Sausage and Egg Dish

This dish can be made for breakfast obviously but also makes a lovely dinner alternative!! It's not a super complicated dish either and typically it's ingredients are ones that you have on hand!! Well.....ok maybe not the loaf of french bread......but there are many substitutions available!!

This is also a good pot luck dish or brunch dish!! It can serve a lot of people and you walk away full!! Not to mention it's super tasty. ;) It's very similar to the Sausage and Egg Minis I posted, just baked in a 13 x 9 instead of a cupcake tin!!

12 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
1 tsp season salt
1 tsp ground mustard
1 small can of diced green chile's
1/2 loaf of french bread, cut into cubes (you can sub sandwich rolls, slices of bread, sourdough or no bread at all if you are following a low carb diet)
1 lb ground sausage, cooked
2cups grated cheese, (you can use cheddar, jack, pepper jack, colby, swiss or whatever kind you'd like)


Preheat oven to 400 and spray baking dish with pam cooking spray. Arrange bread in bottom of 13 x 9 baking dish and sprinkle cooked sausage over top of bread. Now sprinkle green chile's evenly over sausage and bread. In a large bowl crack eggs and beat with milk, salt and ground mustard. Pour over bread and sausage mixture pressing bread into eggs so that it soaks in. Sprinkle top with grated cheese and bake for 45 to 60 minutes until eggs are set in center.

You can literally substitute ANY ingredients with the sausage or add things like spinach or mushrooms or bell peppers. You can use ham intead of sausage or you can use bacon or all three. The possibilities are endless!! Be creative!!

Whole Wheat Lasagna with a Pesto Twist

So......I was at one of my favorite stores.....Moore's Mill.....where they grind their own flours and grains......I love that place. I bought lots of stuff, including whole wheat lasagna noodles!! I love the cheesey gooeyness of lasagna.  I especially love how lasagna tastes better the second day than it does the first day!!

I used my standard marinara sauce, then added ground beef, zucchini and mushrooms to the sauce. Oh......then I added pesto sauce to the ricotta cheese......and can I just tell you how lovely that little addition was. I wish I was eating this again. Its been a few weeks since I made this and am just getting around to posting it. But I want to eat it.

Have you ever had months go by in your life that seemed sooooooo busy while you were living them....but when you think back to what you did or accomplished......your not quite sure?? Yeah.....that's how my life has been......

Marinara Sauce
      3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped yellow onion 

2 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup good red wine

1  (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add sugar and next 7 ingredients (through fennel seeds); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in vinegar; cook 30 seconds. Add broth, wine and tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat for 55 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.

marinara sauce (with ground beef, sliced zucchini and sliced mushrooms)

1 lg tub ricotta

1/2 cup pesto sauce

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1 egg

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 lbs whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked according to pkg directions

Mix ricotta, pesto, egg and Parmesan in small bowl. Grease 13 x 9 baking dish and preheat oven to 350. Spoon enough sauce to barely cover bottom of baking dish. Layer noodles to cover bottom of dish, spoon 1/3 of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodles. Pour 1/3 of sauce over that and top with 1 cup of cheese. Repeat until all ingredients are gone. Topping with remaining cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Enjoy and serve with garlic bread and salad.

Sage and Bacon Infused Scalloped Potatoes

Ok....I know it's been forever since I posted. I'm sorry!! I have had a lot going on in my life and will continue to have a lot going on until my oldest son......*sniff sniff* graduates from high school. I am having a really really hard time with this......idk why but its very gut wrenching and heart breaking to me!! The thought that my son....my baby....is graduating and could potentially move out of my house....is just a little over whelming. So I've been in a funk lately and then planning a HUGE party for him and he got a job so I've been driving him to yet another place. Let's just say.......I've been busy!! ;)

Now you may notice that I'm posting a scallop potato recipe and my last recipe was a scallop potato recipe............BUT in my defense.....I was laying in bed one night thinking......I wonder what scallop potatoes would taste like with sage and bacon in the sauce?? Then I couldn't get that thought out of my mind until I tried it!! It was AMAZING the sage and bacon transformed the sauce/roux into something even more creamy and rich and extravagant....I can't even describe it enough to you, you will have to try it on your own to see what I'm talking about!!

So you basically follow the exact same recipe as before only this time right after pouring the milk in you add 1 T of fresh minced sage leaves and 4 slices of chopped cooked bacon. You want to add it before the sauce thickens so it has time to infuse all its wonderful flavor into the creamy sauce!! Here is the recipe from the previous post to make it easy on you!!

