Versatile Breakfast Casserole

Here's one for the guys! Or gals.  Or kids.  It's so easy.  I say it's for the guys because your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/husband will love you forever if you make this.  It is so easy and versatile depending on your taste preferences.  It ALSO lasts for a week or so and is such a quick fix for breakfast in the mornings when you're running late or just don't feel like making anything.

We make this recipe almost every time I go home (Iowa) and it's always different! It's also always yummy. The recipe started from my cousin's wife Isabel in California and keeps making its way East so I had to pass it on.

I decided to make the casserole two different ways to show how different it can be.  I'll post the base of the casserole and then what I decided to add as variations for ingredients.

Base Ingredients
Serves 8 (double or triple the recipe depending on needs/company in the house)

5 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking POWDER
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 lb shredded cheese of your choice

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Bake in a casserole dish at 350 for 30-45 minutes or until casserole is cooked through.

That is the basis and you can add meats and/or vegetables depending on what you want to do.  The first casserole I made had Italian flavors.  I added the following:

Shredded cheese was a 5 cheese Italian blend
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil
1 small Roma tomato, diced
1 shallot, sliced thinly
Parmesan cheese grated on top

The second casserole I made had Mexican flavors.  I preferred the second one overall but it depends on what you're in the mood for really.  For this second casserole, I added the following:

1 lb ground chorizo
1 can diced green chiles
1/2 small onion, diced
Shredded cheese was a Mexican blend with pepperjack cheese as well

I cooked both of these on Sundays and had them to eat throughout the week.  As noted earlier, you really can use whatever cheese you have around, put in whatever veggies and add whatever meat you would like.  It's very easy to make and will make you a hit in your house!

Good eatin',

Deedles

Gingery Chicken with Peaches

Hello there!!! It has been FAR too long and I apologize.  Such a busy spring with my new job, a looooooonnnggg and much needed trip home and most recently my cousin moving to Denver so I have had little to no time (or money for that matter) to try out new recipes.

I have had this one in mind for months now but the beginning of summer seems like the perfect time for the savory and sweet deliciousness!!! The dish combines many Asian flavors with soy sauce and ginger with the sweetness of brown sugar and peaches to make this yummy, yummy, yummy (and so EASY) meal for the whole family.

Thanks to the blog Iowa Girl Eats for this recipe.  

Gingery Chicken with Peaches
Ingredients:

1 bag (1lb) frozen peaches, unthawed

1 red onion, halved and sliced ¼” inch thick

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon fresh ginger micro planed or finely minced

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoon sesame oil

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
cooked brown or white rice

Marinade:

1lb chicken breasts
salt & pepper
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, micro planed or finely minced
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Season chicken breasts with salt & pepper. Combine ingredients for marinade in a large zip lock bag. Add chicken and marinate for at least 15 minutes, or up to 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place frozen peaches and onions in a large bowl then add ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, vegetable oil, sesame oil, and red-pepper flakes, and toss to coat. Pour into a non-stick sprayed 9×13 casserole dish. Nestle marinated chicken into the peaches and onions, and roast until chicken is cooked through, about 25-30 minutes. Serve over cooked rice.

Served this meal to my cousin James and his girlfriend Becky during their first week in Denver! Can't wait for many more meals to come. :)

Good eatin',

Deedles

Caramelized Onion & Garlic Pasta with Savory Romano Sticks

I love pasta.  I mean I LOVE pasta.  And I always have.  The famous story is that when I was in Kindergarten, my class put together a cookbook where we were asked what our favorite meals were and they were all put together in a cookbook for the class.  Out of all the things my mom makes homemade (I've mentioned many on here), I picked spaghetti.  Recipe as follows: 1 lb. hamburger, spaghetti, 1 bottle Prego.  Cook hamburger.  Mix and serve.  My mom was MORTIFIED.  But it's what I wanted so what was she going to do?

Don't worry, her spaghetti has come a long way since those days.  Spaghetti is still one of my favorite meals and, wait did I mention? I LOVE PASTA.  I came across a recipe in a Taste of Home magazine that looked like a nice and light pasta dish with great flavors mixed in.  The breadsticks are a nice addition as well.

