Peppermint Salad Dessert

Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, my Gram whipped up this delight for my sister. It was 7Up salad for me, and Peppermint Salad for her. We have missed it the last couple of years, but this year Mom made it and brought it over for Yule! We typically double this recipe, and make it in a 9x13. 

Peppermint Salad Dessert

1 c. whip cream or Cool Whip
1 c. peppermint candy canes, crushed
1 c. sm. marshmallows
1/2 c. nuts
2 cups Graham cracker crumbs

In a large bowl, mix together the crushed candy canes, cool whip, marshmallows and nuts. Spread half the graham crackers on the bottom of the pan. Spread the peppermint mixture on top, then sprinkle the reamining cup of graham cracker on top. Place in the fridge and chill 6 to 24 hours.

Serve!

Lemon Poppy Seed Log

LEMON Poppyseed Log

Lemon in every bite! Lemon cake and poppy seed whipped cream filling make this the perfect cake roll for any occasion. Laurel made it for our family Yule celebration, and it was a hit!

INGREDIENTS:

CAKE:

·         3 eggs

·         3/4 cup granulated sugar

·         2 tablespoons Lemon Juice (about 1 medium or 1/2 large)

·         Zest of one lemon

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         3/4 cup all purpose flour

·         Powdered sugar, to aid in rolling

FILLING:

·         1 cup cold heavy whipping cream

·         3 tablespoons powdered sugar

·         1/4 cup canned Poppy seed filling (or pie filling would work too)

·         Powdered sugar, for dusting

DIRECTIONS:

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll (10x15”) pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. (Use the spray with flour or actually grease and flour the foil to avoid sticking.)

2.       Beat eggs at high speed for 2 minutes, until frothy and dark yellow. Beat in sugar, lemon juice, and zest.

3.       Whisk together salt, baking powder, and flour. Stir into wet ingredients just until blended.

4.       Spread in prepared pan. Batter will be in a very thin layer and you will need to use a wooden spoon or spatula to spread it to all the corners of the pan. Bake for 9-11 minutes (mine took 10).

5.       While the cake is baking, set a clean kitchen towel out on a large work surface. Sprinkle liberally with powdered sugar (about 1/4 cup). As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, turn it over on the kitchen towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove foil carefully.

6.       Working at the short end, fold the edge of the towel over the cake. Roll tightly, rolling up the cake into the towel. Let cool completely while rolled, at least one hour.

7.       While the cake is chilling, make the filling. Beat the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.

8.       Gently fold in the poppy seeds. Chill until ready to use.

9.       When cake is cool, carefully unroll the towel. Spread the lemon whipped cream over the cake. (You might have some whipped cream left over.) Gently but tightly, re-roll the cake and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill until it firms up a bit, at least one hour or overnight. Slice and serve. Cake will last covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Toad-in-the-Hole with Onion Gravy

Classic English Toad-in-the-Hole with Onion Gravy

The English classic Toad-in-the-Hole—sausage links baked in a Yorkshire pudding like flour egg batter. My kids LOVE Yorkshire pudding, so I figured this classic would be a nice change! It makes the house smell AMAZING!  

For Laurel (the vegetarian) I substituted the sausages for sliced portobello mushrooms. They were divine! I also used vegetable stock instead of chicken stock in the gravy.

Toad-in-the-Hole

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
• 1 scant teaspoon Kosher salt
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 lb of bangers (an English sausage made with pork and breadcrumbs), or good quality pork or beef sausage links (in casings)

DIRECTIONS

1 In a large bowl, whisk together the flour with the salt and a pinch of pepper. Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour in the eggs, milk, and melted butter into the well and whisk into the flour until smooth. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.

2 Coat the bottom and sides of an 8x12 or 9x9 casserole dish with vegetable oil (we use high smoke point grapeseed or canola oil). Place a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Put the empty dish on the rack. Preheat the oven with the dish in it to 425°F.

3 While the oven is coming to temperature, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a skillet on medium high. Add the sausages and brown them on at least a couple sides.

4 When the sausages have browned, and the dish in the oven hot, pull the oven rack out a bit, put the sausages in the casserole dish, and pour the batter over the sausages. Cook for about 20-30 minutes or until the batter is risen and golden.

Serve at once.

Onion Gravy

INGREDIENTS

• 6 tablespoons butter
• 3 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Cook and stir onion in the melted butter until softened, about 10 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to low. Cover the pan and cook until onions are caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.
3. Stir flour into the caramelized onions and cook for 1 minute.
4. Pour red wine, chicken stock (see Editor's Note), Dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce into the onion mixture; simmer until sauce is thickened, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Brazilian Lemonade

Brazilian Lemonade

I never understood why the name of this drink is Brazilian Lemonade because there are approximately ZERO lemons in it. Give or take. 

