Casserole #3 - Breakfast Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #3 - Breakfast Casserole

    I chose to "half" this recipe from 1999's The Centennial Harvest - A Collection of Recipes from The First Unitarian Church of Dallas. Per the directions, I prepared this casserole in the evening, covered with plastic and refrigerated overnight. First this morning, I pre-heated my oven, removed the casserole and the plastic, and baked for 40 minutes. I sprinkled with red pepper chili flakes. This casserole was yummy. I would recommend the recipe as I give it, especially if you are making this for one to four people. Double the recipe to serve eight to twelve people. Substitute spicy breakfast sausage like I did or use plain sausage. Also try turkey or chicken breakfast sausage. Serve with a sprinkle of red chili pepper flakes or drizzle your favorite salsa on top. 

Ingredients: 

1/2 lb breakfast sausage, browned

6 slices of bread

5 eggs

1/2 cup milk (I used oat milk)

1/2 cup grated/shredded cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In an 8x8 baking dish, lay four slices of bread. Tear the other two pieces of bread in half and squish the halves lengthwise on both sides of the first four slices. Sprinkle browned sausage crumbles evenly over the bread. In a small bowl mix eggs with milk, and salt and pepper; use a fork or whisk. Pour egg mixture over the bread and sausage. Evenly sprinkle cheese on top. Cover baking dish with plastic wrap or foil. Refrigerate overnight.  In the morning, pre-heat oven to 350 F and bake uncovered for 40 to 60 minutes; until the center is set (for me that was 40 minutes). Cool slightly, cut into squares and loosen the edges with a knife. Serve squares of casserole with salsa or red chili pepper flakes. 

Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole 

Fluffer-Nutter Open-Faced Sandwich

 Fluffer-Nutter Open-Faced Sandwich

    Okay, so this is the first of two recipes I planned to make from my 1963 "It's easy to be a Gourmet...with SAUCY Peanuts ...and other fine Oklahoma Peanut Recipes!" recipe booklet. As you would suspect, there are a lot of "curious" recipes in this booklet, which incorporate peanuts into recipes with ingredients that you might never think of trying together. Peanuts are nutritious and are an excellent source of monounsaturated fats; this booklet tells us that there are 5.57 grams of protein, 10.7 grams of fat, 16 mg calcium, .45 mg iron, 3.7 mg niacin, .028 mg riboflavin and .068 mg thiamine in 3/4 oz of salted peanuts. Current nutrition facts per one ounce of peanuts are: Calories: 161, Fat 14g, Sodium: 5.1 mg, Carbohydrates: 4.6g, Fiber: 2.4g, Sugars: 1.3 and Protein: 7.3 {Source: www.verywellfit.com}. You can find more information on peanuts at www.okpeanutcomm.org. 

The Fluffer-Nutter is listed in the Sandwiches section under "Peanut Spreads". It does not contain measurements, just ingredients. I give amounts below, but use more or less peanut butter if you like. If desired, add a sprinkle of chocolate shavings before or after toasting. I enjoyed this simple snack and I have a feeling you might also. 

Ingredients:

1 slice bread (white/wheat)

1 tbsp creamy or crunchy peanut butter

mini marshmallows, as many as you can fit in one layer on your slice of bread

chocolate shavings for decoration if desired

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees F. Spread your desired peanut butter on one slice of bread. Top with one layer of mini marshmallows. You are ready to toast. Place your slice of bread directly onto a rack in your oven and toast until marshmallows are puffy; your bread should be toasted on the bottom. Remove from oven and char the top of the marshmallows if you desire (I did!). I used a large Bic multi-purpose lighter. 

Fluffer-Nutter Open-Faced Sandwich

Week 32 - Vee's Homemade Bread

 Vee's Homemade Bread

Week 32 of 52

Bread #5

    So I was a big fan of the show "Orange Is The New Black" and when I saw a copy of the Orange Is The New Black cookbook, published in 2014, at Half Price Books a couple years ago, I had to get it. In the show, the character Vee, was not a pleasant person, but I think the thing about that show, was no matter how bad a character was, you pretty much saw at least some shred of humanity/decency in them. I can't remember what that was about Vee, but there was something there to you remind, you that she was a person.

