Breakfast Casserole

This past weekend was my bridal shower in Rexburg and we had the most yummy food! Tiara made yummy muffins, my friend made delicious fruit dip with tons of fruit, Konda made even more yummy muffins and fruit parfaits and I made this breakfast casserole! It is SO easy and very good! Enjoy!! (recipe at the end!)

Bacon Breakfast Pizza

• 1- 8 count can crescent roll dough
• 3 cups shredded hash browns (can used cubed)
• dozen eggs
• 1 cup shredded cheddar
• 6 slices bacon ** In my opinion you  need MORE bacon than this!! 
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Optional: Other toppings of your choice. Examples are: Onions, mushrooms, other meats, other vegetables, etc

Cook bacon and set aside. Spray a 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray. Place crescent roll dough in the bottom of the pan, pinching seams together to seal. Spread frozen hash browns over dough. Salt and pepper to taste (I start with 1/2 tsp of each). Beat all eggs in a bowl and pour over hash browns. Sprinkle crumbled bacon over. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, or until set in center. Sprinkle cheese over top and return to oven just until melted. Serve warm.

When Jake ate it he said he felt like he needed to dip it in something, like ketchup or salsa. It could have been because maybe I overcooked it? But you can add whatever you want!

Banana Bread

(This recipe makes 2 loaves so I always half it).

3 ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, at room temp.
2 eggs, well beaten
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup walnuts

Mash bananas and set aside.
In a large bowl, cream sugar and
butter together. Stir in eggs, and mashed
bananas. In a separate bowl, sift together
flour, and baking soda and salt. Add to
first mixture and stir together. Stir in nuts.
Place in two greased, 9x5-in. loaf pans, and
bake @350 F for 25 min. Reduce heat to
275 F and bake for an additional 20-25 min.
or until toothpick comes out clean. Makes
2 loaves.

* Note: With 1 loaf I usually don't bake it as
long as it says. I usually just bake at 350 for 20 min.,
and at 275 for 15-20 min.

Car's Yummiest Salsa

So, pretty much I love going to Carly and Jimmy's house! Although, I think I always gain a few pounds after being there only a couple days. Car, always makes the BEST food while I am there. I usually end up eating all of her spinach salad, and lately it's been her salsa! I honestly always finish it off. I just sit right by it and eat it, until there is no more left. I was so happy when Car told me that it is somewhat good for you. She told me that all you do is add a packet to these ingredients. I made this last night, and it was so yummy!

Car's Yummiest Salsa



Ingredients

You can add whatever ingredients you want to this packet. It actually only calls for red onion, and tomatoes, but Car adds more ingredients, and that's how I love it!

cut up tomatoes

cut up red onion

cut up avacado

black beans, drained, but not rinsed

corn

...I think that's all Car adds, but really add anything you want!

Add ingredients to bowl, then add packet! So yummy and easy!

Blake's Chicken

So, a while back Blake decided he wanted this chicken. When he goes to Outback he usually orders this, and so he wanted to create something like it. If I might say so, he did a good job! He's actually got more talent in this house, and is a little chef!

Blake's Chicken

Ingredients

grilled chicken, seasoned if you want

cooked bacon

a couple slices or shredded cheese

honey mustard (or ranch or BBQ sauce, Blake just uses honey mustard)

After the chicken and bacon is cooked, place the chicken on a baking sheet. Place two slices of bacon in a X shape over the chicken. Put cheese on top, and then honey mustard, or your pick of sauce. Broil until melted, doesn't take long. Or if chicken needs to be cooked a little more, place in 350 degrees preheated oven, until cooked and melted.

