Breakfast Casserole

breakfast cassarole

2009-11-25T08:58:00.000-08:00

Breakfast, like any other meal of the day, needs proper planning. No longer is it planned independently of the other meals. The three meals should be planned as a unit and balanced against the daily body requirement with enough allowance for good health.

A light breakfast must necessarily be followed be a substantial meal, while a heavy breakfast must be followed by a light lunch. If both breakfast and lunch are light, then a heavy dinner is needed.

Like all meals, breakfast must be planned to include food nutrients not provided for or inadequately found in the two other meals to complete the essential body requirements for the day.

Too often, skimpy breakfasts are blamed in lack of time. Considering that one-fourth to one-third of the day’s requirements is served at breakfast, the need for planning ahead is doubly justified.

Breakfast mean to break the fast of several hours.

The factors affecting the nature of the breakfast menu will depend upon age, sex, weight, health, and kind of activities of the individual family members. Other factors to consider are the amount of time allotted for its preparation by one or several family members, or by a hired helper and how light, moderate, or heavy other meals are intended to be. Family custom may have to contend with all of these, although strictly speaking, this must not prevail upon the more important factors.

Breakfast should always include a raw fruit because this contains more vitamins and minerals than cooked ones. Fresh ripe fruits have a rich mellow aroma that can stimulate even the most delicate appetite. It should be taken as the first course of the meal for the same reason.

Fresh eggs are good breakfast food because they are rich in complete protein, fat, iron, calcium, phosphorus, vitamins A & B, and niacin. They are also easy to prepare and digest. They can be fried, poached, soft-cooked, hard-cooked, scrambled, or prepared as an omelet.

Rice and other cereals are the main fuel contributors in breakfast. Rice is cooked plain or sautéed in small amount of fat and garlic. Corn broiled and buttered is a practical American way that can be adopted anywhere where corn is available.

Milk is the almost complete food and is welcome at any meal. At breakfast, milk is popular as a beverage or taken with coffee, chocolate, oatmeal, and other cereals. Milk should be bought from sanitary and reliable sources. Fresh milk is safer if pasteurized before serving.

breakfast casseroles recipes

2009-11-25T08:52:00.000-08:00

Sausage Casserole

Unique, absolutely healthy and delicious breakfast will fill your morning with great delight!

There are a variety of healthy and yummy breakfasts worthy at your table every morning. Learn a few of these recipes.

Mouth watering, fantastic! Onions and fresh shredded potatoes create a unique taste to this breakfast recipe. It yields 12 servings. This will be served in 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup shredded onion
3 cups drained and pressed shredded potatoes
6 extra-large eggs
One (1) Lb. flavored breakfast sausage
12 ounces shredded mild Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup melted butter
1 pound dairy cottage cheese

Directions:
Heat the oven up to 375oF (190oC). Lightly lubricate a 9 by 13 inch square baking pan.

Put the sausage in a big, deep fry pan. Cook it over a medium to high heat until it becomes equally brown. Drain, crush, and set aside.

Bake for about one hour in the oven. Wait until a clean toothpick inserted into the heart of the dish will come out. Let it cool for about five minutes before serving.

Scrambled Egg Breakfast Pizza
This is a scrumptious and easy to prepare pizza with egg. See the recipe below or you may add on some ingredients for experiment.

Ingredients:
Three (3) eggs
Cheese of your choice
¼ cup onions
One (1) package of ground sausage
Two (2) cans of biscuits

Procedure:
First, set aside onions and brown sausage. On a cooking dish, spin out biscuits.

Wrap unbaked biscuits with eggs, cheese, meat or onions.

Bake it in accordance with the biscuits instructions.

All Star Breakfast Rice
Ingredients:
2/3 cup milk
1/4 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup cooked rice
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
Fresh fruits like strawberries or bananas

Directions:
Combine rice, milk, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small pan. Cook over medium heat for about ten minutes until it becomes thick and creamy.

make ahead breakfast casserole

2009-11-25T08:43:00.000-08:00

Your anniversary is approaching fast and you start to wonder if your spouse will remember which date it occurs on this year. Just for a change he or she may have made a mental note of it or written it in a diary, but more than likely the old memory may need jogging, again. It is never a good idea to leave things to chance, especially if you want results. After all, it's just one little day in the year, and a very special day at that, and a good reason to push the boat out and celebrate. So, you could start dropping some subtle hints a couple of weeks before the anniversary.