    I want to say that this bead smelled good while it was baking. It took a long time to make (over 3 hrs), but it was worth it. It's made from a mixture of whole-wheat flour and flour, with flax seeds (I used ground flax seeds) and honey, so it felt healthy-ish.  I'm planning to make some grilled cheese sandwiches with it this week.  Can't wait. So, let me know how you like this.  Modifications/Notes in italics.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons, olive oil, plus a little more for oiling the bowl and pan (Honestly, I just used cooking spray for oiling the pan, the bowl, the parchment and the foil I used)

1/4 cup honey

2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup flax seeds (I used ground flax seeds)

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

1 1/2 cups water

Directions:

You can use an electric mixer or mix with a spoon (like I did). If using an electric mixer, use the dough hook. Combine all of the dry ingredients with the water, to form a "rough" dough. Rest the dough for 20 minutes, then knead by machine or by hand for 10 minutes, until it is smooth. It will stay a bit sticky-ish. 

Grease a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and cover with a clean dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. 

Grease a loaf pan (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch). Shape the dough into a log shape, place in the loaf pan and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap (I used parchment paper, because I didn't have plastic; you could use parchment also as it worked just fine) lightly greased and let the dough rise for another hour. It could rise about 1 inch above the rim of the loaf pan. Mine didn't seem like it was an inch above the rim of the pan, but I think it turned out fine). Towards the end of this "rising", pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Remove the plastic wrap/parchment paper and place your pan in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes and then "tent" a piece of lightly oiled foil over your loaf and continue baking for another 25 minutes, or until firm and browned on top. Remove from oven, remove the loaf from the pan and cool on a wire rack, to cool completely (or at least 15-20 minutes, because you don't want to burn yourself) before slicing.

Vee's Homemade Bread

Week 25 - Tomato Bread

 Tomato Bread

Week 25 of 52

Bread #4

So I'm behind in posting (I didn't get this post made last week). To be honest, I made the Week 26 Recipe before I made this. I had to have time for the baking and didn't have that time until this weekend. This Tomato Bread recipe comes from American Women's Bicentennial Cook Book 1776-1976. This book was published in 1975 and was "A Horizon Project of the DeSoto, Texas American Revolution Bicentennial Committee". My copy was a gift to someone named "Kathy", from her mom, on Christmas Day 1976. She said "On the occasion of our nations bi-centennial celebration. Keep it for my great grand-children's celebration of our tricentennial!". That Kathy obviously did not pass this copy on to her children and now I've used it. 

I'll be honest, this recipe was a FAIL for me. I can't remember the last time I tried making a yeast bread. I don't know exactly what I did wrong. Was it one step or more than one step, that I messed up? The bread didn't rise, but I still tasted it and it was okay. I think if it had risen the way it should have, it would have been quite enjoyable. *As I typed out the directions below, I realized that I think that last step of letting it "raise" for one hour after putting the loaves in the pan, is one step I forgot.* I am betting it would have made a good bread for a grilled cheese sandwich. Even though it didn't work for me, you should try it. I would like to try it again and make those grilled cheese sandwiches. My modification is in italics. 

Ingredients:

2 cups tomato juice

2 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup catsup 

1 package active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

7 cups flour, sifted

2 tablespoons butter, softened & 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning mixed together and spread on the baked loaves (optional)

Instructions:

Heat tomato juice and butter until butter melts. Add sugar, salt and catsup and cool until lukewarm. Sprinkle yeast on warm water and stir to dissolve. Add tomato mixture and 3 cups of the flour to yeast. Beat with electric mixer for two minutes at medium, scraping the bowl occasionally. Mix in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough that leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes). Place in lightly greased bowl, turning dough to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (1 to 1 1/2 hours). Punch down and divide in half. Cover and let rest for ten minutes. Shape into loaves and please in greased 9x5.3 inch loaf pans. Cover and let rise until almost doubled (1 hour). Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. Makes two loaves. 

