Strawberry Banana French Toast & Calphalon Giveaway
Before I tell you how to win the Calphalon digital convection oven you must first read all about my strawberry banana french toast I baked up in my very own Calphalon digital convection oven that they so sweetly sent me.
For years I bugged the other half to buy me a convection oven to use endlessly for easy dinners. What I LOVE about this convection oven is the size. It fits a small pizza or a 9×13 cookies sheet. Yes, you can bake cookies in it in the summer without heating up the entire house. How brilliant is that in Texas’ super hot summer heat!
The oven is perfect for teenagers that have light cooking skills. On more then four occasions now my teenagers have used it to make their dinners while the other half and I headed out for date night. They love it too! The convection oven has custom time and temperature settings for bagels, pizza and cookies. The pull out crumb tray makes it a breeze to clean. It takes reading the manual and playing with the settings to get use to and remember how to work it. I already have it aced though!
Below the recipe is the giveaway but first here is a look at one of the easy make head or do the day of breakfast recipes we baked up in the digital convection oven.
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, add in egg, milk, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until mixture is well blended.
In a baking dish, add bread, bananas, and strawberries. Toss to even out the fruit with bread. Top with wet mixture and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until egg is set and top is lightly browned. Serve warm.
http://mooshujenne.com/baked-strawberry-banana-french-toast/Please follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter below in order to enter to win the Calphalon digital convection oven. It is mandatory that you comment the blog in order to be entered to win! Don’t forget that you can tweet about the giveaway daily through the Rafflecopter for extra daily entries! If you share it on Pinterest let me know in the comments for another extra entry.
*Disclosure: Calphalon is providing one winner with a digital convection oven. I was not reimbursed for writing this post and all opinions expressed here are my own.
Halloween Countdown – Day Four
Last weekend we had our Halloween party and I though I would share with you guys and gals as my Halloween countdown. Not very many people came out though we still had tons of fun. We had sinister cider with voodoo heads, buttered corn (popcorn), eyeball punch, caramel apples, and petrified pizza. Maybe a few late night tacos from Jack in the Crack (ie: Jack in the Box) for the drinkers; at least we had the sober driver go and get them 
Today, I want to share with you a DIY project on how to make wood grave stones and a recipe for the classic caramel apples with bacon or with nuts. But first I want to scare the crap out of you 
This would be my brother whom scared the piss out of the my teens and their friends at our Halloween party. He came through the house in the pitch dark while the movie was on and stood behind them. It’s was a class A scare!
This year I decided to go with a literary/science Halloween theme.The gravestones I crafted feature Poe, Tesla, and Shakespeare. What I seriously love about wood stones is they do NOT blow away in the wind. Just take a long piece of plywood and cut into three. Lowe’s will do this for you for free if you ask and don’t have a saw at home. Stencils are great for the lettering. I used spray paint in black, one to each slat, and acrylic white paint for the lettering. Used wood fencing pieces and adhered them to the back with screws and a drill to insert the stones in the ground to stand upright. These stones are better on the environment as you can use them year to year and they don’t blow away in the wind like the Styrofoam stones you can buy at the store.
Halloween can’t be without a treat! These were requested by the other half.
We chopped up our own nuts and added bacon to a few. I used Fuji apples.
Ingredients
Instructions
In a medium pot, heat caramels with two tablespoons of water on low heat.
Meanwhile, push lollipop sticks through the apples. It's fine if they pop out the bottom a little just slide them back up through.
Once the caramel is melted dip the apples and set on parchment paper. Drizzle chopped peanuts or cooked chopped bacon on the apples. Freeze for about 30 minutes to an hour.
Tip: I keep the apples frozen and pull them about an hour before they want to eat them as they last longer in the freeze!
http://mooshujenne.com/halloween-countdown-day-four/Four days until Halloween! What do you have planned?
