Grilled Sausage Panzanella

This is a great recipe for the end of summer.  It's a fantastic way to get out and use your grill a few more times before the cold weather hits.  We had this one week in early summer and then have quickly repeated it almost every week since.  It's a great, fast weeknight meal and tastes fabulous.  Grilling the bread as well as the sausage really emphasizes smoky, charred flavors in the dish.  And it's so versatile.  We always have a few packages of sausage in the freezer, usually a flavored chicken sausage.  Trader Joe's has a great selection of varieties and our favorite grocery store in the world, Wegmans, has also recently launched a line in their own brand name as well.  We've done this with pesto sausage, sun-dried tomato sausages, Italian (both sweet and hot), smoked chardonnay and apple, andouille, spinach and feta, the list can go on and on.  I bet kielbasa would be particularly good as well -- which gives me another excuse to put this dish on the menu for the upcoming week (like I needed one!).

Grilled Sausage Panzanella

adapted (and infinitely customizable) from EveryDay with Rachael Ray, June/July 2010

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 plum tomatoes, finely chopped (I've also used cherry/grape tomatoes that are halved and chopped heirloom tomatoes.)

1/4 large onion (or 1/2 medium), thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped 

Salt and pepper 

Four thick slices bread (Use your preferred variety, I find Italian or sourdough work well.)

4 sausage links (about 1 pound), any variety 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 

15 fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese 

Directions:

• In a large bowl mix together the tomatoes, onion and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Let stand 15 minutes.  Preheat your grill to medium.
• Once grill is hot and ready, grill bread slices, about 2 minutes in each side.  You want them to get toasty brown and have some charring around the edges.  
• After removing the bread, grill the sausages.  If your sausages are precooked then you are just heating them up, so about 5-7 minutes total.  If you are using raw sausages you will need to grill until cooked completely, so about 10-12 minutes total.  Turn sausages often for even cooking/heating and nice grill marks.  
• Add olive oil and red wine vinegar to the tomato mixture.  Cut bread into 1/2 -3/4 inch cubes.  Cut the sausages into similar sized slices.  Add the bread, sausage, basil and half the parmesan to the tomato mixture.  Toss until combined.  Divide into bowls and serve with the additional parmesan for sprinkling on top. 

Pretzel Rolls: Secret Recipe Club

As soon as I had sent Zach a link to my Secret Recipe Club blog assignment for this month, Patricia's ButterYum, I almost immediately got back a response that consisted solely of a link to the the recipe for these Pretzel Rolls.  And I can't say it was a bad choice!  These pretzel rolls immediately reminded me of the kind we get at our favorite grocery store, Wegmans.  They baked up deep golden brown and delicious.  They are great just out of the oven and taste just like a pretzel.  The remaining rolls would be great heated briefly in the oven, or a toaster oven, for just a few minutes until they get nice and crusty again on the outside and steamy and hot on the inside. 

Pretzel Rolls
from ButterYum

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cup bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoon yeast (one packet)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

8 cups water
1/4 cup baking soda
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg white, beaten
coarse salt

Directions:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine bread flour, yeast, kosher salt, sugar and water.  Use dough hook on low speed, mixing until dough ball forms.  Then move speed to medium-low and knead for one minute.  Coat a large bowl with oil and transfer dough to prepared bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and towel and let rise until doubled in size, about one hour.
• Punch dough down and transfer on to floured work surface.  Cut into 16 equal pieces.  Work pieces into a circle with one smooth, tight, uniform 'skin' of dough.  Place on to parchment or silpat lined baking sheets, leaving space between rolls (I did two sets of 8 rolls on two half-sheet pans).  Let rise until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
• During the last ten minutes of the second rise, First preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Then bring the 8 cups water, baking soad and sugar to a boil in a large pot.  When the shaped rolls have doubled in size, boil them for 30 seconds per side.  We fit 3-4 of the small sized rolls in the large pot at once.  
• Remove from water, drain and place back on sheet pans. Brush with the beaten egg white and top with coarse salt.  Once salted you can use kitchen scissors to cut an X shape in the top of each roll.  This will help steam escape and keeps the round shape. 
• Bake the rolls at 375 for 25 minutes, until a deep golden brown.  Cool on a rack for 10 minutes before eating. 