Pasta and Vegtable Toss

Pasta and Vegtable Toss

Ingredients

2-3 cups broccoli florets

1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup

1-2 large carrots, julienned

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 garlic clove, minced

1/8 teaspoon pepper

3 cups cooked speghetti

In large saucepan, combine the first 7 ingredients. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until vegtables are tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in spaghetti; heat through. Serve

Lasagna

This lasagna is AMAZING! It really is delish. . . best Treag and I have ever had we both agree. I was impressed how much Treagan enjoyed it, he never really likes the pasta dishes I make. He will eat them but he never says that was really good! ha so this is a keeper in my book! Only thing is, well I have never made lasagna before this one but it takes about 3 hours to make. . . do they all take that long? ha Well worth the wait though.  Also there are 3 parts to this recipe so keep scrolling down and it will make more sense I did it in sections not sure if it was the best idea but it will work! I also just cut the recipe in 1/2 for Treagan and myself since there is no way we could finish a huge dish of lasagna ourselves!  

12 no-boil lasagna noodles

8 oz. shredded mozzarella, divided

4 oz. shredded fresh Parmesan

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 16-oz. tub Ricotta

Mix all of these together in a bowl and put aside until the end. (not the noodles though of course)

*I started out with this sauce because it takes about an hour and 20 minutes to complete 

Pasta Sauce 

1/2 lb. ground beef or Italian sausage(I used the Italian Sausage yummy!)

2 15-oz. cans Italian-style diced tomatoes

1 15-oz. can tomato sauce

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed

1 onion, chopped

1 zucchini, chopped or grated

2 carrots, peeled and chopped into small pieces

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 tsp. sugar

About 1/4 tsp. baking soda (this neutralizes the acid)

Salt and pepper to taste

(If you are not sure about adding the veggies to a sauce like I was do it! you honestly cant even taste them it just gives it a sweet taste,Treag didn't notice their was veggies until he finished)

In a large saucepan or skillet with a lid, brown ground beef (or sausage), onions, and garlic until meat is cooked and onions are tender. 

Add the remaining ingredients to the cooked meat, stir, and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally. After an hour, remove from heat.

*You should start making the Béchamel Sauce when the pasta sauce has about 20 to 30 minutes left of simmering. Then they should finish at about the same time so you can just combine them together! 

Béchamel Sauce

1/4 c. (1/2 stick) real butter, NO SUBSTITUTES

1/4. c. white flour
2 1/2 c. milk

To prepare Béchamel sauce, melt butter over medium-low heat in a medium saucepan. When melted, whisk in flour until combined. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. (CONSTANTLY is the key word here! I stopped for just a second and it started to clump up within seconds!) Heat until bubbly and thickened to a medium consistency. when it starts to bubble dip a spoon in and wipe you finger on it.  if it leaves a clear trail its ready! (it takes about 30 minutes of whisking) 

When you are finished with the Béchamel Sauce add the Pasta Sauce to it and mix it all together!

Using a ladle that measures 1/2 c. (or a 1/2 c. measuring cup), spread 1 c. of sauce onto the bottom of a 9×13 pan. Add 3 noodles. Spread a layer of the cheese mixture. Spread 1 1/2 c. sauce and repeat so you have 4 layers of noodles. You should end with a layer of sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella (and some extra Parmesan if you have some left over).

Treags late night happy face! I love this boy! 

Enjoy! 

Pizza Factory Breadsticks

Ingredients
1 1/2 c. warm (105-115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 1/2 c. flour

In a large bowl (the bowl of your mixer, if you have one), combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly. Add salt and stir.

Add 1 1/2 c. flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups, depending on your elevation and your humidity) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.Spray a glass or metal bowl with cooking spray and place dough in the bowl.

Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
Remove from bowl and place on a lightly-floured surface. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Roll into a rectangle and cut into 12 strips with a pizza cutter.

Roll out each piece of dough into a snake and then drape over your forefinger and twist the dough. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining 11 pieces of dough. Try to space them evenly, but it's okay if they're close.

Cover pan and allow dough to rise for another 30 minutes.

When there's about 15 minutes to go, preheat your oven to 425. When done rising, bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Rub some butter on top of the breadsticks (just put a ziploc bag on your hand, grab some softened butter, and have at it) and sprinkle with powdery Parmesan cheese in a can and garlic salt.