Bloody Mary Brunch!

Hello and Happy Monday!

I invited some friends over on Saturday to taste test a new Habanero & Jalapeño vodka infusion I made to make spicy Bloody Mary's.

Take 3-4 Jalapeños and 6-10 Habaneros (depending on your desire for heat). Slice Jalapeños and cut the stems off the Habaneros.  Place in a large jar with a tight seal, pour 1 liter of vodka in, and close it up for 3-4 days, stirring once a day.  Strain vodka through a sieve and serve with your favorite Bloody Mary mix.

Note:  I always wear gloves when handling peppers, ESPECIALLY with Habaneros.

This taste test turned into a full on brunch for 12 people!  I had about 36 hours to figure out what I wanted to do and here is what I came up with.

Easy go to brunch items:
Egg Bakes
Bagels
Fruit
Danish


I made 2 different egg bakes.  The wonderful thing about egg bakes is they usually need to sit overnight, so it is super easy to make them a day in advance, then all you have to do is get up, turn on the oven and throw the bake in.

The first one was a bacon and veggie egg bake, my classic go.  This one changes every time because I usually just use whatever veggies I have in the fridge. You can mix up the meats and veggies all you want in this one.

6 c.        frozen, shredded hash browns, thawed
1lb.        bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 c.        red bell pepper
1/2 c.     green onion, chopped
1 c.        shredded cheddar cheese
10          large eggs
14.5oz   evaporated milk
Seasoning salt
1 c.        shredded cheddar cheese
Fresh cracked black pepper

1.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and layer hash browns evenly along the bottom of the dish.  Top with red bell pepper, bacon and green onions.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk eggs, evaporated milk, seasoning salt and black pepper.  Evenly pour egg mixture over potatoes, veggies and bacon.  Top with cheddar cheese, cover and refrigerate overnight.

3.  Heat oven to 350° F.  Bake egg bake, uncovered, for 50-60 minutes until set.  Let rest for 10 minutes and serve.



The next egg bake I made was one my mom made last time we had brunch together.  It is out of one of our favorite cook books, Pot-luck for 33,000, Recipes from the great Dayton's, Hudson's and Marshall Field's cook off, a benefit for the United Way.

4 c.         frozen, shredded hash browns, thawed
10           eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
8oz.        shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 pint   heavy whipping cream or half & half
1/2 c.      chopped onion
1/2 c.      green bell pepper, chopped
1lb.         sausage, ham or bacon (I used turkey sausage)

1.  Spray bottom and sides of 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.  Line bottom of pan with hash browns.  Crack eggs on top of hash browns and break yolks.  (Do not scramble.) Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then half of cheese.  Pour cream over layers in pans.  Sprinkle with onion, green pepper, meat and remaining cheese.  Cover; refrigerate overnight.

2.  Heat oven to 350° F.  Bake about 40-50 minutes until set.  Serve.

I just added some plain and everything bagels from Costco and a few different cream cheeses, fresh fruit salad and some friends brought danish.

I hope you enjoy!

Vegetable Lasagna

A few years ago I had a delicious vegetarian lasagna at a restaurant in Minnetonka, MN called Spasso.  I am not a vegetarian, but they suggested it as a specialty and I fell in love with this dish.  I have tried to find something similar at many restaurants and have not had success in my search.  I decided I would try to re-create this dish on my own.  

I went online to look for different recipes for vegetable lasagna and didn't find any that looked like this one, so I took inspiration from multiple recipes as well as my memory of this dish.  This lasagna turned out better than I ever imagined, especially since I had never made anything like it before.  It was given high praise from my taste testers (my husband, Ryan and our friend Jasen).

This lasagna is gluten free, low carb and low calorie but still gives you the satisfaction of a comfort food classic.

Serves: 8   

Ingredients:

3-4        medium zucchini, ends removed, thinly sliced lengthwise

3-4        medium golden zucchini, ends removed, thinly sliced lengthwise

2           large portabella mushrooms, thinly sliced into strips

1           large eggplant, ends removed, thinly sliced lengthwise

2           jarred roasted red peppers, sliced, (if packed in oil, dry with paper towel)

1-28oz  can crushed tomatoes

1/2 tsp  garlic powder

1/2 tsp  onion powder

1/2 tsp  Italian seasoning

8 oz.     frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and patted dry

1           large egg

2 cups   ricotta cheese, (I use whole ricotta because I prefer the texture, you can use skim if preferred)

1 Tbsp  chipped fresh parsley

1/2 tsp  salt (sea-salt preferred)

1/2 tsp  fresh cracked black pepper

Dash ground nutmeg

8 oz.     shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

2 oz.     parmesan - reggiano cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Lay several paper towels next to the stove; as you cook the veggies, transfer them to the paper towels to drain excess moisture.  Bring a very large grill pan sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove.  Add zucchini, golden zucchini, portabella mushrooms and eggplant, and cook until softened, about 1-2 minutes per side. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine crushed tomatoes with garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning, and pepper. Mix well and set aside.

4.  In another large bowl, combine spinach, egg substitute, ricotta cheese, basil, salt, and nutmeg.  Mix thoroughly and set aside.

5. Evenly coat the bottom of a 9"x13" pan with 1/2 cup of the seasoned crushed tomatoes.  Evenly layer half of the sliced veggies over the tomatoes.  Spread half of the spinach mixture into an even layer over the veggies.  Evenly top the cheese mixture with half of remaining crushed tomato mixture.  Continue with 1 more even layer of remaining veggies, followed by the remaining spinach mixture.  Evenly cover with remaining seasoned crushed tomatoes.  Evenly distribute mozzarella cheese then grated parmesan over the crushed tomatoes.

6.  Bake in the oven until lasagne is hot and mozzarella cheese is golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly, about 15-20 minutes, serve.

Chicken, Asparagus and Goat Cheese Rolls

The other night we had an impromptu guest for dinner.  I didn't have enough of what I had planned to make for 3 people, so I had to get creative.  I came up with this simple, healthy and delicious chicken recipe that I am excited to share with you.  My taste testers gave it 2 thumbs up!

Ingredients:
4 - 5oz      Chicken Breasts
1 bundle   Asparagus
4oz.          Goat Cheese
Salt & Pepper
Toothpicks
4oz.          Parmesan Cheese, Grated
Cooking Spray

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375°F.  Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.
2.  Place chicken breasts between plastic wrap and pound to 1/2" thickness.  Sprinkle chicken with salty and pepper.  Crumble 1oz. of goat cheese on each chicken breast.  Take 3-4 asparagus spears and roll chicken around asparagus securing with 2 toothpicks.  Place chicken roll ups on baking.  Spray chicken roll ups with cooking spray and sprinkle a little more salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes.
3.  Sprinkle each roll up with 1oz. parmesan cheese and broil for 10 more minutes until golden brown and chicken registers at 160°F.
4. Remove chicken and serve.


Simple, low carb and delicious!

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did :).

Quick, Easy and Fancy Cheese Tray

With the holidays coming up, I thought I would share one of my favorite easy appetizers for all occasions.

This cheese tray never fails to impress.  It is so quick and easy to put together too!!!

I usually use 5 cheeses of different flavors and hardness.

My favorite 5 are:

Jarlsberg
Aged Cheddar
Blue Cheese
Pepper Cheese
Goat Cheese (drizzled with a little olive oil and black pepper)

I simply arrange the cheeses on a platter with grapes, strawberries and nuts.  Serve with your favorite crackers or flatbreads and voila, instant appetizer.

I hope you can enjoy this at your next event!