We are thrilled that Arizona Foothills asked us to write an article about our 3 favorite go-to snack varieties for the busy girl on the go! Click the link below for the full feature…
Challah Bread Overnight French Toast
Can we get a holla for the challah?? Ever since we made this ridiculously amazing challah bread overnight french toast I’ve been wanting to say that! What is wrong with me? It’s okay, you can keep those comments in your own mind…it’s a loaded question, I know.
So really anything that takes 10 minutes to throw together is a huge bonus. Once you put everything together you get to wrap it up in some foil and let it sit in the fridge overnight so the liquid is able to really absorb into the bread. The next morning you pop it in the oven for 40 minutes and you will be treated with a light, fluffy, slightly sweet slice of the best french toast you’ve ever had. I must admit that we had a couple of recipe fails with this, it definitely took us a few tries to get it right. In our opinion after much trial and error we achieved the perfect combo of not overly sweet, light and moist (yes, I said moist) challah bread overnight french toast. Oh, and there’s a splash of Gran Marnier added too which is always a bonus!
Stephanie Heymann Photography
One thing to note is our recipe calls for pure maple syrup…we are talking about the real stuff, not the stuff made with high fructose corn syrup. Spend the extra money and buy 100% pure maple syrup, it’s a HUGE difference in taste and of course any chance to stay away from high fructose corn syrup is a win. Trust us on this one!
This recipe is perfect if you are entertaining and want to serve it for brunch or a family holiday, or if you’re feeding a house full of kids on a Sunday morning. It’s a nice treat and it feeds a lot of mouths! Side note but how much does this amazing drizzle photo make your mouth water? Sorta obsessed with this photo, it makes me want to just drizzle syrup over everything!!
Stephanie Heymann Photography
Challah Bread Overnight French Toast
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Author: Good Thyme Kitchen
Serves: 10-12
Ingredients
- 1 loaf Challah bread, cut into ½ inch slices
- ¼ C coconut oil
- ½ C pure maple syrup, plus more for serving
- 1 C milk
- 1 C half and half
- 6 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp Gran Marnier or Disaronno
- ⅓ C raisins
Instructions
- In a bowl whisk coconut oil and maple syrup. Pour into a 9x13 casserole dish.
- Use the same bowl to whisk milk, half and half, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and gran marnier.
- Layer Challah bread slices in the pan over maple syrup/coconut oil. Sprinkle half of raisins over the first layer and the other half over the second layer of bread. Cover all holes by tearing bread into pieces to fill the holes. Pour egg mixture over bread, coating bread evenly. Sprinkle top with remaining raisins.
- Cover with foil and let sit overnight, the bread with soak up the milk/egg mixture.
- The next morning remove the french toast from the fridge and preheat oven to 350. Bake for 40 minutes uncovered until golden brown and puffed. Cut into squares and serve with additional maple syrup, fresh strawberries, powdered sugar, etc.
Egg Strata with Mushrooms and Goat Cheese
This mushroom and goat cheese strata is the perfect entertaining dish! Not only is it a beautiful thing because you can make it a day ahead (which is like a total win because you just pop it in the oven an hour before serving), but it tastes absolutely delicious and blows everyone away with the insane flavor. It’s a light, fluffy, eggy, cheesy strata party! At GTK we really pride ourselves on cooking clean and light, but every once in a while it’s okay to step outside of the box and break a few rules! This is a recipe that has been handed down in our family for years. We’ve made some modifications to lighten it up a bit by cutting the butter and using fat free milk and half and half. On that note, (Please keep reading to hear the most hilarious story regarding the half and half…you are gonna love this one)….
Here she is, right before being covered with foil to spend the night in the fridge! All pretty and perfect! Keep reading….
Stephanie Heymann Photography
After it bakes for a good hour, and smells Ah-Mazing…look how happy Courtney is to serve this one up to her super awesome business partner Kari, and their adorable photographers, Stephanie and Shannon….keep reading….
Stephanie Heymann Photography
Yum!! We are all dying to eat it! We are so hungry and did I mention, it smells SO Good? Well, so here’s the best part about this photoshoot. See below image. We all ( Kari, Stephanie , Shannon and I) all take a bite and simultaneously say, “hmmm, it’s so sweet”….”ummm, something seems off”, “why is it sweet?”….and I’m thinking, this is SO odd, it’s a savory dish…what the heck? It’s NOT supposed to be sweet…Well, I check the ingredients that are in the fridge from the day before and Low and Behold!!! Look what I found! It’s French Vanilla flavored half and half!! Oops!! Delicious in your coffee but keep in mind, it’s mixed with goat cheese, mushrooms, green onions, garlic, etc…let’s just say that French Vanilla half and half is not so much a complimentary flavor in this dish. Please don’t do what I did. Stick to non-vanilla flavored half and half! We promise, if you follow the recipe, you WON’T regret it!
