German Apple Oven Pancake

This was a really tasty and fairly quick breakfast. Originally I had planned on making regular pancakes, but then I found this recipe and decided it would be tasty!

My husband and I both loved it, and it was really tasty served with some smoked beef sausage and drizzled with maple syrup.

German Apple Oven Pancake

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup half-and-half
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 medium granny smith apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

powdered sugar for dusting

Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 500 degrees F. Allow the oven to heat for at least 15 minutes before baking the pancake. In a blender or food processor, blend the eggs, sugar, half and half, vanilla and salt for about 15 seconds. Add the flour and blend until the mixture is smooth with no lumps, about 25 seconds.

Melt the butter in a 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon and cook, stirring often, until the apples are golden brown, about 8 minutes.





Quickly pour the batter around the edge of the skillet first, then over the apples.



Place the skillet in the oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees F. Bake until the pancake is brown and has risen about the edges of the skillet, about 16 to 17 minutes.



Loosen the pancake edges from the hot skillet with a heat-proof spatula and flip the pancake onto a large plate or serving platter. Dust with powdered sugar, cut into wedges, and serve immediately.



Recipe from the cookbook The New Best Recipe.

20 Minute Mini Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Glaze

As most of you know, I LOVE Pinterest. I could spend all day pinning and looking at all the pretty pictures and feeling inspired! This is another cinnamon roll recipe that I found there, but since the last one was quite time consuming, this one is super quick. It's another fun way to use up a tube of crescent roll dough!

Mini Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Icing

Makes 16 mini cinnamon rolls

Ingredients:

1-8oz tube crescent roll dough

2 Tablespoons butter

cinnamon

brown sugar

sugar

For the maple icing:

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1 Tablespoon skim milk

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven according to crescent roll dough package directions. Layout half the dough (4 triangles) and pinch all the seams together. Flip over and pinch the seams on the back side together too.





Using a rolling pin, smooth the seams and roll the dough into a square about 1/4″ thick.



Brush with half the butter, and sprinkle with as much cinnamon and brown sugar as you want.







Roll into a log and cut into 8 pieces using dental floss. It makes it super easy!





Place mini cinnamon rolls into a non-stick sprayed mini muffin tin. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the other half of the crescent roll dough. Bake according to package directions.



Meanwhile whisk together maple syrup and milk in a bowl. Add in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. (I did this in the bowl with the extra butter leftover from when I brushed it on the dough. This made the icing more of a glaze than an icing, which I really preferred.)





Drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls.







Now try not to eat them all at once!

Recipe adapted from here.

Orange Marmalade Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman's website, and so instead of copying and pasting it here I will just link to her page and post my pictures. I can't make my blog prettier than hers, lol. Ree is amazing and if you haven't checked out her blogs, recipes, cookbooks or TV show, you should!

Orange Marmalade Rolls

The one thing I did differently is I used a mixture of white and brown sugars mixed with cinnamon. I still really wanted cinnamon!

I spread some marmalade my mom made on the dough.





Sprinkled the sugars and cinnamon on...



Rolled it up and sliced the rolls off the log with dental floss. It's so quick and easy for cutting dough and it doesn't smash the dough like a knife can if it isn't sharp enough. Here they are in the pan. I put them in the fridge overnight and the next morning I let them rise of the stove for about half an hour while the oven preheated and I took care of the little one.



Then here they are right before I put them in the oven!



Here they are hot out of the oven!



And finally, with the lovely icing soaking into all the cracks! (I got too excited and didn't whisk the icing enough so there were a couple lumps in it. It was still super yummy!!)



Soooo good!!

Beef Stroganoff

This is a really tasty beef stroganoff recipe. It originally called for white wine, but we used red and I think it was very yummy! The meat was nice and tender. I am not a fan of tough bits of meat that you have to chew, and chew and CHEW but the marinating step eliminates that!

Beef Stroganoff
(recipe adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

1 1/4 lbs sirloin steaks, or tips ( trimmed of excess fat and cut lengthwise with grain into 4 equal pieces)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 lb white mushrooms, quartered
2 teaspoons hot water
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onions, finely chopped
table salt
2 teaspoons tomato paste
4 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. red wine
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves (optional, for garnish)

Using fork, poke each piece of steak 10-12 times. Place in baking dish; rub both sides evenly with soy sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour.(I put my meat in the soy sauce and then we went to the store. It was nice and tender by the time we got home!)

While meat marinates, combine water, dry mustard, sugar, and 1/2 tsp pepper in a small bowl until smooth paste forms; set aside.

Pat steak pieces dry with paper towels and season with pepper. Heat oil in 12" skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Place steak pieces in skillet and cook until browned on all sides and internal temperature registers 125 to 130 degrees, 6-9 minutes, reducing heat if fond begins to burn. Transfer meat to large plate and set aside while cooking sauce.



The original recipe calls for microwaving the mushrooms before adding them, but I thought that was strange. So I sauteed them in the pan with the onions. Add mushrooms, onion, and 1/2 tsp salt to skillet and cook until vegetables begin to brown and dark bits form on bottom of pan, 6-8 minutes.



