Monthly Archives: April 2016

Appetizers, Easy Brunch Recipes, Vegetables

Stuffed Mini Sweet Peppers

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Mini Stuffed Sweet Peppers

For a yummy Southwestern appetizer, just make your favorite recipe for stuffed peppers and use mini sweet bell peppers instead of large ones.  Here’s the recipe I used:

Ingredients:
12 to 14 mini sweet bell peppers
1 cup white rice, cooked
1/2 lb ground sausage (or ground beef)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
10 cherry tomatoes, finely diced
8 oz shredded cheese (cheddar or Mexican blend)

  1.  Slice peppers in half lengthwise, remove seeds and inner spines, rinse, dry and lay in 9″x13″ baking dish.
    MSSP--Peppers

2.  Saute sausage, onion and garlic until browned.

3.  Add rice and tomatoes to the sausage mixture and stir well.

4.  Stuff each pepper half and return to pan.
MSSP--Stuffing

MSSP--Ready to Bake

4.  Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Remove foil, top with shredded cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes, until cheese is melted.
MSSP--Baked

To prep ahead:  Slice and clean the peppers and store in zipped bag in frig up to two days ahead.  Make the stuffing mixture the day ahead and store in the frig.

 

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Breads, Breakfast, Easy Brunch Recipes

Quick & Easy Banana Bread

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Banana Bread--Sliced
For a delicious, moist banana bread that is very simple to make, you can’t beat this recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

  1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan.

2.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
Banana Bread--Dry Ingredients

3. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar.
Banana Bread--Butter and Brown Sugar

4. Stir eggs and mashed bananas into the butter and brown sugar mixture until well blended.  If you are using nuts, add them at this point.
Banana Bread--Wet Ingredients

5.  Stir banana mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.
Banana Bread--Batter

6.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Banana Bread--Ready to Bake

7. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then take out of pan and cool on wire rack.
Banana Bread--Baked

Banana Bread--Cooling

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Breakfast, Casseroles, Easy Brunch Recipes, Eggs, Food Art, Main Dishes

Chile Relleno Casserole

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chile-relleno-casserole.jpg.jpg

This Chile Relleno Casserole is delicious and so simple with only five ingredients.  Great for breakfast, brunch or any meal, and leftovers are yummy, too.

Ingredients:
1 lb shredded cheese (Mexican cheese blend or cheddar)
5 eggs
1½ cups milk
½ cup flour
8 oz can of whole green chiles

crc-ingredients.jpg

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat 9″x13″ baking dish with nonstick spray.
  2. Whisk together eggs, milk and flour.
  3. Slice chiles open and rinse away seeds.  Pat dry.  Arrange half the chiles to cover the bottom of the dish.
    crc-layer-chiles.jpg.jpg
  4.  Pour half of the egg mixture over the chiles.
    crc-layer-milk-mixture.jpg.jpg
  5. Cover with cheese.
    crc-layer-cheese.jpg.jpg
  6. Repeat layers of chiles, then egg mixture, then cheese.
  7. Cut a chili to create a design on top if you wish.
  8. Bake about 50 minutes until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  9. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

For a creamier dish, substitute half of the milk with cream.  You could also add any number of ingredients to this dish, such as bacon, red bell peppers, onions, etc.  This Chili Relleno Casserole has become a breakfast regular in my house.

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Desserts, Easy Brunch Recipes

Pineapple Dream

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image

Pineapple Dream is just that… a dream.  Light and creamy and easy to make.

image

Ingredients:
2½ cups graham crumbs
½ cup butter, melted
½ cup butter, softened
4 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
8 oz Cool Whip
20 oz crushed pineapple, drained well.

  1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2.  Drain the pineapple, reserving the juice to drink or use in another recipe.
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3.  Melt ½ cup (1 stick) of butter and stir in the graham crumbs.  Press into a 9″x9″ square baking dish and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  Let cool completely.

4.  Beat the cream cheese and ½ cup (1 stick) of butter until creamy.  Beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time.

5.  Stir a large spoonful of the drained pineapple.
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6.  Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the baked graham crust.
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7.  Fold remaining pineapple into Cool Whip and spread evenly over the cream cheese mixture.image

8.  Sprinkle remaining graham cracker mixture on top.image

9.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least four hours.image

 

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