Bacon & Egg Casserole- Delish!

Who doesn't love a little bacon and eggs? Breakfast casseroles are super easy and significantly budget friendly to make for a large crowd. I'm helping make dishes for our client and staff brunch at work this week. Supposedly between 20-30 people are coming! Hoping this is a crowd pleaser...it sure smelled good and I can't wait to try it! I have plans tomorrow night so I made it two days ahead and stuck it in my freezer. I also got to use my new Rachel Ray casserole dish ;) always a plus!

step (1) layer the bottom of the pan with vegetable spray, croutons, and top with butter. I added extra seasonings like chives, garlic, and onion on mine with the butter. Top with about a bag of sharp shredded cheese. (my pan is extra deep so I doubled the recipe I was following so see below for exact measurements to fit a 9 X 13 pan)

all the goods

Final product. Gosh it looked so yummy and smelled sooo good! I got to chop up my bacon using my small food processor. It was a greasy mess but I think I like that it is more like bacon bites because the croutons are rather large.

Directions for a 9 X 13 casserole dish
1/4 c. butter, melted
2 c. unseasoned croutons (I added more seasoning to the butter and on top of the mixture)
2 c. onion and garlic croutons
2 c. grated cheddar cheese
2 c. milk
8 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp. prepared mustard
12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Coat a 9 x 1 x 13 inch casserole dish with vegetable spray. Place croutons in casserole dish and pour butter over croutons. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
Mix milk, eggs, and mustard and pour over cheese mixture. Sprinkle bacon crumbs on top.

Bake at 325°F for about 45 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes. Serves about 8.

Happy Holidays!

Lasagna...that's healthy!

Its been a few weeks since I succeeded with a recipe I was proud enough to share with the public. Its been a rough couple of weeks with the craziness of the holidays approaching quickly and life happening all around us. However, having said that I have actually NAILED a lasagna dish that is VERY tasty AND good for you! Believe it! I got the recipe off of Good Morning America. Literally, I cannot believe my husband ate this, scraped his plate and got seconds. Amazing. So, therefore, you KNOW it must be good ;)

Servings:Over 8
Difficulty: Easy
Cook Time: 60-120 min
Spinach lasagna was on the Wednesday dinner men for Good Morning America's "Lock the Door, Lose the Weight" series.

Ingredients
2 boxes of frozen spinach (or broccoli, 10- to 12-ounces), chopped ** I used 1 bag of Meijer Spinach frozen (about 12 ounces of a 16 ounce bag)
2 pounds low-fat ricotta cheese ** I used part skim ricotta
1 whole egg plus 2 egg whites
3/4 teaspoon pepper
Garlic, to taste
Basil, to taste
1/2 tablespoon oregano - I used more like 2 Tbsp
4 cups skim-milk mozzarella cheese, shredded **I tried the Philadelphia Cream cheese shredded mozzarella...really good!
Nonstick cooking spray
1 jar tomato/marinara sauce (32-ounce) - I used 2 jars because of the added turkey
1 package lasagna noodles, uncooked (16 ounces) ** I used pre-cooked, no boil needed noodles
1 cup water, for cooking only
1 small package of uncooked lean turkey meat

Cooking Directions
Cook and drain spinach well, then set aside. Brown and thoroughly cook turkey, drain, add pasta sauce and spice up if desired. Mix together ricotta cheese, eggs, pepper, garlic, oregano, basil, and only half of the mozzarella cheese. Add in spinach and mix again thoroughly. Coat lasagna pan with nonstick spray and preheat oven to 350 F.
Cover the bottom of pan with tomato sauce and place down a layer of the uncooked lasagna noodles. Next, spread half of the spinach/cheese mixture evenly on top, and repeat the layers (noodles and then the remaining spinach/cheese mixture). Place one more layer of noodles on top (total of three noodle layers) and pour on the remaining tomato sauce.
Sprinkle on the other half of the mozzarella cheese. Last, pour the water around the edge of the pan (this will cook the noodles), and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until bubbling. Let stand to cool for 15 minutes before slicing.

