The Wifesaver

We did our first round of Christmas this past weekend. Brad and I are off to Georgia for the actual day, and then to Toronto for New Year's (family is all over the place!), so we decided to do our gift giving to each other while we were still home. We made a whole day of it - complete with a Christmas-style breakfast and dinner. Which is great for all of ya'll because I have 2 recipes that will be perfect for your holiday. We even spent all day playing with our "toys." I gave Brad that RockBand game, and I swear he stayed up till 3 am playing that sucker.

This first recipe is courtesy of my lovely mother-in-law, Terri. It is aptly named the Wifesaver because it can be conveniently prepared the night before, then baked up the morning of. It takes about an hour to bake, which was the perfect time for us to do some present opening. Even Suki got in on the action!

The casserole is hearty but not overly heavy. It has almost a quiche-like texture, combined with salty ham, sharp cheddar cheese and a crunchy cereal topping (the Special-K topping threw me a bit as well, but it was awesome!). Really delicious. Especially when it's paired with a nice fruit salad and croissants, like we did.

Since Brad and I are going to be spending the actual Christmas day with my family, this will be his first Christmas in 30 years away from his snow-covered home. He had requested that I try and make his mom's recipe as it was one of the things he will miss most about not being there on the actual day. It's funny how food is associated with some of our most cherished memories.

We are packing up here, but in the next day or so I will post the recipe for the most amazing Panettone bread pudding. Yum!

The Wifesaver

16 slices White Bread, crusts removed

1/2 lb. Canadian Back Bacon or Ham, thinly sliced

8 slices Sharp Cheddar Cheese

6 Eggs

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Pepper

1 tsp. Dry Mustard

1/4 cup minced Onion

1/4 cup Green Pepper, finely chopped

1-2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

3 cups Whole Milk

dash Tabasco

1 stick of Butter, melted

approx. 3 cups Special K cereal 

• Butter a 9x13 in. glass baking dish.
• Place 8 pieces of bread on bottom of dish and cover with slices of back bacon.
• Place cheese slices on top of back bacon, then cover with remaining bread slices.
• In a bowl, beat eggs, salt, pepper, dry mustard, onion, green pepper, Worcestershire sauce, milk and Tabasco.
• Pour mixture over bread, cover and let stand overnight.
• In morning, Pre-heat oven to 350℉.
• Pour butter over casserole and cover with cereal.
• Bake, uncovered for 1 hour (casserole will puff up and some of the cereal may fall off, so I'd recommend lining your oven with foil or a baking sheet).
• Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Homemade Bisquick!

I LOVE pancakes. I mean really love pancakes. As in this would be my last meal if I ever had to choose such a thing. I eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, desserts - practically anytime I can in some way rationalize eating them (I have yet to come across a time when I couldn't). My mom used to make them for us for both dinner and breakfast and I think this is where my infatuation began. She makes the best pancakes I've ever had. I think that might be due to the fact that they were made by her more than anything, but they are still the best.

In all my pancake making though, I have only every made them one way -- with Bisquick. Oh I've put in my share of different mix-ins, but they always start from that same yellow box. So imagine my surprise when Nigella comes up with this instant pancake mix that so closely resembles my beloved Bisquick. This accomplishes the whole "make pancakes in minutes" gig but with the caveat that you get to proclaim them as being homemade. Amazing! All you do is mix a few dry ingredients together, store them in an airtight container and toss them in the pantry. You will then be set to make delicious pancakes any time your heart desires.

The batter turned out perfectly and was very easy to assemble. The measurements for the batter are also easy to remember so you don't have to go hunting for the recipe next time. The pancakes themselves had a nice consistency and were delicious. Nigella also made a blueberry syrup to accompany these cakes, which I decided to take a crack at since the pancake making itself was such a cinch. Something went wrong with that syrup though. It was really watery and lacking in flavor. Could it have been due to the fact that I used frozen blueberries instead of fresh? I think I will just throw some berries into the batter next time and hopefully yield a better effect. But tonight I'm thinking banana chocolate chip...yum!

Nigella's Instant Pancake Mix w/ Blueberry Maple Syrup
Adapted from Nigella Express, Nigella Lawson, 2007

For the Mix:
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar

Mix all the above ingredients together and store in air-tight container.

To make the pancakes:
1 egg
1 cup of milk
1 tablespoon melted butter

• Whisk together 1 cup of the mix with each of the items listed above just until combined.
• Use an ice cream scoop or something of that sort to spoon out the batter onto a skillet over medium-high heat.**
• Using a spatula, flip the cakes over once they begin to bubble and have congealed enough to hold there shape.
• Continue flipping and cooking until they are browned on both sides.
  

For the blueberry syrup:
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 cups blueberries

• In a small pot, combine the berries and the syrup.
• Bring up to a boil for 3 minutes.
• Serve over pancakes.
  

**I personally like my pancakes when they are just crisp on the outside, so I always use a medium to medium-low heat to get them just right. But I'm only an expert at eating them, not necessarily cooking them!