Moons Over My Hammy

I've been slacking lately with the recipe, ahem, like a few other people I know.  I'm in a slump and the fact that I now am a goth girl is not helping with that at all.  I think I just officially became a hermit!!  I saw this recipe and just giggled a little....I thought I'd post this recipe just for Tandy!!  I remember her being so goofy giggly on our "after Thanksgiving shopping extravaganza" when we ate breakfast at Denny's and she saw this on the menu.  Anybody else remember?  This is actual my favorite thing for breakfast at Denny's....even if it does have a funny name.

Ingredients: (for 1 person)

2 eggs
1 tbsp. whipping cream
2-4 slices black forest ham
1 slice american cheese (kraft)
1 slice swiss cheese (kraft)
2 slices sourdough bread

Directions:
Grab two skillets. Whisk the eggs with whipping cream and pour into skillet add salt and cook on low med heat until soft and fluffy. In the other skillet add the deli ham and brown it on each side. In that same pan, place a buttered piece of toast face down and put the slice of swiss on top. After ham is done place on top of swiss cheese and bread. Add eggs and the American cheese. Place other piece of bread on top and flip to brown other side.

XXL M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oh man! I want these cookies, right now!!!  I had no idea there was even such a thing as a muffin top pan.  As soon as I get one, the first thing I'm going to make are these fine babies!!! Yum Yum!!!

(Picture and recipe courtesy of http://www.pickypalate.com/)

2 sticks softened butter

3/4 Cup sugar

1 Cup packed light brown sugar

2 extra large eggs

2 Tablespoons pure vanilla

3 3/4 Cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

12 oz bag chocolate chips

1 bag M&M’s (you’ll have some left over)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer beat the butter and sugars until well beaten. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl; mix. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with the chocolate chips. Do not mix in M&M’s!!

2. Scoop 1/4 Cup of dough and press into a muffin top pan (or just press onto a parchment or silpat lined cookie sheet). Now, press your M&M’s onto pressed cookies. This way they won’t break apart!! Bake for 12-15 minutes, until edges just start to turn golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes on muffin top pan or cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Grab a tall glass of milk and EAT until your hearts content

About 18 XXL cookies!

Bacon and Cheese Egg McMuffins

These are too cute!  They seem super easy and quick.  I LOVE breakfast, so I can't wait to try these.  I think they would be good if you had company over or had to feed a big family.

(Pictures and recipes courtesy of http://www.pickypalate.com/)

Here’s the lowdown….press your english muffin inside Texas Size Muffin cups, line inside with bacon, sprinkle inside with cheese, break an egg inside, season with salt and pepper, bake and woo hoo you are done!! Mmmm!

3 whole english muffins plus one half, split

6 slices ready cooked bacon, not microwaved, just right out of package

1/2 Cup shredded cheddar cheese

6 large eggs

Pinches of kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Press english muffins carefully into bottom of a 6 cup Texas size muffin tin. Form a little circle with the bacon and place around inside of muffin. Sprinkle inside with cheese then top with a whole egg in each cup, keeping inside the bacon ring. Sprinkle with pinches of kosher salt and pepper. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until egg is cooked through, not jiggly

2. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes before removing from muffin tin. Serve as is or with some of your favorite hot sauce and a side of fruit!!

6 servings

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

These just make my mouth water.  The look and sound so so yummy!  I'm not a huge fan of the "original red sauce enchiladas"  but I LOVE new versions and can't wait to try this recipe.

(Picture and adapted recipe courtesy of http://www.thegirlwhoateeverything.blogspot.com/.  Original recipe courtesy of http://www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com/)

4-5 T. honey
5 T. lime juice
1 T. chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound chicken, cooked and shredded (I put some chicken in the crockpot. You can save time by using a store bought rotisserie chicken. If you like a lot of filling in your enchiladas, I would recommend doubling this which I did.)
8-10 flour tortillas (I made 6 enchiladas with 10" tortillas)
1 pound monterey jack cheese, shredded
16 ounces green enchilada sauce
1 cup heavy cream (I followed the other reader's recommendation to only use a 1/2 cup since a full cup can make it too rich)

Mix the honey (their tip: spray your measuring spoon with cooking spray before measuring out the honey), lime juice, chili powder and garlic together and toss with the shredded chicken. Let it marinate for at least 1/2 hour (or toss together in a Ziploc bag and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours). Pour about 1/2 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9X13 baking pan. Fill flour tortillas with chicken and shredded cheese (and a little enchilada sauce), saving about 1 cup of cheese to sprinkle on top of enchiladas. Mix the remaining enchilada sauce with the cream and leftover marinade. Pour sauce on top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until brown and crispy on top.(The sisters cafe recipe says to put the enchiladas under the broiler once they're finished to melt the cheese and brown them a little.) I served mine with sour cream, pico de gallo, rice and black beans.

Fiesta Chicken

In honor of Cinco de Mayo (which is tomorrow!!!) I thought I would post a couple of mexican recipes that have caught my eye.  I thought I'd post them early so you could use one of them for your Cinco de Mayo party/celebration!!!  What? Like you don't make up excuses to have a party with lots of yummy food?!?  Well you need to start.  Celebrate Cinco de Mayo by making this yummy recipe or the one to follow.  Heck, throw a pinata in there and call it an all out FIESTA!!!! :-)

(Picture and recipe courtesy of http://www.thegirlwhoateeverything.blogspot.com/)

4 chicken breasts, frozen or thawed
1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) jar of your favorite salsa
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese

Take 4 frozen, yes, frozen (or thawed), boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot. Add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained. Keep in crock pot on low for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.

Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour. It may look at little strange at this point. Don't worry. Stir in the cream cheese.

Serve over rice or in warm flour tortillas.

French Style Baguette

This is my kind of bread!!! I made this yesterday for Sunday dinner.  We ate it with Lasagna and it was delicious.  It's super easy and very fast.  It makes 2 cute little loaves.  The loaves would be perfect to make bruschetta with......I guess I'll have to find a recipe for that. 

(Pictures and recipe courtesy of http://www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com/)

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 Tbs. (2 packages) dry yeast

2 tsp. sugar

3 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a small bowl mix the warm water with the yeast and sugar. Let it sit for about 5 minutes - foam should form on the top.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour and salt. Gradually add the yeast mixture. Mix until the dough becomes a smooth ball and knead for 5 minutes. (I use my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook)

Cut in half and then shape into 2 baguettes. To make them smooth and pretty, roll each half of dough into rectangle and roll up lengthwise. Pinch the edges to seal and place on lightly greased cookie sheet (or silpat) with seam down. Cover and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Once the dough is done rising, with a very sharp knife (I like to use a serrated blade), gently make a slash down the length of each baguette. (Make sure you don't cut too deep so it doesn't deflate your dough) This will give it that authentic look. Pour water in a cookie sheet and place it on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake the bread for 15 minutes.

Half way through, brush the bread with melted butter. 

***Don't butter the baguette after you take it out of the oven.  It will make the crust a little softer and I think it's meant to be crispy.