*I made my lasagna the night before, refrigerated it, and popped it in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Add salad and some bread. Bam. Dinner.Is.Done.

These were the original Nutritional Values for the "un-altered with" version of the recipe. Calories: 330 Carbohydrate: 30 grams Protein: 25 grams Fat: 13 grams Saturated Fat: 8 grams Cholesterol: 65 milligrams Sodium: 746 milligrams *Calcium 515 milligrams *Fiber 3.5 grams

Happy Holidays, All!

DIY Christmas Ornaments

This "First Christmas" is so much fun to celebrate as a married couple. I'm loving the excitement of it in sharing the spirited season together. However, due to economical times, this first Christmas is also a BUDGET Christmas :) We were graciously given our first Christmas tree by Austin's sister and brother-in-law. It looks fantastic! Ornaments were what were hard to come by. I can't wait until everything is 80% off after Christmas. I plan to go ape crazy buying the "Christmas essentials" ;) when they're super cheap!

The point to this blog post is to show Christmas can be done with style without spending a fortune on the little things. These ornaments were home made with a few supplies from your local Hobby Lobby and Michael's. It also helps to have a mom who owns a lifetime of craft supplies to borrow from!

The ornament below took me almost 2 hours to make! No kidding! All the time was taken up creating each of the rosettes that I glued onto the plain glass ornament. Not hard to make, just time consuming. The paper raffia can be found at any craft store.

This next ornament was also pretty easy but just a litttttttle messy :) Decoupage (modgepodge found at your local craft store) combined with old sheet music (Christmas Music if you so desire) cut into small pieces and smoothed onto a glass ornament. Decorate with a colorful ribbon and waalaahh! Oh I also glitter spray painted the ornaments after decoupaging. Make sure you give adequate time to dry after!

Easy!! My sister created this beautiful one. Fake pearls inside a large glass ball ornament.

Burlap string inside glass ornament

Another music sheet music decoupaged glass ornament "O Come All Ye Faithful"

DIY Christmas made easy! Happy Christmas Crafting!!

Gobble Gobble! Turkey Cupcakes :)

I love that the holidays are here! Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and a long break from reality. I found this Betty Crocker cupcake recipe online. I thought they were ADORABLE and had to try and make them. I celebrated an early Thanksgiving with some of my co-workers and clients at work today. I brought them in as dessert for our potluck, and the kids really liked them. They're almost too cute to eat! :)

All packed and ready to go!

Note: I used pink cherry frosting for half and chocolate frosting for the other half...girls and boys I guess :)


Recipe Includes:

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil's food cake mix (Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box)

2 containers Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy milk chocolate frosting (or one chocolate and one color or flavor of choice)

1 tube (4.25 oz) Betty Crocker® white decorating icing

1 tube (0.68 oz) Betty Crocker® brown decorating gel

1 lb Candy corn

Chocolate candy sprinkles

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/turkey-cupcakes/e0455083-540d-49a0-97ef-79b2948e1a68?WT.ac=Home_slide_5_111511_MAIN_TheKidsTable_TurkeyCupcakes

Mac N Cheese with Butternut Squash

I'm planning to make some Thanksgiving treats next week for Thanksgiving dinner at my in-law's. I thought it would be a good idea to "taste test" before I actually serve this food to people besides myself and Austin. ;) One of my dishes will be this special version of macaroni and cheese. I got the idea for butternut squash mac n' cheese from my sister in law a couple weeks ago and have been excited to try it. I have fallen in love with butternut squash this year, and I have always been a fan of mac and cheese. Therefore, how could combining two wonderful things not become more wonderful? Every recipe I looked up for this was a little different and varied slightly. There are low fat versions and some with less ingredients but I was happy with how mine turned out on my first try. Not too shabby! Austin even said it looked tasty!

