Egg and Canadian Bacon Panini

We started enjoying breakfast sandwiches made with English Muffins about the time we figured out that an English Muffin has dramatically fewer calories than most biscuits.  Pair that news flash with the difference between bacon and Canadian bacon in both the fat and calorie content.  And, a  4 minute poached egg is a skinny egg!!  All in all I can afford a half of a slice of cheese to glue all of this together in light of the most respectable savings I have accumulated on everything else!!

My goal is to be able to make up homemade breakfasts that are available wrapped and ready in my refrigerator to heat and eat.  Neither of us are apt to want to cook at 5:30 or 6:00 AM......Does this sound like your house??  On the other hand, who wants to take the time to sit in line at a drive through window?

Enter the new Panini-Griller combo and this is a great new "GO".  Previously when we tried this the English muffins were toasted then assembled and wrapped.  We heated then in the microwave loosely wrapped in a paper towel instead of the plastic wrap it was stored in but the result was awfully chewy.

The new idea was not to toast the muffin at all but to slap it on the preheated Cuisinart Griddler for about 4 1/2  or 5 minutes and they are terrific.  Warm all of the way through, cheese melted, and crispy on the outside!!

Here is the how to:

6 English Muffins
3 slices cheese of your choice
6 poached eggs cooked until firm and drained on paper towels
12 slices thinly sliced Canadian bacon

Fork split the muffins and lay them out assembly line fashion.  Place a half slice of cheese on the bottom of each muffin, breaking and fitting it to lay within the confines of the muffin.  Place an egg on top of the cheese then top with two slices of Canadian bacon.  Wrap snugly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Preheat panini maker or grill for 3-5 minutes.  Meanwhile remove the plastic film the sandwich was stored in and re-wrap loosely in a paper towel.   Place the muffin on the bottom portion of your appliance and close and hold the top down firmly for 30 seconds.  Release the top and leave it down, heating for another 4-5 minutes.  Remove and enjoy.  Yield 6 breakfast sandwiches.

NOTE: You can make these successfully without any appliance by heating in a heavy skillet over medium high heat and weighting down with another heavy skillet.  Just flip the muffin sandwich over half way through the process.  Voila!!

Blueberry Pies Baked in Jelly Jars (Easy tips for Pies in Jars)

This morning I acted on plans I have been mulling around to use up the  two half pint cartons of fresh blueberries in the refrigerator by making them into blueberry pies baked in half pint jelly jars.  I also had a pint of pecan pie filling in the freezer from my post on Pecan Pies in Mason Jars posted on 9/4/11.

I love this whole idea of food in jars because I really have never been a huge fan of any other storage or preserving material and I have lots of them!! I also think this is the height of shabby chic and have always embraced it.

To expedite my plans I pulled out two round disks of previously frozen pie crust* dough (enough for a 2 crust 9" pie) and the pecan filling** from the freezer early this morning to thaw.

Last time I made these little gems I used the new and more contemporary half pint Mason Jars and while they were attractive they were very clumsy to work with.  Since then I have found that what I thought to be an original idea was not and have seen them made in the older style slightly flared straight sided jelly jars.  Having a large supply of jelly jars on hand I just pulled these out and ran them through the dishwasher!!   NOTE:  I ONLY USE REAL CANNING JARS I HAVE PURCHASED AND WOULD NEVER TRY THIS WITH ANY OTHER TYPE OF GLASS JAR.

 A 6" circle is about perfect crust size to fit the crust into the jars.  I used a 6" soup bowl as a pattern.  A  pastry disk yielded 3 circles when it was rolled.  The next big discovery is that you can take a small jar.  I used the ones Kraft sells their spreadable cheese in and place the centered circle of pastry over the upside down small jar and then plop this into the jelly jar.

Tamp the pastry into the bottom of the jelly jar with the smaller jar.  You can also roll the sides of the pastry into the jelly jar a bit using the side of the smaller jar.  This saves a lot of frustration and time.

The final yield was 7 jars lined with crust and standing at attention.  There was enough dough left to make lattice tips for the 4 blueberry pies and I threw out maybe a half tablespoon of unused pastry at the most.

Blueberry Pie Filling:

2 C. fresh washed blueberries
2 T. minute tapioca
1/2 C. sugar
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon
2 t. butter
sugar to sprinkle

Combine all of the ingredients except the butter and the sugar to sprinkle in a bowl and stir to mix well.  Let this sit while you roll the crust and form the little pies.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

After the crust is formed distribute the berry mixture in the 4 jars.  Top each with 1/2 t. butter and a assemble the lattice tops using a woven pattern and sprinkle with sugar.  Place all of the pies on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes.  The fruit should be visibly bubbling and the crusts golden brown.  Cool or serve warm with ice cream or a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

Storage note:  To store either cover with a small square of plastic wrap and screw the metal canning ring over the top or use the flat disk with the screw on band and refrigerate.

*Pie Crust recipe posted 7/7/10, Cherry Pie (makes 5 crusts)  and 10/29/10 Pastry for 3 crusts.
** Posted 9/4/11 Pecan Pie in Mason Jars.

Chicken 'n Dumplings

It's snowing, gray, cold, windy and I don't want to leave the house....so I am thinking real old fashioned comfort food.  Chicken 'n dumplings just the way my Mother makes them, rolled and pinched off into bubbling chicken stock rich and well seasoned.  Now that is comfort food for a cold winters night.

I have set about to accomplish this earlier today by thawing 3 split chicken breasts and 2 quarts of home made stock tucked away in my deep freeze for just such an occasion as this.

After preheating the oven to 425 degrees F. I salted and peppered generously the chicken and placed them on a foil lined half sheet pan drizzled with olive oil. They were then popped into the oven for 45 minutes and have emerged a golden brown.  When cool enough to handle I pulled the meat from the bone to later accompany the dumplings.



Rolled Dumplings:

2 C. flour
2 T. shortening
2 t. baking powder
milk enough to form a dough that can be rolled

Place the flour and baking powder in a bowl and whisk them together well, cut in the shortening with you fingers until very well combined.  Make a well in the center of the flour and add a small amount (start with a few tablespoons) of cold milk.

Gather together with a fork and continue adding small amounts of milk until you have a dough similar to biscuit dough.  Poll out on a well floured counter or board until about 1/8" thick.  Using a paring knife cut the dough in strips about an inch wide.

Bring the broth to a boil and add the dumpling strips, pinching them off at about 2" intervals.  Simmer for a couple of minutes.  Taste and add additional salt and pepper as needed.  Add the pieces of the reserved roast chicken and bring back to a simmer and serve. It only takes a few minutes for the dumplings to cook although they can be held on simmer for a time without difficulty.

Note:  When the recipe was given to me by Mom she wrote it out by cup of flour.  For each cup of flour use 1 T. shortening and 1 t. baking powder and cold milk to form dough.  If you want to make more or less than this,  that would be the formula.  Beware of how much you can roll out and cook at one time.