes and Strawberries

Spent the other day with Miss Picky in the kitchen. She was debating what we should bake. We don't usually agree. I was shooting for quick and easy. She wanted long and involved. It would definitely have to be something with chocolate. She found some strawberries, buried way back in the frig, barely surviving, those poor things. But they could be saved and be absolutely delicious dipped in chocolate. We weren't serving them to company, it was our treat! That worked for both of us, she got chocolate, and I got quick and easy, minimal clean up! She threw a wrench into the plans by looking in the pantry and digging out a quick bread mix from Williams-Sonoma that looked like something we had to have last time we were there. Chocolate-Peanut Butter Quick bread. It was the QUICK in the title that got me on that one!  OK, I'm a good sport. Most of the time anyway! and so began our time in the kitchen. Me and Miss Text Everyone while we bake, mix and melt!

  Although we had one vote for bittersweet and one for milk chocolate, milk chocolate won. Strawberries dipped in any kind of chocolate is a winning combination!

 Just add melted butter and eggs. It says QUICK right there. 

Instead of making a loaf we decided to put the mini bundt pans to good use. and a couple mini tart pans, too!  We dusted the pans with cocoa powder instead of flour. 

So with mini bundt's or bundt pans in general, the bottom of the pan is really the top of the cake, right? We followed directions, didn't over fill, not too much anyway and the bottom (or top?) or whatever kind of got rounded instead of flat. The mini tart pan cake definitely wasn't sitting pretty in the plate as you can see! The bundt was not too bad when you turned it over. See all the peanut butter chips? Delicious! Even topsy-turvy!

 

In the end, the bundt's came out nice! A little sprinkle of powdered sugar and all was well with the cakes!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
 Printable Recipe
 
16 ounces milk or bittersweet chocolate chips (white chocolate or nay other kind of chips)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (optional, it gives it a smoother texture, but you don't need it)
pound fresh strawberries with leaves

Line a baking sheet or cookie pan with parchment or waxed paper.

Wash the strawberries and pat them dry with paper towels; set aside. NOTE: Make sure the strawberries are completely dry. Any drop of water in the melted chocolate can cause it to "seize" and turn the chocolate mixture into a grainy mess.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips (and vegetable oil, if using) in the microwave for one minute. Check and stir. If it needs more time, put it in for 30 second bursts, checking and stirring, it doesn't have to be completely melted, you don't want to scorch the chocolate.  Remove the container from the microwave and stir the chocolate until completely melted.

Grasp the stem or green leafy part of the strawberry and dip into the chocolate and swirl in chocolate to partially cover.

Give the strawberry a little shake as you take it out of the chocolate, let the excess drip off into the bowl, and then place the dipped berry on the cookie sheet lined with parchment. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries.

Set aside the berries to allow the chocolate to harden, about 30 minutes. Or you can place them in the refrigerator. Transfer fruit onto a serving platter to serve.

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Joining Mary's Mosaic Monday. For more mosaic's stop by the Little Red House!

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Mosaic Monday: Strawberries

Strawberries. I have one little pot of them and they have come back every year for the past four or five years. There is nothing like just grabbing a berry, still warm from the sun and popping it in your mouth. Not bad with fresh whipped cream or just a little sprinkle of brown sugar. Simple is really good! For dessert this afternoon we had store bought Strawberries with Mint Whipped Cream. Delicious. But nothing beats a juicy, fresh berry that you grew yourself.

Joining Mary from The Little Red House for another Mosaic Monday!  Stop by the Little Red House to see lots of fantastic Mosaics every week!

Strawberries with Mint Whipped Cream

Source: Martha Stewart, Everyday Food - May 2007
Printable Recipe

1/4 cup sugar
1 packed cup fresh mint leaves and stems, coarsely chopped (recipe called for 2 cups, but we found it fine with one)
1 cup heavy cream
1 quart strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced

mint sprigs for garnish

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring sugar, mint, and 2 tablespoons of water to a boil. Remove from heat; steep for 15 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a cup, pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids. Let cool (makes about cup).

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in one cup syrup (store any remaining syrup, really good in lemonade!) You can re-whip the cream to stiffen, if necessary.

Starting with strawberries, spoon alternating layers of strawberries and mint cream into four serving glasses. Garnish with a mint sprig.