You'll need the following:

1/2 of 1 cooked butternut squash or squash puree
3-4 cups of chicken broth
sage seasoning about a 3 teaspoons
salt 2 teaspoons
2 teaspoons mustard powder or Dijon mustard works as well (I used the Dijon)
1 cup heavy cream
1-2 teaspoons of paprika
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (I used extra traditional pepper and used about 1 teaspoon)
1/2 lb of extra sharp cheddar cheese - (I combined 16 ounces of Colby jack and sharp cheddar Kraft cheeses, and I wish I would have used a sharper cheddar for a more savory flavor but still good!)
1 lb Cavatappi noodles

Directions
Peel butternut squash with a vegetable peeler, then cut in half. Scoop out seeds and chop the remaining squash into 1" pieces. Combine in a medium saucepan with the chicken broth, making sure the broth covers the squash completely. Add the sage leaves and bring all to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes or until squash is fork tender.

While the squash cooks, bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Add the pound of whole wheat macaroni and cook according to packaged directions until al dente (about 8 minutes). Drain and set aside.

Drain squash, while reserving the chicken broth. Add the cooked squash and sage to the blender or food processor and process in batches until smooth, adding about a cup of the reserved chicken broth. Return the pureed squash to a medium pot over low heat and add the heavy cream, spices, and grated cheddar, stirring until the cheese is melted and the sauce is completely smooth (you will see tiny bits of the pureed squash if you look closely, but that's OK). Tip: If this sauce looks too thin and watery, just simmer it a bit to evaporate some of the liquid. Mine actually looked to thick so I added about a half cup of milk and half cup of cream.

Pour the sauce over the cooked pasta and stir until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve. This can be made up to two days in advance according to the recipe and can be saved in the refrigerator for up to one week.I also refridgerated mine overnight and baked it for about 40 minutes the next night. Really good. I recommend baking it for some amount of time to blend the flavors together.

The taste?! Really creamy and delicious! I would have used a sharper cheese and more spices but that's just me.

Served with Italian Herb Crusted Chicken - yum! & Seasoned Broccoli - Really...Really...Good! :)

Happy Thanksgiving Cooking!

DIY Wine Bottle Christmas Decor

Two things I have acquired a love for...DIY projects and wine :) The left over bottles, which are usually thrown away, can be converted with a little love to a beautiful center piece. Where did I find this fabulous idea? I wish I could say it was my own...however once again Pinterest pulls through with another winner. The blog site for this idea is
http://cleverlyinspired.blogspot.com/2010/12/wine-bottleschristmas-display_14.html

I took 3 wine bottles...removing all stickers and labels with Goo-Gone. Once dry I sprayed painted primer on them. The primer didn't completely cover the bottles so I used a white spray paint for the second coat. Once dry I sprayed the bottoms of the bottles with adhesive bond spray. Immediately after spraying, roll in epsom salt. I sprayed a sealer on top and some glitter spray. I added some pine cone and snow covered twigs from Michael's. It turned out pretty well and was relatively cheap to do! :)

More DIY Christmas posts to come!

Apple and Cheddar Stuffed Chicken

Sweet apples, savory cheese, Italian breadcrumbs, and delicious chicken with a white wine Chardonnay sauce? Oh yes! I happened to be day dreaming about food...and decided at work today the most perfect thing to eat tonight would be some stuffed chicken. I had left over sweet butternut squash from Sunday's dinner...add some rice and green beans and Whammy! = Dinner for two.

