Brunch Squares

Any recipe that starts with bacon must be amazing!

Okay, today is another trip down to the brunch-tastic vault.  I can’t help that I’m not always original, but I can help that what I choose to place on my table is delicious, and almost always a crowd pleaser!  Today, we’re also looking at a Pampered Chef recipe for Brunch Squares.  No worries if you can’t read a pdf file, I’m here to give it away for free!

First off, of course, The Ingredients:

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

2 cups (8 ounces) grated Colby & Monterey Jack cheese blend, divided

1 package (22.5 ounces) frozen hash brown patties, thawed (10 patties)

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

12 eggs

½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper (plus more, optionally)

  8 ounces thickly sliced deli ham (or 1 lb of bacon, cooked and diced)

 4-5 green onions with tops, divided (1 cup sliced)

 3 plum tomatoes (seeded and diced)

First, brush your stoneware bar pan with olive oil to ensure that it’s well seasoned.  You’d hate to have any of this stick behind while serving it up.  Next, crumble your hash brown patties into a single layer on the bottom of the pan.  Usually, I’m a wimp and my fingers freeze during this process, so I dice them with a handy dandy knife and then press them down once they’re in the pan.  Next, top with half of the required cheese; I buy pre-shredded cheese, but you could just grate your own, too.  Bake at 450 for 13-15 minutes, or until the edges are browned and the cheese is melted.

While that’s baking, whip the cream cheese until smooth, then gradually add in the eggs, and black pepper, whisking until smooth again.  I use a hand mixer to speed up the process, but it’s your call.  Then, add in ¾ C of your sliced green onions and your bacon (or ham) to the mixture.  It’s only there for a minute or two, so no worries, I promise.

When the hash browns are ready, remove from oven and let them cool while you’re finishing prepping.  If you’re ready, then go ahead and add your egg/cheese/bacon/onion mix on top.  Use a spatula to make sure everything is evenly spread, and then pop the tray back into the oven for 6-8 minutes.  This time, make sure the egg is set in the center and that the top looks like a cooked egg.  Sounds odd, but color helps!

Remove the pan, top with remaining green onions (1/4 cup), diced tomatoes, and cheese (4oz).  I then return it to the oven for about 2 minutes to heat through and melt the top layer of cheese.  Finally, remove it, cut it, and serve immediately.  Your guests will thank you for it.  While there is a bit of prep, and a lot of little steps to this recipe, it truly is easy, and so good.  It’s everything that makes a breakfast great, and you should give it a try when expecting a few for breakfast.  This makes 12 servings, but depending on your crowd, it’ll comfortably feed 8-10.

I'm not even a tomato fan and I find these delicious!!

French Toast Strata

The yolk's on you!!  (I doubled the recipe...)

Today’s feature: the dream breakfast or brunch entrée.  It’s hard to believe that there could be an item (or two) that people request over and over again for breakfast, but this is one of my mama’s recipes, which always ensures that it is spectacular (SPECTACULAR!), and that it’s reliable even for an okay baker like me.  I’ve talked about this before (because it is brunch-tastic), but here’s the secret family recipe…

French Toast Strata

Ingredients:

1 lb loaf of unsliced French bread

8 eggs

6 T butter, melted

8 oz. of cream cheese, cubed

2 and ½  C milk or half and half

¼ C maple syrup (plus more to serve)

Easy ingredients, right?  Even easier directions…

Cut the French bread into 1” cubes (makes about 12 cups).  Then, grease a 3 quart baking dish.  I like to coat it with butter (of course), but you could use a spray.  Place half of your bread cubes into the dish, then top with your cream cheese cubes.  Top off with your remaining bread cubes. 

Next, combine your eggs, milk, melted butter, and maple syrup in a bowl and mix well with a hand mixer or blender.  I like to fluff it up on high, but just make sure that it’s well combined.  Pour the mixture over your cubes. 

Use a spatula to slightly press down all the layers to make sure everything is well moistened.  (Ew.  I hate that word.  Do it just the same.)  

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours, but you can go up to 24 if you’re really well prepared.

That morning, removed the plastic wrap and bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes.  I like to broil for the last minute or so to crisp up the top, but that’s a personal preference.   Just bake until the center sets and your edges are lightly golden.  Let stand for about 10 minutes, then serve it up with warm maple syrup.

I promise that this is a winner every time.  It’s the perfect combination of French toast with cream cheese, and it is so easy that you won’t mind making it every time someone requests it (because you really love eating it, too!).

Seconds, please!

