Where have I been? Construction.....

****Under Construction***
Its been a long time since I first started this blog. A lot of time as gone by and Im in the middle of several life changes so bear with me....Ill be back! lol

Breakfast Casserole!!!

New year....new recipes....this one we cooked over winter break for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Theres enuf for one whole day's meals for four. Preptime is 9 hours...so before you get excited and vested in this being a quick meal...read on first! This is a "prepare the night before" recipe!

                                                           (Italian) Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

8oz Roasted Red Bell Peppers (chopped up)

6 large eggs

salt

crushed peppercorns

1 1/2 cps milk

1 lb sausage

2 cups shredded sharp cheese

Loaf Italian Bread (for herbal flavor) (cubed)

3 stalks of green onions (chopped)

2 Zuchini (chopped)

                                       Ground sausage till golden brown  (not crispy or crunchy)

I drained my sausage and transfered it to my wok because my skillet was too small to accomodate additional ingredients. Love my wok! Next, add the chopped onions and zuchini. Add salt and pepper for taste. saute for 4 mins..... 

Next, add red peppers.

( I chopped mine up in my food processor but you can chop with a knife if you wanted to)

Stir and saute for an aditional two mins.

                                           Next, place bread squares in a 9x13 casserole dish.

Next, evenly pour sausage mixture over bread.

Add cheese on top, making sure cheese covers entirety of dish. Next, beat eggs an milk together and pour mixture over entire dish making sure to coat it very well...

cover with foil and place in refrigerator for 8 hours. This is an overnight soak...so egg mixture gets soaked in really good!

(morningtime is here!)

Place dish in oven at 325 degrees for 1 hour. I woke up at 8am, turned on the oven, put the dish in the oven and set my timer for an hour and set my timer on my nightstand. Then proceeded to go back to bed. The aroma comes through really nicely and your whole house smells awesome when you finally wake up for the morning! Yum!!

Finnished product!

YUMMS!!!

                                 Of course I put sour cream on it....I put sour cream on everything!!!

Hope everyone enjoys this recipe! I sure did! 8yr old Gavin loved it too! Hes allways picky but when its all mixed up like this he knows he just has to trust me! That, and, it allways helps also to tell him its cucumber and not zuchini and that the red is peppers and not tomatoes. He loves cucumbers and hates tomatoes! Ha! There are also so many ways to make it very Italian, or change it up for just dinnertime....I replaced italian sausage with regular Jimmy Dean because I buy this sausage in bulk. Its cheaper and still tasty!
Very versatile recipe!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!!

                                   I hope everyone had a happy new years holiday as much as we did!
                                              Heres wishing everyone a great new year coming!

My new spatula kicks other spatulas' butts!!!

I just got this new spatula and it rawks! I heart anything awesome and this is on the top of my kitchen list. Its by Torolo and I got it at Home Goods.

More of Christmas.....

Maddie and Gavin fixated on the decor.....

Me and Gavin playing around with the ornaments...

This is our DYI Strand of pompoms....just sew the pompoms onto a string of either thread or fishing line....and voila...christmas garland. We also strung popcorn onto the tree too.

Christmas Treats......

Hawaiian Delight Cookies.....
 
This isnt a traditional Christmas food at all, I wanted to do something fun and different and since Winter is not my exact favorite time of year (unless it snows), I like to remember that summer isnt but months away and to enjoy a bit of summertime I decided to make these cookies I came across on a blog I was reading....the recipe is by Kailani from Kauai, Hawaii and she has a blog called Island Life. See the link below...I tried going by the instructions exactly and nailed it. These cookies are so yummy! They take 12 mins to cook and are light and fluffy and full of yumminess! Any amature can do these without burning the batch. The following photos are my take on the recipe and my outcome. Thank you Kailani for sharing your awesome cookies!

http://islandlife808.com/category/local-reviews/recipes/



Hawaiian Delight Cookies

Ingredients:

1 c. sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. coconut
1/2 c. crushed pineapple
1 c. macadamia nuts (chopped)
1/2 c. butter
2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
16 oz. pkg. chocolate chips


Preparation:

1. Preheat oven at 375 degrees.
2. In a bowl, blend together the sugar and butter.
3. Blend in the egg.
4. Blend in the flour and baking soda.
5. Stir in the coconut, chocolate chips, pineapple, and nuts.

6. Scoop small dollups of the mixture onto a non-stick cookie pan.
7. Cook at 375 for 12 mins. Bottom should show a light brown in color.