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Easy Baked Ziti

Tonight we had Easy Baked Ziti with Baked Meatballs. Remember, I go for the easy way, not so much how everyone else might make their baked ziti. I mix mostly everything in one bowl and then dump in the baking dish. I guess it could be called One Bowl Baked Ziti! Miss Picky likes it, and she doesn't eat cheese most of the time, so who am I to argue? It was her pick what to have for dinner tonight. I thought I'd be nice, vacation is over and we're getting back to routine. Six in the morning wake -up! Welcome to Monday! It's been a nice week while it lasted.

and my friend Kathleen, of Cuisine Kathleen, I know how much you love dogs, by the way, my dog Chip has very good table manners! He's just looking!

You can make your own sauce, or just buy a jar, we like Prego, Victoria brand or Rao's Marinara or you can even make your own jarred Rao's sauce, like from the Rao's Cookbook. All good.

A nice dessert to end the meal is Zabaglione with fresh fruit. I didn't make it, but it's still a nice dessert! We went out for Italian ices. Also a nice way to end a meal!


Easy Baked Ziti
adapted from the millions of recipes out there
Printable Recipe

Marinara sauce
Ricotta cheese (more or less depending on how cheesy you like it!)
Mozzarella cheese (I used shredded. Use whatever you like.)
One large egg (I like it with the egg, I know some who don't use it.)
Grated parmesan cheese or parmigiano-reggiano
1 pound box Ziti pasta, cooked al dente and drained

Take a big mixing bowl, add the egg with a small container of ricotta, use a larger container of ricotta if you like, but then add another egg if you like. Mix some grated cheese in to the ricotta and egg and then mix the ziti noodles in to the cheese mixture. Coat the bottom of a large baking dish (9×13 dish) with some marinara. Put some of the ziti cheese mix on top. Sprinkle with some shredded mozzarella, then a little more of the sauce to cover. Another layer of the noodles, some more sauce, then layer the top with the rest of the mozzarella.Cover with sauce lightly and some thin slices mozzarella. Pile the rest of the ziti mixture on top of that layer. Bake at 350 until cheese has melted, bubbly and lightly beginning to brown.



I never baked my meatballs before, but it sounded like a good idea. this one got great reviews over at the cooking forum. O f course I never follow exactly, and somewhere along the way I got distracted, so there is no onion in mine. No veal or pork. I forgot to add it to the list. and I decided to be nice to Larry and not send him out for the third time today! The guy at the grocery knows he'll see him at least two more times after the first list! If they had a cell phone signal in the front of the store it might save a couple trips. but I doubt it. I didn't read the whole recipe and used eggs, not just the yolks. I used white bread soaked in the milk, instead of bread crumbs. I guess same difference, it squishes very well! I didn't roll them in bread crumbs, I threw them in a pot of sauce to simmer for a while.
Baked Meatballs
recipe from Marilyn (DanaIN - Cooking Forum)
Printable Recipe

3/4 + 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup heavy cream (or milk)
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground veal or pork
1 onion; minced
2 cloves garlic: crushed or minced
1 teaspoon each; oregano, basil, parsley
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon table salt)
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2 egg yolks

Combine 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs with milk; let set for five minutes. Stir together onion, garlic, oregano, basil, parsley, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, egg yolks and bread soaked in milk. Fold in meats and shape into 1/4-cup balls and roll in remaining bread crumbs. Place a rack inside a baking dish sprayed with Pam leaving a little space between each meatball. Bake 30 to 35 minutes at 425° until they reach an internal temperature of 160°. Do not over bake. Makes about 20 meatballs. These are very tender and juicy.
These are also good simmered in sauce after baking. If desired, omit bread crumbs on the outside.

Zabaglione
by Tyler Florence

4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dry Marsala wine
8 long-stemmed strawberries
Bring a pot of water to a simmer over medium-low heat. Combine the egg yolks and sugar in a metal or glass heat-resistant bowl and whisk until foamy. Set the bowl over the simmering water, without letting the bottom touch the water, and continue to whisk constantly. Gradually pour in the Marsala while continuing to beat - don't let it boil. Keep working-out that arm and whisk vigorously for a good 5 minutes, until the custard has doubled in volume and is very thick and yellow.
Spoon the zabaglione into dessert bowls and serve with fresh strawberries.

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It was a nice day, we all sat down together, and we ate early. That doesn't always happen these days! I'm ready to face the week!

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