Gourmet Book Club

09/28/2025

Compliments of Pillsbury, yummy Cinnamon Roll French Toast!

Cinnamon French Toast Casserole Recipe

Ingredients
* ¼ cup butter, melted (½ stick)
* 2 (17.5-ounce) tubes) Pillsbury Grands! Cinnamon Rolls
* 8 large eggs
* ½ cup heavy cream
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 8 grams
* 1 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
* 1 cup chopped pecans
* Icing from the cinnamon rolls warmed
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Pour the melted butter into a 9x13-inch baking dish and spread to coat.�¼ cup butter
3. Cut each Pillsbury Grands! Cinnamon Rolls into quarters, monkey bread style. 2 tubes.
4. Place dough single layer in buttered baking dish.
5. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, add cream, maple syrup, and vanilla until blended. 8 large eggs, 1/4 cup maple syrup, ½ cup heavy cream, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon,�2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract.
6. Pour the egg mixture over the rolls; completely covers the rolls.
7. Pour maple syrup over the rolls and sprinkle with pecans. 1 cup maple syrup, cup of candied pecans.�1 cup pure maple syrup, 1 cup chopped pecans.
8. Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees, or until golden brown.
9. Melt icing in microwave for 15 seconds until liquid, mix with another 1/4 cup of maple syrup in a bowl.
10. Pour maple icing over the cooked rolls and serve.

09/07/2025

It’s a good day to clean out my refridgerator of leftovers. I found a bag of Baby Golden Potatoes and left over Kielbasa Sausage and decided to make yummy quick and easy…

Breakfast/Brunch Bites

Ingredients
1 Kielbasa Sausage sliced into 12 rounds
6-8 Eggs Beaten
12 Small Golden Potatoes cooked, 1 each smashed into a greased muffin pan - I used my
Pampered Chef brownie pan
12 Small slices Havarti or Gouda cheese it about 1-2 Tbls. Shredded cheese if your choice
A sprinkle of garlic and onion powders, salt and pepper atop each filled tin

Directions:
Boil potatoes and place 1 each in greased muffin tin and smash with the bottom of a small juice glass
Place a slice of cheese or 1-2 Tbls. of shredded cheese, your choice.
Place a sausage round in each tin atop each smashed potato with cheese
Beat eggs and pour eggs, just enough to fill each tin without over filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 mins.

08/13/2025

With left over grilled shrimp, made up a quick easy fresh lite salad for dinner to stuff shrimp boats, top a green salad, add cooked pasta rings or just as is.

1 lb. chopped Grilled Shrimp
1/2 C chopped Onion
1/2 C chopped Celery
2 Tbls chopped Garlic
2 tsp fresh or freeze dried Dill
1 tsp Pepper
1/4 C Kens Ceasar Dressing
1/3 C. Ken’s Ranch Dressing
1/3 C Crumbled Feta
Optional 1 Box Cooked Pasta Rings

Mix and serve on a bed of lettuce, or roll.

08/11/2025

Found an outstanding Kung Pao Chicken recipe that I modified and rivals any restaurant’s version.

Ingredients:
4 Packages Beef Ramen Noodles
6-7 Boneless Skinless Chicken Tenders
1 Packet Good Seasons Italian Dressing Packet
1 C Shredded Carrots
1 C Sliced Stoplight Peppers (Red, Yellow, Green)
1 C Sliced Mushrooms and Sliced Onions
1 C Hoisin or Kung Pao Sauce

Additonal-Optional Ingredients that can be added to either the seasoning bag with chicken or to Hoisin Sauce
1 Tbls Grated Ginger
1 Tbls Grated Garlic
1 Tsp. Chinese Five Spice

In a pasta pot, cook 4 packages of beef Ramen noodles with seasoning packets.

In a Plastic Gallon Bag - Season chicken tenders with Garlic and Onion Powders and 1 Good Seasons Italian Dressing Seasoning Packet.

In a buttered baking dish,
Layer the following: Cooked Ramen Noodles
Seasoned uncooked Chicken Tenders
Shredded carrots
Sliced Stop Light (Red, Yellow and Green) Peppers
Sliced Onion and Mushrooms

Top with either Kung Pao or Hoisin Sauce entirely

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 Minutes

You can either top with chopped green onions, crushed peanuts, or sesame seeds for garnish or all or nothing.

Yum!

