Holiday Morning French Toast

This is our standard Christmas morning breakfast.  I make it the night before and it is the first thing we do before we open presents - putting it in the oven.  By the time we're done with gifts, it's finished and we can have a great breakfast together.  It's WONDERFUL!!

Holiday Morning French Toast

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3-4 tart apples such as granny smith, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1 loaf Italian bread, cut into 1" slices
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. cinnamon
cinnamon sugar mixture

1.  Combine brown sugar, butter and the 1 tsp. cinnamon in a greased 13x9" baking dish.  Add apples and cranberries, toss to coat well.  Spread apple mixture evenly over bottom of baking dish.  Arrange slices of bread over the top of the apples.

2.  Mix eggs, milk, vanilla and the 2 tsp. cinnamon until well blended.  Pour mixture over bread, soaking bread completely.  Cover with a piece of foil that is sprayed with non-stick spray.  Refrigerate for 4-24 hours.

3.  Bake, covered with aluminum foil, in a preheated 375 degree F oven for 40 minutes.  Uncover and sprinkle the top with the cinnamon sugar mixture then bake for an additional 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.  Serve warm.  For an eye-catching presentation, loosen edges of baking dish and invert onto a large serving platter.

**If you are going to bring this to a potluck, cut the bread into cubes since it's easier to serve.

Spinach and Ricotta Quiche and Salad with Mustard Dressing

I found this recipe in Rachel Ray's magazine in one of those "Your Weeknight Meal Planner" tear out cookbooks and I finally tried it tonight.  YUMMY!!!!!  It was great because I had leftover ricotta cheese to use up from making lasagna last week.  It was full of flavor and definitely a keeper in the Snider house!  Oh - I'm posting as the recipe is given but I did change the dressing for the salad and it turned out great.  I made it up as stated but it just tasted like olive oil and mustard so I added about a Tbsp. of lemon juice but then it was SO strong that I added about a teaspoon and a half of brown sugar and mixed it up well.  That was perfect!!

Spinach and Ricotta Quiche

1 sheet (half of a 17.3 oz. pkg) frozen puff pastery, thawed (I used a refrigerated pie crust instead since I had it)
1/4 cup EVOO
6 cups (6 oz package) baby spinach
salt and pepper
1/4 lb. Italian sausage links, casings removed
4 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 8 oz. container ricotta cheese
1 1/2 tsp. grainy mustard
(I added 1 Tbsp. lemon juice and 1 1/2 tsp. brown sugar)
1 small head green leaf lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces

1.  Preaheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Press the puff pastry into a 9" glass pie plate; trim the excess.  Prick the bottom all over with a fork, line with parchment and fill with dried beans (or pie weights).  Bake until golden, about 20 minutes.  [I used the refrigerated pie crust and baked it for about 8 minutes).  Remove the parchment and beans; transfer the pan to a rack to cool.  Leave the oven on but lower the temperature to 350 degrees.

2.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. EVOO over medium-high heat.  Add the spinach and cook, tossing, until wilted, about 1 minute.  Season lightly with salt and then drain in a colander.  Add 1 Tbsp. EVOO and add the sausage to the skillet;  cook over medium-high heat, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until golden brown and cooked through - about 3-5 minutes.

3.  Spread the sausage and spinach in the pie shell.  In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, ricotta cheese and cream; pour into the shell.  Bake until the eggs are set and the crust is golden, about 35 minutes.

4.  Meanwhile, in a salad bowl, whisk together the remaining 2 Tbsp. EVOO with the mustard [and lemon juice and brown sugar]; season with salt and pepper.  Add the lettuce and toss.  Serve with the quiche.