Check out what everyone else made for Group B of the Secret Recipe Club!!

Zuchinni Parmesan Loaf

I know this recipe might be a bit late for prime zucchini season, but I'm hoping people will give it a try with the end of the season zucchinis rolling in.  I had saved this recipe from a magazine years ago.  I remembered it while trying to think of something different to do with our growing pile of green squashes.  I opted for this since it is a savory bread and not the usual cinnamon spiced zucchini bread -- not that I dislike those breads, cinnamon is one of my favorite flavors, but week after week of typical zucchini bread can wear on even the biggest cinnamon lover.  It has the nutty, salty parmesan flavor and would be a great side to many dinner dishes and even a savory breakfast addition, say, toasted and slathered with butter along side scrambled eggs with cheese.

Zucchini Parmesan Loaf

from Everyday Food, September 2005

Serves 8

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup milk

2 eggs

1/2 pound (about 1 medium) zucchini, coarsely grated

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 and spray a loaf pan (9x5) with non-stick spray.
• In a large bowl combine flour, cheese, baking powder, salt and pepper.  Stir to combine.  
• In a medium bowl combine olive oil, milk and eggs.  Beat with a whisk.  
• Add grated zucchini to flour mixture, stir to combine.  Then add liquid ingredients to the flour/zucchini mixture.  Stir until just moistened.
• Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake 60-70 minutes.  It's ready when a toothpick comes out clean.  
• Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

Double-Chocolate Loaf with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Spread: BAKED Sunday Mornings Rewind

The selected recipe for this week was Carrot-Coconut Scones with Citrus Glaze.  The flavors didn't really interest either Zach or myself and there are a few recipes the group completed before I joined that I knew we would definitely enjoy so I chose to do a rewind post.  From the very first time I opened Baked Explorations I knew it wouldn't be long before I made this double-chocolate bread.  I'm weird because I don't particularly like peanuts, but I do love peanut butter, and especially peanut butter combined with chocolate.  


This bread was delicious, very rich and moist.  I do find that generally I need to add on 10+ minutes to the baking times from the book.  I added on 15 minutes to the high end of the range given for this bread and I think I went 5 minutes too far.  The outside was quite crisp, perhaps a little too dry, but it certainly won't keep us from eating it!  Next time I'd just add on 10 minutes though.  Overall it's quite good and, as the book says, a great excuse to have chocolate for breakfast!  I really enjoyed the peanut butter cream cheese spread, but Zach said he felt it was overwhelmed by the super chocolately-ness of the bread and didn't really add much for him.  He'd rather have it plain.  

If you head over to the old post on BAKED Sunday Mornings you can see how everyone else's loaves turned out and get the recipe.  

French Toast Bread Pudding: Barefoot Bloggers

This is the first recipe Barefoot Bloggers has done for Ina's newest cookbook, How Easy is That?  I enjoyed this recipe, though I thought it was a bit too lengthy for an average morning meal.  Definitely not on a weekday, and probably for a rare weekend.  I like making bigger breakfasts on the weekends, but not ones I necessarily need to wait an hour and a half for.  I cut the recipe in half and I did like that I got a chance to try my cinnamon apple syrup from Stonewall Kitchen.  I despise maple syrup and so typically leave it out of recipes or avoid recipes where maple is an integral flavor.  Now I have a substitute for maple syrup and it was delicious!

French Toast Bread Pudding

from Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is That? by Ina Garten
serves 4  
1/2 large challah loaf, cut into 3/4 inch slices4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups half and half (I used fat free)1 1/2 Tablespoons honey1 1/2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher saltconfectioners' sugar and apple cinnamon syrup, for serving

Directions:

•   Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  

•   Arrange the sliced bread in a casserole dish.

