Whole30- Day 26 and 27

Days of tiger blood and things changing.  Well, I've never been a 'tiger blood' kinda person, meaning I've never been a HIGH energy person. So I don't know what that feel like -even with coffee in me.

As for things changing, yes but it's not drastic because I haven't started exercising yet. Hard to do with pain but as it disappears moving around is much easier and you feel lighter on your feet for certain. Getting out of bed with dread is no more and my mood is better as well.

Day 26

Breakfast: Banana, bacon and raspberries
Lunch: Handful of nuts (was too busy planting in the garden to care)
Dinner: 1/2 Ribeye steak, 1/2 Japanese sweet potato, leftover roasted brocco-flower, grilled nectarines.

Have you ever had a Japanese sweet potato?  I hadn't.  I looks like a Russet but it messes with your mind when you eat it and it's sweet.  Bought a purple sweet potato today....that will appear soon.

Day 27

Breakfast: Eggs and sausage, onion and pepper hash (sooooo good)

Lunch: Leftover ribeye steak and sweet potato dinner
Dinner: Apple Pork Patties, Confetti Cauliflower, Strawberry Spinach salad

I don't know where I was going exactly with the pork patties....didn't want breakfast.  So I shredded one apple, handful of chopped onions and pepper....salt and pepper and cooked it @350 for 30 minutes.  Very tasty and very moist.  Great with some hot sauce on it!

Can't believe the first 30 is almost here...

Whole30- The Tiger Blood Days 18 and 19

Here you go, wait for it....my tiger blood video!

Hahahahahha! Thought you'd enjoy that....that was many hours of retakes and editing I hope you know! (jk)

Some of you have asked me some questions about this and that....and I am so excited that my silly little food pictures and commentary is of some value to some of you.  Whether entertainment, nosiness or because you are doing whole30 as well....I am glad to know that my work here is not floating in hyperspace on some alien's Facebook page title "what stupid earth people do...."

First: Here is the almond butter I use:

Got it on one of my first whole30 grocery trips. I got the crunchy.  The crunchy bits are cashews! Remember: cashews, macadamia nuts and hazelnuts are the preferred nuts.  Almonds are suggested not as often. Raw is better because the lack of roasting keeps more of the nutrients in the nuts.  So next time I refill my nuts from TJ, I am getting the raw.  Being a rookie who not fully read the books yet,  I got unsalted, roasted, not raw.  But I use this maybe once, twice a week.  Needs to be refrigerated.

Next- Do not walk, RUN and go buy this....from the gods....Raw Cashew Butter....omfg....

 

So, my friend Jessica went to My Organic Market (MOM's -my new home) one day and found some sampler butters to try. She ripped it open and tried it with me,  her eyes rolled into her head and said it tasted like white chocolate. Now, I had to try.  White chocolate isn't my first thought but is it soooo dreamily smooth unlike the coarseness of the other butters.  Because it is raw, it has such a natural sweetness that you keep looking at the ingredients on the jar, swearing it has some kind of sugar in it. I am afraid during a moment of stress I could sit on the kitchen floor with a spoon and do some serious damage here.  Lovely.  MOM's ....it's not located in the thick of the other butters...it's off up a few shelves and to the left....I don't know why ....but it certainly deserves to not be below with those other peon butters HA!  And it doesn't have to be refrigerated!!! I like this because my sensitive teeth doesn't like cold foods anyway and room temperature foods have better flavor I think.

Next: Sugar-free bacon is hard to find!

 

I think I should keep buying these in groups of FIVE, that perhaps if they think it's super popular they will buy more and always have tons of it.  The bad news...there are only 8 slices per package, maybe nine if you won the lottery this week. But the price is $5.49 but if you are the only one doing Whole30, you will become a miserly witch over each 68 cent slice and give the rest of your family the organic uncured, nitrite-free, OTHER bacons WITH sugar and SAVE this stuff for YOU! Strips of gold.  Okaaaayyyyy, if your whole family is doing Whole30 you better buy five packages at once too! I get out my griddle and do two packages at once, put in a ziploc....good for two weeks. Two package for one family for one meal, easy. Personally, I have no desire to being making bacon every day.  But batch frying makes my soul happy to have days off from greasy messes. I should go buy stock in this company....

