German Cinnamon-Apple Puff Pancake

I LOVE this recipe. Combine amazing flavors with the ease of throwing it together, add some bacon on the side (optional, but who doesn't like bacon?!), and you have the ultimate breakfast! A sweet, puffy German pancake with tender cinnamon apples throughout...yum! It'll look and taste like you spent a long time making it, but the truth is, it's really quite simple!

Baking Time: 35 minutes
Baking Temperature: 375 degrees

Ingredients:

1 large granny smith apple (or other tart apple), peeled, cored, and sliced thinly
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon, divided (you will use 1/2 tsp. in the sugar and 1/2 tsp. in the batter)
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
powdered sugar (optional)


As your oven is preheating, throw the butter into a 9x13" pan and pop it in the oven so that the butter melts. While it's melting, it's a great time to get the apples peeled and ready to go.  Once the butter has melted, remove the pan from the oven and place the sliced apples over the top of it.

Place the pan back in the oven and bake it for about 10 more minutes, until the apples are tender. At this point, you will combine the brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and the nutmeg and sprinkle it over the top of the apples.

Take the remaining ingredients (minus the powdered sugar), and place them into a blender, allowing it to mix for about 30 seconds, or until all the ingredients are well combined. Pour this mixture over the top of the apples.

Allow the pancake to bake for about 35 minutes or until the apples rise and the top of the pancake is a nice golden brown color.  The pancake will be extremely puffy at first, but will quickly deflate a few moments after being removed from the oven.

Go ahead and slice into it, topping it with powdered sugar and syrup if you like. We tend to like things sweet around here. :)

Turkey (or Chicken) Tetrazzini

This recipe is a great way to use up any leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, although chicken can easily be substituted as well.  This is a relatively simple and fast dish to throw together, and can easily be doubled, which is what I always do. To make things even easier on myself, I sometimes use a disposable 9x13" deep-dish pan to avoid washing extra dishes.  You can add extra ingredients if there is something that you enjoy with a dish like this--some people add mushrooms, some people add peas or broccoli. It's a pretty versatile recipe that you would have a hard time screwing up.

Ingredients:

8 oz. spaghetti, broken into pieces
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 c. chicken broth (*or, you can use 1 tsp. chicken boullion + 1 c. water)
1 c. milk
2 c. chopped, cooked turkey or chicken
veggies (optional)
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

Oven Temperature: 350 degrees
Baking Time: 30 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly

Start out by breaking your spaghetti into smaller pieces--I usually break mine into thirds.

Get a large pot of water boiling and cook the noodles per the directions on the box.

While you are waiting for the water to boil for the noodles, it's a good time to get started on the creamy sauce. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, then add the flour and seasonings, allowing it to cook on low heat for about a minute.

Next, add the broth (or water) and milk to the butter mixture, stirring well. Allow it to cook for a while, stirring occasionally, until it begins to thicken up. It won't get very thick, but it's not as runny as when you first added the liquid and has a smooth consistency.

While you wait for the sauce to thicken up and the noodles to cook, go ahead and chop up the turkey or chicken into pieces.

After the pasta is cooked, go ahead and drain it, then pour it back in the pot you boiled it in. Add the cream-sauce mixture as well as the turkey and mix it up a bit.  Then, simply pour it into a 9x13" pan.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese across the top.

Pop it in the oven and allow it to bake for approximately 30 minutes. Don't over-bake it or it'll dry out. Allow it to cool for about 5 minutes upon removing from the oven, then serve it up.