Overnight Stuffing

Overnight Stuffing

1 large French loaf or 2 small Artisan loaves (like rosemary, focaccia, chiabatta, etc), cubed & dried*

1/2 c butter

2 onions

5 ribs of celery

3 eggs

2-3 T parsley

1 t rubbed sage

1 t thyme

2 c chicken broth

1. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.

2. Melt butter in a large pot; add onion & celery and saute until soft.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk eggs.

4. Add herbs to the pot and stir until fragrant; stir in chicken broth. Temper the eggs by adding a little bit of the warm chicken broth to the bowl, then pour the egg/broth mixture into the pot.

5. Add bread cubes to the pot and toss until well-coated; pour into greased pan, cover with foil, and place in the refrigerator.

6. Leaving the foil on, place the pan in the cold oven; turn it on to 400* and set a timer for 30-35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

 

 

*You can dry the bread on a baking sheet, either overnight on the counter (covered with a towel) or in the oven at 300* for about 30-40 minutes.

Overnight Baked Cinnamon French Toast

Overnight Baked Cinnamon French Toast
1 loaf crusty sourdough or French bread, cubed

8 eggs

2 c milk

1/2 c heavy whipping cream

1/2 c sugar

1/2 brown sugar

2 T vanilla

Topping:

1/2 c flour

1/2 c brown sugar

1 t cinnamon

1/4 t salt

1/4 t nutmeg

1/2 c cold butter, diced

1. Grease a 9x13 pan and spread bread out in the pan.

2. In a big bowl, whisk eggs, milk, cream, sugars, and vanilla; pour evenly over bread.

3. Cover the pan with foil and store in the fridge overnight.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg; cut in butter until the mixture looks like tiny pebbles. Store in a sealed bag or container in the fridge.

 

5. Preheat oven to 350*. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle topping on evenly.

6. Bake for 45 minutes for a soft, bread pudding-like texture, or for 60 minutes for a firmer texture.

Cheesy Bread

Cheesy Bread
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 c butter, softened
1 c Mozzarella cheese
2 c Cheddar cheese
1/4 - 1/2 c sliced green onions, to taste
1/4 c mayonnaise
1 T sour cream
1 loaf French bread

1. In a small bowl, combine garlic and butter.
2. In a medium bowl, combine cheeses and green onions; add mayonnaise and sour cream. Stir in butter mixture.
3. Preheat broiler and line a baking sheet with foil; slice bread in half horizontally and lay crust side down on sheet.
4. Spread cheese mixture evenly over bread and broil for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
5. Remove from broiler and let sit for a few minutes to cool before slicing and serving.

Poor Man's Bruschetta

This is one of my favorite snacks.

Poor Man's Bruschetta
2 slices bread
1 roma tomato, sliced
olive oil
salt, pepper, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, or any combination of these

1. Toast bread, top with tomato slices, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with spices.

Bread Bowls

Bread Bowls
1 1/2 T yeast
2 1/2 c warm water
2 t salt
2 T vegetable oil
up to 7 c flour
1 T cornmeal

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Add salt, oil, and 4 cups flour; beat well. Stir in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until soft but not sticky dough forms.
3. Turn dough out on to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl; place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 40 minutes.
4. Punch down dough and divide into 6-8 balls. Place balls on lightly greased baking sheet that's been sprinkled with cornmeal; score balls. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 35 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 400*; bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown.
Carefully cut a hole in the top of the bowl and scoop out the insides; fill with soup.

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

4 eggs
1- 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 c half & half
3 T melted butter, cooled
1 1/2 c sugar
2 t vanilla
1 T pumpkin pie spice
1 loaf day-old bread, diced into small pieces
Caramel Sauce:
1 c butter, softened
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 c packed brown sugar
1/2 c toasted pecans, chopped (opt)

1. Preheat oven to 350* and lightly grease a 9x9 pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, cream, half & half, butter, sugar, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice. Toss in bread pieces and coat evenly.
3. Pour everything into the pan, cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes; remove foil and bake for an additional 45-55 minutes.
4. Make the sauce toward the end of the bread pudding baking time. In a medium pot, stir together butter, cream, and brown sugar; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, stir in pecans, and cook until it begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Pour over bread pudding just before serving.

