Roasted cream cheese & tomato pasta bake

My friend Susan really wants me to post this recipe...it is a winner for sure and so easy. So here it is. Enjoy!

Serves 6-8

 1 large baking dish - spray baking dish with non stick spray

1 block cream cheese - any kind ( or use 2 'borsin' rounds)

cherry tomatoes - 2 small baskets - washed and left whole

1/2 red onion - sliced thin

herbs & spices of choice ( I use salt and pepper, fresh thyme if available, Italian seasoning, garlic)

olive oil - 1/2 cup

whole garlic bulb

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth.

pasta of choice - 3/4 lb. around 300G. - boil ahead to 3/4 done, drain and set aside. I have used bowtie, tortellini filled pasta, spiral, linguini 

options:  mushrooms, zucchini, and spinach work well.

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees

Add cream cheese to the center of the coated baking dish. Sprinkle tomatoes & onions around the edge.

Add options vegetables here  to roast if desired.

Pour olive oil over tomatoes etc.

Add herbs and spices of choice.

into the hot oven for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare pasta but do not cook all the way,

Drain pasta.

When tomato mixture is roasted remove from oven. Remove garlic bulb and squirt roasted garlic into tomato mixture and stir well. Discard the casing of the garlic bulb.

Add cooked pasta and broth and stir again and return to oven for 25 minutes. 20 minutes into this time is the time to add the fresh spinach if using, stir well and continue roasting for 5 minutes.

Serve hot.

Honey & sweet potatoe Muffins for Eileen & Robert.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

 2 cups of all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 tsp. cinnamon

dash of nutmeg (1/16 of a teaspoon)

1/2 cup milk (almond milk works well too )

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup veg. oil

1 1/2 cups cooked mashed potatoes

1 apple crated 

Bake or steam sweet potatoes first. Peel when cooled and then mash the sweet potatoes.

Grate one apple (no need to peel).

Add dry ingredients into a bowl. Stir well.

In a separate bowl add all the wet ingredients including the mashed sweet potatoes and grated apple. Stir well until well combined.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Spray muffin tins with 'baking' spray.

Bake for approximately 18 minutes.

Gingerbread Angel Food Cake from cousin Susan F. for Christmas

 

Bake at 375 for 35- 45 minutes

1 cup cake flour 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ginger

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp cream of tartar
2 cups egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1 1⁄2 cups sugar divided
2 tsp orange peel grated fine

Sift together 3⁄4 cup sugar with flour, cream of tartar, cinnamon, ginger and allspice
Beat whites until frothy, Beat until light and opaque. Slowly add 3⁄4 cup sugar, add vanilla and orange peel and beat until very light Gently fold flour mixture into egg whites in 3 additions. Careful to not overfold (don’t want to deflate the egg whites)

Delicately spoon mixture into ungreased 10” tube pan
Bake for 35 - 45 minutes until cake tester comes to clean and top of cake springs back when lightly touched
Leave cake in pan and invert on cake pan feet until cool (air needs to circulate underneath)
To remove cake from pan, use a long thin knife to loosen edges of cake from pan. Then loosen bottom of tube from pan with knife

Serve with Caramel Sauce and Whipped rum cream.

Caramel Sauce

2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1.5 cups heavy cream 1/4 cup butter

Stir the water and sugar together in medium sized saucepan. Cover and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Remove lid and cook without stirring, until the mixture turns a light golden colour (this takes about 40 minutes at a med-high heat). Remove from heat. Pour cream through sieve, standing well back. When sputtering subsides, whisk in butter.

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Whip Cream Sauce Base

Base can be made day before. Whip the cream just before serving the cake and mix base and whip cream together

4 Tbsp butter
2 cups icing sugar
1 egg yolk well beaten 2 tsp vanilla
1 1⁄2 cup whipped cream

Cream butter and sugar, add egg and vanilla. Fold in whipped cream add brandy or rum.

Borscht inspired by Auntie Baba

Aunty Angie (Auntie Baba as wee Eileen calls her) is one of the best cooks around and this is an adaptation from her cook book she compiled and gave to members of the family. Her cook book is safe in Vancouver but because I am in Calgary I am doing my best to remember how her recipe goes.  Thanks Auntie Angie for the best recipes ever! Lots of love!

3 tbsp. olive oil

All vegetables are always rinsed, peeled and diced before using.

