Vegetable Cheese Casserole

My daughter has recently become a vegetarian, so I'm always looking for yummy recipes for her that are meatless, here's one.

Ingredients:
------------
8 whole-wheat bread slices
3/4 cup Gruyere cheese -- shredded
1/4 cup chopped green onions
3 eggs -- slightly beaten
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground basil -- * see note
1 dash salt
2 tomatoes -- sliced

Directions:
-----------
* Use 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil if preferred. Substitute Swiss cheese for
Gruyere if preferred.

1. Use a 9 x 9-inch pan or baking dish. Grease the pan with margarine.
Place 4 slices of the bread in the bottom of pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the
cheese and the green onions. Top with remain
ing bread slices.

2. Combine eggs, milk, mayonnaise, Tabasco, basil and salt in small bowl;
mix well. Pour the egg mixture over the bread; press so bread is covered
with the liquid.

3. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or longer.

4. Uncover and top with thin slices of tomatoes and sprinkle with the
remaining cheese. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 30-35 minutes. It is done
when a knife inserted near center comes out cl
ean. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.

Breakfast Casserole

Great for brunches or when you have company over.

Serves 8

8 frozen hash brown patties

4 c. shredded cheddar cheese

2 c. chopped cooked ham

7 eggs

1 c. milk

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground mustard

Place hash brown patties in a greased 13x9x2-inch baking dish.  Sprinkle with cheese and ham.

In bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt and mustard.  Pour over ham.

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Uncover and bake 15 minutes more or until edges are golden brown and a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cinnamon Ornaments

Cinnamon Ornaments make a fun scented crafted for adults and kids alike.

Makes 12 to 15 ornaments.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 2 1/2 hours or 1 to 2 days drying time

3/4 cup applesauce

1 bottle (4.12 ounces) McCormick® Cinnamon, Ground

Supplies needed:

Cookie cutters

Drinking straw

Colorful ribbon

1. Preheat oven to 200°F. Mix applesauce and cinnamon in small bowl until a smooth ball of dough is formed. (You may need use your hands to incorporate all of the cinnamon.) Using about 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll dough to 1/4-inch to 1/3-inch thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap. Peel off top sheet of plastic wrap. Cut dough into desired shapes with 2- to 3-inch cookie cutters. Make a hole at top of ornament with drinking straw or skewer. Place ornaments on baking sheet.

2. Bake 2 1/2 hours. Cool ornaments on wire rack. (Or, to dry ornaments at room temperature, carefully place them on wire rack. Let stand 1 to 2 days or until thoroughly dry, turning occasionally.)

3. Insert ribbon through holes and tie to hang. Decorate with opaque paint markers, found in arts and crafts stores, if desired.

Test Kitchen Tip: If a different size bottle of cinnamon is used, measure 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cinnamon.

DO NOT EAT

For more recipes visit: McCormick's Website

Sweet Potato Fruit Salad

INGREDIENTS: 
1 54 oz. can Bruce's Whole Yams
1-1/2 cup seedless grapes
3/4 cup sliced celery (1/2 inch slices)
6 tablespoons honey
2 cups pineapple chunks (drained)6 oranges (peeled, sectioned, seeded) 1
cup raisins
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
6 Tbsp. orange juice
3 cups pecans

DIRECTIONS: 
In a large bowl, combine orange sections, Bruce's Yams, grapes, raisins,
celery, pineapple, and pecans. Blend cream cheese, honey and orange
juice in a second dish. Pour dressing over potato/fruit mixture and toss
to coat. Chill.

Child Friendly Cooking with Barefoot Books

Today I wanted to share with you a favorite book of mine from Barefoot Books.  The book is called "Kids Kitchen" and has 40 fun recipes for you and your kids to make.  

Kids' Kitchen

40 Fun and Healthy Recipes to Make and Share

Step into the kitchen for some child-friendly fun with food. The forty recipes in this colorful deck are based around the five main food groups, and offer a healthy and exciting way to learn about cooking.

Ages 8 and up

Written By: Fiona Bird

Illustrated By: Roberta Arenson

Bringing kids into the kitchen is a great way to share family time, learn and practice math & science facts and so much more all while making yummy and healthy treats and meals.

Barefoot Books also offers a great opportunity to work from home too!

http://www.lunawolf.barefootbooks.com/

Herb Seasoned Broccoli and Tomatoes

One of my daughters has become a vegetarian so I've been looking for recipes for her, she's 15.  I'll be sharing here.

 
1 pound fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces


2 Tablespoons olive oil


1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves


1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves


1/2 teaspoon salt


1 clove garlic, finely chopped


2 plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped






Heat 1 inch water to boiling in a skillet. Add broccoli, heat to boiling. Boil 5 to 7 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain and set aside. In skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until hot. Remove skillet from heat, add broccoli and toss gently to coat.

Harvest Chicken Stew

Serves/Makes: 4

Difficulty Level: 3
Ready In: > 5 hrs
Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 apples, peeled and sliced
1 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon sage
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
Directions:
Spray crock pot with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts in crockpot. Place sweet potatoes and apples over the top.
In a small bowl mix chicken broth, applesauce and spices. Pour over the chicken, potatoes and apples. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Meanwhile, prepare the wild rice as directed on package.
Serve chicken stew over the wild rice.

Sandra Lee's Orange Thing Cocktail

Ingredients

1 (64-ounce) bottle mango-peach juice, chilled, V8 Splash®

1 cup chilled orange vodka

1 cup chilled sparkling water

Black plastic spiders (optional)

Directions

In a large pitcher, combine juice, vodka, and sparkling water.

Garnish with spiders, if desired.

Looking for Vegetarian Recipes

My daughter is 15 years old and her name is Krystal.  You can see her in the pic above.  She recently has made the choice to become a Vegetarian.  I'm supporting her in this choice and her and I are both looking for Vegetarian and/or even Vegan recipes. 

If you have a Vegetarian or Vegan recipe you would like to share, please comment and be sure to include your blog url if you have one so we can let everyone know when we try the recipes and post the pic and our reviews.

Thanks for your help.

Chocolate Covered Cherries

Ingredients

2 pounds powdered sugar

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 stick butter (melted)

1 teaspoon vanilla

about 3 small jars of cherries

1 package almond bark chocolate

Directions

Drain the cherries in a colander, saving some of the juice for any left-over cherries.

Line 3 to 4 cookie sheets and/or baking pans with wax paper.

Mix the powdered sugar, condensed milk, melted butter, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. When the mixture begins to form a dough, then mix by hand (this helps get the lumps out of the powdered sugar).

Pinch off a small amount of dough. Press the dough into a circle slightly smaller than your palm. Take one cherry and roll the dough around it.

Place the wrapped cherry on the wax paper lined cookie sheet or baking pan. After all the dough is gone, place them in the freezer for about an hour.

Melt the chocolate (according to the directions on the package) in a medium mixing bowl.

Remove the cherries from the freezer. Dip the cherries in the chocolate and replace them on the cookie sheets. (the easiest way to accomplish this is to drop a cherry by hand into the chocolate and use two forks to roll it around, making sure it is entirely covered with chocolate; then remove from the chocolate with forks and place on the cookie sheet)

 If desired, place the cookie sheets back into the freezer and leave for about 10 minutes to harden.