Breakfast Casserole

One of the recipes I made for Rylie's birthday dinner (breakfast for dinner, at home, remember?) was Breakfast Casserole.

I love this recipe because it's...(guess!?!?) VERSATILE! And easy. And yummy.

Just about everyone you meet has a version of this recipe - some use hash browns on the bottom, some use crescent rolls, some add veggies, some serve with salsa...you really can't mess this recipe up folks!

My favorite version of this recipe is the one my mom taught me...I LOVE it...I don't remember how often she made it for me growing up, but enough to make it taste like a memory every time I eat it!

Like I said, this recipe is very easy to mix up and experiment with - I've made it with bacon instead of sausage, bacon in addition to sausage (duh!), with hashbrowns as the base, crescent rolls, even corn tortillas (for my sweet husband, who just isn't a huge bread fan). The tried and true version, and my personal favorite is listed below.

Tell me...do you have a favorite version of this recipe? What does your family like?

8 slices of bread (I use wheat)
1 package (12 oz) reduced-fat pork sausage
1 dozen eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 bag shredded cheddar cheese (7-8 oz)
salt/pepper to taste

1. Arrange bread slices in a 9x13 pan coated with cooking spray (you may have to break up a couple of slices in half to make them fit).
2. Cook sausage over medium-high heat, crumbling the sausage as you go.
3. When sausage is completely browned, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain fat.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt and pepper; mix well to combine.
5. Spread sausage over bread evenly.
6. Sprinkle all of the cheese over the sausage evenly.
7. Pour egg mixture over the cheese, making sure to cover the entire pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired.
8. Cover casserole with foil and place in the fridge overnight (or for at least 3-4 hours) to allow bread to soak up the eggs.
9. In the morning (or after the 3-4 hours) take casserole out and leave on counter for about 20 minutes (this is just so that you don't put a cold pan into a hot oven. Preheat over to 350.
10. Bake casserole for 45-60 minutes, or until eggs are completely cooked and the edges are golden brown.

Pizza Quesadillas

In my quest to constantly find food that will satisfy not only my ladybug, but also the rest of my family, I try to search for recipes that are really versatile - I am NOT big on cooking multiple meals for my family - no one gets catered to like that in our house!

But, if I can come up with or find a recipe that is versatile enough so that the end result is that everyone has a version of the same thing, everyone wins!

One of my favorite foods is pizza - I keep trying to make everyone else in the house love it as much as I do, but I fear I may have actually done the opposite. Every once in a while they want it, but most of the time they just tolerate it...

Quesadillas are a go to in my house - they are easy, don't really require much effort or prep, can be ready in no time, are inexpensive, and (my favorite word) versatile!

I've seen the idea around for awhile to make pizza quesadillas, and truth be told, I've made them before...but never made them sound as good as "pizza quesadillas". When I've made them, it's always been more like "well, I have some tortillas and cheese so we can have quesadillas...but we need protein...well, I have some pepperoni too, so....that'll do".

These are about as easy as anything - and like I said, each person can have whatever they want - like a personal pizza!

We made just pepperoni and cheese quesadillas, but you could add any pizza toppings your family likes. Bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, olives, sausage...the list goes on and on! It would even be fun to make a "fancy" version - like barbecue chicken, canadian bacon and pineapple, margherita, even breakfast pizza quesadillas!

What variation would your family like??

Ingredients for 4 servings:

8 flour tortillas

1 bag shredded cheese (we used colby jack)

about 20 pieces of pepperoni

any additional pizza toppings you like

1 cup pizza sauce

1. Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray; turn on to medium heat.

2. I like to sprinkle the pan with a little salt and pepper and then lay the first tortilla down - you could use butter on the outside of the tortilla instead, but I like to cut just a little fat this way...

3. Sprinkle about a quarter cup of cheese onto the tortilla.

4. Place about 5 slices of pepperoni on top of the cheese (add any extra ingredients at this point too).

5. Sprinkle 1-2 Tbsp. of cheese on top (this allows the whole thing to melt and stick together).

6. Place second tortilla on top of cheese, spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle salt and pepper. 

7. After about 3 minutes, flip quesadilla over and allow bottom side to cook for 2-3 minutes, until lightly golden.

8. Remove quesadilla from pan and allow to cool.

9. While cooling, pour pizza sauce into a microwave safe bowl and heat about 30 seconds or so until warm. Or, place sauce in a small saucepan over low heat while quesadillas are cooking until heated through.

