Breakfast Sandwiches

Breakfast Sandwiches

12 English Muffins

12 eggs

1 c Half and Half

1 t salt

1/2 t pepper

24 slices Canadian bacon

12 slices cheddar cheese

For the eggs: Blend 12 eggs with the half and half, salt and pepper. Butter a 9x13” baking dish and place it on top of a sheet pan. Add your blended eggs to the baking dish and carefully place in a 300 degree oven. Add 2 cups hot water to the sheet pan to create a water bath. Bake for 35-45 minutes, just until the eggs are set. Cool slightly, then cut into 12 squares.

Assemble the sandwiches: Bottom half of muffin, 2 slices Canadian bacon, 1 square of eggs, 1 slice of cheese, top half of muffin.

Wrap individually in paper towels. Add to a freezer-safe bag and freeze

Place one frozen sandwich in the microwave and heat for 2 minutes at Power Level 4
Flip the sandwich over and heat for 2 more minutes at Power Level 4

*I got this recipe/method from Home & Kind

Texas Toast Grilled Cheese

I saw this on Instagram and was immediately intrigued. It's not a recipe - but a couple quick tips really help on this one!

Texas Toast Grilled Cheese
Texas Toast - freezer section*
Butter
Tillamook cheddar cheese slices

*New York Bakery Texas Toast 5 cheese blend

Put your Texas Toast on a cookie sheet (lined with aluminum foil), top each toast with a slice of cheese and bake according to directions but only for about half the time suggested. This will get your bread thawed without cooking it too quickly.

After the toast has been thawed, put one slice of toast (with cheese on top) cheese side down on top of another piece of toast (cheese already on top) so the cheese sides are together. 

Put a pat of butter into your grilled cheese pan and cook as you normally would until the cheese is all melty and the toast is nice and crispy on the outside!

I made this as a quick weeknight dinner for the little girls (16 and 12) and I and it was a HIT!! 

Sick Soup

This is not a recipe - but as my kids are all capable of cooking themselves - I was asked to share my tricks for this boxed soup I make every time we get sick.

I'm not sure when I started eating this - sometime in my childhood because my younger brother does the same thing when he is sick - AND we both call it Sick Soup...

Lipton Noodle Soup
Chicken Stock
Cholula Sweet Habanero to taste*
Salt and Pepper to taste

I always make it in the microwave - because I'm either the one that is sick - or I'm the one making it for the sick kid in between doing everything else for them! Cook per directions on box. I always add chicken stock, salt and pepper before I microwave it.

*After it comes out of the microwave, I add Cholula - usually if it's a cold - not if it's the flu.

Chocolate Chip Pie

Chocolate Chip Pie

1 unbaked 9-inch deep dish pie pastry
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Beat eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy and pale in color. Beat in flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Beat in butter until combined.
Stir in morsels. Spoon into pie shell. The mixture will be thick.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. You may want to make a foil tent over the pie towards the end so the crust doesn't brown too much. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Cornbread Waffles & Chili

I watched this on Studio 5 and my mouth was absolutely watering. I knew my family would LOVE it!! The Cornbread Waffle recipe is from Alex Daynes - you can see her original recipe and her chili recipe HERE

The first picture is how my son made it - waffle on bottom, chili on top. The second picture is how I made it - chili in a bowl with waffle "chips" on the side.

Cornbread Waffles

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs *1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 
5 cups (1 per serving) homemade chili**

Preheat waffle iron to medium heat.
In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
Add milk, oil, and applesauce and stir until incorporated, but don’t over-mix. Leave it a little lumpy.
Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour batter onto hot waffle iron and bake in batches.
Serve with chili over top and garnish with shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado and chopped green onion.

*I substitute applesauce for the eggs because of Jack's egg allergy

**See my AWARD WINNING Runnin' Utes Tailgate Chili HERE

Homemade Hot Chocolate

It's March 2nd and all our hopes and dreams of Spring right around the corner have been dashed. It is snowing right now and it's accumulating at an alarming rate! We decided to stay in and watch movies until the storm passed. I decided to make hot cocoa - as it may be our last cold and snowy day for a while (here's hoping!!)

I found this recipe online but tweaked it a little to suit our tastes and it turned out delicious! Honestly, the best hot chocolate I've ever had!

Homemade Hot Chocolate

6 cups milk
12 oz can sweetened evaporated milk  
1/4 cup heavy cream 
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder

In a medium sized bowl whisk together sugar and cocoa. Slowly whisk in evaporated milk - get it as incorporated as you can. 

