Breakfast Casserole

My Mama's Breakfast Casserole
(recipe requested this morning)

6-8 slices of white bread
1 lb sausage
1/2 c. shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar
1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
3/4 c. light cream (half & half)
1 1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. mustard
salt and pepper to taste
6 slightly beaten eggs

Cube bread after removing crusts and line the bottom of greased 9x13 pan. Cook and drain sausage and sprinkle over the bread. Then sprinkle the cheese and mushrooms over the bread and sausage. Add cream and milk to the beaten eggs, stir in the seasonings and beat well (hand beater). Pour egg mixture over the casserole. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. Enjoy!

You all would appreciate a good bran muffin recipe, right?

Mix:
3 T. canola oil
2 eggs
2 T. honey and or/molasses
1 c. milk

Mix (in another bowl):
1/2 c. wheat flour
1/2 c. white flour
1 c. bran (I buy in bulk at Whole Paycheck)
3 t. baking powder
pinch salt
1/4 c. sugar
raisins (optional)

Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients only until combined.

Pour into 12 lined muffin cups. Bake 18 minutes at 425 degrees.

These are not tough at "healthy" tasting-- they are light and yummy. And, rumor has it, they do wonder's for Ben W.'s intestinal tract.

Savory Oatmeal for breakfast

I was skeptical, but now I'm sold.

1/3 c. old-fashioned oats
2/3 c. water

--cook as normal--

drizzle with olive oil, a generous pinch of sea salt and a generous pinch of coarse ground pepper.

Easy Homemade Turkey Sausage

I discovered this on Goop-- Gwyneth Paltrow's blog-thing that I doubted the authenticity of for a while and now have decided it is legit.

Anyway, we've been making this a LOT. One, it is easy. Two, it is cheap. Three, is is healthier than regular sausage. Four, it is GOOD. Five, my husband is loopy-crazy for breakfast meat. (This is our slightly adapted version)



SERVES: 4
TIME: 15 minutes

* 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
* pinch of hot chili flakes
* pinch of cayenne pepper
* pinch of dried rosemary
* 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
* 1/2 pound ground turkey
* 2 teaspoons real Vermont maple syrup
* 2 tablespoons olive oil

Using a mortar and pestle or mini food processor, bash the fennel seeds, chili, cayenne, salts and black pepper together. Combine this spice mixture with the sage, turkey and maple syrup in a bowl until thoroughly combined.

Form the mixture into 12 small, thin patties. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Cook the sausages for about a minute and a half on each side, pressing down with your spatula to really brown them and keep them thin. Serve warm.

Spinach and Cheese Tart

This quiche is sooo good -- but deadly. We had it at Julie's baby shower today. :) mmmmmmmm. Happy baby baby baby boy Juls!

Spinach and Cheese Tart

9" pie crust

Custard:
2 c. heavy cream
5 eggs
1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated (i threw in a bit of parmisiano reggiano too)
1/4 tsp. thyme
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. tabasco sauce (just used hot pepper sauce)
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Filling:
3 cups fresh spinach (or 1pkg frozen spinach thawed)
6 oz gruyere cheese, grated
2 T. chopped fresh basil
1 T. chopped fresh oregano

Combine custard ingredients, mixing well.

Combine filling ingredient and place in bottom of pie shell. Gently pour in custard.

Bake @ 300 for 40-50 min. (usually longer)

Zucchini bread (makes 2 loaves)

A great thing to make now since zucchini is in season. This recipe is adapted from my friend Molly Brandt's recipe. She also tipped me off to the great idea of shredding and freezing 2 cup portions of zucchini so you can make this bread easily all year long.

1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2/3 c. vegetable or canola oil
1/3 c. applesauce
3 eggs
2 c. grated zucchini, not peeled
2 c. white flour
1 c. wheat flour
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts (optiona)
2 t. vanilla

Grease and line loaf pans with parchment or wax paper. Cream together the brown sugar, white sugar, oil, applesauce and eggs. Add zucchini. Mix together the flours, cinnamon, soda, powder and salt. Add to zucchini mixture. Fold in nuts and vanilla. Bake in 2 loaf pans for 50-60 minutes at 325 degrees.

Nigella Lawson's Breakfast Bars

I just got _Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast_ and tried these this morning. Nigella warns that she is "addicted to these" as is everyone she gives them to. Having tried one--just one!--I can see why. They're super easy, pretty low-cost, and really tasty. I can imagine that you could have fun experimenting with various mix-ins too. Here's the way they go:

1 - 14-fl. oz. can condensed milk
2 1/2 c. rolled oats (not instant)
1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. dried cranberries
1 c. mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame--I just used sunflower)
1 c. natural unsalted peanuts

1. Preheat oven to 250 F and oil a 9 x 13 baking pan.
2. Warm the condensed milk in a large pan.
3. Meanwhile, mix all the other ingredients together and add the warmed condensed milk, using a rubber spatula to fold and distribute.
4. Spread the mixture into the oiled pan and press down with a spatula or, better still, your hands to make the surface even. (My Note: this stuff is real sticky, so maybe butter your hands?)
5. Bake for 1 hour, remove, and after about 15 minutes, cut into four across and four down to make 16 chunky bars. Let cool completely.

She says they just get better with time and can be stored in a tin. These just might be my new tasty treat in the mornings. My initial test run indicates that they are pretty filling, too!

I love lemons

I could almost eat this entire recipe myself-- just with a spoon. However, we also like to eat it with scones. Or, I've also put this into a tart crust and topped it with whipped cream.

Lemon Curd

1 c. + 2 T sugar
1 T cornstarch
1/8 t. salt
1 c. fresh lemon juice (about 5 med. lemons)
3 large eggs, beaten a bit
2 T. butter
1 t. grated lemon rind

Combine first 3 ingredients in a saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Stir in juice and eggs; bring to boil, stirring a lot and simmer 1 additional minute after boil starts. Remove from heat. Add butter and lemon rind. Stir until butter melts.

Spoon into bowl and chill several hours until cool. Or, eat a bunch of it right out of the saucepan before it makes it to the fridge like I do.

We made granola tonight.

Kyle was inspired to start eating oatmeal everyday by a co-worker. He's been at it for a while, but has gotten tired of the same 'ol thing. We decided that granola counts as a bowl of oatmeal, too. This is my favorite granola recipe. It can be varied quite easily.

Cheryl's Granola

6 c. old fashioned oats
2 c. rice krispies or puffed wheat
1/2 c. unsweetened coconut or wheat germ
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2- 1 c. sliced almonds

1/3 c. oil
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. maple syrup (or cheap pancake syrup!)
2 t. vanilla

Combine all the dry stuff (including brown sugar) Mix all the wet stuff together and pour over dry stuff, mixing well. Spread out on two cookie sheets covered with parchment paper. Bake at 250 degrees for 25 minutes. Stir. Bake another 25 minutes or until a bit browned. Don't brown it too much. Cool, break apart and store. You can add raisins when it is time to eat it. I don't store them in it because I think it makes the granola not as crunchy.