10. Slice quesadillas into quarters, dip in pizza sauce and enjoy! :)

NOTES - you could cut down the nutritional stats in this by using whole wheat or corn tortillas instead of flour, turkey pepperoni and reduced-fat cheese. Also, keep in mind that the more you bulk up the veggies you put in this, the less cheese you need - you can easily cut back and just add enough to make it all stick together.      *disclaimer - based on these notes, I'm adding the label "healthy" to this post. ;-)

Peanut Butter S'mores Mix

One of my kids new favorite treats is S'mores Mix - I found the idea HERE. Genius! SOOOO glad I found this recipe - and it literally could not be easier - in their lunch boxes, I just sprinkle some cereal in each container, then marshmallows, then chocolate and peanut butter chips! Voila!

In my family, everything tastes better with peanut butter, so while the original recipe is awesome as is, I threw some peanut butter chips in there too.

This is a new go-to for my kids. They've asked for it every week! And that's saying something folks!

1 batch of this really goes a LONG way - the list of ingredients is probably about $8 total, and it lasts for a good two weeks for my kids. VERY frugal!

What are your kids favorite lunch treats?

1 box cinnamon toast crunch cereal

1 bag mini marshmallows

1 bag chocolate chips

1 bag peanut butter chips

1. Toss all ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix with a large spoon.

2. There is no step 2 - THAT'S IT!!! :)

NOTES - I mixed all the ingredients together the first time I made this, but then I decided to just mix it up as I need it. I usually make a week's worth of lunch at one time, so I just make individual servings right in their lunch boxes for the week, and store the rest of the ingredients in the pantry.

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No-Carb Breakfast Lasagna

This has become a staple in my house - Mike eats it just about every week. It's incredibly easy, and can be made in a large pan (like a lasagna) or in small batches (individual or mini lasagnas!). Like many of the recipes I use, it's very versatile, but the recipe I show here is pretty basic - Mike doesn't like veggies much, so this is a typical "man" meal for him - meat, cheese and eggs!

Mike's also not a huge fan of cream cheese (as in, he won't eat it unless it's in a cheesecake or something sweet, and even then, only in small doses). He was leery of trying this because the pancakes have cream cheese in them...but I'm glad (and so he is he!) that he gave it a try. The cream cheese gives the pancakes the necessary texture, but you really can't taste it at all.

I found this recipe on ibreatheimhungry.com (by the way, I highly recommend this site if you are eating low-carb; she's got some great recipes and they're very easy to follow!). I adapted the recipe very slightly, and have also listed some ideas at the bottom for how to "gussy up" this recipe. Enjoy!

For Cream Cheese Pancakes (these will serve as your lasagna "noodles"):
8 eggs
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
garlic salt/pepper (to taste)

For filling layer:
8 eggs
1/2 package reduced-fat pork sausage
8 slices low-fat american cheese (or any kind of cheese you like)


1. First, make your pancakes by mixing all pancake ingredients in a blender until smooth and lumps are gone (should be pretty runny, thinner than pancake batter).
2. Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat and once water sizzles on the top, pour a small amount of batter onto skillet.
3. Allow small bubbles to form on the top (about 2 minutes), then gently flip and cook until browned on the bottom (an addition 2 minutes).
4. Once all pancakes are cooked, move to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
5. Crumble sausage in same pan and cook until browned and no longer pink in the middle.
6. In a separate bowl, mix eggs until scrambled, then pour into pan with sausage and cook until eggs are no longer runny.
7. To assemble, place pancakes in the bottom of a greased 9x13 casserole dish, or place one in the bottom of eight travel containers (I use Glad or Ziploc reusable bowls).
8. Spoon sausage/egg mixture over bottom pancake layer, then place one slice of cheese over the top.
9. Place another pancake over the top of the cheese and cover with foil (or close lid on reusable container) to allow the cheese to melt completely.

NOTES:
-- You can make the pancakes in any number of shapes, but I found it works best when you are making a 9x13 to make long oval shapes (picture a rounded lasagna noodle). When making individual servings (which I usually do for my husband to take to work) I find it works best to make several mini rounded pancakes (like a small pancake!).
-- You can add in salsa  or sour cream when making the filling mixture for some extra flavors and creaminess.
-- You can add in any number of veggies that your household likes - bell pepper, onions, mushrooms, olives, broccoli...the sky is the limit!
-- You can use any kind of cheese you like, but to keep this on the healthy side, opt for low-fat cheese (would be great with pepper-jack, gouda, cheddar, anything!). I usually use american or cheddar in the middle, then sprinkle some cheddar on top too!

Fiesta Salad!!!

Tonight's dinner was Fiesta Salad - one of our favorites. It's SUPER easy, completely versatile, and everyone likes it (well, except for Zoe, who decided to choose tonight's dinner as her stage for a knock-down drag-out fit. Poor girl went to bed right after not eating her dinner...).

