The only major change I can see is that I didn’t use the oval baker the recipes calls for.  I used my deep covered baker and I’m actually liking this size better than what the cookbook had pictured.  Otherwise, everything was good.  It really didn’t take that long to prepare (other than baking the bread), but even then, everything was pretty smooth.

Ingredients:
12-16 slices firm white sandwich bread
3 tbsp butter or margarine, divided
1 can (10-3/4oz) condensed cream of celery soup
1/3 cup milk
1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 red bell pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
4oz deli baked ham, diced (about 1/2 cup)
10 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup (4oz) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 bag (5oz) fresh spinach leaves, washed and stemmed (about 6 cups)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Cut crusts off bread; cube crusts to measure 2 cups.  Arrange bread slices in an overlapping pattern against sides of oval baker; place bread cubes in bottom of baker.  Microwave 2 tbsp of the butter in small micro-cooker on high 30 seconds or until melted; lightly brush over bread slices.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until edges of bread are golden brown.
2. Meanwhile, in small batter bowl, whisk soup, milk and black pepper until smooth.  Finely chop onion using Food Chopper.  Dice bell pepper and ham using knife. Melt remaining butter in 12-inch skillet over medium heat; add onion and bell pepper.  Cook 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender; stir in ham.  Whisk eggs in classic batter bowl; add to skillet.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until eggs are set but still moist.
3. Stir in soup mixture; cook 1 minute or until hot.  Grate cheese using cheese grater.  Gently stir 3/4 cup of the cheese into egg mixture; fold in spinch, half at a time.  Cook about 2 minutes, stirring gently until spinach is wilted.
4. Spoon egg mixture into center of baker, mounding slightly in center.  Top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutritional Information: calories 340; total fat 19g; saturated fat 9g; cholesterol 300mg; carbohydrate 25g; protein 18g; sodium 810mg; fiber 1g
Diabetic Exchanges per serving: 2 meat, 1 vegetable, 1 starch, 1-1/2 fat (1 carb)

One thing I did with this recipe, and I’m not sure how well it’ll turn out, is I made the filling last night and I’m going to make the wreath this morning.  This is another dish Jesse is taking to work and I wanted the dish to retain some heat.  So I’m going to cook it before he heads in.  It’s been awhile since I sent anything hot in, so we’ll see how this works.

One other thing I did, which shouldn’t surprise anyone, is I really didn’t measure the veggies before adding them.  I ended up using a full red bell pepper, all of the tops from the asparagus spears and probably 1/3 of an onion (although I would say it was a rather large onion).  I’m not really sure if adding extra veggies is a bad thing, but it’s never harm a recipe in the past.

I have already found something I want to change, but it’s purely a selfish change since I cooked asparagus really has no appeal to me.  I’m really thinking I could exchange the asparagus for broccoli or another green veggie and it’ll still work.  Not totally sure, but it’s a thought.

Ingredients:
4oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
8 eggs, divided
1 tsp all-purpose dill mix
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 lb fresh asparagus spears, cut into 1-inch pieces (3/4 cup)
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In classic batter bowl, whisk cream cheese and milk; add flour and whisk until smooth.  Spearate 1 egg; reserve egg white.  Add the yolk, remaining 7 eggs, dill mix, salt and black pepper to cream cheese mixture; whisk until smooth.  Add asparagus, bell pepper and onion to bater bowl; mix well.
2. Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat.  Add egg mixture; cook, stirring occasionally, 4-6 minutes until eggs are set but still moist. Remove pan from heat.
3. Unroll crescent dough; separate into triangles. Arrange triangles in a circle on Classic Round Stone with wide ends overlapping in the center and points toward outside. (There should be a 5-inch diameter opening in the center) Using Medium Scoop, scoop egg mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle; sprinkle with cheese.  Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring. (Filling will not be completely covered.)  Brush with remaining lightly beaten egg white.
4. Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutritional Information: calories 320; total fat 21g; saturated fat 9g; cholesterol 25mg; carbohydrate 26g; protein 7g; sodium 620mg; fiber 0g.
Diabetic Exchanges per serving: 1 meat, 2 fruit, 3 fat (2 carb)

This is also a great recipe to take to those morning breakfast gatherings! Bake it before you leave and take it in the stoneware…it’ll stay warm the entire way there. The only change I really found was adding the ham to the egg mixture. When you pour the egg mixture over the hash browns, all the ham tended to stay in the bottom of the batter bowl, so it didn’t spread out evenly. Instead, what I recommend is either pouring the egg mixture over the hash browns and then sprinkling on the ham and onions or vice versa. I think you’ll get a better distribution of ham this way.

