Broccoli Sausage Bake

I have an insatiable and unholy love for stuffing. It might be my favorite food ever. In college I used to buy the boxed stuff and make it in the microwave. So this casserole is my new favorite thing ever, because it tastes like stuffing, but is a fairly healthy and well balanced meal. It's full of whole grain (rye), veggies, and lean protein, and it tastes like stuffing, but cheesier. So ya, try and resist this easy and healthy casserole.

Broccoli Sausage Bake:
1/2 loaf of rye bread, about 9 oz
1 head of broccoli
1 onion
5 cloves of garlic
8 oz of turkey sausage, without casing, prefiribley spicy
3/4 cup of 2% mozzarella cheese, shredded
1.5 oz of sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp of pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
3 cups of chicken broth

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Lightly toast bread until crisp. Chop broccoli, onion, and garlic, and place on cookie sheet. Roast until broccoli is tender, and onions are slightly browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and lower heat to 350. Cut or tear bread into small chunks, in a 9 by 13" casserole dish, lightly sprayed with non-stick, stir together bread, broccoli, onion, garlic, sausage, and cheese. Mix together the chicken broth and spices, then pour over the bread/broccoli mixture. Bake until liquid is absorbed and top is browned, about 20 minutes.

Happy Eating.

Whole Wheat Bread

I love bread, it might be my favorite food in the whole world. I don't discriminate either, I love all bread, from potato and classic white to fancy french breads and decadant brioches, and hearty wheats and ryes. Nothing beats a great sandwich or a piece of toast with jam. Usually I buy my sandwich bread, but the other day I was thinking, I don't even consider a non-homemade/non-bakery cake, pie, or cookie, so what's so different about bread? I couldn't come up with a good answer, so I decided to make some. I am so glad I did, it tastes wonderful, I know exactly what went in it, and now my freezer is full of delicious hearty wheat bread for all my toast and jam needs!

1 cup of warm water, 110 degrees
1 packet active dry yeast
1/4 cup high-oleic sunflower oil
1/4 cup molasses
3 1/2 cups of 100% Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup of nonfat dried milk
1 teaspoons salt
butter for crust (optional

Put the warm water into a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade and stir in the yeast. Let stand until foamy, 5-10 minutes. Add the oil, molasses, flour, milk and salt. Pulse until a tacky dough forms. Turn on the processor and knead dough until smooth, about 6 minutes. Alternatively, turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 8-10 minutes. Put dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let stand somewhere warm until the dough has doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Lightly grease a loaf pan and punch down dough to deflate. Roll dough into a log, and place in pan. Let rise uncovered until dough just comes over the top of the pan, about an hour on the counter or overnight in the fridge (if you do this, bring dough to room temperature before cooking). Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 20 minutes, then tent with foil to prevent browning. Bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove bread from the pan immedietely and rub with butter if desired. You only need a little, and it helps preserve the crust. Allow bread to cool completely before slicing. Store extra slices in plastic bags for a week, or freeze. (adapted from King Author Flour)

Happy Eating.

Maple Cinnamon Sticky Buns

Passover ends tomorrow night, though truth be told I only kept it until Easter, it's such a multi-cultural world we live in. So I thought to myself what is the opposite of Passover baking? Well, bread, obviously, no matter how many baking "cheats" you have, there is really no way around that one. And what is the most decadant and over the top kind of bread? Delicious, gooey, messy, buttery sticky buns. Yum. Nothing is any better, unless you make them with maple syrup, which, in my opinion, makes most things better. So whether you are preparing to devour some bread for the first time is 8 days, or just need a buttery pick me up, these buns are abosutely and decadantly amazing.

Dough:
1 cup buttermilk
4 tbsp of butter
1 enevelope of active dry yeast
1/4 cup of warm water (105-120 degrees)
2 eggs
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp of salt
4 1/2 cups of flour, plus more for dusting

Filling:
1 stick of butter, softened
1 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of maple syrup
3 tbsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp of milk

Heat the buttermilk and butter together, until butter has melted. Cool in the fridge until under 120 degrees. In the mean time, in a large bowl, mix the yeast into the warm water to activate. Let stand 5-10 minutes until foamy. Add the eggs and maple syrup to the yeast-water and mix with a wooden spoon. Slowly add in the milk, stirring until incorporated. Add the salt and 1 1/2 cups of flour, and mix until flour is incorporated. Add remaining flour in 2 additions and mix until the spoon will no longer work, then begin kneading in any remaining flour with your hand. Turn dough out onto a floured surface or transfer to food processor fitted with the dough blade. Knead/mix until the a smooth, soft and sticky dough forms, about 5 minutes in the processor. Clean the large bowl, and grease lightly. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise overnight in the fridge, or in a warm location until trippled in size about 2 hours.

To make the filling, mix all of the filling ingredients together in a medium bowl until cell combined and smooth. Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll dough out into a large rectangle (about the size of a sheet pan). Spread the filling evenly. Starting at a long end, roll the dough up, as tightly as you can, jelly roll style, then pinch ends. Cut the roll into 12 pieces. Grease to baking dishes. Put 6 buns in each dish, space apart and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for about an hour on the counter or overnight in the fridge.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 and position rack in the middle of the oven. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. In the meantime, make the icing by whisking the sugar and the milk until smooth. Let the buns cool slightly (just a few minutes), then invert the buns onto a plate/serving dish. Drizzle with the icing and serve warm. (Adapted from Cake Duchess)

Happy Eating.