5 potatoes, sliced into thin slices
3 T flour
3 T fat (butter, oil, shortening, bacon fat...that's what I used)
2 cups milk
3 cups of cheese, any kind ie: cheddar, jack, pepper jack, swiss, mozzarella etc
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp season salt
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Grease a 1 qt baking dish with butter and preheat oven to 425 degrees. It's not necessary, but I stuck my potatoes in the microwave for 7 minutes before putting the casserole together. Next, in a small saucepan, place the fat and flour and cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes stirring with a whisk. Whisk in milk and continue whisking for about 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Add 2 cups of cheese, nutmeg, season salt, and dijon mustard. Mix well until all cheese is melted. Begin layering your casserole with potatoes in a single layer. Top with 1/3 of the sauce and 1/3 of the remaining cheese. Continue two more times then top with the panko bread crumbs. Bake for 20-25 if you pre microwaved the potatoes and 50-60 minutes if the potatoes were raw.

Kicked Up Cornbread

I have a confession.......I am addicted to cornbread!! I just love it. I love that it's sweet yet salty and moist and I love to spread butter on it when it's still steaming........excuse me for just a.......................................

Sorry about that....I'm back now.....I hope you can forgive me...but as I was typing I kept looking at the picture, then I glanced over on my counter...and well....there is this big piled high plate of cornbread...and I had to eat another piece. ;) But I'm all good now....I'm here for the rest of the post...I promise!!

So due to the fact that I do LOVE cornbread, I am always down to try a way to make it. This is definitely a keeper, and I recommend that you all try it, BECAUSE I SAID SO......THAT'S WHY!!! Oh...sorry....all of a sudden I could just hear one of my kids asking....."Wwwwwwhhhhhhhyyyyyyy" in that whiny sorta voice....moms out there you know the one!! ;)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar, scant
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups cream style corn
• 1/2 cup (small can) crushed pineapple, drained well and squeezed
• 1 cup shredded jack or mild cheddar cheese
• 1 small can green chile's

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Butter and flour a 9″ square baking dish. 
Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and set aside.  In a mixer, cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  (The mixture may appear curdled at some point, and that is OK.)  Add the corn, pineapple, cheese, green chile's and mix to blend.  On low speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until blended.
Bake until a tester is clean and the cornbread is golden brown on top, about 40 min.  Serve warm.

Indian Tacos~Fry Bread

If you have never had an indian taco before........WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU???? No....really.....I insist....you must try one......it is a necessary part of life...it should be a priority....if you have a bucket list.....eating one of these should be on there!!! Ok....I feel better now. I've done my duty stressing the importance of placing this marvelous wonder on your taste buds. Gotta give a huge shout out to my neighbor Marcie she is THE AWESOMEST fry bread maker. She taught me how to do it and shared her recipe with me!! THANK YOU MARCIE!!!!

Now to talk about making fry bread! I'm not gonna lie....it took me 3 trys before I got it right. But I do know the secret now!! Alot of recipes call for flour, baking powder, sugar, salt....blah blah blah......you don't need to measure all that stuff out!! You need self rising flour and water!! THAT'S IT!! Remember KISS!! (keep it simple silly) I could seriously just make a giant batch of fry bread and eat it all day long.....although....one thing to note is these taste U~MAZING fresh outta the fryer....but lose their glory as they sit and cool. Anyways....Ive never measured when Ive made these so I'm gonna do my best to give you a recipe for the fry bread part.

Let's talk beans. Depending on where you check/look for recipes for the toppings you will find the MANY different ways people make these. Some people keep the meat and beans separate and some combine them. I'm a combiner!! I just like the taste better and I think it makes your meat go further!! As far as toppings go...traditional are lettuce, cheese and tomatoes. I like to throw on cilantro and onions too and guacamole. Last night I was out of cilantro.....I know I know.....how could that happen....I should be banished from blogging about food....but I was....and I apologize.....please find it in your hearts to forgive me!! Oh and there is no guacamole in the pic either....but I have a perfect excuse for that too!! I was so excited to eat mine and so was the fam, that we all ate ours and I didn't take a pic first. So I had to make another one to photograph and we had eaten all the guacamole by then!! :)

Fry Bread

4 cups self rising flour (no substitutions!!!!)
1 1/2 cups warm water (or enough to make a nice sticky dough, it should form into a nice rounded pile but if you touch it, it should stick to your fingers!!)