Tomato Bread (Oops. Failed.)

Week 17 - Peanut Butter Bacon Bread

  Peanut Butter Bacon Bread

Recipe 17 - 52 in 2022

Bread #3

    There's just something about the sweet & salty combination. I first made this bread a few years ago. It is from a recipe booklet produced by the Oklahoma Peanut Commission. There is not date in the booklet, but from the pictures, fonts and coloring, I believe it is mid-late 1960s to the early 1970s. There are truly some recipes which I would never want to try, that obviously taste good to some people, and that's okay. An example being the Peanut Seafood Salad, which has includes rice, tuna, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, lemon and peanuts. That said, there are numerous recipes which I want to try and I obviously liked the Peanut Butter Bacon Bread, if I decided to make it again, for this blog.  I just had a warm slice and it was yummy. I added butter and some apricot jam. 

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 tsp melted shortening

1 cup milk

1 egg, well, beaten

1 cup peanut butter

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 cup chopped unsalted peanuts (I used about 1/2 cup, because 1) that's all I had and 2) I used some pretty chunky peanut butter)

1 cup bacon chips, crisp (chopped, crisp bacon)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a regular sized loaf pan. Melt shortening. Add sugar, milk and egg to a bowl and mix, before adding the shortening (re-melt the shortening a bit if needed; remember even though it's a small amount, you don't want it hot, because you don't want to 'scramble' the egg). Add peanut butter and stir to combine. Mix in salt, flour and baking powder (It may be a little clumpy looking). Stir in peanuts and bacon. Pour batter into your greased loaf pan and let rest for 20-25 minutes. Bake in your pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Makes 1 loaf. Serve warm with butter and jam if you wish. 

   

Peanut Butter Bacon Bread

Sliced Peanut Butter Bacon Bread

Peanut Recipe Booklet by the Oklahoma Peanut Commission; Peanuts are saucy!

Week 14 - Josefinas

 Josefinas

Recipe 14 - 52 in 2022

Appetizer #2

    This week's appetizer recipe comes from "Cooking With Love" by Vivian Rogers Lee and Linda Rogers Pointer, published in 1979. I made a couple small changes to this recipe. For the record, I used larger, thin slices of pieces of sourdough bread, rather than the loaf of mini French bread cut thinly and I added half of a teaspoon of spicy chili blend. This recipe was very, easy to put together and is pretty tasty. I would definitely make this again. Slices of mini cocktail bread or crostini, would work great. I actually think you could put it on almost any kind of bread and it would still taste good. As always, modifications will be in italics. 

Ingredients:

1 miniature (24-inch) loaf French bread, thinly sliced (Thinly sliced sourdough bread worked great {for bigger pieces})

1 cup chopped green chilies, rinsed and seeded (I used 2 4oz cans of diced green chilies, drained, which was almost a full cup) 

1/2 lb butter, softened

1 cup mayonnaise

1 clove garlic, crushed (I used 1 teaspoon minced garlic from a jar)

1/2 lb shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar Cheese (I used what I had available; a combination of cheddar and cheddar jack)

1/2 teaspoon spicy chili seasoning

Directions:

Toast bread on one side and set aside. Mix together butter, chilies and garlic; spread on the untoasted side of bread. Top with a mixture of mayonnaise and cheese, spreading completely to edges. I chose to blend all ingredients together, including the cheese, before spreading on the untoasted side of the bread; I liked how it turned out. Place under broiler until brown and puffy; for me this was two to three minutes. Serve immediately. 