• In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, honey, orange zest, vanilla and salt.  Carefully pour the mix over the bread in the casserole dish.  Press down and allow to soak for at least 10 minutes. 

• Place thecasserole dish in a roasting pan and cover with foil.  Make slashes in the foil with a sharp knife to allow steam to escape.  Pour water in the roasting pan, coming about an inch up the side of the casserole.  

• Bake 30 minutes, then remove the foil.  Bake an additional 35-40 minutes, until the pudding puffs up and the custard is set.  Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. 

• Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve with apple cinnamon syrup.

Greek Panzanella: Barefoot Bloggers

 This was delicious!  I know my last post was also a panzanella, but they are fairly different sets of flavors.  While Alton Brown's recipe focused on bacon and tomatoes (and who can argue with a bacon-centric recipe?) this one is focused on greek flavors -- oregano, olives, feta.  I was quite excited when I saw it was the choice for July since I had just seen the episode a few days ago where Ina makes the salad.  I really loved it and would definitely make it again.  The dressing had a nice acid bite and everything blended together quite well.  Perfect as a side dish or a summer lunch.  

Greek Panzanella
chosen by Tara of Smells Like Home 

TBL Panzanella

I know, I know, I've been a bad blogger lately.  Good Eats: The Early Years was my cookbook of the month for June, and I only ever got one recipe posted in it,w ell, technically two, since the macerated strawberries and the shortcakes were from two different episodes.  But, in my defense, school ended in June and things were crazy then I took off to the lake for two weeks in the end of June and July.  I didn't bring the cookbook with me and the lake has no internet access, so no new recipes for me to blog.  Anyway, this cookbook will travel on into July as the cookbook of the month and I hope to get at least one more recipe out of it before we leave for a week in Chicago.  

We made this as part of our anniversary meal.  Our "real" anniversary meal will be in August, when we have reservations at Table 21 at VOLT.  We called back in October and mid-August was the earliest we could get.  So that will be our anniversary treat, but on the date of our actual second anniversary we decided to open a nice bottle of wine (Fabbioli Cabernet Franc Reserve -- local people should check them out, they are great!), cook up some steaks and spend a nice night at home.  This was the salad we made, and it was delicious.  The bread cubes with bacon drippings - mmmmmm.  We had some great grape tomatoes from our CSA and we picked up a great yellow heirloom tomato at a nearby farm stand.  If you are a bacon lover (as I am) definitely try this salad!

TBL Panzanella

Good Eats: The Early Years, and available on FoodNetwork.com

4-6 servings

Ingredients
4 cups French bread cut into 1-inch cubes
6 slices bacon, chopped
2 cups halved grape tomatoes
2 cups chopped heirloom tomatoes
2 cups chopped lettuce
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chiffonade basil

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Spread bread cubes on a sheet pan.  Toast in oven until dry, but not browned, around 10 minutes.  
• Cook bacon in skillet over medium heat until crispy.  Drain on paper towels and reserve drippings.  
• In large bowl, toss bread cubes in half of the bacon drippings.  Set aside.
• Sear the halved grape tomatoes in other half of bacon drippings, cut side down, until caramelized, about 5 minutes.
• Combine red wine vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl, slowly whisk in olive oil in a thin stream until emulsified.
• Combine all tomatoes, bread, bacon, and lettuce and dress with vinaigrette, toss well, garnish with basil and serve.

Sour Cream Coffeecake: Barefoot Bloggers

We made this coffeecake with a few twists.  First, as you can probably tell, a bundt cake pan, not a tube pan; and, second, almonds not walnuts.  Almonds are the nut I use for just about any baking really.  If a recipe calls for pecans or walnuts I generally just substitute almonds.  I just like them better.  It tasted delicious and I believe the leftovers went to the guys Zach works with.  I'd definitely make this to have around for weekend guests, or a brunch get together.  

