Crockpot Western Omelet

 

It's me again, just popping in for a minute.

This morning I made the Crockpot Western Omelet from this week's menu plan, and I changed something about the recipe I thought you might want to know, if you decide to make it!

After a long talk with my sister last night about getting up at 5AM to turn on the crockpot, she convinced me to do it differently.  She said she would NEVER get up to do that, and thought it was a dumb idea.  She suggested I just assemble it in the morning and bake it.  She also suggested that we just go out to breakfast.  🤣🤣   Did I mention that she's a GENIUS??  Why did I never think of that?  Sometimes I wonder how I figure out how to get dressed in the morning.

So, this morning, I got up at my usual time.  I assembled the casserole by just layering the ingredients.  I didn't even thaw the hash browns.  I put frozen hash browns on the bottom, just half a bag, then cubed ham, then a chopped onion and green pepper, then cheese, sprinkled it with salt and pepper, then poured the egg mixture over it all.  I baked it at 375 degrees for 45 minutes, and I have to tell you - it was better than in the crockpot!  Really good!  Nothing was mushy, it was all perfectly cooked and my husband agreed it was better this way.

Here's what it looked like:

Is that not the worst picture ever taken of food for a blog?  I'm kind of in a hurry.  I just wanted to let you see how it turned out.  Of course, we ate the first part of it already.  I think that making it this way, so that it's more spread out, helped it get done evenly.  It's not nearly as thick as it is in the crockpot, but that's a good thing.  No mushy parts, everything was done just right.

So there's my update!  You might want to try making it this way, although the crockpot is good too.  We just like it this way better!

Now go have a great day, and see you in a bit!

Apple Breakfast Tart

 

It's been awhile!  I had to take a little intermission while I took care of a hip and back flare-up.  I am on the road to back to normal, thanks to a good doctor and physical therapy.

So for the past month or so, we've been eating a lot of sandwiches, frozen foods, and take out.  Whatever I could throw together without too much standing and/or bending.  And although I am almost ready to start cooking again, there are a couple considerations.  

First, according to the doctor, I need to change my diet to a more healthy one.  I totally get that!  I don't like it, but I get it!  Second, I am just not quite there yet for sitting down and making a menu plan and going to several grocery stores to get everything I need.  I'm doing way better, just not there yet!

What I have done, though, is I've been looking at different ways of sharing my menu plans.  I like using Google Drive, but it's just not my favorite.  I checked out Bublup - have you heard of it?  I really like it!  It's kind of like Pinterest, in a way, but you can save files, notes, and all sorts of things in your folders.  Then, if you want them to, Bublup just takes all the stuff you've put in a folder and makes a blog post out of it somehow!  It's like magic!  

I tried one out this morning.  I made a really yummy Apple Breakfast Tart this morning, and we both loved it.  So I quick put notes and pictures in a folder, and they made it into a roll (that's what they call a blog post).  It was pretty easy and pretty darn quick to throw together!  

So....I decided to make you my guinea pigs and share the link with you all, so you can see how it looks when they mosh it all together to make a blog post.  PLEASE let me know what you think!  Because I'm thinking I may try to make my menu plans using the BublUp app, if you guys like how it looks.  If not, I can go back to the old way of using Google Drive.  It's no big deal, but I'm interested in knowing what you all think!

Here is the link to see the BublUp blog page for my Apple Breakfast Tart:

Apple Breakfast Tart

PLEASE let me know what you think!

Have a great day, and I will be back soon with a menu plan!

Menu Plan for Week of 10-18 to 10-24, 2020

 

Good morning!  

It was close to freezing yesterday morning, but today is much better!  I can definitely feel fall in the air.

My husband has raked up leaves big time this week.  I was thinking that most of the leaves were down, but after a couple days it looks about the same as before he raked.

These fall days just make me want to bake, and sew, and nap!  Nothing better than curling up in a big, soft chair with a warm blanket and snooze away!  I put an autumn scent in my scent warmer yesterday, and my daughter came over and was looking for whatever I baked!  She said it smelled like I baked something yummy! She was a bit disappointed there were no goodies for her to sample!

Today I am baking a ham.  I had one in the freezer, and I figure I better start using up some of my freezer stuff so I can restock it for Thanksgiving and Christmas!  So for a couple days, we will be eating ham in different forms.  I have learned over the years that if I jazz up leftovers, they will get eaten with much less complaining!  So I am trying to get a little creative using up the ham on Monday and Tuesday!  I should be close to using it all up, since I will reserve a couple pieces to make ham sandwiches for lunch.

This week's menu has a couple new-to-me recipes, and I can't wait to try them!  Especially the Banana Crumble on Saturday!  It looks great, and sounds delicious!  I will use gluten free oats so I can eat it too!

Here is this week's menu:

Again, you should be able to click on the links to find the recipes.  I have a mix of gluten free and non-gluten free again, mostly because that is just how I am baking these days!  