Large Josefinas w/a cameo appearance by my dog, Mia

                                 I made six slices, so I have a lot of the mixture left over; that's okay.                                 I'll be able to enjoy it more this week

Week 2 - Five-Grain Buttermilk-Cranberry Bread

 Five-Grain Buttermilk-Cranberry Bread

Recipe 2 of 52 in 2022

Bread #1

    This week's category was "Bread" and I chose this Five-Grain Buttermilk-Cranberry Bread from the Betty Crocker: The Big Book of Bread, published in 2013.  I tend to gravitate towards old and/or well used cookbooks. I've only made a couple recipes from this book (the Zesty Cheddar Bread on page 124 is a favorite), but I really like this book.  The cover, the pictures and everything. It's just a pretty book and includes more traditional recipes with gluten-free and bread machine recipes.  

  So, what did I think of this bread? I learned that the crust was a bit 'crumbly' when I cut pieces, but otherwise the texture of the bread was good and I liked the flavor.  I served myself warm bread with butter. This bread would be good as is or cut slices and use it for flavorful French Toast.  Let me know if you try it and what you think.   

Ingredients:

1 cup 5-grain rolled whole-grain cereal or old-fashioned oats (I used oats)

3 cups white whole wheat flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup sweetened, dried cranberries, cherries or raisins (Although I actually have home-dried cherries, I used store-bought cranberries)

1 egg

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Directions:

Heat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray. I used cooking spray and a Pampered Chef stoneware pan. Save and set aside, 1 tablespoon from your cup of oatmeal/whole-grain cereal. In a large bowl, mix your cereal/oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or a fork, until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Stir in your cranberries/cherries/raisins. 

In a small bowl, beat the egg and buttermilk, using a whisk or fork, until well blended. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the buttermilk and egg mixture. Stir the rest of the buttermilk and egg mixture into your dry ingredients and stir until mixture is moistened. The dough will be soft. Remove the dough and on a floured surface, knead the dough 5 or 6 times on a floured surface. *Note: the dough was really sticky and I 'kneaded' it a few times, but didn't really concentrate on the 5 or 6 times, because of how sticky and messy it was. In my humble opinion, it wasn't 'kneadable' (I just made that up), so I just mixed it around on my floured surface a few times and shaped it.* Transfer the dough to your cookie sheet and shape into a 7-inch round loaf. Use a sharp knife to cut an "X" into the top of the loaf. Brush the reserved buttermilk and egg mixture on top of the loaf and sprinkle the oatmeal/cereal mixture you set aside at the beginning. *Note: I forgot that part, but it was fine.*

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown. I did 35 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack and cool for 30 minutes.  Use a serrated knife to cut slices.  You can get about 12 slices or wedges. 

   

Five-Grain Buttermilk-Cranberry Bread

Five-Grain Buttermilk-Cranberry Bread w/butter

Betty Crocker "The Big Book of Bread"

Beef In Guinness

 Beef In Guinness

    I know, I know. It's been awhile since I've written.  Life has been a lot lately and I just haven't been cooking much from my cookbooks.  I also had considered discontinuing my blog, but I have decided to keep it going and just cook and write.  Even if it is just for me.  

    This recipe is from a recipe in "Irish Country Cooking - Traditional and modern recipes from the Emerald Isle", published in 1995.  First off, this was pretty much my single most expensive recipe to make. The cost of the skirt steak I bought almost deterred me, but I'd had my mind set on making this, as it was the winner of a poll I ran on what I should make next.  Some of the directions did not make any sense and that was partly due to directions like "Bring to the boil....", but I made it work.  

    The bad grammar and nonsensical, incomplete instructions (I'm not perfect myself, but this was bad) were distracting, but like I said, I made it work.  That is kind of the cool thing about cooking.  The recipe can be modified as necessary and sometimes it still turns out good. This would be perfect with chunked or mashed potatoes (Hello! It's in an Irish cookbook), which I somehow had neglected to buy, so I served with rice and a slice of toasted sourdough bread.   I thought the dish turned out pretty good and I would think about making it again, when beef is less expensive.  