Makes about 10-12 cookies.

Chicken Salad Surprise ~ YUM!!!

Chicken Salad Surprise

Ingredients:

1 lb shredded boneless chicken (you can also use pulled rotisserie from your local store)
2 cups red seedless grapes (halved)
1 cup chopped celery (diced small)
Tony's Creole Seasoning (I usually put in enuf to scatter the contents lightly, then mix in, and repeat two more times) (to taste)
Sea Salt (to taste)
Black Peppercorns (crushed) (to taste)
1 cup of Kraft Olive Oil Mayonaise
1 cup Light Sour Cream


Preperation:

1. Mix together the chicken, grapes, celery, mayo, and sour cream in a large bowl.
2. Scatter the top of ingredients with creole seasoning and mix in. Repeat this two more times*This is per my desired seasoning intake* (The seasonings need to be by taste per your liking.)
 3. Lightly salt and pepper the contents and mix in, you may want to skip the salt bc the creole seasoning also has a lot of salt in it. I love salt so I lightly salt and pepper mine seperately than everyone elses.

I served this with French bread from our grocery store, lightly buttered,  with lightly scattered garlic powder,  and sea salt.  Hope you enjoy!

Papa Lloyd: PO MAN's TURTLES RECIPE

How to make "PO MAN's Turtles

Spread mini pretzels on baking sheet, top with a Rollo or Hershey Kiss.  Bake in oven 4 minutes heat 350 until chocolate is melty. Top with a pecan half and mash flat.  Cool for ten minutes then place in refridgerator till chocolate sets, take out serve or keep covered until serving.

These are great to make with the kids!

I *heart* Beer Glasses!

I love these beer glasses! I dont drink often as much now as I used to, but I love them none the less. I pick one up almost everytime I go near the kitchen accesories section of stores and basically use these for all of mine and brians drinking needs. Some are cute, quirky, and down right funny. They are a very durable, thick glass, and very affordable! $2-$4 bucks a glass! I bought these mostly at Home Goods, World Market, Mojo Burrito, and Big River Brewery. You can stack them and at this rate, I have to to make room for them in my cabinets! I love my glasses!

Last Nights Dinner....

                                                           Cheesy Chicken Enchilla Dip



Ingredients:

4- large (1 lb. total) chicken breasts -boneless -shredded
1 cp rice (we use wild rice)
2 cps mixed shredded cheese
1 chunk or 1/2 cup shredded mozerella cheese or (Just enuf for flavor to mix in)
2 1/4 cps water
1 cp milk
1 can kernel corn - strained
1 can black beans - rinsed
1 small can enchillada sauce

Preparation:
1. Boil Boneless Chicken Breasts and place in a small bowl of cold water to settle the temperature. And set aside.
2. Combine Water, Milk, and Rice and Enchilla Sauce in a large frying pan, with temperature at high heat. As soon as the mixture starts to boil, reduce heat to medium or medium-low to a simmer.
3. Shred the chicken and place into the pan as you are shredding it.
4. After the chicken is shredded, combine 1 cup of shredded cheese along with the beans and corn. Let simmer for 5 mins then chunk the mozerella or scatter shredded mozerella in desired spots on top of mixture along with the additional cup of mixed cheese. Let sit and simmer for another 5 mins, then stir.
5. Serve mixture with toppings (Sour Cream, shredded cheese, jalapenos,etc.)

*** u can add banana peppers, or jalapenos if you like.
***If you want it to be more tasty, you can also use whatever tasty lager or ale for the holidays is out to your liking. No substitution needed, just simmer for a little longer than you normally would and the juice will extract as it simmers. A good ale to try is any type of pumpkin spice or thick wheat ale, for example. The flavors add really well to the rice and cheese.

***For a "quick" meal, you can use the "Hamburger Helper" boxed version or off brand of cheesy enchillada and add other ingredients not included and follow the simple directions on the box adding beans and corn in half way through simmering.

We didnt use tortillas to dip it with this time. We normally use "Scoops." The consistancy if thick enough that you dont need to use tortilla chips unless you just want to. If we use less chicken we use the tortillas.

Finnished off with a big glass of milk! We purchased "fun" cups and plates for Maddie and Gavin bc Maddie loves bright colors and Gavin needs extra pushes to eat all his food so making it as fun and presentable for them helps a lot. I got these cups in the $1 bin at Target!