Ham and Cheese Brunch Bake

 Here's an easy do-ahead dish that is perfect for any brunch or holiday breakfast. You just throw it together the night before, leave it in the fridge overnight, and then pop it in the oven in the morning. And boom, brunch is served! Of course, you can go in any number of directions with it. The variations are seemingly endless! Any combination of proteins or cheeses or veggies would work perfectly! But I decided to keep things plain and simple, just as it's written. You might think that plain and simple = boring and bland, but I promise you this is absolutely not the case! It's surprisingly flavorful! The fresh thyme and the garlic are key. They bring so much to the party!
 Now, don't ask me how this recipe and I seemed to find each other. I mean, I know it's from Delish.com, but I can't remember how I found it. Maybe someone posted it on Facebook, maybe I found it while browsing, who knows? But I guess it really doesn't matter. It's easy and delicious, so that's all we need to know! Definitely give this one a try!!!!


10 large eggs
1 1/2 c. milk
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
1 tsp. garlic powder
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 c. cubed French bread or baguette
1/2 lb. ham, chopped
1 1/2 c. shredded white Cheddar


 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, dijon, thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Butter or spray a large baking dish. Add bread and top with ham and cheddar. Pour over egg mixture. Allow the egg mixture to soak into the bread cubes. Bake until eggs are cooked through, 45 to 55 minutes.

 (To make ahead, cover baking dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate, up to overnight, then bake as directed.)

Tips:
Add cooked sausage or bacon, add steamed or sauteed broccoli or asparagus, add any favorite cheese, add sauteed onions. Do whatever you like!

Joey's Corned Beef and Cabbage Casserole

 One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is a casserole. It's always warm and comforting, and it always hits the spot. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: you can pretty much throw anything into a casserole and it'll be fabulous! Usually, I like to include something creamy, something cheesy, and some sort of starch, protein, and vegetable. In this case, I decided to make a St Patrick's Day inspired casserole! Lots of corned beef and cabbage in a creamy cheesy sauce, tossed with wide noodles and baked until bubbly and golden on top. Doesn't that sound awesome? It's heaven in a dish! Plus, it's a great way to use up your leftover corned beef and cabbage, giving you a great round two dish that feeds a crowd. And it's a total do-ahead, so you can assemble it ahead of time and then bake it when you're ready to serve. When I told my Jeanie and Daniel what I was making, Daniel said "Theres's no way that's bad" and Jeanie had made a similar casserole too, only she used rye bread crumbs. Great minds, huh? I'm fairly certain my Mom was talking to us. I think she'd have liked this one. You will too!


1 lb egg noodles
1 onion, chopped
1/2 of a green cabbage, chopped
8 oz corned beef (or ham), diced
8 oz Swiss cheese, shredded
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 soup can of milk (roughly 1 1/2 cups)
 pinch or two caraway seeds, optional (fennel seeds would also work!)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tbs melted butter



Heat oven to 350F.
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the noodles until al dente. Drain well.
While the noodles are cooking, saute the cabbage  and onions in a large skillet until tender. In a large bowl, stir together the corned beef, shredded cheese, soup, milk, and salt and pepper. Add cooked onions and cabbage along with the drained noodles to the bowl. Add caraway seeds, if using. Gently toss everything until well combined. Place in a 9x13 baking dish. In a small bowl, mix the bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle over the top of your casserole. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until slightly browned on top. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.


Tips:
When you boil your noodles, make sure to cook them only until al dente. They will continue to cook in the casserole so you're really only partially cooking them at this step. Oh, and be sure the water is well salted!
If you're using leftover boiled cabbage, don't saute it for as long. Just chop it up and add it to the pan with the sauteed onions. You really don't have to saute it at all, but doing this will help evaporate some of the water in the cabbage.
 For a little extra something, add crisped bacon!

Joey's Pineapple Cream Cheese Pie

OK, so this recipe sort of happened by accident. I realized at the last minute that March 14th is PIE DAY, (3.14 = Pi!), but I didn't have any pie recipes ready to share. So I did a quick pantry inventory and came up with a new recipe idea! I was gonna do a regular pie crust, but then decided I wanted a shortbread crust instead. And I always have home made jams and jellies on hand, so I figured a pineapple cream cheese pie would be pretty amazing. And guess what! It TOTALLY is! It was seriously easy to throw together, and it's so light and fluffy, it's just the thing to hit the spot.
A perfect pie for pie day! Hope you like it!


