Ruth Lauer’s Brunch Casserole

In case you didn't catch it, my friend MamaMentor left a recipe on the comments of my breakfast casserole. Looks like a yummy one. Who doesn't like potato chips as a topping? YUM!

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MamaMentor says: Here's my favorite breakfast casserole. We have it on Christmas and Easter and other special occasions!

Ruth Lauer’s Brunch Casserole

Butter a 9x13 pan, then line it with trimmed slices of bread. Layer with ham or cooked sausage, then grated cheese, then more bread.

Mix in blender and pour over:

6 eggs
1 green pepper, chopped
½ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3 cups milk
½ onion, chopped
Red and/or black pepper to taste

Refrigerate overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 350˚. Meanwhile, melt 1 stick margarine and pour over casserole. Top with crushed potato chips. Bake 1 hour at 350˚. Makes 12 servings.

This casserole varies widely in character depending on your choice of meat, bread and cheese. Using good wholegrain bread makes it much heartier. You can use any kind of cheese, but we normally use sharp cheddar because we want it to taste cheesy!

Mrs. Brantley's Spice Tea Mix

My friend MamaMentor graciously emailed me this alternate recipe for Russian Tea that she uses. Her recipe and comments follow.

Mrs. Brantley's Spice Tea Mix

1 C. Tang
1 C. sugar
1 C. instant tea powder
1 tsp. cinnamon (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. ground cloves (or to taste)
1 small package lemonade mix (the kind that makes 2 quarts)

Mix together and keep in an airtight container. Add a couple of heaping spoonfuls to a cup of hot water and stir.

I often give this as a gift at Christmas time. Mrs. Brantley was my "dorm mother" in college.

5-minute Chocolate Cake, revised!

You may remember the 5-minute chocolate cake I posted back in September. My young friend Legossi wanted to try it for her family, but they have various food allergies, so she modified it and sent me the recipe.



So for those of you who might have gluten, dairy, or egg issues, you'll love this.

Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free Chocolate Mug Cake

3 Tbsp. Brown Rice flour
1 Tbsp. Tapioca flour
1/4 tsp. Xanthan gum
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. baking cocoa
1-1/2 tsp egg replacer
1 Tbsp. Water
3 Tbsp. rice milk
3 Tbsp. oil
3 Tbsp. chocolate chips (optional if you can find dairy free chocolate chips)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add egg, and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil. Mix well. Add chocolate chips (if desired) and vanilla extract. Mix well! Since the ingredients are gluten free, it may require more mixing than the other version of this cake because tapioca flour does not like to be mixed in!

Put in microwave and microwave 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Don't overcook or it'll become very, very chewy.

If you're not allergic to egg, then use a real egg instead of egg replacer because the egg replacer makes it a bit chewier than if it had a real egg in it.

The price of allergies.

Food 911: Tip #1

Sara from Sara's Sojourns commented earlier this month:

The place I'm staying doesn't have pickle relish (I know, that's sorta un-American!) and my fish was already in the oven and I wanted tartar sauce to go with it.

So I searched the fridge and came up with sweet baby gherkins (pickles for the uninformed) and then I found a cheese grater. I put a few of those pickles over the small side of the grater. Worked like a charm!

Great tip, Sara! Thanks muchly!

If you have a cooking, baking, substitution, or otherwise food-related tip, please email it to myfooblog (at) gmail (dot) com. Be sure to include a link to your own blog if you would like me to add it to your post. Thanks!

KW's Creamy Coffee Cake

The reason why this is called a "creamy" coffee cake is because it is so moist, you won't even believe it. It hails from my dear friend KW in California. She shared it with me last summer during a time when I was charged with feeding 30+ hungry teenagers for 10 days.

KW's Creamy Coffee Cake

1/2 C. oil
1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding (larger box if you can find it)
4 eggs
1 box yellow cake mix (or white or whatever you like)
2 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. sour cream (roughly)

Blend and mix for 2 minutes in mixer on medium speed. Grease your cake pan. You can use an angel food pan like KW does or I've found that a bundt pan works great too.

Pour 1/2 mixture into cake pan. Go easy on this half because it always seems like you need more, when really, the second half is going to come up short. Now make the topping.

