Oh the horror!

Ok, so my camera cord is LOST! It's a tragedy to be sure.  I have one ordered, but still... I have PICTURES to share and BLOGS to post!!  Bah!  I'll just leave you with a taste of what I have cooking for you. (Get it?! Because this is a FOOD blog?!...Yep, I went there.) 

*White Beans with Sausage & Tomatoes (Italian peasant food)
*Brown Sugar Cupcakes with Caramel Filling & Caramel Buttercream Frosting
*44-Clove Garlic & Chicken Soup
*Maple & Mustard Panko Crusted Chicken

Is your mouth watering?  Mine is.  I'm going to go eat another cupcake and wait for my camera cord to come.

Chicken Elixir and an Apology

As many of you may know, I am currently going to school in order to complete my bachelor's degree.  I have been insanely busy and swamped with schoolwork.  Luckily, as I near the end of my education (read: GRADUATION!), I am finding that the amount of work I'm doing is less.  This is probably due to the fact that I took all of my 400 level classes first and am finishing up with the 200 and 300 levels.  Anyway, the point of that whole non-food-related explanation is that I'm so sorry to have left you recipeless for so long.  You missed me right?!  Of course, you did. 

If winter is a harbinger of the common cold, the flu, and other maladies to your home as it is to mine, then you will benefit greatly from the following recipe for a super amped-up chicken stock.

Chicken Elixir

from Lucinda Scala Quinn's Mad Hungry

1. Roast a chicken.  Or, if you are sometimes prone to laziness efficiency like me, use a broasted chicken that you buy at the grocery store.  Bone it, save the meat, throw the chicken bones, skin, and assorted debris into a large stockpot with a pasta insert. 

2. Add carrots, celery, onion, bay leaf, parsley, thyme, garlic, salt/pepper and enough water to cover all of the good stuff.  (This a great excuse to use those carrots and celery stalks that are withering in the bottom of your vegetable drawer...)

3. This is the step that turns chicken stock into chicken ELIXIR.  Add a large peeled knob of garlic and 2 jalopenos cut in half and seeded. 

4. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 5-6 hours.  Strain the debris from the broth.  Separate broth into 2-cup portions and freeze. 

5. When illness befalls you, thaw out a portion and drink it as hot as you can stand it.

Check out Mad Hungry for more detail on the health benefits of Chicken Elixir and assorted other awesome recipes.

Roasted Red Pepper, Sausage, & Asparagus Egg Bake

Holy cow!  It's December?  The 10th, you say?  How did that happen?  I don't know.  What I do know, however, is that nothing beats an egg bake for breakfast.  (Except, perhaps, for these.)  So, in honor of December whizzing by (or maybe just because I like eggs...), here is:

Roasted Red Pepper, Sausage, & Asparagus Egg Bake

Enough slices of baguette or crusty french bread to line the bottom of a casserole dish (about 6)

1 lb. ground sweet Italian sausage

1/2 bunch of slim asaparagus stalks, trimmed and cut into 1 - 1 1/2" pieces

1 1/2 c. grated Italian blend cheeses (parmesan, pecorino romano, fontina...)

3/4 c. diced and drained roasted red peppers (from 12 oz. jar)

6 large eggs

1 c. half and half

1 c. milk

salt and pepper

1) Place baguette slices in bottom of greased casserole.

2) Heat skillet over medium-high heat, add sausage.  Saute until cooked through, about 7 minutes.  Meanwhile, parboil asparagus, about 3 min.

3) In a medium bowl, combine asparagus, sausage, 1 c. cheese, and peppers.  Spread sausage mixture on top of the baguette slices.

4) Whisk eggs in a medium bowl.  Whisk in half and half, milk, and salt & pepper.  Pour over sausage mixture.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 c. cheese over the eggs.

5) Refrigerate overnight or bake immediately at 425 for 50-55 minutes.

ENJOY!

**We enjoyed our egg bake with leftover mashed potato patties.  (Whisk one egg into leftover mashed potatoes.  Season with garlic, rosemary, sage, salt & pepper.  Form into patties and fry in melted butter over medium high heat.  Let cook completely on the bottom before attempting to flip them.  Flip back and forth a few times to heat completely.  Amazingly delicious for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.)