OK --1st off I know it's an UGLY picture!!  I know!!  But this is soooooo yummy that no matter how ugly it is you will soon make this one of your FAVORITE breakfast foods ever!!  (EVER!!)

My mom gave me this recipe.  We used to eat this at a place called The Oak Table Cafe where we lived in Sequim WA.  My mom ask what was in it & they told her, so she went home & made it.  We've been making it on special occasions ever since.  I made it Thanksgiving weekend for our family.

1. Croissants (I used mini ones) - cut in 1/2

2. Fresh Spinach

3. Fresh Mushrooms Sliced

4. Eggs for Scrambling (I added a little milk to mine)

5. Onion Choped (I used sweet yellow)

6. Cooking Sherry

7. Salt/Pepper

8. Olive Oil

Hollandaise Sauce -- See Recipe HERE

You'll need : Eggs, Butter, Lemon, Cayenne, Salt

Put oil in skillet, cook onions until clear.  Add mushrooms & spinach & sherry.  Cook until almost done.  Add egg mix & cook eggs until scrambled, done, & mixed w/ veggies.  Add salt & pepper.  Keep warm in skillet while you make sauce.

Once you've made sauce, put croissants on plate cut in 1/2 & top w/ egg mix, then pour sauce on top - serve hot & immediately! 

Chicken stuffed w/ goatcheese & asparagus

1. Chicken breast (the # that you need)

2. Goat cheese (garlic or herb rolled is best)

3. Asparagus stalks

4. 2 TB Olive oil

5. 1/4 Cup Chicken broth

6. Salt/pepper

7. 1-2 cloves Garlic chopped

8. Kitchen string or wooden toothpicks

Take your asparagus and blanch it for a few minutes. Then take each chicken breast & cut in half leaving a "hinge" on one side of the breast. In pan heat oil and garlic. Put a layer of cheese & a few stalks of asparagus in each breast. Use something to keep the chicken closed. Salt & pepper each side of chicken breast. Place chicken in pan & cook in oil for 6 minutes. Once 6 minutes is up, turn chicken breast & then add chicken broth. Cover frying pan & cook additional 6 minutes.

Wrapped Asparagus

I made these for the teachers lunch the other day and had a ton of people ask how to make them, so I thought I'd pass it along. There really is no "recipe" but they are yummy, and easy to make, fun to take to a party & we even ate them for dinner with side of couscous & bread.

1. Asparagus stalks (how ever many you want to serve)

2. Thin sliced prosciutto (I ask the deli to slice it very thin)

3. Thin sliced swiss cheese (Again I ask the deli to slice very thin)

Blanch the asparagus for a few minutes just to take the major "crunch" out. Put in cold water to stop the cooking process.

Take a slice of swiss & wrap around each stalk & then cover with a slice of prosciutto. (many times the cheese & proscuitto are too long so I cut each of them in 1/2 & wrap each stalk w/ only 1/2 of each)

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or so. You just want to melt the cheese & "toast" the meat a little bit. Serve warm.

I even count the # of stalk I have & ask the delli for #'s. Like if I have 30 stalks of asparagus I'll ask for 15 slices of prosciutto & swiss.

gnocchi with prosciutto and asparagus

Ingredients

• 5 thin slices prosciutto di Parma, roughly chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• fresh asparagus, cut into bite sized pieces, steamed
• Gnocchi, recipe follows
• 
  

Directions ( i didn't know how to do this, so just in case you didn't here's info)

Steaming asparagus is quick and easy. If you want to get fancy though, you can buy a special asparagus steamer that will allow for steaming the asparagus upright. A steamer basket will also do the trick nicely though and costs a lot less.

Once you have removed the woody stems and washed your spears, place them in the steamer basket, put some water in the bottom of your saucepan and place the steamer inside it. Put the lid on and let them steam. Depending on how tender you want your spears, they should be ready in about 2-3 minutes. They'll be done when they've turned bright green and are fork tender.

If you don't have steamer basket, you can bundle the asparagus together with some twine and stand them upright in a pot with about an inch of water in it. This will ensure that the tips of the asparagus are steamed and not boiled.

THEN!!!!!-

In a large saute pan heat the butter, add the cooked gnocchi, tossing gently in the butter. Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano tossing to combine, once the gnocchi are coated with the butter and cheese, remove the pan from the heat and add the prosciutto and steamed asparagus tossing to combine. Finish the dish with a small dusting of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve immediately. Yummy!!!!

