In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, paprika, and cocoa powder until well combined. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the bacon.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp and the topping is bubbling. Cool completely on the rack. Once cool roughly chop reserving 2 strips for topping. Set aside.

Heat a flat griddle, or other large smooth bottom skillet, to medium-low heat.

In a medium bowl cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and whisk until evenly incorporated. Add the buttermilk and whisk until well combined.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to mix. Stir in the chopped bacon.

Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined and no large lumps of dry flour remain.

Lightly fold in the berries, careful not to burst any or over-mix.

Spray the griddle with non-stick cooking spray and scoop the batter, by the 1/3 cup, on to the heated griddle.

Cook for 2 to 3 minutes on the first side, or until the batter begins to puff, the edges are no longer shiny, and the cooked side is golden brown.

Flip and cook for 1 to 2 minutes on the second side, or until the pancakes spring back when gently pressed in the center and are golden brown.

(of course I decided to photograph the overcooked ones, lol…smh. Trust me, the rest turned out better) To hold pancakes while cooking store in a warm oven on a wire rack. They will hold for up to 45 minutes. Serve warm with a drizzle of the berry syrup and a sprinkle of the candied bacon.

These were so delicious I made them on Saturday AND Sunday. And then I started my diet on Monday. ENJOY!!!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 ½ shallots, minced
• 8 oz. deli sliced ham (kinda thick)
• 1 bag flat-leaf baby spinach, roughly chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
• 1 Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust
• 4 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups half-and-half
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare your pie crust by gently unrolling into the pie dish. Push it down into the pan making sure the dough hangover is pretty even around the pan. (If it doesn’t come out perfect don’t worry. Look at mine, lol. I think that it gives it a homemade feeling and rustic quality.   Here is a link to directions on crimping your crust: http://localfoods.about.com/od/piestarts/tp/crimping.htm Totally simple!
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks set in lower third. In a large skillet, heat butter over medium. Add ham and shallots, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add as much spinach to skillet as will fit; season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and toss, adding more spinach as room becomes available, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Make sure all spinach is used.
3. Transfer spinach mixture to a colander. Press firmly with the back of a spoon to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Put spinach mixture into pie crust, top with cheese. Place crust on a rimmed baking sheet.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, half-and-half, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Pour egg mixture into crust.
5. Arrange baking sheet on rack, and bake until center of each quiche is just set, 55 to 60 minutes, rotating sheets from top to bottom halfway through. Let quiches stand 15 minutes before serving.

I would’ve doubled the recipe but I was kinda peed off that I couldn’t find my other pie dish so I lashed out by starving everyone. lol If there are more than 4 people, double up! Also, play with your favorite meats and cheeses etc. It’s impossible to mess up, really. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Directions

Using a cookie cutter or a knife, cut out a small heart shape from the center of a thick slice of bread. Spread each side of bread with herb butter (recipe below).

Heat skillet over medium heat. Saute bread until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Lower heat, and gently flip toast.

Break an egg into heart-shaped hole. Using a spoon, gently hold yolk in center (for symmetry) until it sets. Cover, and cook until egg white turns opaque, about 5 minutes or so, depending on how soft you like your yolks. Transfer to a plate along with the heart-shaped piece of cutout bread, perfect for dipping into yolk. Don’t forget the meat! I served it with turkey sausage links to my Greggy.

Herb Butter

1 cup loosely packed fresh herbs, such as parsley, oregano, thyme, or marjoram, finely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions

The ideal setup would be to throw your herbs in a food processor with he butter for a few pulses. By all means do it if you have one but i don’t so i just chopped and chopped as finely as I could and added the herbs to the softened butter, stirring until combined. Store in an airtight container, refrigerated, for up to 2 weeks.

*This butter would be FABULOUS over your favorite pasta dish as well!

I was recently in Miami and the prize for going to early morning service (on top of being closer to God o_O ) was a trip to the Grand Luxe Cafe. lol I have to say that instead of making my little joke  about being rewarded by man or my pancakes in heaven (IDK…I hadn’t worked it out completely which way I wanted to go with it lol) I decided NOT to piss my mom off and be happy that I finally had the opportunity to try their famed Red Velvet pancakes. (Meanwhile, my mom is on the cell phone inviting all of my sisters and cousins who DID NOT attend church with us but not  without a small scolding about eternal damnation. (Trust me, you rather just get up and go with her than hear it, lol) 

Of course the non-churchgoers beat us there but we didn’t hold them up because I’d heard too much about the pancakes and was sticking to it. Once they were served, I noticed they had actual chocolate chips in them and while that wasn’t  my idea of a “traditional” red velvet cake, they were goooood. They serve them with fried chicken but I did it with bacon. Maybe later. 

