Egg Casserole

Our Christmas Egg Casserole.

 It is a tradition at my parents house to have this egg casserole on Christmas morning.  My mom prepares it the night before so all she has to do is throw it in the oven when everyone wakes up.  By 7am, we've emptied out our stockings and cleared out the mountain of presents under the tree and are ready for breakfast.

However, if you take too long opening presents, get too involved with your new toy or gadget, or find yourself on a long phone conversation, you'll miss out since it goes fast at our house.   Occasionally, I've had the misfortune of walking into the kitchen to grab a slice to find it's all gone. :(

Yesterday I made a half batch for the hubby and myself, which made plenty for leftovers the next day. This casserole is traditionally made with spicy sausage, however you can use mild sausage instead like I did yesterday.   One word of caution, I wouldn't advise using the maple flavored sausage. We did that one year since the store was sold out of the mild and spicy.  It made for an interesting tasting casserole.

I hope you will enjoy this easy to prepare breakfast casserole as much as our family does. Merry Christmas!

Brown the sausage, then drain.

Pour the milky egg mixture over the bread and sausage.

Top with cheddar cheese, cover, and refrigerate until you're ready to bake it.

Cooking Tip Accepted!

My absolutely favorite cooking magazine is Cuisine at Home.  Every recipe I've made from their magazine is fantastic. For those of you who know about my famous (within our circle of friends, that is) pulled pork, well, it came from this magazine.  I think my mother has gotten quite known for making this pulled pork as well.  

Anyway, one part of the magazine that I always look forward to reading is the cooking tips page.  Most of the tips are super clever.  So, one hot August day, I thought I would submit one of my tips.  It turns out they like it and it will be published in a future issue of the magazine!  Right now, I can't disclose what the tip is, so you'll have to wait until it's published in the magazine. :)

Frosted Banana Cake

This is a fantastic banana cake that I had at a playdate about a month ago at Julia's house.  Being a family recipe, you know it's special.  Julia is quite the chef and everything she makes is delicious and this was cake was no different.  

I'm not exactly sure what classifies banana cake as a cake and say banana bread as a bread, but there is definitely a difference.  This cake is lighter in texture than a typical dense banana bread, so maybe that's the point of differentiation. 

The recipe says to use 2-3 bananas.  I used 3 bananas when I made mine and I think it came out wonderfully.  I suppose you can just use whatever amount you have on hand.  Also, Julia's recipe notes that you may substitute sour milk (1/4 cup reg. milk + 1 tsp vinegar) for the buttermilk in the recipe, but it's not exactly the same as using good ole buttermilk.

Spread the batter in the pan.

Baked and ready for frosting!

All frosted, dig in!

Click to ENLARGE.

To print, left click> file> print. To save file to your computer, right click on image, then "save image as".

 

Click to ENLARGE.

To print, left click> file> print. To save file to your computer, right click on image, then "save image as".

 

 

Enjoy!

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Make cookies and have the kitchen cleaned up in less than 15 minutes!  So easy and so delicious :)  The best flavor combination ever....chocolate and peanut butter!  Who doesn't like that combination? If there isn't any caramel around, I gravitate towards peanut butter chocolate indulgences. Yum!

I'm not sure where this recipe came from, but I've had it in my recipe box forever.  Maybe from one of my mom's friends who gave them as a Christmas gift one year?   Anyway, these are great to make when I'm craving something sweet and delicious, but don't want to spend a ton of time cooking.   All of the ingredients are pantry staples, so I always have them on hand.

Mix butter, cocoa, sugar, and milk. Simmer for a couple minutes.

Turn heat off and add the peanut butter, oats, salt, and vanilla.

Drop cookies onto a cookie sheet or plate lined with waxed paper. Refrigerate.

Click to ENLARGE.

To print, left click> file> print. To save file to your computer, right click on image, then "save image as".

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Out of necessity I had to find out how to make some homemade chocolate syrup since I was out of Hershey's Syrup.  After discovering how easy this recipe is and how good it tastes, I have to say so long to Hershey's Syrup.  This homemade stuff from An Oregon Cottage is fantastic! I made some chocolate milk with it and both the little guy and I agree.... mmm-mmm-mmm!  I don't think our house is going to miss the Hershey's stuff one bit.

A lot of the recipes I found only used a lousy 3 tablespoons of cocoa, but this recipe loads it up with a whopping 3/4 cup of chocolatey goodness!  Now, this is what I call chocolate syrup!  I've already tested it with milk, so next I'll have to see how it works out in a cup of hot milk to make hot cocoa, and then also drizzling it on ice cream.  Oh and licking it right off the spoon is perfectly acceptable too :)

I probably over cooked the syrup this first try since I noticed that the syrup left over in the pot was quite thick upon cooling. No biggie, I just added a little bit of water to the syrup and it turned out just fine.  When I make it next time, I'll use a candy thermometer and time it so I can update this post with exact measurements.  The inner scientist in me needs these specifics!

Update: I should have mentioned that I used natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed cocoa powder).  You could use either depending on the chocolate taste you're looking for.  I just used the cocoa powder I had on hand.  Natural cocoa imparts an intense chocolate flavor and is more bitter. The alkalizing process increases the pH, which makes for a less bitter and more mild chocolate flavor.   Always check your recipe for the correct cocoa powder to use since natural and Dutch-processed have different functionality. :)

Click to ENLARGE.

To print, left click> file> print. To save file to your computer, right click on image, then "save image as".

My Etsy Store: Moonberry Rain

So, a little side gig that I've been working on is setting up shop on Etsy.  For now, I'm designing and sewing aprons for the little chefs in the house.  I've always been a self proclaimed crafty person and last month I jumped on the opportunity to make an apron for my friends 18 month old daughter.  I had so much fun doing it, that I made a couple more and put them up for sale in my new shop Moonberry Rain on Etsy.

For those of you not familiar with Etsy.com, it is the most wonderful place to find handmade items.  They have about everything imaginable that one can make. Check it out! It's a great place to find unique gifts for the holidays too.  While you're there, visit my store Moonberry Rain. :)

The original apron made for my friends 18 month old.

So bright, colorful and fun!

I am loving ruffles!

I had to make something for the boys too, so I came up with this little bug apron (no ruffles of course).

Sweet Potato Crisp

 It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner and it's time to start thinking about what to make.   Every year I make the absolute best sweet potato crisp that was introduced to me by my sister Patty.  Here I go again, tooting my own horn! In my defense, I've had people who don't care for sweet potato casserole love it.  It's similar to a sweet potato casserole, but it has a yummy crumble crisp topping that makes it simply delicious.  It's always my standard Thanksgiving potluck dish and every time I get people demanding for the recipe, so here it is.

Spread the sweet potato mixture in the dish.

Cut the butter into the flour, sugar and oats until it holds together in clumps.

Top sweet potatoes with apples and cranberries. Here I used dried, but I usually use diced fresh cranberries.

Top apples and cranberries with the crisp topping.

Baked to perfection!

Click to ENLARGE.

To print, left click> file> print. To save file to your computer, right click on image, then "save image as".

  

Notes: 

- Although this recipe tastes incredible with the full 8 oz of cream cheese, I only use half the amount and it still tastes great.  

- Also, if you already have fresh cranberries around for Thanksgiving just use those on top.  

- Nuts are optional. :)

Enjoy! 

meghan