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. 

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.