Breakfast Casserole or Breakfast Burritos

Preheat oven to 425

In a greased 9 X 13 pan, spread:

1 – 24 oz. package of frozen hash browns or shredded potatoes, defrosted

Pour 4 Tbs. melted butter over the potatoes

Bake for 20 minutes

Remove pan from oven and reset temp for 350.

Over potatoes, spread evenly:

1 cup or more browned sausage

8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese – grated

8 oz. Pepper Cheese

5 beaten eggs, mixed with 1 cup milk and 1 tsp. seasoned salt.

Bake for 30-40 minutes.  Let sit for a few minutes before cutting.
You can also use this casserole as the filling for breakfast burritos.  It's nice to be able to prepare ahead of time, then bake while you cook the tortillas.

Serve with picante sauce.  Great recipe for a special breakfast or brunch.  Serve with cinnamon roll and fruit juice.

Recipe: Joett Hill

Ice cream Cake

My husband's cousin makes this yummy ice cream cake that we just love.  He asked me to make it for his birthday next week. 

Crust:

12 T. butter

4 c. nilla wafers or Oreos (depending on what kind of ice cream you use)

Chocolate sauce:

2 c powdered sugar

1 c. semisweet chips

1 stick butter

1 t. vanilla

12 oz. evap. Milk

Toppings:

nuts

Mix crust. Bake in 9x13 at 350 until golden. Melt sauce ingredients together and boil on low 5-10 min while stirring constantly.

Allow sauce to cool in fridge. When crust is done and cooled, spread ½ gallon ice cream on top. When sauce is cool, spread on top of icecream. Freeze. Sprinkle with nuts if desired.

Orange Thai Beef Skewers with Thai Peanut Noodles

 I don't have a favorite meal.  I have 3.  I can't pick any one over the other.  Want to know what they are? Lemon Basil Zuchini Alfredo, Spicy Honey Chicken (you MUST make those using chicken thighs, not breasts), and this.  Mmmm.  This is delicious! For lunch or a really quick meal, you can just make the noodles.  If you try the beef, it will take longer, but you're going to want to make it over and over again.

 Orange Thai Beef Skewers
1 orange
1/4 C soy sauce
1/4 C seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 T honey
1T sesame oil
1 t ground ginger
1 t coriander
4 cloves garlic
2-4 t Sriracha chili sauce
1 1/2 lb flank steak
skewers (soak in water for at least 30 minutes first if using wood/bamboo.  I prefer metal.)


Zest and juice orange. To the orange mixture, add soy sauce, vinegar, honey, sesame oil, ginger, coriander, and garlic. Then add Sriracha. Whisk the marinade so everything is combined.
Take the flank steak and slice it across the grain into about 1/4″ slices. It helps to pop the steak into the freezer for 20 minutes or so before hand. Place steak in a zip-lock bag and pour the marinade in. Swish it all around and pop the bag in the fridge. It’s best if it can sit for at least 4 hours.

Preheat your grill. Thread on the strips of meat, just like you’re stitching. Place them on the grill. These cook really fast. Overcooked flank steak will be tough and chewy, so don’t over do it! I usually make my husband do it.  Then they're perfectly cooked.  I tend to overcook them.  They should only take about 3-4 minutes on each side. Flip half way through.


Thai Peanut Noodles
1/2 c. chicken broth
3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
1-2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (1 is mild with a bite, 1.5 is medium, 2 is hot)
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
8 oz. Udon or linguine noodles (I use angel hair pasta because it cooks fast and I always have it in my pantry)
Chopped green onions
Chopped cilantro
2 limes, cut into quarters
Chopped peanuts

Cook noodles in salted water. In the meantime, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until smooth and remove from heat. Toss cooked noodles with sauce and divide among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts, and garnish each serving with 2 lime quarters. Before eating, squeeze lime juice over noodles and stir to combine.

Recipes: Our Best Bites

Roasted Chicken Gnocchi Soup

When I was pregnant, I was brilliant enough to have braces at the same time.  FYI: that equals torture.  You're already limited in what you can eat because you're so nauseated, but to complicate things now you can't chew anything because it hurts too bad.  After a visit to tighten my braces, I was pretty much starving for a couple of days.  One evening my husband took me out to Olive Garden.  I usually get the salad because it's amazing, but I decided on soup because I thought I wouldn't have to chew it too much.  I chose the roasted chicken gnocchi and I was blown away!  It could be because I hadn't eaten much for a couple days, but it was like a bowl of heaven.  And that's where we'll end the story because the rest of my night was, well, less than delightful and you don't want to know the details.  I promise.

I am so happy to have found this recipe to make it at home.

1 tablespoons extra virgin oil
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 quart half and half
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1 cup onion, finely diced
2 minced garlic cloves
2 14 ounce cans of chicken broth
1 cup carrots, finely shredded
1 cup chicken breasts, cooked and diced (I prefer to use half the meat from a grocery store rotisserie chicken.  Less work and tastes more like the roasted chicken used in Olive Garden's soup)
1 package gnocchi, cooked  (I found this in the pasta section of Walmart)
1 cup of fresh spinach coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

In large pot, saute the onion, celery, and garlic in the butter and olive oil over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. Add the flour. Let the butter and flour mixture cook for about a minute before adding 1 quart of half and half.

Cook gnocchi according to package directions in a separate pot.

Into the half and half mixture, add in the carrots and chicken. Once the mixture becomes thick, add the chicken broth. Once the mixture thickens again, add the cooked gnocchi, spinach, and seasoning; simmer until soup is heated through.  Add additional salt to taste (it definitely needs it).
Recipe: CopyKat

White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

The ladies in our church had a Favorite Things Christmas Party this week.  I gifted vanilla bean paste in the exchange.  One of the things I received was these cookies.  I was lucky to get any of them because when I brought them home my 5-year old went nuts for these! She said they were the best cookies she's ever had.  And well, I'm trying not to be too jealous that someone else's recipe is her favorite.  Here's the recipe:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups oats (not instant)

1 cup dried cranberries

white chocolate chips

Cream together the butter and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat.   Combine the oats, flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a separate bowl.  Stir into creamed mixture.  Add dried cranberries and white chocolate chips.  Roll into balls and place on cookie sheet.  

Bake at 350 for 11-13 minutes.

Recipe: Adele Lewis