Country-style bacon, apple and cheese egg bake recipe

Whether you have overnight guests coming for the holidays or you're simply looking for a special family breakfast...

Wake up their senses with this, Country-style bacon, apple and cheese egg bake!

This is a great one to make a day in advance (just be sure not to overcook since you'll be reheating)...then in the morning...take it out of the fridge, cover it with foil and reheat until warm though-out ... 

(Sitting for a day, allows all those delicious ingredients to come together and then shine through when ready to eat!)

Juice, hot coffee and warm cinnamon raisin toast with butter makes this egg bake extra special!

Find the recipe here at SheKnows: Country-style bacon, apple and cheese egg bake

Bisquick quiche with asparagus, cheddar and crispy prosciutto recipe

Bisquick quiche...because sometimes we all need a shortcut.

You'll find my post here at SheKnows: Bisquick quiche with asparagus, cheddar and crispy prosciutto recipe

Unique Deviled Eggs ~ 3 delicious recipes!

Let's take a closer look at each type...

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs with Dill and Caviar



Feta and Caper Deviled Eggs garnished with Chives


Curried Deviled Eggs topped with a sliver of Grape



The attached link at SheKnows.com gives you the simple recipes to prepare the exact tray at the top of this post.

To prepare a dozen of each type of egg  ...just triple the recipes! So easy and so addicting!
CLICK HERE --->   Unique Deviled Eggs

Scotch Eggs

What I love about the Scotch Egg (besides the obvious) is its ability to look super fancy (imagine it sliced on a bias and placed atop a beautiful salad and served to the Queen of England) OR...

plated rustic, pub-style...in a dimly-lit bar with no knife...no fork...but a grainy Dijon mustard and perhaps some chunks of cheddar.

Another recipe perfect for St. Patrick's Day or any day...you'll find my recipe here at SheKnows.com:  
Scotch Eggs

Buffalo Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs

If you love *blue cheese...

.....and you love spicy wing sauce

........if you love deviled eggs

...............then these are a MUST! 

Super easy and delicious...it will be impossible to pop just one!!!

To save time, make these deviled eggs a day in advance, lightly cover with plastic wrap and place them in the fridge...remove about 30 minutes before serving. 

*Blue cheese too strong? Not for you? Try a Gorganzola cheese or Ranch dressing instead!

You'll find my recipe here at SheKnows:  Buffalo Blue Cheese Deviled Eggs

Ham, Cheese and Onion Crustless Quiche

Is there such a thing as a crustless quiche?   Many purists out there would quickly and assertively respond, "No!"

That said, this crustless version of a quiche, not only cuts down on the carbs, but it's quick and simple to prepare!

Baked Eggs in Bread Bowls with Manchego Cheese, Asparagus and White Truffle Oil

Take, "brunching" to the next level with these, Baked Eggs in Bread Bowls with Manchego Cheese, Asparagus and White Truffle Oil...

Homemade Pasta Dryer...for making Homemade Pasta!

I woke up yesterday morning wanting a pasta dryer. The fancy one at the store was $50 (seemed extravagant for such a humble task).  The inexpensive wooden one was, "only available online..."

Dilemma.

Mini Bisquick Quiches with Bacon, Onion & Cheese...Heading to Happy Valley!

I debated putting that in the title.

I mean the, "Heading to Happy Valley!"

I don't want anyone who reads my blog to, "jump ship" just because my husband and I are, Nittany Lion alumni and FANS!

Anywhoo...I still have Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes to make and loads of laundry to do (not to mention children to get to bed and an entire car to pack with TAILGATE essentials!)

We'll be on our way tomorrow night....in the meantime here is part of what we'll all be enjoying while sipping Bloody Marys at the tailgate on Saturday morning with friends...




Basic Bisquick Quiche Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup Bisquick
2 cups milk
4 eggs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl, mix the Bisquick, milk and eggs together until well combined.

