A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Jiffy Mix Cornbread Breakfast Egg Casserole

 

  Mmmmm....weeeknd breakfast casseroles.  They can range from the greasy to the sublime and I have to say this is one of my favorites.  Quick and easy to put together, I have have a few tricks to make it go even faster.

This little gem is an easy mix of breakfast sausage patties, hashbrowns, sweet bell pepper, onion, eggs...and cornbread! Yes, cornbread.  The best part about it is that you can pull the sausage and hashbrowns from the freezer and the cornbread doesn't have to be pre-baked so the whole thing can be prepped and in the oven in about 10 minutes.

It's a great combo of savory, sweet, eggy goodness perfect for a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning at home.  Makes 10-12 servings but our house, we love it so much, it's more like 4-6 servings!

Other great baked egg breakfasts:

Paula Deen's Artichoke Frittata: Sunday morning with the Nieces

Classic Quiche Lorraine for Breakfast

Scotch Eggs

Easy Peasy Pulled Pork in the Slow Cooker for a Crowd

 When it comes to cooking for a crowd, the slow cooker or Crock-pot is my best friend and favorite kitchen appliance.  Nothing is easier to cook in as long as you plan ahead of time and have everything ready to go that morning.  Even better, many dishes can be made a day or two ahead of time so that when I'm entertaining I can finish up cooking the day of the party without spending all day long and all of my energy just cooking.  I've spent too many years being exhausted before company even got to my house to even enjoy them but years ago I figured out I could still cook nice home-made meals without making myself tired, cranky, and crazy.

This recipe for slow cooker pulled pork is great for a crowd of 12-16, depending on how hearty the appetites are, and it goes together in a snap, can be made ahead, and leaves one less thing to have to think about before company shows up. 

Baked Mostaccioli w/ All Day Slow Cooker/Crockpot Meat Sauce

 

 There's nothing like pasta, the ultimate comfort food, to feed a small army of company at the holidays.  It's tasty, it's easy, and it can usually be made ahead, all pluses in my book so that I can serve a delicious meal to my friends and family but also be able to relax on the day of and during the party instead of running myself ragged, cooking. 

Traditionally at New Year's Eve, I make a big lasagna, but this year I went to the same song, different verse, choosing to created a Baked Mostaccili dish instead. 

Several of my guests plus friends on Facebook asked for the recipe, so this is it:  Glenna's Baked Mostaccioli for a Crowd.  Even though the recipe easily serves 8-10, it can easily be cut in half for a family dinner or can be made as a whole and split into two separate baking dishes, freezing one for later. 

   

Baked Ham & Provolone Roll-up

 Ham & Provolone roll up is one of my favorite weekend night meals.  Even though it takes a couple of hours to make, there's relatively little hands-on time so I can lay the dough out to defrost in the early afternoon, run errands, make the roll-up, and then do laundry or other household chores for the next hour while it raises again.  After that, it's only a matter of baking. By the time we eat, usually serving only a simple salad on the side, I barely feel like I've spent any time at all in the kitchen.  Magic!

It, and its pepperoni cousin, also make great party appetizers, almost always found on my family holiday menu list.

 

Gene's Country-style Boneless Pork Ribs with Steven Raichlan Rub

 One of the great side effects of my illness(es) this summer is that Gene has been cooking more. It's not that he didn't know how to before, it's just that I always sort of held dominion in that room of the house that contains the stove and fridge.  With being responsible for so much of our household lately he's really come into his own in the kitchen, and for that, I'm very proud and very grateful for his enthusiasm.  Thank you, Hubby Man!

One of his areas of expertise these days, like a lot of men, is the side of the pig.  While a lot of guys like to grill, it's more of a handicap than a worthwhile endeavor to go to all that work dragging it out of the shed, setting it up, then cleaning it, and re-storing it all, all for just two people and one of them didn't eat much this summer.  Gene's become the grill master of our oven and he does a wonderful job.

He's experimented with types of meat and cuts thereof, rubs and marinades, dry and wet cooking, and fast and slow cooking temperatures.  He's come down to some favorites:  rub over marinade, dry over wet, and slow over fast cooking.   He's still perfecting his own sauce to serve with it but for the time being, we're very content with Gene's incredible ribs with a little Country Bob's on the side.

And as a shout out--Happy Birthday to Gene this week--Love you, Honey! 

This or That Recipes: Fast Creamy Tuna, Chicken, or Bacon Pasta

One of the greatest kitchen skills my Mother taught me was the skill of substituting ingredients in recipes.  I did not realize until sometime in my 20's that not everyone knows how to do this. I know several wonderfully talented home cooks (and some professionals too) who cannot extrapolate beyond the printed recipe in front of them.  That's not a criticism, merely an observation.

