Breakfast Casserole

This weekend I was searching for something delicious to take to a friend's house for breakfast. After battling a double ear infection and sinus infection all week, I wanted something not too time consuming that would taste absolutely delicious. I also didn't want to go to the store so I needed something using ingredients I had on hand. After searching through the Taste of Home website, I stumbled upon a recipe for Amish Breakfast Casserole. It was exactly what I needed, except I didn't have all the ingredients. Instead, I decided to wing it and change a bunch of ingredients...and it was a winner!

Breakfast Casserole (adapted from Taste of Home)

Ingredients:

• 1 pound apple flavored chicken sausage (or your choice of breakfast meat), chopped
  
• 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) 4% cottage cheese
• 1-1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

In a large skillet, cook sausage and onion until sausage is browned; drain. In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; stir in sausage mixture. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Menu Plan Monday - 6/7/2010

Since I've been slacking lately and not meal-planning, I made sure that I jumped back on the wagon today and got to planning even though I'm still not feeling 100% yet. This week is an attempt to clean out the freezer before this week's freezer cooking day on Saturday!

Breakfasts:
Oatmeal Squares
Breakfast Casserole (recipe to come)
Cereal
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins (from the freezer)

Dinners:
Monday - Chicken Broccoli Pasta Toss (recipe to come)
Tuesday - Pasta with homemade meat sauce (sauce recipe to come)
Wednesday - Chili Mac
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Chicken Cordon Bleu Pizza (recipe to come)
Saturday - Burgers/Hot Dogs (Freezer Cooking Day)
Sunday - Whole Chicken, Potatoes, and veggies

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Check out www.orgjunkie.com for more yummy menu ideas!

Oatmeal Squares

As a child, my stepdad used to make the most delicious chocolate oatmeal squares for dessert. I've been asking for the recipe for years but have yet to get it from him. Today I decided to experiment and make my own version and it was a hit! In fact, I think I might have to make these for him and see what he thinks. I like to serve them warm out of the oven, but they are also good chilled with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Oatmeal Squares

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups quick cooking oats, divided
• 1 recipe - Chocolate Pudding
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 baking pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until fluffy. Add flour, baking soda, and 1 3/4 cup of the oats, forming a thick dough.

Press 2/3 of the dough mixture into the bottom of the 9x9 baking pan. Add cooled pudding to top of dough. Add 1/4 cup of oats to the remaining dough. Scatter by teaspoonful over top of pudding, leaving some of the pudding exposed. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. Serve warm, or chill in refrigerator and serve cool with whipped cream on top.

Chocolate Pudding

One thing that I've found that I keep buying in boxes instead of making from scratch is pudding. I'm a big fan of it, and I've always just found it easy to pour the box into a pot, add milk, and cook. Today, I took a giant leap and made a batch from scratch and it was delicious - and since it's summer, I attempted it in the microwave and it came out awesome!

Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

• 1/3 Cup Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Cocoa
• 3Tbsp Cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 Cups Milk (I used 1%)
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Add dry ingredients to a 2Qt microwave safe container. Whisk in milk slowly, trying to avoid lumps. Microwave for 3 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir. Return to microwave in one minute intervals, stirring after each minute, until pudding reaches desired thickness. I did mine for the initial three minutes and then 3 one-minute intervals for a total of 6 minutes.

Baked Veggie Chips

Hello there readers! I've been battling what I thought was horrible allergies for the past week, but after finally going to the doctor today found out that I'm actually battling a sinus infection and double ear infection. Needless to say - I've been living on a diet of chicken broth and ice cream the past few days and my family has been eating from the freezer. However, I wanted to share a fun new recipe with you even though I can't enjoy it myself right now!

I saw this recipe in a taste of home magazine and I thought the chips looked delicious. I have all the ingredients in my fridge just waiting to be made into lovely chips. I can't wait to try these!

Baked Veggie Chips

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound fresh beets (about 2 medium)
• 1 medium potato
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 1 medium parsnip
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Dash pepper

Directions:

Peel vegetables and cut into 1/8-inch slices. Place in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil. Combine the remaining ingredients; sprinkle over vegetables and toss to coat.

Arrange in a single layer in two ungreased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown, turning once. Yield: 3-1/2 cups.

Freezer Cooking Plan - June 2010

I've decided to go ahead and try this monthly menu thing. I've been doing a weekly menu for quite some time, but since I've taken up freezer cooking I've decided that a monthly menu just makes more sense.

Next week I'll be doing my first joint cooking day with Heather from Out of the Box Into the Kitchen. We are planning on preparing a total of 16 recipes for a total of 32 meals.

We've decided on a mixture of breakfast and dinner recipes for our first round of freezer cooking. We've also decided on many recipes that can be prepared on the grill or in the crock pot to limit the use of the oven during hot summer days.

Breakfasts:
Pumpkin French Toast Sticks
Blueberry Banana Pancakes
Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Rolls
Breakfast Burritos
Cornmeal Blueberry Scones
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

Dinners:
Monterey Jack Burgers (with homemade burger buns)
Tequila Lime Chicken
Spanish Rice
Vegetable Lasagna
Mango-Cranberry Chicken
Sausage/Onion/Pepper Calzones
Denise's Black Beans w/ Kielbasa
Sloppy Joe's (with homemade rolls)
Three Cheese Baked Spaghetti
Chicken Tortilla Bake

Banana Blueberry Pancakes

I've been looking for some new pancake recipes lately, and I stumbled upon this one in an old Taste of Home magazine. This made just enough pancakes for my family of 4, so I think I'll try doubling the recipe next time so we have some leftovers. They were delicious and I'll definitely be making another batch to keep in my freezer. Sorry, no picture, they were all gone by the time I remembered!

Banana Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1-1/4 cups fat-free milk
• 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the egg, milk, bananas and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot griddle coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with blueberries. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown.