Copycat Hashbrown Casserole - The Remix

Okay so the first time I made these they were all kinds of jacked up. I did a little research and think that we've come up with the perfect version. I've made this version 3 or 4 times now and it's just fabulous.

Copycat Hashbrown Casserole - The Remix

adapted from multiple recipes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

2 lb bag of frozen shredded hash browns, thawed

1/4 cup diced onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 cups shredded colby cheese

1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mix together the soup, butter, onion, pepper and cheese. Stir in the potatoes until well mixed.

Put the potato mixture in a greased 9x13 pan. Bake in the oven for 45 minutes and broil before removing to get a nice, golden top. 

Enjoy!

Fluffiest. Pancakes. Ever.

Oh my goodness. These pancakes were the bestest, everest. They are so light and fluffy. I could probably eat them every day. Seriously. I am not joking. Your mouth will thank you.

Fluffiest. Pancakes. Ever.

adapted from Allrecipes.com

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 2-4

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 TBS sugar

1 1/4 cup milk

1 egg

3 TBS unsalted butter 

Oil for cooking

Directions

In a large bowl, sift the flour. Add baking powder, salt and sugar with a fork until just combined.

In a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Let it cool slightly. Lightly beat the egg with a fork into the butter, just until blended. Add the milk and again just lightly beat until blended. 

Make a well in the dry mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix just until well combined. It will look very runny, but I promise it will come out okay! 

Heat 2-3 TBS oil in a skillet and add 1/4-1/2 cup of batter. I add a 1/2 cup because I like big pancakes. Cook until you see lots of bubbles in the wet batter on top, or until the bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook until bottom is golden brown. 

Enjoy!

Pancakes

So I thought that these were a little to thick for my taste. I also thought they tasted like funnel cake. Now if you are into that then these are the pancakes for you. I personally will keep looking for an awesome pancake recipe.

Pancakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 8-10 pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups sifted flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 heaping tsp salt

1 TBS sugar

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients together until just blended. Heat canola or vegetable oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, pour about a 1/3 of a cup of batter into the skillet for each pancake. Once it gets really bubbly in the non-cooked part, flip it. 

**To keep the pancakes warm while you cook the others, turn your oven to warm or 200 and place them on a paper towel lined baking sheet.

Top with your favorite syrup, fruit, whipped cream or chocolate chips.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

This was pretty good. I personally thought it was a little sweet and had too much clove. I was eating it right out of the jar and not putting on toast or a biscuit so that might have made a difference. My sister-in-law thought it was delicious. I would probably take the sugar down to 3 cups and reduce the clove to 1/2 tsp. I would even consider eliminating the clove all together and adding another 1/2 tsp of allspice.

Slow Cooker Apple Butter

from Mommy's Kitchen

Prep Time: 1 hour 

Cook Time: 12-16 hours

Makes: 11  1/2 pints

Ingredients

50 oz jar unsweetened apple sauce

3 lbs apples (I used Granny Smith)

4 cups sugar

1 cup apple juice or cider (I used juice, but I might try cider next time)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp allspice

Directions

Peel, core and cut apples into chips. Put all the ingredients into the crockpot and stir to combine. Cook on low for 8-10 hours (best if done overnight). Remove cover and cook on high heat for 4-5 more hours. 

2 tests:

1. If you can stand a wooden spoon upright in the apple butter, then it's probably ready.

2. Spoon a small amount onto a plate. Look for a small rim of liquid around the edge of the butter. If it's there, cook for a little while longer. If not, it's ready!

Now you can just pop it in the fridge if you think you are going to eat all of it within a week. Otherwise, you are ready for canning. If you are unfamiliar with this process, check out Home Canning 101.

Enjoy!

French Toast Souffle

Last time I made this it was so yummy. This time I thought it was a little bland and then I remembered that I forgot to add the cinnamon. So a word of advice, don't forget the cinnamon. This dish is pretty versatile since you can change up the type of bread to get a different flavor. I have used cinnamon bread before and it's delicious. I saw in the reviews that someone used pecan cranberry bread and I think that would be fantastic. Don't be afraid to get creative!

