Cinnamon Toast Casserole

This was good for our Sunday morning breakfast. 

• 5 cups bread cubes (I cut up some french rolls that were going stale)
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup Bisquick mix (optional)
• 1/4 cup white sugar, divided
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, divided
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 TBS butter

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Place the butter on the bottom of an 8x8" pan and place in oven for a few minutes until melted (to grease pan)
2. Line bottom of pan with bread cubes.  In a seperate bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, and Bisquick.  Mix in 2 TBS sugar, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, and cinnamon.  Pour over bread and let stand 10 minutes.  Top with remaining sugar.  Bake in preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Here's an idea for a topping:

• 1 large apple, cut into cubes
• 1 TBS butter
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. In small skillet, saute butter and apples until apples are soft (about 5 minutes).  Mix in cinnamon and put on top of cooked cinnamon toast casserole.

Or you could make a glaze to put on top.

Chicken Stir Fry

I tweaked the recipe just a little to add a little more zip, and now it's yummmmmy.  The kids all chowed down on it too.  I was impressed.

• 4 (4oz) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 3 TBS corn starch
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• 3 TBS cooking oil, divided (I used olive oil)
• 2 cups broccoli floretts
• 1 cup sliced celery (didn't add)
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1 small onion, cut into wedges
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp chilcken bouilon granules  (I replaced this and the water with a cup of chicken broth)

1. Cut chicken into 1/2-in. strips; place in a resealable plastic bag. Add cornstarch and toss to coat. Combine soy sauce, ginger and garlic powder; add to bag and shake well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of oil; stir-fry chicken until no longer pink, about 3-5 minutes. Remove and keep warm. Add remaining oil; stir- fry broccoli, celery, carrots and onion for 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add water and bouillon. Return chicken to pan. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Chicken Taquitos

Please excuse the messy background.  I was in too much of a hurry to snap the shot before the sun went down and/or the baby started crying.

These were very yummy, good enough and pretty enough for company, but easy enough for a weeknight.  Sooooo much better than the frozen store-bought taquitos, there's not even a comparison. 

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked, shredded*
• 1 1/2 cups shredded smoked cheddar and swiss cheese blend (if you can't find the blend, you can just use smoked cheddar)
• 1 (7oz) can salsa verde (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 20 6-in corn tortillas
• 1 quart oil for frying or a little olive oil for baking**
• 1 cup sour cream (optional)
• 1 cup chunky salsa (optional)
• 1 cup guacamole (optional)

1. Heal oil in deep fryer to 350**.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together chicken, cheese, salsa verde, and onions.  Spoon about 1 1/2 TBS chicken mixture into soft*** tortilla.  You'll want your tortilla about 1" wide when rolled.  The filling shouldn't come close to the ends or it will fall out.  Secure with toothpicks.
3. Fry rolls 4 or 5 at a time, so they have enough room to cook evenly.  Drain on paper towels, top with sour cream, salsa, and/or guacamole.

Ok, here are my notes. 

*To make the shredded chicken, I just stuck the chicken and a can of chicken broth in the crockpot on hi for about 4 hours
**You can either bake or fry these babies.  I baked them.  I put the rolled tquitos on a cookie sheet, brushed them with olive oil (be sure to get the ends), and baked them at 500 for about 10 minutes, until golden brown. 

***There are several methods to softening the tortilla so they don't crack while rolling them.  My favorite method is to stick a couple of tortillas in a zip lock bag, zip it closed, and cook it on hi for 15 seconds.  When you do it this way, you won't even need to use the toothpicks, they'll just stay in place.  I've heard there are some health risks to doing it this way, but I guess that means I care more about having pretty taquitos than my health.  Shame on me!

Guacamole

Wowza this guac is full of flavor.  I made it with taquitos tonight, and it sorta stole the show.  VERY yummy, I'll be making this again very soon. 

• 3 avacados, peeled, pitted, and mashed
• 1 lime, juiced (I used 1 TBS of lime juice)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 3 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 Roma (Plum) tomatoes, diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper

1. In a medium bowl, mash together avacados, lime juice and salt.  Mix in onion, cilantro and tomatoes, and garlic.  Stir in cayenne pepper.  Refridgerate one hour for best results, or serve immediately. 

I liked the guacamole chunky, but you can smooth it out by pureeing it.


**The lime juice helps the avacados not change color, so you can make it ahead (by a few hours, anyway)  If you're going to make it the night before, mix everything except the avacados, and add them right before you serve.