I will be upfront about the picture on this one - not a great photo. First, I'm not a photographer by trade...second, I'm not a food styler by trade (is that what they're even called??). What I do consider myself an "expert" in, however, is the ability to make sure my family doesn't starve! ;-)

So, look past the picture and just imagine the recipe - it really is fantastic! And you can whip it up in about 10 minutes (not kidding!!). It's quite inexpensive, and goes a long way - especially if you add in some/any of the suggestions listed below the picture.


So like I said, this is such an easy and versatile recipe, we make it often. Here's the recipe, with some suggestions below. Hope you enjoy! If you try it out, be sure to leave me a comment and let me know!

FIESTA SALAD (this recipe feeds my family of five with no leftovers, so if you're cooking for more, or have some big eaters, you might want to make more!)

1 bag fritos (you will have leftovers)
1 cup uncooked rice (we use brown)
1 cup water (for rice)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground beef
salt/pepper
1 can black beans
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Bring water to a boil in a small pot on stove; add rice. Reduce heat to low (I actually just turn mine off) and cover; simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. While rice is simmering, pour black beans into another small pot and turn heat to medium-low; stir occasionally until heated through.
3. Spray non-stick skillet with cooking spray (or add a little olive oil) and turn heat to medium; add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add ground beef and cook (crumbling while you cook) until no longer pink.
5. Assemble salad - layer in any order you like - I prepare in this order: fritos, rice, beef, beans, cheddar cheese.

Suggestions (to make this recipe yummier and/or healthier):
- use ground turkey, or a combo of beef/turkey
- add veggies like bell peppers and onions
- add cilantro
- add taco seasoning to beef while cooking
- serve over a bed of lettuce instead of, or in addition to, the fritos
- remove meat altogether for a vegetarian version!
- remove rice/fritos for a carb-free version!

Chocolate-Glazed-Donut Cupcakes

Who doesn't love donuts?
Who doesn't love cupcakes?
Who doesn't love chocolate???

Ok...so who wouldn't love these three things combined into one treat???

These are fun to make, easy, and can be adapted for any occasion - holidays, birthdays, anything!

You can start with any chocolate cupcakes you'd like - homemade (recipe to be posted soon!) or a boxed mix would work fine...

24 Cupcakes
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tsp. water
sprinkles

1. After cupcakes have cooled, mix sugar and water in a small bowl with a whisk or fork until completely mixed (no lumps!).
2. Use a spoon to drizzle glaze over the top of your cupcakes.
3. Immediately sprinkle sprinkles ( he he he) over glaze.
4. Allow to dry and enjoy!

School Lunches!

School lunches...I remember those...and (I am slightly ashamed to admit) I still love some of the stuff they make for kids lunches...all those little snack cakes, fruit roll-ups (except THESE fruit roll-ups are MUCH better!), you name it!

For some reason, I've been really hung up on making sure my kids have a good lunch. Good like taste good, AND good like good for them.

I found a bunch of posts on Pinterest where people put together a whole week's worth of lunches as a time, and was intrigued. There are some heavy-duty tupperware type containers on the market, but (although it took me a few weeks to find them in stock at Target) I found that Ziploc makes a lunch container that works perfectly fine. They may not hold up all year, but they will certainly last long enough for me to get my money's worth, at which point I'll buy more.

The problem I saw on many of the pictures I saw was either A) they packed foods that my kids won't touch, or B) they packed weird amounts of foods, and a lot of different variety (too much in my opinion). Like, ONE strawberry and THREE fruit snacks, or HALF of an apple and HALF of a banana.

What I like about these containers that I found is that there are three compartments - one large one (that will fit either a sandwich or some other "main" dish) and two small ones. Perfect - so I went about planning stuff to put in them. One of their favorite "main" dishes is homemade lunchables - although my kids (the girls especially) LOVE the store bought lunchables, I have a HUGE aversion to them - neither the meat or the cheese seem even real...how can kids eat that stuff? So, we buy our own ingredients to make lunchables, and they get much better quality! We use paper or foil muffin/cupcake liners to hold each item - you could invest in and reuse silicon, but I prefer the luxury of being able to throw the dirty papers away, and they are very inexpensive - especially if you buy holiday ones right after the holiday - the kids' won't care!

In addition to the lunchables, my kids get two sides (I try to make those a fruit and a vegetable, like grapes and tomatoes, or berries and carrots) and a capri sun (that just sits in their lunch bag with the tupperware). If the sides are kind of small, they also get a bag of chips as well, and maybe a gogurt.

These lunches are great for on-the-go activities - I made these ahead of time when I used to take Rylie to soccer practice for her and Zoe - they would both eat in the car and the great thing is that the mess can be contained - just dump any messes into the tupperware and clean out when you get home!