The ability to look at a recipe and match up the ingredients in it with ingredients in the pantry that are similar but not the exact items is a learned skill. This recipe is a perfect example. The final dish is simple, with few but specific types of ingredients that are quickly prepared and easily modified into numerous recipes all containing  the elements of:  cream, starch, vegetable, and protein.

For this recdipe, I used rotini pasta, light cream cheese with grated Parmesan, frozen peas, and Hormel bacon pieces.  For stove top tuna casserole, I use elbow macaroni, light cream cheese with shredded cheddar/monterrey jack mix, a large can of tuna, and either peas or frozen broccoli that I've chopped up smaller to heat through faster. But as long as you have something creamy, a pasta or rice, and a colorful vegetable, you can make a fast, easy, and tasty meal..

Slow Cooker/Crock-pot Three Bean "Baked" Beans

 

 In honor of my Mom, Karen's, birthday this week I'm posting real baked beans from scratch the way she taught me when I was, being the oldest of five kids, her sargeant-in-arms in the kitchen. She died in 1988 when I was 23 years old.  I could spin a tale about my Mom and I being really close and best friends, but the truth was that we had a very volatile relationship. Even though I can't say I missed a great relationship, she was my Mom. I loved her and I know she loved me.  What I miss most is the potential for what could have been.  We had just started to become friends when she passed away so I like to think had we had more time together we would have become close with time, patience, and practice on both of our parts. I also like to think that despite the fact that I have now lived longer without my mom than I lived with her in my life that we've both found peace about our relationship and have forgiven each other for our faults.

Happy Birthday, Mom.  I love you.

Mark's Holiday Bacon Leg

One of my friends put this photo up on Facebook on 4th of July and I don't remember the rest of what he said about his family (sorry, Mark!) because I was too busy worshipping the divine bacon.  I confess I don't eat a lot of meat but I could also never be a vegetarian simply because of the divine-ness of bacon.  A few years ago, I said that to a friend and he said "Let me let you in on a little secret: even vegetarians eat bacon."  It was a joke, so no outraged letters from vegetarians, please, but I completely understood what he was saying.  There is something about bacon that no matter how bad it is for me...I really really want it.  Maybe that's the reason why.  Nah, it's really the salty, savory goodness that makes my heart go pitter-pat (or stop so I don't eat it often)..  I really do try to eat good-for-me stuff most of the time but, then again, we're talking about bacon and bacon breaks all the rules.

Then Mark posted another pic of what was inside the basketweave bacon leg and if I had not been sold before, I certainly was then.  Tater tots.  And cheese.  'nuff said.

Well, one more thing to say:  Recipe, please!   Mark obliged.  Gene looked at the pictures, made sure he gave me the recipe, and said "Thank you, Mark!" 

Pork Cutlets with Bourbon Butter Sauce

 After feeling under the weather for a few weeks, I knew I was feeling better last night when I spent two hours in the kitchen making some new, some practiced recipes for one of the best dinners I've made in a long time, if I do say so myself.  To top the breaded pork cutlets, I created a smoky, complimentary bourbon butter reduction sauce, and for sides:  a simple green salad, potato and onion tart, and my friend, Lisa's cheddar and feta cheese puffs.

Those couple of hours reminded me how therapeutic working in the kitchen can be, To me, the satisfaction of making a great meal is comparable to creating a work of art or writing a good story. It makes me feel like me again.

Lots of great recipes coming up this week. today, the pork cutlets, and later in the week: the potato tart, Lisa's cheese puffs, my friend Mark's bacon leg, and another great kid-friendly meal from Pinterest.

Taste of the Ozarks: Beans & Greens

Even I will admit that maybe that doesn't look all that delcious, but I swear on a stack of Bibles, it's delicious.  Beans & Greens has long been a down-home dish throughout most of the southern U.S. and we're no exception.  We love our "brown" (pinto for the uninitiated) beans and cornbread, which btw, form a complete protein. Couple that with kale, collards, or spinach, and you're really looking at a protein/vitamin powerhouse. To be completely honest, you see the green but you don't really taste it.  Until I told him, Gene thought I'd just gone really nuts with the parsley.

This is my version using country sausage with lots of sage, collard greens, and pinto beans.  It's an easy-peasy workday recipe where you throw everything from the pantry/freezer into the crock-pot and either go to work, or like me, go to sleep. Dinner is ready when you are.  Add crackers or cornbread or dinner rolls and you've got a happy Gene, I mean, whatever your spouse's name is.