I took a basic buttermilk pancake recipe and made it velvety. That simple!

Buttermilk Pancakes

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons white sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

3 eggs

1/3 cup butter, melted

oil or butter for pan

Milk (just under one cup)

1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

Buttermilk Red Velvet Pancakes

Buttermilk Pancake recipe (above)

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Bag of Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chocolate chips 70% cocao (10-12 per pancakes)

2-3 tablespoon red food coloring  (see if that is enough to get the color you want, if not red enough, continue to add)

1 ½  teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting
 

8 oz softened cream cheese (1 package)
2 oz softened butter (1/2 stick)
1/2  teaspoon vanilla extract + more to taste
1 1/3 cups of powdered sugar + more to taste

With a mixer on medium speed, mix cream cheese and butter together. Add vanilla. Mix in sugar gradually.

Directions

In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt).

In a separate bowl, beat together the wet ingredients (buttermilk, milk, eggs, red coloring, vanilla extract and melted butter).

Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.

Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. The pan is ready when you can flick water across the surface and it instantly beads up and sizzles.  Lightly grease it.

Once that is hot, pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a wooden spoon or fork to blend. Stir until it’s just blended together. Don’t over stir it. (A little lumpy is ok.)

Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake. Immediately add 10-12 chocolate chips. Wait for the pancakes to bubble (2 – 3 minutes) before flipping and continue to cook for a minute or two. Serve hot with a dollop of cream cheese frosting (recipe follows).

Options:

Top with toasted walnuts or pecans

Top with chocolate chips

Make your own buttermilk (recipe above)

Top with maple syrup

Apparently, Gucci Mane and the rest of America have different takes on the meanings of the terms scattered, smothered, covered, and all the way. The paroled rapper was arrested for an outstanding warrant when he reported to his probation officer in Atlanta last Friday. Allegedly, Gucci invited a woman he met in the parking lot of the S. Dekalb Mall to breakfast. After noticing that the Hummer passed the Waffle House, (where the REST of us go for scattered, smothered, covered and all the way hash browns)  the woman questioned where they were going. Gucci reportedly told her he was taking her to a hotel and went on to say that he had $150. O_o When she refused and asked to be taken back to the mall, she says he then began trying to push her from the vehicle.

I know MY readers are waaaaay too smart to take rides from strangers (especially crusty, ugly ones…that’s just a joke DO NOT RIDE WITH STRANGERS, even the fine ones. lol) but we alllll have that friend, cousin or associate who is undoubtedly capable of doing so. (Don’t lie, you know you do!)  Help that sister out and pass on this delicious “groupie proof” way for her to make own damn hash browns. Gucci!

Gucci- inspired Hash Browns

2 Russet Potatoes (shredded)

2 Tbsp. minced onions

2 Tbsp. minced green bell pepper

3/4 c. shredded cheddar

Extra virgin olive oil

1/2 Tbsp. sea salt

Coarse black pepper

Line a clean kitchen towel with 2 paper towels. Place shredded potatoes on the paper towels, cover with 2 additional paper towels and roll them up as tightly as possible to remove as much moisture as possible from them. Tighter!!!! Squeeze!!! You can do it! In a frying pan, heat 4 Tbsp of  olive oil on medium low. Once heated, add the onions and peppers. Saute for about 4 minutes before adding the potatoes. Spread the potatoes in a thin layer and with the back of the spatula press them down flat. We all hate mushy hash browns so PLEASE do not be tempted to peek at the bottom and incidentally hinder the crispness we’re going for. Continue to cook the potatoes on medium low for 12-13 mins. Invert the potato cake onto a plate so that you can flip it wihout breaking it. Once back in the pan, continue to cook for 7 mins, top with cheeese and allow to continue cooking for an additonal 5 minutes. Serve as you wish. I chose to use a slice them into little handy triangles for the boys to enjoy as a snack.

NOTE: I shredded the peeled potatoes on a cheese grater but I’m sure the frozen would be fine as well. Work quickly, since you don’t want them turning brown on you.  Gucci!!

