September Potluck Club

It's ALIVE!  Yes, the potluck club blog is back in business.  Please excuse my long absence, I've been a very naughty blogger.  We started the 2011-2012 HOSC season with a September potluck club meeting at my house.  I opted for no theme and let everyone choose willy-nilly.  We had a fun time and ate some delicious food.

Overnight French Toast

prepared by Jenn H.

• 1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 - 10 oz loaf  French bread - sliced into 1-1/2-inch thick slices
• 4 large eggs
• 2-1/2 cups milk
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons  ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter - melted

Stir together first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook stirring constantly, 5 minutes or until mixture is bubbly. Pour mixture evenly into a lightly greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Arrange bread slices over syrup.

Whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, and salt; gradually pour over bread slices using all of the egg mixture (may seem like too much, but it isn’t). Cover and chill at least 8 hours or overnight.

Stir together granulated sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over bread. Drizzle evenly with 1/4 cup melted butter.  Bake at 350º for 45 to 50 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

Serve with bacon or sausage to complement the sweet flavor and custard-like texture. No need for additional syrup as this recipe makes its own.

Chunky Vegetarian Chili

prepared by Kristin

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

prepared by Kristin

NOTE: Kristin added 1 additional tsp of nutmeg.

Chocolate Waffles & Caramel Banana Topping

Chocolate Waffles

Submitted by Tiffany O'Sheal. Original recipe was found at HowStuffWorks

Yield: Makes about 6 waffles

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:
1. Preheat waffle iron; grease lightly.
2. Sift flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and salt into large bowl. Combine milk, eggs, oil and vanilla in small bowl. Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients until moistened.
3. For each waffle, pour about 3/4 cup batter into waffle iron. Close lid and bake until steaming stops.

Caramel Banana Topping
Submitted by Tiffany O'Sheal. Original recipe was found at Real Mom Kitchen

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla
3 medium bananas, sliced
In 1-quart saucepan, mix all topping ingredients except bananas. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally; remove from heat. Gently stir in bananas until well coated. Keep warm. (This topping makes enough to cover 3 large belgian sized waffles)

Berry Granola Bars

Amanda M
From Cooking For 2

Ingredients:
-2 T. brown sugar
-1/8 tsp. vanilla
-1 egg
-2/3 c. oats
-2 tsp. corn syrup
-3 T. flour
-1 tsp. molasses
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-1/8 tsp. baking soda
-1/4 c. chopped pecans
-2 T. dried blueberries
-2 T. dried cranberries

Directions:
In a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, corn syrup, molasses and vanilla. Combine the oats, flour, cinnamon and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture, and mix well. Stir in pecans, blueberries and cranberries. Press into an 8 X 4 loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes, or until set and edges are browned. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Yields ~8 bars.

Baked French Toast Casserole

Melissa G

Originally found on:
http://www.pauladeen.com/recipe_view/204

Ingredients: 1 loaf French bread (13 to 16 ounces) Butter, for pan 8 large eggs 2 cup half-and-half 1 cup milk 2 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg dash salt Praline Topping, recipe follows Raspberry Syrup, recipe follows
Directions:
Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch thick each. (Use any extra bread for garlic toast or bread crumbs). Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. The next day, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread Praline Topping evenly over the bread and bake for 45 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with Raspberry Syrup. Prep Time: 20 minutes Inactive Cook Time: 8 hours Cook Time: 45 minutes Difficulty: Medium Yield: 6-8 servings Praline Topping: 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 cup chopped pecans 2 tablespoons light corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2-teaspoon ground nutmeg Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Spread over bread as directed above. Raspberry Syrup: 1 cup raspberry preserves 3 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons raspberry liqueur (recommended: Framboise) Combine ingredients in a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Stir until warm and thinned out like syrup.

Heart Healthy Blueberry Muffins

Rachel A
(I seem to remember seeing this recipe in the cookbook, too.-Melissa G)

For Muffins:
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 T. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. nutmeg
a few dashes of cinnamon (to your liking)
½ c. egg beaters
1 c. vanilla soy milk
1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/3 c. Splenda brown sugar
4 oz. cinnamon or strawberry applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1-½ c. frozen or fresh blueberries


Preheat oven to 400°.

Mix together:
flour
baking powder
nutmeg
cinnamon
salt

In another bowl, mix together:
egg beaters
applesauce
milk
sugar
vanilla

Add dry ingredients to wet, blending just until mixed. Batter will be lumpy. Add blueberries.

Streusel:
Combine all ingredients until crumbly

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Top with streusel. Bake 12-15 mins, until toothpick comes out clean.