Crust:
2 cups flour
2 sticks butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Filling:
8oz pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup pineapple jam, homemade or store bought
1-2 tbs sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
1 cup heavy cream, whipped


Heat oven to 425ºF.
For the crust:
Place all crust ingredients into a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse for several seconds until the dough just begins to pull together into a ball. Do not over process. Press dough into a 9" deep dish or pyrex pie plate. Press the dough up the sides and slightly higher than the edge of the plate. Pinch the dough between your fingers all the way around the plate to make a decorative edge. Place a sheet of parchment paper or foil into the plate over the crust, then fill with dry beans or pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove pie weights and parchment, then place back into the oven for an additional 3-5 minutes or until golden. Cool completely.

For the filling:
Mix cream cheese, pineapple jam, and sugar with a mixer. Fold in whipped cream. Pour cream mixture into cooled crust, smoothing over the top. Chill at least a few hours or until set. Pipe additional sweetened whipped cream on top, if desired.

Tip:
I like a really thick shortbread cookie crust, but if you prefer a thinner crust (or if you're using a regular pie plate instead of a deep dish pie plate, go ahead and cut the crust recipe in half).
For an easy shortcut, just use a ready made store bought graham cracker crust. Bake according to package instructions, then fill as directed.
For an easy variation, use any other kind of jam. Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, peach, apricot, even orange marmalade would work!

Chocolate Guinness Cake

A few weeks ago, I got a text from my friend, Greg. He was browsing my website, wondering if I had ever made a Chocolate Guinness Cake. I hadn't, but quickly did a little search to see which one I would recommend. I quickly found this recipe from Nigella Lawson (LOVE her, btw). It looked pretty simple and straight forward, so I sent him the recipe. Then I thought, well, I guess I might as well try it!
 All I have to say it OH. MY. GOD. This cake is HEAVENLY. It has a rich deep chocolate flavor with just the tiniest hint of a bitter note from the stout. And the cream cheese topping is just a pillow of lusciousness covering everything. Actually, it's so moist, you don't even need the topping, but it's CRAZY good, so you'll want to include it. It's SO easy to make too. Just follow the recipe as written, straight through, and you'll be good to go!
 So, thanx to Greg for the suggestion, and thanx to Nigella for the lovely recipe. This one is definitely a new favorite!

Cake:
1 cup Guinness stout 
10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter 
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 
2 cups superfine sugar 
3/4 cup sour cream 
2 large eggs 
1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
2 cups all-purpose flour 
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Topping:
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature 
1/2  cup heavy cream

For the cake:
Heat oven to 350F.
Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line with parchment paper. In a large saucepan, combine Guinness and butter. Place over medium-low heat until butter melts, then remove from heat. Add cocoa and superfine sugar, and whisk to blend. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add to Guinness mixture. Add flour and baking soda, and whisk again until smooth. Pour into buttered pan, and bake until risen and firm, 45 minutes to one hour. Place pan on a wire rack and cool completely in pan.

For the topping:
Using a food processor or by hand, mix confectioners' sugar to break up lumps. Add cream cheese and blend until smooth. Add heavy cream, and mix until smooth and spreadable. Remove cake from pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake only, so that it resembles a frothy pint of Guinness.


Notes:
Instead of lining the pan with parchment, I just sprayed it with baking spray (the kind that has flour in it) and it worked perfectly!
Also I didn't use superfine sugar. I just used regular granulated sugar. I'm guessing the superfine might give you a slightly different texture, but the regular granulated worked well enough for me. You could always blitz your regular sugar in the food processor for a while if you want superfine sugar.
Next time, I think I'm gonna try making it in a bundt pan, just to see how it turns out. I kind of like the idea of the rich creamy topping cascading down the sides!
Btw, if you want to add a different kind of stout, go for it! How about a chocolate stout? Makes sense to me!
I like using heavy cream in the topping, just as it's written, just so it stays white to resemble the frothy pint of Guiness, but if you want a little extra something, try using Bailey's instead of cream. Delish!

Roasted Cabbage with Bacon

 Everyone loves boiled cabbage with ham or corned beef for St Patrick's Day, but have you ever considered roasting your cabbage instead? I must say that roasting is my preferred method for cooking vegetables because it really intensifies the flavor while bringing a toasty element to the party. So why not roast your cabbage instead of boiling it??? Now, add some bacon and you've made it FANTASTIC! I mean, lets face it, everything is better with bacon, am I right? It's the same sort of vibe you get when you do roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon. FABULOUS.
 The secret to the success of this dish is roasting the bacon ON TOP of the cabbage wedges. Who knew doing something so simple would be such a game changer? It makes ALL the difference! As the bacon cooks, the fat renders and drips down onto the cabbage, flavoring it with all of that delicious bacon-ness. How awesome is that? Serve it as a main dish or just as a simple side with your ham or corned beef. Oh, and just fyi, if you're choosing to restrict carbs from your diet, this one is now WAY high on your must-list because it's WAY low on carbs! BONUS! I think this is now my new favorite way to cook cabbage. And if you think you don't like cabbage, I urge you to give it a try! You just might surprise yourself!! It's REALLY delicious!


1 head green or Savoy cabbage, outer leaves removed
Olive oil
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Thick cut bacon, as many slices as it takes to cover your cabbage wedges


Heat the oven to 450°F. Cut the cabbage into quarters and slice the bottom of each quarter at an angle to partially remove the stem core. Cut each quarter in half again so you have eight wedges. Lay these down on a baking sheet and drizzle very lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Cut each slice of bacon in half and lay on top of the cabbage. Roast for 30 minutes, flipping the cabbage wedges once halfway through. If the edges aren't browned enough for your taste after 30 minutes, put them back in for five-minute increments until they are. Serve immediately; the wedges cool down fast.

Tip:
To make it easier to flip the cabbage wedges, leave the bacon in larger strips and drape them across each wedge. Remove them to flip the wedges, then place them back on top again. When everything is cooked, you can cut the bacon into smaller pieces for serving, just as I've done in the photo. Easy!

Spinach Dip Bites

 Here's an easy appy that I found on a blog called Lil Luna. I was having a few friends over, and I was looking for ideas. At first, I thought of doing the usual spinach dip, but of course I wanted to find some sort of twist. Maybe a picky-uppy kind of something?? Then I saw this and thought BINGO! This is exactly what I had in mind! It was the perfect recipe to assemble in advance and then bake just before my friends arrived. Easy!
 ok, now, I know the recipe calls for shredded mozzarella cheese for the top, but I happened to have shredded cheddar on hand, so I went with it. Use whatever kind you like! Oh, btw, they won't last long. Spinach dip is always a hit at parties, and this is no different!! I promise you,  if you make this, you'll be a hit too!

2 cups frozen spinach, chopped and thawed
1 6 ounce jar Artichoke Hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 tsp garlic salt
pepper to taste
1 can seamless crescent dough


Preheat oven to 375.
In a bowl, combine spinach, artichoke hearts, garlic and Parmesan cheese. Blend in cream cheese and half of your mozzarella cheese. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Using a rolling pin, lay out dough on a cutting board and lightly stretch to a 8 x 12 rectangle. Cut dough into 2 inch squares, so you have 24 squared total.
Lightly grease a mini muffin tin and place a square in each slot, gently pushing down to create an indent. (you don't need to mold to the cup.)
Scoop one teaspoon of your spinach mixture on top of each crescent square and gently push in, (bites will mold to your tin while baking). Spread the remaining mozzarella cheese over the tops of each cup. Bake for 15 - 17 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before moving from tray.

Tip:
If you have any extra filling leftover (or even if you just don't feel like doing the cups) just pop the filling into a small baking dish with a little cheese sprinkled over the top and bake as directed. Serve with scoop chips. Boom.

Triple Chocolate Pretzel Brownies

ok, I know I already have TONS of brownie recipes, but seriously, can one ever have too many?? This one is for the serious chocoholic. It's also for those who love a little salty with their sweet. I was in the mood for something CRAZY chocolate when I happened upon these little beauties on a blog called Sally's Baking Addiction. (if you've never seen it, you should definitely check it out!)
 I figured anything called "triple chocolate" deserved a browse, and after reading it, I knew I had found my crazy chocolate something! And let me just tell you, they absolutely live up to their name. SO rich and indulgent and extremely chocolatey. Oh, and btw, they're super easy to make too! You don't even need a mixer!
So, thanx SBA, for another great recipe! Add this one to your brownie repertoire and make this for the chocoholics in your life. You're gonna need a talk glass of milk for this one! Serious yum.


10 tbs unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup + 2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups chopped chocolate covered pretzels
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
sea salt



 Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
Line an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished brownies out.
 Melt the butter, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a large bowl in the microwave. Melt in 30 second increments and stir after each time until the butter is completely melted. Stir in the vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition. Add the flour, beating with a whisk until fully combined. Gently fold the chocolate covered pretzels into the batter, leaving a few to sprinkle on top. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Scatter the chocolate chips and reserved chocolate covered pretzel pieces on top. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Bake for 25 minutes and check the brownies for doneness. Insert a toothpick inserted in the center. If it comes out with only a few crumbs, the brownies are done. Do not bake over 30 minutes. Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Tip:
I used a 9" square pan. If you use an 8" pan, your brownies will be slightly thicker.
Also be sure to line your pan with parchment with enough hanging over to be able to lift them out of the pan. That's always a great tip for making easier cuts that won't damage your pan.