If there's one thing we can do as Americans is take something French and turn it into a casserole!
I was introduced to the French Toast Casserole at a MOPS (Mother's of PreSchoolers) meeting a few years ago by my friend Amy Goodall...
reasons I love this recipe...
it's highly changeable...
it's a make the night before breakfast (LOVE that)...
it makes the house smell heavenly while it's baking...
and I've never had anyone not ask for the recipe when I've served it...
really good for Christmas morning or large family gatherings....
French Toast Casserole
1 loaf French bread cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp vanilla (thus making it...ChambersMade)
10-12 eggs
cinnamon (to your liking)
Spray casserole dish with cooking spray. Put half of the french bread into dish. Cut the cream cheese into 1 inch pieces and put on top of bread, then cover with rest of bread. In large bowl mix together eggs, milk, syrup & cinnamon, pour over bread. Cover and put in fridge overnight. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm with syrup.
Serve with bacon or ham, fresh fruit, and coffee.
Recipe Options:
add any fruit that you'd like, blueberries, strawberries, apples, peaches...
change out the "flavor" of the syrup
add chopped nuts
chocolate chips
for a more "Holiday" flavor add pumpkin spice or dried cranberries and orange zest....
Let me know any changes that you made and how the family reacted...
Showing posts with label Casserole. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Casserole. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
ChambersMade Christmas Breakfast
A ChambersMade Christmas morning tradition...
the Breakfast Casserole...
if you were to ask me,
"What does Christmas Morning smell like?"
it would be breakfast casserole and coffee wafting through the house!
Such an easy recipe, make it the day/night before, or even a few days before, keep it in the fridge and pop it in the oven Christmas morning right before the kids start opening the presents...and in an hour breakfast is ready and it's time to take a break in the gift opening frenzy!
(and YES...I have entertained the thought of making this in the crock pot...but all reports I've read regarding eggs and crock pots are just okay...and I want more than just okay...apparently the texture becomes slightly rubbery!)
Overnight Breakfast Casserole
10 slices of white bread
butter
1 lb grated cheddar cheese
8 eggs
3 cups milk
1 can chopped green chilies, drained
Garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste
Butter bread and cut into 1 inch cubes. Layer bread, cheese, chilies in greased 9x13 pan, (2 layers). Mix eggs, milk an seasonings. Pour over bread, sprinkle with any remaining cheese. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until golden brown.
Serve with orange juice, sausage and coffee
Options...
add 1 cup chopped ham or crisp bacon
omit chilies
use a cheese mixture (Cheddar and Jack)
add artichoke hearts (I would LOVE to do this but no one in my family would eat it!)
Let me know any changes you make and how they worked...
the Breakfast Casserole...
if you were to ask me,
"What does Christmas Morning smell like?"
it would be breakfast casserole and coffee wafting through the house!
Such an easy recipe, make it the day/night before, or even a few days before, keep it in the fridge and pop it in the oven Christmas morning right before the kids start opening the presents...and in an hour breakfast is ready and it's time to take a break in the gift opening frenzy!
(and YES...I have entertained the thought of making this in the crock pot...but all reports I've read regarding eggs and crock pots are just okay...and I want more than just okay...apparently the texture becomes slightly rubbery!)
Overnight Breakfast Casserole
10 slices of white bread
butter
1 lb grated cheddar cheese
8 eggs
3 cups milk
1 can chopped green chilies, drained
Garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste
Butter bread and cut into 1 inch cubes. Layer bread, cheese, chilies in greased 9x13 pan, (2 layers). Mix eggs, milk an seasonings. Pour over bread, sprinkle with any remaining cheese. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until golden brown.
Serve with orange juice, sausage and coffee
Options...
add 1 cup chopped ham or crisp bacon
omit chilies
use a cheese mixture (Cheddar and Jack)
add artichoke hearts (I would LOVE to do this but no one in my family would eat it!)
Let me know any changes you make and how they worked...
Friday, December 11, 2009
a crock of Lasagna
What's for dinner...leftover lasagna...
Last night My Beau and I had a rare night out...
(my Beau and I all fancied up for the Christmas Party)
...so I made dinner really easy for the sitter, I made lasagna in the crock pot earlier that day...
(if you don't know me you might not know that I HEART my crock pot!)
...so all the sitter had to do was butter the French Bread and serve! This recipe makes WAY more than my family would ever eat in one sitting, and the kids loved it so we are having it as "first's" for My Beau and I, and as leftovers for the kids!
this is the recipe as I received it from a friend (I think it was Kelly Jackson?)