In a large saucepan, heat milk and heavy cream over medium heat, stirring often. When it starts to bubble around the edges, slowly add cocoa mixture about 1/3 at a time whisking to combine. Stir constantly to prevent scorching until mixture is hot and slightly thickened. Serve with whipping cream

Egg Roll In A Bowl

This is so fast and easy it's ridiculous. Dinner ready in 15 minutes - no joke. I usually serve it with wonton chips - but tonight we only had Chow Mein Noodles (the crunchy kind)

Egg Roll In A Bowl

1 lb ground beef or ground pork
1 tsp minced garlic
14 oz shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix
1/4 c soy sauce
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp sriracha
1 whole egg
1 T sesame oil
2 T sliced green onions

Wonton Strips or Chow Mein Noodles (crunchy)

In a large skillet, brown the pork or beef until no longer pink. Add the garlic and sautee for 30 seconds. Add the cabbage/coleslaw, soy sauce, ginger, and sautee until desired tenderness. You can add a little water if you need more liquid to sautee the coleslaw down.

Make a well in the center of the skillet and add the egg. Scramble until done over low heat.
Stir in sriracha. Drizzle with sesame oil and sprinkle with green onions. Add additional soy sauce and sriracha if desired.

*I always double this recipe - feeds 6 - never any leftovers!!

Microwave Poached Eggs

I saw this on the Food Network and was AMAZED!! So easy!!

Microwave Poached Eggs

Crack the egg into a mug or glass measuring cup. Pour slightly chilled water into the mug until it covers the egg by about 1/2-inch (about 1/3 cup)

Place the mug in the microwave and cook on high for 60 seconds. Every microwave is different, so start checking at 45 seconds for doneness. Add more time as needed. You will know the egg is done when the yolk is no longer exposed but is still soft to the touch.

Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and allow some of the excess water to drip off onto a paper towel before placing them on your plate or your toast. Season with salt and pepper.

Voila! A freakin breakfast miracle!!

Italian Hoagie Dip

I saw this recipe listed as "A DIP" for the Superbowl. We rethought it over here! I made it according to the directions below, but my daughters made it into sandwiches (2 made open faced sandwiches, one a full on sandwich) and I added extra lettuce and turned it into a salad - both pictured below. I'm sure if my husband and son were home that night - they would've eaten it as it was meant to be.  

Italian Hoagie Dip

1/2 red onion, diced
4 pickled pepperoncini peppers drained and diced, (reserve some pepperoncini juice for the sauce)
1/2 head iceberg lettuce chopped about the size of nickels
1 large tomato, halved, seeded, and diced
1/4 pound deli-sliced Genoa salami, sliced and diced
1/4 pound deli-sliced ham, sliced and diced
1/4 pound deli-sliced prosciutto, sliced and diced
1/4 pound deli-sliced roast turkey, diced
1/4 pound deli-sliced provolone cheese, sliced and diced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon pepperoncini juice
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 10- to-12- inch round loaf of choice, hollowed out
1 sliced baguette

Combine the chopped vegetables, meats and cheese in a large bowl.

In a small bowl mix the mayonnaise, olive oil, vinegar, pepperoncini juice, oregano, and red pepper flakes and stir until everything is all mixed up.

If you are going to serve within an hour, pour the dressing over the meat/veggie mixture and toss until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

If you are NOT eating it soon, keep all ingredients refrigerated and toss together right before so that the lettuce does not get soggy.

Carve out the center of the bread loaf to make a bowl and cut the top piece taken out into bite-size pieces. Serve the hoagie dip in the bread bowl, with the extra bread and baguette slices.

Spread dip over bread and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

Meatballs & Rice

Easy weeknight dinner! I've made this a lot but always forget the recipe - finally going to write it down.

Meatballs & Rice

Meatballs
Grape Jelly
Chili sauce

Rice

I mix it up a bit, in a crock pot, add meatballs (I use Costco Italian Meatballs), a large jar of grape jelly and any other jelly I have that needs to be used. I've used both raspberry and apricot with great success. Then add chili sauce (in a glass jar - like the old school Heinz ketchup bottle). Cook for about 2 hours on high and 2 hours on low. 

I serve with rice - generally microwave rice - one of our dinner in a hurry meals.

Southern Creamed Corn

My kids have ALWAYS loved corn. Always. In all forms. Even when my kids had braces - they loved corn - if we had it on the cob, I would cut it off the cob for them.