Another trick is to microwave the cream cheese before you try whisking it.  Or make sure it’s really thawed because you can end up with some lumpy cream cheese in the egg mixture.  There were some who liked it this way when I first made it (I didn’t think of microwaving it until later), but I’m not a huge cream cheese fan so I prefer it mixed in.

Ingredients:
1 tsp vegetable oil
2 cups (8oz) grated Colby & Monterey Jack cheese blend, divided
1 pkg (22.5 oz) frozen toaster hash brown patties, thawed (10 patties)
8oz cream cheese, softened
12 eggs
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
8oz thickly sliced deli ham
5 green onions with tops, divided (1 cup sliced)
3 plum tomatoes
Additional coarsely ground black pepper (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Lightly brush stoneware with oil using a basting brush or oil spritzer. Grate cheese using a mandoline. Crumble hash browns over bar pan; press gently into an even layer. Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over hash browns. Bake 13-15 minutes or until crust starts to brown and cheese is melted.
2. Meanwhile, in a batter bowl, whisk cream cheese until smooth using whisk. Gradually add eggs and black pepper; whisk until smooth. On the cutting board, coarsely chop ham using a food chopper. Slice green onions, reserving ¼ cup of the tops for garnish. Place ham and remaining green onions into (8-in.) a sauté pan; cook and stir over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until hot. Stir ham mixture into egg mixture using small scrapper.
3. Remove bar pan from oven to a stackable cooling rack. Pour egg mixture over crust. Return bar pan to oven; bake 6-8 minutes or until center is set. Meanwhile, slice tomatoes in half lengthwise using a knife; scrape out seeds and dice. Remove bar pan from oven; top with remaining cheese, tomatoes and reserved green onions. Sprinkle with additional black pepper, if desired. Cut into squares and serve using a mini-serving spatula.

Yields: 12 servings

Nutrients per serving: Calories 180, Total Fat 8g, Saturated Fat 3.5g, Cholesterol 15mg, Carbohydrate 18g, Protein 10g, Sodium 380mg, Fiber 1g

Variations: If desired, 2 cups cooked and crumbled bulk pork sausage (¾ pound) or 1 pound bacon, cooked, drained and crumbled, can be substituted for the deli ham.

Ingredients:
2 cup sugar
salt
nutmeg
4 tbsp melted butter
4 eggs
2 level tsp soda
2 cup buttermilk
3-1/2 cup flour

Directions:

1. Preheat deep fryer to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix together soda and buttermilk. Cover the top of the sugar with nutmeg. Mix together.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and roll out dough 1/2 inch thick, cut with floured donut cutter or make donut balls. Deep fry until brown, flip once.

The one thing you have to watch is the batter thickness.  If you like thick pancakes, then this recipe will work beautifully for you; however, if you like thin pancakes, you’ll probably need to add more Bisquick.  Once you add the jam, it will thin the batter, which works for the cookies since you want them thin instead of thick.  I’ve tried cherry, strawberry and raspberry jams with this recipe and Ian has loved them all.  I generally use whatever I have in the fridge, so there really is no limitations on flavors.

Another variation on this recipe is to use fruit instead of jam.  I have done that in the past as well.  Just like with the Fruit Pancakes, once you’re done with dinner, simple make the silver dollar pancakes, maybe adding a little more fruit depending on how much you have in the batter to begin with, and viola.

Ingredients:
2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup egg product or 2 eggs
3/4 to 1 cup milk
2 heaping tbsp of jelly or jam

Directions:

1. Heat griddle or skillet over medium-high heat or electric griddle to 375°F; grease with cooking spray, vegetable oil or shortening. (Surface is ready when a few drops of water sprinkled on it dance and disappear.)
2. Stir all ingredients until blended. Pour by spoonful onto hot griddle.
3. Cook until edges are dry. Turn; cook until golden.

Cook Tips: For technicques regarding pancakes, check out Bisquicks page.

Ingredients:
1 (18.25oz) package yellow cake mix
1 (3.4oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (3.4oz) package instant butterscotch pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan, or a 10 inch Bundt cake pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, and butterscotch pudding mix. Add the eggs, oil and water, mix until well blended. In another bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Pour half of the batter into the pan, spread evenly. Sprinkle with half of the nut mixture. Cover with the rest of the batter, and sprinkle with the rest of the nut mixture.
3. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn the oven down to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes.

When I add fruit to pancakes, I don’t throw all the fruit into the batter and then pour into a pan. My father does that and I’m not crazy with the end results. You can end up with fruit cooking straight on the pan instead of in the pancakes and it can taste a little funny. Instead, I will pour the pancake batter into the pan and then put the fruit on the pancake after a couple of seconds sitting in the pan. Once the fruit is in the batter, I’ll take more batter (usually using either a fork or whisk) and dab it on top of the fruit, making sure all the fruit is covered. This way, when I flip the pancake, none of the fruit is touching the pan and it’s being cooked from the inside.

