Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

There are only a few things that can cause me to melt. One is a brown eyed man (George Clooney, take note) and another is a cheesy, creamy casserole.

Here’s a simple to put together, whole-meal casserole that would be perfect for a brunch buffet, a meal on a cool night or a fabulous pot-luck dish. I minimized the fat damage by using 98% fat free soups, 2% cheese, 1% milk and 96% fat free ham. Heck, you could even use egg substitute instead of eggs. Note: this might make more than your average 13 by 9 pan can handle, so you may want to have another, smaller baking dish standing by.

Ingredients (serves 8-10 easily):

1 can (10.5 ounces) cream of celery soup (low fat is great)

1 can (10.5 ounces) cream of mushroom soup (again, low fat is fine)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 soup can of milk

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 (30 or 32 ounce) package shredded hash browns, thawed

1 (10 ounce) package frozen broccoli, thawed (optional, or you can change the veggie)

1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup diced ham

½ cup chopped green onions

½ cup sliced mushrooms

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the soups, eggs, milk and garlic salt. Stir in the hash browns, broccoli, cheddar cheese, ham, green onions and mushrooms. Pour into your prepared dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 45 to 60 minutes or until the sides are bubbly and the top is starting to brown. Let cool and cut into squares. 

Cider Brined Roast Pork Tenderloin

Roast pork for the beginning of autumn. How wonderful.

Ingredients:

Brine:

3 cups apple cider

2 cups water

1/4 cup kosher salt (a small handful)

1/4 cup brown sugar (a small handful)

2 teaspoons dried sage

4 or 5 whole black peppercorns

Pork:

1 (1.5 pound) pork tenderloin

1 Tablespoon butter

1 cup water

Sauce:

1 Tablespoon chopped shallot

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 cup apple cider

½ cup vegetable broth

2 Tablespoons corn starch dissolved in ¼ cup water

1 Tablespoon butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Brine: Bring all the brine ingredients to a boil in a saucepan. Boil for about 5 minutes or until the sugar and salt dissolve. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Pork: Place the tenderloin in a large zip top bag and pour the brine over it. Seal and allow to marinate 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the pork from the brine, discarding the brine. Pat the pork dry with paper towels and place in a roasting dish. Coat all sides with butter and place the 1 cup of water in the bottom of the baking dish. Bake for about 35-45 minutes. Check for an internal temperature of 155 in the thickest part of the tenderloin. Remove from the oven, place the tenderloin on a plate, cover with foil and let rest for 10-15 minutes while you make the sauce.

Sauce: Put the roasting pan on top of the stove (after you have removed the tenderloin) and add the shallots to the pan juices. If there aren’t enough pan juices, you may want to add a Tablespoon or 2 of the broth here.  Cook and stir for about 3 minutes until the shallot is softened and then add the mustard, cider and the remaining broth. Bring to a boil and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Cook for a few minutes until the sauce is thickened. Stir in the Tablespoon of butter. Remove the sauce from heat. Let cool slightly and then taste and adjust seasonings by adding salt and/or pepper.

Slice the pork into ½ inch thick slices and serve with the sauce.

French Stuffed Onions

“Bake me like one of your French onions…..”

A great side dish to any meal. Or make it a meal on it’s on by pairing it with a green salad, some bread and a simple omelette.

Ingredients:

3 small to medium yellow onions

2 pieces whole wheat bread, toasted

1/3 cup finely diced gruyere or Havarti cheese

1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence

1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon vegetable broth, divided

3 teaspoons butter, divided

Cooking spray

Fresh thyme sprigs if you have them

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Peel the onions and slice off just enough of the ends to get flat bottoms and tops on the onions. Cut the onions in half around the equator and use a paring knife to gently pry some of the center of each half onion. I like to have 3 or 4 rings left on the outside. By the way, if you happen to go too deep and cut all the way through the bottom of the onion, just shove a piece of the cut out onion in the bottom. Save the extra pieces of onion for another time. Place the onion halves, cut sides up, in a casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, tear up the toast and add in the cheese and herbs. Add in 1 Tablespoon of vegetable broth and combine. Place a portion of this filling in each of the onion halves. Pour the remaining broth over the onions and then into the bottom of the casserole dish. Top each onion half with about a half teaspoon of butter and throw the fresh thyme sprigs on top. Spray the tops of the onions with cooking spray. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, baste the onions with the pan juices and cook for another 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Concord Grape, Ham and Havarti Grilled Cheese

What a wonderful sandwich for fall. The sweet, deep flavor of the grapes pairs wonderfully with the creamy, nutty cheese. The ham is not the star here, but does a great job of lending a little smoky saltiness. Boy, I’ve got my adjectives going today, haven’t I?

Ingredients (makes 2 sandwiches):

1 cup Thomcord (seedless Concord) grapes

2 teaspoons water

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Pinch of sea salt

2 Tablespoons mayonnaise (low fat is fine)

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

4 slices sprouted grain or whole grain bread

4 teaspoons butter or margarine

2 thick slices Havarti cheese

2 slices ham

Directions: Combine the grapes, water, vinegar and salt in a small saucepan. Cook on high heat, stirring frequently for about 4 minutes, or until the grapes burst. Cook 2 minutes more, crushing the grapes with the back of your spoon, until the liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat and let cool. The grapes will thicken upon standing.

