Ham and Swiss Breakfast Pie

This "pie" is a simple recipe that I'll use again. It's real easy to substitute other ingredients depending if you are using the dish for brunch, breakfast or dinner. Change it up with sausage, bacon. Use Gouda cheese or Parmesan  Add in some chopped asparagus for a brunch type dish.  

No matter what.....it will be great!

I followed the recipe exactly last night and paired it with sliced tomatoes and fruit topped with a little mixture of sour cream and brown sugar.

1 1/3 cups water or chicken broth (I prefer the broth, but if you use it omit the salt)

1 cup whipping cream

2 garlic cloves, pressed

2 Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper 

2/3 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits

1 1/4 cups (5 oz.) shredded Swiss Cheese

8 large eggs, divided

1/2 lb. cooked ham, diced

4 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup milk

Garnish with fresh chopped chives

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Bring first 6 ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually whisk in grits. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer, whisking occasionally 5-7 minutes. Add 1/2 cup cheese stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes.

Lightly beat 2 eggs, and stir into grits mixture; pour into a lightly greased 10-inch, deep dish pie plate.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes; remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees.  

Saute ham and onions in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until onion is tender. 

Layer ham mixture over grits crust. Whisk together milk and remaining 6 eggs; pour over ham mixture.  

Sprinkle remaining cheese over mixture. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes and cut into wedges. Garnish, if desired.

Yet Another Speckled Heart Grits Recipe

The other day I wrote about my trip to Callaway Gardens and my love affair with their speckled heart grits......if you forgot you can see the post here. 

Here is another recipe.....

1 cup Speckled Heart Grits

4 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups grated sharp cheese

1 stick margarine

Dash of Tobasco

Cook grits according to a traditional recipe above.   Combine all ingredients.  Pour in a casserole dish.  

Bake 1 hour in a 325 degree oven.   

Serves 4-6

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

I like this recipe because I usually have the ingredients on hand.   

These bars can be used for breakfast or a snack....a dessert as well.

 It suits the craving for something sweet......satisfies the craving fairly quickly, but the bars aren't overly sweet......and most importantly since you use an 8 x 8 pan there are tons of leftovers to feel guilty about later.

Short and sweet......and done.

1 ½ cup quick cooking oats

¼ cup light brown sugar-packed

½ t. kosher salt

1 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. vanilla extract

½ cup milk

1 lightly beaten large egg

Mix everything listed above together.

Add 1 large mashed banana and 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter.

Pour the mixture into a greased 8 x 8 pan spreading the mixture evenly.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Cut into squares after cooling.

Top with Peanut butter if you like.

Buttery Mini Muffins

What could be better than three ingredients?  

1 cup self-rising flour
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup sour cream

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a small bowl combine flour, butter and sour cream. 

Coat 12 cup muffin pan with baking spray.

Fill each cup with a spoonful of batter.

Bake at 350 degrees 25 minutes or till golden.

Add a dollop of fruity preserves.....yum!

Breakfast Casserole

1 package sausage links (12 links)
6 English muffins, cut up into 1-inch cubes
¼ cup butter, melted
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped red pepper
12 eggs
2 cups milk
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup bacon bits

Cook sausage and drain on paper towels. Set aside. Place English muffin cubes in 13 x 9-inch casserole dish and drizzle with the melted butter. Layer sausage, cheeses, onion, and red pepper over English muffin cubes. In a bowl mix the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour over cheese mixture in casserole dish. Sprinkle with bacon bits. Cover the dish with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. Remove casserole 30 minutes prior to cooking. Remove saran wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

This recipe serves 12

The Grits That Stole Christmas.....

2½ Tablespoons unsalted butter

2¼ cups chicken stock
½ cup stone ground grits

1-2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon garlic, chopped

½ teaspoon thyme

½ cup diced sun-dried tomatoes

¾ cup goat cheese

1-2 Tablespoons chives
Salt and White Pepper to taste

Bring the chicken stock and butter to a boil in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the grits and return to a boil. Reduce the heat, allowing the grits to cook for another 15 minutes at a low boil, and until the grits are thick and have absorbed most of the chicken stock.