~~~~
Crock Pot Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 pkg (8oz) no-cook lasagna noodles**
4 cups (16 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1½ cups (12oz) small-curd cottage cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt and oregano; mix well.
In another bowl mix together 2 cups of mozzarella, cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese. Spread 1/4 of the meat sauce in an ungreased 5 quart slow cooker. Arrange a third of the noodles over sauce (break the noodles). spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of noodles Repeat layers three times. Top with remaining meat sauce, and extra mozzarella. Cover and cook on low for 4/5 hours or until noodles are tender. Yields 6-8 servings.
~~~~
Changes I made
*only used 1/2 lb of ground beef
*didn't have the large can of tomato sauce so used 3 sm 8 oz jars-plenty
*I grate my garlic on the really fine side of the cheese grater, no more big chunks of garlic, and all the flavor.
*didn't have the no-cook noodles so I boiled the reg ones for 1/2 the time, drained and rinsed them
*added 1 cup of chopped fresh spinach to the cottage cheese mixture
*added 1 egg to the cottage cheese mixture
Changes I didn't make but you might like to...
*Italian sausage along with the beef or to replace the beef
*ground turkey, which I find dry, but in dishes with lots of sauce the dryness isn't a big deal
*leaving the meat out all together and making it vegetarian
*using 2 cups mozzarella and 2 cups cheddar
*using rocotta cheese rather than cottage cheese
*using manicotti noodles rather than lasagna
**Trader Joes has the no-cook lasagna noodles for cheaper and twice as many WinCo carries them...so pick up a box next time you run in for some Candy Cane Joe Joe's (Oreos) and Sea Salt Carmels (YUMMY)!
Serving suggestions-I always think pasta dishes have it all, the starch, the meat, the veggies...but if you want to serve it with something, butter up some french bread (I like to keep an extra loaf in the freezer), and grate some garlic onto it and a little cheese...broil until it's as done as you like. Add a good hearty salad and you're more than done!
Last night My Beau and I had a rare night out...
(my Beau and I all fancied up for the Christmas Party)
...so I made dinner really easy for the sitter, I made lasagna in the crock pot earlier that day...
(if you don't know me you might not know that I HEART my crock pot!)
...so all the sitter had to do was butter the French Bread and serve! This recipe makes WAY more than my family would ever eat in one sitting, and the kids loved it so we are having it as "first's" for My Beau and I, and as leftovers for the kids!
this is the recipe as I received it from a friend (I think it was Kelly Jackson?)
~~~~
Crock Pot Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
1 pkg (8oz) no-cook lasagna noodles**
4 cups (16 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1½ cups (12oz) small-curd cottage cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt and oregano; mix well.
In another bowl mix together 2 cups of mozzarella, cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese. Spread 1/4 of the meat sauce in an ungreased 5 quart slow cooker. Arrange a third of the noodles over sauce (break the noodles). spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture on top of noodles Repeat layers three times. Top with remaining meat sauce, and extra mozzarella. Cover and cook on low for 4/5 hours or until noodles are tender. Yields 6-8 servings.
~~~~
Changes I made
*only used 1/2 lb of ground beef
*didn't have the large can of tomato sauce so used 3 sm 8 oz jars-plenty
*I grate my garlic on the really fine side of the cheese grater, no more big chunks of garlic, and all the flavor.
*didn't have the no-cook noodles so I boiled the reg ones for 1/2 the time, drained and rinsed them
*added 1 cup of chopped fresh spinach to the cottage cheese mixture
*added 1 egg to the cottage cheese mixture
Changes I didn't make but you might like to...
*Italian sausage along with the beef or to replace the beef
*ground turkey, which I find dry, but in dishes with lots of sauce the dryness isn't a big deal
*leaving the meat out all together and making it vegetarian
*using 2 cups mozzarella and 2 cups cheddar
*using rocotta cheese rather than cottage cheese
*using manicotti noodles rather than lasagna
**Trader Joes has the no-cook lasagna noodles for cheaper and twice as many WinCo carries them...so pick up a box next time you run in for some Candy Cane Joe Joe's (Oreos) and Sea Salt Carmels (YUMMY)!
Serving suggestions-I always think pasta dishes have it all, the starch, the meat, the veggies...but if you want to serve it with something, butter up some french bread (I like to keep an extra loaf in the freezer), and grate some garlic onto it and a little cheese...broil until it's as done as you like. Add a good hearty salad and you're more than done!
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