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 :)