Sorbian Eggs

Does your family have a special holiday breakfast dish?  My family's tradition is sorbian eggs.  They are amazing and a great mix and dump kind of recipe.  I love mine topped with salsa while my mom loves hers topped with avocado.  We served ours up this year with cinnamon bread french toast, bacon, and some good old orange juice.

Sorbian Eggs

6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 lb. grated monterey jack cheese
1 lb. fat free cottage cheese
1 cup bisquick, or homemade whole wheat bisquick
1 cup 1% milk
1 cup melted butter
1 tsp dry minced onions
1 tsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients together in large mixing bowl.  Butter or grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and pour in the mixture.  Spread out evenly in pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until mixture feels firm to the touch.

Fabulous Friday- Pumpkin Chili

This is another great recipe from Miss Emily over at One Lovely Life.  I love the added nutrition the pumpkin puree gives to chili and it added just a hint of the pumpkin flavor but not enough to make you overwhelmed with pumpkin.  I'm thinking this would be really good with some squash puree too.  I'll have to try it that way and let you all know how that goes.  It's a great, quick, weeknight meal that is super hardy and I always love something warm on a cold night.  I always enjoy a good recipe that is just as good meatless as it is with meat.  It is super easy to change up the meat in this to be lighter using ground chicken or turkey or do as Emily suggest and add some beans to make it vegetarian. So many options from a simple recipe.

Pumpkin Chili from One Lovely Life

Fabulous Friday- Qinuoa Fried Rice (gf)

There is a serious lack of good Asian food here in Georgia.  My skills and recipe rotation in that particular genre have expanded quite a bit.  A friend had posted her review of this recipe and I thought it sounded good and a better alternative to the regular fried rice.  My hubby who has been a bit wishy-washy about me using quinoa gave a big thumbs up for this recipe.  I love how filling it is and how much healthier it is.  We paired it last with some teriyaki grilled salmon and broccoli.  A wonderful and light alternative to the traditional Chinese food fare.

Quinoa Fried Rice (gf)

The only changes I made to this recipe were to change out the peas for edamame and to add half a block of extra firm tofu which I added before the veggies to give it a chance to brown a little.  Use gluten free tamari to make this a gluten free dish.

Quinoa Fried "Rice" by Cooking For Keeps

Gnocchi with Mushroom cream sauce

I love gnocchi.  I can't tell you the first time I tried it or when it became this obsession for me but I love it.  And I got my hubby hooked on it too.  Gnocchi is basically a mini Italian dumpling.  There are many different types of gnocchi, some are made with spinach, potato, ricotta, just flour.  As I understand it, it varies by region and probably by family.

I've been wanting to tackle making my own gnocchi since I saw it in Martha Stewart Living years ago but I was always afraid it was way too involved and time consuming.  It does take a bit of extra effort but I am so glad I finally decided to do it.  And what was the special occasion for putting in all of this extra effort?  The hubby had been gone for the week doing artillery field training with his unit...in August...in Georgia...in the heat...without a tent...and some rain.  Needless to say I felt he deserved the extra effort.  Oh, the things we do when we are in love.

So this is a basic potato gnocchi that I decided to pair with a simple mushroom cream sauce.  Don't get freaked out by the title.  The sauce uses some shortcuts to make it easy since I made the gnocchi.  I've also done gnocchi with a super simple browned butter sauce which was also super tasty.  I think next time I'll try a good light tomato sauce with it.

Don't be scared, just stick with me, and try it.  It's so worth it.

Basic Potato Gnocchi


2 cups all-purpose flour
2 pounds Russet potatoes (I used about 4 small and 2 medium potatoes)
1 Tbsp plus 2 1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Put potatoes in a large saucepan whole and cover with cold water by about 2 inches.  Bring to a boil and add 1 Tbsp salt.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are very tender, about 25 minutes depending on how large they are.




Drain potatoes and allow to cool until they are cool enough to handle.  Peel them (I used a paring knife to peel) and then run them through a ricer into a large bowl.

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Sprinkle with the flour and add the eggs.  Sprinkle with the rest of the salt and the pepper.

Stir with a fork to combine well.