Ingredients:

2-3lbs Beef Skirt Steak

Seasoned Flour (It doesn't say what to season it with, so I used a little pepper and some crushed Italian seasoning)

Oil or "dripping" (I guess that's supposed to be "drippings"; I used a bit of oil in my pan)

2 Onions, sliced (I used sweet onions)

3 Carrots, sliced (I used 2 carrots, because I simply did not buy the correct amount)

4 Garlic, 4 whole cloves (I left them whole, but I don't see why you couldn't slice the garlic)

1 Large bunch of herbs (Unspecified; I used the crushed Italian seasoning)

Salt to taste (I didn't add salt)

Pepper to taste 

2 1/2 Cups Beef Stock

2 Bottles of Guinness beer (I used extra stout)

1 Oyster per person, optional (I don't eat oysters and I don't understand why this is an optional ingredient; like why put an oyster on top of each serving?)

Directions:

Season your flour in a small bowl. Cut up your skirt steak into small pieces, about 2 to 3 inches and dip into your seasoned flour. Fry in hot oil. The recipe does not specify how long to cook it.  I cooked for several minutes to ensure it was fairly well browned. No need to thoroughly cook, since there is another 2 hours of cooking time. I removed the browned meat to a platter and cooked the onions and garlic in the oil. The recipe says to add the meat, onions and "other vegetables" (there's only one other vegetable {the carrots}) to a casserole dish, followed by the herbs and seasoning (the salt and pepper, I guess). I used a cast iron dutch oven for the whole recipe, because the recipe itself calls for bringing the ingredients to a boil, turning to low and cooking for 1 1/2 hours, before adding the Guinness beer. And to me, that means keeping it on the stove and a casserole dish is for putting in an oven.  So, getting back to it, after adding the beer, bring it back to a boil and then turn to low and simmer for another 30 minutes.  

The recipe instructions in the cookbook call for removing the meat with a slotted spoon and serving,  then reducing the liquid to half for the sauce. Then, it says to pour the sauce over the beef again, season to taste and then add the oysters if you are using oysters and serve with hot, crusty bread.  What I did, was remove the meat, carrots and onions and make a light gravy with the liquid, before re-combining everything in a large casserole dish for serving. This helped make sure all of the ingredients were hot.

If you try this, feel free to comment. 

Guinness Extra Stout

Browning the skirt steak

Skirt steak, onion, carrots, garlic and seasoning ready for the beef stock

My finished product! Beef in Guinness

    

Zesty Cheddar Bread

 Zesty Cheddar Bread

    This recipe comes to us from Betty Crocker's The Big Book of Bread, printed in 2013. I love this recipe and have made it with both chipotle peppers as called for in the recipe and with diced green chilis.  You can change it up a bit, by adding more chipotle or using a different cheese. I like using a monterrey jack cheese. This bread is so good hot and with butter.  Try adding diced Italian flavored tomato and Italian seasonings instead of the chipotle or green chilis. I've toasted and buttered slices and added a generous sprinkle of parmesan, because you can't have too much cheese. However you decide to make it, I'm sure you will love it. My adaptations are in blue.

Ingredients:

1 Cup Buttermilk

1/3 Cup Butter, melted and cooled (1/3 Cup Unsalted Butter)

1 Tablespoon sugar

2 Tablespoons finely chopped chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (2 Tablespoons diced green chilis)

2 Eggs

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 Cup Shredded Cheddar (4oz) (1 Cup Monterrey Jack Cheese)

2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees and grease just the bottom of an 8x4 or 9x5 inch loaf pan. You can use shortening or cooking spray. Mix together the buttermilk, butter, eggs, sugar and chilis. Mix until well combined and add the rest of your ingredients. Pop this baby in the oven and bake an 8-inch pan for 45 to 55 minutes and a 9-inch pan for 40 to 50 minutes. Your bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool your bread in the pan, on a wire cooling rack for 15 minutes (I brushed around some butter on top of my loaf). Run a knife around the loaf in the pan to loosen the bread from the sides and remove from the pan, setting it top side up. 

Zesty Cheddar Bread

    If you try this, let me know what you think. 

