This is the first Holiday in a LONG time that I haven’t gone crazy being away from the office. I’ve taken extended time off, almost a whole two weeks. Yes, I have checked in a few times, but not obsesevely.

What’s been keeping me busy? Family, friends and a new venture I’ll reveal more about later.

In my house, I’m the oldest grandchild at 30 and as a group we’re all getting older and there are some traditions that have been in my family since my mom and aunts were little girls. The most important: Reading the Night Before Christmas as a family.

This tradition was fun and created anticipation as a child. As an adult, mixing in a little egg nog can make it fun, but in a more grown up kinda way.

Here’s a recipe my Aunt Betsy used this year to feed an army on Christmas morning, but it’s so easy and prepares so easily, that I plan on using it the next time I have guest staying over for the weekend.

Sausage Potato Bundt

2 T. dry breadcrumbs

2 lb. breakfast sausage

½ c. chopped onion

½ c. chopped roasted bell peppers, drained

4 c. shredded hash browns, thawed

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

14 eggs

½ c. milk

1 t. salt

¼ t. pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Generously butter a 10 or 12-cup bundt pan and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. 
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage and onion until sausage is no longer pink.  Drain very well.  Add peppers, cheese and hash browns.  Mix well. 

In a large bowl, stir together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.  Mix well.  Spoon sausage mixture into egg mixture.  Pour into prepared pan; press firmly.  Bake at 400 degrees for 55 to 65 minutes.  Cover loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes or so, if needed to prevent over-browning the top.  Casserole is done when knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Loosen edges, then invert onto plate.  10-12 servings.  May cut recipe in half and use a 6-cup bundt pan or an 8” x 8” pan.  

If you’re anything like me around the holidays, your schedule is full, your days are busy and you’re enjoying the hustle and bustle of the season. The other night I was out for sushi and guess what was on the radio all ready…you guessed it…Christmas music.

And this is the time of year when my spice rack gets a lot of use. Nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, cloves go in almost everything I cook. I never really thought about spices going bad. It wasn’t until I saw an episode of Good Eats, that I had ever considered that the tin of cinnamon I’ve had since 1996 couldn’t possibly still be good.The thought of replacing all my spices (and the expense) doesn’t sound like a good time to me either. But there was some good advice that I think I can incorporate from this point forward.

• Buy smaller quantities. There’s really no purpose in buying Sam’s Club bulk spices. Not unless you’re feeding a small army on a regular basis.
• Check the ingredients. A lot of the ‘pre-made’ season blends have a higher sodium content. If you can’t live without your Creole seasoning like me, just note that you shouldn’t add more salt to the dish. There’s enough already in there.
• Keep these in your pantry. Cinnamon, Cumin, Pepper Corns, Sea Salt, Ginger, Nutmeg, Chili Powder.

Spices in mind I whipped up a breakfast this morning with something else that is ALWAYS in my pantry: Lots of canned pumpkin. Today, I made a batch of Pumpkin Pancakes. These have more baking powder than other pancake recipes I’ve tried. That made the fluffier and lighter.

No pictures of these guys either. I was towards my last batch when I finally got a few cakes that weren’t butchered. I’ve been dating the idea of getting a griddle, but I haven’t made any commitments yet. Until then, I’ll have to deal with tasty, but not pretty pancakes.

Pumpkin Pancakes
Serves 6/ 10 min Prep/ 20 min Cook

2 cups all purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups solid pack pumpkin
3 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 oz. chopped pecans (optional)

PREPARATION:
Sift dry ingredients and set aside. Using a large bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and stir until blended; stir in pecans just before ready to cook.

A medium heat greased griddle is best for cooking pancakes.

I’ve said it before. I don’t like breakfast all that much, but I somehow am incapable of skipping a meal. I’m always shocked when I hear someone say, “I was too busy and I forgot/didn’t have time for lunch.”

Or my favorite skipping a meal excuse, “Oh, I had some almonds and some trail mix.” Really, and you counted that as a meal?

