Hash Brown Egg Breakfast Casserole

I found several recipes for Breakfast Casserole and combined them to make this one. This is the best breakfast casserole I’ve ever had! I made it again this weekend for my baby’s blessing and everyone loved it. Hooray for success at feeding 40 people! (I’ve also made it with sausage – try some variety!)

Hash Brown Egg Breakfast Casserole
By Keri Stewart

1 2-lb. bag frozen shredded hash browns
3 T. melted butter
8 eggs, beaten
1 lb. ham or bacon, cooked & crumbled
1½ c. milk
2 c. Swiss cheese
2 c. Cheddar cheese
¾ tsp. dry mustard
¾ tsp. salt (to taste)
¼ tsp. pepper (to taste)
1 bunch green onions, diced
red & green pepper, diced

Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Put hash browns in dish and drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes. (I like my hash browns a little crispier, so after I bake them, I fry them for 5-10 minutes longer.) Mix remaining ingredients and pour over hash browns. Bake at 375° for 35 to 40 minutes (until it starts to brown on top). *This can be made the night before and refrigerated to make things easier.

Refreshing alternative to ice cream

You guys who know me know that I love ice cream. Seriously, I think I have an addiction to ice cream. BUT ... Cory won't let me eat it everyday since it's supposedly fattening :) So here's a refreshing alternative to eating ice cream every day - one that is very tasty, lactose-free, and much less fattening.

You need:
Your favorite kind of sherbet (I use raspberry or pineapple)
Frozen raspberries
Bananas, cut into bite-size pieces

Let sherbet sit out long enough so that you can empty into into a big mixing bowl - but don't let it melt - just enough that you can stir in the raspberries and bananas. Put in as many as you want (I put in a lot!) When everything is mixed in, put back into the container that the sherbet came in and freeze. Very tasty and much less fat! I'm sure you could experiment and add different kinds of fruit to different kinds of sherbet ... I'm just very partial to raspberries. Enjoy a refreshing treat in the hot summer weather.

Easy Chicken Casserole

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law in New York and it is absolutely delicious and easy to make.

Ingredients:
2 cans cream of chicken soup
16 oz sour cream
4-5 cooked chicken cubes or a quart of canned chicken
2 stacks ritz crackers
1 stick melted butter

Mix cream of chicken soup and sour cream together. Spread a thin layer of this into 9x13 pan. Spread cooked chicken over this. Pour the rest of chicken soup mix over the chicken. Crush ritz crackers and mix with butter. Spread this mixture on top. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Take foil off and cook for additional 5 minutes. This is great over rice.

Easy French Onion Soup

3 lbs. onions

2 cups apple juice

10 cups beef stock

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons thyme

salt & pepper to taste

toasted baguette

mozzarella cheese

Saute the onions. Salt and pepper to taste. Add beef stock, apple juice and seasonings. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with baguette and cheese. Serves 6-8 people.

This is new recipe that I just found last month. I love it because it tastes delicious, looks impressive, and is ridiculously easy.

Cheese & Chocolate Fondue

This is a really good fondue recipe, which I use as a meal but it may be better as an appetizer for some people. It's really easy, and it only takes about 15 minutes to make. You will need:

1/2 c butter
1/2 c flour
1 t salt
2-3 c milk (warmed)
2-3 c shredded cheese

Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add flour and salt; whisk until it thickens (this takes about 5 seconds). Add 2 cups milk (I put it in the microwave for about a minute beforehand to speed up the process); whisk until it starts to thicken. Sometimes it thickens too quickly so I add another cup of milk. When it is about the desired consistency, add the cheese and stir until it is melted. I then do a taste test with a little bit of bread to see if it is cheesy enough. If not, I keep adding cheese until it is the flavor that I want. I serve it with french bread, and if you're really ambitious you can make meatballs to go along with it as well.

If you're a chocolate lover (as I am), you can make a chocolate fondue as well. The ingredients for this are:

1 pkg marshmallows
1 c half and half
1 pkg cream cheese
1 pkg milk chocolate chips

Melt the marshmallows with the half and half; make sure they melt completely, or the fondue will be lumpy. Soften the cream cheese and add to marshmallows; let melt. Add the chocolate chips; let melt. Serve with fruit and enjoy!

Taco Soup

It seems like most people I know have some version of this soup, but just in case you don't, I have to share it. It is so easy and goes from start to finish in about 15 minutes.

Brown 1/2 pound ground beef in bottom of a big soup pot. Add the following cans (dump the whole can, including any accompanying liquid): 1 can corn, 1 can red kidney beans, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce. Then add 1/2 package of taco seasoning. Heat until warm.

You can garnish it with cheddar cheese and sour cream and can add whatever other toppings you like to it. Serve with tortilla chips which can be crushed and put on top of the bowl of soup, or you can use them to dip into the soup and eat.

We also recently tried this using some grilled and cut up chicken and it was very good as well. Enjoy!

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

I just made these today I have already eaten about 4! They are really yummy, but they do take time, but they are sooo worth it!

Combine the following:
½ C very warm water
1 ½ -2 T. yeast
2 T. sugar
Set aside and in a large bowl mix:
3 ½ oz package vanilla pudding (according to the directions on the box) and to that add:
2 eggs
1 t. salt
½ C. butter, melted
6 C. flour
As you add the flour, add the yeast mixture to it.
Knead until smooth.
Cover with a towel and let rise until double, punch down and let rise again. Then roll out dough to 34X21 size (I like to separate the dough into 2 balls and roll it out twice, I don’t have a ton of counter space and it works better for me.)
Take 1C. softened butter and spread over surface. In a small bowl mix 2 C. brown sugar and 4tsp cinnamon. Sprinkle over top. Roll up tightly and cut 2 inch sections. Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Push down slightly with hand . Cover and let double again. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Ice when still warm with icing.

Cream cheese icing:
8 oz. softened cream cheese
½ C. butter
1 tsp. vanilla
3 C. powdered sugar
1 T. milk
Mix all ingredients.