Cupid's Pillows

For the same women's breakfast we made the Blueberry Stuffed French Toast and Apple Tarts for, we made this delectable treat. I mentioned that the ladies considered the french toast to be the best dish served, but personally these pastries exceed even this favorite dish in flavor.

Cupid's Pillows

 



- Danish dough, we used home made but store bought will work too.

- Fresh Raspberries

- Chopped Dark Chocolate

 

Preheat oven to 425F. Spread Danish dough 1/8 inch thin then cut into 3 inch squares. In the center of each square place 1-2 fresh raspberries and a large pinch of dark chocolate. Fold the squares in half diagonally and seal/score with the tines of a fork. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and bake cupid's pillows at 425F for 8-15 minutes, until golden brown.

 

Enjoy!

 

Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

This is something I first saw made by my parents for a women's breakfast at their church.  Out of the 6 dishes served that morning, this was by far the favorite among the ladies, and resulted in several catering requests. I proceeded to make this same recipe for the Easter brunch at my church, and once more it was a major hit.

 

Blueberry Stuffed French Toast

 

- 1 loaf portuguese sweet bread

- 1 8 oz bar cream cheese

- 3 cups blueberries (or other fruit of choice)

- 1 dozen eggs

- 2 cups heavy cream

- 1/3 cup maple syrup

 

Prepare the night before:

Cut or break the bread into bite size pieces.  Layer half the bread in a foil half pan. Spread the cream cheese over the bread, my mother rolls it out while chilled between two sheets of plastic wrap, I cut it up and spread chunks evenly over bread. Spread 2 cups of blueberries over cream cheese. Place remainder of bread in pan on top, you may need to press it down firmly to fit it all, then spread remaining berries on top.

 

In a large mixing bowl whisk together eggs, heavy cream and maple syrup. Slowly pour egg mixture over bread mixture in pan, be very careful as it takes a long time to seep in and is easy to spill over the edges. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.

 

Morning of:

Preheat oven to 350F. Leave covered with foil for first half hour in oven, then uncover and bake for another half hour.

 

Enjoy!

 

Easy Fruit Tarts

 

 

 You can take the time to make your own puff pastry dough like my mom did for the first time I made these tarts for a church breakfast, but for these easy tarts, I used frozen puff pastry dough from the grocery store, and they went over just as well at the Easter brunch I served them at.

Easy Fruit Tarts

 

1 box frozen puff pastry dough, thawed



Fruit of choice (I used diced apples with cinnamon and granulated sugar and frozen mixed berries, thawed, drained and chopped with a little added granulated sugar.

Preheat oven to 350F. Roll puff pastry dough to 1/8 inch thickness.  Cut each sheet of dough into 12 squares. Use the squares to line muffin tins and fill with desired fruit mixtures. Bake at 350F for 10-20 minutes, until crust has puffed and turned golden brown.

Enjoy!

Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Lasagna

My brother recently came home from college ranting about a creamy spinach lasagna he had, and I did my usual thing trying to figure out what would have gone into it.  Yesterday I was scrolling through a blog and noticed a spinach artichoke lasagna that used a marinara sauce.  The light went off in my head and I couldn't help but make a creamy spinach artichoke lasagna.  I hope you enjoy it!

Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Lasagna

15 oz ricotta cheese

2 eggs

1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 lb frozen chopped spinach

1 12 oz jar artichoke hearts

No boil lasagna noodles

Your favorite alfredo sauce

Shredded mozzarella

Thaw, drain and squeeze the spinach. Drain and roughly chop the artichoke hearts.  Preheat oven to 375F  Combine ricotta, eggs, garlic, salt, pepper and 1 cup mozzarella in a large bowl, mixing well.  Stir in the spinach and artichoke hearts.  Line the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish with a thin layer of alfredo sauce, followed by a layer of lasagna noodles.  Spread a layer of the spinach mixture over the noodles.  Repeat the previous three layers followed by more sauce, noodles then sauce.  Sprinkle as much shredded mozzarella as you desire over the top.  Cover with foil, keeping foil from touching the mozzarella, and bake at 375F for 1 hour, then uncover and bake another 15 min.  Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Personal Pizzas

I got this idea from one of my brothers who made a cold veggie pizza this way, and decided to mix it up a bit.  If you have picky eaters who all like different toppings on their pizza, this is a great way to make pizzas for everyone to love.