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup chopped apple
2 tablespoons shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon Italian-style dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

(My own variations to this recipe: I used a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder, and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar added to the breadcrumb, apple and cheese stuffing. It creates a sweet and savory flavor :)

Directions
Combine apple, cheese, and bread crumbs. Set aside.
Flatten chicken breasts between sheets of waxed paper to 1/4 inch thickness. Divide apple mixture between chicken breasts, and roll up each breast. Secure with toothpicks.
Melt butter or margarine in a 7 inch skillet over medium heat. Brown stuffed chicken breasts. Add wine and 1/4 cup water. Cover. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink.
Transfer chicken to a serving platter. Combine 1 tablespoon water and cornstarch; stir into juices in pan. Cook and stir until thickened. Pour gravy over chicken, and garnish with parsley. Serve.

(My variations to this part: Instead of using a skillet, I baked the chicken in a small baking dish covered with tinfoil. I put the butter and wine in the bottom. When the chicken was done...about 40 min later on 350 degrees...I combined the cornstarch and water to the wine and butter in the dish. I put the dish back uncovered for about 5-10 minutes until the sauce is thickened. After removing from the oven, spoon the sauce over the chicken. Its sooo yummy!)

Served with cheesy rice, turkey bacon sauteed green beans, and warm butternut squash...a perfect fall dish :)

Creamy Spaghetti - A Weeknight Staple

So it's Halloween night. My first Halloween as a married woman. I am cooking away trying to keep my mind from worrying about when my trick or treaters would arrive...alas we had none. Go condo living! Guess the residential housing gets all the attention :(
I grew up on spaghetti, and there is nothing more "comfort food" to me than a bowl or spaghetti. I absolutely love anything Italian...my husband, however, could go for an all-American burger or take out Sesame Chicken for every meal. We try to compromise ;) Anyway, I had left over Mascarpone Italian cheese left over from a party, fresh parsley, and pasta sauce just asking to be made into something wonderful...I couldn't NOT make it! It turned out very mild and just what I was craving...comfort and tranquility...okay the sangria helped with that too, I must admit.

1 lb of spaghetti noodles (I used Whole Wheat)
1 lb ground beef
1/2 green pepper (about 3/4 cup full)
1/2 cup onion (or more depending on your preference)
1 clove chopped garlic
1 cup Mascarapone
1 jar pasta sauce (I chose garden chunky style)
olive oil
parsley (fresh or dry)
mozzarella cheese

*Saute peppers, onions, and garlic till they begin to brown. Add meat. Drain when cooked throroughly. Meanwhile be boiling water for spagetti noodles. When meat is cooked and drained, put on a low burner to simmer with spagetti sauce. Sauce should simmer about 15 minutes to gather flavor. Add in mascarapone cheese and stir into mix. When spaghetti is cooked and drained add to the sauce. Mix and blend together well. Top with a handful of chopped parsley and mozerrella cheese. We ate this delight with salad and garlic bread to create the perfect weeknight Italian meal. Buon appetito! :)

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Fall and Halloween would not be the same without a plethora of pumpkin based recipes. I can't get enough pumpkin during these months. I found some really good recipes for pumpkin seeds that I had to try out. I decided to have my hubs to the carving and I'd do the baking (I have tendency of cutting myself with sharp things). I made "Spicy", "Savory", and "Halloween" flavored pumpkin seeds. I also added in seeds from one acorn squash I had. They turned out really good...probably totally unhealthy but worth it ;)

"Savory" Flavor

1 1/2 tablespoons margarine, melted or oil (I combined the two)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds


"Spicy" Flavor

1 1/2 tablespoon of melted margarine and/or oil
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder

"Halloween" Flavor <-- This was my favorite flavor!

3 tablespoons of melted margarine and/or oil (this is a bigger batch)
1 teaspoon of ginger
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of maple syrup lightly spread across mixture or allspice is an alternative

**Bake at 275 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Its important to check them often and stir them around every 5 or so minutes. They should be a bit crunchy and develop a golden brown look when they are done.

Bourbon Chicken Sesame Pasta

This meal was super easy with just a little prep time. I have been dying to try out my new Bourbon Glaze from Tastefully Simple (TastefullySimple.com) and decided to pull together some ingredients that we had to use up in the house (i.e chicken, pasta, veggies). Perfect easy weeknight meal. Austin said, "You can make this one again." I guess that's a good sign ;)

Here is the recipe for four people...but it can be adjusted to more or less...