Mix water and dough and let sit for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour. Flour the top of your dough and a clean surface very well. Grab a larger than a golf ball but smaller than a baseball sized dough ball and flatten on your floured surface. Should flatten to about 6" round. Fry in a deep fryer or a deep pan with about 3 inches of oil in it. Make sure the oil is very hot before dropping dough in. Fry until golden brown, then flip and do the same for the other side. They cook quick, approx 2-3 minutes on each side.


Beans

1 lb ground beef
1 lb pinto beans, washed thoroughly
1 can diced tomatoes
5 cloves garlic
1 pickled jalapeno, seeded
1 T chicken bouillon or salt as needed for taste
1 med onion, diced
1/2 lb of bacon cut into 1" pieces

Cook ground beef and diced onion over med heat until ground beef is cooked completely. Add in washed beans, tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno, bacon and enough water to cover beans completely. Add in bouillon or salt. Simmer, adding water as necessary, for approx 2-2 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. The water will have thickened into a 'sauce' at this point. You should let the water boil down to where it is level with the beans.

Assembly

Place one fry bread on a plate. Top with bean mixture, lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, onions, guacamole and sour cream. If you don't want to use fresh tomatoes you can eliminate those and just top with salsa or whatever toppings you like!!

Pork 'Cubano' Panini

Pork, pickles and melty cheese. That could be all that I type and EVERYONE should want to make this....right???? I mean pork meat alone is the meat of the Gods (for the record I believe in God and only one God, but how could I possibly describe a meat so wonderful as pork with out saying it is the meat of the Gods) I'm gonna write a song about pork, and its glorious beauty, its wondrous taste its utter marvelousness. So this 'cubano' has all the ingredients that you would find on a typical Cuban panini if you went to a Cuban restaurant. Its got roasted pork, slice ham, swiss cheese, and pickles. Yummy for my tummy!! So last night a made a pork butt roast and today I made these with the leftovers!!

1 lb pork roast, sliced 1/4" thin
4 ham slices, halved
8 dill pickle slices
8 slices swiss cheese
4 long sandwich rolls
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup mustard
2 cloves garlic, grated on micro plane
butter for pan

Slice rolls in half if needed. Mix mayo, mustard and garlic in a bowl. Spread sauce over one side of each roll. Slice cheese in half and put one halved (one slice) slice on the bottom of each roll. Next put the roasted pork meat, then the ham, then the pickles. Now top with the other halved cheese slice. Put the top roll on. Butter your panini maker, if you do not have one you can just fry in frying pan, or if you are like me....I have a large cast iron griddle pan and a hand press with the grill lines on it. I just place my hand press on the griddle pan while its heating. Place sandwiches on panini maker and close lid. Brown until a deep golden brown color and the bread is very crunchy.

Tuna Veggie Casserole......I love old school food!!

There is just something about old school classic meals that makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Things like tuna casserole, meatloaf, mac & cheese, beef stroganoff, and sooooo many more. I feel like Mrs. Cleaver or Wilma Flinestone.......ok maybe not Wilma....but you know what I mean. They just feel like authentic classic American fill you up kinda meals. That is a great feeling to have after making a meal. So I'm gonna giving you my version of Tuna Casserole, I threw in some veggies....you know cuz I can. :)

Here is just a few of the ingredients I used. Take note...I used whole wheat noodles!!
1 12-16 oz pkg of noodles of your choice
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 T capers
2 cups broccoli, chopped
2 cans tuna, drained
2 cups grated cheese, any kind you like
3 cloves garlic
3 T butter
3 T flour
2 cups milk or broth and milk or heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
a pinch of nutmeg

Chop your veggies like so........and while you are chopping your veggies you should be boiling your noodles. Once the noodle have boiled drain them and set them aside to make your sauce.

     In your pan combine your butter and flour and mix around for about 2 min to cook out the flour taste.

Whisk in your milk, cream or combo of both and whisk until all the lumps are gone. Add cheese and whisk until smooth. Now add salt and pepper to taste, nutmeg, all veggies, grated garlic and capers, and tuna. Cook until sauce is very thick and veggies are tender, about 5 minutes. Toss in noodles and stir until everything is coated!! Serve

Potato Broccoli Cheddar Soup...makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!!

As Winnie the Pooh once said......"It's a blustery day." With blustery days comes......can you guess?? Come on you can do it......HONEY.....oops....sorry that would be Winnie the Pooh's answer....I meant SOUP!!!!