Stephanie Heymann Photography
Egg Strata with Mushrooms and Goat Cheese
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Author: Good Thyme Kitchen
Serves: 12
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 pound fresh mushrooms (shiitake, crimini or baby portabellas are all great) - sliced
- 8 C (about 12 slices) rustic white bread - cubed
- 2¼ C nonfat milk
- 1½ C nonfat half and half
- 5 large eggs
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme - chopped
- ¾ C chopped fresh green onion tops
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. ground black pepper
- 9 oz. soft goat cheese - crumbled
- 1 C fontina cheese (4oz) - grated
- 1 C grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Butter 13x9x2 glass baking dish.
- Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and saute until tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and allow to cool.
- Combine the bread and milk in a large bowl. Toss lightly and let it stand for about 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Whisk half and half, eggs, green onions, thyme, garlic and S&P in a medium bowl. Stir in goat cheese until combined.
- Place half of the bread mixture on bottom layer of prepared baking dish. (It's ok if it does not cover the whole dish). Top with half of the mushrooms, parmesan cheese, fontina cheese and half of the milk mixture. Repeat a second layer with remaining ingredients.
- Bake strata uncovered until puffed and golden. About 1 hour.
** Note - Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. (Allow to sit at room temp for 30 min prior to baking next day)
AZ Foothills Entrepreneur Trendsetter Feature
We are so honored that AZ Foothills chose US to feature as valley trendsetters!! Check out the links below to see our individual features. Pretty cool if you we say so ourselves!
Turkey Meatloaf
I’m laughing as I write this because turkey meatloaf really doesn’t sound like it’s the type of meal to get excited about. We tried playing with the recipe title to make it sound a bit more appealing but decided it is what it is…it’s turkey meatloaf and it’s damn good!
With that being said, you know what is super cool about this damn good turkey meatloaf? You can get two meals out of one! Yes, that’s right….make this tonight and tomorrow night you will have dinner covered too. Although you may need to double the recipe and make two loaves depending on how many mouths you’re feeding. Anyways, tonights meal is damn good turkey meatloaf straight off the loaf with whatever side you are in the mood for, like roasted veggies or a sweet potato whip. Tomorrow night you will be dining on meatloaf panini sandwiches. Yep, throw a big slice of meatloaf in between two pieces of bread and slide a piece of cheese in there so it gets all melty and gooey. Boom, just like that you have dinner #2. That’s called a two for one and that’s called WINNING!
So this is a simple recipe that takes very little time to prep. It consists of sautéed onions, garlic and thyme mixed with organic lean ground turkey, an egg, panko breadcrumbs and a little bit of this and a little bit of that. We always like to sneak a veggie in the meatloaf so we used grated carrots for this batch, but grated zucchinis are a great add in too…or better yet, use both!
This is a get your hands dirty type of meal prep. Get your hands in there and mix up the ingredients, but don’t mix too much or your meatloaf will get a little dry. Form into a rectangle shaped loaf on a parchment lined roasting pan and that’s it. If you’re a ketchup lover then spread some ketchup over the top before baking, otherwise bake it as is. Place a pan filled with water on the bottom rack of the oven to prevent the meatloaf from cracking. Make sure the internal temperature of the meatloaf reaches 160 degrees before removing from the oven.
You can bake this meatloaf earlier in the day if you don’t have time to bake it before dinnertime. If you bake it earlier, slice it up before serving and reheat the slices in a skillet. I sometimes prefer it this way because a nice crust forms on the outside of each piece. Add this into your meal rotation this week and get two bangs for your buck!
Turkey Meatloaf
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Author: Good Thyme Kitchen
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp good quality olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh thyme, stemmed and chopped
- 1½ lbs lean ground turkey
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 Tbsp organic ketchup
- ¼ C chicken stock
- ½ C panko breadcrumbs
- 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
- ⅓ C grated carrots
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp cracked pepper
Instructions
- Preaheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Heat a large sautee pan over medium-low heat. Add olive oil and sautee onions, garlic and thyme for about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In a medium bowl add turkey, egg, ketchup, chicken stock, breadcrumbs, carrots, worcestershire sauce and S & P. Add cooled onion mixture and mix together with your hands - do not overmix!
