Crispy Bacon Breakfast Pie

4 slices bacon, cooked until almost crispy, crumbled, 1 Tbs. drippings reserved

1 cup cornflakes, slightly crushed

12 eggs

3-4 cups frozen shredded hash browns (I didn’t have any, so I shredded two large russet potatoes and used them instead)

1 ½ cups shredded sharp Cheddar

1 cup cottage cheese

2/3 cup milk

3 scallions, thinly sliced

Combine cornflakes with 1 Tbs. reserved bacon drippings; set aside.  Beat eggs just until foamy, then stir in the remainder of ingredients.  Pour mixture into a buttered 9 x 13 baking dish.  Sprinkle with cornflake mixture, then top with crumbled bacon.  Cover and refrigerate overnight, if desired. 

To bake, remove breakfast pie from refrigeration and let set on the counter for 30-40 minutes to remove the chill.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. (325 degrees F. for a glass baking dish) and bake, uncovered, 45-50 minutes on center rack, or until knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Makes 12 servings. 

Now You’re Cookin’,

Chef Alli

Snow-Day Donuts

I love it that these donuts are baked, not fried.  If you don’t have a donut pan, don’t worry!  Simply use a muffin pan instead and your donuts become Breakfast Puffs – what’s not to love about that?

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

½ tsp. kosher salt

1 egg, beaten

1 ½ cups buttermilk (or sub sour milk made with 1 ½ cups milk and 1 Tbs. cider vinegar)

2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Topping

6-8 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

½ cup granulated sugar combined with ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 2 donut pans well with non-stick spray.  In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, butter and vanilla.  Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture and stir just until combined.  Spoon the batter into the baking pans, filling each one a little more than three-quarters full.  Bake, 15-17 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before popping donuts out of pan.  Dip top of warm donuts first into melted butter, then into cinnamon/sugar mixture.  EAT.

Now You're Cookin',

Chef Alli

Crispy Bacon and Sweet Potato Hash with Edamame and Kaniwa

I had a blast cooking at the Wichita Women's Fair last weekend.  So many pork fans came by the Kansas Pork booth to get recipes, coupons, stickers and a whiff of the bacon we were cooking for this beautiful dish on Friday and Saturday.

1/2 lb. sliced bacon, chopped

½ tsp. dried thyme

1 yellow onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/4 inch cubes

2 cloves garlic, minced

12 oz. package frozen sweet corn, thawed

12 oz. package frozen shelled edamame, thawed

1 cup cooked kaniwa (this grain is a cousin to quinoa!)

1/2 -2/3 cup vegetable or chicken broth

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

     

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until browned and crispy, then remove to paper towels to drain; reserve. Remove all but 1 Tbs. of bacon drippings from pan; add thyme, onion, bell pepper and sweet potatoes and sauté 6-8 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are fork-tender. Stir in garlic and cook an additional minute; add corn, edamame, kaniwa and chicken broth to pan. Cover pan and continue to cook, stirring often, 12-15 minutes or until sweet potatoes are fork-tender. Add reserved bacon; season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Now You're Cookin',
Chef Alli