How does that happen? Doesn’t your tummy start to growl? At some point, do you get little hunger pangs and STOP what you’re doing to EAT?

These Chorizo Black Bean Pepper Jack Cheese Empanadas were good enough to have for breakfast and I packed two for lunch.

 Chorizo Black Bean Pepper Jack Cheese Empanadas

12 oz chorizo, cooked and drained

8 oz Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded

15 oz can spicy black beans, with juice

1 small yellow onion, diced, grilled

2 boxes ready made pie crust

1 egg, mixed

1 5′ bowl

Saute the chorizo and place on a plate with a paper towel to drain. Reserve 1 T of the chorizo oil and grill yellow onion in the same pan. About 8 minutes. Add the black beans, cook another 8 minutes or until the juice in the beans starts to thicken.

Allow the meat and the bean mixture to cool and shred in the cheese. Mix well.

Use a 5′ diameter bowl for a guide and cut out circles in the pie crust. Place about 1/4 cup mixture in each crust, use a fork to pinch the edges and brush with an egg. You should get about 12 empanadas.

Place on a prepared baking sheet and bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Junior League is also kicking back into gear. I’ve some pretty unique experiences in the League these past two years and this year, I’m really going to try to sink my teeth in more.

My goal is to clock more voluteer hours. Our focus this year is volunteering for not for profits who focus their charity work on children 0-6 years old. So, they haven’t announced which groups we’ll be working with yet, but to give you an idea some groups I could find myself working with are Ronald McDonald House, Ryan House, and a hand full of smaller groups who help abused children, premies, and homeless families.

It’s when I’ve got lots going on that I feel so much more productive and motivated. I’ve made breakfast from scratch the past two weekends. This morning it’s Mango Crepes.

Mango Crepes

(4 servings= 8 crepes)
For the filling:

1/2 cup mango jam
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons orange liquor

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the jam, butter and liquor.

Stir occassionally until well blended. Reduce heat to low and stir occasionally while preparing crepes.

To make crepes:

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter

Whisk the flour and the eggs together in a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir in the milk and the water. Add the salt and butter, and beat the mixture until smooth.

If you have a crepe maker, you probably know what to do next.

Heat a frying pan to medium. Give it a very light spray of cooking oil. Drop the crepe mixture onto the heated surface. Using about a 1/4 cup of batter for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly. “Thin is in” when it comes to the layer of batter.

Cook each side until the golden brown brown (about 2 minutes for side one — batter will bubble; and 1 minute for side 2). Gently remove and place on a
plate. Place waxed paper between cooked crepes to prevent sticking.
Put it all together:

Brush each crepe with a heaping teaspoon of the filling and roll or fold each crepe according to preference. Drizzle any remaining filling over all competeled crepes.

People watch rain in Phoenix. It’s strange and when you move here, you see people watching the rain with an intensity. Nobody talks. They just watch.

I thought that was odd. I like a good storm and I have indeed watched te rain, but it’s different here.

I’ve been here almost three years. I now watch the rain with that same odd intensity. It’s such a treat. The feel of humidity in the air, the clouds. All weather elements we don’t get to experience very often.

Thunderstorms rolled into the Phoenix area around 4:30AM. Yay!

My usual weekend wake up ritual includes going to the coffee house with computer in hand for a muffin and great cup of coffee. Today with the rain- I wanted to stay home.

That doesn’t mean that I didn’t still want my coffee and breakfast. I found this recipe from Mr.Breakfast.

Banana Pancakes

Mmmm. Ummmm. These are so good. Like so good you’ll want to look at them and say, “Thank you little muffin for being so darn tasty.”

It’s great to find local, in season food. When you shop this way you can cut down on the carbon emissions trucks produce to get food to you, support local farmers and the food just tastes better. I’ve got a link in my blogroll to the Arizona Farmer’s Market Web site. Find the one in your neighborhood.

Here’s the recipe for Blueberry Muffins.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 4 large muffins.

• 1 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3/4 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons butter, cubed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.