Last product review for today: GHEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Hello, lovahhhhh. (I visualize Sarah Jessica Parker saying this while she's oogling designer shoes)

GIANT JAR.  At Mom's the largest jar they have is Organic Valley Ghee, 13 oz. jar is $12.99.  At Amazon.com this baby comes 32 fl. oz ...TWO for 35.00 (free shipping if you have PRIME, like me) for a price of 17.00 buck. *take calculator out* ...Unit price of Organic valley- 99 cents per ounce.  Ancient Organics- 53 cents.  No refrigeration unless been open for over 2 months.  Beautifully packaged, all paper, boxes can be repurposed for holiday time. Can be used as lotion but I am afraid that I'd start licking myself like the cats or they'd start on me....

Day 18:

Breakfast: Nuts and Berries, felt like a light day watching the SNOW fall for 1/2 hour on April 9!!! WTH!
Lunch: Leftover sausage, onions & peppers and fried eggs! Few berries...Love!

Dinner: Chicken Nuggets (organic chicken coated in coconut flour, egg wash , coated with seasoned unsweetened coconut and ground almonds), sauteed Kale and roasted carrots in ghee, raspberries and homemade mayo and Tessemae's ketchup to dip. (note: going to try another time with only coconut, by the end of dinner, the coating falls too easily off the nugget).

Day 19:

Breakfast: Cashew butter on bananas with raspberries & lil bit of cinnamon sprinkle. Coconut cream in my coffee.

Lunch: Spinach, bacon and tomato frittata (with enough leftover for next week's breakfasts!)

Dinner: Ribeye steaks, grilled asparagus with ghee, balsamic beets and strawberries (picture to come)

Additional notings: Some of you have asked me "Is K-man doing Whole30 too?" The answer is yes and no.  Kinda, is not a proper answer.  Yes, with me. No, away from home. At dinner he eats whole30 with me and expresses no whining about not having bread/rolls as we used to. During the day away at work, K-man eats what he's craving.  While he is still working his last days before retirement of 35 years from his devoted service to our city, he will enjoy eating what he does with his coworkers at his favorite haunts until the end of this month. 

K-man is a man-boy who likes his peanut butter, sandwiches, oatmeal and ice cream (cakes and cookies too). I'd like him to experience Whole30 to see first hand (not from ME telling him) how food choices (diet) can really have a positive effect and NOT make you pine and crave for crap. (Two hours after dinner he's searching around for treats and snacks- he has a HUGE Sugar Dragon in him and doesn't think it's a problem. 2 hours after dinner I am content and ready for bed. This is still very scary for him because he can't disassociate 30 days of discipline from a lifetime of denial. I try to explain that under Whole30, you go through an amazing change of not CRAVING empty calories foods. But when I start to get on my soap box, he reverts backs to the rebel teen who doesn't want to be told what to do and I begin to feel like that dog owner who is pulling their dog into the bathtub who hates getting wet.

The man who is controlled by his wife either doesn't know it or is okay with it.  The man who free to do whatever he wants, can eat what he wants and has no children to take care of anymore, the moment something new is suggested by their wife they think their freedoms are threatened and they begin to buck. I am willing to admit that I did not help myself at all by having/making tempting things around the house and buying those favorites of my husbands to contribute to his sugar delinquency. I am "fixing me" and when K-man wants to do Whole30 correctly and not partly, I will be here. So all I can do now is keep on truckin'....and me do me!


*clawing gesture* Rawr!

Whole30 Day 2

Those of you who are saying "who cares that JennyMac is going on a food plan for 30 days, Meh!"

Let me tell you why...this book's author (Melissa) has a great sense of humor (like me😜) and she took the time to include in the book a timeline compiled of thousands of the physical and emotional challenges of people who had underwent the Whole30 plan.  I wanted to blog my journey to see how I compared to those people.  Do I have a big bad sugar dragon lurking within me or is it just a eensie-weensie one?

The book says that most people will be either excited or overwhelmed on day 1 and some people may ask 'what have I gotten myself into?'  My first day (I am on spring break) was uneventful emotionally and physically although I was preparing more foods than normal.

Day Two:
The book says some people will feel headache-y, sore or foggy. Like a hangover.  I don't.  I am more anxious for all my body pains to go away....what day will that start?  I think for a food to really get out of the system will take at least 3-4 days.  I mean, I did eat some chocolate cake 11:45pm the day before I started...lol.  My motto has always been "life is uncertain, eat dessert first." Technically eating that cake at before midnight wasn't first...but it certainly was the last thing I was eating before my big day...