Anyway, here’s what we’ve found with the following fruit:

Raspberries:
It’s not bad, but it can be a weird combination with maple syrup. Something I found that works out really well is smashing the raspberries before putting them in the batter. The first pancake I tried, I didn’t smash the berries and when Jesse cut into it, he found molten areas of raspberries that wasn’t all that fun to be burned with. The second time around, I smashed them and they came out great. It took fewer raspberries for each pancake and you didn’t get overpowered in a single bite. Instead, it was spread out a lot more.

Jesse wasn’t crazy about the raspberries in the pancakes, but he only had that first pancake where I didn’t smash them up. So that may make a difference.

Peaches:
This was really good. The peaches added a sweetness that worked well with powdered sugar and even maple syrup. I made sure I cut the peaches up into small tidbits and sprinkled them all over the pancake and it cooked really beautifully. The flavor wasn’t overpowering and it added something a little fun.

Bananas:
Ian loves bananas and we had a couple sitting around, so I thought I would throw a couple into the batter for a change. I thought they were really good, but Jesse doesn’t think he liked it to well. The bananas did add a strange texture and taste to the pancakes, but it was a good contrast in my opinion. Again, I cut the bananas into small tidbits and sprinkled around the batter.

Apples:
This was also a surprise. I can’t remember what type of apple I used, but again, I cut them into tiny tidbits and they came out really good. I want to say I used a macintosh, but don’t quote me on that since I remember the apples adding a bitterness to the pancake that counterbalanced the sweetness of the maple syrup. I’m not a fan of maple syrup, it’s too sweet for me, but with apple pancakes, it was actually really good.

Ingredients:
3 cans of grand biscuits
2 pk cream cheese
1 pk sharp shredded cheese (16 oz)
1 pk of ham lunch meat – diced or sliced (if sliced, chop ham into bite size pieces)

Directions:
Bring cream cheese to room temperature. Combine cream cheese, shredded cheese and ham. Flatten grand biscuits and place into muffin pan. fill biscuit with cream cheese mixture. Bake in oven at 375 for 15-18 min (or according to pk directions)

Serves 24

Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients:
1 (1/4 ounce) package yeast
3/4 cup water (110-115 degrees)
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup cocoa
2-1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon softened butter
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
chopped nuts (optional)

Icing ingredients
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2-3 teaspoons cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. In medium bowl,dissolve yeast in water.  Stir in shortening, salt, sugar, egg, cocoa, and 1 cup flour. Beat 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer, or 300 vigorous strokes by hand. Scrape side of bowl, stir in remaining flour; blend well. Cover and let rise in warm place until double (about 1 hour). Stir dough down by beating 25 strokes.
2. Turn soft dough into well floured surface; roll into 8×12-inch rectangle. Spread with softened butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Roll up beginning with wide edge.Pinch edges together. Cut into 12 pieces. Place in greased 9×13-inch pan. Let rise until doubled (about 40 minutes) Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes.
3. Combine icing ingredients, adding enough cream for good spreading consistency. Spread on rolls immediately and then sprinkle with nuts if desired. Serve warm. Can also use favorite cream cheese icing to frost.

Jesse and I tried the instant version, and while they were okay, they definitely need some work. They came off really bland and desperately in need of some flavoring. I’m thinking the chicken broth can go and be replaced with water and a bunch of spices. What those spices are, I’m not entirely sure yet, so I’m up for suggestions.

INSTANT VERSION:
1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth (1 3/4 cups)
Generous dash ground black pepper
1-1/2 cups instant mashed potatoes flakes or buds
1 green onion , coarsely chopped

Directions:

1. HEAT broth and pepper in saucepan to a boil. Remove from heat. Add potato flakes and onion and stir until liquid is absorbed. Shape potato mixture into 4 (4″) pancakes.
2. COOK pancakes in nonstick skillet until browned on both sides.

FRESH VERSION:
2 lb. Idaho potatoes, peeled
8 oz. yellow onions
2 large eggs, beaten
4 oz. ham, diced
1/4 cup green onions, diced
3 oz. green bell pepper, diced
4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Vegetable oil as needed
Sour cream as needed

Directions:

1. Rinse potatoes under cold water. Coarsely grate potatoes and onion using grater or food processor. Place in towel; twist to squeeze out all water.
2. Mix potato and yellow onion with eggs, ham, green onions, bell peppers and cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Heat griddle or non-stick pan with thin film of vegetable oil over medium heat. Drop approximately 2 Tbsp. potato pancake mixture onto griddle and flatten with spatula. Fry until golden, flip over and brown other side, about 4 minutes. Drain on towel; serve immediately with sour cream.

For convenience, frozen hash browns can be substituted for the fresh Idaho® Potatoes.