King Ranch Casserole

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter 
• 1 yellow onion, chopped 
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped 
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced 
• 4 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon black pepper 
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 3 1/2 cups chicken stock 
• 1/2 cup heavy cream 
• 3 mild green chiles, roasted, peeled (stems and seeds discarded), and diced 
• 1 ten-ounce can Ro-Tel 
• 18 corn tortillas 
• 1 cooked chicken (poached or roasted), meat shredded 
• 1 cup shredded Jack cheese 
• 1 cup shredded cheddar 

Directions:
 
Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the vegetables and sauté on medium-low about 7 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper and cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and stir until the white is no longer visible. Whisk in 3 cups of the stock, 1 cup at a time, until smooth. Whisk in cream and stir in chiles and tomatoes. 

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Pour remaining 1/2 cup of stock into a bowl. Stack the tortillas in the bowl, 6 at a time, to moisten, then line the bottom of the pan with the tortillas, making sure they overlap each other by about one third. Cover the tortillas with half the sauce. Add half the chicken and sprinkle with a third of the cheese. Add a second layer of soaked tortillas, the remaining sauce and chicken, and another third of the cheese. Top with the remaining tortillas and cheese. 

Bake for about an hour, until bubbling and lightly browned on top. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Creamy Cheddar Cheese Soup with Crispy Bacon & Chives

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb bacon, chopped (optional garnish)
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 2 leeks, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large pimentos or roasted red peppers, diced
• 6 Tbsp flour
• 4 cups chicken stock or broth
• 1 (12-oz) beer (preferably ale or lager)
• 1-1/2 cups cream
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 2-1/4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 3/4 cup Colby cheese, grated
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1 bunch of chives or green onions, chopped (2 Tbsp reserved, optional garnish)
• Salt and white pepper, to taste (optional garnish)

Directions:

Render the bacon until crisp, stirring frequently, in a large stockpot over medium heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the pan onto a platter lined with paper towels. Drain the grease from the pan, leaving 2 Tbsp remaining.

Turn the heat up to medium high and add the butter, onions, leeks, garlic, and pimentos. Cook for 4-5 minutes until onions soften and develop slight color. Add the flour and stir to form a pasty roux. Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.

Whisk in the stock, beer, cream, and milk. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the soup begins to thicken. Whisk in the cheeses, cayenne, and half of the chives. Allow the cheese to melt, then season with salt and white pepper to taste. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with the crispy bacon and reserved chives, if desired.

English Muffin Bread

Ingredients:

• 5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups warm milk 
• 1/2 cup warm water
• Cornmeal

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking
soda. Add warm milk and water; beat on low speed for 30 seconds,
scraping bowl occasionally. Beat on high for 3 minutes.

Stir in remaining flour (batter will be stiff). Do not knead. Grease
two 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Sprinkle pans with cornmeal. Spoon
batter into the pans and sprinkle cornmeal on top. Cover and let
rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake at 375° for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from
pans immediately and cool on wire racks. Slice and toast. Yield: 2
loaves.

Cheesy Bacon & Egg Casserole

Ingredients:

8 slices bacon

1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)

1 loaf (8 ounces) Italian bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (5 cups)

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup cottage cheese

5 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings.

Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble and set aside. Add onion to drippings in skillet; cook and stir 3 minutes or until softened.

Spread 1/2 of the bread cubes in 13x9-inch baking dish. Layer with 1/2 each of the onion, bacon, Cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. Spread evenly with cottage cheese. Top with remaining bread cubes, onion, bacon, Cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese.

Beat eggs in medium bowl until foamy. Add milk, mustard, nutmeg and pepper; beat until well blended. Pour evenly over top. Press bread cubes lightly into egg mixture until completely covered.

Let stand 10 minutes.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until center is set and top is golden brown.

Sausage Egg Biscuit Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground pork sausage with sage, crumbled
• 1/2 cup red peppers, chopped
• 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
• 4 frozen pre-baked biscuits
• 10 eggs
• 1-1/4 cups of milk
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup frozen broccoli cuts, defrosted
• 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. In an 11'' oven-safe pan, sauté the pork sausage, peppers, and onions over medium-high heat for approximately 10 minutes, or until the sausage is fully cooked. Remove from heat.

Cut each biscuit into about 8 pieces and arrange evenly in the pan with the sausage, peppers, and onions.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, oregano, salt, and pepper until combined. Stir in the broccoli and cheese. Pour the mixture over the sausage, peppers, onions, and biscuits. Give the mixture a slight stir to disperse the ingredients, then press the biscuits down with the back of your spoon to cover them in the egg mixture.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the center is set. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving

Caramel Apple Butter

Ingredients:

• 4 lb. firm, crisp apples, like Fuji or King David
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp. butter
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1½ tsp. vanilla extract
• ½ tsp. kosher salt

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Peel and core apples; cut them into eighths. Toss with oil and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Roast for 1½ hours, until golden; set aside. When apples are cool enough to handle, place in the bowl of a food processor and purée slightly; set aside.

In a 4-qt. saucepan over high heat, combine granulated sugar and ½ cup water. Cook without stirring, 7–9 minutes, or until a candy thermometer reads 385°. When it starts to caramelize, swirl the pan gently for even color. Slowly whisk in cream, then butter. Lower heat to medium and whisk until thick, about 1 minute longer. Remove from heat and whisk in brown sugar. With the motor of the food processor running, stream caramel into bowl with apples and purée until slightly smooth. Add lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and mix until combined.

Makes 3 cups. 

Apple & Sausage Strata

Ingredients:

Vanilla Sauce:
2 cups milk
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped and reserved
6 egg yolks
¼ cup sugar

Strata:
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
5 medium baking apples, such as Golden Delicious, peeled, cored, and quartered
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
Juice of ½ a lemon
¾ cup sugar
¼ tsp. kosher salt
3 eggs
2 cups milk
1 ½ cups heavy cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Italian or French bread loaf or baguette (about 15 oz.) cut crosswise into ½" slices
1 pound pre-cooked sausage, sliced

Directions:

To make the vanilla sauce: Whisk together sugar and yolks in a 4—qt. saucepan; add milk and vanilla bean with seeds, and stir until smooth. Place saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and pour through a fine strainer into a bowl; chill until thickened.

To make the strata: Heat oven to 375°. Heat butter in a 12" cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples, and cook, stirring, until just soft, about 12 minutes. Add ¼ cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and juice, and cook until sugar melts and apples are beginning to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk remaining brown sugar along with sugar, salt, and eggs until smooth. Add milk, cream, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth. Add bread slices to skillet with apples and sausage slices, nestling them in among the apples, and then pour egg mixture over top, making sure all bread and apples are covered. Let sit for 20 minutes, pressing down bread once or twice, until bread soaks up most of the egg mixture.

Bake until golden brown and slightly puffed, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly and then scoop into serving bowls and drizzle with vanilla sauce.