Breakfast Pie

Ingredients

One pie crust (make your own or buy one from the store)

5-6 large eggs *

1/4 cup half-n-half *

1/2 tsp Pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp oregano flakes

3 tablespoons Onion, chopped

3-4 tablespoons Orange bell pepper, chopped

3-4 tablespoons yellow bell pepper, chopped

3-5 strips bacon

1/2 Mozzarella Cheese, grated

Salsa (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare crust for one pie bottom and mold into pie pan. Cook bacon and crumble into bite size pieces, drain and set aside. Sauté bell peppers and onion until union is just translucent (do not over cook or cook until mushy). Whip together the eggs, half-n-half, pepper, salt, and oregano until slightly frothy.

In the pie crust, spread bacon on bottom. Spread onion mixture over bacon. Pour in the egg mixture. Sprinkle the cheese so it is evenly spread on top of the eggs. Place a strip of foil around the edges of the pie pan to cover the pie crust. This will keep the edges of the pie crust from over browning.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes (check after 35 minutes for doneness) or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove foil and cook for 7 minutes more. Let stand to set-up for 15 minutes. Cut and serve with salsa.

*Egg substitute can be used instead of the eggs. Follow the package directions to find the substitute amount for each egg. 

Mac'n Cheese

This recipe is a modified version from Paula Dean.

Ingredients

2 boxes macaroni shells (12 oz boxes)

4-5 strips of bacon, cut in small bits

1 cube butter

3 1/2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, grated

1 1/2 cups gruyere cheese, grated

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cup sour cream

2 cans condensed Cheddar cheese soup

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon dry mustard powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Boil the macaroni according to package directions but only for about 7 minutes. Rinse in cold water, drain and set aside. Cook bacon bits in a small pan until bacon is browned. Pour bacon and the bacon grease into the crock pot.

In a medium saucepan on medium low heat, melt butter. Add cheese and stir until cheese melts. In the crock pot, combine cheese/butter mixture with the bacon, add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir until well combined. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Your mixture may be a little clumpy with cheese, but the clumps of cheese will melt as it cooks. Set the crock pot on low and cook for approximately 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Low Fat Hummus

Ingredients

One 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained (buy the more expensive brand as it will contain less husks)

1/2 cup plain nonfat or lowfat yogurt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

This is where you add your own seasoning or not. I like just plain old garlic flavor in which case you don't need to add any additional seasonings.

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin & 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice or;
• 1 teaspoon taco seasoning or;
• Greek seasoning or;
• Italian seasoning or;
• Etc.

Directions

In a food processor or blender, puree all the ingredients. If texture isn't quite hummus like, add a tablespoon at a time more yogurt until you get the right consistency. Serve with corn chips or pita bread.

Chicken Paprika

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless whole  chicken breasts

1/4 cup Paprika

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion, chopped

3 or 4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 or 2 cans chicken broth

16-ounce sour cream

1/4 flour

Pepper

Cooked noodles

Directions

Dredge chicken breasts in paprika until completely covered (use tongs as paprika will stain your hands.) Brown chicken breasts in butter until chicken is very browned; about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove chicken breasts and set aside. In the same pan, cook the onion and garlic until the onion is just translucent (you may want to add a bit more butter if pan is too dry.) Add the chicken broth to the pan and scrape to loosen brown bits. Add the chicken breasts, cover and simmer until chicken is completely cooked; about 10 minutes.

Once chicken is cooked, remove breasts from pan and set aside - keep warm. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, flour, and pepper. This is where you can add more broth to the pan if you feel there isn't enough for a good amount of gravy. Wisk the sour cream mixture into the  pan and cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Serve the chicken breast over pasta with liberal amounts of gravy.

Almond Joy Pie

Makes one 8 or 9 inch pie.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients

1 Oreo cookie crust (I buy mine from the store instead of making my own.)

3 eggs

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup almonds

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together until smooth the eggs, flour, sugar, melted butter, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir in shredded coconut. Pour mixture into pie shell. Lightly press the almonds into the top of the pie so there is a pretty almost asterisk type design. Bake 1 hour or until center is set.

Topping

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate baking squares

4 tablespoons half-and-half

In a small saucepan on medium heat, bring half-and-half to almost boiling. Add the chocolate squares and stir until completely melted. Spread topping on the pie after pie has cooled about 45 minutes.

This is a modified recipe from an unknown source (meaning, I have had it so long I don't remember where I got it.) 

Cinnamon Roll Dough - Bread Machine

Ingredients

6 tablespoons milk - heated approximately 1 minute in microwave

6 tablespoons water (110°)

4 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

3 Tablespoons dough relaxer (optional) - Vital Wheat Gluten

3 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Directions

Add all ingredients according to your bread machine instructions. Set machine to dough. Check dough occasionally. If dough to moist add a bit of flour. If dough is looking to dry add warm water at about a tablespoon at a time.

When bread machine has completed the dough cycle, remove the dough from the pan to a lightly oiled surface. Knead the dough several times and form the dough into an oval; cover with a clean towel and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll and stretch the dough into approximately a 9x8 inch rectangle.

Fill dough with desired filling recipe. Roll and cut into 1 1/2 inch sections and place in a greased 9x13x2 inch baking dish. At this point the rolls can be covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight  and can be baked right out of the refrigerator (rolls can be frozen for up to one month, but must be completely  thawed and allowed to rise in a warm place before baking - usually 10 - 12 hours.)

Preheat oven to 350°. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes or until doubled in size. Bake for 25 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Spread with frosting if desired.

White Chili

I call this white chili because it contains ground turkey (99% fat free) and white kidney beans (cannellini beans). I have been told is it is a little spicy, but I can’t tell. Also, if you don’t know me very well, I love to use beer and wine in my cooking. This recipe includes beer. You can make it without beer, but the flavor may differ. Perhaps use a non-alcoholic beer instead?

Ingredients

2 pounds ground turkey, browned with a bit of pepper and powdered garlic

1 medium to small onion, chopped

3 large cloves garlic, chopped

½ green pepper

½ yellow pepper

½ orange or red pepper

2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes

1.5 15 oz. cans tomato sauce

2 15 oz. cans white kidney beans (a.k.a. cannellini beans) drained

½ cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

1 bottle beer (I like to use an amber or ale beer)

1 teaspoon crushed red peppers

½ tablespoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon cumin

½ tablespoon paprika

½ tablespoon oregano

½ tablespoon chili powder

Directions

In a large pan sprayed with cooking spray, brown the ground turkey add about 1 tablespoon of garlic powder and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Meanwhile, in a large pot sauté the onion and bell pepper in 1 teaspoon of olive oil until onion is almost translucent. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for one minute more. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, drained kidney beans, hot sauce and beer. Add all of the spices and stir. Cook on low heat for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours. This is a thick chili so you will not look like a soup.

You can also do this in a crock pot. Brown the turkey as stated above. Saute the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Add all of the ingredients into the crock pot and stir. Cook on low heat for approximately 3.5 to 4 hours.