Sunday Morning Casserole

I decided to make a breakfast casserole for Christmas morning because I wanted something easy to pop in the oven that morning. I've tried 3-4 breakfasts casseroles and haven't found one that I liked, they were all too bland and boring. I got Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible for my birthday and decided to pick a recipe out of there. I choose the Sunday Morning Casserole because it seemed pretty easy, and the ingredients were cheap and stuff that everybody likes. It was delicious and we are definitely having it again. I think it'd be good to add a little green pepper and onion and of course, with hot sausage instead of mild. Everything is better with a little spice. Here's the recipe.

Sunday Morning Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients
2 slices white bread
1 lb breakfast sausage
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced cooked, unpeeled red potatoes
1 1/2 cups mixed shredded Cheddar & Monterey Jack cheese
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper

Directions
1. Grease a 2.5-3 quart baking dish (attractive enough to bring to the table) with butter, oil, or cooking spray. Cube the bread and place in the dish in a single even layer.
2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage, breaking it up with a  spoon, until it's almost cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain off the fat. Layer the sausage over the bread, and top with potatoes. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, mustard powder, salt, and black pepper to taste. Pour the egg mixture over the sausage and potatoes in the casserole. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
4. When ready to cook the casserole, preheat the oven to 350. Bake the casserole until set and golden about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

I had to adjust the cooking time to about 1 hour and 30 minutes, which is quite a bit longer than the recipe says.

Paula Deen Recipe

Friday night, I made Paula Deen's Cheesy Black Eyed Pea Chicken Chili (long name!) and it was delicious. I thought it looked good in the picture and it was different from any other chili I've ever made. While I was making it, I started to get a bad feeling that we wouldn't like it, but I was wrong. Greg even had seconds. I added twice as much red pepper as it called for and it gave it a nice kick. I didn't mix the sour cream with paprika like the recipe says, I just topped our bowls with a dallop of sour cream and garnished mine with some green onions. We'll definitely have this again. 

*I got this picture from the Paula Deen website*

 

1. 3 tablespoons canola oil
2. 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
3. 1 tablespoon Paula’s House Seasoning
4. 2 cups chopped white onion
5. 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
6. 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
7. 1 (15-ounce) can seasoned black-eyed peas
8. 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
9. 1 cup water
10. 1 (1.25-ounce) package white chicken chili seasoning
11. 1 teaspoon chili powder
12. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
13. 1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
14. 1 (8-ounce) package Velveeta cheese, cubed
15. 2 cups Breakstone’s/Knudsen sour cream
16. 1⁄2 cup chopped green onion
17. 1 teaspoon paprika
18. Garnish: sliced green onions

Instructions
1. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Sprinkle chicken with House Seasoning. Add to Dutch oven, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until all sides are browned. Add onion and red bell pepper, and cook for 7 minutes. Add garlic; cook for 2 minutes. Stir black-eyed peas in diced tomatoes, water, white chicken chili seasoning, chili powder, cumin, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cubed Velveeta, and stir until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.
3. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, green onion, and paprika. Top each serving of chili with sour cream mixture. Garnish with green onions, if desired.

 

Recipes

I tried a couple new recipes from Pinterest this week. The first recipe was a crockpot breakfast casserole. I thought this would be perfect on Christmas morning, you put it on the night before and then it's ready when you wake up. Greg and I both liked it, but I wouldn't make it for just any weekend breakfast. I'd only make it if we had company because it makes a ton.

Source: alattewithotta.blogspot.com via Samantha on Pinterest

The second recipe I tried was a crock pot macaroni and cheese. I really wanted to find a homemade macaroni and cheese recipe to start having as part of Thanksgiving and Christmas. This was perfect! It's made in the crock pot, so it doesn't take up any space in the oven or on top of the stove, it makes a ton, and it was delicious. This is another thing I wouldn't make unless we had guests because it just makes way too much.

Source: lifeinthegreenhouse.com via Samantha on Pinterest

And last, I made Paula Deen's "Not Yo Mamma's Banana Pudding". I've been wanting to try a banana pudding recipe, and I've been seeing this one floating around several different blogs, so I decided to go ahead and try it. Every blog I read said that they didn't use the pepperidge farms cookies that the recipe calls for and instead used vanilla wafers, so I did too. This was really good, it doesn't say to let it sit overnight, but it really needs too. This recipe was really inexpensive and easy to make.

Source: pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com via Samantha on Pinterest

Next week, I have some healthier recipes planned that I found, like one for baked pickles. Mmmm...

Mondays Meals-Grilled Veggie Pasta Salad

Time for Monday's Meals again over on "A Love Worth Waiting For". This recipe is another Paula Deen recipe. I know, I know, I really need to try some other things, but I just love Paula Deen and I can always count on it turning out good. On Friday, I made Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad. I served it with grilled Italian chicken (chicken marinated in italian dressing overnight) and it was so delicious. Greg and I both loved it. It's one of my favorite recipes that I've tried in a while. After we got done, we cut up the leftover chicken and put it with the leftover salad and it was so good. So, this can be a delicious side dish or add some chicken and make it a main course. It's definitely something we'll be having again. We already had some tasty Vidalia Onion dressing that we got from Sam's Club, so we used that instead of the Paula Deen brand.

