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Recipes

Eggs While You Sleep

Rating: Easy

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes 

Yields 8 to 10 servings

Notes: Need to refrigerate overnight.  Best if baked just before 

8 sweet Hawaiian rolls or Brioche, cubed

6 ounces turkey bacon, diced

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 small bunch green onions, chopped

1 cup Swiss cheese, shredded, reserve ½ cup

8 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

½ teaspoon dry mustard

Salt and pepper

Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and spread bread evenly over the bottom of the pan.  Top with bacon, onions, and cheese. Mix eggs, milk, mustard, salt, and pepper, and pour over the mixture.  Top with reserved cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 1 hour or until golden brown and puffy.  Allow casserole to rest 10 minutes before serving.

Artichoke Tartlet

Rating: Easy

Time: 35 minutes

Yields 6 servings

Notes:  Best if made just before serving.  Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

1 jar (6.5 ounces) artichoke hearts

3 eggs

½ cup milk

1 handful basil, washed, stem removed

1 shallot

½ teaspoon nutmeg

2 tablespoons flour

⅔ cup goat cheese

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, pulse artichoke, eggs, milk, basil, shallot, and nutmeg. Stir in goat cheese.  Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface and form it in the bottom and halfway up the sides of a greased spring-form pan.  Bake the pastry for three minutes. Pour the filling into the pastry and bake for 30 minutes, or until the center has set. 

Cheesy Corn Frittata

Rating: Easy

Timing: 50 minutes

Yields 8 servings

Notes: Best if made just before serving

1 (15-ounce) can cream-style corn

2 tablespoons flour

5 strips of smoked bacon, crumbled

½ cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 large eggs

½ small, sweet onion, minced

¼ cup fresh basil, torn

½ cup pepper jack cheese, shredded, plus ¼ cup reserved 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend all ingredients together and pour into a greased quiche or pie pan.  Add reserved pepper jack cheese to the top.  Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown and the center is set.  Let it rest for a few minutes before cutting.  

Chicken Mini Club

Rating: A Little Effort, due to time

Time: 40 minutes

Yields 12 servings

Notes: Marinate chicken overnight. Grill chicken and make the guacamole a few hours before you assemble.  If you run short on time, purchase a rotisserie chicken from the deli and prepared guacamole.  

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons honey

1 small fresh lime, juiced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1-pound boneless chicken breast (approximately four breasts)

1 ripe avocado, pitted and flesh removed from skin

½ small fresh lime, squeezed

⅓ of a small bunch of cilantro, washed, stems removed

¼ small red onion

1 jalapeño pepper, (seeded if you do not want a lot of heat)

1 garlic clove

Salt to taste

1 dozen mini croissants or mini-French rolls, sliced

¼ cup mayonnaise

6 slices deli pepper jack cheese, sliced thin and cut in half

12 slices of bacon, cooked crisp 

2 large tomatoes, sliced thin, salted and peppered, and cut into 12 slices

12 red lettuce leaves

Red and Green grape clusters, optional garnish

Combine the first five ingredients and pour over the chicken.  Put chicken in an airtight container and let it marinate overnight. Remove chicken from the refrigerator and discard marinade. Grill chicken. Remove chicken from the grill and slice it thin. Pulse avocado, lime juice, cilantro, red onion, pepper, garlic, and salt in a food processor until the desired consistency. Spread mayonnaise on one side of the croissant/roll, and a generous helping of guacamole on the other.  Finish by layering with chicken, cheese, bacon, tomato, and lettuce.  Garnish the platter with grapes.

Twisted Bacon Sticks

Rating: Easy

Time: 30 minutes

Yields 16 sticks

Notes: Serve warm or at room temperature

20 slices of bacon, twisted

1 cup parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange bacon sticks on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until cooked and slightly crisp.  Remove from oven and let sticks cool slightly to the touch. Sprinkle both sides with Parmesan cheese, coating the entire stick. Serve at room temperature. 

Ginger Kissed Fruit

Rating: Easy

Time: 10 minutes prep (1 hour marinate)

Yields 8 to 10 servings

Notes: Fruit if marinated at least 4 -6 hours

2 cups strawberries, sliced

2 cups pineapple, cut into small chunks

3 cups seedless watermelon, cut into small chunks

½ cup dry ginger ale

Toss the fruit together and pour the ginger ale over the fruit.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Drain fruit thoroughly and serve.  

