Tag: recipe

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Prep-ahead Weekend Baked Eggs

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Weekends seem like the perfect time for a big breakfast, but making scrambled eggs and bacon for a large family can be time-consuming. This baked egg casserole makes a hearty breakfast a cinch! This recipe is a favorite because it can be prepped ahead, then assembled and baked the next morning, making weekend breakfast quick and virtually mess-free.

This casserole recipe is very flexible. The measurements work well with as little as 10 eggs or as many as 18, but the cook times may vary a bit. If you don’t have breakfast meat you can leave it out without any adjustments and the eggs are still delicious.

Canadian bacon and freshly grated cheddar wait to be whisked into an egg casserole.

Use whatever cheese you have on hand or a mixture of multiple kinds. Freshly grated will always be my recommendation, but pre-grated bagged cheese will work as well. Any breakfast meat is delicious in this casserole; try bacon, sausage, or even sliced up, sauteed Canadian bacon.

Layer the cheese and breakfast meat into your casserole dish and set it aside while whisking up the eggs, milk, and seasonings. The flour will clump in pieces and that’s fine.

If you’re using crumbled bacon in the casserole you can wait until after pouring the eggs over the cheese and sprinkle it on the very top so it stays nice and crispy.

Give the egg mixture one last whisk then pour them over the cheese and breakfast meat. Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes at 350. If the eggs are sunken in the middle still keep cooking; the center will puff up like a souffle when it’s cooked through and then deflate once it’s out of the oven.

If you are prepping the eggs ahead, cover the cheese and meat in the casserole dish, and transfer the eggs to a covered bowl or zip-top bag, then refrigerate overnight. The next morning set the pan on the counter while your oven preheats. Give the eggs a little stir to combine again, then pour over the cheese and meat layers. Bake as directed.

These have been a family staple for two decades now. They have been taken to many pot-luck meals, shared with friends after a new baby, enjoyed many Christmas mornings, and even been know to be whipped up on a weekday!

Give them a try this weekend and let us know which breakfast meat is your favorite!

XOXO

Shan and Doe

Baked Eggs

Cheesy breakfast casserole that can be prepped ahead of time then assembled and baked the next day.
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Course Breakfast

Ingredients
  

  • 12 eggs
  • 1 3/4 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 heaping tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 4-6 cups colby-jack cheese, grated
  • 2 cups breakfast meat, cooked and crumbled optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350° and llightly butter a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
  • Spread all the grated cheese in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish.
  • If you are adding breakfast meat layer it on top of the cheese. (if using bacon I like to add it very last after the egg mixture so it stays crispy)
  • Set the casserole dish aside for later.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, crack the eggs and add the milk.
  • Using the whisk attachment on the mixer, whisk together until the egg yolks are mostly broken up.
  • Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until mostly incorporated. The flour will be lumpy, that's ok.
  • Give the eggs one last whisk and then pour it over the cheese and breakfast meat in the casserole pan.
  • Place casserole in the center of the oven uncovered and bake for 45-60 minutes. The eggs are done when they are a light golden brown and the center has completely puffed up above the sides. The center will deflate and flatten once it's removed from the stove.
  • Let the casserole stand for just a few minutes before slicing.
Keyword breakfast casserole, breakfast meat, cheese, eggs, prep-ahead
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Doe’s Versatile Bell Pepper and Corn Chowder

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My family eats soup almost year-round, but we eat A LOT of soup when it’s damp and grey outside. This creamy, cheesy, chowder is one of my favorites and I don’t even like bell peppers! The ingredient list looks a little long, but don’t let that deter you; most of the things you’ll probably find in your pantry and fridge already. Once everything is chopped, the soup comes together very quickly.

Another great thing about this soup is that’s it’s versatile. I think of it as a way to use up leftovers or the last bits and pieces of things hanging around in the fridge. Some extra crumbled bacon from last night’s baked potato makes a great topping for this soup. Substitute the cheeses for whatever you have in your fridge–the pepper jack is the only one I’m not willing to leave out!

The base recipe is delicious even without the addition of meat. Rotisserie chicken is an excellent, easy addition, as are those leftover spiral-sliced ham chunks you have stashed in the freezer.

It’s not an overly spicy soup, even with the jalapeno and pepper jack, so even your little ones can eat it. If you like it spicier sautee some red pepper flakes with the vegetables at the beginning.

I think soup always calls for some kind of bread or biscuit. We love these copy-cat Red Lobster Biscuits.

Let us know if you give this soup a try, we’d love your feedback!