Breakfast: Just a few cantaloupe cubes, small grab of roasted, unsalted CAM (cashews, almonds and Macadamia nuts) mix and black coffee.

I got up late because I can, whilst on spring break....I didn't want too much because I will have to eat lunch earlier due to K-man going to the eye doctor today at 3 and he wants me to go so I cannot have a late lunch (this is probably better because I don't eat a late lunch when I go back to school- we have to gobble it down between 11:30-12 noon!)

The cool thing about this plan is that many of the meals can rollover unto the next day for another meal and that means LESS cooking!

Lunch: On a bed of spinach leaves is my leftover sausage and peppers, and another egg muffin (sauteed peppers and onions, garlic, herbs in ghee placed in a Texas-sized muffin cup with scrambled egg and unsweetened coconut milk) cut up with shredded carrot.

Tonight's dinner will highlight one of my purchases that I purchased beforehand on Amazon.com (same price but I get free shipping from Prime) as an approved product of Whole30 - Tessemae's All Natural (from Baltimore).

From left to right: Buffalo, Lemon Chesapeake, Ketchup, Lemon Garlic, Cracked Pepper, Balsamic, Southwest Ranch, Matty's BBQ Sauce.

Dinner: Bed of mixed organic greens. Drizzled Tessemae's Southwest Ranch onto greens. Added chopped poblano and onion (we always have this chopped in a container in the fridge 24/7) into roasted chicken.  Tablespoon of homemade mayo mixed with tablespoon of Tessemae's Southwest ranch mixed in chicken. Half and avocado and a few black olives. Lemon squeezed all on top and drank lemon water with dinner.

Late night note: So it's been an hour after dinner and you know you are NOT hungry.  You start to listen to your insides and you say things...."something sweet would be good right now"  Just a little candy, a cookie, a COFFEE WITH TRUVIA AND CREAM!  I immediately go look how to stave off a sugar craving....says to eat fruit.  However the Whole30 book says "why are you eating it? If you're reaching for a banana or grapes to prop up your sugar cravings, we'd ask you to rethink that strategy. You don't want to end up with the same cravings after your program, and continuing to feed your brain the sweetest stuff allowed every time it pitches a tantrum isn't really changing your habits." 

So I caved and had a really small banana cut up with a small drop of almond butter on each.  Even though I fed the sugar dragon, I am proud that at least I was compliant. There is chocolate around, Kirk isn't on the plan....he needs to eat up that stuff.  LOL. 
So now I know....although I don't feel hungry or stark raving mad for sugar....THAT was definitely my sugar dragon calling.  I gotta train him to go.....that dinner was huge....I didn't even finish it....Eating when you aren't even hungry is soooo stupid!

I've got this!

New Toy

I have a new toy and a confession....

My name is Jenny Saunders and I am addict.  

I am addicted to utensils, gadgets, gizmos and other fun unique appliances. Other than your usual electric mixer, blender and food processor....I own immersion blender, 2 crock pots, mini chopper, 2 waffle makers, George Forman 5 in 1, toaster oven, air popper, Chop Wizard, 12 pc. Genius Nicer Dicer, tortilla maker, Jack LeLann's Juiceman, Cotton Candy Maker, Sno-cone maker, S'more maker (so many more I can't remember what is in the drawer) and my latest acquisition....

Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker.  Found it on Amazon.com for only 16.99.  Don't know why they are $19-$33 now.  It came in a plain brown box not like the ones you see all pretty with their product on the outside.  Perhaps that is why.  It was sent in this box from HB for Amazon.  I guess the pretty pictured box cost $4-$16 depending on who you get it from.  I do make a lot of breakfast sandwiches for K-man.  Since I have received it last week I have made 5 sandwiches.  4 for K-man, one for me.  It's very petite and I really like it!!!

When you heat up the maker, you get out your needed items, english muffin, meat/sausage/bacon, cheese slice, egg/egg beaters, toothpick and non-stick spray.