Cranberry Apricot Muffin

Rating: Easy

Time: 30 minutes

Yields 12

Notes: Best made fresh, but can be made a day in advance

2 cups all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour

1 egg

½ cup sugar of choice

1 cup Greek yogurt

½ cup melted butter

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup chopped dried apricots, soaked

1cup fresh cranberries or ½ cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin tins or line them with cupcake liners. Boil 2 cups of water in the microwave. Soften chopped apricots in the boiling water for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, apple cider vinegar, and salt. Create a well in the center and set it aside. In a separate bowl, combine yogurt, 1 melted butter, egg, and milk until just combined. Pour into dry ingredients and mix until combined. Do not over-mix. Drain apricots and fold in gently. Add cranberries. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full of batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Toasted Coconut Rum Cake

Rating: A Little Effort

Time: 1 ½ hours

Yields 12 servings

Notes: Can be made the day before

Rum Cake:

½ cup dark rum

½ cup canola oil

½ cup milk

4 large eggs

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix (no pudding in recipe)

1(3.4 ounce) package dry vanilla pudding mix

Butter Glaze:

¼ cup dark rum

¼ cup unsalted butter

Coconut Frosting:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon almond extract

¼ cup milk

2 cups shredded sweet coconut flakes, toasted, set aside

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast the coconut in a baking dish for 9 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Combine the cake ingredients and mix on high for 5 minutes, or until the batter turns light yellow.  Pour into a greased bundt pan.  Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown on top, and a toothpick comes out clean. 

Once the cake is finished cooking, let the cake cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack.  Invert the cake and remove from the pan. Make the glaze by melting rum and butter together in a saucepan.  Bring to a low boil and turn off the heat. Fork holes into the top of the cake, then gently pour the glaze over it. Let the cake completely cool before frosting.  

For frosting, cream together sugar and butter on medium-high speed until creamy.  Add vanilla and milk, then beat for two to three minutes, scraping down the sides. Frost the cake, and bond toasted coconut to the entire outside of the cake.  The frosting will act as glue, holding the coconut to the cake. Store your cake in an airtight container until serving. 

Tropical Island Treat

Rating: Easy

Time: 15 minutes

Yields 10 to 12 servings

Notes: Can be made several hours in advance, except for ginger ale.

2 cups pineapple juice

1 cup coconut milk

1 whole vanilla bean, scraped (or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract)

4 cups pineapple sherbet, scooped

1 liter of ginger ale 

Pineapple wedge (optional garnish)

Combine juice, milk, vanilla, and sherbet into a pitcher.  Place in refrigerator until sherbet melts. Fill each glass with equal parts ginger ale and mix.  Add a shot of rum and garnish if desired.

Berry Shots

Rating: Easy

Time: 10 minutes

Yields 20 shots

Notes: Best if made just prior to serving

2 cups frozen blueberries, thawed

2 cups frozen strawberries, thawed

1 cup frozen raspberries or blackberries

½ cup vermouth

3 tablespoons key lime juice

¼ cup super fine granulated sugar

½ cup full-fat vanilla yogurt

Fresh fruit or mint for garnish

Blend all ingredients in a food blender until very smooth.  Pour into shot glasses and garnish with mint or a fresh fruit slice if desired.  Serve cold.  

Rise and Shine Sangria 

Rating: Easy

Time: 5 minutes

Yields 6 servings

Notes: Make the day before

1 (750 ml) Prosecco

1 cup Cointreau

12 ounces sparkling grapefruit water

1 pink grapefruit, sliced, seeded

1 cara cara, blood or navel orange, sliced, seeded

1 lemon, sliced, seeded

1 lime, sliced, seeded

10 maraschino cherries, with a splash of juice

Mix everything together in a pitcher, minus the sparkling water. Refrigerate overnight.  Discard fruit and add sparkling water. Serve on the rocks with wedges of citrus fruit.

Refreshing Lemon Water with a Twist

Rating: Easy

Time: 5 minutes

Yields 16 servings

Notes: Best made 4 hours prior

1 large lemon, sliced

½ cup mint leaves, fresh, bruised (bruise mint gently by rolling the spoon over the surface)

1 gallon filtered or bottled water

Mint garnish, reserve eight mint leaves

Lemon slice garnish

Mix the above ingredients together, except the garnish, and chill overnight.  Remove mint and lemons from the pitcher and strain the water.  Garnish the pitcher with a few lemon wedges and a few fresh mint leaves.