*And asparagus is in season now, so we got some at Sam's Club this weekend and I'll be trying a few new recipes with that this week that I'll post on here.

Paula Deen's Grilled Vegetable Pasta Salad

Ingredients
1 lb penne pasta, cooked until firm to the bite **I used wheat pasta**
2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 large red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch thick wedges
1 lb asparagus spears, trimmed
1 sweet green bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut in half
2 sweet red peppers, cored, seeded and cut in half
1 1/4 cup Paula Deen Vidalia Onion Peppercorn Dressing
10 leaves of fresh basil, stacked, rolled and cut into very thin strips
salt to taste

Directions
In a square baking dish toss vegetables with 1 Cup of the Paula Deen Vidalia Onion Peppercorn Dressing and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
While vegetables are marinating, cook pasta until firm to the bite and heat outdoor grill until medium hot.
Working in batches, grill the peppers, asparagus and onion about 3 minutes per side until grill marks appear but vegetables are still firm.
Remove the vegetables from the grill and cool slightly until you can cut the peppers, asparagus and onions into large pieces.
In large bowl or on serving platter, toss together the cooked pasta, grilled vegetable pieces, and tomatoes and remaining 1/4 cup dressing. Toss in basil. Serve room temperature.

Baked Spaghetti

While my mom was here last, I made some meals and froze them. I love having meals already made and all we have to do is take them out and bake them. Of course it's nice to have fresh, homecooked meals, but freezing them really saves us a lot of time and makes our week nights go so much smoother. I made a few recipes that we haven't had before, so it's been fun trying some new things. Tonight we had Paula Deen's Baked Spaghetti. It was so easy to make and it's basically spaghetti with some melted cheese--what's not to like? Greg and I will definitely be having this again. I've linked up with Lindsey for her "Monday's Meals" post. And I apologize for the picture quality, it was dark in our kitchen and I just could not get a decent picture.

Paula Deen's Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
1 lb browned and seasoned ground Beef (Italian sausage can be substituted)*I used hot Italian sausage
3/4 lb.spaghetti, cooked
1 jar (approx 15 oz) of your favorite pasta sauce
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, grated

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large sauce pan, simmer meat and tomato sauce together. Toss the cooked noodles in the sauce.

To Assemble: Spray a casserole dish with non stick cooking spray. Spoon half of the noodle mixture into the dish. Pack it down lightly and sprinkle on half of the cheese. Add the other half of the spaghetti, pack down lightly and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Serve with a green salad and crusty garlic bread.

Monday Meals-Paula Deen Style

It's that time of the week again, it's Monday Meals over on "A Love Worth Waiting For". I have 3 recipes to post today. Last week I watched an episode of Paula's Home Cooking and every recipe looked so delicious, so on Sunday, I woke up early and went the grocery store while Greg watched the boys. I made "Crabbies" for lunch and Taco Soup for supper and Peanut Butter Cheese Cake Minis for dessert, all from Paula Deen. I thought everything was absolutely delicious and will definitely be making all these recipes again.

Crabbies
Ingredients
8 ounces good white crabmeat, picked free of all shells
1 (5-ounce) jar Cheddar-horseradish spread (recommended: Kraft Old English)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
Dash hot sauce or cayenne pepper
8 large toasted bread rounds
Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine crab, cheese spread, mayonnaise, garlic powder, butter and hot sauce. Divide mixture evenly over bread rounds and spread. Score each round into quarters and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake until topping is heated through and golden brown on top, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with parsley. Serve hot. These freeze and store well for drop-in company.





Taco Soup
Ingredients
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups diced onions
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans pinto beans
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can pink kidney beans
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can tomatoes with chiles
2 (4 1/2-ounce) cans diced green chiles
1 (4.6-ounce) can black olives, drained and sliced, optional
1/2 cup green olives, sliced, optional
1 (1 1/4-ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1-ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Corn chips, for serving
Sour cream, for garnish
Grated cheese, for garnish
Chopped green onions, for garnish
Pickled jalapenos, for garnish



Directions
Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, green chiles, black olives, green olives, taco seasoning, and ranch dressing mix, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove. To serve, place a few corn chips in each bowl and ladle soup over them. Top with sour cream, cheese, green onions and jalapenos.





Peanut Butter Cheese Cake Minis
Ingredients
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
4 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
12 bite-size peanut butter cups



Filling:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or almond extract
2 eggs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a paper cupcake liner in each cup of a standard muffin pan.
To make crust, in a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter until crumbs are moistened. Press crust into bottom of each muffin cup. Put 1 peanut butter cup into the center of each crust. Beat cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar, flour, and vanilla, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Spoon cream cheese mixture over peanut butter cups and graham cracker crusts. Bake until just set, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving.

White Chocolate Cranberry Chunkies

These cookies were a big hit at work, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup white chocolate chips or chunks
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (Like Ocean Spray's sweetened, dried cranberries)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, with electric mixer, cream butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. Set aside. Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add milk then add flour, soda, and salt to butter mixture. In another bowl, combine nuts, cranberries, and white chocolate. Then add to mixture, stirring only to blend. Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 11-13 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Yield: 4 dozen large cookies.