Stir occasionally to keep the grits from sticking. Add 1/2 cup of the heavy cream to the pot and reduce the heat, allowing the grits to cook slowly for another 10 minutes. As the liquid is absorbed, add more cream, cooking the grits until the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste with a total cooking time of at least an hour.

The grits should be thick and full-bodied. Fold in the chopped garlic, thyme and diced tomatoes, crumble the goat cheese on top. Bake in 350 for 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped chives Serve very hot!

Serves 2-4

Monkey Bread

Several recipes call for using readymade biscuit dough, but I like the idea of making this from scratch.

1 cup milk

½ cup butter or margarine

¼ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 package dry yeast

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ cup butter or margarine, melted

Combine milk, ½ cup butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan; beat until butter melts. Cool to 105 to 115 degrees; add yeast, stirring until dissolved. Place flour in a large bowl; add milk mixture, and stir until well blended.

Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees), free from drafts, about one hour and 20 minutes until doubled in bulk. Roll into 11/2 inch balls; dip each in melted butter.
Layer balls of dough in a 10-inch one piece tube pan or Bundt pan.

Cover and let rise about 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes; invert onto serving plate.

HashBrown Omelette

4 slices turkey bacon or bacon

2 tsp. cooking oil

2 cups refrigerated shredded hash brown potatos (about ½ of a 20 oz package)

¼ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped green sweet pepper

4 eggs

¼ cup milk

½ tsp salt

Dash black pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Crumble bacon, set aside.

Heat oil in skillet . Combine potatos, onion, and sweet pepper; pat into skillet. Cook, uncovered , over low heat about 7 minutes or until crisp and brown, turning once.

In a small bowl, beat together eggs, milk, salt and black pepper; pour over potato mixture. Top with cheese and bacon. Cook, covered, over low heat for 5-7 minutes or until egg mixture is set.
Loosen omelet from skillet; fold in half. Turn out of skillet onto a serving plate. To serve, cut into wedges.

4 servings

****if using bacon, omit cooking oil and use bacon drippings.

Sausage Balls

1 pound hot sausage

3 cups Bisquick

1 (10 oz) package shredded, sharp cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients….Shape into balls and bake at 375 degrees.

Birthday Breakfast

Today is my husband’s 50th birthday, and he’s the one that got up and fixed pancakes.

Am I blessed or what?

After hearing a song called Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson he got a hankering for them. All he did was mash up a couple of bananas and put the mixture in the pancake batter…..made from Bisquick.

Mmmmmmm….the only thing I would have done different was add some pecans.

He also took some bananas…sliced them up…sauted them in butter….and topped them with brown sugar.

During our breakfast he fessed up and told me the song I’ve added below was his inspiration for banana pancakes....It's called Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson.

When Things Work Out to Your Good

It’s a rainy afternoon/evening here in Georgia. Dear Daughter’s golf match has been cancelled, and my Bible study meeting has been cancelled because so many of us are out of town or otherwise engaged. That’s actually a good thing because I WAS feeling a bit domestic and wanted to cook for my family.

Rainy nights and breakfast foods for dinner just seem to go hand-in-hand, and I had found a new breakfast casserole recipe I’ve been wanting to try.

Tonight’s menu includes Breakfast Casserole, Cheese Grits (minus the sausage since the Breakfast Casserole has sausage), cut up fruit, and biscuits with jelly along with orange juice and coffee.

Here’s the Breakfast Casserole recipe. I found it in a magazine at the hair salon….I forget which one. It was actually titled EASTER BREAKFAST CASSEROLE:

1 package sausage links (12 links)
6 English muffins, cut up into 1-inch cubes
¼ cup butter, melted
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped red pepper
12 eggs
2 cups milk
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup bacon bits

Cook sausage and drain on paper towels. Set aside. Place English muffin cubes in 13 x 9-inch casserole dish and drizzle with the melted butter. Layer sausage, cheeses, onion, and red pepper over English muffin cubes. In a bowl mix the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour over cheese mixture in casserole dish. Sprinkle with bacon bits. Cover the dish with saran wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. Remove casserole 30 minutes prior to cooking. Remove saran wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

This recipe serves 12

Instead of using the sausage links I used 1 roll of sausage. I also prepared the dish during the day around lunchtime and placed it in the fridge for four hours prior to cooking.
The recipe for the Cheese Grits I served along with the casserole can be found here.

