Platinum Chef - Another Brunch

It's time for another Platinum Chef entry and this time the ingredients were: Potatoes, Pear, Egg, Parsley and Carrots. At first I had no idea how they would go together but then I thought "What would be better than making brunch since we're using eggs?" My Cheesy Baked Eggs and Potatoes came out SO yummy and the Pear and Carrot Muffins weren't too shabby either! What a Breakfast of Champions huh?

Cheesy Bacon Potato Bake

Ingredients:

2 c frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 c Half & Half
4 eggs
1 tsp dried parsley
8 slices crisply cooked bacon, crumbled, reserve drippings
1 c sliced mushrooms
1 c chopped tomatoes
1 c Cheddar cheese, shredded

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Press potatoes onto bottom and up sides of greased 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes.

2. Combine half & half, eggs and pepper in medium bowl; beat until well mixed. Stir in bacon, drippings, mushrooms and tomatoes. Sprinkle half of cheese over potatoes. Pour egg mixture over cheese.

3. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Top with remaining cheese. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Pear-Carrot Muffins

Ingredients: (12 muffins)

1¾ c raisin bran cereal
1¼ c all-purpose flour
¾ c sugar
1¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1 egg
¾ c buttermilk
¼ c canola oil
¾ c finely chopped peeled pear
¾ c grated carrots
¼ c chopped walnuts

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. In a bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. In a small bowl, beat the egg, buttermilk and oil. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in apple, carrots and walnuts.

2. Fill paper-lined muffin cups ¾ full. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Fruit Cocktail Bread

We have a ton of little Delmonte Fruit Cups at home so I decided to make some bread. I didn't drain the cans completely and the juices left over kept the bread really moist and yummy! The Ricotta made it rich and creamy. You can taste big chunks of pears, peaches and pineapples in every bite! :)

Ingredients:

3 cans (4 oz) Fruit Cocktail, drained
3 c all purpose flour
2/3 c sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
1 c Ricotta cheese
1/3 c vegetable oil

Prep:

1. Drain fruit cocktail. Combine flour, sugar and baking soda; mix well.

2. Blend eggs with cheese and oil. Stir into dry ingredients with fruit cocktail. Stir just enough to blend.

3. Spoon into greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Bake at 350°F, 60 to 70 minutes or until tests done. Let stand in pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack, cool completely.

Chicken Mac 'n Cheese

I don't think it's possible to go wrong with pasta and cheese! I cooked up this concoction cuz we had some precooked grilled chicken strips and sliced mushrooms in the fridge. AND of course we ALWAYS have pasta and cheese! This yummy meal took less than 30 minutes to make and will make REALLY good left-overs too! Greg actually ate the first few bites WITHOUT Ketchup and raved about it! :)

Ingredients:

3 c chicken broth
2 c uncooked small pasta shells
1 c sliced mushrooms
½ lb grilled chicken strips, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, if desired

Prep:

1. In 3-quart saucepan, heat broth to boiling over medium-high heat. Add pasta; boil 6 minutes; do not drain. Reduce heat. Stir in mushrooms and chicken. Cover; simmer 3 to 5 minutes or until shells are tender. Remove from heat.

2. Add shredded cheese; toss gently until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Festive Mini Cheesecakes

I had a special request for cheesecakes (again!) so I decided to bake some for my boys in these festive liners! They were REALLY yummy and the Nilla wafer on the bottom added the perfect vanilla crunch.

Ingredients: (12 cheesecakes)

2 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
12 Nilla wafers

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Line 2 6-muffin pan or 1 12-muffin pan.

2. Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each.

3. Place a Nilla wafer in each cup, then top with cream cheese mixture. Fill to about 3/4 full.

4. Bake for 25 minutes.

Baby Carrot Nut Muffins

We had some Baby Carrots in the fridge so I made some healthy muffins! The cinnamon and nutmeg is so fitting for this chilly fall weather we're having in SF. They're also not too sweet and very moist. The walnuts also had a wonderful crunch!

Ingredients: (6 muffins)

1 c shredded carrots (10 baby)
1/2 c sugar
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 egg
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 c coarsely chopped walnuts
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 6-muffin pan with liners.
2. Mix carrots, sugar, oil and eggs in large bowl with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients; pour into pan.
3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

TWD: Linzer Sables using my NEW Cookie Press

I ordered a Cookie Press from Amazon a couple of weeks ago and have been just itching to use it! SO for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie, I took it for a spin. I LOVE it! It's SO cool how the cookies just come out in perfect little shapes! There are 12 different cookie disks and I cannot WAIT to try them all out! The Christmas Tree one will definitely be used real soon! :)

Ingredients: (12 sandwiches)

1/2 c butter
1/3 c sugar
1 c flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 c jam, any flavor

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. In large mixer bowl combine sugar, butter, egg, salt, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until mixture is light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add flour. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed, 2 to 3 minutes.

3. Place dough in cookie press. Form desired shapes 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.

4. Let cookies cool completely and spread 1 tsp of jam in between 2. (I used both peach and strawberry.)

Back to My "not so" Asian Roots!

I bought some BBQ Pork from an Asian Supermarket with my mom and wanted to try making something new. Greg LOVES those Pork Buns you get from the Dim Sum restaurants so I decided to recreate my own version. They're actually really yummy with the flakey Pillsbury Biscuits and super easy to make! The extra Hoisin Sauce really adds to the flavor. Don't they look SO authentic? :)

Ingredients: (8 buns)

1 c BBQ Pork, chopped into bite-size pieces
1/2 c Hoisin Sauce
1 can (16 oz) Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix pork and Hoisin Sauce.

2. Separate dough into 8 biscuits and roll into 4-inch rounds. Spoon about 2 tablespoon pork mixture onto center of each round. Fold dough around filling, covering completely; seal well and shape each into ball. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls, seam side up. Brush tops with butter.

3. Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm.