Breakfast, Brownies and Mini Turkey Loaves

I’ve been so lazy this past month. Have you noticed?! No food posts since August 27, but I continue to cook and eat. Can’t avoid it.

Just for today, some photos of foods I’ve been eating ~ no detailed recipes, only brief descriptions and comments.

BACON, EGG & CHEESE CUPS
This breakfast (or brunch) dish starts with bacon, so why in the world would you need to grease the muffin tin? Because, in spite of the bacon grease, they stick to the muffin tin. Maybe lining each “cup” with parchment paper would work. Start with bacon, sprinkle with shredded cheese, pour in eggs mixed with chopped chives or green onions, salt & pepper. Bake in a preheated 350-degree fahrenheit oven 30-35 minutes until the bacon is crisp and the egg mixture is “set”. If you don’t eat them all, wrapped them carefully and freeze for future consumption!

A HEARTY BREAKFAST
Scrambled eggs, toasted homemade English Muffin Bread, strawberries and what I believe was a slice of Spam.

BROWNIES
I bought a brownie divider pan and just love it. After baking them, I decorated with nuts, chocolate chips and Reese’s PB cups. After they cooled, I simply lifted the divider out and was left with twelve equal sized brownies.

MINI TURKEY AND VEGGIE MEATLOAVES
Yes, it’s the brownie divider pan. It worked on mini turkey loaves, too. Follow the Food Network recipe and each piece (when using this divider pan) is about 125 calories. I ate two, then wrapped and froze the rest individually. For this recipe, I placed the brownie pan in a cookie sheet to catch any grease... the pan consists of three parts and the bottom part has a big square opening that is covered by the second part. While the brownie batter didn’t leak through, I knew the grease would.



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Gruyére-Stuffed Baked Potatoes

What wouldn’t you give for an fairly inexpensive, healthy and absolutely delish food that would please every eater! Something that requires the least bit of preparation.

Eat with a fork or your fingers. Yep, Gruyére-Stuffed Baked Potatoes are finger-licking good. Even your diehard meat eaters will be asking for seconds.

The basic requirements for Gruyére-Stuffed Baked Potatoes are

* baking potatoes
* vegetables, washed, cut up and lightly sauted
* any cheese, shredded. (I chose to use Gruyére, so I got to name the recipe!)


Step 1 - Lightly grease potatoes, wrap individually in foil and bake in a 450-degree Fahrenheit oven for 45-50 minutes.

Step 2 - While the potatoes are baking, cut up vegetables and just barely cook in a pan on the stovetop. I cook them all together in one pan, starting with the ones that take longest to cook. When they are almost done, I add the others. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

Step 3 - When potatoes can be easily pierced with a paring knife, remove from oven using pot holders. Leave oven turned on. Place each potato on a dish to see how it “sits”, then cut off a long piece from the top. Scoop out the potato, leaving enough so it can hold its shape.

Step 4 - Mash potatoes with masher or fork. Mix with salt and pepper to taste, plus oil or butter, till preferred consistency. I mix in EVOO and nutritional yeast for a buttery taste. Gently mix in the vegetables and shredded cheese of your choice and scoop the mixture back into the potatoes, piling it high.

Step 5 - Turn oven to broil. Place potatoes in broiler proof pan. Broil 3-5 minutes, or whatever it takes to brown the tops.


For each potato (approximately 10 ounces, or 300 grams, each), I used 1/4 cup small pieces broccoli, 4 halved snow peas, 2 tablespoons shredded carrots and a heaping 1/4 cup of shredded Gruyére cheese. That also allowed me to stuff the tops (remember those strips I cut off the top of the potatoes?).

The Gruyére is pricy, but so-o delicious! According to Dictionary.com, Gruyére is a firm, tangy cheese, named after Gruyére, a district in Switzerland, where it was first made.

My strategy when shopping for ingredients for any recipe requiring cheese is to ask my supermarket for a taste of the cheese. Sometimes I get other recommendations after stating how I’ll be using it. I listen to my knowledgeable “cheese person” very carefully.

Veggie Cheese Roll-ups

In the mid-90s I worked for a few years at a small cafe where we made everything from scratch. My one and only period in the food business, and what an amazing experience it was. I learned to make Cucumber-Dill Salad Dressing, homemade breads, the best peanut butter cookies in the world, and today’s feature, Veggie Cheese Roll-ups.

These roll-ups are not for the faint-hearted. Although packed with veggies and rolled up in a whole wheat bread dough, they are loaded with full-fat, cholesterol-laden sharp cheddar cheese.

If you’ve got the time, and the inclination, these are a treasure worth whipping up. I don’t make them often. My daughter insists I supply her with lots of them after she gives birth, so it may be that it’s been at least five years*, and four years before that. I really can’t remember, but I’ll never forget the recipe. Kind of like riding a bicycle; it really sticks in my mind. (*Spoke with my daughter and she reminded me this is the first time the youngest has eaten a Veggie Cheese Roll-up.)




You can use your favorite bread dough, even the store-bought kind, or you can use the recipe I’m going to share with you. My dough combines whole wheat and white flours. Oh, by the way, this is the first time I’ve made the dough since I bought my Kitchen Aid mixer. Love, love, love it... Now that I have a little arthritis in my fingers, having a mixer with a dough hook makes such a difference.

If you, however, have strong healthy fingers, knead the dough by hand. It’s like washing dishes by hand. Time consuming, yes, but you can put on some music--as fast or as slow as you like--and empty your mind of all those nagging problems. Just enjoy the moment and the repetitive motions.

I’ve made a discovery about taking food photos indoors (at least indoors at my place). I have to use the flash. I’ll leave it to you to guess which photos were taken with a flash. Hint ~ the color is so much more authentic, not so creamy or yellowy. To truly appreciate the detail of photos on this and other blogs, you can click on each photo to see an enlarged version.

The bread dough recipe makes two loaves, and it will make a huge pan of Veggie Cheese Roll-ups. I used two smaller (approx. 9x11) pans since I have a small stove/oven; fifteen roll-ups to a pan. So, figure on about 30 rolls, each cut about an inch thick before baking.



Bread Dough
(enough for approximately 30 Veggie Cheese Roll-ups or 2 loaves of bread)

Ingredients...

3 cups lukewarm water
2 tablespoons active dry yeast (2 envelopes)
2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour (or whole wheat bread flour)
4 cups all-purpose white flour (or a mix of white and whole wheat)

Directions...

1. Stir together water, yeast, salt, EVOO and 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour.
2. Cover and let rest on counter at least 20 minutes.
3. Stir in more flour. The 4 cups is an approximation.
4. Knead by hand or machine until smooth.
5. Place dough ball in large greased bowl. Roll around till entire ball has been greased.



6. Cover and let rise in warm place 30-45 minutes.
7. Punch down and let rest 5-6 minutes on a floured surface. (continues below with 8.)


Filling

Ingredients...

2 tablespoons EVOO
3/4 - 1 cup diced onion
10 oz. matchstix carrots
1-pound broccoli crowns, chopped
Garlic powder
Salt & Pepper
1-pound sharp cheddar cheese,shredded

Directions...

1. Combine all filling ingredients except cheese in large pan and cook over medium heat until cooked to desired tenderness.
2. Start off with small amounts of garlic powder (1/2-1 teaspoon) and S&P, then taste when nearing end of cooking. Add more garlic powder, S&P, according to your taste buds.
3. Remove from burner when done and pour into large pan to cool.



Making the Veggie Cheese Roll-ups

8. Starting from Step 7 above, flatten dough ball on floured surface.
9. Roll out in rectangle that is more long than wide.
10. Spread cooled filling on dough, stopping about 1-inch away from the two longer sides. Scatter the shredded/grated cheese the same way.
11. Roll up the dough and filling so that you end up with a very long roll. Gently stretch and pat to create a roll that is uniformly sized in all parts.
12. Cut into 1-inch sections and place side-by-side in greased pan(s).
13. Bake 35-45 minutes in pre-heated 350-degree Fahrenheit oven. Roll-ups should look well done.