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
chosen by Gwenn of Cooking in Pajamas

Strawberry Shortcake

This is our first selection from the cookbook of the month for June -- Good Eats: The Early Years.  We decided to make strawberry shortcake after getting 4 pints of strawberries in our CSA box one week.  I've never been disappointed in any recipe I've made of Alton Brown's, so I figured this would be a winner.  It was.  The shortcakes were tender and delicious.  The strawberries were great as well.  The hint of spiciness from the pepper was a nice compliment to the very sweet, perhaps a tad overripe berries.  The pictures aren't the greatest, so I apologize for that, but Zach was on camera duty. 

 

Shortcakes with Macerated Strawberries

From Good Eats: The Early Years, and can also found on FoodNetwork.com (Shortcakes and Strawberries)

Macerated Strawberries

Ingredients:
2 pints medium size strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 (750 milliliter) bottle red wine
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup sugar
 

Directions

• In a bowl combine all ingredients. Let stand in refrigerator for 2 hours. 

Shortcakes

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
3/4 cup half and half
Melted butter to brush shortcakes 
Macerated Strawberries (see above)
Whipped cream
 
Directions  

• Heat oven 450 degrees. 
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in butter and shortening. Mix in half-and-half. 
• Drop by large spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. 
• Bake for 15 minutes or until brown. Cool and eat with berries and/or whipped cream.

Sausage, Cheese and Egg Breakfast Braid

I found this recipe while searching for breakfast recipes to use when were were expecting weekend house guests.  However, when I saw this recipe I knew it would be great for my own weekday breakfasts.  I usually take a breakfast sandwich made up of a whole grain english muffin, veggie or chicken sausage patty, and a slice of 2% pepper jack cheese.  First off, because it's only 3 points, and secondly because I can eat it in the car while on my morning commute.  I knew that when cooled and then sliced this would be easy to eat in the car as well.  I adapted it a bit, since I didn't have any jalapeno peppers and I used the sausage I had on hand; but, I think the original recipe would be great too and I'll definitely try it that way in the future.  I also used just a mexican blend of 2% shredded cheese since, again, it's what I had on hand, but any mix of cheeses would work as well. 

Sausage, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Braid

Adapted from Cooking Light

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients
1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
4 ounces chicken sausage
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup shredded cheese
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425°.

• Unroll dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; pat into a 15 x 10–inch rectangle.

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sausage; cook 9 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in eggs; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until set. Remove from heat.

• Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cheese lengthwise down center of dough, leaving about a 2 1/2-inch border on each side. Spoon egg mixture evenly over cheese. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup of cheese over egg mixture.

• Make 2-inch-long diagonal cuts about 1 inch apart on both sides of dough to within 1/2 inch of filling using a sharp knife or kitchen shears. Arrange strips over filling, alternating strips diagonally over filling. Press ends under to seal. Brush with egg white. 

• Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut crosswise into slices.

Sour Cream Coffeecake Muffins

I found this recipe while searching the Cooking Light website.  My mom and grandparents were coming for a weekend visit and I wanted something quick and easy for breakfast.  I knew I could make these ahead of time and have them ready to go in the mornings.  We had them with chicken sausage and scrambled eggs.  I forgot about the glaze I was going to make to put on them fresh that morning, and everyone had started eating already when I remembered.  They said they were fine without it.  I used almonds instead of pecans, since I'm not a fan of pecans but I do love almonds.  They were moist and delicious, a great start to a morning of sightseeing!

Sour Cream Coffeecake Muffins
adapted from Cooking Light
Yield: 18 servings (serving size: 1 muffin)

Ingredients
 

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar 

1/4  cup  butter, softened 

2 eggs 

1  cup  reduced-fat sour cream 

2  tablespoons  water 

1  teaspoon  vanilla extract 

1 3/4  cups  all-purpose flour 

 1  teaspoon  baking powder 

1/2  teaspoon  baking soda 

1/2  teaspoon  salt 

Cooking spray 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400°.