Orange-Honey Rice Pudding Parfaits

Laura T


1/2 c. arborio rice
3 c. milk
2 oranges - zest in long strips (can do it with a vegetable peeler)

For rice:
Combine rice, 2-1/2 c. milk, zest from 1 orange in a bowl that is heat safe. Place bowl over pan of simmering water. Cover. Stir occasionally Cook for 50-60 minutes. Remove orange zest.



1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. honey
1 lg. egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
Strawberry or Raspberry preserves

For custard:
In small sauce pan heat cream, 1/2 c. milk, and zest from 1 orange until simmering. In a bowl, whisk sugar, honey, egg, vanilla and salt. In a slow stream add hot milk to the sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Return mixture to sauce pan over medium heat and stir constantly until thickened.

Pour custard over rice and remove orange zest. Stir. Refrigerate.



*Toasted Granola*
2-1/2 c. granola
1/4 c. honey
3 T. melted butter
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

For granola:
Preheat oven to 325°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all granola ingredients. Spread on pan and bake 15-20 min. Let cool on pan.



I used 2 oz shot glasses but anything can be used. I put 2 teaspoons of rice on the bottom and a layer of raspberry preserves followed by the granola and another teaspoon of rice. Topped with a small piece of orange for garnish.

Jimmy Dean Breakfast Casserole

from Sandi A.

*this was always a hit at playgroup parties

Jimmy Dean Breakfast Casserole

recipe can also be viewed here

Ingredients:
1 pkg.Regular Flavor Jimmy Dean Pork Sausage
10 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups milk
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups cubed bread
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped (optional)
1/2 cup thin-sliced green onions (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 F. In large skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink. In large mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, mustard and salt; stir well. Distribute half the bread evenly in a buttered 9" x 13" x 2" baking dish. Sprinkle with half the pepper, half the cheese, half the sausage and half of each optional ingredient. Repeat layering using remaining bread, pepper, cheese, sausage and optional ingredients. Pour egg mixture evenly over casserole. Bake uncovered for 55-60 minutes, or until eggs are set. Tent with foil if top begins to brown too quickly.

Note: May be assembled ahead and refrigerated up to 12 hours before baking.
Serving size: 6 servings

Biscuits with Dirty Sausage Gravy

from Eileen C
as seen on Food Network's "Two Dudes Catering"
recipe can be found here
Recipe courtesy John Shook and Vinny Dotolo
*please note they also have a recipe for homemade biscuits, I did not make the recipe for biscuits, I did store bought instead.

Sausage Gravy:
1 tablespoon butter
1 log package sausage (recommended: Jimmy Dean)
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup maple syrup
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

I also added about 1 heaping tablespoon of flour to thicken it up.

For the sausage gravy:
Directions
In a large heavy bottom pot melt the tablespoon of butter and brown the sausage for about 5 minutes. Add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Once at a simmer, add the hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce and maple syrup. Simmer the gravy for 15 minutes and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Assemble by placing a biscuit on a plate and covering it with about 1/2 a cup of the sausage gravy.

Breakfast Quiches to Go

from Shannon E.
she found this recipe here

INGREDIENTS
2 (8 ounce) cans Pillsbury® refrigerated garlic butter crescent dinner rolls
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 Eggland's Best eggs
1 small onion, chopped
1 (9 ounce) box Green Giant® frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed to drain
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese


DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 16 (2 3/4x1 1/4-inch) muffin cups with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray.

Separate each can of crescent dough into 8 triangles. Press 1 triangle on bottom and up side of each muffin cup.

In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in onion, spinach, salt and pepper until well mixed. Fold in cheese. Fill each cup to the top with egg mixture (do not overfill).

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean and edges of rolls are golden brown. Remove from pan. Serve warm.

FOOTNOTES
High Altitude (3500-6500 feet): Bake 18 to 23 minutes.
Submitted by
Diane Denny, Jacksonville, FL
Bake-Off® Contest 43, 2008
Bake-Off is a registered trademark of General Mills ©2009
2009 © and ®/™ of General Mills
Eggland's Best is a registered trademark of Eggland's Best, Inc.
®CRISCO is a trademark of The J.M. Smucker Company

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

Melissa G

I just made these this morning, and they were pretty good. I got the recipe from:

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/spiced-pumpkin-waffles-3827?kw=ist

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon(s) baking powder
• 2 teaspoon(s) cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon(s) ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) fresh-ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) cloves
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cup(s) buttermilk
• 1 cup(s) pumpkin purée
• 1/2 cup(s) dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup(s) (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract

---

Directions

• 1. Preheat a waffle iron. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl and set aside.
• 2. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, pumpkin purée, sugar, butter, and vanilla in another large bowl until smooth. While whisking, add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.
• 3. Generously coat the waffle iron with vegetable oil and cook the batter in the waffle iron as recommended in the manufacturer's instructions. Repeat with remaining batter.