So far, making lunches a week at a time has worked out beautifully and I plan to keep it up for the whole year!

Homemade Lunchables
paper muffin/cupcake liners
Ritz crackers
1 block of deli cheese (my kids like cheddar)
1 package of pre-sliced lunch meat (my kids LOVE salami)

1. Place three cupcake liners in a tupperware container.
2. Place 5-6 crackers (or however many you want!) in one of the liners.
3. Cut cheese into small cubes (I cut mine thin, about the size in a storebought lunchables).
4. Place the same amount of sliced cheese into another liner.
5. Take the same amount of sliced lunch meat, fold into small pieces and place in last liner (I used to cut the salami into small slices so that they would "match" the other sizes, then realized that was a waste of time!)

Picture above is not with the ziploc lunch containers I love, those are in the picture below!

Picture below has more lunch ideas - lunchable "skewers", heart shaped cucumber slices, sandwiches, mac-n-cheese, leftover pizza

Homemade Fruit Strips

I tend to have these grandiose plans to eat fruit by the barrel-full, especially during the summer months. I'll buy a huge container of _______ (fill in the blank with just about any fruit). I always think my kids will eat it too, but somehow, we never go through what I buy fast enough...so, I started freezing it to use in smoothies, which is a GREAT idea (saved me so much money!).

I am always on the prowl for ways to incorporate fruits and veggies into the meals I feed my crew - none of them (even my husband!) love vegetables, so I tend to focus more on fruit. I love that it's as natural as natural can get. We eat our fair share of processed foods in my house (gasp!!) so I like to give them fresh food as much as I can... I have comes across a lot of recipes for making your own fruit roll-ups on Pinterest, and I thought that sounded like a GREAT idea - I loved those things when I was a kid! My first attempt was in June of this year.

It failed. Big time. Like, "I'm-lucky-my-house-didn't-burn-down" failed.

To make home made fruit rolls, it's pretty easy (or so I thought) - throw a bunch of fruit in a blender, add in sugar (if you want) and the dry it out in the oven (which, translated means "cook it in the oven on SUPER low heat, about 170").

I knew it would take more hours than I had available, but I started it anyway. I left it go for a good 3-4 hours, but you need double that for it to dry out all the way in the middle.

So, I read on a blog somewhere (I'm sorry I don't remember where!) that she turned hers off when she went to bed, then turned it back on when she got up in the morning. I work outside the home, so I only have a couple of hours or so from the time I get up to the time I walk out the door (and not one free minute during those couple of hours!).

I had this great idea to set the timer on my oven to turn on at about 2am so that it could do its magic for the last 2-3 hours it needed, and then I'd shove the pan in the fridge take care of it before I left for the day. So, I read the instruction manual for my oven to determine how to set the timer (my husband would be so proud!!!) and went happily to bed.

I got up the next morning and immediately smelled fruit - I was so excited that it woke me right up (not common, my friends).

I went into the kitchen to pull out my perfect pan of dried fruit, only to discover that they weren't perfect. At all. It looked like a pan of dried seaweed. Completely and utterly bone dry - not recognizable in the least. FAIL.

Turns out, my oven turned it self on to 350 at 2am, and cooked at that temp for 3 hours!

My typical response is to quit and never try again when I fail, but I was determined.

Round #2 - I had some apricots that I needed to use up before we went out of town for a week this  summer - I pitted them, threw them in a blender, added lots of sugar (followed a recipe I found) and poured them into the pan. We went to bed late that night, so I let them go all night. Next morning - they were lookin' good! Not done, but on their way. Since we were going out of town, I left them on the counter, turned off the oven, threw a towel over the top, and hoped they'd dry out by the time we got home a week later (also hoped ants wouldn't come out of the woodwork to feast).

A week later, when we returned home - success! They were perfect. :)

I've tried again a couple times since then, and this is a new go to when I have fruit I need to use up - not labor intensive, and very healthy!

Hope you enjoy!

Homemade Fruit Strips

2 cups fresh fruit
(you can add sugar or honey if you want; I didn't and like the tartness of it without the added sugar)

1. Pour fruit in a blender and puree until smooth and liquidy.
2. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap over a cookie sheet.
3. Pour mixture over plastic wrap and use a spatula to smooth evenly.
4. Place in the oven and turn on to the lowest heat possible (mine goes down to 170).
5. Let it go for 4-6 hours (you can crack your oven door if needed, or if you just like the smell like I do!)

Once the pan is completely dried, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once completely cooled, peel off of plastic wrap and transfer to a sheet of wax paper. Using a pizza cutter, cut into slices, roll and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Homemade Fruit Strips - strawberry blueberry