Hello Faithful Followers,
My amazing daughter is the first guest writer on the blog. Probably she will be a regular contributor. I shouldn't have worried that my girl who didn't like to spend much time in the kitchen as a teenager would turn out to be an accomplished cook. She puts wonderful, healthy meals on her family's table with great regularity. Anyone who has done that knows the discipline required to accomplish this day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year. I counseled her just before her wedding that she better make up her mind to be a cook and enjoy the process. She said with such confidence, "I will!" I could do nothing more than wait and see. She makes me proud.
By Tish:
When my husband was a young boy, he got into the habit of
getting out of bed with only enough time to get dressed and wash his hair
before running out to the school bus.
Years later, his morning routine is much the same, and unless breakfast
is something he can eat while driving a manual transmission, he skips it.
·
I don’t keep granola bars on hand because they
have never satisfied me (a real protein gal).
·
A couple of years ago, he was in a routine of
taking a bowl of cereal along with him. The first time the contents of the
cereal bowl slopped out the side as he was turning a corner was the last time
he ever took cereal.
·
More recently, I would make a big batch of
homemade granola and keep frozen fruit and yogurt on hand to eat it with. This
had mixed results. Often, the hands-on involvement of actually assembling a
bowl of granola, fruit and yogurt took too long, and breakfast was skipped once
again.
·
This mama of two young children loves her sleep
and is not real chipper in the morning. Therefore, cooking a hot breakfast for
him is usually beyond my capabilities, especially at 6 a.m.
One of my goals for 2013 was to come up with a breakfast
solution for him that addressed the above issues. I scoured recipes until I
found one that looked really yummy. We gave it a try for dinner one night and
it quickly disappeared. With a few adaptations to suit our tastes, it was A
WINNER!! I now make 6 batches at once, freeze them and then thaw about a week’s
worth at a time. He pops them in the microwave for 2 minutes while he is lacing
up his work boots. Since he eats 3 cups each morning, it is almost 6 weeks
before I need to do another big cooking spree!
Amazing Muffin Cups
Ingredients:
- 3 cups frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 12 links breakfast sausage, or equivalent amount of ground sausage or cooked crumbled bacon
- 6 eggs
- 2 cups Shredded 4-Cheese Mexican blend cheese
- Garlic Powder to taste, optional
- Dill Weed to taste, optional
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes to taste, optional
Directions:
- In a bowl, combine the hash browns, butter, salt and pepper.
- Fill Demarle muffin cup molds ½ full, tamp down.
- Bake at 400°F for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Meanwhile, cut sausage into ½-inch pieces, and cook according to package directions.
- Divide sausage among muffin cups.
- Beat eggs and spices, stir in cheese. Spoon over sausage.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until set.
*If I am doing the 6 batches, I will
cook the sausage the day before. That part takes about an hour. Total
preparation and baking time for 6 batches is about 3.5 hours (Plus I was able
to prepare this blog post including pictures during baking time!). So worth it
to only have to do every 6 weeks!!*
This is timely! I happen to be in trouble for forgetting to order the protein bars! Ha! I like the idea of making a sextuple batch. Do you have any freezer storage suggestions? The floppy/cold gallon/quart plastic bags are kind of annoying taking up freezer space without any particular order. Maybe I need to investigate some freezer hardy Tupperware? The main take away from this blog is your problem solving/thinking skills, which I have come to value when I have gotten "stuck". The ability to cheerfully adapt to the schedule requirements while accommodating your individual sleep preference is commendable! We are in a state of flux right now. Jerry has been willing to test the newest (cherry) refrigerator oatmeal after many, many Usana meal shakes in the Magic Bullet, which was his idea, in fact. Today was an eggs, hash browns and ketchup, with a side of cold cherry oatmeal (there are other flavors to try, as well, like blueberry/maple) kind of morning. I am planning to try banana/egg pancakes next and the bananas should be just right. Sometimes Jerry appreciates a hot breakfast for a change, if he isn't in a big rush. The last picture makes me smile. What a great, real picture, although I wonder if the fork gets much use.
ReplyDeleteFreezer storage: I start by freezing them individually on Demarle silpats, then put them in the gallon ziploc bags. I have lots of freezer space because I do actually keep up-to-date on using things out of it, so all this is not a space issue. Freezer Tupperware containers are an excellent idea and I would do that myself but I often have fridge items in my Tupperware! That is just a quantity issue!
DeleteAbout the fork use - I actually don't know. My guess is stop signs and stoplights are the main eating time anyway, and the fork at least APPEARS used when I get it back! They are a bit soft (because they are hot) to eat with fingers and not make a mess.
LW in SE WA
I liked your last picture too. Thank your husband for posing with his boots on and lunch box. He's a lucky man and you are lucky lady. Wonderful job on the writing and photos. Do it again soon. In fact, did you take photos of your St. Patrick's Day green meal? I think that should be added to the blog.