You could perhaps reminisce about the fabulous honeymoon you had or how old Auntie Annie did that amazing can-can on the top table at the wedding feast even before the speeches had begun. This is bound to get results, but if you want to ensure that lovely anniversary gifts are going to be heading your way, you may have to resort to leaving a wish list lying around, preferably in a place where it is going to get noticed. You never know, your partner may excel at taking the hint and plump for the most extravagant anniversary gifts on your list. If you don't ask, you usually don't get.

If you are the smart one who remembers your anniversary without any help, you will be racking your brains for something original to give to your spouse as a token of your love and appreciation. If you are buying for your wife or girlfriend, it is guaranteed that she will appreciate being made a fuss of, and pampering anniversary gifts will show her just how much she means to you. A Pamper Me Bathroom Bundle is beautifully presented, and includes everything she will need for a wonderful soak and pampering session in the bath, before you head out together to your favourite restaurant for a romantic candlelit dinner for two. In this anniversary gifts pack are all the towels, face cloths and aromatherapy perfume creams, lotions, potions and soap that she will require, and every time she uses them she will remember what a fabulous and considerate partner you are.

We all know men are from Mars and women are from Venus, so a piece of Venus to call her very own has to be the ultimate in romantic anniversary gifts. She will be thrilled to know, and boast to all her friends, that there is an acre of Venus out there that is actually hers, and she'll have all the documents to prove it. With this anniversary gift she will even have the mineral rights to her piece of land, so just imagine if she ever gets the chance to visit the planet. Who knows what precious rocks she may find?

Maybe she would prefer something that she can admire every day, something that she can display on the shelf. A really original anniversary gift idea is a Message in a Bottle which comes in a treasure chest style presentation box. She will never guess what it holds. Inside the corked bottle will be a scroll with your own personal romantic message for her eyes only, lying on a bed of sand and shells, evoking visions of desert islands, palm trees and just the two of you stranded together with nothing but your love to keep you alive.

Perhaps she is the type of woman who enjoys a thrilling challenge, always on the lookout for a bit of excitement. No doubt she would marvel at the opportunity of driving a Ferrari at Silverstone. A chance to bomb around the circuit is the anniversary gift of a life time, even if your heart may be in your mouth as you watch her burn rubber. But this will certainly put an end to the comments about women drivers. Adrenalin laden anniversary gifts will make her adore you for the wonderful partner that you are when she sits in that Ferrari for the first time.

Buying an anniversary gift for your man is so much easier. He is going to be thrilled when you give him a personalised sports calendar, and you can chose from a selection of sports such as golf, football, fishing or cricket or whatever sport tickles his fancy. These lovely anniversary gifts have his name on every image each month. If he is an adrenalin fiend and always boasting about how brave and fearless he is, why not call his bluff and give him a flying lesson as his anniversary gift. He will get the chance to take over the controls up there in the sky and will impress you with his daring-do abilities. And if that isn't enough to spice up your relationship you can always give him a copy of the Little Black Book of Kama Sutra as an anniversary gift. It will give you something to work on for the next few months!

overnight breakfast casserole

2009-11-25T08:40:00.000-08:00

All of us have seen people who seem to have created “Success” overnight. We’ve never heard nor seen anything about them and all of a sudden there they are--rich, famous and a household name.
Sometimes they’re young, sometimes they’re old but they seem to have captured that “overnight success” magic.

But often what we don’t see is the years and years of study, practice, dreaming and believing that went into that “overnight success”. Often if you ask an “overnight success” about it, they will tell you story after story of the time and effort that was really expended and how it took years to become successful “overnight”.

True overnight successes are rare and fleeting. Rare because usually years and years of preparation go into making a success and fleeting because if lightning does strike and immediate success is achieved it often doesn’t last. If your mind and energies are not lined up to maintain the success it will be gone as fast as it came.

