Huevos Rancheros

OK, I am ashamed to put this on here as a recipe because it is mainly just assembling things.  But hey, Sandra Lee made a whole career out of that, right?  Besides, it looks pretty and I"m using this as an idea bank for when I'm in the cooking doldrums!


Eggs -   Poach however many eggs you need to serve.  Let's say 4 so we can serve 2!  You know how you like yours best, but I like mine just a *tiny* bit runny.  Not too runny, but not too firm, either.

2 corn tortillas
1 can black beans
1 pat butter
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chil powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup  grated Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese
1/2 avacado - diced

Put black beans in a sauce pan.  If they are too liquidy, I drain some off but I like I little in there.  Add the pat of butter, cumin, chili powder and garlic.  (If you have fresh garlic, I'd soften it up a few seconds with the butter and then put the beans in).  Stir everything and mash a little bit with a fork when they get warm.

Warm the corn tortillas in a large frying pan, and remove to serving plates.  Top with about 1/4 cup of the beans (or however many you want).  Next remove the poached eggs from water with slotted serving spoon and put on top of the beans.  Add the grated cheese, diced avacado, salsa and sour cream.

Salsa-

1 can Rotel tomatoes & green chilis with lime and cilantro
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves garlic
bunch of cilantro
1 tsp (or so) cumin - to taste
1/2 tsp (or so) chili powder - to taste
1/4 tsp (or so) cayenne pepper - to taste or optional
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and stem removed (or use a chipotle pepper if you want it smoky)
salt, pepper to taste


Put everything in a blender and give that puppy a ride around until it looks blended.  Spoon some over your huevos.  Way better than anything you can buy in the store!  Put the leftovers in a jar in the fridge and it will last for at least a week.  Unless you have a bag of tortilla chips, and then it might only last the night!  And if you have any leftover beans, mix them up with some cream cheese and you've got yourself another dip for those chips!

Irish Scones

A long time ago, I went to Ireland with a friend whose family lived there.  We had a great time visiting Dublin and taking trips all around the country.  The highlights were the Bogman's Ball in Connemara, and the delicious rock buns that were everywhere to have with your tea.  I found a postcard with this recipe on it for "Irish Scones" and brought it home with me.  I've been making them ever since.  No, they are not my beloved rock buns, but they probably have way less calories, and they are very easy to mix up.  You don't even need eggs!   I like to make them mini- so I can eat more.

IRISH SCONES

2 1/2 C flour

1/4 C oats

1 t baking soda

1 t cream of tartar

2 T sugar

1/2 t salt

1/4 C (57g) cold butter

1/2 C raisins or currants (chop the raisins into smaller pieces for mini scones)

1 C buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400F.  Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Cut in butter with pastry blender.  Add raisins and mix slightly.  Pour in milk and mix til dry ingredients are moistened. Turn out onto lightly floured surface and pat into a 3/4” thickness.  Cut out circles or other shapes.  Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve hot with butter or jam.  Makes 12 rounds or triangles.  Or about 36 mini scones.

German Pancakes

On a lazy morning (say, for example, I am having a snow day!), German Pancakes are a great treat! I first had these at an IHOP when I was small.  We were never encouraged to order them as you had to wait 20 minutes for them to come, and by then, the rest of the family would have eaten their stacks of regular pancakes.  But oooooh, they were good.  Then I discovered how easy they are to make, and I've been making my own ever since.  I always thought they had to be with apple, but you can make them plain, apple, banana, pear, chocolate chip, etc!  Serve with maple syrup, preferably, but jam or powdered sugar (or lemon juice and powder sugar if you're British) also works well.

German Pancakes

2 eggs
1/3 C flour (but remove 1 Tablespoon of the flour and replace it with 1 Tablespoon of corn starch)
1/3 C milk
1/4 t salt
1.5-2 T (30-40g) butter or margarine
1 medium apple or banana (thinly sliced) or whatever else you want to try (you can also just make them plain!)
1.5 T cinnamon sugar

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 9” round pan in the oven to get really hot. Beat eggs, flour, cornstarch, milk and salt together in small mixing bowl.
When oven is heated, remove pan from oven (it should be very hot). Place butter in the pan and rotate pan until the butter melts and the bottom and sides of the pan are coated.

