Make Again Monday: Pizza Grilled Cheese

 

Whenever I have left over ingredients from pizza night, this is always my go to lunch the next day. It is a delicious way to use up those leftovers. 

To see the recipe and original post click here.

Enjoy!!!

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Banana French Toast

Lately making a special breakfast has not been happening. I have been prioritizing sleep on Saturday, which is the only day out of the week I can sometimes sleep in. Even though I plan breakfasts to make, by the time I get up and exercise and then shower, it is after 10. If I were to make breakfast at that time it would be close to 11 by the time I would be eating. After exercising I am hungry and do not want to wait to eat breakfast. Thankfully this is a make ahead breakfast, so I forced my self to make it after dinner on Friday, so all I had to do was preheat the oven and bake the casserole after exercising. 

This french toast is so delicious and I did not feel too guilty eating a brown sugar caramel sauce with breakfast because it is mixed with bananas and bananas are healthy. The homemade brown sugar caramel banana sauce is easy to make and layered between the bread cubes for a delicious french toast casserole that is topped with and equally delicious brown sugar crumble. 

This is a most delicious to way to start a relaxing Saturday morning.

Banana French Toast

Ingredients:

Brown Sugar Banana Caramel

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 3 firm-ripe bananas, sliced

French Toast

• 8 eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup half and half
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 16 ounce loaf French bread, cut into 1 inch cubes

Brown Sugar Crumble

• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add in the brown sugar and maple syrup. Cook stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth, about 2-3 minutes. 
2. Once the mixture is smooth, remove from the heat and carefully stir in the sliced bananas. Set aside  and allow to cool to room temperature.
3. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, half and half, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.
5. Place half of the bread cubes into the prepared baking dish. Evenly spoon half of the brown sugar banana caramel sauce over top of the bread. Place the remaining bread cubes on top. Evenly spoon the remaining brown sugar banana caramel mixture over top of the bread cubes. Cover the baking dish with cooking spray and refrigerate overnight.
6. In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut the butter into small cubes and add into the bowl. Using a pastry blender cut the butter into the sugar flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until ready to bake french toast.
7. In the morning, preheat the oven to 350º F. Remove the french toast and brown sugar crumble from the refrigerator and uncover. 
8. Crumble the the topping over the french toast. Bake uncovered for 40-55 minutes or until golden brown and center is set.

Enjoy!!!

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 513
Total Fat		22g
Saturated Fat		12g
Trans Fat		0g
Polyunsaturated Fat		0.5g
Monounsaturated Fat		2g
Cholesterol		238.1mg
Sodium		370.8mg
Total Carbohydrates		62.4g
Dietary Fiber		1.5g
Sugars		27.5g
Protein		13.5g
Calcium		14%
Iron		14.2%
Potassium		232.3mg
Vitamin A		6.8%
Vitamin C		9.4%
*Nutritional information will vary depending on the brands you use.

*Adapted from Celebrating Sweets.

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Coconut Milk Latte

Every so often I use canned coconut milk for a recipe and end up with some leftover. It seems a recipe almost never uses a whole can. This problem of trying to find a way to use up the leftovers, caused me to find this latte. This creamy latte is such a delicious way to use of leftover coconut milk or even buy coconut milk just to make it.

Coconut Milk Latte

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
• 2 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

Directions:

1. To the hot coffee, stir in the maple syrup, cinnamon and vanilla.
2. In a microwave safe glass, ese a milk frother or a whisk and forth until doubled in volume. Microwave the coconut milk for 20-30 seconds or until warm. 
3. Pour the milk over the coffee and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Enjoy!!!

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 304
Total Fat		10.7g
Saturated Fat		10.6g
Trans Fat		0g
Polyunsaturated Fat		0g
Monounsaturated Fat		0g
Cholesterol		0mg
Sodium		15.1mg
Total Carbohydrates		47.4g
Dietary Fiber		0.2g
Sugars		46g
Protein		2.5g
Calcium		5.9%
Iron		4.4%
Potassium		227.1mg
Vitamin A		0%
Vitamin C		0%
*Nutritional information will vary depending on the brands you use.

*Adapted from The littlest Crumb.

