French Toast Casserole with Pecan Crumble

This is a great breakfast, especially if you're feeding a crowd. It can be prepped ahead of time and baked later. You can switch it up by adding fruit, nuts or chocolate chips, and the crumb topping adds a great texture and flavor. I love it with chopped apples and pecans!

Ingredients:

1 loaf of bread, cut into 1 inch chunks, preferably day old, stale bread. I love using challah or croissants, but any bread will work.
6 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half and half
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder
Dash of nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla

Crumb topping:

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 stick cold butter
1 tsp cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
Dash of salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

In a large bowl, wisk together the cream, half and half, milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. Add the bread and stir until all the bread is covered with liquid. Pour into a 13x9 inch baking dish. If you're adding fruit, sprinkle it on now.

In another bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and cut in the butter, or throw it all on the food processor and pulse until it resembles a coarse meal. Mix in the pecans and sprinkle evenly over casserole. There will be a lot of crumb topping but trust me, it's good. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour depending on your oven and how soft or firm you like your French toast.

If prepping ahead of time to bake later, simply mix the bread and liquid and pour into dish, cover tightly and refrigerate. Store crumb topping in a ziplock in the fridge until ready to bake.

Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce

As with most thai food, this is a perfect combination of spicy, sweet, salty and tangy.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast, sliced into thin strips
1/4 cup coconut milk
2 stalks lemongrass, sliced, white parts only
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp curry powder
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Juice of 1 lime

Peanut sauce:

4 tbsp creamy peanut butter
Juice of 1 lime
3-4 tbsp coconut milk
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sambal or Sriracha

For the marinade, throw all the ingredients in the first set (except the chicken) into the blender until smooth. Marinate chicken strips in this mixture for at least 2 hours. If using bamboo or wooden skewers, soak them in water first. Thread chicken onto skewers and grill. Alternatively you can broil or sear on a very hot pan.

Mix all the ingredients together for the peanut sauce. Dip and enjoy!

Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread

Yeah I said it. Cheesy. Garlic. Bread. With lots of butter. It's so easy and SO good. I'm not ashamed to admit this was pretty much my main course with a side of pasta for dinner.

Ingredients:

1 loaf Italian bread
1 stick butter
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp chives
Salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper to taste
About 2 cups Shredded mozzarella or pepper jack cheese

Using a good serrated knife, cut rows in the bread, an inch apart, then turn the bread and repeat to create little squares. But DO NOT CUT THE BREAD ALL THE WAY THROUGH! Make sure to only cut down to about a half inch from the bottom, so it all stays together.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add the garlic cloves. Stir for about 30 seconds then remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add the parsley, chives, salt and peppers. Place the bread onto a baking sheet. Drizzle the butter mixture in between the cuts on the bread, then pack some cheese into the cuts. Be generous here! Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melty and bread is crusty. Let cool slightly before serving.

Broccoli Alfredo Stuffed Shells

This recipe uses my alfredo sauce recipe which is also on this blog but I'll repost it below. You can add or substitute other veggies like mushrooms, spinach, kale etc, or shredded chicken.

Ingredients:

1 box large shell pasta, boiled al dente
About 1 cup shredded mozzarella
About 1 cup shredded parmigiano reggiano-peccorino Romano mix

For sauce:
1 stick butter
4 cloves minced garlic
1 quart heavy cream
1/2 cup grated parm
1 tbsp dried basil

For filling:
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded parm (I used the same parmigiano reggiano and peccorino Romano mix)
2 heaping tbsp ricotta
1 head broccoli, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
Salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper to taste

To make the sauce, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds, don't let it brown. Add the cream and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently. When it starts to simmer, slowly add the parm and stir continuously to blend. Add the basil. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the filling and then add 4-5 tbsp of the cooled alfredo sauce to bring it all together.

Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Fill each cooled shell with a heaping tbsp of filling and place in dish. Spoon sauce over the filled shells, sprinkle generous amounts of shredded mozzarella and the parm-romano cheese. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Bacon braised collard greens

I picked up a bunch of collard greens from the produce market because they were cheap, and we like some greens. But I won't lie, after I put them in the fridge, I tried to forget about them because I was secretly intimidated by them. They're really thick and tough and I assumed very bitter. I did some googling and found a lot of recipes for traditional southern style braised collard greens, and this here is my little mash up of a few. The greens turned out perfectly tender and so flavorful with none of the bitterness! The key to this recipe though is the turkey bacon!

Ingredients:

1 bunch collard greens
1 medium onion, diced
3 to 4 strips of turkey bacon (or beef), chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp oil
About 2-4 cups of chicken broth
Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste

Fill a large pot with water, add about 1/4 cup of salt and bring to a boil. In the meantime, fold a leaf of collards in half and slice the thick rib off. Repeat until all are finished. Stack up the leaves and slice into about 1/2 inches thick strips. Once the water is boiling add the greens and stir. After about 2 to 3 minutes drain the green in a colander. The blanching will help remove most of the bitterness.

In another pot or skillet, heat the oil and add the turkey bacon and sauté until they crisp up. Add the onion and garlic and stir until the garlic just starts to turn a golden color. Add the greens and stir well to coat. Add the broth, enough to just cover the greens along with a small pinch of salt. Cover and let simmer, stirring occasionally until the greens are tender and the liquid is dried up. Add pepper and crushed reds as desired.