Winning breakfast casserole! (pic included)

This is my son's new favorite breakfast casserole recipe. I got it out of our local newspaper on the same page as an article about Charlie Sheen. So, that is why I called it the WINNING breakfast casserole. This is the recipe as written. I will add changes that I made at the bottom, if anyone is interested.

8 slices of bacon
1 med onion chopped (1 cup)
1 loaf (8 oz) Italian bread, cut into 1-in cubes (5 cups)
2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Cook bacon in large skillet until crisp. Reserve 2 TBS of the drippings. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble and set aside.  Add onion to drippings in skillet; cook and stir three min. or until softened. Spread 1/2 of the bread cubes in a greased 13 X 9 baking dish.  Layer with half each of onion, bacon, cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese.  Spread evenly with cottage cheese. Top with remaining bread cubes, onion, bacon, cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. Beat eggs in medium bowl until foamy. Add milk, mustard, nutmeg and pepper; beat until blended. Pour evenly over top.  Press bread cubes lightly into egg mixture until completely covered. Let stand 10 min. Bake 40-50 min or until center is set and top is golden brown. Makes 12 servings.  --recipe from McCormick


CHANGES I MADE: I substituted Jennie-O turkey ham for the bacon. Instead of Italian bread loaf, I used gourmet whole grain wheat loaf. I estimated on all measurements of cheese, as well as adding fresh parmesan cheese. I estimated on the cottage cheese, probably using more than one cup. Recipe calls for 5 eggs. I used 2 eggs and enough "egg whites" for 6 more eggs because it didn't look "eggy" enough. It says to bake 40-50 minutes. I cooked for a full 60 minutes, uncovered. Picture below:

This picture taken after cooking for 50 minutes.

Pressure Cooker

I have used my pressure cooker twice now. Both times to cook beans. The taste of beans that are not canned are AMAZING! Who would have thought beans would smell so good? Not to mention, they are very healthy and a great substitute for meat. If I don't cook anything else besides beans in my pressure cooker, it will still be worth it. A bag of beans (un-soaked) can be cooked in 30 minutes - with a quick steam release. My cooker is stainless steel. They are more expensive than the aluminum cookers, but I wanted a quality product that would last a long time. It is a 6-quart cooker, and sometimes I wonder if it will be big enough. You can cook whole meals in them; roasts, ribs, pork loins, etc. They are suppose to be just as tender, as if you slow-cooked them all day, but much much faster. It also promotes energy savings. Because it doesn't take as long to cook, the user saves electricity/gas to run the stove and also eliminates most of the heat from the kitchen when cooking during the summer. I cooked up some kidney beans today for some chili. I could have made the actual chili in the cooker (not just the beans), but there is something to be said for enjoying the aroma while it is cooking and leisurely "tending" to it. The weekend allows for more time to enjoy the joy of slow-cooking. But, for those busy times, get a pressure cooker!

Here is a link to a website for the cooker that I have. It has great ideas for meals and a time chart:

http://fastcooking.ca/pressure_cookers/cooking_times_pressure_cooker.php

Lasagna

Short Nathan story: Nathan was warming up some leftover lasagna for lunch. He says to me, "I think I'll become Italian." I said, "really? why is that?" He said, "They have the best food ever." Later, as he was eating, he asked if I put my lasagna recipe on my blog. I told him I couldn't remember. He said, "Check it." So, since I have not posted my recipe for my lasagna, I am posting now. Nathan recommends it.

1 lb ground beef (or sausage or half and half)
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 small fresh mushrooms, chopped (I used canned)
olives, chopped (optional)
2 jars or cans of spaghetti sauce
1 (16 oz)cottage cheese
1 pint ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (fresh is best)
1 egg
1 (16 oz) pkg. lasagna noodles
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (separated)
oregano and/or basil

In a large skillet, cook hamburger (or sausage) until browned. Drain excess grease. Add mushrooms, onions, and olives until onions are transparent. Stir in one jar of pasta sauce, saving enough to cover noodles on top. Add oregano and/or basil. Heat through. In large bowl, combine cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, grated parmesan, one cup of mozzarella cheese, and one egg. Spread thin layer of meat sauce in the bottom of a 13 X 9 greased pan. (I usually have enough to do two pans)Layer with uncooked noodles, cheese mixture, and meat sauce. Last layers should be noodles, remainder of spaghetti sauce, and remainder of mozzarella cheese. Spray aluminum foil and cover. Cook for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and cook 15 minutes more. Cheese should be lightly browned on top.

Easy and Quick Beef and Noodles

Wanted to share an easy and quick way to do beef and noodles. Buy Reames frozen egg noodles. These are the next best thing to homemade noodles, in my opinion. I also buy canned beef (two cans). Canned beef is not the healthiest choice, but we don't have it that often. The canned beef that I buy is from Aldi's. It is in a can similar to canned chicken or tuna (in the same area). It comes with a little bit of gravy in the can and is already cooked and tender. I cut/shred it into smaller pieces before using. Bring beef broth to a boil. You can use canned beef broth or leftover broth from a roast. You can also use beef bouillon cubes or granules and mix with water until dissolved, according to directions. Bring broth to a boil and then add noodles. Reduce heat and simmer until noodles are soft. Add canned beef with broth. To thicken broth for gravy, mix about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with JUST enough COLD water, (while stirring with spoon) until cornstarch is dissolved. Add to simmering pot of broth and noodles. Stir until desired consistency. If needed, repeat cornstarch and water process to thicken even more.

Our family usually eats this with mashed potatoes, but they are optional. Sometimes, I use instant potatoes (Idahoan only - not all stores have this brand. Walmart does.) Tonight I'm mashing some real potatoes.

BBQ pulled pork

Yesterday, we fixed BBQ pulled pork and it was excellent. Thought I'd share how we did it. Of course, there's not just one way to fix it.

I bought a whole pork loin at Sam's Club for around $17. We cut it into thirds and froze 2/3 of it (separately) and fixed the remaining third. Placed in a crockpot (we have a large crockpot) with some Rustic Rub that we had made a while back (Emeril Lagasse's recipe). Covered with water and cooked on high for about 7 hours. Removed and let cool. Pulled apart or shredded and placed into an aluminum disposable pan (from Sam's). Added KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce (a lot), 3/4 bottle (I took care of the rest) of Bud Lite with lime and about a cup of water. Added garlic salt, seasoning salt, and onion powder. Stir. Covered with aluminum foil and cooked on grill for about an hour. It is so easy, delicious, and relatively inexpensive. One third of the loin will feed the three of us for several days.

The BEST egg white scrambled eggs!

I had the most flavorful breakfast and I just had to blog about it! I've been learning to use seasonings and herbs to add flavor to food, instead of fat and calories.

Scrambled eggs this morning - egg whites (pre-packaged), artichokes (canned and chopped), chopped baby spinach, bleu cheese crumbles, one fresh basil leaf(chopped), garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, and 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (for garnish).

It's hard to believe that healthy eating can taste so good!