"Brinner" - Breakfast for Dinner!

So we really like having "breakfast for dinner"...

Usually, we make breakfast sandwiches and have have hash browns and fruit on the side. Easy and quick - cook up some turkey bacon or Canadian bacon, scramble some eggs, and toast up some English muffins. A friend of mine makes breakfast sandwiches in a large batch, and freezes them individually so you can grab one and heat it in the morning.

Sometimes, I'll make a breakfast casserole, like this one - it's quite tasty. You CAN freeze it - either before baking it, or after, but it's not QUITE the same.

Egg Dish

1 large pkg. shredded hash brown potatoes

8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened (low fat is fine)

12 eggs

½ lb. ham, coarsely chopped (deli ham works fine)

Approx. 8 scallions, thinly sliced

½ - ¾ c. tomato, seeded & diced (I've always used Romas)

Salt & pepper to taste

Grease or spray a 13” x 9” baking dish. Layer hash browns on the bottom, and sprinkle about 6 oz. of cheese on top. Bake for 15 minutes at 450. Beat cream cheese until soft, and add eggs and 1 tsp. pepper.

Sauté ham and 5 sliced scallions. Add ham & onion mixture to egg mixture. Season with salt & pepper. Pour egg mixture over baked hash brown layer, then top with tomatoes.

Bake an additional 12-20 minutes until firm. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and sliced scallions. I’ve done it in advance, baking the hash brown layer, and then covering and refrigerating. I mix up the remaining ingredients, but keep it separate in the fridge, so the potatoes don’t get soggy. Saves a little time if you’re in a hurry in the morning! BTW - this is gluten free!

Makes 10-12 servings.

Layered Mexican Trifle Salad

So this is awesome. It's a lot of work, but it is awesome. Feeds a crowd, looks cool, tastes great. What more can you ask for? I first had this at a party, and then tracked down the recipe - I believe it was originally from Pampered Chef. You can mix it up, but I really like this combo. It's easy to double or whatever is needed, based on the serving dish. The one pictured was MASSIVE, and was basically a triple batch - so much work, and at the last minute! Layered Mexican Trifle Salad I ngredients: Beans: drain, rinse and mix together 1 15 oz. can pinto beans and 1 15 oz. can black beans 1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained (I've also used fresh) 1 large tomato, diced (I usually use several Roma tomatoes) 2 green bell peppers, diced 3 ripe avocadoes, diced and mashed with the juice of 1 lime and salt and pepper to taste 1 large onion, diced (red or white) 2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded 2 cups cheddar or jack cheese, shredded

Skillet Chicken, Broccoli, Ziti & Asiago Cheese

We ALL really love this recipe. This is based on a recipe from the good people at Cooks Illustrated - I am grateful to them for getting my kids to happily eat sundried tomatoes and broccoli! I've also made this in a huge batch and served it family-style for a dinner party (and got to use my giant Pampered Chef Simple Additions square pasta bowl (it's really big), and it was AWESOME). If people could have licked the bowl clean, they might have - there was NOTHING left. Try this, and love it: Chicken, Broccoli, Penne and Asiago Cheese Skillet 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch squares 2 tbsp. vegetable oil (or olive oil - just don't heat that to smoking) 1 medium onion, minced (about 1 cup) 3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tbsp.) 1/4 tsp. dried oregano 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes 8 oz. ziti or penne (2 /12 cups) 3 c. water 2 c. low-sodium chicken broth 3-4 c. broccoli florets 1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes in oil, rinsed and choppe

Another Take on Comfort Food

Sometimes there's nothing you can do but cook. I've had the displeasure of seeing 2 young moms in our school community recieve cancer diagnoses in the last 18 months. If you're like me, when someone you know is hurting, you want to help, but lots of times, there's not much you can do. If you can cook, you can take away some of the stress of getting the family fed and bring a meal or two. In fact, even if you can't cook, you can pick up a meal at a restaurant or a bag of groceries, or even a gift card for a local restaurant. I think it comes naturally to some - the church and school communities I grew up in always loved with food - church potlucks, school spaghetti dinners, and of course lots of meals for people who needed them. But not everyone has done this before, so it might be overwhelming. As in my "feeding a crowd" blurb, there are a few things to keep in mind. Don't try to impress - don't try new recipes. Find out if you're

A Cooking Baker

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