07/09/2025

When making chicken on the grill and just want a quick, easy, lite pasta salad to go along side the chicken, try…

Mary & Rico’s Italian Pasta Salad

Cook a box of Rotini Pasta, drain and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Chop 1 Jar Sweet Cherry Peppers
Chop 1 Jar Mild Banana Peppers
Chop 1 Large Onion
Chop 1 Container of Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes
Chop 1 Medium Jar Green Olives
1 C Wishbone Zesty Italian Dressing
Chop 8 sticks of string cheese
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Onion Powder
Black Pepper to taste

04/28/2025

When it’s storming outside, it’s a good day to create something quick and yummy. Checked out my refrigerator and found butter steak, onions, red and green pepper and some pesto. Created a garlicky beef and veggie stir fry.

Ingredients

1-2 lbs. Butter Steak
1 Large Yellow or Vidalia Onion
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
2 Tbls. Chopped Garlic
1/2 Stick of salted butter
2 Tbls. Avacado or olive oil
1 Tbls Paprika
2 Tbls Corn Starch
1 tsp. Garlic powder
1 tap. Onion powder
1 Tbls. Worchester Sauce
1/3 C Soy Sauce
1 Tbls. Mustard
1/2 C Pesto

Place corn starch and seasoning coated meat in pan with butter and oil. Lihjtly brown meat, anout 5 minutes.
Add
Worchester, Mustard, and Soy Sauce, stir to mix, sauce should be thickened.
Add
Sliced Onions and Peppers
Continue stir frying meat and veggies until veggies begin to soften.

Add Pesto, stir and serve with cooked rice. Any kind works well. My favorite is Basmati or Jasmine. Make according to package directions.

04/20/2025

Happy Easter Appetizer

Pesto Cheese Baguette Chickies

Slice baguette into small rounds
Brush each slice with melted garlic butter
Layout in toaster oven, air fryer or oven to toast lightly.

Allow to cool.

Brush each slice with basil pesto, I use store bought pesto. You can find pesto in the refridgerator section where you find mozzarella cheese. Also, you can find pesto in jars in the Italian, pasta and sauce section.

Cut and arrange yellow cheese as the chick and white cheese as the shell. I use yellow cheddar and provolone cheeses with cheese and vegetable cutting tools.

On each, use black sesame seeds for eyes and a tiny slice of orange pepper for the beek.

Enjoy! Tasty morsels!

04/06/2025

03/10/2025

Came up with a breakfast brunch or quick breakfast bite using Amylu Breakfast Bites - Chicken Sausage meatballs.

1. Scramble 5 eggs with a little milk. Salt and pepper. Feel free to add finely chopped onions and/or peppers or yet other veggies like mushrooms.
2. Heat meatballs according to package in Microwave.
3. Slice each meatball in half.
4. In my mini muffin plan, pour scrambled eggs into each muffin well, fill only half way to avoid over filling once meatballs and cheese are added.
4. Place half a meatball in each well flat sliced side down.
5. Sprinkle each with shredded parmesan cheese.
6. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes until eggs are cooked. Yummy!

02/25/2025

Leftover pizza hack! https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1E7bMhbirE/?mibextid=wwXIfr

02/25/2025

Love awesome kitchen tricks! https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1DAoKNRcm5/?mibextid=wwXIfr

01/17/2025

Oh Yum! Fresh and lite crab salad for lunch or appetizer.

I had some red peppers, green onions, crab meat and cucumbers in my refrigerator and I combined to make delicious crab salad.

I pkg. imitation or 1 can/container of real crab meat or a mixture of both chopped
1 chopped red pepper
1 chopped English mini cucumber
5-6 chopped green onions, whites and greens
3-4 crushed/chopped cloves of garlic
1/2 C Mayonnaise - I bet to make it even lighter, 1/2 C of Greek Yogurt would also work as an alternate to mayonnaise.
1 Tsp. Onion powder
1 Tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
2 Tbls. Red Wine Vinegar
Pepper to taste
For a little spice…add a few dashes of Tabasco sauce.

Several ways to serve:
For a lite lunch
1)Stuff mixture in a raw red pepper, serve on a lettuce leaf.
2)Spread on a croissant open or closed face, serve with cut up fruit
3)Scoop in a tossed lettuce salad with a sliced hardboiled egg, walnuts or pecans, crumbled blue or feta cheese, croutons, or other salad fixings desired.

Appetizer
1)Place mixture in a bowl, center on a plate and arrange crackers around the bowl on the plate and use as a dip
2)Scoop a small amount in Tostito Scoops and serve as bite size morsels
2)Add a 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese and using refrigerator puffed pastry, rollout, cut into 1-2 inch squares. Spray a small muffin pan, lay each square in each muffin container, scoop a small amount of crab mixture in each, the pastry should be slightly large than each muffin container so it stands up above the mixture. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, just enough time for the cheese to melt.