Breakfast Quesadillas

This morning hubby ask for "something Mexican" for breakfast.  Looking over the contents of the fridge, I noticed lots of possibilities.  However, having not used my quesadilla maker for a while, I thought this might be just the ticket!

I chopped up some onion, jalapeno, and some Jimmy Dean turkey sausage.  

Saute until the vegies are tender.

Get the rest of the ingredients ready.  The salsa, sour cream, and avacado will be garnish!

We like to use whole wheat tortillas!

Here's the quesadilla maker that was a gift from our daughter, Nickole!

Top a tortilla with some cojack cheese and the sausage mixture.

Place another tortilla on top and close the lid.

Meantime, break a couple of eggs into a non-stick skillet.

A bonus of living in a small town, we get farm fresh eggs from our 

next door neighbors for $1.50 a dozen!

The finished product, sprinkled with some cilantro.

Enjoy friends!!

Mushrooms with Cream Cheese Stuffing

Thank you, Pioneer Woman, for this super yummy recipe.  I had leftover cream cheese stuffing, so I used it on some jalapeno peppers.  It's all good.

Recipe from Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman!  

You can view step by step photos and instructions on her blog,

The Pioneer Woman Cooks

(Note:  I substituted turkey sausage for the pork sausage)

Ingredients

 24 ounces, weight White Button Mushrooms

 1/3 pound Hot Pork Sausage

1/2 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced

 4 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced

 1/3 cup Dry White Wine

 8 ounce pkg. Cream Cheese

 1 whole Egg Yolk

 3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, Grated

 Salt And Pepper, to taste

         

Preparation Instructions

Wipe off or wash mushrooms in cold water. Pop out stems, reserving both parts.

Chop mushroom stems finely and set aside.

Brown and crumble sausage. Set aside on a plate to cool.

Add onions and garlic to the same skillet; cook for 2 minutes over medium low heat.

Pour in wine to deglaze pan, allow liquid to evaporate.

Add in chopped mushroom stems, stir & cook for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set mixture aside on a plate to cool.

In a bowl, combine cream cheese and egg yolk. Stir together with Parmesan cheese.

Add cooled sausage and cooled mushroom stems. Stir mixture together and refrigerate for a short time to firm up.

Smear mixture into the cavity of each mushroom, creating a sizable mound over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow to cool at least ten minutes before serving; the stuffed mushrooms taste better when not piping hot.

Huevos Rancheros -- Deconstructed

This is a classic Mexican breakfast popular throughout the Americas, consisting of fried eggs, tortillas, and salsa.  The usual way this dish is served is by placing the eggs on top of the tortilla and then including salsa or beans or avacado on the side.

Now for a version I make for us occasionally on Sunday mornings.  

Deconstructed Huevos Rancheros!

Gather the ingredients, and let's get cooking!

Eggs, corn tortillas, grated cojack, salsa, sour cream, cilantro, 

chipotle chili powder (in case your salsa isn't spicy enough.)

Heat some oil in a skillet and toss in the corn tortillas. 

Heat the tortillas until they start to puff up, then turn 'em over to the other side.

Top with some grated cojack or cheese of your choice--cheddar or pepper jack would be good, too.

Put another tortilla on the top of each, kinda like you are making quesadillas--

Oh no, the secret is out!

Crack your egg into a separate bowl, 

get a non-stick skillet really hot and ready to go.

Pour the egg in the skillet and fry it to your liking.  

It's a good idea to crack the egg into a separate bowl to check and see if it is OK.

Ready to plate the deconstructed Huevos Rancheros.  

Cut the tortilla quesadilla into wedges, put sour cream and salsa on the plate.

Place the fried egg on the plate -- ours is cooked "over easy".

I added a patty of sausage today.  Sprinkle on some cilatro and enjoy!

We like it, hope you will too!  Enjoy friends!

Sausage, Peppers, and Penne!

So today was crazy busy! I needed a really easy quick delish dinner and this was it. Have you seen the Bistro Sensations? They are a Johnsonville product -- chicken sausage with different additions, the one I used tonight is kinda spicy; but it worked out!

Start out with some tri-colored peppers, onion, garlic, sausages, and penne.

Dice up the onion, peppers, and garlic. The chicken sausage is already cooked, so it will only need to be warmed up--slice it diagonally--looks pretty!

Start a pot of water, get it to boiling. Add some salt. Then pour in the penne pasta. I used whole wheat pasta, it takes a little longer to cook but it's yummy.

Heat some light olive oil in a skillet, add the peppers and onion and saute until they are bright colored. Don't over cook them! They want to be bright and tender crisp in the final product.