• Combine first 3 ingredients; set aside.

• Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 3 minutes). Add eggs; beat 3 minutes. Beat in sour cream, water, and vanilla.

• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture; add sour cream mixture. Stir just until combined.

• Place 3 tablespoons brown sugar mixture in a small bowl; set aside. Sprinkle surface of batter with remaining brown sugar mixture. Gently fold batter 4 times.

• Place 18 paper muffin cup liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray. Spoon batter into prepared cups. Sprinkle batter evenly with reserved brown sugar mixture. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan immediately; place on a wire rack. Cool 10 minutes.

Triple Play Cinnamon Rolls

I found these in The Best of Cooking Light.  I love cinnamon.  It's one of my favorite spices/flavors.  I was in the mood for some cinnamon rolls and these looked delicious.  The name, Triple Play, refers to the recipe using three different kinds of sugar -- granulated in the dough, brown in the filling and powdered in the glaze.  I think they turned out pretty yummy and gave us breakfasts for some time!  We froze about half of them to use later.  After defrosting over night, warming up in the microwave for about 15 seconds and then adding fresh glaze on the warm rolls you'd never know they weren't freshly baked. 

 

Triple Play Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted from The Best of Cooking Light

Makes 20 rolls

Ingredients

Dough:
1  package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/4  cup  warm water (100° to 110°)
1/2  cup  warm 1% low-fat milk (100° to 110°)
1/3  cup  granulated sugar
1/4  cup  butter, softened
1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
3/4  teaspoon  salt
1  large egg, lightly beaten
3 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour, divided
Cooking spray

Filling:
3/4  cup  raisins
2/3  cup  packed brown sugar
1  tablespoon  ground cinnamon
2  tablespoons  butter, melted

Glaze:
1  cup  powdered sugar
2  tablespoons  1% low-fat milk
1/2  teaspoon  vanilla extract

Preparation

• To prepare dough, dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup warm milk, granulated sugar, 1/4 cup butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, salt, and egg; stir with a wooden spoon until combined (batter will not be completely smooth).

• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 3 cups flour to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly tacky).

• Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray; turn to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until doubled in size. (Press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, dough has risen enough.)

• To prepare filling, combine raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Roll dough into a 15 x 10-inch rectangle; brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle filling over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Beginning with a long side, roll up dough jelly-roll fashion; pinch seam to seal (do not seal ends of roll). Wrap roll in plastic wrap; chill for 20 minutes.

• Unwrap roll, and cut into 20 (1/2-inch) slices. Arrange slices, cut sides up, 1 inch apart on a jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°) free from drafts, 1 hour and 15 minutes or until doubled in size.

• Preheat oven to 350°.  Uncover dough. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.

• To prepare glaze, combine powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons milk, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle glaze over warm rolls.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 200
Fat: 4g
Fiber: 1.1g
WW Points (per roll): 4

Chocolate Muffins

This is one of the recipes from my Cookbook of the Month, Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook.  I made these when Zach's mom and sister were coming to visit for a weekend.  I wanted to have a yummy breakfast option that would still feel like a dessert, and chocolate muffins were a good option.  They were easy to make and held up well to freezing.  I made them when we had the giant snowstorms here in the Washington, DC area, and I was home from school on my week of snow days.  It was about 3 three weeks that they were frozen, and they survived just fine.  They were light and not too heavy as chocolate muffins can be.  

Chocolate Muffins

Makes 12 Servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups flour

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup fat free milk

1 egg

4 teaspoons unslated butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.  
• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.  In a small bowl, combine milk, egg, butter and vanilla.  Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients, stirring just until blended.  Do not overmix.
• Spoon the batter into the cups, filling each about to-thirds full.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.   
• Cool in the pan on a rack 5 minutes; remove from the pan and cool on racks. 