“If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live a life which one has imagined, one will meet with success in common hours.”
Henry David Thoreau
1817-1862

Every step and every experience in life prepares you for the next step. If you failed today and you failed yesterday, it has only prepared you to meet success tomorrow. There are lessons learned. You may now know what won’t work or how you don’t want to do it. You have developed your preference and choices based upon the failures you have had. So there really isn’t any such thing as failure-there are just adjustments to be made based upon results.

Keep on keeping on. Keep trying, keep practicing, keep working and keep visualizing and feeling the feeling of your end result. You will meet you’re your success. People may call you an overnight success. You will know the truth that every minute of your life prepared you for the success you now have and so richly deserve.

easy breakfast casserole

2009-11-25T08:35:00.000-08:00

Because breakfast provides people with the fuel to start the day, it is one of the most important meals of the day. Eating breakfast keeps one alert, awake, energetic, and focused. Because we all have busy lifestyles, it can often seem too time consuming to make breakfast. Fortunately, there are many quick and easy breakfast ideas that help one make time to have a good and healthy start to the day.

The following are top 5 quick and easy breakfast ideas:

1. Cereals are a popular way of getting a quick breakfast. There are many healthy cereals that contain oats, bran, and wheat. Popular healthy cereals include Mini-Wheats, Cheerios, and Raisin Bran. You can balance the meal with a piece of toast, fruit, and glass of milk. Both children and adults love this easy to make breakfast meal. You can also use a slow cooker to cook oatmeal overnight. In the morning you will have a hot and delicious meal. Add fruit and cinnamon to add flavor to the hot meal.

2. The night before, you can boil some eggs, peel them, and store them in the refrigerator. As well, mix different cut up pieces of fruit in a bowl and store in the refrigerator. In the morning you just have to warm up the boiled eggs and uncover your fruit bowl. It is quick and easy. Sprinkle some granola over the fruit and make a piece of toast or toasted English muffin.

3. A delicious breakfast sandwich is another easy to make meal. Toast an English muffin and spread butter or mayonnaise. Add several slices of cheese and a few slices of sliced deli meats. You can add veggies to the sandwich if you want. Along with the sandwich, have a glass of milk and some fruit or yogurt.

4. There are a number of easy breakfast meals that do not require preparation. This can include: store bought sliced banana bread or muffins and breakfast bars that include cereal bars, oatmeal bars, and granola bars. Yogurt is another example of a quick food for people on the go. It is very healthy and you can add fruit and granola to the yogurt. There are a variety of yogurt flavors available. A fruit smoothie is another popular breakfast food. Just mix fruit, yogurt, and fruit juice in a blender and you have a thick and filling meal.

5. If you are making a mad rush out the door, grab a piece of fruit such as a banana. It will give you energy and keep your stomach from rumbling. You can even make a peanut butter sandwich the night before and eat it on the way to work. There are also special breakfast drinks you can purchase.

If you are one that has very little time in the mornings, before you go to bed, set the table for breakfast with bowls, glasses, spoons, cereal box, bread, butter, fresh fruit...etc. It will help cut down on breakfast preparation time. To have a productive day, a good breakfast is essential. Fortunately, there are many ways for you to make time to have something delicious and nutritious to eat.

potato breakfast casserole

2009-11-25T08:31:00.000-08:00

Television. It can be an incredible waste of time.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I enjoy watching television. I enjoy watching Jack Bauer defeat the bad guys. I like watching Adrian Monk unravel the most hopelessly Byzantine mysteries. I even like seeing Donald Trump dispense his corporate judgments, and I like learning from the mistakes of his apprentice wannabes. When I think about how much of my day is wasted by each episode of television though, I cringe.

The way I see it, TV time is essentially wasted time. Think about it; you're sitting there, being informed or entertained, but otherwise accomplishing nothing. Even if you watch only two hours a day, that's essentially 1/8 of your waking time that goes to waste -- probably about 1/3 to 1/2 of your free time, if you maintain an eight-hour workday. If you cut that down by one hour a day, you'll be liberating 365 hours a year, or about 15.2 whole days! Personally, I could use another fifteen days per year; can't you?

