Breakfast Casseroles

When I was asked to bring a breakfast casserole to our Garden Club meeting, I had no idea what that was since I had never made one.   So I couldn't just make one blind; therefore, began researching the different possibilities.  In the end, after trying a couple of recipes, I developed one of my own which meet with great success when previewed with my family.  The garden club ladies gave it rave reviews as well.  Here is the recipe:

                                    Ham and Mushroom Breakfast Casserole

1/4 c. melted butter
4 c. sourdough bread cubed
3/4 lb. Black Forest ham  cubed
mushrooms sliced (about 6 large)
2 c. medium cheddar cheese grated
8 eggs
1 c low fat (2%) cottage cheese
2 c. low fat milk
1/4 t pepper

The night before, put melted butter in a 9 x 13 pan.  Then layer in this order: cubed bread, cubed ham, sliced mushrooms, and cheese.  Beat remaining ingredients together and pour over the layered ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate over night.  In the morning uncover and bake at 350 for 45 - 60 minutes or until top starts to brown and casserole begins to pull away from the sides of pan and middle is set.  Let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.

Note:  This also tastes good at room temperature, and the boys liked it reheated in homemade biscuits. Just pop into microwave for 30 seconds.  I am thinking that the ham and mushrooms could be changed out with an infinite number of things!!

Friday Night Catered Dinners

Since my Friday night catered dinners have become a continuing event, I'm thinking that I need to keep track of what I made as I don't want to duplicate too much if I can help it. So I will make a list of what I can remember so far.

Chicken Wings with orange marmalade glaze, cold slaw, potato salad, and chocolate chip cookies

Shrimp Louis

Grilled Sirloin with mixed veggie salad and black berry cobbler

Grilled Halibut with Herbs and Capers, salad, poached pears, lemon chess pie

Gosh that's as far back as I can remember, but I know I served a flan with something. Wonder what? And variations of chess pie too. Funny how one can remember desserts but not the main meal?

Last night I made Bar-B-Q pulled pork on french bread along with a spinach salad and lemon bars for dessert. The BBQ sauce was not homemade but I am thinking about making my own BBQ and tomato ketchup from now on. We will see.

The new sourdough starter did not turn out well, and I had to throw it away. I think it got too hot sitting on the stove top next to a vent from the oven. I did not realize that the oven put out so much heat to the back burners when things are baking. Thanks goodness I kept my tried and true starter which has not failed me yet.

Tokyo Subway Quilt

At last and ahead of schedule, the Tokyo Subway Quilt top is finished. When I laid it on the bed for a picture, it took Seymore less than 20 seconds to jump up on it and make himself comfortable. I must admit that I had to force myself to finish the last two blocks. Putting these babies together can be quite tedious, but now it is accomplished and the planning for the back begins.

Chili Relleños (1st Try)

The first attempt at chili relleños was not a huge success. I was going to use Anaheim chilies but there were none to be had. Pablanos were the next choice. They had to be charred and the skin removed before slitting and stuffing with sharp cheddar cheese. They split by themselves and had to be held together with toothpicks. The batter was simply flour, milk, egg, baking soda, and baking powder which was the consistency of a think pancake mix. Dipped the stuffed chilies in flour and then in the mix and fried in canola oil. They browned very quickly. The result was a crisp coating but the taste was very bland. Next time I will stuff with a more tasty cheese or sausage. If anyone has a killer relleño recipe, please advise!!

Toyko Subway Quilt

Okay, the next time I blithely agree to participating in a group quilting assembly, I will find out what is involved before saying yes! Here are the first 5 of 25 blocks. Each block consists of 64 2 inch squares! Yikes. Each square is different and as you may be able to see will look like a subway map with each line having its own color. I have given myself the improbable dead line of July 25th. That means producing 1 block every 2 days. Hope I can do it! I have to admit that I think it looks pretty cool.

First Flan

Seriously, what was I thinking when I told my dinner company to name their dessert? Flan was the order, and although I have never made it, I'm thinking: it is just custard, my mother made it and she never could make a pie, it has to be easy. Wrong. Then there are about a billion recipes for it out there, and it took me forever to decide which one. Those of you who have done this before know that the first step is making the caramel sugar that goes on the bottom of the pan but eventually ends up on the top. That proved to be a problem. Batch #1 burned, and batch #2 stuck to the pan and hardened before I could spread it. For batch #3 I went to a different recipe and it boiled for a half hour before I realized it was not going to caramelize so it got thrown out. Batch #4 was back to the original recipe but using more of the ingredients. That got into the bottom of the pan. The custard part wasn't so hard and the dessert is cooling in the refrige as we speak. I am hoping that my company arrives soon because I am eyeing the liquor cabinet and definitely ready for a restorative beverage!

First Wool Project

Who would have realized how much work goes into hand appliqued wool pieces. If I had known I may not have signed up for the Sue Spargo block of the month which I am going to start right away. Last night at midnight I finished embroidering the legs and beaks on the birds. Today I passed up the day lily show because I was so anxious to sew the backing on this baby and have the project finished. Yeah! Jessi thought I should bead it, but I'm thinking it will destroy its very folksy quality. Well, it was a good learning piece and now I am aware of the pitfalls to avoid on my next project.