Push the pepper mixture to the side and add in the sliced sausages. These are already cooked, so they only need to warm up and saute a bit. These have cheese infused in them so that adds to the sauce.

Next, add the minced garlic and some chopped tomato. Mix it all up and taste. You won't need much seasoning because the chicken sausages are seasoned already; but taste, taste, taste!

When the pasta is done, drain it, save some of the pasta water. The pasta water can be added to the sauce if it's too dry and it will help thicken the sauce.

Add the cooked pasta to the sausage and peppers in the skillet. Mix it all up and taste! I added seasoned salt and some fresh ground pepper.

Didn't have a nice chewy baguette to serve with this; instead just a simple whole wheat toast.

Hope you will try this sometime when you need a quick dinner! Enjoy, friends! p.s. Hubby likes a dark stout beer, I like light!

Mini Breakfast Bites

Tonight instead of making a large breakfast casserole, I saw an idea that I wanted to try.  These little breakfast bites are baked in cupcake liners in a muffin tin.  Make them ahead of time, refrigerate, and warm individually in the microwave.  (Yes, my muffin tins are lined with left over halloween cupcake liners:))

For 12 breakfast bites, in a separate bowl,  beat 5 eggs with 1/4 cup of milk, saute some veggies ( I used mushrooms, yellow sweet peppers, and onion)  I also used already cooked Jimmy Dean sausage crumbles that you can buy in the grocery store!  In a separate bowl, grate some cheese, I used white cheddar and cojack.

Spray come non-stick cooking spray in the bottom of each liner.  Add the sausage, and veggie saute mixture.  Try to get an equal amount in each cup.

Top each one with some of the grated cheese mixture.

Next pour the beaten egg/milk mixture over each one to about 2/3 full.



Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 12 - 15 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Remove from the muffin tin, place on a rack to cool.

These little beauties are delish!  Try and enjoy!



Homemade Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust

I have been searching and searching for a really good whole wheat pizza dough recipe, one that is not doughy on the inside and has a nice crust, too.   I think this is it!  This is from the Wheat Foods Council.  So gather your ingredients and let's make homemade pizza!

2 Cups whole wheat flour
1 pkg yeast or (2 1/4 tsp of yeast from a jar)
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 Cup warm water
1 Tbl olive oil
1 Tbl sugar

Add all of the dry ingredients into the bowl of stand mixer.  Add the warm water and olive oil.  Mix with the dough hook until the dough comes together and kneads for about 3 - 5 minutes.  Alternately, this can be done by mixing and kneading by hand.

Shape the dough into a nice ball.  Oil the bowl turn the dough once to oil it.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise.

Now for the sauce.  (These are roma tomatoes from our garden last summer that I drizzled with olive oil, added salt and pepper, roasted in the oven and then put them in freezer bags.)  You could use canned tomatoes for this step. Seasonings for the sauce:  salt and pepper, italian seasonings, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder.  Simmer tomatoes with the seasonings.

Next blend the tomatoes and seasonings with the immersion blender.  Yes, tomato skins and all!

The sauce is smooth and thick.  Taste and check the seasonings.  Tonight, hubby thought that mine was not "italian" enough.  So make sure seasonings are correct at this point.

While the dough is rising and when the sauce is done, get toppings ready.  I used baby portobello mushrooms which were sliced and sauted.  These don't do well topped on a pizza unless you saute them.

 Other toppings for pizza tonight:  ground beef, tri-colored sweet peppers, black olives, and mozzerella cheese.

Time to check the dough.  How do you tell if it has risen enough?  When you press your finger into the dough, it should leave an indent and not collapse. (Tried to make a smiley face but it turned into a ghost face!)

Punch the dough down, shape into a ball and let it rest on the counter for about 5 minutes.  If you try to shape it now, it won't be relaxed enough.

I've tried several pizza pans and stones.  This crazy non-stick 15" pizza pan has been the best one for me.  Press the dough onto the oiled surface of the pizza pan, then "dock" the dough by pricking the dough with a fork.  Bake for about 5 minutes in a pre-heated 425 F oven.  Or until the surface of the dough feels dry.  Careful not to over bake at this point -- it's going to bake again with the toppings.

Ready for the toppings now.  Sauce, ground beef, peppers, mushrooms, onion, black olives, and mozzerella,  Then drizzle with olive oil before baking in the 425 F oven.  The final drizzle with olive oil is key!
 

The pizza should bake for 15 - 20 minutes at 425 F or until the cheese is bubbly and melty.Watch it closely, it can turn from golden brown to over done in an instant!  Cut into slices.  Instead of wedges, I like to cut into squares.

Now for the taste test.  The inside of the crust is light and not doughy.  Nice!