What if certain TV shows are dear to your heart—programs that you would absolutely hate to miss? Believe me, I know the feeling. Whatever you do though, don't just sit back and thumb the remote control. There are many things you can do to make your TV viewing hours more productive.

I use my TV time to accomplish important tasks that don't require much mental effort -- getting some exercise, for example. This lets me enjoy my favorite shows without feeling guilty about the time I spend in front of the tube. I find that weight training is easier to do while watching the tube though, since it requires less room, less motion and less concentration.

It’s not just exercise that I do. Sometimes I tidy up around the home, feed my pets or sort through my mail. Sometimes, I park my laptop computer in front of the TV set and type away. Admittedly, the latter doesn’t work well when I have to perform mentally intensive tasks such as heavy writing or computer programming. It does work if I’m only doing lightweight work though, such as writing a letter or searching for articles.

Mind you, I’m not saying that I never just sit back and enjoy a show. I still do that now and then, especially when I’m sick or exhausted. Whenever possible though, I try to make sure that I use this time productively.

I’ll say it again. Television is a huge waste of time. That doesn’t mean we have to avoid it completely, though. As long as we remind ourselves of what a huge time sink it can be, we can find ways to make the best of this otherwise wasted time.

crockpot breakfast casserole

2009-11-25T08:27:00.000-08:00

Have you ever been hungry for something special... maybe a roast or a ham, for example... and then figured out you just did not have time to cook it? Unless they have a specific recipe for the crockpot, most people never even think to use it. In reality, many recipes for the oven or kettle can be adapted to the crockpot with delicious results.

While crockpots may vary slightly, generally the low setting is about 200 degrees Fahrenheit. The high setting is approximately 300 degrees Fahrenheit. An hour of cooking on the high setting is equivalent to two - 2.5 hours on low. Many recipes that you find written for crockpots suggest your food should cook for 8 to 10 hours on low. This is about how long most people are gone to work or school.

Recipe Conversion Tips

If you are thinking of trying your favorite recipe in your crockpot for the first time, there is a little advice you may want to follow for the best results. When changing any recipe for the crockpot, you will want to reduce your liquid. The crockpot does not let liquid evaporate like the oven, so you will want to reduce the amount you initially put in by about half. You will be surprised how much liquid is there when your dish is done.

Adjust your spices. Ground spices tend to lose flavor with many hours of cooking, so wait to add them until the last hour before serving. Whole spices, on the other hand, tend to become intensified in the crockpot. Unless you want to be overwhelmed with the flavor of that spice, you may want to cut it back by half.

If you are planning to make a chicken soup recipe, or any other soup for that matter, add just enough liquid to cover the rest of the ingredients. You can always add more liquid later in the cooking process for a thinner soup. For cream soups, hold off on the dairy products until close to the end of your cooking time to keep them from curdling.

Dried beans work well in the crockpot. Instead of spending time soaking them, cook them on low overnight. Put your beans in the crockpot and cover with water. Be sure to add a teaspoon of baking soda to the water. In the morning, drain the water before adding your softened beans to the other ingredients. Chili, bean soup, and other delicious meals can then continue cooking in the crockpot.

Some foods are too delicate for cooking over long periods of time. Seafood, rice, pasta, some vegetables, and dairy products are just a few. Do not add any of these ingredients until a couple of hours before serving if you are cooking on low or one hour before serving if you are cooking on high. If you really must use milk earlier in the cooking period, consider using evaporated milk.

Browning of the meat is optional. If you choose to do so before putting the meat in the crockpot, it will add a beautiful color to the surface. It also helps reduce the fat content on some meats. If you do not have time for it however, browning is not necessary to have a delicious roast waiting when you come home in the crockpot.

egg breakfast casserole

2009-11-25T08:22:00.000-08:00

If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.” --Thomas Watson, Sr. Founder of IBM

Before the Breakfast of Champions – there was the Breakfast of Failures:

• C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia) had over 800 rejections before he sold even one piece of writing.

• Oprah Winfrey was not deterred when she got fired from her television reporter’s job being told, “You’re not fit for TV.”