Butter a quiche (or pie pan) and fill with quiche fillings of choice (ie: diced ham, Swiss cheese, onion...etc)

Cover with the Bisquick Batter.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes.

Remove from oven, let sit a few minutes then slice and serve. OR COOL to room temp, cover with foil and place in refrigerator or freeze until ready to eat. Then simply REHEAT.

* HERE I used a nonstick mini muffin tin.

I sprayed the tin VERY well with non-stick cooking spray.

Next, filled EACH mini muffin tin hole with:

1.) A few FRESH, CRISPY bacon bits (Not the store bought - real bacon bits!)
2.) Diced onion that had been sauteed in a bit of butter until soft
3.) Pinch+ of grated Monterey Jack cheese

Then, I covered those ingredients by filling the mini muffins with the Bisquick batter ~ ~ bringing the batter to the top of the rim (But not Overflowing)

Last, top with just a bit of fresh chives (optional) and then bake in the oven for about 23-25 minutes.

LET COOL SLIGHTLY or to room temp. 

Loosen the sides of the mini quiches with a butter knife and lift from the pan.

(YIELDS 48 mini quiches.)

Can be served immediately.......or refrigerated ....or frozen and reheated to enjoy later.

A DELICIOUS CROWD PLEASER!

A Rainy Sunday Morning Breakfast & the Reason I Cook...

The kids slept in today...it was a nice treat considering the past few weeks.

The pitter pat of rain on the rooftop, along with the dark morning sky, no doubt played a part in the peacefulness...



Most Sundays I wish for sun, a day where the options are limitless...

But today ...the rain felt right.



While my husband and children slept, I grew restless thinking of breakfast...

We had leftover salmon that had been baked in the oven with lemon, chives and dill...half a loaf of country bread, cream cheese...

...and farm fresh eggs from the market.




I know there will come a time when they'll be all grown up and I'll desperately be missing their early morning kisses...

Their predawn pleas for apple juice and waffles...

...the sheer energy and possibility they bring to each and every day.



I want to always remember these days.

The days when rainy, Sunday morning hair is simply perfect...




and when a crayon and piece of paper stretches their imagination...





and leads to creations...worthy of a magnet on the fridge.




Sure, I cook because I love food...but the truth is... I cook because I love my family...without them none of it would matter.

Without them...
....an egg ...would be an egg
....and an herb ...would be an herb

and I'm not sure I'd ever care to put the two together...



but as long as there are rainy days and people who depend on me...

...and as long as there are pictures hanging on our fridge...only giving way to someday framed diplomas....





...as long as they are in my life...


I'll never stop cooking for them.

Cobb Salad Endive Boats

These little Cobb Salad Endive Boats make a fun addition to any brunch inspired menu!

We plan to enjoy a few this coming Saturday while watching The Kentucky Derby...along with classic Southern Hot Browns (Did she just say classic? Isn't she from the north east?)  I'll do my best...(post to come!)

And what would Derby Day be without a Mint Julep (or 4)?!

For each Cobb Salad Endive Boat, I used two leaves of Endive to form the bottom of the "boat."


I layered in my Cobb Salad Endive Boats the following:

Sliced Avocado
Tomato
Crisp Bacon
Piece of Grilled Chicken (we had leftover from previous night...it's fine to omit)
Sliced Hard Boiled Egg
Drizzle of Mild Blue Cheese Dressing




Action Shot ~ scooping avocado slices out of their skin...perfectly ripe!



Fresh, beautiful, delicious food that's fun to look at ...and better to eat! 

Enjoy!

High Tea Happy Hour Photos

When I heard there would be no beer served at the Royal Wedding...

I cancelled my flight and called up William and Kate to tell them I couldn't make it, "something all of a sudden came up..."

I'm not sure they bought my excuse?  So I hosted my own party instead.





A High Tea Happy Hour...with beer, wine, hot tea, iced tea and pomegranate martinis.
 




I wanted to do all traditional tea sandwiches, but when I started running short on prep time...two of the sandwiches on the initial menu found here got nixed and two others were redefined as "canapes."