DeleteOk, forks are a go. I am getting quite a collection of gallon freezer bags because of working on meals from Fix,Freeze,Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik. Thus the fairly ample freezer space is compromised organizationally. Some strategic planning is going to have to be done for the pot to thicken, because my druthers are not standing long in front of an open freezer door. Tupperware.com, here I come.
ReplyDeleteNew cookbook I hadn't heard of yet. Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Neville and Lindsay Tkacsik. Hmmm, sounds like a winner. I like your idea to serve in Tupperware. Also wonder about glass storage containers with lids. Found a very nice new line from Anchor at the local Kitchen Store "Providence Fine Living". Bought one to try it out and make sure it does not leak when tipped over. Also bought a couple of Ziploc brand glass containers with plastic lids. I like those but they do leak if liquids are tipped over. I have a hard time getting Tupperware lids off when they are frozen.
DeleteThere were no pictures in Fix, Freeze, Feast - if that makes a difference to anybody. I really like the Freezer Mates line of Tupperware for freezing in. My current favorite Tupperware items!!
DeleteLW in SE WA
I admit to having a preference for cookbooks with great photos. Yay for freezer mates and also yay for Adams glass peanut butter jars which are wonderful for food storage, especially the larger ones.
DeleteMonika - let me know what Tupperware you need and I can order it for you. There are specific containers for the freezer! Tish - great recipe, think it will work for this family and can be adapated to be dairy-free for the youngest! - Eileen
DeleteEileen, I looked you up to see if you were still a consultant, and didn't find you on T...com. Thanks for letting me know. No pics in FFF and not sure yet that they are the greatest recipes...although the stew was good even though I didn't get around to adding the carrots. I used brown rice flour for meat coating, since I am partial to pre-browning the stew meat. It was a little stickier than wheat flour, but good, tasty and a nice thickening agent, maybe a tiny bit sweeter than wheat flour, but to continue my quest to avoid wheat made me happy. Just don't have quite enough experience yet to know for sure if FFF is a go. Will see how my pearled barley soup turns out..and try a few more. Pics are nice but lack of doesn't stop me. I tried a new sweet and sour meatball recipe (not FFF) because I couldn't find the old recipe, but something wasn't quite right. It may have been that I forgot an ingredient, but the meat balls are good with plenty of ginger in stir fry. We liked the tomato sauce and it's handy for pizza topping by freezing individually in Demarle, but I forgot I had it for the last two pizzas. Thanks for the suggestion, LW on Freezer Mates. Sure missing you around here. Yes, a lack of pictures makes it more of a mystery meal. LW was a little overwhelmed by the size of cans...1 gallon, and numerous cans of tomato sauce all in the wrong size. She wasn't too eager to try my cherry pantry-surprise-pie - turns out she's not fond of cherries, so that was a poor choice on my part, but I thought it was good and hard to leave in the fridge for Jerry without stealing bites. I'm just not sure you can take her word on this one! :) Her sense of adventure may not be as well developed as mine. :) Or is that her streak of practicality coming out again and I should take heed? ♥ Yes, I think I want to try this recipe, too, Tish. I have one empty Adams PB jar, but what a great start. Thanks for that suggestion. That would probably work rather well for several of these breakfast muffins, and helpful to be able to see what is inside. Time to start a master list of what is in the freezer. I can do this without Tish's help, I can do this w/o Tish's help. I can do this.
DeleteThank you everyone for your comments. If anyone else reading the blog wants to order Tupperware from my sister in law, please email me from my profile page and I'll forward your contact information to her.
DeleteMonika, It is fun to read your adaptions and the reasons for them.
While I reply to your comments I have peanut butter muffins in the oven. Almost done now and smelling wonderful.
Wow. Hope you are going to share that one in your blog!
DeleteI will have to try your recipe. It sounds soooo yummy. I like the idea of hash browns in the bottom. Steve would like it, too. For the no carb version, I make mini bacon quiche in my Demarle with a layer of parmesan cheese in the bottom instead of crust and fill them with assorted veggies, bacon, sausage and/or mushrooms. I also freeze them individually and then put them in bags for convenient freezing. Since I eat breakfast in my car two days a week when I have to be at school early, this type of finger breakfast is really awesome. I just wait until it has cooled down so that I can use my fingers.
ReplyDeleteSometime I'll put your crustless quiche recipe up on the blog unless you want to be a guest blogger and do it. Take photos. I know you are going to be especially busy planning a wedding plus going to college this year so no pressure. Just whenever. It's a great recipe and no carbs which I need to get back to doing.
DeleteAnd we' d DIE out here without Egg McMom's. they can be made up ahead and frozen as well. Much, MUCH better than the fast food (non) equivalent for sure!
ReplyDeleteYum! I'm hungry this morning and this does sound good. I don't have the ingredients in at the moment, but must remedy that soon.
Delete