1/2 C. ground pecans (or coarsely chopped; toasted if you can)
3/4 C. brown + granulated sugar (mixed)
cinnamon (I never measure cinnamon; it's way too good to measure)

Sprinkle 1/2 of the topping over the batter in the pan, then swirl with knife. Pour in remaining batter, then drop in the rest of the topping. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

KW has made this recipe as muffins. It made 24; she baked them at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. I fully intend to give that a try one of these days.

Kate's Toasted Ravioli

My sister-in-law, Kate, is not only the loveliest woman ever to grace my brother's romantic path, but she is also a very fine cook. A few years ago, she shared this recipe with me, and it quickly became one of our family's staple meals.

Kate's Toasted Ravioli

Frozen Ravioli (whatever kind you like)
Breadcrumbs
Grated Parmesan
Milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill a shallow dish with breadcrumbs and mix in a generous sprinkling of Parmesan. Fill another dish with milk. Dip raviolis one at a time in the milk, then breadcrumbs, pressing down on them to coat with crumbs. No need to thaw the raviolis first. They're much easier to handle when they're still frozen.

TIP: Use one hand to grab the ravioli from the bag, dip, and drop into the milk. Then use the other hand to scoop, cover, and press breadcrumbs. This will eliminate the infamous "club fingers" that will inevitably come with messy wet breading procedures.



Place the coated ravioli onto a lightly sprayed baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees. Bake time varies depending on the size of your ravioli. It may only take 15 minutes, but it might take up to 25.

Start with 10 minutes, then check them. You're looking for a nice golden brown color. You'll need to flip halfway through the cooking time, so be sure to keep an eye on them. (They don't burn super easy though, so don't get TOO stressed out about it.) As Kate told me, "You'll know they're ready when they start oozing filling."

Serve with marinara or spaghetti sauce, whatever you like to do. I served mine last night with a mushroom spaghetti sauce with ground beef and onions added.

5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

We have our first new Foo Fan recipe submission! Thank you to Michelle for passing along this little dandy of a treat. I couldn't resist trying it. Who doesn't have five minutes to invest for some chocolate cake love? Nom nom nom...



5-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

4 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. baking cocoa
1 egg
3 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. oil
3 Tbsp. chocolate chips(optional)
a small splash of vanilla extract
1 coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add egg, and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil. Mix well. Add chocolate chips (if desired) and vanilla extract. Mix well! [Is your fork getting tired yet?]

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. [Here's a site that will convert wattage for your oven.] The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!



Allow to cool a little (the mug WILL be hot), and tip out onto a plate if you like. Then EAT!

Michelle says, "This can serve two if you want to feel slightly more virtuous."

Suggested Experimentations:
* Add more than the necessary chocolate chips
* Swirl in couple Tbsp. raspberry preserves
* Add coconut
* Swirl in chocolate syrup (like for milk)
* Add nuts

For any of these additions, you could simply sprinkle/pour them on top, and they will sink in as the cake bakes.

The Taste Test: This is most definitely a good one if you're in serious need of chocolate fix. I would highly recommend not skimping out on the chocolate chips--in fact, be generous! I'm going to try putting in some raspberry preserves someday in the future. It was a lot of fun to make. Thanks, Michelle!

Tricia's Angel Hair Pasta & Zucchini

Tonight we tried out Tricia's Angel Hair pasta and zucchini recipe.

Of course, I had to modify it - Heaven forbid I ever follow a recipe to a T. ;o)

* I used spaghetti noodles instead of angel hair because that's what we had.

* Couldn't find any fresh Parmesan at the store, so I substituted with a couple Tbsp. of grated parm. and a big handful of shredded mozzarella. I had to add extra liquid and did so with milk.

* Added: sauteed mushrooms and onions, parsley, sliced sweet peppers, garlic salt and pepper.

I was tempted to make this with shrimp or crab meat after I got started, but my husband is decidedly anti-seafood (esp. shellfish). I think it would be really good with it though.

Thanks for the recipe, Tricia! It was so nice to have something different for a change. And it tasted wonderful!