• Og Mandino (The Greatest Salesman in the World) had lost his family to drink and became a homeless person before becoming an inspirational bestselling author selling over 30 million books.

• Marie Curie, recipient of two Nobel Prizes once said, “I tried out various experiments…and the results were sometimes unexpected. At times I would be encouraged by a little unhoped-for success, at others I would be in the deepest despair because of accidents and failures resulting from my inexperience…I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy.”

• Bill Gates and Michael Dell were college drop-outs.

• Babe Ruth had more strike-outs then any other baseball player of his time. He also had the most home runs.

• Ann Bancroft, the first woman to travel across the ice to the North Pole, reminisced later about not reaching a goal to cover 2,300 miles across Antarctica (bad weather forced them to be airlifted off) on an expedition with her sister: “Once again this [expedition] is another successful failure.”

• After auditioning for his band, musician Eddie Bond told a young Elvis Presley to “Stick to driving a truck, because you’ll never make it as a singer.”

• Abe Lincoln lost his job and his sweetheart, failed miserably in business, was defeated for state legislature, had a nervous breakdown, was defeated for nomination for congress, lost the renomination, was defeated for US Senate, defeated for nomination of Vice President, and again defeated for US Senate, before being elected as the sixteenth President of the United States.

Forget about living a ‘comfortable’ life. I’m not interested in the items you’ve crossed off your to-do list today. I want to know: have you failed – I mean really FAILED lately?

breakfast casserole

2009-11-25T08:08:00.000-08:00

Bay leaves are a wonderful addition to any soup, sauce, stew or casserole. I have come across recipes that call for fresh bay leaves and beware; old dried bay leaves are a shadow of their freshly dried cousins. However, some say the fresh leaves are very mild and do not develop their full flavour until several weeks after picking and drying.

Bay leaves are one of the foundations of good cooking and are used for long slow cooking. They are used alone or as part of a bouquet garni, along with thyme and parsley, to flavour stocks and bouillons, sauces, soups, stews and pickling brines. Because the leaf is leathery and the stem tough they are usually removed before eating. If eaten whole, bay leaves are pungent and have a sharp, bitter taste. As with many spices and flavourings, the fragrance of the bay leaf is more noticeable than the taste in cooked foods. When dried, the fragrance is slightly floral, and similar to oregano and thyme.

Tear or crush bay leaves to release the volatile oils before adding to your cooking. A number of members of the Laurel family are poisonous to humans. Their visual similarity to bay leaves has led to the belief that bay leaves should be removed from food after cooking because they are poisonous. This is not true - bay leaves are safe to eat.

Widely used in Italy to flavour meat dishes, roast chicken, broths, stews, soups, fish etc, these Leaves are also perfect for spaghetti sauce. Break a leaf and add to your favourite marinade recipes. Indeed they are extremely versatile, from meat and fish to pasta and soup.

Here is one of my favourite recipes where the bay leaves combine with lemon to perfectly complement Sea Bass.

Spigola al forno con Limone e foglie di alloro (Baked sea bass with lemon and bay leaves)

Ingredients
100ml (4oz) Olive oil
2 large Spanish Onions, thinly sliced
450g (16oz) baby ripe plum tomatoes
3 torn Bay leaves,
coarse sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper
4 Sea bass, each around 450g (1lb), gutted, scaled and cleaned. (get your fishmonger to do this)
2 Lemons, cut into small wedges
1 small bunch of flat leaf Parsley, stalks trimmed and reserved
200ml (8oz) White wine

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 390°F/gas 6.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan, add in the onion and gently fry until golden and soft.

3. Spoon the cooked onions onto a large baking tray and scatter over the tomatoes and bay leaves. Season with the sea and pepper.

4. Using a sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal slashes across each side of the sea bass. Stuff each fish with lemon and parsley stalks inside the cavity of the fish. Lay the fish over the onions and tomatoes.

5. Drizzle the fish with the remaining olive oil and white wine and season well with sea salt.

6. Bake for approx 15-20 minutes, basting frequently.

7. Serve in the baking dish scattered with flat-leafed parsley leaves.
This dish goes well with boiled Potatoes and garlic mayonnaise.