I have a few new recipes tagged for trying out one of these days, when I just have a day with nothing else planned!  Right now I am enjoying pumpkin recipes.  I have heard all over the place that there is a shortage of canned pumpkin in the stores, but not where I shop!  I am having no trouble finding cans of pumpkin anywhere.  Aldi's has them, Meijer and Kroger have them, and I just saw cans of pumpkin at Wal Mart.  So unless it's a regional thing, I think we will have plenty of canned pumpkin!

Have a great week, and I hope you can find a couple recipes or a menu plan to use for your family this week!  I am planning on getting some sewing and baking done this week, and some cleaning out of cabinets!  See you next week!  

Thin Mint Milkshakes

A beautiful Sunday is in the works here!  Gorgeous weather, and a football game tonight...what a great day!

We started the day off today with these Thin Mint milkshakes, and let me tell you, they are YUMMY!They are so good, I could drink them every day!

The recipe is from Gwen's Nest.  It is on my weekly menu plan for this week, for Sunday's breakfast.  I followed her recipe exactly, except I threw all ingredients (even the chocolate) into the blender and whirled it for about 30 seconds.  There was enough for an extra  1/2 glass full for both of us, which was good because I loved this!  It tastes like mint chocolate chip ice cream - my favorite!
Try this, you will love it!  And thank you Gwen's Nest for a milkshake recipe I will be making often!

Have a great Sunday!

Apple Cobbler Oatmeal

Fall.  Apples.  Pumpkins.  It's so predictable, but so right!  The first hint of fall weather and all I crave are apples in EVERYTHING and pumpkin spice.  

This morning I got up and was ready to make Apple Cinnamon Waffles, but I just didn't feel like making them today.  What I wanted was a nice big bowl of oatmeal, and apple pie.  Just one of those crazy cravings!

So, I made Apple Cobbler Oatmeal instead.  Just throw everything in a big bowl, mix it up real good, and bake it.  Easy as pie! Even easier!

The kitchen smelled like apple heaven, and breakfast tasted like a warm apple pie oatmeal cookie.  So good!  Just perfect for this morning - and any morning, for that matter!

I ate mine plain.

But my husband poured some warmed milk on his.  He said warm milk on Apple Cobbler Oatmeal makes it breakfast, but tonight vanilla ice cream on it will make it dessert!  Great idea!

However you eat it, I think you'll enjoy a taste of fall with every bite!

Here is the recipe card:
For a printable recipe card, please click HERE.

Enjoy your breakfast!

Gluten Free Cherry Tea Cake

I am sharing a recipe today that I got from a wonderful blog, My Patchwork Quilt.  Miss Patricia shares some of the yummiest recipes!  I have made several of the recipes she has posted, plus I have a growing list of her recipes on my To Make list.  It seems as if every day she posts another recipe I want to try!

This Cherry Tea Cake from My Patchwork Quilt is definitely a keeper.  I made it for my family, and they absolutely loved it!  I so badly wanted to taste it, but since I have to eat gluten free I couldn't.  It smelled so good as it was baking!  After I commented on her blog about what a great recipe it was, she suggested I try making it gluten free.  So I did!  And it was a complete success the first time!  That almost never happens for me!

I had to adapt the recipe just a little bit to make it gluten free.  First of all, I used Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour.  It already has xantham gum in it.  If you try making this with another gluten free flour, you will have to add xantham gum if your flour doesn't have it in there already.

The only other changes I made were minimal.  I added an extra egg, added the almond extract to the batter instead of the cherry pie filling, and I used frozen orange juice concentrate that was not diluted.  I did that because I have found that gluten free baking needs to have slightly more liquid in the batter to come out soft instead of gummy.

Here is my Gluten Free Cherry Tea Cake fresh out of the oven:

And here it is after I cut into it a bit: (even the rest of my family loved the gluten free version)

Here is a close up - it came out so soft and tender, SO GOOD!  You will love this if you try it!

I want to thank Miss Patricia at My Patchwork Quilt for sharing this recipe!  I plan on making this again and again!  If you haven't checked out her blog, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?? Head on over there right now!  You won't be disappointed!

Here is the recipe I used for my gluten free version of Cherry Tea Cake:

For a printable copy of this recipe, please click HERE. 

Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!  As for me, I am heading over to My Patchwork Quilt right now to check out what goodies she is sharing today!

This post is being shared at Meal Plan Monday #111 at Southern Bite.  When you are finished drooling over the recipes at My Patchwork Quilt, head over to Meal Plan Monday for some more inspiration!

Ham and Bacon Grits Casserole

Sometimes when I go grocery shopping, I get carried away.  I look at something, like a ham, and if it's on sale like this one was, I think I want a BIG HAM.  We will have leftovers, hooray!