Ingredients
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces- used 2 chicken breasts for 2 people...
1 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™- (any garlic seasoning, not the powder)
2 carrots, peeled and julienne cut - (I used my food processor on about 10 baby carrots instead)
1 cup bite-size broccoli florets
1 Tbsp. sesame oil- didn't have this so I used olive oil
3/4 cup Bayou Bourbon™ Glaze- any type of Bourbon Glaze would be good on this!
Sesame seeds
8 oz. pasta, prepared and hot (I used left over linguine from a previous spaghetti meal!)

I added in about 3/4 cup of shredded onion. I shredded them in the food processor with the carrots.

Directions
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté chicken and Garlic Garlic™ in the hot skillet until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken from pan; set aside. Add remaining tablespoon of oil to skillet; sauté carrots and broccoli until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add chicken back to the pan with the vegetables; reduce heat and add sesame oil and Bayou Bourbon™ Glaze. Sauté for about 5 minutes; add hot pasta and toss to coat. Garnish with sesame seeds. Makes 4 servings. (My adjusted version was just right for the two of us!)

Fall Harvest Center Piece

I saw this displayed on Pinterest...my newest addiction and  favorite distraction...and knew I had to make it. My mom has about a million unused, lonely glass hurricanes after our candy buffet at our wedding therefore making this was perfectly cheap as well as cute to look at! And...when I say "easy" I mean easy enough for a 5 year old to successfully do this, seriously!

Layer by layer: I used dry split peas 1 regular size bag on the bottom layer (I wish I would have done this layer on the top so it would have stood out more), the next layer is a regular size bag of dry red beans, next is dry yellow popcorn kernels, and the top is dry pinto beans. The layers are flexible, obviously, based upon the size of the vase or container. Place the candle in based on the height you want revealed. I placed my in after the first layer of peas. The ribbon is a burlap type of tie that you can find at Hobby Lobby or Joanne's Fabrics...easy!

Happy Fall! :)

Fall Chili Night!

I have always loved to cook. I've not perfected it by any means but I LOVE to try new things and experiment in the kitchen. Tomorrow we are celebrating with my parents for my dad's birthday. In light of the autumn season (despite the heat wave) I decided to make turkey chili, beer bread, and twice baked potatoes one day ahead & save myself some time and effort after work tomorrow. Dad's favorite cake is marble with vanilla icing. All in all, the food turned out really tasty. The beer bread got deformed in the oven because it rose and hit the rack above it...whoops ;) other than that I can't wait to dig in tomorrow! 

 all ready to start cooking!

 yum

 finished!

steamy and spicey

*If anyone is interested in recipes, let me know!*

Disclaimer

I've never been super computer savvy. In fact, my new husband enjoys teasing me about my lack of technological skills on a regular basis. I may not know everything there is to know about computers, but I know enough to feel confident in starting a blog. I mean really...how hard can it be??

 I am  throwing around the idea of doing "Julie & Julia" types of posts after completing a significantly worthwhile "Suzy-Home Maker" meal or even cooking my way through a cook book....who knows...? It's bound to get a little crazy and clumsy knowing me. Crafting projects shall be posted as finished if worthy for the public eye...but I'm not afraid to post some "mistakes" and imperfection, because that is what art is! It's not a perfect science, just like life...

Overall, the real joy of this blog will be to enjoy about the up's, down's and in between's of this new journey in life as a married woman, working, loving, and living in a new role. This blog will hopefully allow me to express myself in creative ways, share recipes, crafty projects, and life with anyone into that kind of thing. Get to know me and my impulsive/clumsy ways. It's bound to get interesting! Ready, set, go!!

I favorite from our wedding. August 12, 2011