French Toast Souffle

adapted from MyRecipes

Prep time: 30 minutes, plus overnight

Cooking time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients

1 loaf Pepperidge Farm Hearty White, 1-inch cubed (10 cups/16 slices)

1 (8 oz) block of reduced fat cream cheese, softened

8 large eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

2/3 cup fat-free half-and-half

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 tsp cinnamon

2 TBS powdered sugar

Directions  

Place bread cubes in a 9x13 dish coated with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and maple syrup. Microwave for one minute or until smooth. Pour over the bread. With a mixer, combine eggs, cinnamon, vanilla, milk and half-and-half. Pour this over the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375. Set dish on the counter for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 60 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

Enjoy! 

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Apple Crowns

The filling on these was yummy, but there are a few issues. One - when you bundle them up, you get all this dough at the bottom and the filling at the top. They were much too doughy for me. Two - there wasn't enough filling to go around. To eliminate this, I would actually double the filling. (Note - I did not double the filling in the recipe below!) I think once you get the dough to filling ratio right then these will be a great fall treat!

Photo from Taste of Home

Apple Crowns 

adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups chopped, peeled Granny Smith apples

1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1/2 cup sugar, divided

2 TBS all-purpose flour

2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

1 package Pillsbury Grands! flaky biscuits

2 tsp butter, melted

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the apples, walnuts, 3 TBS sugar, flour, 3/4 tsp cinnamon and salt. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes or until almost tender.

Flatten each biscuit into a 5-in. circle. Combine remaining sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle a rounded teaspoonful of sugar mixture over each. Top each with 1/4 cup apple mixture. Bring up edges to enclose mixture; pinch edges to seal.

Place seam side down in ungreased muffin cups. Brush tops with butter; sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture. With a sharp knife, cut an “X” in the top of each.

Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

Enjoy!

 

Birthday Blueberry Muffins

I really only make these muffins once a year and it's usually for my hubby's birthday. He's a huge fan of blueberry muffins and he thinks these are the best muffins ever! I do recommend using fresh blueberries as opposed to frozen. I know, I know - you are thinking "Um it's September and not blueberry season. Not only will they be difficult to find, but outrageously expensive." I agree, but you will not be disappointed. 

Birthday Blueberry Muffins

adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients

Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

Topping

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 TBS butter, softened

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. 

Combine dry ingredients for the muffins. Add the milk, vegetable oil and egg. Fold in the blueberries. Fill the muffin cups almost to the top.

With a fork mix together the ingredients for the topping. Sprinkle on top of the muffin batter.

Bake 14-16 minutes or until golden on top. 

Enjoy!

Friday Favorites - Breakfast

This is hands down one of my favorite breakfast dishes. My mom started making it for Christmas morning many years ago and it is now tradition. It's super rich so I only make it once in a while, but you will never want to go back to regular French toast again! Just a heads up, this is best if it sits overnight so plan ahead.

Creme Brulee French Toast

adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 TBS dark corn syrup

1 loaf Challah bread

5 large eggs

1 1/2 cups half and half

1 tsp vanilla 

1 tsp dark rum (optional)

1/4 tsp salt

Directions

In a small saucepan melt butter with butter with brown sugar and corn syrup over moderate heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13 by 9 by 2-inch baking dish.

Cut six 1-inch thick slices of bread and trim crusts. Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, over the sugar and butter mixture. It will be a tight fit. In a bowl whisk together eggs, half and half, vanilla, rum and salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread. Chill bread mixture overnight.  


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and bring bread mixture to room temperature. Let it sit on the counter for about an hour before baking. Bake uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Breakfast for Dinner - Waffles

I love having breakfast for dinner! There is just something so yummy about eating waffles or pancakes at anytime of the day. Normally, I just like to go to Cracker Barrel to eat their pancakes, but when you don't to leave the house or spend the money these waffles are just as delicious! This is just a basic recipe so you can add fruit (mmm, blueberries), nuts or spices (cinnamon or nutmeg) to jazz it up.

Homemade Waffle Batter

from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

2 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

1  3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 TBS sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions 

Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater until fluffy. Beat in flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth. 

Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. 

The best way to tell if the waffle is done (without lifting the lid) is the steam. Once you put the mix in and it starts to steam profusely. Wait until the steaming stops or slows to almost a trickle - this tells you that the waffles are done!

Top with syrup, fresh fruit or homemade whipped cream! 

Enjoy!