Rosti

Breakfast time!

You know how I love my breakfast...

I was going through my old recipes the other day and came across one from a dear friend of mine, Erika.  Erika was a strong German lady who loved life, and loved to cook.  She was the life of a party, and could tell a story in such away that she would have you rolling on the floor dying of laughter! (Don't you love people like that?)  Her food was home cooked German food that was delisous and hearty.  Big dishes, family style... just wonderful, simple food.

We lost Erika several years back and just seeing her recipes brought back all kinds of fond memories of the times we spent together.  So, to honor Erika and to have her food live on I re-created her wonderful dish called Rosti.

Rosti is a dish from the German speaking side of Switzerland.  Erika said that she got the recipe from a distant cousin.  It is typically served as a main dish for lunch or dinner, but today we are making it our breakfast...and it is just perfect!  Erika said she liked it best that way as well.  It is a dish of crispy, golden, pan-fried potatoes (shredded or cubed) formed into a wide, flat cake.  Usually topped with toppings.  Today we are using cheese, bacon, tomatoes and herbs as our toppings..YUM!

It's easy to make and hearty enough to stand alone, or add a nice piece of toasted wheat bread along side.  You will need an oven proof skillet for this recipe as you will be using both the stove top and the broiler.  I used a cast iron skillet and it worked perfectly.  

I amended her recipe just a tad taking some help from the market with frozen cubed potatoes with onions and peppers, and using an egg white to lighten things up a bit.  Oh, and a low-fat chesse helps cut down the calories as well, but you still get that cheesy goodness we all crave.   If you want to keep this original, feel free to cube up your own potatoes, throw in some onions and bell pepper and you will have the same result.  

What is your favorite way to cook breakfast potatoes?

Enjoy your breakfast!

Rosti

adapted from Erika B.

Serves 4

1 egg

1 egg white

1 medium zucchini, shredded

2 sliced of bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 t fresh oregano

¼ t salt

¼ t pepper

4 c frozen cubed breakfast potatoes with onions and peppers

3 t canola oil

½ c reduced fat cheddar cheese

1 c cherry tomatoes, halved

Preheat broiler.

In a large bowl beat together egg and egg white.  Stir in zucchini, bacon, regano, salt & pepper, and potatoes. 

In a large oven proof skillet heat your oil of medium high heat.  Spread the potato mixture in the skillet evenly.  Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until bottom is browned.   Place the skillet under the broiler about 5 inches from the heat and broil 2-3 minutes until the top becomes firm and browned.   Top with cheese and broil for 1-2 minutes more or until cheese melts.

Top with tomatoes and extra oregano.  Cut into 4 sections and serve immediately.

Shared on the following parties:  
Weekend Potluck

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Need a sweet treat for breakfast in a flash?

How about a cute little snack for the kids, or something soft and gooey to go with your afternoon coffee or tea?

These little babies are heaven!  The best part?  They are semi-homemade, or you can call it speed-scratch cooking at it's finest.  I just LOVE cinnamon, so these little treats are perfect in my book.  When you don't want to spend all that time making wonderful old fashioned cinnamon rolls, these are the best substitute.  You could throw these together for guests in a flash.

All you need is a mini muffin tin, a can of breadstick dough and a little time.  These perfect little bites of cinnamon goodness come together quickly.  With the pre-made and pre-cut dough, half the battle is done!  Just unroll the dough, spread on some softened butter, and sprinkle on a mix of cinnamon and sugar and roll them up!  By placing them in mini muffin tin it helps them from spreading out.

See how cute they turned out.  I just drizzled them with a little powdered sugar glaze and I was blissfully happy.  Try these, I'm sure everyone will thank you for them!

Enjoy some this weekend...they will make your day!

Mini Cinnamon Rolls

makes 12 rolls

1 can pre-made dough for breadsticks, such as Pillsbury
1/3 c butter softened
3 T sugar
1 1/2 t cinnamon (I like my with a little more cinnamon, adjust to your taste)
4 T powdered sugar
1-2 T milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Unroll can of dough. Separate out the breadsticks, lying them flat.  Spread softened butter down one side of each breadstick.  Mix sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.  Sprinkle cinnamon/sugar mix on top of the butter.  Starting with one end roll up the breadstick.

Place cut side down in one section of a mini muffin tin.  Continue rolling each breadstick.  Bake for 20 min or until golden brown.  Allow to cool 10 minutes.  If desired, stir together powdered sugar and milk to make a glaze.  Drizzle over each cinnamon roll and serve.


Shared on:
Weekend Potluck

Mom's Cornbread

I grew up eating cornbread.

Typically what we call cornbread is not sweet.  Mom was born in Oklahoma and grew up there and in Texas and we never ate sweet cornbread.  Nope!  If there is even a tad bit of sweet taste it isn't "real" cornbread.  More like a cake or something for dessert.  When I first had cornbread in a restaurant in Los Angeles I couldn't believe that it was so sweet.  They even served it with honey butter!  What a shock, this wasn't the cornbread that I had grown up eating.  Don't get me wrong, I like the sweet stuff, but not with a big bowl of beans...or along side a salad.  You need something that's more like a dinner roll.  At least that's what I always thought.

(ignore the creepy hand!)

So this recipe is my mom's cornbread.  Now, you will note there is a tiny winy bit of sugar in it.  Just to help along with the leavening. You will not taste it, I promise.  Now you can make this in a cast iron skillet, like a lot of southern cooks do, or you can make muffins.  I love cast iron molds, and one that I bought because my mom always had one, is a mold shaped like little corn cobs.  So that's what I made my latest batch of cornbread in.  They always come out so cute.

So next time you want a nice bread or roll to go along with your soup, stew, chili, fried chicken, or a nice hearty salad turn to my mom's cornbread recipe.  It won't let you down!

Thanks for the excellent recipe Mom!

Mom's Cornbread

1 c yellow corn meal

1 c all purpose flour

1 t sugar

1 T baking powder

1 t salt

1 c milk

1/3 c vegetable oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 8 inch square baking pan or muffin tins, or cornbread mold.

Combine corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.   Combine milk, oil and egg in small bowl, mixing well.   Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.  Stir just until blended. Batter may be lumpy.   Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.   Serve warm with butter.