Turn out dough onto a floured surface and gently knead until dough is soft and smooth.  I had some chunks of potato in mine that I had to work out when kneading.  Knead for about 3 minutes.  

Divide dough into 8-10 pieces.  I have a small stretch of counter so this worked best for me.  If you have a large work space then divide the dough into 4-6 pieces.

Roll the dough out into a long rope about 3/4 inch thick.  Cut ropes lengthwise into 1-inch  pieces.  I used a bench scraper to cut them.  They may not have been perfectly even but it went pretty fast.

Once you have your gnocchi all cut up you could roll each piece against the tines of a fork with your thumb.  I didn't do it.  Time crunch and its not necessary.  They still taste the same.  Set aside on a floured baking sheet.

To cook, heat a pot of water to boiling.  Working in batches, put the gnocchi n the water and cook until the gnocchi floats.  Just a few minutes.

Sprinkle each batch with Parmesan cheese as you place it into a serving container.

Mushroom cream sauce

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

1 medium size red onion, diced

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 of 10 oz. container Kraft Philly cooking creme Savory Garlic

Milk

Saute mushrooms and onion in the olive oil over medium heat.

Continue cooking until mushrooms are browned and onions are tender.

Once they are done lower heat to low and add the cooking creme.  If needed add milk to thin it out some.

Pour over the hot cooked gnocchi and toss to combine.

White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese

We had a Clue game night and had lots of leftover cheese and crackers. We even had extra sharp white cheddar cheese so I decided to make macaroni and cheese. I've made this recipe a few times and have really liked it so I decided to change it up a bit. The essentials stayed the same but just shook things up with the cheese. It turned out nice, not overwhelming even though the white cheddar is strong. I love adding bread crumbs to my pasta dishes because it adds just a nice touch of crispness. Go ahead and use your favorite variety of cheese. One of our favorite dishes is Alpermagronen, a Swiss macaroni, cheese, and potato, which I make with pepper jack cheese. Be brave and experiment, you never know what might end up being really great.

White Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese

6 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup flour

Salt and pepper

4 1/4 cups hot milk

2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 cups extra sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

1 lb macaroni, cooked

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Add flour and cook stirring constantly until light brown (about 3 minutes). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Whisk in hot milk 1/4 cup at a time and cook whisking constantly until sauce thickens.

Add cheese one cup at a time and stir each addition until incorporated into the sauce. Reserve the last cup of cheese.

Combine the macaroni with the cheese sauce. Place half in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Sprinkle the cheese over pasta and add the other half. Distribute the bread crumbs over the top. Bake until crust is golden and interior is hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

Greek Coucous Salad

Update (4/1/13): This recipe is part of My Pinterest Meals- Greek night

My husband is finally getting more involved in choosing recipes to include in the menu for the month. When we got married his tastes were pretty simple but they are certainly beginning to evolve and become more sophisticated. He pointed out this recipe to me and I decided to give it a try.

Sticking with my MO I switched things up a bit. This recipe is from Fix-It and Enjoy-It Cookbook by Phyllis Pellman Good. I liked the fact that it is a nice light salad that was so quick to make. My hubby says he liked this recipe because you could eat a lot of it and not feel weighed down and I would have to agree. It’s a great spring or summer dish with fresh veggies but with a great mix of flavors. Eat away!

Greek Couscous Salad

5 cups cooked couscous
¼ cup olive oil
1 medium sized red onion, finely chopped
½ cup minced fresh parsley
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 large tomato, chopped
1 large red or yellow pepper, chopped
1 medium sized cucumber, peeled, seeded, & chopped
½ cup black olives, sliced & drained
8 ounces, crumbled feta cheese

In a small bowl, combine onion, parsley, vinegar, oregano, salt, sugar, pepper, and oil. In a serving bowl, combine couscous, tomato, pepper, cucumber, olives, and cheese. Pour dressing over and toss to coat.

If you don’t have time or want to make the dressing, go ahead and use a store-bought Greek dressing. It’s pretty close ingredient wise and will still taste good. Just don’t drown the salad in dressing, use about 2/3 of a cup of store-bought dressing for the entire salad. Remember you can always add more.

Adapted from Fix-It and Enjoy-It Cookbook by Phyllis Good

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