Why isn't it named Brazilian Limeade, you ask?
Just drink it, and I swear it won't even matter anymore. This drink could be named poopoo lemonade and I wouldn't even question it after trying it. Okay, I might be a little more hesitant, but still. It is THE BEST.

I got this recipe from Our Best Bites, and it has become a favorite in our household. If you haven't tried this yet, you need to because you will want to drink it everyday for the rest of your life. If you've ever been to Tucano's Brazilian Grill, then you have tried this before... and now with only 5 ingredients you can have it again in the comfort of your own home. 

Are all of your dreams coming true? 

Brazilian Lemonade

Ingredients:

6 cups cold water
1 cup sugar
4 limes
6 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
Rum

Directions:
Mix water and sugar together until sugar is dissolved. Put in the fridge to chill until ready to use. Use soap and water to thoroughly wash the limes. You want to scrub really well because you are going to be using the whole lime! After you've washed and scrubbed your limes, cut the ends off the limes (DO NOT MISS THIS STEP!) and then cut them into eighths. Place half of the limes and half of the sugar water in your blender and pulse a bunch of times. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into the pitcher that you are going to serve it in. Discard the pulp. (Or check out the recipe for Lime Bars. They go amazing with this drink! Yes, you have my permission to hate me later.) Repeat with the second half of your limes and sugar water. Mix in the sweetened condensed milk. Serve over lots of ice with rum. Now add a little more rum. A little bit more. Seriously, are you a priest or something? Give it some rum, matey! Just a little though, to taste of course. 

Mental note: I need to buy more rum.
When picking your limes, try to pick out the ones with the thinnest, smoothest skin possible. Supposedly they are less bitter and the most juicy. If you do end up with a more bitter drink, add more sugar and maybe even a little more sweetened condensed milk to taste. 

Beer Batter Crepes w/ Cardamon Crema Syrup

Beer Batter Crepes w/ Cardamon Crema Syrup

It is 103° outside today! I was originally going to grill up some lamb, but finally decided I enjoy NOT melting into the patio. So, I decided to make crepes! The recipe calls for "beer". I used Blue Moon's new First Peach Ale. It was amazeballs. ~Beast

Crepe:
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1 cup beer
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter


Filling:
4 cups mixed berries
1/2 cup sugar


Syrup:
12 oz Mexican double crema
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tblspn vanilla
1/3 cup cardamon simple syrup
1/2 cup powdered sugar


DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and beer. Gradually whisk in flour. Add the salt and oil, then whisk the batter vigorously for 3 to 5 minutes, so all is thoroughly incorporated. Let the batter sit for 1 hour.

2. Pour the berries in a bowl, mix with the sugar to mascerate. Let sit for half an hour.

3. Heat a 10 inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Brush it with butter, and when it's hot but not smoking, pour a scant 1/3 cup of batter into the center of the skillet, and rotate it so the batter covers the bottom of the pan in a thin layer, pouring out any excess batter. Cook the crepe until it is just golden on one side, 1 to 2 minutes, flip it and cook until it is golden on the other side, about 45-60 seconds. Transfer to a plate, and keep warm by covering with aluminum foil. Continue until all of the batter is used.

4. Spoon a large spoonful of berries into the center of a crepe. Roll into a tube.

5. Mix all ingrediants for the syrup in a mixer, and blend for 3 minutes. Once its all blended and smooth, pour over the crepes!

Cooper sure did like them!

Roots n Leaves Hash

This recipe comes from the collaborative minds of Beast and Laurel. We had some greens that were needing cooked, and this is what came of it.

Ingredients:

3-4 tbsp oil
2 medium parsnips
1 rutabaga
1 turnip
5-6 small red potatoes
1 bunch swiss chard
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp oregano
Salt & pepper to taste
1 egg, fried
1 kielbasa  (or other smoked sausage)

Dice up all the root veg, and toss into a hot pan with the hot oil. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the herbs and seasonings. Cook for another 5 minutes, then add the sausage. Fry till the root veg and sausage are almost browned. Toss in the cut up swiss chard. Cook till everything is browned and crispy, stirring as needed so as to not burn.

Plate the veg mixture, topped with the fried egg. A little smoked Chipotle tabasco, some grated cheddar, a dash of ketsup.. yum!

For the vegetarian, fry the sausage in a separate pan, and add to the plate after the vegetables.

 For those watching carbs, here's your break down. A single serving, roughly a cup and a half of hash = 34ish grams of carbohydrates. 

1 medium parsnip - 19 grams
1 rutabaga - 24 grams
1 turnip - 6 grams
1 small red potato - 34 grams
1 cup swiss chard - 1 gram
1 small onion - 6 grams
1 clove garlic - 1 gram
1 tsp smoked paprika - 1/2 grams
2 tsp oregano - 0 grams
Salt & pepper to taste - 0 grams
1 egg, fried - 1 gram
1 kielbasa - 21 grams