Mini French Toast

Mini French Toast
3 eggs
1/2 c half & half
1/2 c milk
1/2 t cinnamon
1 day-old French baguette, sliced into 1" slices
1-2 T butter

1. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, half & half, milk, and cinnamon. (At this point, you could cover and refrigerate overnight.)
2. Soak bread slices in batter for about 2 minutes each.
3. Place a pan over medium-high heat and melt about a tablespoon of butter; place bread slices in pan and cook until golden brown on each side, about 3 minutes per side. Melt more butter in the pan each batch, if needed.

Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread
4 c + 1 T flour, separated
1/4 c sugar
1 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
1 3/4 c cold buttermilk
1 egg
1 t orange zest
1 c craisins

1. Preheat oven to 375* and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In an electric mixer bowl, combine 4 cups flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt; mix together with paddle attachment and then mix in butter on low speed.
3. In a small bowl, beat buttermilk, egg, and orange zest; slowly add to mixer bowl.
4. Toss craisins with remaining tablespoon of flour; mix in to dough. Dough will be pretty wet.
5. Place the dough on a well-floured surface, knead it into a round loaf, and place it on parchment paper. Score an X into the top of the loaf.
6. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. It should have a hollow sound when tapped. Cool on baking rack.

Meat-Stuffed French Bread

Meat-Stuffed French Bread
1 loaf French bread
1 lb ground beef
2 T finely diced onion
1/2 c chopped celery
1/2 c chopped carrots
1 t minced garlic
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 T milk
2 t Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/2 c Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Slice French bread in half, lengthwise, and tear out as much of the middle of the bread as you can. Place the torn pieces in a large bowl, making sure that they are pretty small pieces. Set the bread crusts on a large baking sheet and set aside.
2. In a large pan, brown ground beef and onion together over medium-high heat. Drain grease and add celery, carrots, and garlic; cook a few minutes until vegetables are tender.
3. Add soup, milk, and Worcestershire sauce, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
4. Toss beef mixture with bread pieces and spoon in to one bread crust, sprinkle with cheese, and top with other bread crust.
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted; remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Roasted Tomato Grilled Cheese

Roasted Tomato Grilled Cheese (Cooking Light)
1 t olive oil
3-4 roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
6-8 fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper, to taste
4 t mayonnaise
2 oz [light] cream cheese
1 c Cheddar cheese
8 slices [whole grain] bread


1. Preheat oven to 400* and line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Combine oil, tomatoes, and garlic on baking sheet; bake for 20 minutes.
3. Remove and discard tomato skins; peel garlic and discard skins. Combine tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper in a food processor.
4. Combine mayonnaise and cheeses in a medium bowl; spread evenly on half of the bread slices.
5. Spread tomato mixture over cheese and top with a dry slice of bread. Lightly spray outsides of sandwiches with cooking spray.
6. Heat a large pan over medium heat and grill sandwiches until golden brown on each side and cheese is melted.

Resurrection Rolls

Resurrection Rolls
2 T cinnamon
2 T sugar
1- 10 oz can crescent rolls
8 large marshmallows
1/4 c melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 400* and lightly grease a cookie sheet.
2. In a small bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar.
3. Separate the individual crescent rolls and place on baking sheet.
4. Dip marshmallow into melted butter and then roll in cinnamon sugar; place in the middle of a crescent roll triangle. Repeat for all marshmallows.
5. Carefully wrap the dough around each marshmallow and pinch the seams tightly.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown.

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread

2 3/4 c plus 2 T flour, separated

1/4 c sugar

2 1/4 t (1 pkg) yeast

1/2 t salt
2 eggs at room temperature
1/3 c milk

1/2 c butter, separated

1/4 c water

1 t vanilla

1 c sugar

2 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt; set aside. Whisk together eggs and set aside. 