Granola Blueberry Muffins & Granola Banana Muffins
The lovely people over at Cascadian Farms were fabulous enough to send me two boxes of their new Ancient Grains Granola cereal and give me two to give away plus a tote! Before we get to the giveaway there is this delicious recipe for granola blueberry muffins and granola banana muffins I want to show you first. After the family sampled Ancient Grains Granola they instantly decided that we needed to make a recipe from it. A short discussion went from granola bars to muffins. Since it is on my food list to make my own muffin recipes, I figured why not!
My son, Chance, quickly stated that these were the BEST blueberry muffins he had ever tasted. Though his idea is he made them. He did all the measuring and mixing while I, of course, directed him with my recipe. Since they are teenagers now my goal is to teach them to cook like me but always keeping a few recipes secret. That way when they move out they have to come home to have their favorites.
These are simple muffins to bake and make a quick healthy breakfast on the way to school. In fact, my son was eating one on the way out the door this morning. However, today is my son Tommy Lee’s 17th birthday. He and I are about to head out to have lunch for just the two of us at the Chinese buffet; that way he will get his fill of sushi.
Bake these yummy muffins this Fall
Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
In large bowl or bowl of stand mixer, add in two cups whole wheat flour, one cup brown sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and granola. Mix on low for about 30 seconds to one minute. Add in one and half cups of buttermilk, vanilla, and olive oil. Mix for about 1 minute until well incorporated; do not over mix. Add in fruit and mix for about 30 seconds until fruit is distributed.
Line cupcake pan with liners and spray with olive oil cooking spray to help the muffins from sticking to the liners. This is optional. Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop in muffin mix which should be level with top of the cupcake liner. Sprinkle extra granola on top of each muffin and bake for 16 to 18 minutes.
Serve with fresh jam or pumpkin butter.
http://mooshujenne.com/granola-blueberry-muffins-granola-banana-muffins/To enter the giveaway fill out the Rafflecopter below.
*Disclosure: I was given two boxes of Cascadian Farms Ancient Grains Granola to review. I was not reimbursed for writing this post and all opinions expressed are my own.
Curry Cantaloupe Parfait & A Chobani Giveaway
Today, I visited our local world market and I fond two of the cutest Chinese bowls with a place to hold the chopsticks. They are white with a black design. I can not wait to use them for a upcoming recipe! I scored them for only $2 a piece. Trying to decide if I should go back and pick up the plates that match.What do you think?
The lovely people over at Chobani sent me a case of yogurt to try out. I love the blood orange flavor and the pomegranate. Though, the honey goes perfect with so many desserts and savory dishes that I had a hard time deciding what recipe to make. My inspiration came to me when I was at the local organic store and I could smell the cantaloupe from across the way. Some might say yellow curry is spicy, but I feel it is actually flavorful. If your not a curry fan you can replace the curry in the recipe with apple pie spice. My son said apple pie spice would be wonderful with it. He’s not the hugest fan of curry. On the other hand I love curry spice especially with yogurt or apples!
My recipe for curry cantaloupe parfait.
Chobani Greek yogurt is currently sponsoring Team USA! And I am giving away a case of Chobani to one lucky winner! First the recipe for this simple parfait then you can fill out the rafflecopter below for the giveaway.
Ingredients
Instructions
In a parfait glass, add in a few balls of cantaloupe. Add a layer of honey Chobani yogurt on top of the cantaloupe and top with 1/2 teaspoon of yellow curry. Repeat the process one more time. Serve cold.
http://mooshujenne.com/curry-cantaloupe-parfait-a-chobani-giveaway/*Disclosure: I was given a case of Chobani to review. I was not reimbursed for writing this post and all opinions expressed are my own.
Rainier Cherry Ricotta Cobbler
The lovely team at OXO sent me a Cherry Pitter to test out. I am already bias to OXO tools since everything I have tested is wonderful! The cherry pitter is simple to use even for my left handed daughter who is 12. She was excited to use the new tool and insists that I buy all OXO tools for her to use in the kitchen because it is difficult for her with most kitchen gadgets. As you can see below it pops out the seed and has a splatter proof shield.