In a small bowl, combine the mayo and mustard. Spread evenly on one side of each piece of bread. Lay the half of the cheese, half of the ham and half of the grape mixture on two slices of bread (on top of the mayo mix). Top with the remaining two bread slices, mayo side in.

Butter the outsides of both sides of the 2 sandwiches and place in a skillet over medium heat for about 4 minutes per side, flipping when the first side is golden. 

Devil’s Food Cake with Buttercream Frosting

This cake feels like it holds deep, rich, luscious secrets inside of it. This is the dark, moist, not-too-sweet cake of your dreams. Too many adjectives? No. Not even enough.

Ingredients (makes 16 squares):

Devil’s Food Cake:

Wet ingredients:

1 Tablespoon instant espresso dissolved in 1 cup hot water

1 cup canola oil

2 eggs

½ cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Dry ingredients:

2 cups cake flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

Buttercream Frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3 cups confectioner’s (powdered) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-2 teaspoons milk, if needed for a thinner consistency

Directions:

Cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9 baking pan liberally with cooking spray (or you can butter and flour) and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, combine the wet ingredients together. In a separate bowl, stir the dry ingredients together and slowly mix into the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined. Spoon into the baking pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine took exactly 30 minutes, but ovens vary.

Let the cake cool to room temperature.

Frosting:

Meanwhile, prepare the frosting by creaming the butter with an electric mixer. Slowly (and carefully) add in the confectioner’s sugar until well blended. Add in the vanilla and mix again. Add in a bit of milk if you want a thinner frosting, but I didn’t need to add any.  Spread over the cake and cut into squares.

Pumpkin and Pecan Bars

It’s very fall like here today and I wanted to do something pumpkin-related, but I knew that making a full pan of pumpkin bars would be too much for me. I would need to take some into work tomorrow. At this particular work site, we have a great diversity among the employees, including a variety of food tolerances and preferences. If I was going to take something into work, I wanted to please as many people as possible.

This recipe is (from what little I know about various eating plans) vegan and vegetarian friendly, gluten-free, low fat, high in fiber and has very little (if any?) cholesterol.

Having said all that, I LOVE these bars. I was licking the spoon and I don’t readily do that. The finished bars are even more luscious. I have a feeling I will be making a lot of these.

Ingredients (makes 16 bars):

4 Tablespoons ground flax seed

12 Tablespoons water

2 cups oat flour (just pulse some oatmeal in the food processor for about 30 seconds and boom--oat flour)

1 cup rolled oats

2 cups chopped pecans

1 stick (1/2 cup) 100% vegetable oil margarine (Earth Balance® is good), melted and slightly cooled

¼ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

4 ounces silken tofu, drained

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

Maple syrup as garnish

Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together the ground flax seed and water. Stir and let sit for at least 15 minutes. This mixture acts as your eggs.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 by 9 pan with vegetable oil cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the oat flour, oats, pecans, melted margarine, ¼ cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon cinnamon. Mix with a fork until combined. Put ¾ of this mixture into the bottom of your baking dish and press down to make a thin crust. Set the remainder aside to use as your topping.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin, tofu, flax seed mixture, vanilla, granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon gently over the crust in your baking dish and smooth the top to cover the whole base of the pan. Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the top and bake for 20 minutes more. Remove and let cool before cutting into squares and drizzling maple syrup over each square.

Swiss Chicken Casserole

This is just good old fashioned comfort food. I think I might start calling it “Super Chicken Casserole” because there is so much deep, rich flavor from the chicken thighs, cooking the noodles in fortified stock and then adding in the cream of chicken soup.

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken stock (that is one 32 ounce box)

5 cups water

½ of a white onion, sliced (oh, about a half cup or so)

½ cup chopped carrots

¼ cup chopped celery

1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

4 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)

1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

12 ounces wide egg noodles

  

1 (10.5 ounce) can cream of chicken soup (I used the low fat kind)

1 soup can of milk

1 ½ cups chopped mushrooms

1 ½ cups chopped broccoli (frozen and thawed works great)

1 ½ cups cubed Swiss cheese

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

1 cup dry breadcrumbs

Directions:

Pour the chicken stock and 5 cups of water into a large Dutch oven. Add the onion, carrots, celery, peppercorns, thyme and chicken. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer on medium low heat and cover. Simmer for 45 minutes or until the chicken is done. Remove the chicken to a plate and cut into bite sized pieces. Strain the stock, discarding the veggies/herb, and return the stock to the Dutch oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13 by 9 pan with cooking spray and set aside. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the breadcrumbs. Set the breadcrumb mixture aside.

Add the additional 4 cups of water to the stock in the Dutch oven and bring back up to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to time listed on the package. Drain the noodles and place them back in the Dutch oven. Add the cream of chicken soup, milk, mushrooms, broccoli and Swiss, mixing thoroughly. Check for seasoning and add salt, pepper or herbs to your liking.

Put the chicken noodle mixture into the 13 by 9 pan, spreading evenly. Sprinkle the buttered breadcrumbs over the top. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until the sides are bubbly and the top is golden.