When the green light come on you spray the surfaces with Pam.
1.  Place the bottom muffin on the lower area and on top of the muffin your meat of choice and cheese. 
2.  Lower the upper section and place your whole egg (pierce the egg yolk with toothpick), scrambled egg or egg beater product. Season as you like, top with remaining muffin and close maker. 
3.  In 4-5 minutes it's done.  Slide the hinged middle plate out to the for the egg to drop below to the bottom layer.
4.  Lift bottom ring to reveal your stacked Breakfast sandwich, remove with a non-metal turner.

The above pictured is our "snow day breakfast" of bacon with provolone and whole egg.  Last weekend, since I am doing Nutri System currently I made for lunch with Arnold Sandwich Thins (100 cal), Morningstar Farms Sausage (64 cal), slice FF cheese (31 cal), 1/4c egg beaters (30 cal) and Mrs. Dash.  Not too bad for 225 cal when most NS products are 250 cal.  You do have to trim away some of the bread since these "thins" are wider to get it to fit.  It was pretty good for a lower fat/calorie sandwich. 
You can also make these with deli meats and the cooked egg for a sandwich for lunch.
This little product does help in some areas when it comes to dishes.  No toaster or oven, no bowl or whisk (using the egg product), we always have cooked bacon that I bake on weekends to use during the week for K-man (you can use the pre-cooked bacon from the grocery or deli meat).  The rings totally lift out for easy cleaning, wipe off the cooking surfaces on the maker and ZING....all done.  My new addition to the family will fit nicely in my cabinet between the air popper and blender. 

HEY! Be proud that I did not purchase the breakfast sandwich maker cookbook that Amazon suggested I buy with this maker.  That is another addiction that I am trying to wean off of.....

This was not an assignment from any program or website, no company sent me this for free to endorse.  It was just me, JennyMac who found something new and fun and wanted to share it with you!

PLEASE! Feel free to comment and tell me the gadgets and gizmos you have like this or JUST ask me what other products I didn't list that I have or kicked to the curb.....I have no shame....


Sammich Anyone?

Sriracha Deviled Eggs

Happy Super Bowl Weekend Kids!I have a fun and easy recipe for you.  If you'd like to change up a familiar recipe for your Super Bowl food tomorrow here's a nice recipe I created.

Sriracha Deviled Eggs
created by JennyMac's Lipsmack

12 hard boiled eggs
2-3 Tbsp of mayonnaisse
2-3 Tbsp of Sriracha
1/8 tsp of dry mustard
salt to taste
cayenne to taste
smoked paprika

Split your hard boiled eggs and remove the yolks.  Here's a fun tip if you choose to try it....place all your yolks in a ziploc bag.  Arrange your whites on a pretty plate.  Close the ziploc and smush all your yolks in the bag until no more chunks.  Add the mayo and sriracha, salt and cayenne (I left the measurements for you to taste and add more or less to your liking).  Taste and make adjustments.  Squeeze out air from bag and close again.  Cut hole on bottom bag about 3/4 inch.  Squeeze most of yolks to bottom of bag.  Squeeze out yolks into eggs.  Use a little pulsing squeeze to get the 'rippled' affect on your yolks as seen on mine.  Top with smoked paprika.  Serve to hungry guests.  Stand Back!

Cooks Notes:
1.  How picky are you?  Some days I am picky about my food some days I could care less.  The boiling and hoping of are they cooked enough or are they over cooked I am tired of the stress of that.  The peeling of the eggs...ugh.  Fresh eggs are NOT to be used for hard-boiled eggs.  The membrane takes out chunks and it makes your eggs look awful.  Hard to believe the older the eggs the better.  I guess fresh is out since you need air between the white and membrane to easily peel eggs.  ANYWAY- my point....do you realize they have already hard boiled eggs in your local grocery?  Yes, they do!  However....they are little more rubbery for my taste.  You own boiled ones are much more soft and delicate.  But if you have a husband who is crazy for deviled eggs....his craziness just may over rule his taste in soft vs. rubbery eggs.  LOL.
Just thought I'd share that with you.

Since my Redskins couldn't make it this year.  I will put a Shout out to our neighbors the RAVENS!  We'll be rooting for you this year!


Enjoy!

French Toast Casserole

My present to you is something simple to pop in the oven on Christmas Morning.  This casserole is soft, buttery and so yummy. Oh did I mention it's easy to make?