Here she is using the cherry pitter to pit the rainier cherries for this rainier cherry ricotta cobbler recipe.
In addition to the cherry pitter, OXO is running a recipe contest which will be judged by creativity, taste, and presentation. Below is my recipe for Rainier Cherry Ricotta Cobbler in which I am entering into the OXO Cherry Recipe Contest. The ricotta acts as an ice cream in this dish and it is topped with a crumble crust regularly featured on cobblers with a fresh topping of Rainier cherries that have been tossed lightly in honey added to the top with more honey drizzled over the entire dish.
I hope you all enjoy this refreshing dessert in this relentless heat.
Ingredients
Instructions
In a food processor, add ricotta, cinnamon, heavy cream, and sugar; blend well. Select the dish you plan to serve it in and layer in the ricotta mixture and freeze for about two hours until set.
Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, add brown sugar and flour; whisk well with fork. Adding one tablespoon at a time, whisk in margarine with a fork to make crumble granules. Be careful not to add to much margarine as you want the butter to create the granules rather then make it mushy. With your hand, drizzle the crumbles on to the cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Pull and let cool.
Using a OXO cherry pitter or other pitter of choice, pit cherries and then slice them in halves. Toss with about two tablespoons of honey and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
Pull the ricotta ice cream from the freezer and top with crumble crust. Lightly scoop Rainier cherries over the top of the crumble crust. Drizzle lightly with honey and serve.
http://mooshujenne.com/rainier-cherry-ricotta-cobbler/Please stop by Pinterest and have a look at all the other great recipes from bloggers that are entering the OXO Cherry Recipe Contest.
Apple and Carrot Hearts Salad
This morning I came across a site that gave me the perfect inspiration for a recipe involving carrots for the Fall Fest at FN Dish on Food Network. V’s family is from Prague and they make a wonderful salad involving carrots and apples. The dish is scrumptious but generally not visually appealing. I wanted to put a twist on the dish but I wasn’t sure just what to do till I stumbled upon this interesting carrot art “how to” at Sophistimom. For a tutorial on how to cut the carrots in hearts as featured below please check out her website. This is a simply fresh way to serve up carrots and apples with a cuteness factor. Our family loves this recipe and even eat it at breakfast!
Ingredients
Instructions
Sliced up all of the carrots and apples and place in a medium size bowl. Squeeze lemon juice over apples and carrots. Drizzle sugar over and toss to coat.
http://mooshujenne.com/apple-and-carrot-hearts-salad/
For more Fall Fest Recipes please visit the FN Dish – Fall Fest on Food Network or check out the list below for more recipes from the Fall Fest including carrots.
Thursday Night Dinner: Pickled Carrots
Virtually Homemade: Roasted Red Onions and Carrots With Pomegranate Gremolata
Haute Apple Pie: Carrot, Apple and Radicchio Slaw
What’s Gaby Cooking: Thyme and Honey Roasted Carrots
Glory Foods: Honey-Carrot Bread
Daily*Dishin: Carrot Cake Hawaiian-Style
FN Dish: Quick Carrot Sides for Thanksgiving
Cooking With Elise: Spiced Carrot Marmalade
Dishin and Dishes: Roasted Honey Balsamic Glazed Carrots
Daydreamer Desserts: Carrot Cheesecake
Mooshu Jenne: Apple and Carrot Hearts Salad
The Sensitive Epicure: Maple Bourbon Glazed and Braised Carrots
Daydreamer Desserts: Carrot Martini
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Carrot Slaw
Virtual Thanksgiving – The Communal Table: Green Salad
For Food Networks – FN Dish – Fall Fest we are having a Virtual Thanksgiving at our communal table. I want to share with you one of my most favorite recipes of all time when it comes to Thanksgiving. It is a dish that not only I love but so does my friends and family. Today, I am going to share a revisited post of Green Salad with you at the communal table. If you would like to join us for our Virtual Thanksgiving, come pull up a chair at #PullUpaChair on Twitter.
