Breakfast Muffin Eggs

1. Fry up sausage patties.

2. Place one in each (greased) muffin tin.

3. Crack one egg into each tin on top of sausage patty.

4. Gently rupture egg yolk and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

5. Bake at 350 degrees until egg is poached.

6. Delicious served with sliced avocado and fresh salsa, if desired.

NOTE: I've made this with sliced, cooked bacon in place of the sausage patties in a pinch. Just tear the pre-cooked bacon slice into thirds and line the bottom of the (greased) muffin tin with the pieces, overlapped to form a solid layer, almost like a cup in the bottom of the muffin tin.

Fattigman

This recipe was made by Hayley, a sweet, young friend and piano student of mine. She was making something Norwegian for a geography party she and my daughter EL were having. She saved me one for after the party, and they were delicious!!

Here is the recipe, for posterity's sake. Fattigman are apparently also known as "Poor Man's Cookies."

2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. cream
1/2 C. melted butter
1 Tbsp. baking powder
2-1/2 -- 3 C. flour
1/4 tsp. vanilla or cardamom
powdered sugar for dusting

Beat eggs and sugar. Add butter and cream. Stir in baking powder. Slowly add 2-1/2 C. flour. Add more flour, if necessary, to get the right rolling consistency.

Roll dough out about 1/2 in. thick. Cut dough into diamond shapes, 3 in. long and 1-1/2 in. wide. Cut a slit in the center of each cookie. Pull bottom point of cookie through the slit. This makes the cookies into a bow shape.

Drop cookies into hot oil and fry until light brown.

Drain on newspaper and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

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For a fun video lesson I found online--and a little bit different recipe--see here.

Here's "Wally's mother's recipe," demonstrated in the video above, which looks to be a little bit different from Hayley's recipe:

4 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
6 Tbsp. sugar (NOT 6 C. like he says at the first in the video!)
1/2 C. thick sweet cream (later in the video he says 1 C., but it looks like 1/2 C. to me)
1 generous Tbsp. brandy
dash salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3ish C. flour

EL's Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies

EL was supposed to make some cookies for a service project at Awana last night. So yesterday afternoon, while I taught piano lessons, she got online, found this recipe, and made some of the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted! Here's the recipe, originally from AllRecipes.com.

I will experiment later with using freshly ground whole wheat flour and adding some oats and nuts, but here's what she made yesterday. Delicious!

(NOTE: I am sad to report that there is a big difference if you use whole-wheat flour in these cookies.  They're lots better with all white flour.)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
   
   

Black Bean Tostadas

OG made our lunch today, from a recipe she found online. I have no idea where, or I'd give credit where credit is due. Anyway, I just found a document open on the computer where she had copied the recipe. It was delicious, so I figured I'd share:

• 6 (10 inch) flour tortillas
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil--we used olive oil
• 3 small onion, chopped
• 1-1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained--we used Trader Joe's organic black beans
• 1 tablespoon minced jalapeno peppers
• 9 ounces cream cheese
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Wrap tortillas in foil and place in oven heated to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through.
2. Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Place onion, bell pepper, garlic and jalapenos in skillet, cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Pour beans into skillet, cook 3 minutes stirring.
3. Cut cream cheese into cubes and add to skillet with salt. Cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir cilantro into mixture.
4. Spoon mixture evenly down center of warmed tortilla and roll tortillas up. Serve immediately.

EV made our tortillas homemade from freshly ground whole wheat--and she left out the baking powder--so they were more like flat crispy tortillas. We ate these like tostadas. We added a little salsa and leftover rice and a can of Trader Joe's corn (the only canned corn that is any good; otherwise use frozen) and topped it off with avocado slices. We didn't have fresh cilantro, though I would have loved it!

Yum!

Miss Cheri's Cobb Salad

This salad is delicious with a blend of mixed lettuces: Romaine, chopped mixed greens, some iceberg if I have it. I also shave thin carrot slices with a vegetable peeler into the lettuce mix. I serve with Ranch dressing and crackers with Boursin.