Then the next question was....what kind of soup?? Something think and creamy and rich and tasty but yet filling. That's when I decided potato, broccoli and cheddar cheese. I also made quesadilla's to go along with it, they make great dippers!! This soup is souper easy.....get it 'souper' ooohh...maybe I should change the title to 'Souper Easy Potato Broccoli Cheddar Soup' I think that's a catchy title, don't you think??

Anyways, it really is easy to make. There are very few ingredients and they are mostly ones you would have on hand!! Good luck and happy soup!!

3 peeled and diced potatoes
4 cups of chopped broccoli
4-10 cloves or garlic depending on your liking of garlic ( I might of put 11)
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
8 cups of chicken stock/broth
1/2-1 cup heavy cream or 1/2 and 1/2

In a large stock pot place potatoes, broccoli, garlic and cover with stock/broth. Bring to a boil and let cook for about 20 min until veggies are pretty much mush. I used my emulsion blender, but if you don't have one place in food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Add cheese and cream or 1/2 and 1/2 until cheese is melted, stirring often. Serve

Appetizers anyone???

K......so maybe I watch a little too much Food Network........
This plate was super fun to make though, and all recipes are ones that I made up.....I mean obviously there are similar recipes out there.....but I didn't follow any recipe...just threw some ingredients together and made these.
This plate was for my sons youth pastor and his wife. The youth group decided to have a date night dinner for them to show how much they appreciate them and Kim (whose idea it was to have the dinner) asked if I could make the appetizers. Well of course!!!!!! I <3 to cook!!!!

Blue Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

3/4 c blue cheese
2 slices of ham/prosciutto/bacon chopped or 1 c cooked sausage
1/2 Parmesan cheese
1 c panko bread crumbs
1 tsp parsley
salt to taste
pepper
12-15 cleaned mushrooms with stems removed

Preheat oven to 400. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and stuff mushrooms. Bake in greased baking dish with about a 1/4 water in bottom.

Creamy Artichoke Parmesan Stuffed Puff Pastry

1 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 c marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
2 cloves grated garlic
2 green onions, chopped
pepper
2 thawed puff pastry sheets
1 beaten egg

Cut each puff pastry sheet into thirds along the fold. Then each third into thirds, so each sheet will yield 9 squares.

Stir all ingredients together, brush two sides of puff pastry squares with egg, put a spoon full of artichoke mixture by egged edges. Fold over to make a triangle. Press down edges to seal. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes.

Mozzarella Stuffed Rice Balls

2 c cooked seasoned rice
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 tsp fresh basil
1/4 cup marinara sauce, more for garnish
mozzarella cheese, I used cheese sticks and cut them into chunks
2 eggs beaten
2 cups Panko bread crumbs

Mix first four ingredients together. Make a golf ball sized rice ball and shove a chunk of mozzarella in the center. Drop into egg mixture then into the panko. Deep fry in oil that is 350 degrees until golden brown. Put the remaining marinara sauce either in a bowl to dip the rice balls or under them on the plate.

Christmas Eve Seafood Lasagana

 

Is it just me, or is seafood a beautiful thing?? I love it all. I have never made a seafood lasagana before, and actually I dont recall ever tasting one before. But I would have to say for a first try, it was successful!! I used shrimp, crab meat and small scallops!! It was super easy to throw together too and a big hit amoungst family members. Even my hubby, who doesnt love pasta thought it was good!!

1/2 lb lasagna noodles
1 1/2 jars alfredo sauce
3 cups grated mozzerella or any cheese you like
1/2 lb real crab meat, shredded
1 lb small scallops, cooked
1/2 lb small shrimp, cooked
1 small container of ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
salt & pepper
parmesean cheese

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. In a small bowl combine three seafoods, salt and pepper to taste. In another small bowl mix ricotta, egg, salt, pepper, and about 1/4 cup parmesean cheese. In a 13 x 9 baking dish which you have sprayed with cooking spray, begin layering. First drizzle a little bit of alfredo sauce (right out of the jar) to coat the bottom of the dish. Layer approx. 3 lasagna noodles, drop some ricotta mixture and spread on noodles, sprinkle 1/3 of the seafood mixture, then drizzle sauce from the jar and finally a thin layer of cheese. Repeat all steps until you reach the top of the baking dish. Topping with cheese. Bake in a 350 oven for approx 45 minutes to 1 hour.