Caramelized Onion & Garlic Pasta
I halved the recipe below and had enough for 2 servings with leftovers.


1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 large sweet onions, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 tsp salt
8 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 pkg (16 oz) angel hair pasta
9 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp coarsely ground papper
Fresh basil leaves, optional

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter.  Add the onions, pepper flakes and salt; saute until onions are tender.  Stir in garlic.  Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 30-40 minutes or until the onions are deep golden brown.

Add the grape tomatoes, vinegar and 2 tbsp olive oil to skillet.  Cook pasta according to directions.  Drain pasta and toss with onion mixture.

Drizzle with remaining olive oil.  Sprinkle with bacon, Parmesan cheese and pepper, and heat through.  Garnish with fresh basil if desired.

Savory Romano Sticks
Unfold 2 sheets of thawed puff pastry.  Brush with one beaten egg.  Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups grated Romano cheese and 1 tbsp dried basil.  Cut each sheet into 10 1 inch strips.  Place on greased baking sheets.  Bake at 400 for 10-13 minutes or until golden brown.

I halved the breadstick recipe as well.  My recommendations for the sticks are to season them with whatever you would normally season garlic bread with and they would be amazing.  They were a little bland for my taste.  Also, make sure that the bottoms are crisp before cooling or the breadsticks are flimsy. 

The best thing about this recipe?? The magazine indicated that the cost is about $2/serving!! Delicious and cheap and something unique to serve your family.

Good eatin',

Deedles

Stacked Enchilada Casserole

Looking for something easy and cheap? This is a great option then.  It has really good flavor but the ingredients aren't going to break the bank.  You actually probably already have most of it in the fridge and pantry.

Stacked Enchilada Casserole
2/3 chopped green pepper
1/3 chopped white or yellow onion
2 tsp canola oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup shredded cooked chicken
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
1/2 cup picante sauce
4 corn or flour tortillas depending on preference
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
-sour cream, lettuce, tortilla chips optional

In a large skillet, saute pepper and white onion in oil for 5 minutes or until veggies are tender crisp.  Stir in chicken, beans and green onion as well as garlic; heat through.  Transfer to a bowl and keep warm.

In the same skillet, combine enchilada and picante sauces.  Coat both sides of one tortilla with sauce mixture; place in a greased 9 in. pie plate.  Top with a third of the chicken mixture and 1/4 cup of cheese.  Repeat layers twice.  Top with remaining tortilla, sauce and cheese.

Cover and bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes or until heated through.  Remove to a serving plate and cut into wedges.  Serve with sour cream, lettuce and tortilla chips for crunch if desired.

This is something easy and different! It doesn't make a ton of food so if you have a big family or big eaters, you may not have left overs.  You could expand the recipe as well and just cook it in a casserole dish.  Whatever you decide, enjoy!

Adele was my soundtrack for this delicious feast!

Good eatin',

Deedles

Ma's Beanless Chili...Or Is It??

I am a pretty adventurous eater.  I'm not sure of the definition of a "foodie" but if it's being willing to at least try anything, that's me.  There is one thing that I cannot and will not eat...beans.  It's not a taste thing.  It's a texture thing.  I have had this issue since I was a wee girl and, if I were to guess, texture is the issue for most kids.  I offer you a solution for chili if beans are the problem in your household.

My mama loves her Deedles so much!!! So much that she devised a special twist to get me to eat her chili without leaving half of it in the bowl.  Because I always loved the taste of her chili, I would eat around the beans which was a huge waste.  My mother came up with an ingenious plan to put the beans in a food processor, liquify them, then add them into the chili mixture.  BRILLIANT!!!

Ma's Beanless (but not) Chili
1 lt V-8 (the Spicy is really good in this chili but it's up to your preference)
1 packet chili seasoning
1 can chili beans
1 c salsa
1 lb hamburger
pinch sugar

Brown and drain hamburger.  In a large Dutch Oven, mix V-8, chili seasoning, salsa and hamburger.  Heat on low heat.  In food processor, pulse chili beans on high until smooth and add to chili mixture.  Add a pinch of sugar to cut the acid of the tomato juice.  Heat on low for approximately three hours.  Serve.

