Appetizers, Easy Brunch Recipes, Gluten Free (GF), Healthy, Ketogenic, Paleo, Vegetables

Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms

July 28, 2017 Jolyn Leave a comment

Here’s a delicious and simple appetizer that even your guests on
gluten-free, Ketogenic, Paleo and Atkins diets can enjoy.

Ingredients:

24 mushrooms
4 tablespoons tomato sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Your favorite pizza toppings (pepperoni, sausage, bell pepper, onion, tomato, basil, etc.)

Directions:

Remove stems from mushrooms and clean mushroom caps with a damp paper towel.
Place mushroom caps on a lightly greased baking sheet and fill with tomato or pasta sauce. My favorite is Trader Joe’s
Bruschetta.
Top with mozzarella cheese and your favorite pizza toppings.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and nicely browned.

Enjoy!

TIP: If cooking for only a few people, use large Portobello
mushrooms to create personal sized crust-free pizzas. Bake the mushrooms for 5 minutes before adding toppings.

Bacon, Casseroles, Easy Brunch Recipes, Gluten Free (GF), Ketogenic, Vegetables

Cheesy Bacon Brussels Sprouts

February 3, 2017 Jolyn Leave a comment

Here’s great way to introduce people to Brussels sprouts: roast and smother them in bacon and melted cheese —
the sprouts, not the people, that is.

This recipe came from 12Tomatoes.com — one of my favorite recipe sites. Check it out for lots of yummy dishes. Here’s how I made it:

Ingredients
1½ pounds Brussels sprouts, halved
8 oz bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
½ cup fontina cheese, grated
¾ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg
1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced (I’ll use a little less next time)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Makes 6 servings (or 3 if you’re like me!)

Directions
1. Toss Brussels sprouts in olive oil, season with salt and pepper and place in a large baking dish. Roast at 400˚ for 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Whisk together the egg, cream, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder and red pepper flakes. Stir in cheese.

3. Add a little more than half of the bacon to the sprouts and cover with the creamy cheese mixture. Stir to combine.

4. Top with remaining bacon and maybe a bit more cheese.

5. Bake at 350˚ for 20 to 25 minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Breakfast, Easy Brunch Recipes, Eggs, Gluten Free (GF), Healthy, Ketogenic, Paleo

Green Chile & Cheese Egg Muffins

January 20, 2017 Jolyn Leave a comment

These quick and easy egg muffins are great for a brunch or for breakfasts on the go throughout the week. There’s no flour, so they are gluten free and great for Ketogenic and Paleo diets.

Ingredients
15 eggs
4 oz diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, sliced
2 cups grated cheese
2 tsp of your favorite seasoning
(I use Spike Seasoning)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Set 12 silicone baking cups on a baking sheet and coat with
nonstick spray.

2. Put onions, chiles and a generous bit of cheese in each cup.

3. Beat the eggs and spices until well combined.

4. Carefully pour a little of the egg mixture into each cup, letting it
settle a bit and then adding more. Using a fork, gently mix the
ingredients in each cup.

5. Top with remaining cheese and bake until puffed up and nicely browned, about 25 to 35 minutes.

These last in the fridge about a week — well, not in MY fridge,
because I eat them sooner!

This is a slightly modified version of a recipe I found on
KalynsKitchen.com, a website I highly recommend!

Bacon, Easy Brunch Recipes, Ketogenic, Paleo, Vegetables

The Creamiest Creamed Spinach

January 14, 2017 Jolyn Leave a comment

Between the cream and the bacon, you may forget you’re eating your spinach. This recipe is perfect for your guests who are following a Ketogenic or Paleo diet.

Ingredients

2 slices bacon
3 mushrooms, sliced
½ medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper, to taste
9 oz bag fresh baby spinach
¼ cup cream
2 oz cream cheese, cubed

Directions

1. Fry bacon until almost crisp; drain and cut into bite-size pieces.

2. Over medium heat, sauté mushrooms, onions and garlic in the bacon drippings until onions are soft. Add bacon.

3. Season with salt and pepper and add entire bag of spinach.

4. Stir to combine, then reduce the heat to low and cover pan with a lid so spinach can steam 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Add cream and cream cheese, and stir until cream cheese is melted and spinach is evenly coated.

This recipe makes about 4 servings. Multiply as needed.

Appetizers, Easy Brunch Recipes, Food Art, Healthy, Ketogenic, Paleo

Texas Style Ham Rolls

December 29, 2016 Jolyn Leave a comment

A unique and simple appetizer that is also perfect for your
Ketogenic and Paleo guests.

Only Three Ingredients:
Cream cheese
Ham slices
Texas style okra pickles

Directions:

1. Spread cream cheese onto a slice of ham.

2. Cut okra pickles to fit the width of the ham slice.

3. Roll up the ham around the pickles.

4. Slice into 1/4″ rounds. The slices don’t need to be identical, but the more consistent the size, the prettier they are on the platter.

That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!