Cackleberry Casserole

 Cackleberry Casserole

    This oddly named recipe comes to us from the April 1981 edition of the Laurel (Iowa) Centennial Cookbook 1881-1981. It was submitted by Donna Hughes. I liked this dish, but I would either not add salt and I would use low-sodium pork sausage if I could find it. I adapted the recipe a bit, but will attach a picture of the original recipe, so you can see that. If I made this again, I might also consider using less of the sausage; maybe 1/2 pound to 3/4 of a pound. The original recipe calls for 1 pound. The original recipe also calls for shredded cheddar. I used a finely shredded Cheddar-Jack mix and I used a spicy mustard seasoning rather than plain dry mustard. I used wheat bread instead of the white that the original recipe calls for and, I also used the two butt ends of the loaf in addition to the two slices called for. I really liked the texture of the bread and the nice, crusty top of the casserole. 

Ingredients:

1 pound pork sausage browned

6 eggs, beaten

2 to 3 slices of white or wheat bread, cubed

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or use cheddar/jack mix like I did)

Directions:

    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of your casserole dish with cooking spray or grease with butter. Cut your bread slices into cubes. Brown your sausage in a skillet, drain and place in the bottom of your casserole dish. Spread the bread cubes over the sausage. Crack your eggs into a large, mixing bowl. Add your salt and dry mustard and beat well. Stir your cup of shredded cheese into your eggs and pour this mixture over your bread cubes.  Make sure you get egg mixture on all of the bread.  Place in your oven and bake for 45 minutes. The original recipe says 45 minutes to an hour, but 45 minutes was perfect for my oven.  Serve this with a side of fruit salad. Makes 4 to 5 adult sized servings, 

    The verdict? It was good, but like I said, I would cut how much salt I used and would probably not add salt separately. I liked this also, because it has only six ingredients and was really easy to make. Like I also said, I liked the texture of the bread and the crustiness of the top. Let me know if you try it. 

**I think you could totally make this as a vegetarian or vegan dish. I know you can get faux sausage crumbles and someone who is knowledgeable, could likely find vegan egg and cheese substitutes. I'm neither vegetarian or vegan, but I know there are cheese substitutes; I'm not sure if there are vegan egg substitutes. 

Cackleberry Casserole

Crumbled Sausage

Bread Cubes Covering Sausage

Casserole Topped Off With Egg and Cheese Mixture

Done! Side View To Show You This Casserole Dish. 

Top View of Casserole

Donna Hughes' Original Cackleberry Casserole Recipe

    

Country Club Breakfast

 Country Club Breakfast

        This recipe comes to us from an April 1981 edition of the Laurel (Iowa) Centennial Cookbook 1881-1981. A lady named Pat Howard submitted this recipe.  I've done desserts, breads and main dishes and thought it was about time I made some breakfast. I made this on January 1, 2021 and I have to say I am pleased with how it turned out. Although, I can't figure out why it is called "Country Club Breakfast", because there is nothing fancy about it.  I made a couple small changes, but one of the things I really liked about this recipe is that you can modify it very, easily. For example, I used 4 eggs not 3. I just simply thought 3 eggs was not enough and the recipe calls for 1 to 1 1/2 lbs of ham (cut up) and I only had 1/2 lb of cut up ham. What did I do? I cooked several slices of bacon, which I cut up into small pieces and added with the ham. You could easily add diced chili's, diced tomatoes, use shredded cheese instead of sliced and you could use sausage. With less than a lb of meat,  I had plenty of meat in my dish. I would say that 1 1/2 lbs of meat would be the limit for this dish. Don't like meat? Use crumbled tofu. Another modification I made was I didn't have regular dry mustard, so I used the Spicy Mustard seasoning from Trader Joe's that I have. I somehow didn't see that the recipe said to cover and refrigerate the dish overnight.  Oops. But you know what? I really liked the texture of how it came out, so I guess you could do it either way.  Preparing the night would definitely be a time saver. 

    Would I make this again? Yes, most definitely, only I want to maybe try shredder cheddar and add diced green chilis. 