About the onions ~

Use your favorite onion, about 3/4-1 cup. Since I left the dough rising on the counter while I walked to the store for the veggies, I took the easy way out and bought a package of diced onions in the produce section.

About the broccoli ~

Three-quarters of a pound of fresh broccoli crowns did it for me this time. I cut away the thickest part of the stems and chopped up the rest. An alternative is to use thawed 10 oz. packages of frozen broccoli.

About the carrots ~

A 10-ounce bag of shredded carrots did the trick this time. I usually shred them myself, but as I said, I was in a time crunch.

About the cheddar cheese ~

I used one pound of sharp cheddar cheese. I say, the sharper the better and I prefer to shred it myself.



Veggie Cheese Roll-ups freeze well and can be re-heated in a toaster oven. Microwave a cold roll-up for thirty seconds in a microwave.


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MUSHROOM GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

I absolutely love food blogs and am subscribed to about a dozen. Tis the season for cookies and other desserts, with a few “healthy” foods in between, for most of them. I have to admit to the same addiction to sweets for this Christmas season.

Today I’m going to back up a week or so to when I made the most delicious Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwich. I first saw this sandwich on Closet Cooking - a blog by Kevin in Canada. Be sure to take a look at what he has to offer. These men sure can cook and not just meat and potatoes!

You should see me when I try out someone else’s recipe. Unless I’m absotively sure I’ll be making the recipe numerous times (such as those that include chocolate), I run back and forth to my computer to find out what the next ingredient is and what to do with it.

Meantime, I have a notebook with me in the kitchen and I make notes on what I do different and what I discover about the original recipes.

According to my notebook, I made this sandwich twice. Kevin, if you can be decadent, I can be even more decadent. I’ll tell you and our readers about it in a minute. Meantime, here’s the original recipe and some photos of my version which is not as gooey, melty looking as Kevin’s.




Kevin’s Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients...

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
1/4 cup white wine or broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon truffle oil (optional)
1 cup fontina or gruyere, shredded
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano, grated
4 slices bread
2 tablespoon butter


Directions...
Melt the butter and heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
Add the garlic and thyme and saute until fragrant, about a minutes.
Add the cremini mushrooms and saute until the start to caramelized and turn golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.
Add the wine, deglaze the pan and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat and let cool a bit.
Mix the cheese into the mushrooms.
Butter one side of each slice of bread and place 2 in the pan buttered side down.
Top each with 1/4 of the mushroom mixture and finally the remaining slices of bread with the buttered side up.
Grill until the cheese has melted and the bread is golden brown, about 2-4 minutes per side.

Okay, so that’s Kevin’s version and here are my notes about my first endeavor:

*The gruyere was expensive, so I purchased the fontina. Good choice, a yummy cheese. The parmigiano reggiano was very expensive, so I ended up choosing a mix of parmigiano reggiano and pecorino romano.

*I made one sandwich the first time using a bit less than half the cheese. That’s a lot of cheese! My bread slices were big, so my version doesn’t overflow as much as Kevin’s did.

Here’s my first sandwich...


The next night, I made another sandwich. Be still, my heart. I added a bit of crushed red pepper flakes, just a small amount on the end of a teaspoon. I like a bite of heat, not an overwhelming mouthful. I also added a heaping tablespoon of cream cheese. That’s full fat cream cheese, not lite or fat free!


You’ll notice that the cheese did not melt as much as it did in the first sandwich. Probably because I took it out of the pan sooner than before so it wouldn’t get as brown.

So there you have it. If you’re not totally overloaded on coma-inducing, sugary treats and cholesterol-laden entrees, give Kevin’s Mushroom Grilled Cheese Sandwich a taste. Thanks, Kevin, for letting me use your idea!


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