Appetizers, Candy, Desserts, Easy Brunch Recipes, Holidays

Simple Christmas Candy

December 20, 2016 Jolyn Leave a comment

This yummy, colorful Christmas candy is simple to make but
oh-so-hard to stop eating. Put 10 or 12 in a holiday treat bag for a perfect gift, or bring a plateful of them to a party. Do NOT expect any leftovers to bring home.

Ingredients:
Hershey’s Peppermint Kisses (or any flavor)
Mini pretzel squares
Red and green M&Ms

Directions:
Lay out pretzels on baking sheet. Put one kiss on each pretzel. Bake at 200° for 5 minutes, until kisses are shiny and soft but not runny. Immediately put an M&M on the center of each kiss and press down lightly. Let them cool (I refrigerate for a little while so they get firm).

Appetizers, Easy Brunch Recipes, Vegetables

Mashed Potato Bites

November 3, 2016 Jolyn Leave a comment

Quick, easy and oh-so-yummy!

Since there are NEVER left-over mashed potatoes in my house, I simply used a container of prepared mashed potatoes from the
grocery store. 2 cups of those, 3 eggs and 3/4 cup of shredded
parmesan cheese. Stirred it together, plopped it into greased mini-muffin tins, topped with a little more cheese and baked at 400
degrees for 20 minutes. OMG! So good!

You could add spices, chives, bacon bits, ham, different cheeses or anything else that sounds good to you, but believe me, this simple version was delicious.

TIP: Let rest 5 minutes and then run knife around the edges to
encourage them out of the muffin tin.

Appetizers, Easy Brunch Recipes

Sweet-n-Spicy Nuts

October 26, 2016 Jolyn Leave a comment

These Sweet-n-Spicy Nuts are easy to make ahead and add a nice touch to any table. They also make simple holiday or hostess gifts.

You can use any nuts that you like — I chose a combination of
cashews, pecans, almonds and walnuts. Store them in an airtight container on the shelf for a week, in the frig for a month, or in the freezer for six months.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
4 cups of raw nuts
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat sugar, water and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.

Stir in spices and slowly pour over the nuts. Stir until the nuts are well coated.

Spread the nuts into a single layer on the baking sheet, and bake for 10 minutes. Stir nuts and spread out again into a single layer. Bake another 10 minutes and let cool before serving.

Enjoy!

Desserts, Easy Brunch Recipes, Food Art, Fruit

Fabulous Fruit Tart

August 29, 2016 Jolyn Leave a comment

This Fabulous Fruit Tart looks and tastes anything but simple, yet it is so easy to make that it has become my new go-to dessert when company is coming.

If you’re like me, the thought of pie crust that doesn’t come out of a package is daunting. But this is the simplest crust I have ever made, and it has a yummy, buttery cookie flavor. I got the crust recipe from chowhound.com.

The filling is a light, sweet pastry cream like used in cream puffs, yet thanks to Thomas Joseph of Kitchen Conundrums on the Martha Stewart channel, I now know how simple it can be. Below are my directions, but I recommend you watch his video: http://www.marthastewart.com/1084932/no-fuss-pastry-cream

CRUST:

1 stick butter, melted
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Stir together melted butter, sugar, and salt. Add the flour and stir just until combined into a soft dough.
Put the dough in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Press the dough evenly across the bottom and up the sides of the pan (I think fingers work best, but you could use a measuring cup).
Cover the tart shell with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Once chilled, use a fork to prick the bottom of the crust and bake at 350°F until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool completely and fill with cream before removing from the pan.

PASTRY CREAM:

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Pinch of salt
2 cups whole milk
4 large egg yolks
2 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan to be sure there are no lumps.
Whisk together milk and egg yolks in large measuring cup or pour-spout bowl.
Add milk/egg mixture and butter to saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly. Cook until it comes to a rolling boil and let cook 1 minute more.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Pour pastry cream into a sieve over a large bowl, scraping the sieve with a spatula. (This just catches any little bits of egg that might have congealed.)
Cover with plastic wrap being sure to press it directly onto the surface of the cream to prevent a skin from forming as it cools. Refrigerate at least two hours, and up to two days.

MAKING THE TART:

Fresh fruit, sliced
Powdered sugar

Whisk the chilled pastry cream and pour it into the baked tart crust, spreading it smoothly to the edges.
Lay out fruit slices randomly or in a pattern.
Dust with powdered sugar.

Appetizers, Bacon, Easy Brunch Recipes, Vegetables

Mini BLT Cups

August 15, 2016 Jolyn Leave a comment

For a simple and fun hors d’ouevre, these Mini BLT Cups do the trick. They also fit in well with a ketogenic or paleo diet.

The ingredients are B—bacon, L—lettuce, and T—tomato, of course. But you also want to include some type of creamy dressing:
mayonnaise, aioli, chipotle mayonnaise, Ranch dressing, etc. I settled on cream cheese and was very happy with that choice.

TIP: Get the largest cherry tomatoes you can find. They still need to be small enough to be a single bite, but if they are too small, they are tough to hollow out and stuff.

Simple Brunch Ideas