    To start, I placed 6 slices of white bread in the bottom of a 9x13 pan, which I had greased. One slice of cheddar cheese on each piece of bread came next, followed by spreading my cut up ham and bacon over the slices. I beat the eggs, milk, salt and mustard and poured this mixture of the ingredients in the pan. The next item was melted butter.  The recipe calls for melted "oleo", which is what margarine used to be called. I don't have margarine, so I used butter. One whole stick!!!! The recipe calls for spreading dried bread cubes over top, after you pour your melted margarine/butter. I lightly toasted about 6 pieces of bread. I didn't really measure, but after I cut up my lightly toasted bread, I just sprinkled all of it over top and placed it in my preheated oven at 325 degrees for an hour. 

    The cubed bread was nice and toasty, but not "burned" toasty. And the best part was that the bread cubes had soaked up some of that butter flavor. This recipe could serve 6. Add a fruit salad on the side if you like. And I think this might be nice with a hollandaise sauce drizzled over top when served, so if that interests you, go ahead and try it!

    As always, if you make this, let me know what you think. 

    

Orange Bread

 Orange Bread

    I ran a poll on Twitter last week, to determine what I would make next for my blog. The four choices were Raisin Bread, Orange Bread, Nut Bread and Grapenuts Bread (Yes, that Grapenuts).  In a stunning result, there was a tie between Orange Bread and Grapenuts Bread!! I ran a tie-breaker poll and Orange Bread won. I decided though that I would bake the runner-up next week.  So now we'll talk about Orange Bread. 

    Like I've said before, a lot of these old community cookbooks do not include pan sizes, oven temps and measurements are not always given.  The Orange Bread recipe did not give a measurement for salt, called for 4 teaspoons of baking powder (what???), did not say what size pan (I used a regular loaf pan) and again, no oven temp (I used 350 degrees).  I had fun making this, even though I was worried about how it would turn out with so much baking power and having to guess at how much salt to use.  I decided to "split the difference" and do two teaspoons of salt.  It was a little bit of a pain to prepare the orange peel.  I used a zester and then still tried to grind the pieces.  I was pleased with how the pieces of peel turned out.  Sifting the flour, baking powder and salt not one, but four times, was a pain also, but I did it.  I cooked the orange peel with sugar, which made a bit of an orange syrup and set it aside to cool.  After letting the syrup cool for awhile, I sifted those ingredients and set them aside. Then I combined the milk with the egg and added the orange syrup before slowly adding the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients.  I lightly greased and floured the loaf pan and I was ready to go.  

    So, I had decided to bake the bread for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.  When I checked it, it had spilled outside one side of the pan. I pulled the pan out, scraped off the bit which had overflowed and shoved it back in there, because it wasn't done.  I think (I'm clearly so well-organized that I don't remember how much longer I baked it; so helpful!) that I baked it for another 15-20 minutes and took it out to cool.  

Once it was cool, I cut into it and surprisingly, I really liked how the texture looked. I cut a slice and put a bit of butter on it and nervously tried it.  The verdict?? Definitely a bit too salty.  One teaspoon may work well.  It wasn't super orange-y flavored, but it was good (other than tasting too salty) and the texture was good.  It wasn't dessert bread texture (soft like banana bread), but definitely like regular bread.  

The next day I thought I'd try to make French toast with it and that turned out really well.  It was yummy enough, that I'm going to slice the rest of the loaf, to freeze and make French toast with when I want it.

Will I make this again? Yes, because I am determined to get the baking powder & salt combination right; along with the baking time and a stronger orange flavor.  Like I said, I think I will try less salt and maybe less baking powder. 

Anyhow, pictures below.  Thank you to Mrs. B. Christerson who submitted this recipe to the church community cookbook which started this all. 

1) The Recipe

2) The orange syrup

3) The "Disaster" (It spilled into the bottom of my oven)

4) The good and bad sides of the loaf after it was cooled

5) The view of what the bread actually looked like; I was trying to show the little speckles of orange peel in there as well as the texture