For the glaze, combine:

1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 Tbsp coarse-ground mustard (I use Grey Poupon)

3 Tbsp vinegar

1 Tbsp black pepper (I also like coarse blk pepper, it’s visually appealing)

For the sausage-bacon bites, slice:

1 lb Kielbasa sausage

12 strips bacon, halved

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and top with a cooling rack with nonstick spray.

For the glaze, combine brown sugar, mustard, vinegar and pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves; keep warm.

For the sausage-bacon bites, slice kielbasa lengthwise. Cut each half into twelve 1 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Wrap bacon around each piece and secure with a toothpick. Brush each bite with sauce, then transfer to prepared baking sheet. Roast bites, basting with the glaze every 15 minutes, until bacon is cooked through, 35-40 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Please don’t ask me why it’s leaning….lol

After depriving my family of my adventures in fat and indulgence for a month, I decided to treat them to a really “good” sunday brunch. Well actually, I’m lying. I need to do a run through for hosting my VERY FIRST CHRISTMAS for the family!! YAY!!! Anyway, I’ve been watching yall watch my figure as I’ve trimmed down just a tad….yeah, I see you looking! lol So I lifted the ban and got in the kitchen…

As usual, I did not do a good job reading the directions and I grossly underestimated the amount of time the recipe called for to prepare this ironically extremely simple meal. The good news for you is that through my ”error” you can rest assured that  they grossly overestimated it.  I had a hungry crowd coming in from the early service at church that would have killed me if I had to allow the egg mixute to soak into the bread for even an hour let alone 8 hours OVERNIGHT! (How could you MISS that, Zina?! lol) Good thing, it wasn’t necessary. o_O  This dish was DIVINE! Cuisine at Home got this one right! It will be a smash hit Christmas morning!

Don’t let the semmingly long list of directions trip you up, it is soooo simple. They’re just long-winded and as you can see, I’m not known for my succinctness. (<–but I am known for making up words, lol) Oh, and you MUST serve it with the Sausage-Bacon Bites with Brown Sugar Glaze. (I know, I know, Recipe coming…) Both dishes can be prepared the night before to make it super easy on Christmas morning.

For the French Toast, Process:

1 pkg. cream cheese, softened (8 oz)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. minched orange zest

10 slices thin-sliced, Pepperidge Farm cinnamon swirl bread

WHISK:

3 eggs

1/2 cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp pure almond extract (I didnt have it so I used 2 tsp of vanilla *shrug*)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

FOR THE TOPPING, SPRINKLE:

1 cup frsh or frozen blueberries

1/4 cup slivered almonds

MELT:

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

FOR THE SYRUP, COMBINE:

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1/2 cup pure maple syrup (I like Grade B)

2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice

DIRECTIONS

Coat a 9X9 3-inch deep baking dish with nonstick spray.

For the french toast, process cream cheese, 1/4 c. brown sugar, and zest in a food processor until smooth. (I myself, do not own a food processor so I went to my blender. It was resistant but I stopped it and stirred and stopped it and stirred until it realized I wasn’t going anywhere, gave in and processed my mixture.)

Line the bottom of baking dish with bread slices, cutting pieces to fit. Spreah half the cream cheese mixture over bread. Continue layering bread and cream cheese, ending with bread. (It came out to 2 layers for me with 3 slices on top and I went in and used all of my spread on top of that too).

Whisk together eggs, milk, extracts, cinnamon and nutmeg; pour over top of bread.  (HERE IS WHERE YOU COULD COVER IT AND REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT or 8 HRS. FOR AN EASIER MORNING)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For the topping, sprinkle 1 cup blueberries and almonds over top of French toast.

Melt together butter and and 1/4 cup brown sugar; drizzle over French toast and then bake until bubbly and set, about 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes.

For the syrup, combine 1 cup blueberries, maple syrup, and OJ in a small saucepan. Simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes, then serve over French toast.

Everyone knows that I am not a baker (mostly in part because Greg hasn’t broken down and bought me the KitchenAid mixer I’ve been begging for since we met) but also in part because I am a little afraid and uneasy about my limited experience in the area. However, a coward I am not and the war on baking (no matter the number of taste-tester casualties) will be won! But instead of the front lines (for instance, a croquembouche ) I was thinking that starting as a recruiting agent (for instance, working with premade frozen dough) would be more suitable for me at the moment. Just my luck, I discovered Bridgford Parkerhouse Style rolls in the freezer section at Publix. This pre-made dough offered a 2 for 1 as you will see in an upcoming post for Rosemary Parkerhouse Rolls.

