Saturday, March 31, 2012

Sausage, egg, & cheese tart

Brunch.. I sort of love that word. It is made up of two words that I love, breakfast and lunch. What's not to love?? So a few of my friends and I decided we wanted to have brunch selfishly of course while our kids were at school. I wracked my head and brainstormed of course with Google to figure out what I wanted to make. I finally settled on a tart and/or cinnamon roll cake. First cinnamon roll cake.. yum! It saves me from having to make home made cinnamon rolls which is a good thing because working with dough is seriously not my thing. so I ended up deciding on the tart because it was quick, painless, & of course easy which is never a bad thing in my book. So there you have it. That is my brainstorming process..Google, it never fails me. I <3 you Google! Seriously make this! You won't regret it I promise, your loved ones will love you even more and your friends might just stay your friends longer after they have a bite of this! Photobucket

Photobucket

You start out with crust (store bought or hand made). I was going for quick and easy so store bought it is. Last time I worked with dough.. it wasn't pretty. In fact I may or may not be traumatized from it, I am talking nightmares where a dough monster tries to get me people.

Photobucket

I strayed from the recipe and added green peppers. A MUST!!! Seriously this adds so much flavor & I can't imagine eating this without it.

Photobucket

This is where you need to pay attention. DO NOT use the bag shredded cheese. Buy a big block and shred your own. It seriously does make a difference. Trust me.

Photobucket

Slice a tart apple thinly and just stick em on there. Be creative.. Make a pattern or even a face =). Honestly this didn't need the apples. They didn't really add anything to it but I guess if you feel like sticking them on there.. more power to you. Next time I make this I won't put them on there. I may stick a pepper or two on top or something.


Sausage, egg, & cheese tart

Ingredients:

4 Eggs

16 oz breakfast sausage, cooked and drained (I used Jimmy Dean Country Mild)

1 green bell pepper or any veggies you want to add

2/3 cup milk

1 (heaping) cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 tart apple, cut into thin slices

1 pie crust (pre-made or homemade)

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°

Place the pie crust in a 10″ tart pan. Bake for 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack.

Cook breakfast sausage & green pepper in a medium skillet, drain.

In a medium-sized bowl whisk eggs, then add milk and salt and pepper. Whisk again to combine.

Spoon sausage into partially baked pie crust, sprinkle cheese on top of sausage and pour egg mixture evenly over sausage and cheese.

Finally, arrange apple slices on top.

Bake 40-45 minutes until center is set.

Serve warm, room temperature, or even cold.

*Can be made ahead to serve the next day and can also be frozen.

*Store covered in refrigerator for up to 3 days

Recipe by cookies & cups adapted by me!

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Amazingly Moist Banana Cake

So I tried to make a lemon cake loaf bread thing to kind of brighten up my day. Belgium has been very dark and dreary and without sun the last few days. So I thought something lemony would brighten it up. Yeah.. that was a total fail. So I thought well bananas never fail me, they always make whatever I am cooking with bananas in it moist and super yum all the time! So I thought yup banana cake it is.

This is a new baking method I have never tried before. You cook at a low temp. and then straight from the oven to the freezer. I HIGHLY recommend that you DO NOT use a glass pan for this. Glass tends to crack when exposed from hot to freezing and vice versa well from my experience anyways.

I am not a professional picture taker by any means so please don't judge the final product based on the picture. Seriously make this cake! I promise you won't regret it.

Photobucket

Recipe adapted by me from Mybakingaddiction

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/8 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 275°. Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
2. In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
4. In a large bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter, 2 1/8 cups sugar, & cinnamon until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then stir in 2 tsp vanilla.
5.Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Stir in banana mixture.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Remove from oven and place directly into the freezer for 45 minutes. This will make the cake very moist.
8. For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Add icing sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed until frosting is smooth.
9. Spread on cooled cake.

Tips- The cake needed to bake a little longer. If you need to bake it longer set it for 10 mins at a time and continue to check. Don't over bake it will affect the moisture of the cake.

Enjoy!