Personal Pizzas

Store bought crescent roll dough (one tube makes 2 pizzas)

Your choice of sauces and toppings

Pre-heat oven to temperature listed on dough's packaging.  Unroll dough and separate into sections along the perforation down the center.  Press the remainder of the seals together*.  place flat on cookie sheet and bake until they are lightly golden brown.  Remove from oven and spread sauces and toppings as desired.  For hot pizzas place back into oven until toppings are hot and cheese (if used) is melted.  The options I have enjoyed so far are listed below.  Feel free to use your favorite sauces and toppings.

*If you want to make these into appetizers separate at all perforations for triangular mini pizzas.

Buffalo Chicken

Sauce:

Cream cheese with chives

Hot sauce

Toppings:

4 microwave chicken nuggets (per pizza)

Hot sauce**

Broccoli

Mozzarella

Combine 2 parts cream cheese with 1 part hot sauce and spread on cooked crust.  Microwave nuggets according to package directions and cut each into 6-8 pieces.  Dredge nugget pieces through hot sauce and place on pizza.  Cut broccoli into small pieces and place on pizza.  Cover with desired amount of Mozzarella.  Bake until cheese is melted.

**If you want the buffalo flavor without so much kick you can omit the hot sauce on the nuggets.

Alfredo Chicken with Broccoli

Sauce:

Your favorite alfredo sauce

Toppings:

4 microwave chicken nuggets (per pizza)

Broccoli

Crushed red pepper flakes

Mozzarella

Spread alfredo sauce on cooked crust.  Microwave nuggets according to directions and cut into 6-8 pieces each.  Place on pizza.  Cut broccoli into small pieces and place on pizza.  Sprinkle pepper flakes lightly on pizza and top with desired amount of mozzarella.  Bake until cheese is melted.

Cold Veggie

Sauce:

Garden vegetable cream cheese

Toppings:

Cucumber

Tomato***

Broccoli

Any vegetable you desire

When the crust had finished baking put it aside to cool.  Cut the vegetables into small pieces.  Once the crust is cooled spread the cream cheese and top with the vegetables.

***I would suggest cherry tomatoes halved or quartered.

Enjoy!

Green Bean Pasta Casserole

I love green bean casserole!  I love pasta!  Why not combine them?  So I did, and it turned out scrumptious.  I hope you enjoy this too!

Green Bean Pasta Casserole

1 lb pasta of choice (I used cavatelli)

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can milk or water

2 cans green beans

French's fried onions

Cook the pasta al dente and drain.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Combine soup and water or milk, then add green beans.  Add the pasta to the soup mixture and stir in 2/3 cup fried onions.  Pour into a casserole dish and cover with fried onions.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until onions are browned.  Let sit for 1 minute before serving.  Enjoy!

Taco Casserole

I wasn't sure what to make for dinner tonight, all I knew was I wanted to use taco meat and I didn't want run of the mill tacos.  Looking around what I had I gathered a bunch of things and made this delectable taco casserole.  You can also use this concept to make a delicious dip*.

Taco Casserole

1 lb ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 Tbsp minced garlic

Salsa

1 package hard taco shells

Cream cheese with chives

Salsa

3 cups shredded cheese of choice (I used a Mexican Blend)

Cook the ground beef over medium high heat.  When it is fully cooked reduce heat to medium and add onion and garlic, cook until they start to become translucent.  Add the taco seasoning, mix well and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350F. Cover the bottom of a pie pan, you can use a casserole dish if you prefer, with a thin layer of salsa.  Crush 1/3 of the taco shells and spread over the salsa.  Spread a layer of the cream cheese over the taco shells, followed by half the meat mixture.  Atop the meat spread 1 cup of cheese then repeat the layers again: salsa, crushed taco shell, cream cheese, meat mixture, cheese.  Atop the cheese spread another layer of salsa then cream cheese and crumble the rest of the taco shells over it.  Cover the top with the last cup of cheese and bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted.  Enjoy!

*If you want to make a 4 layer dip to serve with chips just layer the cream cheese, salsa, meat and cheese and bake.

**You can also add anything else that you would like with tex-mex food, like jalapenos, black olives, artichoke hearts, sour cream, refried beans and/or guacamole for added layers.