Add tomato paste and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until onions and mushrooms are coated, about 1 minute. Stir in 1/3 cup wine, beef broth and mustard paste and bring to simmer, scraping bottom of pan with wooden pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to medium and cook until sauce has reduced slightly and begun to thicken, 4-6 minutes.



While sauce is reducing, cut steak pieces across grain into 1/4" thick slices (my meat was already in pieces.) Stir in meat and any accumulated juices into thickened sauce and cook until beef has warmed through, 1-2 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let any bubbles subside. Stir in sour cream and remaining tablespoons wine; season to taste with salt and pepper.



Sprinkle with parsley to garnish. Serve over hot egg noodles.

We also had a tasty green salad with our dinner.



Enjoy!

Succulent Pot Roast

This is another recipe that I got from my mom. It's one of my husband's favorite things that I make, and anyone who likes meat and potatoes should LOVE it!

I usually use a chuck roast of beef and trim the excess fat off of it. Then I brown it in a little olive oil in a separate pan and then place the meat and juices in the crock pot.



Deglaze the pan if there are browned bits in it. I cut up a couple peeled carrots in chunks and also a stalk or two of celery. I add anywhere from half to a full onion depending on the size of the onion. I add 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of beef broth and 1 can or bottle of beer. This is one I had left in our pantry. People bring beer to our house and we don't drink much of it so I just save it for things like chili and pot roast.



I also generally put in some salt, fresh ground pepper and any other spices I'm feeling like at the moment, maybe some crushed red pepper flakes, dried parsley or basil. You can do whatever makes you happy!



I cook it for 6-8 hours on high until the meat is super tender and falling apart. You can cook it for less time if you don't want it that soft.

When it is done I move the meat and veggies to a plate. I stir some cornstarch into some cold water and thicken the gravy in the crock pot. You don't have to use all of the liquid, I usually end up with too much gravy, so you can take some out before you thicken it. Let that sit for a few minutes and mash up some potatoes! I always serve the veggies and meat over yummy mashed potatoes.

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

My husband LOVES these enchiladas. He could probably eat the whole pan by himself! I am proud of myself because I read quite a few different recipes and picked and chose what things I liked about them to make these my own. I have made them quite a few times over the last few years for family and friends and they are always well received! It is easy to make more filling if you need to feed a lot of people. This is a Sara original... get excited!


You will need:

1 large (or 2 small) chicken breasts (or leftover pre-cooked chicken)

1 small can green chiles

1 small can sliced olives, drained

1/2 medium onion

4 oz (one half cube) cream cheese or lower fat version, softened

salsa (no exact measurement for this, maybe about 1 cup)

cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper to taste (maybe 1/2 tsp of each, less cayenne if you don't want it too spicy)

LOTS of cheddar cheese! If you are using pre-shredded I would have two bags to be safe. You can also get Mexican cheese mixtures, I have used both.

6-8 soft taco sized tortillas

1 or 2 10 oz cans enchilada sauce, depending on how wet you want them (or homemade enchilada sauce if you are feeling adventurous)


Directions:

I cook the chicken first. If I'm planning ahead, I cut up the chicken breasts into a couple pieces so they cook faster, and toss them in my crock pot with a little broth and some cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. This adds some nice extra flavor! Cook on high for about three hours, or until the chicken shreds easily. You could also use leftover grilled chicken. (If you go this route, add the chicken and juices to the pan AFTER the onion is cooked.)

Otherwise, I cut up the raw chicken into fairly small pieces and saute it in a pan with a little oil until cooked through.

Add in the onion and cook until it is translucent. Add in the chiles, and olives, and some salsa, probably about a cup. I eyeball it at this point until it is the consistency I want. Add in the cream cheese and stir it until it melts. Add more salsa if needed. Add the spices and stir it all up, letting it cook together for a few minutes.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Take one tortilla at a time and fill the center with some chicken mixture and sprinkle cheese over it. Roll it up and place it in the baking dish. Repeat until the dish is full! you may end with with some extra, I usually get 6 or 7 in the dish. Sometimes I have to put two in my glass bread loaf dish as well. Pour enchilada sauce over filled tortillas. Cover with cheese!



Bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes (or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.)




Serve with rice, salsa, sour cream and chopped green onions if you wish!

Enjoy! :D

Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring

These are soooo yummy! I am a big fan of semi-homemade things for breakfast/brunch, especially since sometimes by the time we really get going I'm too hungry to actually bake from scratch and then it all goes out the window. It's nice to keep a couple tubes of crescent rolls and biscuits on hand for such occasions. While they may not be the lowest in fat, they are nice for a treat!

For this tasty breakfast ring, this is what you will need:

2 small tubes refrigerator buttermilk biscuits OR 1 tube Pillsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits
3 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1/2 C. pancake syrup
1/3 C. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 C. chopped pecans, optional

Spray a fluted pan with non-stick spray. Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts (if desired). Place about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan.



Then sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top.



Lay the biscuits on the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges (closely together) to form a ring.




Top with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures.





Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.



Cool for 1 minute in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter and enjoy!



Mmmm... so goooood!

Original recipe here.