Cookin With Brooke

Cookin with Brooke

Dec 17

Even though the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has felt short, it doesn’t mean I’m short on holiday recipes! This one will have you coming back for more!

Ingredients

• 9 cups Rice Chex Cereal
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1½ cups powdered sugar (more or less)
• ½-1 cup (mint or regular) Holiday M&M’s

Directions

• Place cereal into a large bowl.
• In a medium bowl, add the chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter. Microwave until smooth and creamy.
• Add in the vanilla extract.
• Pour the chocolate peanut butter mixture over the cereal and stir to coat thoroughly. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
• Add the powdered sugar and stir until all cereal pieces are coated. You can add more powdered sugar as needed.
• Allow to fully cool and add in the M&M’s.
• Store in an airtight container.
• ENJOY!

~Brooke

Pumpkin Lasagna

My Daughter-In-Law is a vegetarian. So when she was recovering from delivering my grandson, I wanted to make her something I knew she’d LOVE. She’s a huge fan of pumpkin, so I gave this a whirl. She said it was DELICIOUS!

Ingredients

1 lb no-boil lasagna noodles

For Pumpkin Sauce

• 1 tsp olive oil (or ½ cup unsalted butter)
• ½ small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 3 cans (15oz) pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 TBS maple syrup
• Salt and pepper to taste

For Cheese Mixture

• 1 large egg, whisked
• 1 container (15oz) part-skim ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded fontina cheese (I used provolone)
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 375° and grease a baking dish. (I used two 8×8 and froze them each for her)
2. Prepare the pumpkin mixture by cooking the onion and garlic in oil
3. Add the apple cider vinegar, pumpkin puree, spices and maple syrup
4. Season with salt and pepper and heat through
5. Prepare the cheese mixture by combining whisked egg, ricotta and 2 cups each of the other cheeses
6. Assemble the lasagna in layers, starting with the pumpkin mixture, then noodles, followed by 1/3 of the cheese mixture.
7. Repeat these layers, ending with the remaining pumpkin mixture and a final layer of noodles
8. Top the final noodle layer with the remaining shredded cheeses
9. Cover and bake for 35 minutes
10. Remove foil, increase the oven temp to 400° and bake for another 20 minutes until bubbly
11. Let the lasagna rest for 5-10 minutes before serving

Over the weekend, my sisters and I got together up north. One of my sisters made the most delicious breakfast (and it was beautiful!) I had to share it with you. So easy and SO yummy!!! 

Ingredients:

3 eggs
2/3 cup pumpkin spice coffee creamer
1/3 cup canned pumpkin
¼ cup pure maple syrup, plus more for serving
¼ tsp salt
1 (16 oz) loaf French bread, cut into 1-inch slices
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
Pumpkin butter, sliced almonds, and/or powdered sugar, for serving

Directions:
1.        Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10×15-inch rimmed sheet pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.

2.        Whisk together eggs, creamer, pumpkin, maple syrup, and salt in a medium bowl; pour into a shallow dish. Soak bread slices in egg mixture, turning once, until well soaked. Shingle bread slices in prepared pan; sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice.

3.        Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve with pumpkin butter, almonds, powdered sugar, and/or additional maple syrup.

Pumpkin Butter:
Whisk together 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, 1/2 cup apple juice, and 1/4 tsp each of ground ginger and cinnamon in a small saucepan until smooth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Makes about 1/2 cup.

Fritos Corn Salad

I had this at a summer party/picnic a few weeks ago and I couldn’t stop eating it! Once you try it, you’ll probably think it is the Salad of the Summer, too! It’s easy and SO yummy!

Ingredients

• 1 can (15 oz) Whole Kernel Corn, drained (or the corn from 3 fresh ears)
• 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup Chopped Green (I used yellow) Pepper
• 1/4 cup Chopped Green Onion
• Sliced or chopped Black Olives
• 1/2 bag (10.5 oz) crushed Chili Cheese Fritos

Instructions

In a bowl combine; corn, cheese, mayonnaise, pepper, onion and olives. Right before serving, crush chips and stir into “salad”.

Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Don’t you just LOVE a fresh cool BLT in the summer!? My deck tomatoes are starting to pop, so I’m excited to taste them! Instead of an actual BLT, I put all the ingredients into a salad so I could have all those flavors together! Check this out. This is the salad version! SO yummy!

• ½ pound bacon
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2 TBS red wine vinegar
• ½ TBS sugar
• 1-2 TBS Bacon grease (yep)
• Croutons
• 1 pound romaine lettuce – rinsed, dried, and chopped
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced

 

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside, reserving 2 TBS of the drippings.

In a small bowl, whisk together the reserved bacon drippings, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar. Let stand, covered, at room temperature.

In a large bowl mix together the romaine, tomatoes, bacon and croutons. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.

(Add avocados for a California BLT Salad!) YUM!

 

Here’s an easy breakfast for the campground or even if the teens are scrounging around the house while you’re at work! This is such an easy way to get a good breakfast and I love that it’s totally customizable! Just prepare most of the ingredients ahead of time, and put them together when you need them. They’re perfect for busy mornings, camping, or mornings when cereal just won’t cut it!

• Bacon strips, cooked and halved
• Breakfast sausage, cooked and halved
• Eggs, scrambled (Salt and pepper to taste)
• Small flour tortillas, warmed
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Green onions, thinly sliced
• Bell peppers, thinly sliced
• Salsa

• Cook up bacon, sausage and eggs 
• You can make this into a breakfast burrito bar and have people make their own to their preference.
• Take warm tortillas and fill with preferred ingredients
• Wrap and microwave until the cheese melts
• Serve with salsa or guac

One of the things I love about this is that you can totally make them all ahead of time. Wrap them in foil individually and even freeze them! Then throw them in the oven, on the grill or campfire grate, or unwrap and warm in the microwave!

ONE POT DINNER with SAUSAGE, CABBAGE, AND POTATOES

When I saw the name of this recipe, I was intrigued and just HAD to try it. I tweaked a couple ingredients and steps, but it’s a DEFINITE winner for dinner! Give it a try. (don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients or steps…it’s easier than it seems!)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound (16 ounces) smoked sausage, sliced
• 5 slices thick bacon, chopped
• 1 small shallot, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ TBS EACH: dried basil, dried oregano, garlic powder
• ½ tsp EACH onion powder, dried thyme
• 1 and ½ cups chicken stock, separated
• 1 bag chopped cabbage
• 1 cup diced baby carrots
• 4 cups red potatoes, quartered
• 1-2 TBS syrup

INSTRUCTIONS

• Start by coining then halving the sausage and placing into a large heavy-bottomed pot
• Cut the raw bacon into little pieces and add in with the sausage
• In a small bowl, toss together the seasonings: basil, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder and thyme
• To the pot (over medium heat), add the shallot and cook for 2-3 minutes
• Add in the garlic and half of the seasoning mix, stir
• Add in 1/2 cup stock
• Add in the chopped cabbage and remaining 1 cup stock, stir
• Cover the pot and increase heat to medium-high
• Let cook, covered, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes (cabbage should be cooked down and tender
• Remove the lid and then directly on top of the cabbage, place the quartered red potatoes, and halved baby carrots
• Add the remaining seasoning mix on top and do not stir
• Cover (still medium-high heat) and let cook for 18-20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender
• Check occasionally and if needed, add up to 1/2 cup additional stock to keep from burning
• Once potatoes and carrots are fork tender, drizzle with syrup
• Cover and let steam another 5 minutes