False Spring Meals

There is a time where we have some glorious weather in the midwest in between days of 30-50 degrees. This last week it hit 77. Today it’s back to 37. When we have decent weather, it truly makes me eat better. Here are some delicious meals for your soon to be actual spring.

Avocado Toast.

• Avocados
• Marble/Sourdough
• Spinach
• Parmesan Cheese
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cayenne

This is one of my favorite meals that i usually end up eating for breakfast. I’m not THAT big of a fan of cucumbers, but they’re so fresh with the creaminess of the avocado and the cheese on top adds a nice texture. Instead of adding spinach on top, you could add smoke salmon like I usually do. 10/10

Pesto Chicken & Pasta

• Chicken/Shrimp
• Gluten-free Pasta
• Spinach
• Pesto
• Salt
• Pepper
• Tomatoes
• onions

This is also another one of my go-to recipes. You can use precooked chicken or shrimp. You’ll want to cook the protein first, while doing so boil your pasta. While those cook, add your other ingredients into a dish. When Pasta is done, drain and add to the dish, add protein on top and mix! a delicious meal that is healthy and doesn’t take more than 20 minutes

Salmon or Steak Salad

• Salmon or steak
• Arugula
• cucumber
• onion
• tomato
• Salt
• Pepper
• Lemon Juice

Cook up your steak or salmon to how ever you prefer, adding light salt and pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve with a side of arugula salad with veggies and some raspberry vinaigrette or a light dressing. Easy Peasy. It wont even take you 20 minutes.

Things that are bright and colorful are always better for you. My mother has recently gone on dairy free Keto, so look out for more healthier recipes.

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Breakfast panini’s

Hot and gooey

I know how hard times are right now so this is a cheap and easy way for people to create something new, but a way to make something new while staying in.

If you have a panini press this is an quick, protein filled breakfast that doesn’t take more than 5 minutes. And honestly? You can just make it on the stove in a pan.

1. Before you even get your ingredients out of the fridge, plug your panini press in to get nice and hot.

I added egg, turkey, cheese, and some veggies like mushroom and onion. Add what you’d like. I also covered mine in hot sauce, but some people don’t like hot sauce.

steps:

• Cook egg to liking on stove. Over easy for me. Add cooked egg, lunch meat, cheese and other toppings onto buttered bread.
• Put into panini press and flip occasionally for about 5 mins, or until toasted to your liking. Don’t press to hard because the egg will burst*

I hope everybody is doing their part to combat the crazy that is going on in this world. Wash your hands, stay in, and keep social distancing.

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Sausage Biscuits and Gravy

John Cameron

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         In order to make good gravy, you need the right ratio of fats, flavor and “flour” or thickener.

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In this recipe, and I use that term very loosely, I start by frying the breakfast sausage. Mine was very lean and didn’t give off very much fat, so I also used some butter. If you wanted, you could make this recipe with bacon and its fat.
Almost any fat will work in this recipe; I wouldn’t try coconut oil, and the same with any very strong taste or smelling oil, (nut oils) that wouldn’t enhance your gravy and this is all personal. I mean, if you wanted a sweet tropical gravy to go over a sweet potato biscuit, then coconut, or hazelnut oil might be a perfect choice. Just saying.

I chose sausage gravy, then the next step is the thickener. The classic choice in this recipe is flour because you start with a rue, (fat and butter mixture that is browned for Creole cooking). This too is optional, if you are gluten intolerant, then corn or rice starch might be a better choice, and you will handle the thickening differently. For a rue, you cook the fat and butter to reduce the taste of the raw flour, and the longer you cook this pair, the nuttier, richer and complex it becomes. Unless you pre-cook the rice or cornstarch, it will just thicken and adds little if any extra flavor, but we must have options.

Then after cooking the rue to the correct darkness, mine was just a blonde, platinum at that, I added in the flavoring, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, mixed that all together.

The last step is to add the liquid. I used whole milk, this time, sometimes half & half or heavy cream makes the cut. But, in this, you have some options, like some chicken, beef or veggie stock. Mushroom stock and some buttermilk with sautéed mushrooms sound like a great addition.

The secret to smooth gravy is to add the liquid slowly and whisk thoroughly, start with small amounts until you get a smooth paste-like texture, then add more and whisk again, until the gravy is just how you like it.

So the “Recipe”:

• 1 pound breakfast sausage, brown in heavy skillet keeping 2 T fat.
• 2 tablespoons flour, cook for a couple of minutes. The flour should not be dry, it should absorb the fat, but it shouldn’t be soupy either.
• Add flavoring of choice, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper
• Add about 2 cups of whole milk starting with 1/4 cup and whisk then another 1/4 cup whisk till smooth, then the rest.
• Cook on medium-low heat, just bubbling till thick.

 

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Where is the best place to get great biscuits and gravy?

Mocha Almond Scones

Scones and biscuits are one of the quickest breads to make and this makes it ideal for breakfast. I love the combination of coffee and chocolate together.