French Toast Casserole
from JennyMac Lipsmack

1 loaf french bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (10 cups)
8 eggs
3 cups half and half (or cream if you want it silky rich)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 strips of bacon, cooked and broken into pieces. 
Topping:
2 tablespoons butter, cubed
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
maple syrup

Using a serrated knife cube your french bread into one inch pieces.  
In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla and salt.  Add bread and mix with egg mixture to coat.  Add bacon pieces and mix again.

Grease a 13X9 baking dish (those non stick glass ones are awesome).  Pour all your eggy bready bacony mixture into the baking dish.  Cover and place in fridge overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Uncover and give the bread another stir.  Sprinkle cinnamon sugar all over the bread cubes and dot with butter.  Cover with non stick foil and bake for 45-50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Serve with maple syrup.
So rich and creamy, I love the smokey bacon with the sweet maple and the not really sweet eggy bread. 

Cooks Notes:

1.  Do not cut off that fabulous crust.  This recipe is awesome even with a day old loaf.  I bought my bread on Tuesday and prepped this Friday afternoon.  Yes, it was 'sketchy' to cut however my fingers all remained intact.
2. If you have homemade vanilla sugar hanging around like I FORGOT to use, this would be the ideal time to use it.
3.  I am going to try this again with some toasted pecans on top....YUM!!!!




Post Script.....
I hope you all are healthy and WARM this holiday season!  We've had a tough few weeks with no heat.  Our house was built in 1959.  We bought it 5 years ago knowing that the 3 Horsemen of the Homeowner's Apocalypse (the furnace, A/C and hot water heater) were OLD.  We feel we were truly blessed from this whole ordeal.   The Carbon Monoxide detector has been going off since last year and we were being stubborn and complacent.  We thought the detector was probably old...took it down, replaced it.  It didn't go off again....few months later it went off...."oh the batteries probably need to be replaced" (um, there is a signal for THAT by the way on the detector).  All the while the detector was going off during the middle of the night waking us up @ 3 in the morning.  The one night K-man was working through the night on a water main break and I was home alone the detector went off one hour after I turned on the heat when I came home from work.  This was odd.  I called K-man....what do I do?  (WHAT, WHERE was my brain?- mmmm, fuzzy from fumes perhaps?)
I called the Fire Dept and waited with my neighbor outside for them to arrive.  I let them in the front door and watched them come in with their CO monitor in hand.  As soon as he stepped in it beeped and he said It's 148!  Pointed to me.  "YOU- Get out."  What you may or may not know, BELOW 35 ppm (parts per million) is okay but anything above that is considered toxic and potentially lethal.  I was sitting in a house where the million of the oxygen molecules were tainted with 148 carbon monoxide ones!....I had no headache, no nausea, no vomiting, wasn't sleepy....however my common sense and get up and go safety know-how was stagnant.  I remember just standing there with K-man on the phone, listening to him tell me what to do and thinking/pouting...."why can't he be here and do this?"  I NEVER THINK like THAT....Add the symptom of DELERIUM to list from CO exposure.  Alas, a cracked heater exchange on a circa 1988 furnace was the cause.
Anyway.....since major appliances like the furnace, A/C and hot water heater a big to-do, located near one another and connected (via gas) and were ALL old.  Bundle the price, work....replace them all at once.  Holy crap.  1988= furnace and HWH but the A/C was the original install!  None of the houses in our development had A/C originally and the original owner of our house finally broke down in the 60's to put it in.  The estimator said it was a miracle we've been having any A/C in the past summers because this model belonged in a museum.  LOL.  So there you have it....an $11,000 to our wallet during the holidays. LOVELY.  Bottom Line....YOU ALL NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A CO DETECTOR IN YOUR HOUSE AND CALL 911 IF IT GOES OFF....we are so lucky to be alive.

Enjoying our warmth and feeling blessed, we wish the very same to you as 2011 comes to a close....

POST POST SCRIPT....thanks Anonymous commenter for your tip on correcting my error on the difference between carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2).  Clearly my brain was still not functioning right in writing this post since I DO know my chemical elements and their abbreviations usually.  But thanks for your CONCERN.

Sausage, Egg and Biscuit Casserole...

For Dinner? Yes!!!! Why do we feel the societal conformity that eggs, sausage/bacon and biscuits must be eaten for breakfast only and if we eat them for dinner that somehow it is weird or breaking some rule? Is the 'breakfast police' gonna break your door down saying "I'm sorry ma'am you are violating the law by eating waffles, pancakes or eggs for dinner!" LOL. Even though I had eggs for dinner growing up we still regard eggs for dinner as some guilty pleasure. Like eating cookies would spoil our appetite before a meal. So silly, isn't it?