Gnocchi: (if you're like me, skip to the bottom)

• 3 pounds baking potatoes, like russets
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 extra large egg
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil

Boil the whole potatoes until they are soft (about 45 minutes). While still warm, peel and pass through vegetable mill onto cleanpasta board.

Boil 6 quarts of water in a large stock pot.

Make well in center of potatoes and sprinkle with the salt and all the flour. Crack the egg into the center of well and using a fork, incorporate the potatoes, salt, flour and egg. Once egg is mixed in, bring dough together, kneading gently until a ball is formed. Kneadgently another 4 minutes until ball is dry to touch.

Roll baseball-sized balls of dough into 3/4-inch diameter rods. With a knife, cut the rods into 1-inch long pieces. Lightly roll pieces off of the back end of a fork, or the concave side of cheese grater, until all the pieces are finished. Drop these finished pieces into boiling water and cook until they float (about 1 minute). Meanwhile, continue with remaining dough, forming rods, cutting into 1-inch pieces and flicking off of fork. As gnocchi float to top of boiling water, remove them with a spider or skimmer and place them in a bowl with a 1/2-cup of canola, tossing to coat so they don't stick together.

Gnocchi can be made up to 48 hours ahead. Before cooking thegnocchi, set up ice bath with 6 cups ice and 6 cups water. As the gnocchi cook and are floating in the boiling water, remove them with a spider or skimmer and place them into the to ice bath. Let sit several minutes in bath and drain from ice and water. Toss with 1/2-cup canola oil and store covered in refrigerator up to 48 hours until ready to serve.

I'm too lazy to make this, so just buy already made gnocchi (i love spinach gnocchi with this but the regular flavor is TOTALLY fine) and follow the directions on the package on how to make them.

Melissa's Crockpot Ideas

Jen -- I love using my crock-pot. It gets more use in the winter -- because of all the soups -- I'll try not to put too many of my soup recipes as I'm sure you have a lot of those, but it's great for summer too!! Here are some of our favorites...hope there aren't a lot of duplicates from what you already have! I will also pre-warn you.... I am NOT a person that likes to do a lot of "pre-cooking" things before the crockpot. The only thing I usually am willing to do is used pre-cooked shredded chicken (because I have alot of that pre-frozen from previous whole chicken). I'm just lazy that way! :) I will use pre-cooked meat (like meatballs, or kielbasa sausage) or raw that can fully cook in the crockpot.

I don't know if you remember this ... but a year (maybe 2) ago there was a woman who used her crockpot 365 days out of the year -- one recipe a day (not all were "main" dishes). She had a blog. I used it back then for ideas -- she no longer does one a day, however she still has her website and she does post occasional new recipes -- you can also go back & look at her whole year of crock-pot recipes. Her webpage is HERE . She has some great ideas!!

Crockpot Fajitas

1. Sliced Peppers (yellow, red, green)
2. Sliced Onion (I use sweet yellow)
3. Chicken breast (or strips)
4. 1 jar salsa
5. "Mexican spices" use a large pinch of which ever combination you like
(chili powder/cumin/ paprika / garlic powder / oregano / red pepper)
6. Sour cream
7. Avocado
8. Whole wheat tortillas
9. Shredded cheese (sometimes we add, sometimes not)

Add 1st 5 ingredients into crock pot. At about the 4-5 hour mark you can open & "shred" chicken with a fork & let cook final hour. HOWEVER you do not have to shred until the end in case you're not home to do so an hour early. Cook on low about 5-6 hours. It will be slightly "watery", when done however I just scoop out with a slotted spoon. Spoon into tortillas and top with sour cream, cheese, and avocado.


Crockpot Lasagna

1. Lasagna Noodles (keep dry .... not cooked)
2. Sauce (jar or home-made - can use meat or non-meat - meat must be pre-cooked)
3. Fresh spinach (you can leave out, but I LOVE spinach in mine)
4. Ricotta cheese
5. Mozzarella cheese (shredded)
6. Italian spices (again use pre-mixed or combo of your own)
(oregano, basil, marjoram, sage, garlic)
7. Salt & pepper

Mix Ricotta cheese w/ spices & salt & pepper. Start w/ scoop of sauce on bottom of crockpot. Layer dry noodles (fit as best you can) top w/ sauce/meat, next top w/ layer of spinach, next layer scoop of sauce. Keep layering until you end & top all with layer of mozzarella cheese. Cook for 3-4 hours on low.


