Breakfast Casserole

Recipe: Breakfast Casserole
From Cooking with Joey

1 bag (32 oz.) frozen southern style hash brown potatoes
1 pound bacon, crispy, cooked and drained, cut into small pieces
1 pound sausage, crumbled, browned and drained
1/2 cup diced onions
1 green pepper, diced
1 lb. cheddar cheese, shredded
1 dozen large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Salt and pepper

Layer the frozen potatoes, bacon, onions, green pepper and cheese in the crock pot in two of three layers. Finish up with cheese. Beat the eggs, milk and mustard, salt and pepper together. Pour over the whole mixture. Cook on low for ten to twelve hours.

Tip: Be sure to season it well. The potatoes and the eggs require more salt and pepper than you think they will. So, season as you normally do, and then add a few extra pinches of salt and a few extra grinds of black pepper.

Feel free to do as many variations as you like. You can add or substitute ham or either the bacon or sausage, or add all three! You can do different kinds of cheese and any kind of veggies you like. I’m sure broccoli, asparagus or spinach would be delicious. Add a little heat with some diced jalapeno peppers and serve it with your favorite salsa. 

My Interpretation:

Waking up to the smell of breakfast and getting to eat it 30 seconds later without having to do any work is a beautiful thing. We had this cooking overnight in our living room (because we live in an apartment and the kitchen is very small) and it made the place smell amazing. This was very easy to just throw together and let it cook. We used turkey bacon instead of regular bacon, making it a littler healthier. Also, we omitted the dry mustard because we didn't have any on hand, but it was still delicious. This recipe makes enough for about 10 people. We fed about 5 or 6 people, plus seconds and leftovers. I love cooking with a crock pot and I will definitely make this again. Next time I'll probably add different veggies, like mushrooms, or maybe throw in some diced ham or something. 

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

1 box brownie mix of your favorite scratch recipe
2 packages (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons light cream
1 cup semisweet mini chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 13x9x2 pan with shortening or butter or cooking spray.

2. Mix brownie batter according to your favorite scratch recipe or box mix directions. Spread in pan. Place pan in oven and bake for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a clean bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in vanilla and eggs until blended. Stir in sour cream, light cream, and chocolate chips.

4. Remove brownie pan from oven. Pour cream cheese mixture over partially baked brownie batter in pan. Sprinkle with more chocolate chips, if desired.

5. Bake an additional 15 minutes, or until the cheese filling is just set and the edges just begin to brown. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Chill in the fridge until firm before cutting into squares.

Tips: Try using different kinds of chips! If you'd like a more cake-like brownie, just add an extra egg to your brownie recipe.


My Interpretation:

This recipe came from Cooking with Joey. I made these brownies for a bake sale at WCU. They were very popular and I got quite a few compliments on them. The entire pan sold in a couple hours, and some people even came back for seconds! Making them was very easy and smelled absolutely delicious when it was in the oven. When they came out of the oven my friend and I taste-tested them and by golly they were to die for. The ingredients are simple and cheap; a great way to jazz up ordinary brownies. The preparation is quite simple as well: you just mix  the brownies, then mix the rest of the ingredients, layer it and boom! You're done. We swirled the brownie mix and the cheesecake topping (as you can see in the picture) to give it a little more pizazz. I would recommend leaving the brownie mix (by itself) in the oven for a few extra minutes and then the brownie mix (with the cheesecake topping) in the oven for a few extra minutes. We left them in for exactly 10 and 15 minutes and they were a little under-baked in the end. When you make them, let me know what you do, if you do anything differently. Did you add in anything extra? Put a different spin on the recipe? Let me know!

 

Denny's Pasta Primavera and Garlic Bread

Recipe: Denny’s Pasta Primavera

4 tablespoons butter or margarine

4 tablespoons flour

½ teaspoon salt

Dash pepper

2 cups milk

Any mixed or fresh veggies

1 pound any kind of long pasta

Melt butter, blend in flour, salt and pepper. Add milk all at once, continue cooking until mixture is thick. Steam veggies. Put noodles on to cook half hour before serving time. Put veggies in sauce and put over low heat. Pour over cooked noodles.

Joey’s Tips: Choose any favorite veggies. I like to add a rainbow of vegetables, specifically baby carrots, broccoli florets, yellow squash, and red bell peppers.

Quick tip: Use boiling pasta water to steam your veggies at the same time. The sauce ingredients are double the amount of the original recipe, but usually double everything anyway, so I just posted it that way.

My Interpretation:

For this recipe (which came from Cooking with Joey), my friend Josh was the main chef. He wanted to make a fancy dinner for the members of my apartment. I was pretty much just a helper. He doubled the recipe, which gave us about 2 large pots of food. I’m not even sure exactly how many servings it made, but it sufficiently fed about 6 or 7 people, who all went back for seconds.

