Baked French Toast

Baked French Toast Casserole

• 1 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread or I use this bread (it makes 3 loaves, we usually eat on and I freeze the other two to use for this recipe)
• 9 Eggs
• 2-1/2 cups Milk
• 1/3 cup Sugar
• 1/3 cup Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
• Topping
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• Freshly Grated Nutmeg (optional)
• 1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces

Preparation Instructions

Grease the baking pan. Tear the bread into chunks, or cut into cubes, and evenly distribute in the pan. Whisk together the eggs, milk, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge until needed. I have done overnight or you can make it and bake it right away!
For the topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and some nutmeg in a separate bowl. Stir together. Add the butter and  mix it all together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles.
When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture or for 1 hour-plus or more for a firmer, crisper texture.

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

   FENNEL & ORANGE SALAD

                     from LeslieSmoot.com  Adapted by Katie

6 cups Kale, chopped into bite size piece and massaged with Olive Oil

1 cup fennel, whit part shaved

1/3 cup fennel fronts, bite size pieces

3 or 4 oranges chopped into bite size pieces

2 green onions chopped

1 large avocado

Dressing:

1 cup orange juice

4 T. Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar

3 T. Raw Honey

1 or 2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

l whole avocado

Blend in blender, it's very yummy

Slow Cooked Salmon

2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce

1 T maple syrup
4 salmon fillets (each about 6 ounces), skinned and patted dry

1/2 lemon

Oil a pan and turn over to 225.

Whisk together ingredients. Arrange the fillets in the roasting pan skin side down, leaving an inch or two of space in between each one. squeeze lemon over salmon. Spread the glaze evenly over the salmon. Bake until the salmon is cooked through and opaque but still juicy, about 30 minutes.

Zucchini Pizza Crust

I just pasted this from here.  But, Mom and I tried it last night and it was really good. I doubled the recipe and it made 2 pizzas and fed 4 adults and 2 children.

Zucchini Pizza Crust

The dough is pretty soft and sticky so don't be afraid to grease your hands to pat the crust into an even thickness. I personally like the crust fairly thin. Also, keep in mind that if you coarsely grate the zucchini, you might end up with more than the 3-4 cups which is ok - just stick to about 3 medium zucchini (1 1/2 pounds).

I used to use regular old kitchen towels to squeeze the zucchini dry but you can use a cheese cloth or nut bag.

Ingredients

• 3 medium zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds or 3-4 cups finely shredded and packed)
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• Pizza sauce 
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• sauteed leek, bacon, and kale; cooked chicken for the topping (The kids just had cheese and it was okay, but it definitely was better with toppings)

Directions

1. Preheat a baking stone or overturned rimmed baking sheet at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes.
2. If you have time, sprinkle the zucchini with a teaspoon of coarse kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon if using table salt) and let it set for 15-20 minutes. Wring out the zucchini really, really well. And when you think it's wrung out all the way, wring it out some more. You want it as dry as possible. You'll end up with about a cup or so after it's been wrung dry.
3. In a large bowl, combine the zucchini, flour, garlic powder, oregano, basil, salt, eggs, and cheeses. Stir together with hands
4. Grease a sheet of parchment paper (two pieces if you are making really thin pizzas).
5. The dough is pretty soft and sticky so you may want to grease your hands as well. Press the dough into the desired shape and thickness on the greased parchment paper. You can get this dough pretty thin if you work at pressing it out evenly (about 1/4-inch thick).
6. Slide the parchment paper with the pizza crust onto the preheated baking stone (if you don't have a pizza peel, you can use an overturned baking sheet to slide it on). Bake for about 10 minutes until the crust looks set and the bottom is starting to brown.
7. Carefully remove the parchment and pizza crust from the oven and top with pizza sauce and toppings. Bake for another 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly. EAT WARM right out of the oven.

Ginger Sesame Chicken Salad

The dressing is divine.  Next time I will probably 1-1/2 it. I seriously wanted to drink it.  And I think I would add edamame to the salad.

 Grilled Ginger-Sesame Chicken Salad

Ingredients: 

Marinade and dressing -

• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 3 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and shredded
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
• 2 large chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (white and green parts)

Salad - 

• 1 Napa cabbage, very thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, grated 
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced and cut on the diagonal
• 1/2 cup almonds, toasted in coconut oil
• 1 tsp white sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds, toasted.
• 1/2 head of lettuce (I used red leaf) 
• 1/2 red pepper 
• 1/2 yellow pepper
• 3/4 c or so of shredded red cabbage

Method:

Marinade.   Whisk together the soy sauce, ginger, canola oil, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sweet chili sauce , and salt to make the marinade.  Put the two chicken breasts in a gallon sized zip-top bag and add 3  - 4 Tbsp of the marinade to the chicken.  Note** - You are going to reserve the rest of the sauce that we just made (the part that is still in the mixing bowl).  It will become the dressing later, and it should never touch the raw chicken.  Squeeze the air out of the bag so that the marinade comes into contact with the meat.  With a meat pounder (or heavy pan, or empty bottle), pound the breasts to a uniform thickness.  This will allow them to cook more evenly and also help tenderize the meat.  Allow the flattened chicken breasts to marinade 30 min to a couple hours.

Dressing.   To the reserved marinade, add in the 1/4 cup each of red wine vinegar and sliced green onions.  Now we have the dressing.

Grill the chicken.  To a hot grill pan (yes, an outdoor grill or 'regular' pan is fine), add the marinated chicken breasts.  cook them about 4 minutes per side or until there is no signs of pink and juices run clear when pierced with a small, sharp knife.  Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and allow them to rest 15 minutes.  Please don't cut them right away... all the juices will run out leaving you with dry meat!  After the 15 minutes, you will cut them crosswise into 1/4" inch thick slices.

Salad.  In a large bowl, add the cabbage, lettuce, carrots, green onions, cilantro, half of the sesame seeds, and half of the almonds.  Add the chicken and mix together.  Add just enough of the dressing to coat the salad lightly and toss together.

Serve.   Distribute salad to 4 - 6 plates.  Re-whisk the dressing and drizzle a little over each salad.  Garnish with the remaining almonds and sesame seeds on each salad. 


I found this recipe here