XOXO

Doe

Doe’s Versatile Bell Pepper and Corn Chowder

A simple, creamy chowder that can be made as is, or add chicken or ham.
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Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 2 TBSP olilve oil
  • 1 small onion finely chopped
  • 2 stalks celery finely chopped
  • 3 bell peppers (yellow, red, orange) deseeded and chopped
  • 1 jalapeno deseeded and chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic pressed or minced
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 3 cups frozen sweet corn kernels
  • 4 oz cream cheese room temperature
  • 1 /4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 cups half and half
  • 1 heaping cup colby jack cheese (plus extra for topping) shredded
  • 1 heaping cup pepper jack cheese (plus extra for topping) shredded
  • 2 cups chicken breast cooked and shredded (OPTIONAL)
  • 2 cups ham cooked and diced (OPTIONAL)
  • crumbled bacon for topping

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot or dutch oven, melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Once the foaming has subsided, add onions, celery, peppers, jalapeno, and garlic and sautee until fragrant and tender.
  • Sprinkle the flour over the vegatables and stir to make a roux. Cook for 2-4 minutes to eliminate the raw flour taste. Be sure to stir it frequently so it does not burn.
  • Carefully add the chicken stock all at once. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the broth begins to thicken a bit (10 mins or so), stirring occasionally.
  • Add the cream cheese, salt, and pepper, and cook until the cream cheese melts into the broth. If you are adding cooked chicken or ham, add it as well and cook until heated through.
  • Turn heat off and stir in half and half and both cheeses.
  • Ladle into bowls and top with extra cheese and crumbled bacon.
Keyword bacon, chicken, chowder, corn, ham
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Shan’s Whatever You’ve Got Soup

As you may have gathered from my sister Doe, I am not a menu planner. Is this a problem for me? Yes, yes it is. But I am one of those people who has to be hungry for something in order to want to make it for dinner.

Has this been a problem for my family? Yes, yes it has. Many a night I am just a girl standing in front of the refrigerator asking it to tell me what to make for dinner. I may have a lot of ingredients, but no ideas. 

Every few years I’m inspired by Doe’s menu planning and give it a try. I start out weak, work up to mediocracy, and then fizzle out. It’s not my spiritual gift! That’s why I love this soup. I usually have the ingredients on hand (because I use whatever I have on hand) and this time of year it’s something I crave often!

I call it Whatever Ya Got Soup

The very best thing about this soup? You really do use whatever you have on hand. Do you have some leftover green beans and corn from yesterday’s dinner? Throw them in the pot. A random can of sliced carrots in the pantry? Throw them in the pot, too! A bag in the bottom of the freezer with only a few frozen peas? You got it, toss em in!

Maybe you don’t have any ground beef but you’ve got some kidney beans or some great northern beans–that’s fine–just substitute the beans for the beef.

Most any pasta will do for this soup, even broken up spaghetti pieces, but if you don’t have pasta, just throw in a diced raw potato or two.

You could put just about anything in and it makes a nice hearty meal, especially served alongside some yummy bread! One of my favorite bread recipes to make is from the cookbook “New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.” 

This is a great book with a lot of wonderful recipes and most are very simple. I use the Master Recipe and if I keep a batch of dough in the fridge I can whip up a couple of small loaves in about an hour and a half. It makes a lovely rustic round loaf.

Hopefully, if you’re a non-planner like me, I’ve given you a little hope and maybe some dinner inspiration. Let us know if you give this soup or bread a try!!

XOXO,

Shan

Shan’s Whatever Ya Got Soup

A simple soup that can be made using whatever meat and veggies are hanging around in the pantry and fridge.
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Course Main Course, Soup

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 5 cups liquid beef broth, water, or a mix of both
  • 1 package onion soup mix dry
  • 2-3 cups mixed vegetables frozen,canned, or both
  • 28 ounce can tomatoes diced, chopped, or stewed
  • 1-2 cups uncooked pasta any short pasta will work
  • grated parmesean for topping bowls

Instructions
 

  • In a large pot brown the ground beef, drain, and return to the cooking pot.
  • Add 5 cups of whatever combination of liquid you've chosen and the soup mix. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.
  • Allow the broth and cooked beef to simmer over medium heat for 30-40 minutes then add the canned tomatoes and vegetables. Cook unitl the vegetables are your desired tenderness.
  • Add the uncooked pasta (I usually use elbow noodles) and cook al dente.
  • Ladle into bowls and top with a little grated parmesan cheese.
Keyword easy, ground beef, simple, soup, tomatoes, vegetables