Egg Bake

This is fresh out of the oven.

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My sister Sandy, made this Egg Bake for our family's breakfast on Christmas Day.  It is delicious, and the recipe is pretty versatile.  For any vegetarians, you can easily leave out the meat.  For any that don't like cheese, that can be left out, as well.

1 pkg Jimmy Dean Sausage (cooked, crumbled and drained)
green and/or red bell pepper, diced, and cooked along with the sausage
onion, diced, and cooked along with the sausage
4 cups cubed, day-old bread
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
10 eggs, slightly beaten
4 cups milk (my sister used 2 cups skim milk and 2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp onion powder (my sister did not add, since she used fresh onion)

Place bread in a well-buttered 9x13" baking dish.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Combine the eggs, milk, dry mustard, salt, pepper and onion salt, if using and pour over the bread and cheese.  Sprinkle with the sausage, pepper and onion mixture.  Cover and chill overnight.

The next morning, preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Bake, uncovered, for about 1 hour, or until cooked all the way through in the center, and the center is set.  Tent baking dish with foil, if the top browns too quickly.

Remove from the oven and allow to set up for easier cutting, about 10 minutes.  Serve.

See how deep and velvety it is?

Chow Mein Hotdish

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I think everyone has had this at one time or another, at least those of my generation. This is the version my mother made.

1 lb hamburger
1 cup diced celery
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cups water
1/2 cup long grain rice
1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

In a large skillet, brown the hamburger, celery and onion until hamburger is browned, drain. Add remaining ingredients and stir until completely combined and pour into a greased 9 x 13" pan.  Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour. If desired, sprinkle with chow mein noodles, peanuts or cashews.

State Fair Subs

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I got this recipe from Taste of Home's "Quick Cooking" magazine in 2001. They are one of my son's favorite sandwiches.

1 (1 - lb) loaf French Bread (I use hoagie buns)
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb hot Italian sausage
chopped onion, optional
2 cups (8 oz) shredded Mozzarella cheese

Cut bread in half lengthwise, and carefully hollow out top and bottom of loaf, leaving a 1" shell. Cube the removed bread. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, pepper and salt. Add the bread cubes and toss to coat; set aside.

In a skillet, over medium heat, cook sausage and onion until the meat is no longer pink, drain. Add the sausage to the bread mixture. Spoon filling into the bread shells, sprinkle with cheese. Wrap each in foil and bake 400 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes, or until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Cut into serving-sized slices.

Hidden Valley Ranch Oyster Snack Crackers

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These have been all over Pinterest, and I've been wanting to make them.  I recently had a chance to taste them at work, and they are so good!  They're pretty addictive, too.  There is some leeway in the amount of seasonings, but I will post the amounts I used.  Most recipes call for garlic powder but I don't really like garlic, though I can tolerate it in small doses if it is in garlic salt.  Some recipes call for the addition of lemon-pepper - I think I will try adding some of that, next time.


1 (16-oz) bag oyster crackers 
1 (1-oz) packet Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing Mix (dry mix)
1/4 cup Canola or Vegetable oil
1 tsp dill weed
3/8 tsp garlic salt

Pour the crackers into a large bowl.  Drizzle on the canola oil and stir the crackers to evenly coat.  You might think it won't be enough oil to coat all the crackers, but it is.  Sprinkle on the Ranch dressing mix, the dill weed and garlic salt.  Stir again to evenly coat.  Spread on a rimmed cookie sheet and bake 250° for 15 - 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Store in a tightly covered container.

(White Chocolate) M & M Sugar Cookies

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Adapted from Jamie Cooks It Up

These are excellent cookies! 

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cream of tartar

dash salt

1 (12-oz) bag M&Ms (I used the White Chocolate M&Ms ... the bags only come in one size, and I used about 1 1/2 bags.  These may only be seasonal; but I'm sure these cookies would be great with the plain M&ms or any other flavor M&M, you may want to try.)

sugar for rolling the cookies in before baking.

Cream the butter and 1 1/2 cup of sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes.  Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt and stir into the cookie dough in thirds, beating just until combined.  Stir in the M&Ms by hand.

Form into balls, about 2" in size, and roll in in the sugar.  I made some cookies plain, without the M&Ms, and those, I flattened slightly with the bottom of a glass.  They turned out quite flat.  The ones with the M&Ms, were thicker, mostly because I did not flatten them.  Bake 350° for about 8 minutes, or until just beginning to brown around the edges.  Allow to cool a few minutes on the baking sheet and then finish cooling them on a wire rack.