Brunch-tastic! (part one)

We have this issue with our family - over celebration.  For the first six months of every year, it seems as though there is a big celebration every weekend.  Birthdays, anniversaries, mother's day, father's day, MAR10, International Star Wars Day...  You name it, we have a cookout for it.  For this mother's day and my father-in-law's birthday, I thought, why not brunch?  Let's do something a little different.  We just had a huge cookout over Easter weekend, so what better way to highlight a mother's undying love for her progeny than by eating a calorie laden meal that also includes a serving of fruit?  I came up with the breakfast menu, Thomas worked on the lunch, and by our powers combined, we rocked the brunch scene!

You've already seen the cupcakes, so there's no point in dwelling on that, but here's a peek at our entire menu...

 

Starting from the top left (and working around vaguely counter-clockwise): cold meat and cheese platter with a basket of rolls, the maple bacon buttercream topped pancake cupcakes, ham and cheese brunch squares, Mama Gliwa's French Toast Strata, carmalized rosemary pears, asparagus (asparagii?) with a roasted garlic sauce, cold sweet potato salad, grilled rack of lamb, and Edible Arrangement, and a watermelon filled with some yummy punch.

There were 10 of us (plus my 3 year old nephew), and one of the biggest hits was the Ham and Cheese Brunch Squares (thank you, PC).  Even my nephew downed some, and I usually only see him feasting on meat!  It's a little difficult to tell, but the squares were made in the stoneware bar pan.  It not only cooked like a dream, but it cleaned like a dream, too!

 
Now, please note that the Brunch Squares have generous amounts of hash browns, eggs, bacon (we substituted out the ham), cheese, more cheese, and even cream cheese, tomatoes... anything that you consider a staple of breakfast, it's probably in there!  I was a bit dubious about the clean up of the stoneware - after all it is a porous stone, but PC said it wouldn't be a problem.  In fact, since I actually read up on it before hand, it said...

• Hand wash in clear, hot water; rinse and dry thoroughly before storing. NOTE: as soap can flavor foods that are baked in Stoneware, it is important that you do not use soap or detergents to clean your Stoneware or wash in an automatic dishwasher using dishwasher detergent. Follow these steps for general and deep cleaning.

Okay, fair enough.  But what if it gets stained?

Deep Cleaning

• Prepare a baking soda paste by mixing 1/2 cup baking soda with 3 tablespoons water. Apply baking soda paste to desired areas and let sit for 15-20 minutes. Scrape off excess paste using the Nylon Pan Scraper. Rinse and dry thoroughly before storing.

Sweet.  As you can see, I didn't need to deep clean the pan, but no soap?  In this day and age of anti viral/microbal/germythingys, it seemed to me to be a bit much to ask.  I understand you don't want soap to soak into the clay, but to not even grace the pan at all??  I did a little research.  Guess what I found from Rebecca Champlin, who has an MS in Microbiology?  Yeah, I'm going there, so if you're a nerd like me, heads up.  If not, scroll down a bit...

Soap does not sanitize your dishes.  It is simply a releasing agent that allows you to remove the food particles from your dishes easier.  Friction actually does more for removing the bacteria than the soap does.  This is accomplished by rubbing a dish cloth or other cleaning tool over your dishes.  Hot, clear water is the releasing agent for stoneware.  It releases all of the food particles and extra grease from the surface of the stone.  Your pan scraper provides the necessary friction. 

Bacteria need a warm, moist environment to thrive and grow.  That is why it is important to do your dishes as soon as possible to discourage the growth of airborne bacteria on your dishes.  YOU WILL NOT HAVE BACTERIA ON YOUR STONES OR YOUR DISHES IF YOU COOK YOUR FOOD THOROUGHLY. COOKED FOOD DOES NOT CONTAIN BACTERIA!!!!  However, it will grow bacteria if left out too long after cooking it or by not properly storing it in the refrigerator after you finish your meals.  All bacteria known to man are killed at 180 degrees.  Because the stones are porous, the moisture does not stay in them... it dries up very quickly.  If you want to rapidly dry your baking stones, put them in a 200-degree oven for 10 minutes. 

The seasoning on the baking stones (non-stick surface) is caused by the build-up of small amounts of residual oils from your foods. The dark colour of your stones is caused because our stones are made of vitrified clay and the repeated heating and cooling of the stones will darken them.   Our stones have been tested and approved for safe food handling and are acceptable for use in commercial kitchens using the cleaning procedure in the package insert.

Interesting, right?  Love it.  As if I needed more of a reason to believe in this stuff...  So, go ahead, kiddos, dig in.  It's clean, it's easy to clean, and it cooks so nice and evenly that you'll be hooked on the stoneware in no time at all, just like me!

Heads up next time, when I finish going over my part of the bruncheon menu, (and maybe why I also think my new zester is pretty sweet, even if fresh ginger makes me mad...)