Obviously you don't have to blend the beans if you prefer.  Also, there are a lot of options for adding some spice to this chili.  You can use Spicy V-8 as indicated above.  They also make a "hot" chili seasoning and "hot" chili beans.  As for the salsa, I use medium but you could add spice there as well.  I made this once for a crowd that LOVES spicy food.  I included all of the hot options.  While I could barely swallow a spoonful, it was a hit at the party. :)

What a great way to still get the flavor and nutritional benefits of the beans without that nasty texture!!! Basically, my mom's a genius.

Good eatin',

Deedles

Homemade Crab Rangoon

It's becoming a theme on here, I know.  Homemade Chinese food is seriously the best thing to happen to my kitchen (and my stomach) in quite awhile.  I have even stopped ordering in because I like my homemade better and it's so much cheaper in the long run....LEFTOVERS PEOPLE!  So, what do we have so far? I've put Mongolian Beef, Fried Rice and Egg Rolls.  So what's next, you ask? My number one favorite appetizer...Crab Rangoon!!!

I have to shout out again to my friend Mindy McGowan for this recipe (she also did the Baked Brie recipe from last month).  Really easy to put these together, just kind of time consuming so it's good to plan ahead.

Homemade Crab Rangoon (makes appx 30)
1/4 c cup cream cheese, softened
1/4 c light mayo
1/4 c thinly sliced green onions
1 6 oz can white lump crab meat
1/2 pack wonton wrappers

Mix cream cheese, mayo, green onions and crab in a bowl.  Place about a tbsp full of mixture on each wonton wrapper and press sides together.  It works well if you brush some water on the outsides of each wrapper before sealing them because they stick that way.  Try to press closed and get as little air in the wrapper as possible.  Fry each wonton in 375 degree oil.  I recommend two minutes, then clip and two minutes again or until golden brown on each side.  Drain on paper towels.

Any kind of dipping sauce will do with these but my favorite is the Panda Express Orange Chicken sauce that is available in most grocery stores.  It's got a really great sweet but spicy flavor.

Now that you are slowly building up your Chinese food recipe book, I'll have to find even more to add to the list.

I did have the TV on while I was cooking but the set-up of my new apartment makes it impossible to cook and watch TV at the same time.  So instead of my TV choices, I'll start including my music choices.  I listened to the lovable and sexual JT (Justin Timberlake) while putting these bad boys together.

Good eatin',

Deedles

A Ma Purdy Classic and a Family Request

This recipe takes me back.  Back to weekends at home with all of us under one roof.  Back to sitting at the table watching mom in the kitchen.  Back to the delicious aroma wafting through the house on Sunday afternoons.  Back to good times with better people.

There are so many meals that my mom is famous for but this is the one that my oldest brother Jeremy always requests when he has a chance.  It has and will always remain his favorite from his mama! It is one of my favorites, too, if I'm going to be honest.  :)

We made this for our Christmas meal this year, to great success.  If you want to have your house smell amazing all afternoon, make this.  It's an easy, low and slow recipe that's great for a lazy Sunday.

Ma's Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots
1 3 lb pot roast (if making for 4 people...1 or 1.5 lb for two people)
1 bag baby carrots
10-12 red potatoes
1 package french onion soup seasoning
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small sweet onion, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small enamel roaster, put the roast in the middle and arrange the potatoes, onions and carrots around it.  Spoon cream of mushroom soup over veggies and meat.  Sprinkle dry soup packet.  Fill the cream of mushroom soup can about 3/4 to full with water and pour it over meat and vegetables.  Cook low and slow for approximately 3 hours but don't let it dry out! If it starts looking dry, add more water.  If all is done correctly, the roast should fall apart when you slice it. :)

It's official, I'm salivating just looking at this picture.  I also have to add that the leftovers make amazing BBQ beef for sandwiches.  YUMMMMMMMM!!!

I gotta shout out to my mom for instilling the love of cooking in me from a young age!!! I love her so much!

Enjoy the roast!

Good eatin',

Deedles Dish