Breakfast Casserole

4 cups cubed, day-old bread
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mexican  cheese
10 eggs
4 cups milk
1/2 tsp Adobo
Salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 cup diced asparagus
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup mushroom slices

Butter a 9x13 inch pan.  Arrange the bread cubes in the prepared dish and sprinkle with the cheese.  In a large bowl combine the eggs, milk, dry mustard, salt and Adobo.  Pour the mixture over the cheese and bread.  Sprinkle with asparagus, bacon and mushrooms.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake uncovered in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven, form a tent over the baking dish with foil to prevent burning, and return to the oven for 30 minutes.  Let the casserole cool for 10 minutes before serving.  Cut into squares.  Serves 10.

This would be great to serve at the family reunion in Minnesota.

Salmon Chowder

1/4 cup olive oil
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 or 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  1/2 cup slice or chopped celery
1 quart fish stock (canned clam juice)
1 28 oz can tomatoes with basil
Handful chopped celery leaves
1 Tbl basil
1 Tbl oregano
1 bay leaf
1 Tbl lemon juice
salt and pepper
2 cups left-over cooked salmon

In a large soup pot heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions, garlic, and celery.  Stir and cook until the onions are limp.  Add the fish stock, tomatoes, celery leaves, basil, oregano, bay leaf, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Bring all to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes.
    Add the cooked salmon, stir, and simmer for a few minutes.  Serve in large heated soup bowls.
By Chef David Lesh, Gustavus Inn Alaska - from Country Inn and Bed & Breakfast Cookbook, which Renee Boone gave me when I was babysitting for Michael and Nikki. in the early 1990s.

Stir-Fried Peas

2 cups snow peas
1 Tbl oil
1 large onion, sliced
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 chicken bouillon cubes
Water
1 Tbl cornstarch
1/2 tsp sugar
2 Tbl soy sauce

Wash the peas and remove the ends.  Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Add the onion, celery, mushrooms, and peas.  Cook until the onion is translucent, stirring constantly.  Add the chicken bouillon plus enough water to make 1/2 inch depth in the skillet.  Boil for 3 minutes.  Dissolve the cornstarch and sugar in the soy sauce and add to the pea mixture.  Stir until thick and remove from the heat.  This is good served with rice.

Pierogies

When we buy the frozen pierogies, like potato and onion, for example, we bake them.  Irene first had them this way at Saige Perry's, and learned how to make them for us.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Put frozen pierogies on sheet and brush both sides with oil, like olive or peanut oil.
Bake for about 15 minutes.
Flip and sprinkle with seasoning.  We love the Greek Seasoning.
Bake for 5 more minutes, until light brown.

Chocolate Cinnamon Buns

3/4 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbl yeast

2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups bread flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup Canola oil
1 tsp salt
1 egg

1 Tbl butter, softened
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbl sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts - pistachios, almonds or pecans

3/4 cup sifted confectioner's sugar
Milk or cream

In a large bowl combine the water and sugar.  Add the yeast.  Let the mixture stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.  Add 1 cup of flour, the cocoa, oil, salt, and egg.  Stir vigorously, about 200 strokes.  Gradually stir in 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of flour, until a soft dough forms.  Knead the dough in KitchenAide until smooth.  oil and cover.  Let the dough rise in a warm place until very light and almost doubled.
     Grease a 9x13 inch pan.  Punch down the dough and turn out onto a floured surface.  Roll into a 9x12 inch rectangle.  Spread with softened butter.  Sprinkle cinnamon, 1 Tbl of sugar and the nuts over the butter.  Roll the dough jelly-roll fashion, beginning with a long edge.  Pinch the edges together.  Cut into 12 pieces and place the rolls in the greased pan.  Cover and let the rolls rise in a warm dry area until very light and almost doubled.
     Bake the rolls in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Combine the confectioners'sugar with enough milk or cream to make a spreadable glaze and frost the rolls while still hot.  Makes 12 buns.

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

This is so delicious!  I made it as Christmas gifts one year.  It seriously tastes like it came from a fancy bakery.

1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbl yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees F)
2 eggs, beaten
4 cups flour

Filling:
2 pkg (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Toasted sliced almonds

In a saucepan, mix and heat sour cream, sugar, butter, and salt.  Cook over low heat 5-10 minutes, until well blended.  Cool to room temperature.  In a bowl, mix water and yeast.  Add sour cream mixture and eggs.  Mix well.  Add flour gradually.  Dough will be very soft.  Refrigerate overnight.
Next day: combine filling ingredients.  Divide dough into 4 pieces.  Roll out each piece into a 12x8 inch rectangle.  Spread 1/4 of filling onto each rectangle, to within 1 inch of edge.  Roll up from long side, jelly-roll style.  Pinch sides and ends to seal.  Place seam-side down on greased baking sheets.  Cut 6 X into top of each.  Cover and let raise 1 hour.  Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on baking sheets.
Combine first 3 glaze ingredients and drizzle over loaves.  Sprinkle with almonds.  Store in the refrigerator.

Indian Carrot Cake

This recipe is from Lynn and Kelly Cloyd.

1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1 cup flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup softened ghee
1 1/2 cups grated carrots, firmly packed
2 Tbls chopped pistachios
2 Tbls chopped blanched almonds
2 Tbls raisins

Grease and flour round cake pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sift flour, baking soda and salt.
Beat eggs eggs well in a large bowl.  Add cardamom, sugar, and ghee.  Add flour mixture and fold in gently.  Add the carrots, ppistachios, almonds and raisins.  Pour into cake pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes

This is the family recipe from my Grandparents Frances and Hubert Miller.  This was standard fare during the winter months on the farm.  Even when my grandparents retired and went south to Florida for the winter, the sourdough went too, and Bert remembers waking up to the smell of pancakes and cocoa.  Even when they were home for the summer in Berne, different family groups would be invited over for a special pancake breakfast occasionally, and this was a terrific treat.  Grandma always made something pork as well, like sausage, bacon, pork chops or salt pork.  Then she made a pan gravy with milk, and we put that on the pancakes instead of or in addition to syrup.  The most common syrup was made from brown sugar and water - equal parts in a pan, boiled down to about half, or until thick.  There would always be homemade Hershey hot cocoa with marshmallows, grapefruits cut in half and drizzled with syrup, and coffee. Grandma and Grandpa would preheat the plates, which were brown drip stoneware like this:

First Day
1. 1/2 tsp baking soda dissolved in 2 Tbls hot water
2. 1/2 c light buckwheat flour
3. 1 c. buttermilk
4. 1 Tbls yeast

On the first day, with a wooden spoon, mix all the ingredients, including the yeast and let the mixture sit for one hour before refrigerating.
On the second day add the first 3 ingredients, mix with a wooden spoon, and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour..
Do the same on the third day.
On the fourth day add the ingredients and make pancakes.
Save some of the starter every time you make them and keep them going all winter long.