Ingredients
Instructions
Chop green onions and place in large bowl. Peel your cucumbers and then slice lengthwise and slice lengthwise again for quartered size pieces and place in large bowl. Slice and cube your Roma tomatoes and place in the large bowl. Cut open your avocados and take off the skin. Using a avocado peeler or spoon pull out the insides and then slice on cutting board and add to the large bowl. Open bottle of zesty Italian dressing and pour into the large bowl till bottle is empty. Toss till dressing has coated the salad.
http://mooshujenne.com/virtual-thanksgiving-the-communal-table/
Check out these other great recipes for potatoes at the FN Dish – Food Network.
Cocktails, Appetizers, Soups and Salads:
Sweet Life Bake: Pumpkin Margarita
Easy Peasy Organic: Thanksgiving Ginger Cocktail
Dishin and Dishes: Butternut Squash Bruschetta With Sage Pesto
Mooshu Jenne: Green Salad
Two Peas and Their Pod: Maple-Roasted Butternut Squash Apple Salad
Jones is Hungry: Roasted Vegetable Salad
Purple Cook: Pasta and Bean Stew With Tomatoes and Broccoli Rabe
From My Corner of Saratoga: Curried Pumpkin Soup
Mains:
CIA Dropout: Turkey and Stuffles Roulades With Squash Mash
FN Dish: Alton Brown’s Good Eats Roast Turkey
My Angel’s Allergies: Cranberry-Glazed Cornish Hens
Sides:
Cafe Terra Blog: Cranberry Pumpkin Stuffing
Virtually Homemade: Twice-Baked Cheddar and Chive Potatoes
Easy Eats Magazine: Sausage and Dried Cranberry-Walnut Stuffing
The Sensitive Epicure: Oyster Dressing and Gravy
Daily*Dishin: Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes Supreme
What’s Gaby Cooking: Rustic Herb Skillet Stuffing
Family Fresh Cooking: Coconut Brown-Butter Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Silvana’s Kitchen: Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Mushroom-Rye Stuffing
The Cultural Dish: Cranberry Sauce
Desserts:
I Am Baker: Pumpkin Cake
Heather Christo: Pumpkin Vanilla Ice Cream Pie
And Love It Too: Pumpkin Custard (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
Haute Apple Pie Girls: Double Pumpkin Mini Pies With Candied Pecans
Ladles and Jelly Spoons: Not Your Same Old Pumpkin Pie
Daydreamer Desserts: Cuban Diplomatic Pudding
Thursday Night Dinner: Red Wine Chocolate Cake
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Caramel Apple Pie
You can also vote for my recipe on Facebook for the Macy’s Recipe Share. Just go to the link, click vote for recipes, go to side dishes, and vote for the green salad. Thanks to those that vote! Vote for Me!
Rainier Cherry Panna Cotta – Summer Fest!
It’s just HOT here in Texas! Today with the heat index is over 111 degrees. So, to break the extremely unbearable heat and have a sweet summer fest in your mouth; I give you Rainier Cherry Panna Cotta. Rainiers are sweet cherries with creamy-yellow flesh. The cherries are very sensitive to temperature, wind, and rain. About 1/3 of a Rainier cherry orchard’s crop is eaten by birds. Well, if it is good enough for the birds then they are good enough for me!