I found this recipe in Cuisine Magazine . It's a magazine solely of recipes with no ads.
I tweaked a wonderfully sinful sausage and egg casserole I think you'd love.



Sausage, Egg and Biscuit Casserole
adapted from Cuisine Magazine by JennyMac Lipsmack

1 lb. sausage or bacon
7 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
8 biscuits (canned, leftover homemade ones that are a bit stale, frozen, bakery, what you like best)
1-1/2 cups shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 7X11 baking dish with nonstick spray. Brown sausage or cook bacon until brown/crispy. Transfer to paper towel to absorb excess grease.

In a bowl, whisk eggs, milk, cream, salt and pepper.

Split biscuits in half and layer bottoms in greased dish. Sprinkle sausage/bacon over biscuits and top with 3/4 cup of cheese. Cover with biscuits tops and pour egg mixture over top.

TIME to make a decision.... EAT this NOW or tomorrow morning?

Eating now.....Bake for 30 minutes or until eggs are set (165 degrees) and no longer jiggly. Cover with cheese and cook for another 10 minutes. Let casserole stand for 10 minutes.

Eating tomorrow.....Cover with foil. Place and bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes until eggs are set. Uncover and place on 3/4 cup of cheese or until melted.

DELISH!!!!

Cook's Notes:
This dish also came with a sage gravy recipe. Any white sauce is butter, flour and milk or cream (depending how rich you want it) but I really felt this recipe was PLENTY rich and didn't really need it.
I was right, plenty moist, rich custardy eggs with cheese....a rich white sauce just made my arteries feel threatened to close.
K-man was OVER the moon with this tasty dish. I felt so guilty from eating it that I felt we should be eating some salad or fruit with it. K-man shook his head and said "just gimme TWO!"

Jalapeño, Sausage and Egg Braid

Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch or Snack? Anytime...it's awesome!

Jalapeño, Sausage, Jack, and Egg Breakfast Braid
adapted from Myrecipes.com

1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough (I used Pillsbury thick canned pizza crust)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 lb sausage (I used hot sausage), browned and drained
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped seeded jalapeño peppers
1 large egg white, lightly beaten (I forgot to do this and no one died)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Unroll dough onto a silpat or parchment paper; pat into a 15 x 10–inch rectangle.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sausage; cook 9 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in eggs; cook 1 1/2 minutes or until set. Remove from heat.

4. Sprinkle Pepper Jack lengthwise down center of dough, leaving about a 2 1/2-inch border on each side. Spoon egg mixture evenly over cheese. Sprinkle cheddar over egg mixture; top with jalapeño peppers.

5. Make 2-inch-long diagonal cuts about 1 inch apart on both sides of dough to within 1/2 inch of filling using a sharp knife or kitchen shears. Arrange strips over filling, alternating strips diagonally over filling. Press ends under to seal. Brush with egg white. Bake at 425° for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut crosswise into slices.

Braided like my apple strudel just a savory filling with a pizza crust instead of puff pastry. WINNING! K-man's eyes just popped when he saw this for breakfast. You can make all the filling the day before and just assemble it that morning. Yummy stuff. Cuts nicely for snacks later if you like. I'd love to try a bacon version sometime as well!

Enjoy!

Yukon Gold Breakfast Hash

Perfect for a lazy Sunday morning, great for early Saturday that is hearty enough to carry you through a busy Saturday of errands or even ideal for one of those 'breakfast dinners' during the week.

I like using Yukon Gold potatoes for they are not as starchy as the russet variety and are quite 'velvety' when cooked.

Yukon Gold Breakfast Hash

6-8 small Yukon Gold Potatoes (or 3-4 medium)
6-8 slices of thick bacon, cooked and crumbled
half an onion, chopped
1/4 cup pepper, chopped (I used jalapenos from the garden)
salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs
1 cup colby jack cheese, shredded
minced chives for garnish

Wash potatoes and microwave for 6-10 minutes until soft (time depends on size and amount)
In large ovenproof skilled, cook bacon and drain on paper towels. Keep bacon fat in skillet and add chopped pepper and saute onions until soft/clear. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or later cook on stove top, your preference). Coarsely chop potatoes with skins and put in skillet. Keep breaking up potatoes until resembling hash and mixing the bacon fat around them. Salt and pepper to taste.
Press potatoes into pan and use spoon to make four 'divots' or dents in potato hash where eggs will go. Crack eggs into custard cup and gently put into each 'designated divot/dent'. Place in hot oven and cook until eggs are starting to set up. Sprinkle on crumbled bacon and top with cheese. Place back into oven until cheese is melted.