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Drop turkey mixture on the parchment paper and shape into a rectange loaf. Bake for approximately 55 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees on a meat thermometer.
**Note - Place a pan of water on the rack below the meatloaf in the oven to keep meatleaf from cracking.
Avocado Deviled Eggs
Anyone else look forward to Easter partly because it means that you get to eat endless amounts of deviled eggs? You can’t see me but I’m raising my hand! The not so good thing about deviled eggs is that they are filled tons of mayo which is not so bueno if you are trying to lighten up your meals for bikini season!
Stephanie Heymann Photography
Well, this was an easy recipe for us to lighten up since by now you have probably realized we love all things avocado, and greek yogurt is always our go to substitute for mayo or sour cream. We decided to spice these guys up a bit with diced jalapeño, we also added chopped cilantro and the juice and zest of a lime for an unexpected spin on your traditional deviled egg.
Stephanie Heymann Photography
The grand finale is one of our favorite seasonings from TJ’s. We tried making these with ground chile and lime juice squeezed over the top but it didn’t compare to this chile lime seasoning as a topper. If you don’t already own a jar of this you need to add it to your spice rack, you will find yourself reaching for it constantly to add that little hint of heat and citrus all at the same time.
Stephanie Heymann Photography
These avocado deviled eggs will be the hit of your Easter spread and trust us, nobody will miss the mayo or the missing calories and fat that goes along with it!
Stephanie Heymann Photography
So you don’t have to wait until Easter to make these, why not make them today?!
Stych Photography
Avocado Deviled Eggs
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Author: Good Thyme Kitchen
Serves: 12
Ingredients
- 6 hardboiled eggs
- 1 medium avocado, cubed
- ½ C. 0% Greek yogurt
- ¼ C cilantro, chopped
- ½ jalapeno, seeded and diced
- juice and zest of 1 lime
- kosher salt & cracked pepper to taste
- Trader Joe's brand chile lime seasoning
Instructions
- Remove shell from hardboiled egg. Slice egg in half lengthwise. Remove the cooked yolk and add to a medium bowl, set egg whites aside.
- Add avocado to the bowl and mash with a fork. Mix in greek yogurt, cilantro, jalapeño and lime juice and zest. Season with S & P to taste.
- Use a spoon to fill egg whites with avocado mixture. Sprinkle chile lime seasoning over the top.
**Note - For easy peel eggs try steaming instead of boiling, works like a charm!
Grapefruit & Avocado Salad with Dill
Hello fresh, light and perfectly amazing spring salad, I think I love you! In keeping up with all the amazing citrus we have going on here, this salad just seemed like the perfect lunch today. Not overly starved but craving a healthy light lunch. Well, here she is!! I had a head of butter leaf lettuce from the farmers market and a giant bunch of dill that I had picked up as well. I was trying to decide how to use them in a more unique way…and that is how the grapefruit and avocado salad was born! Use what you have on hand people! Like we always say, don’t be afraid to experiment. This one was a huge success and not to mention…really easy to prepare! The grapefruit was deliciously sweet and just paired perfectly with the creamy avocado. The dill added a perfect little bite.
These flavors are all so complimentary that you don’t even need a strong or bold dressing. Just a little quality olive oil and some kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper. This is going to be a new light spring favorite salad for me. Hope you give it a try and feel the same way!
Grapefruit & Avocado Salad with Dill
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Author: Good Thyme Kitchen
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 1large haas avocado
- 1 ruby red grapefruit
- 3-4 butter lettuce leaves
- 2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- drizzle of good quality olive oil
- kosher salt and cracker pepper to taste
Instructions
- Line butter lettuce on a plate. Cut avocado into segments and arrange on lettuce. Cut grapefruit long ways and cut into segments, removing the white membrane. Arrange on the plate with the avocado. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the top and sprinkle with dill. Season with S & P to taste.