Nutritional Info
Calories: 91
Fat: 2 g
Fiber: 0 g
WW Points per muffin: 2

Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake

I found this recipe in a quick search of the Cooking Light website.  My parents were coming into town for the weekend and I wanted a coffeecake to have around for breakfast in the mornings.  It was very good, especially nice and warm out of the oven.  It was easy to heat up for a few second in the microwave though.  It was moist and the crumbs on top were very yummy.  It was easy to make and easy to eat!  The only change we made is that we used a Cortland apple instead of the Granny Smith, just because that's the kind we already had in the house.  

Apple Cinnamon Coffeecake 
Cooking Light 
Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 piece)


Ingredients
Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup 1% low-fat milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup diced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 1 apple) (We used a Cortland.)
Cooking spray

Streusel:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°.

• To prepare cake, lightly spoon 1 1/2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Make a well in center of mixture.

• Combine milk, melted butter, vanilla, and egg, stirring with a whisk; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in apple. Pour batter into an 8-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray.

• To prepare streusel, combine brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle streusel evenly over batter. 

• Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack before serving. Serve warm.

Nutritional Information 
Calories: 197 
Fat: 4.6g
Fiber: 0.8g
WW Points per serving: 4

Cornmeal Waffles with Chili

For the my first birthday after we started dating Zach got me a waffle maker as one of my presents.  It sounds very, shall we say, domestic, but I had wanted one, and we were spending our weekends together long enough at that point that our breakfasts needed some new variations.  Upon opening it I discovered a few recipes in the manual, one of which was this one, Cornmeal Waffles.  As soon as I saw it I wanted to make them and top them with Zach's award winning chili -- yes he's actually won an award for it, at a work chili cookoff contest, but that's still an award!   It's a delicious twist on cornbread with chili and helps to counteract the spiciness that Zach's chili often has.  You can top with sour cream, shredded cheese, and sliced green onions!

Cornmeal Waffles

source: my Cuisinart Waffle Maker Instruction Booklet

Makes (8) 6 1/2 inch round waffles

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups milk

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 large eggs

Directions:

• Place ingredients in large mixing bowl and combine until well blended and smooth.  Let batter sit 5 minutes before using.  
• Preheat waffle maker.
• Pour 1/2 cup batter onto the center of the lower grid, close cover.  
• Remove waffles when done, and for best results serve immediately.  You can keep them warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.  

Nutritional Information:

264 Calories

13 g Fat

6g Protein

32 g Carbs

1g Fiber

Crossiant Bread Pudding: Barefoot Bloggers

This was the first of December's Barefoot Blogger recipes.  We made it in two separate dishes -- one for Zach to take to work for a potluck holiday lunch, and one for use to enjoy at home.  It was pretty yummy!  It would be nice for having guests for dinner, but I don't know that we'd make it again for just us.  I would probably add some flavoring in, almond extract or even amaretto.  We did use fat free half and half, so that saved us a bit of calories, but it needed so many eggs I'm not sure it mattered that much!

Ina's Croissant Bread Pudding

Apple Scones

This is another recipe from the Apple Cookbook.  I've never made scones before and think that these turned out pretty well for my first attempt!  We had Zach's family visiting and I never got to eat one, so I think it's a good sign that they were popular!  The dough was rather wet to work with, so I was a bit nervous, but I think it was a very humid day that caused it.  Hopefully next time I make them I will actually get to taste one!  I actually deviated from the recipe when it came to the cooking method.  It said to cook on a griddle or skillet, but I baked them at 450 for about 20 minutes.  Here's the picture, the scones are on the left :-)

Apple Scones
The Apple Cookbook

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 egg
1/4 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
1 large apple (McIntosh, Golden Delicious are suggested in the book, I used Paula Reds.)