Every time we go to a steakhouse, if corn is on the menu - they order it. ESPECIALLY if it's creamed corn. Biz's current best of all time is Texas Roadhouse. Jack says Goodwood's is a great contender. So, I thought I'd try it at home.

We did a blind taste test. The recipe below (I used canned corn) OR canned creamed corn. I've never had creamed corn from a can and I can honestly say that it isn't bad. It's not amazing or anything, but none of us spit it out. It was unanimous - everyone loved this Southern Creamed Corn - even Piper (pickiest eater EVER) had seconds and said "this is so addicting."

Southern Creamed Corn
8 ears corn, husked *or 4 cans corn, drained
2+ tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup cold water
2 tablespoons butter
Sugar to taste - I added a sugar spoonful

In a large bowl, cut the tip off cob. Cut the kernels from cob with a small paring knife. Using the back of the blade, scrape against the cob to press out the milky liquid.
Whisk together sugar, flour, and salt and pepper, to taste. Combine with corn. Add the heavy cream and water. Mix.
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat butter. Add corn mixture and turn heat down to medium-low, stirring until it becomes creamy, about 30 minutes.
Add the 2nd helping of sugar 5 minutes before serving.

Cinnamon Roll Casserole

Got this from Maisie - I'll do anything to make my kids happy!!

Cinnamon Roll Casserole

Mix together 

1 c heavy cream

1/2 c maple syrup

4 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon.

Then cut three packages of refrigerated cinnamon roll dough into bite sized pieces.

Place the cinnamon rolls in a 9x13 baking dish. Pour the mixture on top and stir to make sure every bite is covered. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. Top with icing and enjoy!!

Kids liked this! I did not. Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of sweets - especially for breakfast. It was really fast and easy to make.

Breakfast Egg Bites

I've been making these for the kids the last couple of weeks and they love them!! They just grab one or two, wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave for about 1 minute.

Breakfast Egg Bites
12 eggs
Shredded cheese

Ham
Salsa
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray (the heavier you spray, the less it will stick) or use thick muffin liners. I just ordered some silicone muffin cups to make my life easier!

In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add in remaining ingredients and mix together.

Scoop 1/3 cup of mixture into each muffin liner.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the center of the muffin is completely cooked.

*You can use anything you want really. The first time I made them I made them with ham, spinach and cheese. The next time I used crumbled up bacon, cheese and salsa - YUM!!

I also tried to make these individually, in a small bowl I cracked one egg, beat it and added the other ingredients, then poured it into the tin. This way you can customize them as per their liking - but it is MUCH more labor intensive!

Pad Thai Peanut Bowl

Pad Thai Peanut Bowl
2 x 12 oz. noodles *I used spaghetti

1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

Garlic powder to taste
2 bottles of Sky Valley Organic Thai Peanut Sauce

* optional Chicken (we used 1 can of chicken for our protein guy and air fried chicken nuggets for some of us)

Peanuts, Green onions, lime juice for serving

Cook noodles according to package directions until just tender. Heat 1 tablespoon oil, add the bell pepper  and cook for 1-2 minutes until pepper is just softened, stirring the entire time. Add garlic powder to taste.
Add in the noodles, peanuts and sauce then toss to combine. Stir in the scallions, squeeze with fresh lime juice and serve.

This was a HIT!!! Even Piper ate it!

Disneyland's Loaded Potato Soup

I saw this recipe on Six Sister's Stuff - I have a lot of potato soup recipes - but why not give this a try?

Disneyland's Loaded Potato Soup
1 pound bacon roughly chopped
1 medium yellow onion diced
1 large carrot peeled and diced
¾ cup diced celery
2 bags frozen cubed hashbrowns

¼ cup flour
3-4 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups heavy cream
1 can corn drained
Optional garnishes chopped chives, bacon bits, sour cream, shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese

In a 6- to 8-quart stockpot over medium heat, fry bacon until crisp.
Remove bacon and drain on paper towels, reserving half for garnish. In bacon fat, cook onions, carrots, and celery until the onions are translucent. Add potatoes and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Whisk in flour and stir constantly over low heat until the flour is cooked and the mixture has thickened slightly, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add chicken stock and half of the bacon. Season with salt and pepper.
Over medium-high heat, bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Mash some of the potatoes for thicker, creamier texture. Add whipping cream and corn and simmer for 5 minutes.
Adjust thickness by adding water or stock. Soup should have a creamy consistency.
Season to taste, and garnish with toppings.

*You REALLY have to season this. Season at every step.