2. In a small saucepan, heat milk and 1/4 cup butter until butter has just melted; remove from the heat and add water and vanilla.
3. Let milk mixture stand for a minute or two and then mix it in to the dry ingredients; add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are well incorporated into the batter; add 3/4 cup of flour and stir for about 2 minutes.

4. Place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover with a towel; place in a warm place and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. 

5. While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg for the filling; set aside. Grease a bread pan; set aside. Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter until browned; go ahead and set that aside too.

6. Punch down the dough and knead in remaining 2 tablespoons of flour; cover with a towel and let rest for a few minutes.
7. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it's about 12x20 or larger; brush butter all over dough and cover with cinnamon-sugar mixture.

8. Slice the dough into 6 strips and slice those strips into 6 pieces each (6x6=36 squares); stack the squares and turn in to bread pan. Place a kitchen towel over the pan and place in a warm place for 30-45 minutes, or until almost doubled in size.

9. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350*. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown.

10. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes; serve warm.

Pumpkin Rolls

Pumpkin Rolls
2 cans crescent rolls
4 oz cream cheese, softened
6 T brown sugar
1/4 c canned pumpkin
1 t pumpkin pie spice

1. Preheat oven to 350* and grease a 9x9 pan OR a loaf pan (see #4).
2. Unroll the crescent rolls and place them side by side to make a long rectangle; use a rolling pin to bring the seams together so that it's one continuous piece.
3. In a small bowl, beat together remaining ingredients; spread over crescent dough, leaving about 1/2" border on the long sides.
4. Starting on one long side, roll up the dough. Now you can either slice like cinnamon rolls (9x9 pan), or bake as a log and slice after baking (loaf pan).
5. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before frosting.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 t vanilla
2 t canned pumpkin

1.  In the same bowl you used before (no need to dirty another dish, just rinse it out), cream all ingredients.

Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttermilk Biscuits
1 stick butter
2 c flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
3/4 c buttermilk

1. Slice butter and place in freezer for about 5 minutes; sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.
2. Cut the butter in with a fork until the mixture is the consistency of coarse sand; add the buttermilk and continue to cut the dough.
3. Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface, flour your hands, and work the dough until it comes together; roll the dough out until it is 1/2-3/4" thick; use a biscuit or round cookie cutter to cut biscuits and then place them in the freezer for at least 20 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 475*.
5. Remove biscuits from freezer and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. They should be touching.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.

Slow Cooker Chicken & Rice

Slow Cooker Chicken & Rice
1 block [light] cream cheese, at room temperature
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pkg Italian dressing mix
4 chicken breasts (mine were still frozen)
1/4 c water
4-5 c cooked rice

1. Combine cream cheese, soup, and dressing mix in slow cooker; add chicken and cover with mixture.
2. Drizzle water over chicken and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
3. Shred chicken and mix back in to slow cooker; stir in rice and serve.

For leftovers:
Wrap in crescent rolls with some Cheddar cheese and follow baking directions.

Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins

Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins
1 egg
1 t salt
1- 14.75 oz can creamed corn
1- 4 oz can diced green chiles
1 jalapeno, diced (seeding optional)
1 c Mexican blend cheese (or pepper jack)
1 box cornbread mix

1. Preheat oven to 400* and grease a muffin tin.
2. In a small bowl, mix egg, salt, corn, and chiles; stir in jalapeno and cheese.
3. In a medium bowl, fold wet ingredients in to corn muffin mix until just mixed.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on how full tins are, until golden brown. Cool in tins.
Makes 12-24 muffins.

Sourdough Starter

Sourdough Starter
I got the recipe from this website. I could copy and paste the entire recipe, but I'll just direct you to it, because the recipe is very easy to follow on that website.

