Popover w/ Lemon Chicken Sauce

Popovers are an interesting pastry. They're not leavened by yeast or chemicals, but by water evaporating into steam, so it's important to put them into a very hot oven so they poof up right. That poofiness makes for a large cavity that is great to fill with both sweet and savory sauces. In addition to the way described here, you could also pour the batter into a popover pan to make individual servings.

Ingredients

Popover

• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 cup milk
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  

Filling

• 1 tablespoon butter
  
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup green beans, chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 1 can (10.5 oz) condensed cream of chicken soup
• 12 oz chopped cooked chicken breast
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dill weed
  
• 2 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Instructions

Popover:
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Put 2 tablespoons butter in a 9x9 glass baking dish and let it melt in the hot oven. Meanwhile, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter and add to a blender bowl with milk, eggs, and salt. Blend for 30 seconds on high until well combined and frothy. Carefully add flour. Blend on low for 30-60 seconds, just until there are no lumps left (over-mixing the flour will make for bad popovers). Pull the baking dish from the oven and swirl around so the butter coats the bottom. Pour in the batter and return to oven. Bake for 20 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until poofy and golden brown.

Filling:
Melt the butter in a large skillet on low heat. Sweat the carrots, onion, bell pepper, and green beans with a heavy pinch of salt for 10 minutes, or until the veggies are softened. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer for 2 minutes until cheese is melted and the sauce is completely mixed. Pour filling on top of popover, cut into wedges, and serve.

Breakfast Empanadas

When we think about Empanadas, it's probably in the context of a sweet dessert, maybe served with ice cream. However there are savory kinds as well. In this recipe the saltiness of bacon goes really well with the creamy scrambled eggs and tangy salsa. With Cinco de Mayo a couple weeks away, this is definitely a recipe you should plan for!

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon (about 10 slices)
• 1 package (15 oz) of refrigerated pie crust
• 9 eggs
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• dash freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cups Mexican style shredded cheese
• 4 tablespoons salsa
• all purpose flour (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 F. Cook bacon on a cooling rack in a sheet pan until crispy. Chop into small pieces. Set aside. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. cut pie crusts in half to make 4 semi circles; place on baking sheet.

In a small bowl, combine 1 egg with water and beat until well blend; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine remaining 8 eggs with salt and pepper and beat until well blended. Place large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add butter; when melted, tilt skillet to coat bottom lightly. Sprinkle bacon evenly into skillet. Pour eggs into skillet and cook without stirring for 2 minutes; gently stir until eggs are forming large curds and are still slightly moist. Transfer to plate to cool.

Spoon one fourth of the cooled scrambled egg mixture onto half of each semi circle of pie crust. Sprinkle all but 1/4 cup cheese evenly over eggs, Spoon 1 table spoon salsa in center od each mound of eggs and cheese

Using a pastry brush, brush inside of each semicircle with reserved egg-water mixture. Fold dough over top of egg mixture and seal edges with a fork, making four empanadas. (Flour fork tines to prevent sticking.)

Brush tops of empanadas with remiaing egg-white mixture and sprinkle with reserved cheese. Bake 15- 20 minutes or until golden.

Tip: These can be prepared early in the day and reheated in an oven set to 350 for 20-25 minutes.