Sausage Cheese Grits

This recipe is a real winner. My husband actually makes it better than I do. He prepares it for the monthly breakfasts we have in our Sunday School department. I prepare it for dinner…..there are never any leftovers that last until the next day.

1 pound ground pork sausage
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked quick-cooking grits
1 stick butter/margarine
1 ½ cups (6 ounces) shredded, sharp cheddar cheese
¼ cup milk
1 clove garlic, pressed (I use 1 teaspoon minced garlic)
3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Cook sausage in skillet over medium heat…stir until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain. Bring broth to a boil in a 3-quart pan. Stir in grits, cook according to package directions. Remove from heat, add butter and cheddar cheese. Stir in sausage, milk and garlic. Stir in a small amount of grits into the egg mixture then pour the egg mixture into the grits. Pour grits into a lightly greased 11 x 7-inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Cool 5 minutes.

This recipe serves 8-12 people

Makin' Waffles...Belgian Style

So on the Monday before Christmas the male cook in the household declared he wanted to make Belgian Waffles. It was an interesting change to our dinner menu.

I picked up some whipped cream and sliced strawberries to decorate our waffles, and, of course, what's a waffle without a little syrup and some sausage.

It was interesting to see how everyone presented their waffles.

Here is the Dad's plate:


Here is Dear Daughter enjoying her waffles...

Her plate....it was quite apalling:

Another shot:


and finally.....my plate:

Hash Brown Casserole

What great comfort food this casserole can be! It’s great for a holiday meal with family or it’s rather good for breakfast too.

Recently I made this dish for my family’s Easter Dinner.

1 cup onion, chopped
¼ lb. (1 stick) butter, melted
1 (8 oz.) sour cream
1 (8 oz.) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 can Cream of Chicken soup, undiluted
1 (2 lb.) bag frozen hash brown potatos, thawed
½-1 cup Corn Flakes

Stir together onion, sour cream, cheese, butter, Cream of Chicken soup, Add hash browns. Mix well.

Top with Corn Flakes. I usually melt another two T. butter and drizzle over the Corn Flakes.

Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly around the edges and topping is brown.

8-12 servings

Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup

This is a recipe my husband snagged from Paula Deen when he was looking for something different to carry to the once-a-month breakfast our Sunday school department holds. Everyone brings a dish, we eat, visit, and have our Sunday School lesson together rather than breaking up into various groups.

I cooked this dish for the first time earlier this month when my husband and I hosted a group of teenagers from our church for a DNow weekend. There was just a small section of the casserole left as the girls headed off to worship at a nearby church and complete a service project.

Serve the casserole with some sausage links or patties on the side.

1 loaf French Bread (13 to 16 oz.)
8 large eggs
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk
2 T. granulated sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
dash salt
Praline Topping (recipe follows)
Maple Syrup

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. Arrange slices in a generously buttered 9 by 13-inch flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half-and-half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and beat with a rotary beater or whisk until well blended but not too bubbly. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the mik-egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spread Praline Topping over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping:

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 T. light corn syrup
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. Makes enough for Baked French Toast Casserole.

6-8 Servings

Sausage Cheese Muffins

Sausage Balls made with cheddar cheese, Bisquick, and sausage were always a staple around my house growing up especially during the Christmas season. These muffins are like having a huge sausage ball. They taste good and take less time than forming all of those little balls.

I tried this receipe for the first time when my daughter had a group over from church for the weekend.....six teenage girls and two adult leaders. Every muffin was gone in ten minutes!

1 (1-lb.) package ground pork sausage

3 cups all-purpose baking mix ( I used Bisquick)

1 1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 (10 3/4-oz.) can condensed cheese soup

3/4 cup water

Cook sausage in a large skillet, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain and cool.

Combine sausage, baking mix, and shredded cheese in a large bowl; make a well in the center of mixture.

Stir together soup and 3/4 cup water; add to sausage mixture, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened.

Spoon into lightly greased muffin pans, filling to top of cups.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Makes 15 muffins