Cut the circle of hash into 4. Making sure there is one egg in each quarter. Garnish with chives and serve with fruit! Oh the smell!

Crispy bottom, velvety creamy potatoes, crunchy smoky bacon, runny egg, gooey cheese. THUD! All the senses are being hit. AWESOME way to start a day! Loved it!

Enjoy!

DUTCH, baby!!!

I've made Dutch Babies once in a blue moon....but LOOK at this one! Wow, I don't know if it was just the recipe or how the milk and eggs were at room temperature. But this was Monster. Similar to the popover and tastes pretty much the same....this is too easy to make. This recipe is a keeper. AND, made in a cake pan. I chose square today.


Monster Dutch Baby

2 large eggs (mine were extra large, double yolked farm fresh eggs)
1/2 cup whole milk (I used Fat Free evaporated milk)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
scant flavorings, cinnamon, etc optional
3 Tablespoons of butter

1. Place a cake pan in your oven. Then preheat your oven to 450° Fahrenheit. You know, screaming hot. I suggest using a oven thermometer always.

2. Using a wire whisk, blend your eggs, milk, flour, salt. Set aside.

3. When your oven is fully preheated and your cake pan hot, remove the cake pan from the oven. Put in 3 Tablespoons of butter and quickly swirl the pan so the butter does not brown or burn. When most of the butter is melted, pour in your Dutch Baby batter.

4. Place the pan bake in the hot oven and bake for 7 or 8 minutes. You may need an extra minute or two, depending on your oven. Watch the monster rise!

Serving suggestions:

• Drizzle with maple syrup
• squeeze of lemon juice and powdered sugar
• smear favorite jam, preserves
• slices of fresh fruit and whipped cream
• sauteed mushrooms and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

K-man had his piece with orange marmalade, I chose this new jar of rhubarb and raspberry preserves. I needed nothing else. The salty butteriness the sour of the rhubarb and sweetness of the raspberry...I was in heaven. I ate 3 pieces. K-man got one. LOL

MMMmmm....Spinach Brownies

Ha-Ha, made you look!

My 7th grade students are currently doing a research/presentation on fruits and vegetables. I was sitting with Rosie and helping her catch up from her absence and showing her how to format her slide on her least favorite vegetable task. I asked her for a vegetable that she'd eat....but it wasn't her favorite (she said corn was her fave). Her answer was spinach. OK, good.

Next, I took her to the allrecipes.com site to get some spinach recipes. We typed in 'spinach' in their search window. One of the first hits we got was for "spinach brownies" I said "SPINACH BROWNIES?" kinda loud and many surrounding students went EWWWWWWWWW. We laughed. So I looked at Rosie and said 'let's look'....

I didn't think at all it was a chocolate item but still the name of it made me curious. It looked good....so good I made it two days later. That says something. I am including it for our Mother's Day dinner and saving one to bring to school for Rosie to try. Not sure if Rosie kept this recipe I helped add to her project as a suggestion....but it is sure being added to my recipe collection at home.

Spinach Brownies
adapted from allrecipes.com

2 (10 ounce) package spinach, frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped green onions
1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup romano cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. Place spinach in a medium bowl and microwave until thawed. Use a clean dishtowel to squeeze dry. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder. Stir in eggs, milk and butter. Mix in spinach, onion and cheeses.

4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool before serving.

So THANKS ROSIE, who would have thought a student would be providing recipe idea to her FACS teacher! This is called a happy accident! YUM....best tasting accident evah! I will be touching base later with Rosie's reaction to my sample she tried....

Enjoy!

Somethin' from the North gone South

Hmmm....kinda looks like Eggs Benedict.....I see some sauce....not Hollandaise....and I see the egg.....but what is under it?


It's SCRAPPLE baby!....Crunchy outside....soft smooshy inside....topped with egg and black pepper gravy! YEEHAW!

