Labor free morning

Happy Labor Day everyone. I'm taking a break from my Titus 2 entries to post about my breakfast! I tried this recipe from Pioneer Woman called Sleepin' In Omelete. This woman is about the best cook slash photographer slash hilarious blogger I've ever seen. She lives on a ranch, home schools her 4 children, and bottle feeds helpless bovines....ah, the life. Anyway...here is the attempt at her yummy brekky in pictures. I should point out that this is also the frugal/modified version. There where a couple of ingredients that I didn't have, so I made due. PS - My photos are no where near as good as hers, I just don't have the equipment or the eye, so back off.

First, you start by ripping apart 6 onion rolls and placing them in a greased 9x13 pan. Use your slave labor..ahem, helping hands, to sprinkle 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese over the top.

Have that slave laborer, I mean helper, begin cracking 10 eggs. Yes, 10! I look at it this way, that's actually less than if we were eating eggs by themselves. So for me, 10 is good. Besides, it's good practice for the help. :)

Add 1/2 tsp. of salt.

Add 1/2 tsp. dry mustard.

This is where changes were made. The original recipe called for cayenne pepper. I didn't have any, so I used a couple shots of hot sauce. Yum! Also, it called for chopped chives. Didn't have any, so I skipped that part. Besides, if #2 were to have seen something green, she wouldn't have touched it with a ten foot pole.

Whisk everything together with 2 cups milk. While whisking, try to take a picture and figure out why everything is so bright. Turning off the flash didn't help. I told you I wasn't much of a photographer.

Before you pour it on, this is where it gets good. Crumble an entire 8oz package of cream cheese over the top. Also, slice 1 1/2 sticks of butter and place over the top. That's where the other modification came in. I don't usually have sticks of butter, so I used about 1/2 cup margarine and dolloped it over the top.

Then pour the creamy milk/egg mixture over the entire thing. Again, too bright..I know!

Next, cover it with foil and let it rest in the fridge over night. Forget about and play on the computer, watch a movie, or love your husband. Oh, wait...it's a family blog.

In the morning before you can even function, pop it in the oven at 325 for 45min. covered. Uncover and up the temp. to 350 and bake for 10-15 min. more. This is what you get...

A flaky top, gooey cheesy middle, sinfully good breakfast. Disclaimer...don't write in telling me how fattening this is. You shouldn't make this for Uncle Phil who's already had triple bypass..it's a disaster waiting to happen. It really is this good....the original recipe says, "Eat, faint, repeat"...you can't improve on that. Except I'm thinking ham, bacon, or sausage crumbles would be heavenly!!

Spoon it up with your favorite cup of joe....or chocolate milk for the slave labor.

And before the crust can leave their sleepy eyes, they will be singing your praise.


The pop tarts? Oh, those. Well, he doesn't really sing praise in the morning unless he has his pop tarts. What???? He'll grow out of it!

Sober-minded in the Kitchen

So this week we're looking at being sober-minded. I was going to title this entry "Sobriety in the Kitchen", but I thought that kind of sounded like an AA meeting. Hehe!

Planning is going to be the key to "sobriety in the kitchen"...couldn't resist. This can range from an elaborate detailed monthly menu to simply doubling a recipe for a freezer meal. Here are some tips that I've learned along the way.

1. Menu planning - I like to plan my meals out in a 2 week cycle. I'm a very simple cook. I cook what my family likes and they like what I cook. I rarely try new recipes, I like the tried and true. (I realize that may bore some people to death, but it works for me.) With that in mind, I can sit down and plan out 2 different weeks of meals and rotate them. This also alows me to have a standard shopping list that I keep. I don't usually shop sale items unless I find something I know I'll use and stock up. Having a menu plan (and sticking to it) completely solves the 5 o'clock "what's for dinner" stares.

2. Freezer meals - I recently wrote a post about a more extensive freezer meal preparation, but you can easily build up a stock of your favs by doubling a recipe and freezing the extras.

3. Prepare ahead - Alot of the breakfasts I like to make can be started the night before, like baked oatmeal or baked french toast. Sometimes I will fill my bread machine with ingredients for a cinnamon bread and set it to start a couple of hours before we wake up. Then we get to enjoy waking up to fresh baked bread. Yum!! I get to look like a star to my family and sleep in..it's a win - win for everyone. :) Preparing ahead can be as easy as throwing in a couple of extra eggs to boil in the morning to use at lunch time for tuna salad.