I started with the cream scone recipe from”The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook”.  I then substituted 1/4 of the flour for cocoa powder, added 1 T more of sugar and  1/2 cup sliced almonds. Most scone recipes are not chocolate, but filled with dried or fresh fruit, so this is an ideal recipe for making it your own.

This recipe makes 8 large scones or 16 small ones, depending how you cut them.

Ingredients

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
6 T butter, cold and cut to small dice size
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 lg eggs

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Shift the flour, cocoa, and baking powder into a bowl. Add salt and sugar. Mix with a whisk.
3. Cut in the butter until they resemble small peas.
4. Mix the eggs and cream and add mixing only to moisten.
5. Place on a parchment sheet and mold into a square about 3/4 inch thick.
6. Sprinkle the nuts over the dough. Cut in half and place on top of the other half. Roll back out to original size square. Cut and place again twice, while sprinkling the nuts, especially around the edges. on the last cut place the bottoms together before rolling.
7. Cut the square into 4 equal pieces with a pizza cutter, then cut them diagonally (8 large scones).  Cut those in half (16 small scones).
8. Bake 16-20 minutes till edges are slightly brown.

Icing

1/2 cup heavy cream, infused with coffee.  (Heat cream on stove with coffee grounds and set aside for 10-15 minutes.
2 T butter
1 Oz bittersweet chocolate
2 c powdered sugar
1-2 T hot brewed coffee

1. Strain the infused cream through cheesecloth and put in a glass measure cup.
2. Add the butter and chocolate and melt.  If needed microwave for 1 minute.
3. Add in the powdered sugar and mix thoroughly, it will be quite thick.
4. Add in the brewed coffee until it comes to a drizzle consistency.

Corned Beef Hash

Here is my nod to St. Patrick’s Day fare. I’m not much into boiled cabbage or potatoes, I like the maillard reaction, browning and carmelizing, of food way to much to be boiling anything but water; well maybe pasta.

Anyway, I confess that when push comes to shove I will eat the dogfood version that comes in the can, but I have to be pretty desperate. I much prefer the texture of properly prepared corned beef, defatted, cubed and fried to a crispy crunchy doneness, with onions, potatoes, and sometimes peppers. The traditional way to eat this is with an over easy egg, but I’m not much into runny eggs.

So, here’s my version of corned beef hash. Use it as a springboard to make your favorite version. Add your favorite ingredients onions, peppers, maybe fennel or use rutabaga or parsnips instead of potatoes.  Just use what you have and your imagination.

Ingredients

1 corned beef brisket, cooked and cubed  (I cook mine in a crock pot on low overnight.)
1 med red onion, small diced
3-4 red potatoes, small diced with skins
2 eggs
shredded cheddar,  optional
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying

Method

1. As above, I cook my corned beef in the crock pot overnight on low.  In the morning I let it cool slightly and cut off the extra fat and cut into about 1/4 inch cubes.
2. Cut all the ingredients, saute the corned beef first to brown and render some fat in the pan. Take out of pan and set aside.
3. Next saute the onions and then add the potatoes. When they are close to being done, add the corned beef back into the pan. S/P to taste
4. In a separate pan, prepare the eggs to your taste, scramble, over easy, whatever you like.
5. To plate, place some corned beef mixture on plate, top with eggs and cheese. Then top of the morning to you. Enjoy your St. Patty’s day fare.

Savory French Toast

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day.  No matter what time I eat my first meal, 6am up to noon-ish, I want breakfast.  I usually want something sweet, like doughnuts, but occasionally I try to add more nutrition to my day.

The french toast part of this equation is the same, it’s just the topping that changes. I sautéed a chicken breast and some fresh veggies, topped it with pan gravy and cheese and ta da breakfast. Feel free to substitute the meat and veggies.  Steak with peppers and salsa might be a good.  Ham with broccoli, onion, mushrooms, bacon bits and cheddar topped with a bechamel sauce sounds pretty good too.  Use your imagination and your favorites and you will not go wrong.

Ingredients

3 eggs
1/4 cup milk (the more fat the richer the taste)
6 slices texas toast
1 chicken breast, sliced into 1/4″ thick strips
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup sliced onions
1/4 cup sliced zucchini
1/4 cup sliced yellow squash
2 T butter
2 T flour
@2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup shredded cheddar

Method

1. Heat non-stick pan and spray with pan spray
2. Whip the eggs and milk in a flat-bottomed container, to dip the bread into for the french toast.
3. Grill on both sides until golden brown. Make sure that it is cooked all the way through or you will have mushy french toast when you add the veggies and gravy, that is the highest food sin on my list. Set aside.
4. Using same pan spray again and add strips of chicken. Saute for a couple of minutes on both sides until nicely browned.  Set aside.
5. Using the same pan again, spray again and add the onions, saute for a couple of minutes, then add the mushrooms saute a couple of minutes, then the zucchini and squash and saute them until softened. Set aside.
6. In the same pan add the butter and melt, add flour and make into a roux.  Add in any juices that have come from chicken and veggies, and then the stock a little at a time, whisking to blend into a gravy.  Salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble

Place french toast on plate and top with chicken pieces, sautéed veggies.  Spread the gravy over the top and sprinkle with shredded cheddar.