Angel Hair Pasta ala Weight Family

Here's one I just received from Tricia, one of our Fooblog fans... Sounds fabulous! :o)

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TRICIA SAID: Try it-you might like it! Made it off the cuff (and the FAMILY went wild), so you'll have to figure out how much this-and-that to use!

1 Package Angel Hair Pasta
2 Med. Zucchini
2 Med. Tomatoes
Sandwich Ham cut into strips (use as much as YOU like)
1 Container Ricotta Cheese
1 Container Parmesan Cheese

Cook Angel Hair Pasta according to package.
Grate zucchini with the fat holes of a vegetable grater.
Add zucchini to Spaghetti for the last three minutes of boiling.

Before you empty pasta/zucchini into strainer, scoop out 1/2 cup of the spaghetti water. (You need this to thicken the cheese).

Put Ricotta and Parmesan in pan, add just enough left over spaghetti water to make a creamy sauce. (You should not need to use the entire 1/2 cup).

Add Pasta and zucchini. Stir. Salt and pepper to taste.

Dice tomatoes. Add tomatoes and Ham to mixtures and heat through. Top with Parmesan and Serve.

Hope you like it! Tricia PS. Love the FOO-Keep it up!

Chicken Recipe & Meatballs with Peas

Here are a couple recipes I just received from my old friend Erica. ("Old" as in, we've known each other since 6th grade - she's not that old!) - Dianna

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ERICA WROTE: Making me hungry just reading those recipes. So I thought I'd submit a couple of my families favorites. The first one really has no name- my grandma cooks her chicken like this, and I always find it foolproof to make- takes 20- 30 min. as long as you have chicken defrosted.

GRANDMA'S NAMELESS CHICKEN
Ingredients:
3-4 Chicken Breasts (Bone in or out - if in, cooking time takes little longer)
2 T. Olive oil
1 T. Butter
1 chicken bouillon cube
1-2 fresh tomatoes diced, or 1 can diced
2 T. garlic - less if you prefer
parsley
basil
pinch of rosemary
salt and pepper
3/4 c water
1/4 c water

* Heat butter and olive oil over med. heat until warm - add garlic. (make sure you use a skillet with a 2" rim)
* Rinse and dry chicken, add salt and pepper to taste (remember bouillon is salty), then add to olive-oil/butter - remember to keep the heat on low-med. You don't want to have it completely browned or it won't suck up the juices
* Add 3/4 c water and bouillon cube
* Add tomatoes, garlic, parsley, basil, and rosemary
* Let it simmer 15-20 min. turning chicken occasionally.
* When the water has been almost entirely sucked into chicken, add the last 1/4 c. and let simmer 5 more minutes. You now have gravy for whatever else you serve with it.

I serve this with just about everything. Buttered noodles, leftover spaghetti, rice, biscuits, salad, and another of my families favorites, green beans cooked on a skillet. (2 T butter, melted in skillet over med. heat, add green beans, stir
often until cooked - watch though, they go from cooked to burnt fast!)

And because I know you are such a huge fan of peas here is another family favorite, handed down from my great-grandmother:

MEATBALLS & PEAS
1 Pd. gd. beef
1 can/bottle (or if you prefer otherwise) of mushroom gravy
ketchup
mustard
seasoned salt
bread crumbs
olive oil
1 bag of frozen peas(or again-if preferred fresh)

* Heat olive oil in large skillet over low-med. heat
* Take 1 pd. of ground beef, and in a bowl, add (you ready for this?) a squirt of ketchup, a squirt of mustard, about 1 tsp of seasoned salt, about 5T. of mushroom gravy, and enough bread crumbs to make the meatballs hold together.
* Scoop up meat and make into about 1-2" meatballs.
* Put in skillet and cook them, turning with a spoon often - try not to let them fall apart.
* Add the bag of peas, and the remainder of the mushroom gravy and about 1/4 c water (little less if peas are frozen)
* Cover and simmer until peas are cooked.

You can serve with noodles, but I prefer just a slice of buttered bread to soak up all the leftover gravy! My family can't get enough of their meatballs and peas!!!!!

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Thanks for the recipes, Erica! They both sound wonderful! I'm always looking for ways to use my Rosemary. I guess I'm not sure which dishes it should go in. I'll let you know how they turn out. :o)