Toppings:

Chopped chicken breasts, breaded or just grilled

Grated egg

Diced dill pickles

Grated sharp cheddar

Diced colored peppers

Diced tomatoes

Cubed avocado (opt)

Real bacon bits (opt)

Chili, Team-Fahs Style

Chili Team-Fahs Style

This makes a HUGE crock pot with plenty for dinner plus leftovers – After all, we’re cooking for 6! 

What you need:

1 large onion, diced (or more if you’d like)

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed

1 28 oz. can of Bush’s Baked Beans – choose your favorite flavor (I like Country Style and Onion.)

3 10-oz. cans Rotel or 2 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 14 oz. can dark red kidney beans (You can choose just the light or dark red kidney beans if you don’t like a lot of beans in your chili)

1 14 oz. can light red kidney beans

1 14.5 oz. can of tomato sauce

4 or more tablespoons of chili powder – depending on your taste

Crushed red pepper for kick (if you’d like)

Fixin’s  (To me, chili is just a vehicle for fixin’s!)

White rice (We love our chili over rice!)

Scallions/green onions or diced onions

Shredded cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Cilantro (If you haven’t tried cilantro on your chili, please do!)

Diced jalapenos (Optional, of course, but so good!)

Fritos, if you’re really in the mood for a fun chili!

What you need to do:

1. Saute the onion in olive or canola oil, then add in the ground beef and sausage to brown.  Drain well.

2. Add all the cans of stuff!  You can simply add the cans of stuff to the meat in a deep pot, or you can transfer everything to a crock pot.

3. Add the chili powder and crushed red pepper, if you’re using it.

4. Heat to boiling, then simmer on low for half an hour or so, or cook in your crock pot until it’s piping hot – 4 hours on low, 6 or so hours on high.

5. Enjoy!

Opa's Rock Cakes

These are the traditional Swiss Christmas cookies, from Tante Lulu's recipe and converted to American measures.

2 sticks + 2 1/2 Tbsp. butter
1 C. sugar
2 eggs
4 oz. raisins (both dark and golden)
4 oz. Korinthen (dried currants)
Candied fruit, to taste and by eye

3 1/2 C. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
Dash salt

In the Kitchen Aid, whip the butter creamy. Add the other ingredients, with the flour/baking powder mix added last. The dough should be very stiff.

Use a teaspoon to make little piles, looking jagged like broken rock. Place on a buttered baking sheet and bake at 350-400 degrees. The heat should be high enough to quickly bake the outside in order to preserve the shape of the cookies without letting the dough flow into flat cookies. Dust with powdered sugar while still slightly warm.

Nanny's Cranberry Salad

1 package raspberry jello
1 cup water
1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 chopped apple
chopped nuts
chopped celery

Dissolve the jello in the water. Add other ingredients, stir, and pour into square glass pan. Chill until set.

Sausage Dip

I can't believe this recipe hasn't already been posted!  My sister called me, having lost her copy of this old recipe from my friend Ken's family, acquired many years ago as an alternative to the sometimes-just-too-darn-artificially-cheesey Rotel and Velveeta Dip.  Kim has been known to replace half the cream cheese with Velveeta, skipping the mayo.

1 package Jimmy Dean, browned with onion and drained
2 blocks cream cheese
2 cans Rotel tomatoes
2-3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste

Heat together above ingredients.  Garnish with fresh tomatoes and green onions, if desired.

Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

Janet's Broccoli Grape Salad

This recipe is from my friend Janet.  I always double it when I make it for my family, and triple or quadruple it when I take it somewhere.  There's never any left.

1 bunch broccoli, cut up (peeled stalks, too!)
1 bunch green onion, chopped with a few tops
     (You can use a little white onion chopped very fine.)
3-4 C. seedless red grapes, halved
     (You can use Craisins or leave these out entirely.)
3 Tbsp. cooked, chopped bacon (opt.)
1/4 C. toasted sliced almonds
      (350 degrees for 3 minutes)

Dressing:
1 C. mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip!)
1/3 C. sugar
1 Tbsp. vinegar
      (apple cider, white wine, or rice vinegar are nice)

Put dressing and almonds on salad just before serving.

This has become a holiday favorite around here, usually as a side with the Popeye's chicken and biscuits that my in-laws bring on their way into town before any holiday gathering.