The homemade sauce was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. Josh used a beautiful array of vegetables: squash, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, carrots, and broccoli. The colors were gorgeous. Everyone who ate it raved about how delicious it was. We had peach schnapps and iced tea with or meal, but a nice bottle of wine would go well with this dish, too. We’re just broke college kids who enjoy a cheap bottle of alcohol every once in a while.

If you have some spare time to make a fancy dinner for a family/group, I would highly recommend this. They will be very impressed. Depending on the size of the group, you’ll have leftovers, which is fine because the pasta is just as good when it’s reheated.

 So much food.

 Recipe: Garlic Bread

From: Cooking with Joey

1 loaf Italian bread

1 stick salted butter

1 clove garlic (or more), chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350F.

Slice bread into half inch slices. Arrange slices on a baking tray. Set aside. Melt butter withthe garlic in a small sauce pot. Let the garlic cook in the melted butter until it becomes soft and the butter becomes infused with the garlic flavor. Add the chopped parsley and cook for another minute or two. Remove from heat. Spoon about a tablespoon or two of the garlic butter onto each slice of bread. Place tray in oven and bake until lightly toasted, about 10 minutes.

Tip: I like a lot of garlic, so I usually use two big cloves instead of just one. Use as much as you like! Also, if you prefer not to bite into a big honkin' piece of garlic, just slice the clove into a few larger pieces instead of finely chopping it. That makes it easier to remove the garlic after infusing the butter.

My Interpretation: 

First and foremost: absolutely delicious. I've never had garlic bread made with fresh garlic, let alone garlic infused into the butter with fresh parsley.

      So fancy and so delicious.

Kat and Josh, part of our crew for the feast.

 

Skillet Lasagna and Apple Pie Ice Cream Waffles

Recipe: Skillet Lasagna
From Cooking with Joey

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound meatloaf mix (ground beef, pork and veal)
10 lasagna noodles, broken into 2-inch pieces
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Add the diced tomatoes along with their juice to a 1-quart (4 cup) measuring cup. Add enough water to bring the volume to 1 quart total.

Set a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the oil. When it starts to shimmer, add the onion and the salt. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to brown, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the meat, using a wooden spoon to break it apart. Cook until the meat is browned. 

Add the broken noodles to the pan, but do not stir - just let them sit on top of the onion/meat mixture. Pour the tomato/water mixture and the tomato sauce over the noodles (again, don't stir). Cover the pan and bring the liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, now stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender (about 20 minutes).

Turn off the heat under the pan. Stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan and season to taste with salt and pepper. Drop the ricotta by heaping spoonfuls onto the top of the lasagna (don't stir to incorporate), then cover and let stand for about 5 minutes to allow the cheese to soften. Remove the cover and sprinkle with the basil and remaining Parmesan, then serve.

Tips: There's not much I would change about this recipe. It's fabulous exactly as it's written. The only thing I would add is a little shredded mozzarella cheese sprinkled over the top. The only variation I think I'd do is to substitute half of the ground meat with sweet Italian sausage. Just break it up and brown it with the meat as directed.


My Interpretation: 

Absolutely delicious and very filling, with lots of left-overs. My friend, Josh, and I made this for dinner with some garlic bread and apple pie ice cream waffles for dessert. By the time we were done eating, we ended up on the living room couch in a wonderful food coma. This recipe was pretty easy to make since you don't have to put it in the oven. We used ground turkey for the meat, making it a little healthier. The taste was a little different from the usual ground beef flavor. We also added a little chopped fresh parsley on top with the basil for some extra flavor and color. This recipe will feed at least ten people. We fed five in one sitting and put half of it in the fridge as left-overs.

 

Josh and I on our cooking extravaganza. 

Recipe: Apple Pie Ice Cream Waffles

3 waffles, made according to box or favorite recipe
1 can (20 oz.) apple pie filling
ice cream of any flavor
cinnamon sugar to taste

1. Make three waffles, according to directions, whether they're frozen from a box or homemade, or whatever. 

2. Heat can of apple pie filling in a skillet on the stove until it's warm, but not hot. Sprinkle in cinnamon sugar for some extra flavor.

3. Place the waffles on your plate and divide pie filling evenly over each. Put a scoop or two of ice cream on top of pie filling. 


My Interpretation: 

You really don't need a a recipe for this. I just threw everything together. It was very delicious, though. The ice cream gets all soft and creamy on the warm pie filling. It's like apple cobbler Ala mode, expect easier.

 This was the meal, minus the apple pie ice cream waffles. We made garlic bread with the lasagna and threw in a glass of Sunny D with Orange Julius Mad Dog and peach Schnapps. Quite the delicious meal.