Egg, Broccoli, and Ham Ring - 9 points

This lovely little ring was my offering for Easter dinner. I first started seeing these a few years ago at  Pampered Chef parties. They are fabulous dishes for showing off the wonders of stonewear. I first tried this particular recipe for Simon's baptism a couple of years ago; it was a big hit at the brunch following the service. The filling is reminiscent of a classic ham quiche, with those salty ham, cheese, and egg flavors that I associate with a good breakfast casserole. The crescent wrap adds a buttery lightness to the dish that makes it easy to justify a second piece. 

Egg, Broccoli, and Ham Ring - From Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2008

1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli, chopped

1/2 cup chopped onion

3 oz Neufchatel cheese

3 eggs

6 egg whites

1/4 cup fat free milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

3/4 cup cubed ham

1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

2 cans reduced fat, refridgerated crescent rolls
1/8 cup fat free cheddar, shredded

1. Spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. Heat over medium heat. Cook broccoli and onion 2-3 minutes, until tender.

2. In a medium bowl, beat Neufchatel cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs, egg whites, milk, salt, and pepper until well combined. Add egg mixture to vegetables in skillet; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally from outside edge to center until eggs are set but still moist. Stir in ham and cheese.

3. Unroll both cans of dough; separate into 16 triangles. Arrange triangles on a baking stone with short sides of triangles toward the center, overlapping wreath shape. Lightly press short sides to flatten dough.

4. Spoon egg mixture onto widest part of dough. Pull end points of triangle over filling, pressing tips together in the center to hold the shape.

5. Bake 25-30 minutes at 375F or until deep, golden brown. (Sprinkle with 1/8 cup fat free cheddar when five minutes remain).

6. Yields 8, 9 point servings

I realize this would have photographed better on a pretty serving plate. Forgive me for wanting to show off my baking stone. As you know, I am seeking treatment for my mild stonewear obsession;)

Methodist Bean Casserole - 9 points

A teacher asks each of his students to bring in an object that represents his/her spiritual beliefs and present that object to the class. On the day of the presentation, the first boy arises and says, "I am a Catholic. This is my crucifix." The second boy arises and says, "I am a Baptist. This is my Bible." The third boy arises and says, "I am a Methodist. This is my casserole dish."

All jokes aside, we Methodists are quite serious about our covered dish dinners (also known as dinner on the grounds or potluck). These gatherings are a chance for the church members to show off their culinary skills. Most people tend to make the same dish over and over again, knowing that it is their best. You can always count on Mary Ellen's barbecue brisket or Joe's sweet potato pie. There is always an elite group of members who make the best of the best dishes; they are the royalty of the covered dish dinner.

I don't have one dish that I always take - I am still looking for that signature dish. For my first covered dish dinner in Tennessee, I committed a terrible faux pas. I took banana cream pudding. Ms. Ethel Lee, you see, always brings her world famous, slap your mama, banana cream pudding. Not only did I bring the same dish...even worse....mine was better! That is because my banana cream pudding kicks butt; it is the best ever. It is untouchable. It contains enough fat and sugar to give you an immediate cardiac arrest/diabetic coma. It might have been okay, except that one of the male members loudly announced to his table that "whoever brought that banana pudding...it's even better than Ms. Ethel Lee's." I was persona non grata.

It is my desire to never, ever repeat that experience again. So, I try to play it safe and take something that is not earth shatteringly good. This last week, though, I really wanted to make my beans. I was not sure whether to be chuffed or irritated when I heard people start asking about them. "Who made these beans, was it (Insert the name of one of the elite of the covered dish)? No? Well, then who brought them?" Hmmm... a compliment that they like them, but a bit of an insult that they went through a phone book of people before someone pointed out it was me.

A great many folks asked for the recipe. I am sharing it with you first!

Methodist Bean Casserole
1 lb lean ground beef, browned and drained
1 lb bacon, browned, drained, and chopped
2 cans pork and beans
2 cans lima beans
2 cans kidney beans
1/2 cup ketchup
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp prepared yellow mustard
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup chopped onion

1. Combine all ingredients in a large casserole dish. Bake at 350F until bubbly.
2. 9 points per cup serving

They may not look pretty, but, believe me, they taste great. Just make sure someone else at the covered dish isn't famous for their baked beans. You wouldn't want to upstage them.