The Bread Basket

What is my absolute favorite part of a Brunch buffet? The bread basket. A delicious assortment of freshed baked goodness. To be fair, bread is pretty much my favorite food, so this is kind of a no-brainer. Obviously, when I was hosting my little brunch soiree, I had to make a basket (or tray) for myself (and my guests). My "basket" consisted of blueberry muffins, pumpkin bread, biscuits, and Challah bread. The Challah was from a local bakery, but the other three I whipped up. I served my basket (well the Challah and biscuits really) with butter and the peach-blueberry jam I made this summer. The basket was a big hit, and it was definitely my favorite part of the meal.



The Biscuits were straight from Martha, I am not a bread expert, and I very rarely use yeast, but these came out perfect! I halved the recipe (which made 12) and I will definitely be making these puffy, roll-like biscuits again. I made the dough the day before and refrigerated it overnight, instead of for 2 hours.



Next we have delicious, moist, wonderful pumpkin bread



Pumpkin Bread
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of dark brown sugar
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups of flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp of ginger
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of nutmeg
1/2 tsp of ground cloves
1 teaspoon salt

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, melt butter. Mix in both sugars until combined and creamy. Add in pumpkin and eggs, beat until combined. Add in baking powder, spices, and 1/2 cup of flour, mix until just incorporated. Add an additional cup of flour, and mix until just incorporated, repeat with final cup of flour. Grease a large loaf pan and pour batter in. Bake until a fork inserted in comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then invert pan to remove bread. Cut into slices (each slice can also be cut in half) to serve. (adapted from Martha Stewart)

Finally we have some delicious and bursting with fruity goodness, blueberry muffins



Blueberry Muffins:

1 stick of unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cups of sugar
1 tsp of vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup of half and half
2 cups of flour
1 tsp of nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 cups of blueberries
Additional sugar and nutmeg for sprinkling

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy and smooth. Add in eggs and vanilla and mix until fluffy. Add in flour, nutmeg, salt and baking powder. Mix until just barely combined. Add in half and half and stir together gently. Mix in blueberries. Grease a muffin tin (recipe makes somewhere between 12 and 18 muffins) and distribute batter, filling the wells 3/4 full. Sprinkle each top with sugar and nutmeg. Bake until a fork inserted comes out clean and blueberries are bursting, about 25 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan. (adapted from Martha Stewart)

Happy Eating.

Beer for Breakfast

I was browsing the wonderful recipes over at Brown Eyed Baker, hunting for something delicious to bake, when I came across this very intriguing recipe for Three Cheese Beer Bread, yum. Apparently beer bread is a fairly known baked item, but I had never heard of such a wonderful thing. I love cooking with beer, so I gathered the ingredients and planned on making it one lazy Sunday. Then I woke up at 5:30 in the morning and could not fall back asleep, at that point mad at my pre-dawn internal alarm clock, I decided I deserved a most decadent and delicious breakfast, enter a wonderful veggie and cheese omelet, thick sliced bacon, and cheesy beer bread.



Veggie and Cheese Omelet:
3 egg white (or whole eggs if you prefer)
1 small jalapeño, diced (from my garden, on the milder side, optional)
1 small to medium tomato (also from the garden)
1 cup swiss chard
1 tbsp of sour cream
small handful of fresh chives
1/4 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
salt, pepper

Heat a small skillet or omelet pan over medium-high heat, use butter, oil or PAM to coat the pan if not non stick. Put the chard and jalapeño in the pan and allow to cook for a few minutes. Meanwhile beat the egg whites (or eggs) with the sour cream (the secret to fluffy omelets). Add the tomatoes and chives to the pan, salt and pepper to taste. Pour the egg mixture over the veggies. Cook until it is almost set in the middle, then cover with half the cheese. Flip in half and top with the remaining cheese. Serve and Enjoy.



Cheesy Beer Bread:

3 1/4 of cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, or to taste)
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tbsp of oregano
1 small handful of fresh chopped chives
1 cup of low fat plain yogurt
1 cups beer
1/4 cup of tomato juice
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 eggs
1 cup of Gruyère cheese, shredded (this one I had to grate myself)
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 cup of Pecorino Romano cheese, shredded
1 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir flour, baking powder, salt, mustard, pepper, red pepper flakes, and chives. Toss in 1/2 cup of the Gruyère and cheddar cheese, and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and Pecorino cheese. Stir so all the cheese is coated with flour. Whisk together the yogurt, beer, juice, Worcestershire, and egg in a small bowl until fully combined. Add to the flour mixture and stir together until just combined. The dough should be sticky and fluffy. Pour dough into a 9 inch by 5 inch greased loaf pan. Use the back of a spoon to smooth dough. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 5-10 minutes before removing from the pan. Serve hot, cool or toast (it was especially delicious the next day toasted).

(adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

Happy Eating