Breakfast Sausage & Cheese Roll

Only three ingredients, this is a tasty and hearty start to a crisp Fall morning.

Breakfast Sausage & Cheese Roll

1 frozen bread loaf
1 # reduced fat breakfast sausage, cooked and drained on paper towels
1 1/2 cups Cheddar Jack cheese, shredded  

Let dough rise overnight in a plastic wrapped and greased bread pan.  Spread out dough into a large rectangle.  Evenly sprinkle the sausage and cheese on top of the dough.    Roll up the dough and cut into 12 equal slices.  Place in the pan and allow to rise for approximately one hour.  Bake at 325° for 25 minutes.  Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Burek

Börek (also burek and other variants) is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky dough known as phyllo (or yufka).  However you spell it, to me it's a piece of heaven.  Crisp phyllo that lightly crunches as you cut your fork through it, a creamy mixture of cheeses that blend to well together...it truly is one of my favorites and worth the little extra effort it takes to work with phyllo.

Burek

1 package phyllo pastry sheets defrosted according to package directions
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup cottage cheese
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese shredded
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 large egg slightly beaten
1 tsp parsley
6 tbsp butter, melted

Mix together ricotta, cottage cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, Mozzarella cheese, egg and parsley together in a small bowl.

Melt butter in a small saucepan for brushing on phyllo dough.

Take a sheet of phyllo, put one half in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan, brush with butter, fold down second half and brush with butter.  Repeat with another 13 x 18 sheet.  Put in 1/3 of cheese mixture.  Repeat the sheet/cheese mixture two more times.  Finish by adding two more full sheets, folded in half with butter on each layer.  

Bake for 30 minutes at 325°

Knepfla Soup

Rain.  Snow.  Sleet.  Wind.  That's what greeted me when I stepped out of work today.  It seemed like a good time to make soup and this is what I made for the first time ever.

Knepfla Soup

3 cups chicken broth
3 cups milk (I used 2%)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup carrots, peeled and diced
1 tbsp celery flakes
1 bay leaf
salt to taste

Knepfla

1 1/2 cups flour
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk - add until a workable dough - it might take 1-2 tbsp less
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp parsley

Combine broth and milk.  Add in rest of soup ingredients and cook until potatoes and carrots are tender.

In a small bowl, mix together dry ingredients.  Whisk egg and add with half the milk.  Keep adding milk until a stiff dough forms.  Place 1/2 tsp of flour on a cutting board and knead the dough for a couple minutes.  Divide dough into 4 pieces and roll into 1/2" ropes.  Cut each into 1/2" pieces and drop into the soup.  Reduce heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Beef Stew With Parmesan Dumplings

I wasn't in the mood for a soup but a nice hearty stew sounded like a good way to use the remaining veggies from my CSA plus a way to warm up on a cool Fall day.

Beef Stew With Parmesan Dumplings

1 1/4# beef stew meat
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup onions, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
4 cups beef stock
1 tbsp celery flakes
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp parsley
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 large carrot, sliced
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
1/2 cup peas

Heat olive oil in a dutch oven over medium heat.  When hot, add in beef stew meat and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.  Lightly brown meat.  Add in onions and garlic and let soften before adding in beef stock.  Stir in herbs and tomato paste.  Add in carrot first.  After about a half hour, add in both potatoes.  Cook until vegetables are fork tender.  Add in peas.

Parmesan Dumplings

In a small bowl, mix together

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp parsley
1/4 Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp milk
2 tsp canola oil

Spoon on top of beef stew and steam for 15 minutes.

Lemon Bread

I was thinking of another bread to make to compliment the raspberry butter that I had made.  One loyal reader agreed that she thought a lemon bread would work well.  You were right Linda...this was a good choice.  I bumped up the flavor using some Lemon Bits that I bought from King Arthur Flour. 

Lemon Bread

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon peel, grated

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup King Arthur Flour lemon bits

Sift together dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.  Stir in eggs, milk and yogurt.  Fold in lemon juice, peel and bits if you have them.  Pour into a greased bread pan.  Bake for 50 minutes at 325°.

Lemon Bread with Raspberry Butter ~  

Pear Cinnamon Rolls

Just because the clock says that I can sleep an hour later doesn't mean that I actually will.  What better way to start off a lazy Sunday than to make some cinnamon rolls that have the sweet burst of a pear inside.  Top it with a vanilla icing that melts into the warm roll....a perfect start to the day.

Pear Cinnamon Rolls

1 sweet bread dough, allowed to rise overnight in a plastic wrapped and greased bread pan
2 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pear, peeled and diced

Icing ~

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Spread out dough into a large rectangle.  Spread softened butter over the dough.  Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.  Cut the pear and spread over brown sugar.    Roll up the dough and cut into 12 equal slices.  Place in the pan and allow to rise.  Bake at 325° for 20 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes and turn out the rolls.  Ice and serve.

Taco Manicotti and Homemade Picante Sauce

Ever crave Mexican food and pasta at the same time?  This is one way to satisfy that craving.  Easy to make plus you have extra Picante sauce for more meals later on.

Taco Manicotti

8 manicotti shells, cooked, drained and cooled
1/2# extra lean ground beef
2 tbsp onions, minced
1 1/2 tbsp taco seasoning
1/3 cup water
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup Mexican cheese

Brown ground beef with onions.  Stir in taco seasoning, water and cream cheese and allow to cool.  Stuff cooled manicotti with ground beef and cheese mixture.  Place in a greased baking dish.  Spoon picante sauce (recipe below) over shells and top with Mexican cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes at 325°.


Picante Sauce

1 - 15 oz can tomato sauce
15 oz water
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1/2 tsp salt

Put all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and allow to simmer for an hour.  Store extra in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.


Taco Seasoning

1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp  oregano
1 tsp pepper, freshly ground
1/2 tsp salt

Place in a sealable plastic bag or container that's airtight and mix well