Breakfast Casserole

I have wanted to make a breakfast casserole for a while and my office was having a birthday party breakfast so I thought it was the perfect time. This can be made is about a million different ways and all would be awesome. Basis: bread, meat, eggs, cheese. I made it as neutral as possible but if I was making it for myself I would have added a couple veggies like asparagus and onion.

4 store brought croissants (you can use biscuits, rolls or bread)
8 eggs
1/2 c milk
1/2 pound bacon, cooked and chopped (any breakfast meat would be good or none if you like that scene)
8 oz grated cheddar cheese (yes that is a lot of cheese=)
Salt and pepper

Butter the baking pan. Cut or pull the croissants into bit size pieces. Crack eggs in a bowl and salt and pepper as you like and whisk. Sprinkle chopped bacon over croissants. I also spread a little cheese over the croissants. Pour eggs over everything. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top. Cover with foil and back at 350 degrees for about 20 mins or until the eggs are set up and not running in the pan. I refrigerated and heated back up the next day in a toaster over for about 20 mins. There were no left overs at work.

GIANT Cupcake

No your eyes are not playing tricks on you that is a GIANT cupcake. I have seen the special giant cupcake pan a few times at different places. When my brother had a BBQ for his passing the CPA exam I knew ordinary cupcakes would not due and the giant cupcake pan would need to be added to my kitchen collection. The picture above was the test run and a comparison to a regular size cupcake liner. I used a cake mix and store bought frosting (so sue me) The pan in a top and a bottom and once baked you pop the top on to stump. I pulled out some cake from the bottom to fill with frosting to increase the cake to frosting ratio because I knew this would be my papa's main concern (the man loves his frosting). It was a huge hit with my brother and the kids at the party.

Scramble!

I LOVE breakfast. I love cooking it and most of the time I only cook something for breakfast on the weekend so that makes everything better! I learned this method of "throw in some stuff with eggs" from my papa (actually I learned a lot of my cooking skills from him). I made this for just Mike and I so if you are making it for more than 2 adjust the quantity.

1/2 pound breakfast sausage
5 eggs
Handful spinach (about half a bag)
Grated cheddar cheese (or any cheese you like, pepper jack would be really good)
Salt and pepper

Brown sausage in large skillet. Crack eggs in bowls with salt and pepper to you liking and whisk. Add eggs to browned sausage and cook until eggs are still slightly wet (eggs continue to cook after heat is off). Turn off heat and add spinach. Fold spinach in until wilted. Add grated cheese over the top and enjoy! Easy and OH so good!

The Perfect Blondie...just like me ;)

I have never had a blondie brown so I thought I would give them a try and I LOVE them.

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups butterscotch (you could also use peanut butter chips) optional
1/2 cup chopped pecans (you could also use walnuts) optional

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray or grease and flour.

Put the sugar in a large bowl. Melt the butter in a small skillet or in the microwave in a glass measuring cup. Stir the butter into the sugar until smooth, cool to room temperature.

In another medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

Beat the eggs into the sugar mixture. Add the flour mixture a bit at a time and mix until a smooth thick batter forms. Fold in the chips, as desired. The batter will be very THICK

Spoon the batter to the baking dish and spread to evenly. Bake until the blondies are light brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Mom's Macaroni Salad

My mom makes the best macaroni salad. I don't think she has a technical "recipe". She just makes it. It is really light compared to the usual macaroni salad that is drenched in mayo. I know what goes in it so I gave it a go and I think I got pretty close. The best part of this recipe is that you can add more or less of the things you like and don't like. This is my list of ingredients feel free to change to your liking.

4 hard boiled eggs diced small
1 medium red onion diced small
3 stalks celery diced small
big handful bread and butter pickles diced small (you can also use relish or sweet pickles)
1 to 2 tablespoons pickle juice (optional)
1 pound macaroni pasta cooked
1/2 to 3/4 cup mayo
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy. Simple and oh so good.