So tea sandwiches and canapes...actually quite appropriate for a HIGH TEA - HAPPY HOUR...

The tea pot below is from England and was my great grandmother's...the glasses I found at Goodwill for $9.99 ~ I thought they were so cool and well worth the price!





This was the set up before my guests arrived (saran wrap covering the plates...)

Everyone still hung out in the kitchen.  (My next house needs two kitchens...one where I cook...a real working kitchen....and one that is beautiful, huge and open to the entire house so people spread out!)

A girl can dream...




There were grilled shrimp that went with this Caesar Salad (below) that I forgot to put out until an hour into the party. I knew something was missing!

So anyway...Kate's dress was stunning...only overshadowed by her beautiful face and smile. William looked dapper in his Irish Guard red.

I hope they're not upset I cancelled last minute.  Kate...if you're reading, "call me."

Soft Scrambled Eggs with Fresh Ricotta and Chives

I know most of us have a lot going on this week! Households around the world are busy planning, cooking, reflecting and celebrating...

We're having fifteen people here on Saturday... so in a few minutes I'm off to a local catering supply store I stumbled upon last weekend...I can't wait to see what they have!

I'll need some energy though....so I made Soft Scrambled Eggs with Fresh Ricotta and Chives for breakfast. 

Simple as can be (as it's basically scrambled eggs) I still decided to follow the recipe exactly as written. (I did skip buttering my toast...)

Perfectly delicious!   Plus...fresh chives make me happy...they remind me of Spring! 

Steak and Eggs - It's How We Roll

When we were young, in love and living in New York City, sometimes on the weekends we would roll out of bed and head to brunch at Cilantro, a colorful Mexican restaurant right around the corner from our tiny walk-up apartment.

I remember one day sitting there at the restaurant, all the windows were open and there was a touch of spring in the air. My husband ordered the Steak and Eggs and we both had frozen margaritas. While we sat there enjoying our food and people watching on Second Avenue, my husband turned to me and dead serious exclaimed, "You know, we live like rock stars!"  I smiled and shook my head in complete agreement.

Fast forward ten years...here we are in suburbia, a house, a mortgage, two cars, and two little ones who HAVE NO IDEA HOW MOMMY AND DADDY USED TO ROLL! 

I thought about that day this morning while making the kids breakfast...then I made this Steak and Eggs for my husband with some fresh bruschetta and toast points with homemade honey butter.

I like to think we're still living large! :)

Corn Tortilla Cannoli ~ Caught Fraternizing

First, to the Cannoli purists out there (and I know there are many)...please don't all of you come after me with a club!  It's just that I often find myself with leftover corn tortillas sitting idle in my fridge. 

On this particular day...my tortillas were nestled up beside an unopened tub of sweet and creamy Mascarpone Cheese.

When I caught the two fraternizing...this is what I did...

Corn tortillas...

Corn tortilla soaking in mixture of egg, cream, vanilla extract and cinnamon...

Corn tortilla cooking over medium-high heat on buttered cast iron skillet...

Off the stove...

Sprinkled with a bit of Brown Sugar while still warm...

Handful of almonds (pistachios would be nice too)...

Look out...

Little guys never had a chance...

Mixture of mascarpone & cream cheese (ricotta would be nice), touch of vanilla extract, spoonful of fig spread from previous post and some crushed almonds ~ mix to taste.

(About 3-4 tablespoons)

Cheese mixture placed on cooled tortilla and sprinkled with more almonds...

Rolled seam side down...

Carefully cut on a bias with a sharp paring knife...

While nothing compares to the light, crisp, flaky shell of the Classic Italian Cannoli...this Corn Tortilla version is absolutely DELICIOUS!  Easy to bite into...creamy, crunchy, sweet (but not overly so) in the center!

Alas...I dipped the ends in almonds...but they're BEGGING for some chocolate!

A perfect treat for breakfast, tea time, coffee or dessert!  Enjoy!