And then I make this BIG HAM (this one was 11 pounds), and it was so good Sunday night.  Spiral sliced, honey glazed, what's not to yum?  We ate and nibbled some more as we put it away, and when I got it out the next day it had grown back to its original size!  Maybe even bigger.  So I fried up a couple slices to eat with breakfast, and we had huge ham sandwiches at lunch time.  

And when I got it out the next day it had grown back to its original size. AGAIN.  And then I faced a brutal truth....we would never be able to eat all of this ham.  If we eat it every day until we die, there will still be leftovers.  I have outgrown my need for an 11 pound ham.  The bad news is, I have another one in my freezer.  They were on sale before Easter for 99 cents a pound at both Aldis and Meiers.   For spiral sliced ham!  And I have to tell you, Aldis carries the best spiral cut hams I have ever tasted.  Thank Heaven ham is gluten free, or we would really be ham-heavy.  So......

......here's my plan.  I made this quite yummy quiche-like Ham and Bacon and Grits Casserole.  It can be breakfast, or it can be dinner.  For us, it will be breakfast for a few days.  Then, I will boil the rest of the ham and the bone for several hours.  I will pull off the remaining 80 pounds of ham from the bone, strain the stock, and make soup with some of the remaining ham and some beans.  I will cube the remaining ham and freeze it.  And then I'm thinking I may gift the frozen ham, because I think this ham might be enough for me for awhile.  Yep.

Here is what it looked like fresh from the oven:

Here is my recipe for the Ham and Bacon Grits Casserole:

For a printable copy of this recipe, click HERE.

This recipe is linked to Menu Plan Monday #109 at Southern Bite.

Crockpot Western Omelet

Happy Groundhog Day tomorrow!  I don't know what you're wishing for, but I sure hope he doesn't see his shadow!  I'm ready for spring!

This morning I made the Crockpot Western Omelet, except for one tiny detail - I baked it in the oven instead.  It took a little over an hour in my oven at 375 degrees, but turned out good!

NOTE:  The directions for making this in the crockpot are right below the recipe.

I have several versions of this recipe. The one I used today was from Mr. Breakfast, but I tweaked it a little bit.  Here is the recipe:

Crockpot Western Omelet

1 (30 oz.) pkg, frozen shredded hash browns

1 pound diced cooked ham

1 onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

8 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Spray 9 X 13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  Layer: 1/3 of the hash browns, 1/3 of the diced ham, 1/2 the onion, 1/2 the green pepper, about 3/4 cup cheese.  Repeat layers.  The top three layers should be the last third of the hash browns, the last third of the cheese, and the last third of the ham.

3.  In a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, ground mustard, salt, and pepper.

4.  Pour this mixture carefully over the layers.  You can cover and refrigerate this overnight, or you can bake it right away.

5.  Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.  Check for doneness.  A knife inserted into the middle should come out clean.  My oven, which tends to bake on the cool side, took 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

Directions for making this recipe in the crockpot:

1.  Use a 6 qt. crockpot. 

2.  Spray the crockpot with nonstick cooking spray.

3.  Layer the ingredients exactly as described above.  Pour the egg mixture over the layers.

4.  Cook on low for 5 to 6  hours.  Check it after 4 hours, because the outside edges and the bottom will burn if your crockpot runs hot like mine does.  It has happened to me!   If it doesn't test done (use a knife inserted in the middle, it should come out clean), let it go another hour and test it again. Repeat as needed.

When I made this in my old crockpot, I could let it go for 8 hours overnight and it didn't burn.  But in the crockpot I have now, it burns if I leave it go for 6 hours.  It only takes 4 hours in the crockpot I have now.  That's why I recommend testing it after 4 hours.  You can almost tell by looking at if it's done.  It should not be runny at all, and the cheese should be melted through.

We like to have breakfast for dinner, and this is a great recipe to use for that.  Then you can put this on in the late morning or early afternoon and it will be ready for dinner.

Breakfast Blueberry Cobbler

So today is National Blueberry Pancake Day.  Love blueberries, but not a huge fan of pancakes.  Especially being gluten free.  Once in awhile I like them, but not too often.

But, since blueberries did sound good to me, I made a pancake batter and baked it up in individual ramekins.  It turned out really good, and it was more like a cobbler.  My husband wanted ice cream on his!  I made it gluten free, but if you want this NOT gluten free, just use regular flour and regular oatmeal. 

Here is the recipe:

Breakfast Blueberry Cobbler

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup oil

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1)

1 cup gluten free quick oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups frozen blueberries

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray 6 ramekins with non-stick cooking spray.

2.  Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and almond extract until smooth.

3.  Add the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and baking soda to the wet ingredients.  Whisk until thoroughly blended.

4.  Stir in the frozen blueberries.

5.  Scoop about 1/2 to 3/4 cup batter into each ramekin.

6.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Top should be golden brown.

You can also bake this in a 1-1/2 quart baking dish.  Just increase your baking time to 45 minutes or so, and test for doneness with a toothpick.

Hope you enjoy it!