I grew up eating scrapple, thank god I never knew what was in it....perhaps I would not be eating it today. But now that I know.....I just think about flowers and fuzzy kittens when I am buying my scrapple. See how easy that is?

Eggs Benedict Southern Style
Lipsmack Creation for two

Rapa Brand Scrapple, cut into slices, cooked until crispy
2 english muffins, split, toasted and buttered
4 eggs, sunny side up
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup milk or cream
salt to taste
LOTS of freshly ground pepper

Slice scrapple about 1/4 inch and fry in pan lightly coated with vegetable oil. Once slices start to cook they get VERY soft....so wait patiently for the side to crisp up before you turn them over.

In a small sauce pan, make white sauce. Melt butter, add flour, cook for a minute until smells 'nutty'....add milk or cream. Whisk smooth. Add salt to taste. Grind fresh pepper in sauce until very speckled. Keep warm.

Cook 4 eggs sunny side up and toast the english muffins.

Put buttered muffins on plate

Lay three scrapple slices over the two muffins.


Top with two sunny side up eggs (centers soft and/or runny)



Pour on pepper gravy. Garnish with more pepper or parsley.









South in your Mouth!

The Incredible Edible....

Egg! Have you sat down and thought about how amazing the egg is? I mean seriously! Normally people think of eggs for breakfast first. Whether alone, between two slices of bread or on top of foods....they are so yummy. I think what makes the egg so incredible is how we depend on them to bind things together. It's in our cookies and cakes. Quiches and casseroles. Salads and sandwiches. Possibilities are endless.

As a part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received Eggland's Best Eggs. I will NOT only show you what I made but give you the links to all my former egg posts. I just love eggs!

I saw a post from Mommy I'm Hungry for a Cheesy Ham and Hash Brown Casserole and I printed it out for future use....

After it was ready from the oven, K-man wasn't quite ready to eat due to our excessive snow shoveling. Then I got a last minute idea....let's make this casserole a little more 'brunchy'...

Look what I did....

Eggs on Cheesy Ham and Hash Browns
adapted from Mommy I'm Hungry

1 -30 oz. bag frozen, shredded hash brown potatoes
8 oz sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 small onion, diced fine
2 cups cubed ham
2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, set aside 1 cup of cheese
3-6 eggs (depending on the size of the casserole you make-see note*)

Stir all the ingredients together*.

Place into a lightly greased casserole dish (9 x 13 in). Sprinkle top with 1 C cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min - 1 hour. Let cool a bit and serve.

*Now, we didn't have a need for full amount of this casserole. Sure, most cooks would HALF the recipe. That WAS my intent. I put half the amount of the hash browns in a bowl, something distracted me and before I knew it was dumping in the WHOLE can of soup and I woke up as I was pouring in the full amount of sour cream when I said aloud "CRAP!"

Has this happened to you?

I knew that if I left the soup and sour cream as is....it was going to be too soupy yet what was I going to do with a half can of soup tainted with sour cream....UGH. Back to the freezer for the remainder of the hash browns to make the full recipe. I portioned out half in the greased casserole as I was intending to make with half the recipe. I took out a square pan, lined it with foil to put in the freezer. The next day you take the frozen casserole out of the pan and seal it all up. Take the pan and put it back into your cupboard. When you are ready to bake the casserole....unwrap and place it back into the pan with the foil you froze it in! Problem solved.

Now I have an emergency breakfast/brunch to pull out of the freezer when I need it!

Are you wondering how does the egg come into play here? I told you K-man was still shoveling when the Ham and Hash Browns were ready. I took a spoon and made 3 divots on top and cracked 3 eggs into them. I turned off the oven and slid the casserole back in for the eggs to set about 20 minutes.

We invited my neighbor over to eat with us and we cleaned it all up! Scrumptious! So hot and creamy....perfect after a snowy morning!

Thank you Foodbuzz and Thank you Eggland's Best!

Try out of some these other tasty tried and true egg dishes I've made....

Spinach and Cheese Squares
Pepperoni Pizza Quiche
Egg Bowls
Poached Eggs and Easy Hollandaise
Egg, Sausage and Cheese Biscuit Sandwiches
Easy Garden Egg Bake
Spinach Quiche
Deviled Eggs
Bacon and Egg Cups

Eggs-cellent Recipes!