Ingredients
Instructions
Place the milk, cream, and sugar in pot over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Meanwhile, place the gelatin in the bowl and add the reserved 1/4 cup milk, stir to combine. Add the gelatin mixture to the simmering pot and cook while stirring for 3 minutes. Pour the panna cotta into ramekins and chill for 4 hours or overnight if you would like. Once your panna cotta is set, pull it out, and drop some halved Rainier cherries over the panna cotta then drizzle caramel. Serve immediately!
http://mooshujenne.com/rainier-cherry-panna-cotta/
- What’s Gaby Cooking: Cherry Chocolate Truffle Ice Cream
- Big Girls Small Kitchen: Cherry Cornmeal Cake
- Cooking With Elise: Roasted Cherries with Lavender and Almond Panna Cotta
- Daydreamer Desserts: Cherry Crumble Cake
- Ingredient Challenge Monday: Black Forest Ice Cream Done Two Ways
- Spices and Aroma: Dilkush with Cherries
- And Love It Too: Cherry-Pecan Chicken Salad
- FN Dish: The Ultimate Cherry Pie
- Daily*Dishin: Simple French Cherry Clafouti
- Glory Foods: Collard Greens and Cherry Reduction
- Chez Us: Gluten-Free Cherry Clafoutis
- Food for 7 Stages of Life: South Indian Hot and Sour Soup
- Virtually Homemade: Dark Chocolate Cherry Kuchen
- In Jennie’s Kitchen: Cherry Conserves
- The Sensitive Epicure: Gluten-Free Cherry Almond Clafouti
- Cooking Channel: Very Cherry Sangria
- Napa Farmhouse 1885: Cherry Balsamic Vinegar
- Zaika Zabardast: Balsamic Cherry and Peach Crisp
- Mooshu Jenne: Rainier Cherry Panna Cotta
- Food2: A Very Cherry Recipe Round-Up
- Virtually Vegan Mamma: Fresh Cherry and Almond Scones
- CIA Dropout: Italian Cherry Cake
- Sweet Life Bake: Honey-Tequila Pickled Cherries
- Cooking With Books: Cherry Cooler
- Recipe Girl: Cherry Limeade Pound Cake
BLTA
This is one of my favorite simple sandwiches. I can’t have just a BLT, it has to be a BLTA! Avocado is a fruit just in case you were wondering. It is also a aphrodisiac! The Mayans and the Aztecs ate them to enhance sexual desirability. They have many vitamins and are extremely healthy for your body and heart. So why not add a little bacon to make it unhealthy?! Here is how I put together my BLTA. Let me know how you make your BLTA or BLT.
Ingredients
Instructions
Toast the sourdough bread on a griddle or in a toaster. After toasting the bread, add mayo to the bread slices. Skip this step if you are using vinaigrette. Add lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheese, onions and avocados to the slices of bread. If using vinaigrette dressing add to sandwich before cutting. Cut in half and serve.
http://mooshujenne.com/blta/
Curry Spiced Apple Chicken
My birthday was October 4th and I got a food processor from my mom. It was exactly what I asked for. You know those weeknights that your favorites TV series is coming on but you have to rush to make dinner. Your chopping so fast that you still end up cutting food and trying to watch the beginning from the kitchen. Yeah that is exactly why I asked for a food processor. Well and also the dough blades (wink wink) for the holiday season soon to come. So on with the story, I decided to make a recipe using the new food processor and something colorful for the autumn season. With seasons changing curry is great for sinus pressure. Enough yellow curry and your nose is clear and headaches from the pressure are gone! Hope everyone enjoys this dish as much as my family did last night.
Ingredients
Instructions
In a large saute pan (deep) put your olive oil, chopped garlic and chopped onions. Cook for about 2 minutes on high and then add in your chicken. Once the outside of the chicken is white add in your potatoes, apples and carrots. Evenly distribute your curry and salt over the top. Add in chicken broth to half way mark in pan. Do not fill all the way since the potatoes, onions and chicken create there own juices adding more liquid. Steam with lid for about 10 minutes stirring frequently till chicken and vegetables are tender and mixture is thickened. Taste test and if it needs more curry or salt you can still add this in. Serve over steamed white rice.
http://mooshujenne.com/curry-spiced-apple-chicken/