4. Crock pot meals - My crock pot is probably the one small appliance that I couldn't live without. I love my crock pot. I use it for any meal of the day. I've used it for oatmeal for breakfast, pork roast for Sunday lunch, or beans for dinner. It's very versatile and the best part is that it doesn't heat up my kitchen during a hot Florida summer.

5. Wear an apron - Okay, this one might surprise you. I wear aprons. Yes, there it is...bring on the snickers!! I love wearing an apron. I put one on as soon as I can, which is usually first thing in the morning after I get ready. I can remember my first apron. A dear friend of mine gave me her recipe for chicken pot pie and crust. I had been using the recipe for awhile and mentioned that I got flour all over me whenever I made the crust...she was like "duh...put on an apron!". I'm sure she about fell over when I told her I didn't own one. Days later, she brought me a gift...my very first apron with my name embroidered at the top. I still have it, and wear it often...Thanks, Margaret!!! Anyway, I've been hooked on them since. I love the way I feel when I wear an apron, the way all of my kids have played hide and seek under it...I feel ready for the job at hand, sober if you will!

So there you have it, just a few of the ways we can have a plan and be ready and "sober" in the kitchen. Now, don't go thinking I've got it all together and it's like this all the time. My back up plan is Pizza Hut on speed dial. Just keeping it real, ya'll!

The Cat's away, but the Mice can still eat right!

In a previous post I mentioned that I was making some freezer meals to help hubby with the daunting task of supper. I hadn't made freezer meals in a long time, so I consulted the experts, i.e. anyone who has as many or more kids than I do!! The experts gave me a few suggestions and I took notes. I weeded out the ones that I knew my family would never go for, or those that hubby would have to force feed a certain daughter of mine, hey Erin, because they contained too many vegetables. Here's what I came up with:

Beef
2 Baked Ziti
2 Lasagna
2 Tator Tot Casserole
2 Sloppy Joe

Chicken
2 Enchiladas
2 Salsa, Chicken & Rice Casserole
1 Chicken Hotdish w/stuffing topping
1 Chicken Alfredo

I cooked the beef meals first. I began by browning 8lbs of hamburger meat. I divided two 1lb sections and placed them in a ziplock freezer bag and added the sloppy joe sauce. I always add a little extra ketchup & brown sugar the way my family likes it. Then I boiled the ziti and lasagna noodles. While they were boiling I made the tator tot casserole and placed them in a 9x13 aluminum pans and cover them with a double layer of foil. Once the noodles were finished, I assembled the ziti first, then the lasagnas. Again, I covered the dishes with a double layer of foil. Before I put them in the freezer, I label them with the contents and cooking directions. Most everything can go straight from the freezer to the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until bubbly.

On a separate day, I prepared the chicken meals. I began by boiling 2 bags of frozen, skinless, chicken breasts. While they are boiling, I add a little garlic salt to the water to season. In addition to the chicken, I cooked 4 packages of yellow rice, and one box of rotini noodles. After the chicken was cooked, I chopped it up into a little smaller than bit size pieces. First, I assembled the chicken alfredo. Just mix noodles, chicken, and alfredo sauce and top with with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Then, I put together the chicken hotdish. Basically it's a chicken pot pie filling with veggies, cream of chicken soup, and sour cream topped with a box of stuffing mix. Next, I worked on the chicken and rice. I put enough chicken into two 9x13 pans to cover the bottom. Then I top that with rice and cover with 1/2 jar of salsa and shredded cheese. Last, I made the chicken enchiladas. I put the remaining chicken in the with the remaining rice and added a packet of taco seasoning and some shredded cheese. Then, I scooped some of the mixture into a taco size tortilla shell. After rolling the shell, I placed them seam down into 9x13 dish. I was able to fit 5 across for a total of 10 per pan. Then I topped it with salsa and cheese.

It wasn't as much work as I thought, and it's comforting knowing they'll have something to eat while I'm gone. Now, if I come home to 14 meals still in the freezer and they ate pizza everyday....at least I tried!! Here's a picture of the fruits of my labor! :)