Arrange the apple or banana slices in each pan. Pour the batter over them. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top and place pan back in oven to cook until puffed and golden brown (15-25 minutes).  It will be very puffy when it comes out, and then it will fall a little bit.  Don't be sad. It still tastes amazing!

Cinnabons!

I subscribe to far too many blogs.  Many of them are cooking related.  I save lots of recipes but forget to try them out.  But this past week, we had an unexpected snow day.  And what is better on a snow day than cinnamon buns?  So we tried out the recipe, with a few alterations.  I must say, after the last 40-something years of trying out cinnamon bun recipes, this one wins! It is quick, easy and the rolls come out with that squishy sweet gooey goodness that is the hallmark of a good cinnamon bun.  They were even tasty and squishy the next morning. (I had to hide the last 3 so we wouldn't eat them all at once!)  I haven't tried freezing them, because they make such a small amount...

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted from Joy the Baker's Quick and Dirty Chocolate and Espresso Cinnamon Rolls

Yields 6 (or 9!)

Prep Time:  40 min    Cook Time:  20 min

For the Dough

1/2 cup whole milk (I used skim, I don't think anyone knew!)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg yolk

1/2 t cinnamon

For the Filling

4-6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 sprinkle ground cloves

1 pinch salt

For the Glaze

3 Tablespoons cream cheese

1/2 - 3/4 Cups powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

milk

Instructions

In a small saucepan combine milk, butter, and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted completely. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool from hot to just warm.

Place sweet milk and butter mixture in a large mixing bowl and sprinkle yeast over the liquid. Stir to incorporate. Allow mixture to sit for 5 minutes to allow to yeast to activate, foam, and froth.

Add 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, cinnamon, and the egg yolk to the milk and yeast mixture. Use a wooden spoon or hand beaters with the dough hook attachment and stir or beat until incorporated. Add more flour, a few tablespoons at a time if the dough feels to wet. Bring the dough together into a ball and knead a few turns with your hands.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface. Roll into a roughly 9 x 12-inch rectangle.

Mix the melted butter, brown sugar and spices together.  Spread evenly over the rolled out dough. Roll starting at the longer edge into a tight coil.

Slice into 6 or 9 pieces.

Lightly grease the bottom and sides of an 8x8-inch baking pan with butter. Place rolls in the pan leaving about 1/2 inch of room between them. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

While the rolls rise, place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Remove plastic wrap and bake the rolls for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown, puffed, and bubbling.

Remove from the oven, allow to cool just slightly.

In a small bowl whisk together powdered sugar, cream cheese and vanilla.  Add enough milk to make a good drizzly frosting.  Drizzle over warm rolls and enjoy!!

Protein Filled Breakfast Bombs

Protein Filled Breakfast Bombs

I struggle to get my child to eat a decent breakfast in the morning.  She's not a big fan of cereal or toast with peanut butter, and I don't have time on a school morning to fix a big breakfast.  I read about these "breakfast muffins" that you make in a cup with bacon and egg.  As I live in Istanbul, bacon is not really an option.  However we have this delicious smoky tasting "dana bacon" made with beef and shaved off in thin slices. So I lined some ramekins with the beef bacon, mixed up an egg and put that in.  Then tossed in the leftover salsa we had in the fridge and topped with some very tasty cheddar (brought back from a US trip!).  Put them in the oven et voila!  Protein Breakfast Bombs!  I ate one the other day and wasn't hungry at school until lunch time!
I"m thinking you could fill them with whatever you want!  (or more likely, whatever's left over in your fridge!)


PROTEIN FILLED BREAKFAST BOMBS
Ramekins or muffin tin sprayed with non stick spray
some kind of thinly sliced meat to line the ramekin or muffin cup
1 egg, mixed, per cup/ramekin
salsa (or other veg) to put on top of the egg
grated cheese

Layer the ingredients in the order they are listed.  Bake in the oven for 10-20 minutes or until egg is set to your liking.

We made a bunch in advance and will just take them out in the morning and microwave them for breakfast!