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Make Again Monday: Cheesy Hash Brown Bites

 

An easy side dish that is easy to change up with different cheeses or meat. They taste really good with ground breakfast sausage.

To see the recipe and original post click here.

Enjoy!!!

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Crispy Potato Wedges

 
These potatoes are simply seasoned and baked until crispy. Sometimes all a potato wedge needs is a just a little bit of seasoning to make a delicious side.

I love a well seasoned fry with plenty of seasoning, but there is also something to be said for a fry that is seasoned with a few simple seasonings.

Crispy Potato Wedges

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
• 3/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425º F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. Cut the potatoes in half and then cut each half into 4 wedges.
3. In a large bowl, add in the potato wedges, oil, seasoning salt, parsley, black pepper and cheese. Stir until the potatoes are well coated.
4. Place the potatoes onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each wedge.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip each potato wedge over and bake for additional 15 minutes or until crispy.

Enjoy!!!

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 343
Total Fat		12.8g
Saturated Fat		3g
Trans Fat		0g
Polyunsaturated Fat		0g
Monounsaturated Fat		0g
Cholesterol		3.8mg
Sodium		1260.3mg
Total Carbohydrates		52.6g
Dietary Fiber		4.4g
Sugars		2g
Protein		9.1g
Calcium		12.8%
Iron		14.2%
Potassium		1256.7mg
Vitamin A		1.5%
Vitamin C		90.6%
*Nutritional information will vary depending on the brands you use.

*Adapted from Simply Scratch.

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Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes with White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

 

I made these cupcakes to take to work, to help get us through the winter blues and have a treat for Valentines Day. I doubled the recipe and ended up with an odd number of cupcakes. A single recipe will yield about 15. The recipe below is for a single batch of cupcakes. 

Theses cupcakes are a bit more involved than a typical one, but oh so worth it. The cupcakes are filled with a cream cheese filling giving them a creamy and delicious center. The top of the cupcake is covered in mashed raspberries and then topped with the most deliciously rich and silky buttercream.

To get the cheesecake filling in these cupcakes, I added a bit of batter to the liners, made a little indent in the batter, added in some cheesecake filling and then topped with more batter.

Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes with White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients:

Cheesecake Filling

• 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Cupcakes

• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/2 cup whole milk

Raspberry Topping

• 1 cup raspberries, mashed

White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

• 3 egg whites
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature cut into tablespoon pieces
• 8 ounces white chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature

Directions:

Cheesecake Filling

1. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar. Continue beating until well mixed.

Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line two muffin tins with 15 liners.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour and baking powder. Set aside
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add in the egg and mix until well combined.
5. With the mixer on low, add in 1/3 of the flour, followed by half of the milk. Repeat this again, ending with the last 1/3 of flour. Mix just until combined, do not over mix.
6. Place a slightly heaping tablespoon of batter into the liners. Make a small indent in the batter and add in 2 teaspoons of cheesecake filling. If you still have filling left, add a little bit more to each liner until all of it is used up. Top the cheesecake filling with more batter filling the liners about 3/4 full.
7. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
8. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then remove and place on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

White Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1. In a heatproof medium bowl, whisk together the egg whites and sugar.
2. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water, the bowl should not touch the water. Whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 160º F and the sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Carefully pour the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat on medium-high speed until stiff glossy peaks form and the bowl feels room temperature and not warm.
4. Switch to the paddle attachment. 
5. With the mixer on medium speed add the butter 1 tablespoons at a time mixing until it is completely incorporated before adding more butter. With the mixer still running, pour in the melted chocolate. The mixture may appear clumpy or curdled, this is normal, keep on mixing and it will become smooth again.
6. Top each cooled cupcake with some mashed raspberries.
7. Place some buttercream into a pipping bag fitted with your desired tip. Pipe the buttercream onto the cupcakes. 

Enjoy!!!

Yields: about 15 cupcakes

*Adapted from Little Yellow Barn.

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Make Again Monday: Broccoli, Bacon and Cheddar Cheese Chicken

 

This dish is such an easy one. Perfect for those busy weeknights when you do not have a lot of time to get dinner ready. 

To see the recipe and original post click here.

Enjoy!!!

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