Creamy Corn & Chicken Chowder

2 cups cooked & shredded chicken
1 cup milk
2 cups chicken broth
15oz can Mexi-corn
4oz cream cheese cubed
1 red bell pepper chopped
1/2 can green chilies
Mexican shredded cheese

Place all items BUT shredded cheese in crock-pot & cook for 5 hours on low. Serve w/ shredded cheese on top.


Sausage/Potato/Cabbage

1 Kielbasa sausage (I use turkey) cut into slices
1/2 cabbage cut into thick shreds
4-5 potatoes sliced med thick slices
1/2 onion cut in thin slices
1/2 c chicken broth

Layer w/ potatoes first, cover with broth, then onion, then cabbage, then top w/ sausage. Cook for 6hr on low. Your potatoes should be cooked through & cabbage should be "wilted".


Stuffed Peppers

1. 1lb ground turkey
2. 1/2 onion chopped
3. 1/2 - 1 Tbs Garlic powder
4. 1/2 c shredded carrot (finely shredded more like grated)
5. 1/4c Parmesan cheese
6. Salt & Pepper
7. 3 Tbs Tomato paste
8. 1/2 c uncooked rice (I use brown, you can use white too)
9. Ketchup
10. Brown sugar
11. Green peppers (tops evenly cut off & seeds & veins removed)
12. 1/4 c chicken broth

Mix first 7 ingredients together in a bowl. (Some people use 1 egg in this recipe too - I've heard it's fine & I've heard some people say don't do it unless you're cooking in the oven to ensure the egg gets totally cooked...so I'm leaving it off this recipe). Stuff mix into pepper shells. Place in crockpot & put tops on peppers. I pour a little chicken broth on bottom to ensure the bottom of my peppers don't scorch during cooking. (but you don't need much...enough to put THIN layer on bottom) Cook on low for 5-6 hours.

Then, I mix ketchup & brown sugar during last hour of cooking I place a "dollop" on top & keep cooking...just for extra flavor -- it's what my mom always did when she made them when I was a kid, so it's not something you have to do.

(I've also heard about making "Mexican flavor" stuffed peppers -- make it w/ corn instead of shredded carrots, add salsa instead of tomato paste, and Mexican spices instead of garlic. Maybe even use a Mexican flavor rice. Then, top w/ a pepper jack or Mexican type cheese. I've never done this, but I've seen recipes for it.)



Some Basic Things

1. Whole chicken (spices, olive oil, salt+pepper) w/ veggies
2. Pork Tenderloins (use a olive oil, soy, garlic, Worcestershire (sp?), onion marinade)
3. Boneless pork ribs (put in w/ BBQ sauce & shred w/ fork for sandwich)
4. Pre-cooked meatballs (or you can make your own ahead of time) put frozen in crockpot w/ duck sauce (Chinese orange colored sauce) & heat through - serve over cooked rice.
5. Brown Beans (Dried brown beans w/ water (and/or broth mix) enough to cover & dash of pepper) + a small ham-hock (this is just for a little flavoring). I always served it with onions on top & cornbread on side....Oh how I MISS my beans :(

Crockpot Meals

Hi Ladies!  I have been feeling very convicted to truly rest on Sundays.  This is difficult because I still want to have something prepared for my family to eat.  So I have decided that I want to start putting a meal together on Saturday in the crockpot and cooking it on Sunday.  The only problem is that I have very few crockpot meals in my recipe book!  If you wouldn't mind sharing some of your favorite crockpot recipes I would greatly appreciate it.  I am trying a Crab and Corn Chowder on Sunday...I will post once I know how it turns out!!  Thanks!! 

Chicken Foil Packs

Chicken Foil Packs

Served over orzo, but could be served over rice.  This was very tasty!

(Sorry no picture!!)

2 chicken breasts cut into 1/4 in. strips crosswise

1 bunch asparagus cut into 1 in. lengths

4 carrots cut into rounds and steamed

1/2 cup onion thinly sliced and sautéed

2 T melted butter

2 T lemon juice

1/2 tsp tarragon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Aluminum foil

1.  Preheat oven to 450˚.  Tear 4 pieces of foil for each individual serving. 

2.  Arrange sliced chicken in center of foil and season with salt and pepper.  Top with equal amounts of asparagus, carrot and onion. 

3.  Combine remaining ingredients.  Pour equal amounts of butter mixture over each.

4.  Fold foil and seal pack tight.  Arrange foil packs in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Bake 20 minutes.