Anyway, we all also know I can be VERY random but the desire to make Monkey Bread (aka Coffee Cake) came from watching Queen Latifah’s “Beauty Shop” the other day. Needless to say, I was happy something I did made a lil bit of sense for once, lol. (I spoke on it a little bit in the previous post “Monkey Bread Eeeee!!!” ). Out of my realm, I did the very minimal as far as tweaking the recipe on the back of the package and cannot wait to incorporate a few changes after knowing how simple it can be. I’m learning yall!!! I might be ready for the front lines sooner than we all thought, hunh? lol

(Note: You need 3 hours (waiting for the dough to rise, not actual working))

INGREDIENTS:

1 package Bridgford Parkerhouse Rolls

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1- 1 1/2 c. roughly chopped pecans

1/2 c. melted butter

1 c. packed brown sugar

1 (3 3/4) oz. pkg.  cook-n-serve butterscotch pudding mix

2 tea. ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly grease a bundt pan (or a tube pan, etc). 

In a small bowl, combine sugar, nuts and cinnamon. Set aside.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the sugar mixture on the bottom of the prepared pan.

Sprinkle pecans over this; set aside.

Dip each piece of dough (I didnt thaw them)  in melted butter and roll in sugar mixture. Make sure that the dough is coated generously with sugar mixture.

Stack each piece of dough evenly in pan.

Top with remaining butter and sugar mixture.

**Let the dough rise in a warm (non-drafty place) until double in size or until the dough has risen to just under the top rim of the pan. Do not let it rise above rim!!!

(See note about rising dough below)

Place pan on a baking sheet and Bake for 30-40 minutes or until well browned.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes before turning over onto a cake plate. 

Serve warm and enjoy the gooey bread as you hear praise in the form of words like “cinnabun”, “oh my” and ”God-send” being lightly tossed around. : )

**I put the dough in a kitchen cabinet to allow it to rise because my kitchen is FREEZING and WINDY! LOL It worked! If after an hour and it doesn’t rise, move your bread!!!

The original recipe called for smoking my own salmon or something and that wasn’t happening…waaaay too many steps for breakfast when I KNOW the canned Salmon would work JUST fine- and it did.

These cakes get their moistness from the mayo, eggs, lemon juice, and simply not being overpowered by flour. The bread crumbs don’t fight the moistness like flour. You may want to add a little more. My cakes were very fragile but we like the flavors of the capers (kinda vinegary…yeah I said “vinegary” lol) lemon with the fish and veggies without too much “cake”. To each his own but more play with the recipe, they can pull of a lot of flavor….like someone else you know hunh? ; ) (ME! )

Ingredients

• unsalted butter
• olive oil
• 1 cup small-diced red onion (1 med. onion)
• 1 1/2 cups small-diced celery (4 stalks)
• 1 cup small-diced red bell pepper (1 small pepper)
• 1 cup small-diced yellow bell pepper (1 small pepper)
• 1/3 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon capers, drained
• 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1/2 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Old Bay Seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• 1 can smoked salmon
• 1 cup plain breadcrumbs (or panko, Japanese bread crumbs)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used Hellman’s Light…don’t tell Greg) 
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• Juice of 1 lemon

Directions

Place 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 tablespoons of oil, the onion, celery, red and yellow bell peppers, parsley, capers, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Old Bay Seasoning, salt, and peppers in a large saute pan over medium-low heat and cook until the vegetables are soft, approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Empty salmon into a bowl by itself standing in the shape retained from the can. Gently separate the fish from the sides to expose the full spine of the fish. Try to remove it whole. If you are unsuccessful, no biggie, take your (of course well cleaned) hands and pick through it for any wayward pieces of bone. Add the bread crumbs, mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, and eggs and toss lightly.

Add the cooled cooked veggies and mix well. (Whenever you’re working with raw eggs, you want to be sure to not scramble the eggs by adding them to anything hot) Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Shape into salmon cakes, 2 1/2 to 3 ounces each.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the salmon cakes and fry for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until browned. Drain on paper towels; keep them warm in a 250 degree F oven and serve hot.

*Salmon cakes can be shaped and stored overnight in the fridge on baking sheets wrapped in plastic; fry just before serving.

RECIPE REGRETS: Not having some sort of dipping sauce or a mango salsa to accompany this dish. I tried, unsuccessfully to mix a little mayo, ketchup and lemon juice. It was edible but not the sauce I was going for.