Snicker’s Brownies

So, Snickers “really satisfies”, right?  Do you think one of these snickers brownies would satisfy?

 

Me neither.  I’m probably going to need at least three.

Jasey’s Crazy Daisy

Vegan Sweet Potato Burgers with Avocado

I’m usually not one to get very excited when I hear the term “vegan”.  But, people, check out this (vegan) sweet potato burger with avocado:

Wow!  I have a feeling I’m not going to miss the meat at all!      

Healthy Happy Life

Bacon & Corn Griddle Cakes

How gorgeous (and interesting) are these bacon & corn griddle cakes?!  

Recipe Girl

Slow Cooker Chicken Cordon Bleu

Another way to simplify chicken cordon bleu:  In the slow cooker!

Can’t wait to see if I can the topping on top of  Chef in Training‘s slow cooker chicken cordon bleu crispy…

Plaid Cookies for St Patrick’s Day

Love these plaid cookies for St. Patrick’s Day.

The Decorated Cookie makes them cute, festive, and simple.

(I can see translating this technique to a blue/brown/white combo for a fun plaid baby shower or for a batch of Father’s Day cookies to send to work.)

Chile Relleno Casserole

You know by now that I can be a little bit lazy in the kitchen.  Especially when it comes to the whole process of breading & frying.  That’s one reason why I love this recipe for chile relleno casserole.  It takes the traditionally breaded and fried chile rellano and both simplifies and “healthifies” it.  Make it as simply as possible as suggested here - using canned whole green chiles - or take it up a notch by roasting your own garden fresh green chiles (it is truly excellent this way)!  The canned chiles themselves in this dish are only very mildly spicy. You are welcome to control the spiciness by choosing whether or not to leave some of your chile ribs & seeds in there (if you’re roasting fresh) and by choosing the spiciness of the salsa you pour on top.  I’ve even made it before with red or green enchilada sauce on top instead of the salsa (when my kids were really young and intolerant of any spiciness), but I’m presenting it here the way my family loves it best.  This version is quick & easy to prepare, uses ingredients you more than likely have on hand (even if you’re overdue for a trip to the grocery store…like I was yesterday), and can be adapted to a variety of tastes. 

(Vegetarian) Chile Relleno Casserole
4 (4-oz) cans whole green chiles, drained
shredded cheddar or Monterey jack cheese
4 eggs, separated
3 T flour
1 (14-oz) can evaporated milk
salt & pepper, to taste
salsa

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a 9”x"9” square casserole with a single layer of green chiles. 

Cover the chiles with a layer of cheese

Follow with second layer of chiles as well as another layer of cheese. 

Make the egg “filling”, as follows:  separate the eggs and beat the whites to form peaks. 

While the whites are beating, beat the yolks together in a separate medium bowl and then beat in the milk, flour, salt, and pepper. Once the whites are done beating, gently (it is critical that you aren’t too rough with them; you want all those beautiful bubbles to stay intact!) fold them into the yolk mixture. 

Once the whites mixture and yolks mixture are incorporated, pour the mixture on top of the layered chiles and cheese.

Cover the pan with foil and “tent” the foil as follows:

Tear a piece of foil several inches longer than needed to cover the casserole.  Cover the pan loosely, then use your fingers to pinch up about an inch of the foil and fold it over. 

Make “pleats” thusly in two or three places along the top of the casserole, then secure the foil tightly around the casserole edges as you would normally if you weren’t tenting the pan. 

Now, just grab each pleat in the middle and gently pull up to lift the foil away from the egg mixture.  The pulled pleats create “ribs” that give the foil extra structure to stand up away from the egg mixture as it rises, keeping it from sticking and causing the egg mixture to fall.   

Bake, covered & tented, at 325 degrees for 1 hour, then remove the foil and pour salsa on top.  Sprinkle with cheese and cook 30 additional minutes, uncovered.

Serve with Spanish rice & refried beans; if desired, garnish with sour cream, lettuce, black olives, and green peppers.  Serves 4.

How to Bake Bacon

Food For My Family has some great tips on how to bake bacon. For crisp, evenly cooked slices that don’t make a greasy mess all over your kitchen, this is a technique to try.

I also love that it frees up your stovetop for the pancake flippin’ and the egg scramblin’.

Hi! (-atus)

I’m sorry about my recent hiatus.

 

Actually…I take that back.  No, I’m most definitely not. 

You see, the Messy Mister whisked us all away to Disneyland for a much-needed, long-anticipated family vacation.  This vacation was supposed to happen back in September but kept getting put off for one reason or another.  We did pack the laptop.  We did have Wi-Fi. I did intend to blog.  It’s just that I got caught up.

In this: 

…and this:

Oh, and I’m always a BIG fan of this:

We had to concentrate really hard to achieve this:

…and I had NO intentions of missing any of this:




So I just decided to let myself be “caught up”. Carried away is probably more like it, with the togetherness of it.  Why mess with that? 

 

 

It was a very nice break. But, even though getting back into the day-to-day grind of everyday life feels a little bit like this:
…it’s good to be back to the old routine.  Despite the Matterhorn Mountain-sized pile of laundry and the fact that we seem to be “missing” a periwinkle guppy named Blueberry, everything here is just as we left it.  Yes, all the messes have waited patiently for me to take care of them.

Except that the milk has gone sour and the bread is growing…something.  Looks like I’m cooking from the pantry tonight…stay tuned!