I failed to give you my menu plan last week in my tizzy of preparing for guests. Here is my plan for this week.

Sunday

pasta salad for church picnic

bread and butter pickles for church picnic

root beer sloppy joes

chocolate pie

Monday

hummus on toast

Tuesday

cheeseburger quiche

Wednesday

kailua monkey smoothie

zucchini muffins

French omelet

Thursday

minty yogurt chicken

Friday

night out

Saturday

stewed collard greens with white beans



Sausage and Potato Casserole - 9 points

See the chicken with roasted potatoes? Well, it left me with a problem. Reheated roasted potatoes do not taste particularly good, and I had a lot of leftover roasted potatoes. I couldn't think of a thing to do with them that was not going to cost me a whole bunch of  Weight Watchers points. Lucky for me, I have a Sunday school class made up of people who - for the most part - are not counting points. Since I still had a few holiday ingredients that needed to get out of my fridge before temptation overtook me, I threw them in there too. I had one tiny bite when the casserole was done and it was awfully good. If you have the points, go for it!

Sausage and Potato Casserole
1 lb roasted potatoes, cubed
1 lb sage sausage
1 onion, chopped
10.5 oz goat cheese
6 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large skillet, cook sausage and onion over low heat until sausage is cooked through. Stir frequently to keep sausage from clumping.
2. Add potatoes to the skillet, just to mix. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture into a baking pan or stone.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs yolks and whites are blended. Pour eggs over potato mixture. Top the casserole with crumbled goat cheese.
4. Bake, covered, in a 350F oven for 30 minutes. Remove cover and broil for an additional 3 minutes to brown cheese.
5. Yields 10, 9 point servings

Stollen Pudding with Apricot Brandy Sauce - 15 Points

You know how people complain about getting fruit cake for Christmas? I'm sure you've heard the jokes about using it as a paperweight or the comments about "who eats that?" Well, I love fruit cake. I really do. I am a good German American girl, and I can totally chow down on some dark rum cherry fruit cake or a nice, light stollen. This is good, because it seems that German American families like to give each other fruit cake.

Even thought I love it, I still get too much of it. After all, I am single. So, really, how many fruit cakes can I physically eat? That's okay, though, because too much fruit cake means...pudding!

My family is coming for Sunday lunch tomorrow, which means that I am cooking Sunday lunch tonight. We all go to church, and I don't feel like cooking a big meal after sitting in church and Sunday school. Sunday at my house means crock pot or something that reheats well. Guess what reheats really well. Pudding!

Stollen is a traditional German fruit bread. Every woman in my family thinks that she makes the best stollen in the world. Perhaps I will share some of their recipes with you sometime. For now, let's start with the pudding. You can buy any fruit bread at a store and make this recipe. It will knock your socks off.

Stollen Pudding
4 cups milk (I use soy)
1/2 cup salted butter
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
12 cups stale stollen, cubed
1 cup golden raisins
1. Heat the milk and butter in a microwave safe bowl until the butter has completely melted.
2. In a large bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon, and eggs until smooth. Stir in stollen and raisins. Pour milk over the mixture, and gently turn until the stollen is well coated.
3. Pour the mixture into a deep casserole dish. Place the dish in a larger, rectangular pan.
4. Place the pan, with the casserole dish in it, in an oven heated to 350. When the pan is secured on the rack, pour boiling water into the pan all around the casserole (about 1 1/2 deep). Do not pour the water before putting the pan in the oven or you run a greater risk of scalding yourself!
5. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Remove the casserole dish from the pan before removing the pan from the oven. This, again, lowers your chance of scalding yourself. 

Stollen Pudding should be served with Apricot Brandy Sauce. Of course, if you are like me, you can also just drink the sauce. But, you shouldn't. It is very, very bad for your hips.

Apricot Brandy Sauce
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup salted butter
1/2 cup apricot brandy

Heat all ingredients over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved.

For Weight Watcher's fans, the Stollen Pudding makes 16, 9 point servings. The Apricot Brandy Sauce makes 16, 6 point servings.