My first....and VERY successful attempt at Chile Rellenos

OMG!!!! These came out sssssssssssoooooooooo good!! I have NEVER made them before, but LOVE Chile Rellenos so much. So I just thought....I can do this!! And I did!! =)

I am so happy!! I will be making these again!! It was over all pretty easy, didnt take more than an hour. The only bad thing was that by the time I was done frying them all I had eaten 3 and I was full so I didnt get to sit down and enjoy them!! ;o)

1 lg can green chiles

monterey jack cheese

1/4 to 1/2 cup flour + 1 Tbls

6-8 eggs separated

1 tsp season salt

oil or shortening to fry

Take the green chiles out of the can and place them on paper towels to dry them. Dust them with the 1/4 or 1/2 cup of flour (however much is needed to dust them completely). Cut thick slices (1/2") of monterey jack cheese, then cut the slice in 3 long strips. Cut as many as needed for your chiles (1 per chile). You can use toothpicks to hold the chile and the cheese together. It's ok if the chile rips, cause the egg is gonna act like a nice comfy blankie to hold it all together!

Put all the egg whites in your handy dandy Kitchen Aide mixer and put the whip attachment on it on med high and just walk away! But make sure you walk back when stiff peaks have formed! ;o)

Beat the yolks with the 1 Tbls of flour and the 1 tsp of season salt. Once your egg whites have formed stiff peaks FOLD did I mention you should FOLD.....not stir.......fold in the yolk mixture until well mixed. Now you just dip your chile with the cheese inside into the egg batter and drop it into your preheated oil. When they are golden brown on both sides (you'll have to flip them once) then they are done!!

I served mine with El Pato salsa de jalepeno. You can find it in a can in the Hispanic section of the grocery store. Did I mention how good they were??

Po' Mans Dinner or Dirty Rice or Rice with Hangabur Meat

This rice dish is a huge hit around my house!! Everyone loves it and it can feed a ton of people or you can have leftovers the next day for lunch!! It is so easy and you can change it up to add whatever you like in it. I make mine with ground beef, but you can certainly use ground turkey, chicken or even sausage. Or if you don't like meat just use veggies!! This is great to make if you are feeding a crowd of if your food budget is low this week. It tastes so good you'd never guess it was so easy and inexpensive!!

1 lb ground beef

2 cups long grain rice

1/2 cup chopped red and green bell pepper

1/2 of a medium sized onion, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 14.5 oz can broth (beef, chicken or veggie)

2 cups water

3-4 dashes hot sauce (I like Franks)

1 1/2 cups cheese (Cheddar, jack, colby, pepper jack or any kind you like)

1 small can green chile's (optional)

juice of 1/2 of a lime

1-1 1/2 tsp salt to flavor

It should look like this.

Now add all the liquids, including the water, broth and hot sauce. Then add the cilantro. Cover and let it come up to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let cook for 20-25 minutes until rice is completely cooked. Now spread cheese over the top and let melt for about 5 minutes.

You can garnish with cilantro, avocado, sour cream, jalapenos, or anything else you feel like throwing on there!!
Doesn't that look good!!! Serve to all your hungry people waiting for a delicious meal!Now add the rice and 'fry' it all together for about 5 minutes stirring constantly.Just like that...now add in the veggies...except the cilantro!!Brown you ground beef.Here are all the things I used in mine today. Fresh tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, onions, cilantro, green chile's, lime juice, rice and cheese!! You'll want to chop up your veggies and cilantro before you start cooking!!

Sunday Mornin' Breakfast Burritos

Look at all these beautiful breakfast burritos. I used to make these once a month for church and we serve them in our cafe. You want to talk about pressure....try cooking for 60-75!! I've got it down to a science now!! It only takes about 2 1/2 hours from start to finish!! I will give you the estimated recipe for a few less!! ;o)

1 pound of ground breakfast sausage
1 pound of hashbrowns (not the shredded kind)
15 eggs beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 onion chopped
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup grated cheddar cheese or pepper jack or combo of your favorites
Approx 15-20 flour tortillas

Cook ground sausage thoroughly, also cook the hashbrowns with the onion in a seperate pan until golden brown.



Add all spices to eggs, add milk and beat until well beaten.

Add eggs and hashbrowns to the sausage and cook until eggs are cooked thoroughly.

Melt cheese on top and it should look a little something like above!! Can you say.....yummy??

Ripe off a bunch of foils and lightly heat the tortillas to make it easier to roll. Add a spoon full of egg mixture into a tortilla and roll like a burrito, with one end open.

Now dont you just wanna pick one up and take a bite?? I like to serve them with fresh homemade salsa!! Maybe I will post that recipe someday soon!!