Stollen

Stollen is a traditional German cake, typically eaten during the Christmas season.
(I tweaked this recipe from Food Network)

Stollen
For the Fruit:
1 c mixed dried fruit (I used dried pineapple and cranberries)
1 c raisins
1/4 c dark rum (or orange juice)
For the Sponge:
1 pkg (or 2 1/4 t) yeast
1/4 c warm water
2/3 c warm milk
1 t honey
1 c flour
For the Dough:
1/3 c honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c butter, softened
zest of 1 lemon
1 t salt
1/2 nutmeg
1/2 c chopped almonds, toasted
3-4 c flour
For the Filling:
2 T butter, melted
2 t cinnamon
3 T sugar
For the Topping:
1/2 c powdered sugar

1. Prepare Fruit: Combine the mixed fruit, raisins, and rum; cover and set aside; shake every so often to coat the fruit with the rum.

2. Prepare Sponge: In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast in to the water to soften; add the milk, honey, and flour. 3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until light and full of bubbles, about 30 minutes.
4. Make dough: In stand mixer bowl, add the fruit mixture, honey, egg, butter, zest, salt, nutmeg, almonds, and 2 cups of the flour to the sponge; using the paddle, beat the mixture on medium low speed for 2 minutes.
5. Gradually add the remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the side of the bowl (or in my case, until you start to see flour hanging out at the bottom of the bowl, not getting mixed in).
6. Change to the dough hook; continue to add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough just begins to clean the bowl. Knead 4 to 5 minutes on medium-low.
7. First rise: Put the dough in an oiled bowl and turn to coat the entire ball of dough with oil; cover with a kitchen towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
8. Shape and Fill: Turn the dough out onto a slightly greased surface; divide the dough in half and roll each half into a 7x9-inch oval.
9. Brush the melted butter over the top of the ovals; combine the cinnamon and sugar, and sprinkle over one half of each oval, lengthwise.
10. Fold the dough in half lengthwise and carefully lift onto cookie sheet lined that's been lightly greased or lined with parchment paper; press lightly on the folded side of the dough to help the loaf keep its shape during rising and baking.
11. Second rise: Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes.
12. Preheat oven to 375*; bake for 25 minutes. Immediately place loaves on a cooling rack.
13. Sprinkle heavily with powdered sugar just before serving.

Garlic Parmesan Monkey Bread

Garlic Parmesan Monkey Bread
2 t yeast
1 1/3 c warm water
2 T olive oil
2 t salt
3 1/2 c flour
1/2 c butter, melted
2 T parsley
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a large bowl, mix yeast and water; let sit for about 5 minutes until yeast has started to foam; mix in olive oil, salt, and flour.
2a. If using a stand mixer, attach dough hook and knead for about 5 minutes, until elastic.
OR
2b. If mixing by hand, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until dough becomes elastic, about 7-10 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, combine butter, parsley, and garlic; set aside.
4. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled non-metal bowl; cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for 1 1/2-2 hours, or until dough has doubled in size.
5. Punch down the dough; tear into bite-sized pieces, coat in the butter mixture, and place in the bottom of a springform pan, round cake pan, or bundt pan. Repeat this process until you have one layer of dough balls.
6. Sprinkle on 1/3-1/2 of the Parmesan cheese; continue layering the dough balls and cheese until you have 2-3 layers.
7. Cover the pan with a clean towel and allow to sit in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about 20-30 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 350*. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until bread is golden brown. Serve hot with a side of marinara sauce.

Stuffing

I think store-bought stuffing is disgusting. Here's my remedy. :)

Stuffing
1/4 c shortening
1/2 c butter
1/2 onion, chopped
4-5 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 c parsley
1 T poultry seasoning
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 c milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c chicken broth
12 c (about 12-15 slices) bread, cubed and slightly stale*

1. Preheat oven to 350* and grease a 9x13 pan.
2. In a large skillet, saute shortening, butter, onion, and celery.
3. Take off heat and add in parsley, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper; mix well.
4. Stir in milk, eggs, and broth.
5. Place bread in a large bowl and pour mixture over bread; toss to coat well.
6. Press in to 9x13 pan and bake for 45 minutes.
*You can either leave the bread out overnight, or place it in the oven on warm for about an hour, tossing every 15 minutes or so.