Directions:

• Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into a bowl.  Add the sugar and mix.
• Cut in the butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles large crumbs.  Make a well in the center.
• Beat the egg and yogurt together in a small bowl.  
• Peel, core and finely chop the apple.  Stir into the yogurt mixture.
• Pour the yogurt mixture into the center of the dry ingredients and, using a fork, stir to form a soft dough.
• On a floured surface, pat the dough into a 1/2 inch thick round and cut into 8 triangles.
• Heat a griddle or heavy skillet over low to medium heat and sprinkle lightly with flour.  Cook the scones triangles for 5 minutes, until they are golden brown on the bottom.  Turn and cook for 4 minutes longer, serve warm.

Southern Biscuits and Sawmill Gravy

These are a great breakfast, or dinner!  I had some leftover buttermilk from a recipe, and what better way to use it than in biscuits.  My dad has a thing for biscuits and has been through several recipes searching for just the right one from his childhood.  He's settled on an imitation of KFC's biscuits from one of those secret restaurant recipes books.  It involves club soda though, and I don't ever have that on hand, and think it's pointless to buy it for half a cup, or whatever amount the recipe needs.  Whenever I want the best version of a recipe I always first look for the Alton Brown version.  Since he's a food science geek as well as a chef I know he's done all the needed research to find the most appropriate method and ingredients to yield the best result.  These biscuits are no exception.

Southern Biscuits and Sawmill Gravy

Alton Brown, via Food Network, Biscuits and Gravy

Southern Biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons shortening

1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

Sawmill Gravy

Ingredients

1 pound bulk breakfast sausage

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

Salt and pepper

Directions

Cook sausage in a cast iron skillet. When done, remove sausage from pan and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Whisk flour into the fat and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in milk a little at a time. Return to medium-high heat and stir occasionally while the gravy comes to a simmer and thickens. (Be sure to scrape up any brown bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan, that's where the flavor is.) Check seasoning, add crumbled sausage and serve over toast or biscuits.

Homemade Bagels

These were so great! They were a little bit of work, but I'd say definitely worth it. I read on a few blogs about homemade bagels, but they all used the same source recipe -- this one from Baking Bites. I loved her step by step pictures. I did not take such detailed and lovely pictures, so please go to her site and check them out.


I really enjoyed making these and love the finished product. I think I baked mine a touch too short though. I am always afraid of my oven burning things beyond recognition, so I tend to take things out earlier than I should. Next time I will wait until they are all golden brown. That being said, after being toasted the texture is just perfect -- crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Yum! I made these the same day as the soft pretzels because they had similar cooking methods -- knead dough, let it rise, shape, boil, bake. It worked out pretty well and now we are stocked with yummy carbs for quite a bit!

Homemade Bagels

Baking Bites

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 tbsp sugar

1 3/4 cups water, warm (100-110F)

4 cups bread flour (not all purpose)

1 tbsp salt

1 egg, for egg wash

Directions:

• In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) combine yeast, sugar and water. Let stand for 5 minutes, then stir in flour and salt. Mix dough thoroughly until it comes together in a large ball, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. Add an additional tablespoon of flour or water, if needed.
• If kneading by hand, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until very smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If using a stand mixer, knead dough with the dough hook until elastic, about 8 minutes on a low speed. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
• When dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces (first quarters, then thirds). Shape each piece into a tight ball, pinching the corners together at the bottom of the piece of dough. When all the balls are shaped, let the dough rest for 30 minutes covered with a clean dish towel.
• Bring a large pot of water to a gentle boil and preheat the oven to 400F.
• Once dough balls have rested, the bagel shape can be formed. Using your fingers, poke a hole through the center of each dough ball. Stretch out the dough into a ring with your fingers and be sure to make the hole a little larger than you want the finished bagel to have, as it will shrink slightly while the bagel is expanding during the baking process. Let bagels rest for about 10 minutes.
• Working three to four at a time, drop the bagels carefully into the boiling water. Boil for 2 minutes on the first side, then flip and boil for an additional minute. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, transfer bagels to a clean towel to drain for a moment, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining bagels.
• Brush boiled bagels with lightly beaten egg and bake for 20-24 minutes, until golden brown.Cool completely on a wire rack.