Shortcut French Coffee Cake

I used to work really hard to make this family recipe for French Coffee Cake, but now I substitute Crescent Dough. It is WONDERFUL for Christmas morning!!! (I submitted it to Simple and Delicious contest as well...fingers crossed.)

Shortcut French Coffee Cake

Ingredients

• 1-8 ounce Crescent Roll Dough
• Filling:
• 1/2 cup white raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 egg white large egg
• Icing:
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Add the pecans and raisins to the mixture and stir. Set aside for later use.
• In a small bowl, whip the egg white until stiff peaks form. Unroll the crescent dough horizontally on a cutting board. Spread the stiff egg white on top of the dough. Sprinkle the sugar/pecan mixture evenly on top.
• Roll into a long, jelly roll shape. Spray a standard, round cake pan with oil. Lay the coffee cake roll in a crescent-shape in the pan.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
• While the coffee cake is baking, combine the powdered sugar, milk and almond extract for the icing in a small bowl. Drizzle the icing over the baked coffee cake while it is still warm. Yield: serves 4
  
  

  Notes:

  We always have this coffee cake for Christmas morning breakfast/brunch, but it's good anytime.

 

Here's my Halloween entry into the Athens Fillo Shell contest. It's an easy to make dessert on a busy day!

http://phyllo.com/recipes/trick-or-trio-fillo-cups/

Booger Beer Kit (for adults)

Sorry for the lack of posts on Bankrupt Gourmet. Here's an idea I came up with as a unique Halloween gift for my adult sons, Glen and Kyle. No cooking involved either!

Easy Fajitas

Easy Fajitas

This is the way I've been making Fajitas for many years. It's so incredibly easy, since there are so many good, imported Mexican products available. My favorite meat for Fajitas is Skirt Steak. The Mexican butchers slice it horizontally into 1/8 inch steaks, so that's what I recommend you or your butcher do. Badia (bah-dee-yah) has the best Mojo marinade available in the Hispanic section at the grocery store. Poblano Peppers are tasty yet mild.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds Skirt Steak, sliced horizontally in 1/8 inch slices
1 cup Badia Mojo Marinade
2 large Poblano Peppers, seeded and sliced thinly
3 medium onions, sliced thinly
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Marinate the Skirt Steak in the Mojo for 3-8 hours in the refrigerator.

25 minutes prior to grilling, combine and cook the Poblano Peppers, sliced onion, olive oil and salt in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir every 5 minutes for 25 minutes. Keep warm until serving time.

Heat the grill to a medium heat. Grill the marinated Skirt Steak slices for 3 minutes per side. Allow the steak to rest for a couple of minutes, then cut into bite-size pieces. Combine the Skirt Steak with the Poblano/onion mixture and serve in tortillas.

Favorite toppings include: cheese, salsa and avocado

Serves 4

4th of July Slow Cooker Brisket

I have been making this easy, yet delicious, brisket for more than a decade. I think the original recipe came from a magazine, perhaps Quick Cooking. If you have a Food Depot near you, they have beef brisket on sale for $2.96 a pound right now.

4th of July Slow Cooker Brisket

Ingredients:

Dry Rub:
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 1/2 - 3 pounds beef brisket, trimmed

BBQ Sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1-1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder

Directions:
Rub the beef with the dry rub. Spray the slow cooker with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine all of the BBQ Sauce ingredients. Place the brisket in the slow cooker. Pour 1/2 of the sauce over the top of the brisket and refrigerate the remaining BBQ Sauce. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low 8-10 hours. Serve with warmed, reserved BBQ Sauce.

Serves 6

Crazy Crunch BBQ Cups

Here's my latest prize winning recipe: Crazy Crunch BBQ Cups  It comes together very quickly-no "real cooking" involved.

http://phyllo.com/recipes/crazy-crunch-bbq-cups/

Budget Boursin Potato Gratin

My dear friend, Claire, requested a good, potato side-dish recipe. I thought I had posted this one, but I failed to share this deliciousness. My bad. I am re-posting the recipe for making your own Boursin, so you don't have to spend $6 for a little circle of it anymore. Let me know if you like this one as much as we do.....

Budget Boursin Potato Gratin

Budget Boursin
1-8 ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon dried dill
1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients until well-mixed. Refrigerate for up to a week.
Boursin Potato Gratin

Ingredients:
2 cups half and half
1  Budget Boursin cheese
3 pounds potatoes, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9x13 pan. Melt the Budget Boursin and half and half in a medium saucepan until it is smooth.  Layer all of the potato slices in the pan. Pour the cream mixture over the layers. Bake for one hour, uncovered.