March 1, 2020

Pre-covid apocalypse at Angelica's with a breakfast or brunch theme.  All were present except for Michelle.

Tonya gifted us with two different mimosa cocktails.  The beautiful Hawaiian Mimosa and the refreshing Lemosa .  Tonya garnished both with fresh fruit which was perfect for our spring gathering.  

Our appetizer were these sausage and cream cheese biscuit bites by Mary.  These are very good and remind me of the the type you make with Bisquick!

For the main dish Angelica picked sweet potato hash. This is a hearty breakfast food that is full of healthy vegetables and vibrant colors.  We sprinkled the bacon on top rather than stirring in with the kale because it is a pet peeve of mine to crisp up bacon and then put back in a dish where it wilts.  Not on my watch.

For dessert was apple cinnamon roll cake.  I used two apples as called out in the recipe and I would suggest adding one or two more to have even more crunchy apples in your cake.

Weekend cooking

I did some cooking this weekend, trying to start off right before the debauchery of Super Bowl Sunday happened.  I have been craving quiche.  Who doesn’t crazy quiche, right?!  It’s an egg pie with vegetables and cheese!  I followed this recipe adding about ½ a cup of chopped ham steak.  I also used frozen deep dish pie crusts and ended up having enough for 2 quiches with the addition of 2 eggs and ½ a cup of milk to make more of the custardy filling.  

For dinner, with it still being jacket weather, I made a soup in the crock pot.  This soup is a dump everything into a pot recipe and the only prep work was for the cilantro.  After cooking on high for 4 hours I shredded the chicken (2 chicken breasts) and added the cubed cream cheese.  It’s kind of crazy how much the cream cheese adds to the soup.  It gives it a body and creaminess that is very satisfying.  The calories really don’t count because 8 ounces of cream cheese is split over many servings.  I added a couple of cups of frozen corn to the soup because I was not using the entire bag in the corn bread.

With the soup I wanted a bread and I thought this is finally the time for me to make a Mexican corn bread.  I added a couple of sliced green onions that I had left over from the quiche to add some more greenery because I think that looks pretty.  I also only used half a can of chopped jalapenos because I have had Mexican corn bread before that was too spicy hot to be enjoyable.  I wanted subtle heat especially since it would be served along hot soup.

For Sunday, we smoked wings.  Or maybe we baked wings on a smoker…. Outdoor cooking isn’t my department.  I was only in charge of the rub.  This rub was perfect – not too salty, not too spicy.  I only jumped onto the wing craze in the last year and it is not because of the sauce, it is because of the crispy skin.  In a restaurant, this is accomplished by ordering the sauce on the side and then throwing it away (well, some people end up eating it.. I do not).   I figure without tossing the wings in a buttery sauce these can be diet friendly.  Other than a minor amount of skin, it is all protein.