Make Your Own Trail Mix
This is an absolute staple in our house! Really, ever since the kids were little, I found that if you mix a bunch of healthy items in a bowl or a baggie, it’s just more fun to eat! You can’t deny that adults feel the same way. Why is trail mix so fun? If you don’t feel this way, then maybe it’s because you haven’t tried making it for yourself! I am a huge fan of having a snack like trail mix on hand at all times. It’s so easy to make up a big batch and then toss some in a baggie and run out the door. The best part about making your own trail mix is that there are no rules…no right way or wrong way. Just simply combine a bunch of your favorites (healthy choices please) into a bowl and snack away…(just don’t eat the whole bowl at once okay?) These were some of the items we had on hand today so that’s where this delicious combo came from. The creamy yogurt raisins are the perfect compliment to the cashews, banana chips and dried cranberries! Yum. We like to make up a big batch because this stuff goes quickly in our house. Now it’s your turn. Go get your creativity on and experiment away!
Make Your Own Trail Mix
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Author: Good Thyme Kitchen
Serves: 8-10
Ingredients
- 1 C roasted cashews
- 1 C banana chips
- ¼ C dried cranberries
- ½ C yogurt covered raisins
Instructions
- Mix together in a bowl and enjoy. We like to divide the trail mix into individual snack bags for a quick snack on the go.
*Note- we used ingredients that we had in the pantry. Make your own combination using any type of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and something sweet like dark chocolate chips.
Williams Sonoma Guest Chefs
We had a great time as the guest chefs at Williams Sonoma cooking in their demo kitchen. We whipped up our orzo pesto salad with cherry tomatoes, kalamato olives, feta and fresh spinach. The salad received rave reviews with the customers and staff. It’s so fun for us to get out into the community and share our love of cooking with others! How luck are we???
Buddha Bowl with Herbed Yogurt
Behold our delicious Buddha bowl with herbed yogurt!
Buddha bowls are all the rage lately and for good reason! What’s not appealing about piling your favorite proteins and veggies on top of quinoa, rice or cauliflower rice? Plus it’s fun to say…I mean who names this stuff anyways?? Buddha bowls traditionally are made up of some sort of healthy grain, raw or cooked veggies, a natural fat like avocado, and a protein such as beans or chicken. You really can’t go wrong, you can also pile greens in there like kale or chard. It’s a one bowl meal that is satisfying and will leave you dreaming about what combination you can create for your next bowl.
This buddha bowl we made is literally filled with foods that we had on hand in our kitchen, really no planning was involved with this combination at all. The base is steamed cauliflower rice topped with black beans, chopped avocado, cooked sweet potatoes, cucumber slices, pickled beets and an herbed yogurt on the side. We sprinkled hemp hearts on top to add a mild, nutty flavor. Hemp hearts also have huge nutritional benefits, they are exceptionally rich in omega 6 and omega 3, two essential fatty acids.
There are NO rules with these bowls, just fill them up with your favorite combos. The more colorful the better. Since you’re supposed to eat the rainbow, these little (big) bowls are the perfect opportunity. Snap a pic and show us what your buddha bowl looks like, we would love to see what ingredient combos you come up with!
Check out our favorite pretty breakfast bowl:
http://www.goodthymekitchen.com/pitaya-bowl/
Buddha Bowl with Herbed Yogurt
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Author: Good Thyme Kitchen
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 1 sweet potato
- ½ C sliced cucumbers
- 1 avocado, chopped into cubes
- ½ C black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 C cauliflower rice, cooked
- ¼ C pickled beets - can buy in the grocery store or make yourself. See instructions in notes.
- 2 Tbsp hemp hearts
For th Herbed Yogurt:
- ½ C 0% greek yogurt
- 1 Tbsp chopped scallions, green tops only
- 1 Tbsp chopped chives
- 1 Tbsp chopped dill
- 1 small clove garlic, minced
- ¼ tsp ground pepper
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add sweet potato, bring to a low boil and cover with a lid for 15 minutes until sweet potato is cooked through. Remove sweet potato and set aside.
- While sweet potato is cooking assemble the herbed yogurt. In a smal bowl mix all ingredients together until incorporated.
- Warm cauliflower rice over the stovetop or in the microwave. While the rice is warming cut the sweet potato into 2 inch slices.
- Line two medium bowls with cauliflower rice. Evenly divide between the two bowls the sweet potatoes, sliced cucumbers, avocado, black beans and pickled beets into sections within the bowl. Add a dollap of herbed yogurt and sprinkle with hemp hearts over the top.
*Note - To pickle beets, peel the skin off the outside with a vegetable peeler. Use a spiralizer to spiralize the beets. In a small saucepan bring ½ C of white vinegar and ¼ C granulated sugar to a boil, cook for 5 minutes. In a mason jar add spiraized beets. Pour vinegar/sugar over the top and close the lid. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before using. Store pickled beets in the fridge for up to 1 month.