 2 small onions - diced

4 stocks celery - diced

2 carrots - peeled and diced

3 Yukon gold potatoes - not peeled and diced

8 cups fresh beets peeled diced or spiralized ( This time I bought fresh spiralized beets from the Coop. These are fresh beets that are already cut up which makes making soup so much easier. I have also seen these fresh beets at Whole Foods) SAVE 2 CUPS OF FRESH BEETS to add at the very end. When the soup is finished....open the lid of the pressure cooker safely and add the fresh 2 cups of fresh diced beets.  This will add color and flavor to your already completed soup.  No need to cook any more.

fresh dill or 2 tbsp. dried dill

2 bay leafs

salt & pepper

4 cups chicken stock (use vegetable stock if desired)

4 cups water

1 tbsp. 'Better Than Bouillon' chicken concentrate.

This time I used an instant pot as it is so much easier and quicker to make soup.

Turn instant pot onto sauté first.

Add diced onion, carrots, celery and sauté until onions are semi transparent.

Add beets, potatoes, dill and bay leafs.

Continue to stir in all the vegetables.

Add chicken stock and chicken concentrate and water. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Turn off instant pot and then press 'pressure cook' setting. Set the timer for 20 minutes and close the lid.

Allow to pressure cook for 20 minutes and then allow to cool down or press the lever on the top to release the steam carefully as this can scald very easily.  

Open the lid and add 2 cups of fresh cup up beets.

Allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Add a dollop of sour cream to each bowl of Borscht when serving.  

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes thanks to Derek

Derek's Christmas morning pancakes 

2 lemons

2 cups flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

3 tbsp. melted butter

2 cups fresh blueberries - wash and set aside as these go on top of the pancakes on the griddle.

Zest lemon into a bowl and add the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix well

Add all the wet ingredients to another bowl including the juice of 2 lemons. Beat well.

Add wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Set aside while the griddle or pan is heating up.

Ladle 1/4 cup of the batter onto the hot griddle for each pancake. Sprinkle the raw pancake rounds with blueberries and cook until little bubbles form on the batter.

Flip over each pancake and cook until golden brown.

Serve hot with syrup, jam, whip cream, or any topping you desire.

Thanks Derek for the tasty Christmas Morning pancakes.

 

Cinnamon Buns 'Land of Nod' style from The Best of Bridge Cookbook

 

This is a winner recipe to serve when you have a crowd. Easy to make and very easy to serve Thanks to the 'Best of Bridge'

20 frozen dough rolls

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup vanilla instant pudding

2-3 tbsp. cinnamon

1/4 - 1/2 melted butter

options: raisins, pecans, apple chunks 

Grease a 10" bundt pan and add the frozen bread rolls.

Sprinkle with brown sugar, pudding, cinnamon. 

Pour melted butter over all.

Cover with a clean damp cloth and leave on the counter to proof at room temperature.

In the morning, preheat the oven to 350° and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let the buns sit for 5 minutes and then turn upside down onto a serving platter.

Thanks to 'The Best of Bridge Publishing Ltd.' for the Best of the Best & more cookbook.

French Toast - Baked - overnight easy recipe

 serves 6 for breakfast

left over bread of any kind

10 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 tbsp. vanilla

1-2 tbsp. cinnamon (our family loves cinnamon so I tend to use the 2 tbsp.)

1/4 cup maple syrup

Grease a 8 X 13 glass baking dish and line the bottom with the leftover bread that has been sliced.

Beat eggs, milk, vanilla, and syrup well. 

Sprinkle cinnamon onto bread first and then pour egg mixture on top of the bread.

Cover well and hold in fridge overnight. In the morning remove from the fridge and let stand on the counter for 1/2 an hour.

Bake at 375° for 30 minutes until the eggs are not runny.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies for Aunty Angie

Today I am baking with a treasure that Aunty Andrea found on the top shelf of her downstairs cold room. Anna Borys (Baba), my kids grandma, kept her original 'Sunbeam Mixmaster' in mint condition and I have the pleasure of using it today to mix up a batch of these cookies for Aunty Angie who is recovering in the University hospital. 

Baba's Sunbeam Mixmaster

Yield:  80 small cookies

Ingredients:

1/2  lb. butter (1 cup) - room temperature (I use salted or non salted, which ever one I have in the house at the time)

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar 
2 cups flour 
2 eggs
1 tbsp. Vanilla
2 cup large oat flakes (not instant) 
1 cup coconut flakes
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1  tsp. Salt
2 1/2 cup of chocolate chips 

1. In a mixer, cream butter and sugars together.
2. Add eggs and vanilla and continue to mix. 

3. Add all the dry ingredients and mix well with your mixer of choice. I am so very happy to be using Baba's today.

 4. Add chocolate chips and mix well again.

5. Scoop to bake

Bake cookies at 350° for 10-12 minutes (bake for 12 min. if you like them crispy)

Miriam's Time Saving Tip♥

Bake the cookies or for a great time saver roll the dough in parchment paper and store in a large zip lock to freeze for later use.