Christmas Salad

I first ate this beautiful salad at a women's Christmas brunch at church & I was blown away. It was like a bruschetta, served on toasted baguettes..

Yummo. The combo of avocado, orange, pomegranate, cilantro..amazing flavor & a totally beautiful sight. 

This Christmas, I made a salad version for our family Christmas dinner & it was a keeper for sure.... 

First, begin with...

Orange vinaigrette: 

3T olive oil

1T Juice from an orange

3/4 t dijon

1 tsp honey

Kosher salt (good pinch)

Fresh cracked pepper

Next, prepare the other ingredients to toss in...

2 heads of Romaine lettuce

1 pomegranate, slice in half. Hammer back of pomegranate to drop seeds out. Be careful of bright, staining juice. Rinse seeds.

2 Avocados, diced

1/3 Cilantro bundle, chopped

1-2 Cutie Clementines, peeled & diced, 1/2 mixed into vinaigrette

1 small block of Gouda (4 oz.), diced. Any other mild, creamy, white cheese will do too.

Toss just minutes before...and enjoy! 

Overnight Egg Casserole

I'm letting you in on a little Smith family tradition. This egg casserole reminds me of waking up on Christmas morning at my grandparent's house in Chicago. When I taste it, it takes me right back there...but if you've never had it, you'll be sold in the first bite & nibbling the crispy edges until it's put away. The sage sausage, english muffins, cheese...just trust me & do it ok? Besides, you make it the night before & it bakes away while you open gifts!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Jimmy Dean sage breakfast sausage

9 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1 1/4 tsp. salt

3 c. milk

1 package of English Muffins, diced in 1 inch cubes

1 (10 oz.) pkg. grated cheddar cheese

Dash of nutmeg (optional)

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Instructions:

Crumble and brown sausage. 

Mix eggs, mustard, salt and milk. 

Cube the english muffins & lay cubes over bottom of 11x13 inch baking dish. 

Sprinkle cooked sausage over bread. 

Sprinkle cheese over sausage. 

Pour egg mixture over all and refrigerate (covered) overnight. 

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. 

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Pizza Snake

[Inspired from Pinterest] 

Ingredients

• 1 tube (11 ounces) refrigerated crusty French loaf or Pizza Crust (thick)
• Pizza sauce (canned or quick recipe)
• 1 bag (12 ounces) Italian 5 cheese
• 1/2 pound Italian Sausage 
• 1 lil bag of mini pepperonis 
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

Unroll the pizza dough into a large rectangle; spread with a 1/2 ladle of pizza sauce to within 1 in. of edges. 

Sprinkle with cheese and sausage. Cut a forked tongue from a pepperoni slice. 

Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal and tuck ends under. 

Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet and shape like an "S". 

Brush with an egg wash (beaten egg w/ a little water)

Bake at 425° for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. 

Warm remaining pizza sauce; serve on the side. Yield: 5 servings.

Slice & serve!

Stuffed Shells

Oooh baby. This is one of my favorite dishes, ever. 

Ingredients: 

4 oz. Pancetta (thinly sliced from deli)

1/2 med. white onion (diced)

2 28 oz can of Crushed Tomatoes

1 lg garlic clove

pinch of pepper flakes

2 T Olive Oil

Directions: 

Add the crushed tomatoes 

Meanwhile, boil shells

Drain

Cheese mixture: 

1 Egg, beaten

16 oz Ricotta 

1/2 C grated Parmesan

small handful of shredded Mozzerella

handful of fresh parsley, chopped

pinch of Kosher salt & a few twists of fresh cracked pepper

Stuff this little babies

Season sauce w/ salt before topping

Top 'Em w/ sauce & cheese & place in 350º oven

Stuffed Sopapillas w/ Steak & Potato

Oh auntie...she could have a waiting room filled with people waiting for her delicious, wonderful food. I learn so much from her & had a blast capturing her step by steps. I think it was exactly a year ago that I took the kids to her house on a Saturday, while I would be rehearsing & having church. She sent me away with two of these stuffed Sopapillas in foil & I've wanted them ever since. Now I need to try to make them myself & I think you should too. 

You've got to start with tortilla dough...(click HERE for measurements)...and the filling...for now, refer to my beef & potato filling. Auntie's was steak, but I missed that part. 

Here it goes!!! 

Prepare the dough on the tortilla instructions until you're at this step.

cover them & keep them warm & moist

set filling aside to be coolish as you add it to the dough

make a disc out of the ball of dough

Roll starting in the middle of the disc, lightly up. 

Turn a 6th, lightly roll up, turn a 6th, lightly roll up etc.

Place filling in the center

Fold over bottom & top

Fold over sides

Place seem side down

Place darlings under a towel to stay warm & moist

Have family off to the side playing Light Sabers 

Place in oil seem side down

Whoops. Flipped to early & beginning to come apart.

Totally gonna taste good anyway, You know it!

Good assembly line going...

That's green chile in the back. Going on top at the finish.

Yes. The pile is building.

Sophia (age 4) ran by, smashed this one & ran off.

Still gonna be delish. 

Building....

Happy Birthday Art! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the party...

there's AUNTIE!

 My beautiful sis-in-law Jen..

Art (Bompa) & Jackson! 

 CHEESE!

Best part...Phia painting nails. Like everyone's nails...

...including Micah's. 

"ooooh! Powish!" 

Jen's amazing carrot cake..

Happy Birthday to YOU! 

xo