I love breakfast food.  I love it in the morning, noon, and night.  If given the opportunity I would eat pancakes for breakfast and dinner.

After my little sausage & apple dinner a few days ago, I couldn’t drop the idea.  The flavors went so well together {I realize this is common knowledge…except for me apparently}, and I wanted breakfast for dinner.

Breakfast casseroles are great, because they can be thrown together, put in the fridge for up to 24 hours, and then cooked and eaten the next day.  They reheat well.  They taste well cold.  They are delicious.  Anyway, I made this for dinner one night.  I only refrigerated it for 2 hours, but you could do longer.  I would have if I had remembered to take the sausage out of the freezer in a timely fashion.

Sausage and Apple Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1/3 baguette
• 1/2 onion
• 1 lb ground sausage
• 1 gala apple
• 1/2 cup milk
• 8 eggs

Directions:

1.  Spray a 9×13 glass pan with olive oil.

2.  Break the baguette into bite size pieces and put in the glass pan.

3.  Chop the onion into small pieces.  Set aside.

4.  Dice the apple.  Set aside.

5.  Cook the sausage on medium-high heat in a large skillet.  Be sure to break up the sausage as it cooks.

6.  Add the sausage, apples, and onions to the glass pan.

7.  Mix the eggs and milk in a large bowl.  Make sure the yolks are broken up.

8.  Dump the egg and milk mixture over the ingredients in the glass bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.

9.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

10.  Cook the casserole {uncovered} for 30-45 minutes.

11.  Serve.

Grade: B+

Comments:  My only regret is that I didn’t use more apple.  Seriously.  This is a really good and easy meal that is filled with a lot of flavors that go together.  However, the apple flavor isn’t that strong.  If you love apples {I do} then you may consider adding a second apple to the recipe.  Otherwise, this is a great little winter comfort breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Ours was nothing short of eventful.

On Tuesday we found out that we are welcoming a baby GIRL to our family That is right!  I’ve been keeping a pretty huge secret from you, and it is admittedly one of the reason my blogging has been so sporadic.  It is hard to write about what is going on and not mention a new baby!  She will be here around Easter, and we have decided to name her Lillian Marie after our grandmothers.  Much like Samuel, we plan to call her Lillian although we realize one day her friends will shorten her name to Lilly much to our dismay.

In addition to starting a little collection of tutus and other pink things, on Wednesday we headed to Disney World for a few days.  Nathan totally surprised me!  I thought we were heading to St. Simons Island for our annual trip, but he had something else up his sleeve.  Instead, after we had been in the car over an hour, he told me we were going to Disney.  Samuel had a great time, and so did we.  It was Homeslice’s first trip, and neither Nathan nor myself had been there in over 10 years.  I hope to get through the pictures and post some later this week.

Once we got back from vacation, we were in our classic “need to eat but don’t want to grocery shop” mode.  If you remember I made post-vacation pancakes not that long ago.  Not only are we back from vacation with a mostly empty kitchen, I am also in “use up everything that will expire” mode.  At the end of the year I do a major clean out of my kitchen – spices, flours, oatmeals, etc.  Anything that expired gets the boot.  This means that I end up throwing out half used containers of things I bought for one recipe.

This year I’ve vowed to try to use it all.  These hotcakes are the culmination of this.  I don’t have step-by-step photos, because I hadn’t planned to post these.  Also, the only picture I have is with my phone, because I was too lazy to go out to the car and get the DSLR which was still not unpacked.  Forgive me.

Cornmeal Pumpkin Apple Hotcakes {adapted from AllRecipes.com}

Ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbs brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 can of apples in water {I have NO idea why I had these…fresh apples would be better}
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl mix together the flour, oats, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon.

2.  Cut the apples into bite size pieces.

3.  Add the eggs and water to the batter.  Mix well.

4.  Add the pumpkin, apples, and vanilla to the bowl.  Use a whisk to mix completely.  The batter is going to be something between muffin and cake batter consistency.

5.  Heat a griddle to 350 degrees and spray generously with olive oil.

6.  Spoon the batter onto the griddle using a soup ladle.  You may need to spread it some so that it cooks evenly.

7.  Cook the hotcakes thoroughly turning after about 4 minutes.

8.  Top with butter and syrup!  We used apple syrup on ours, and it was delicious.

Grade: B+

Comments:  This makes a LOT of hotcakes.  I doubled the recipe, and I could have left it alone.  I had almost 15 leftover to go in the fridge and freezer.  That said, these are pretty good.  They are filling and the pumpkin and apple go well together {as always}.  Something to consider is that you won’t eat as many.  I typically eat 4 medium pancakes, and I couldn’t even eat 2 of these.  Also, if you don’t like the flavor of unsweetened pumpkin I would either add more pumpkin pie spice or some white sugar.

I have a confession: for the first few days after vacation I hate to go to the grocery store.  There is something about that first post-vacation trip that makes me want to put it off.  I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that it means I have to acknowledge vacation is over, and I’m all about pretending it isn’t.

For about a week we were out of town celebrating one of Nathan’s high school friend’s wedding.  We flew, and Samuel did well.  I had to travel with him alone both ways, because work travel gave Nathan a reason to go to LA {tough life}.

Anyway, upon re-entry to normal life, I’ve been boycotting the grocery store.  We’ve been home almost 48 hours, and I bought $13.00 worth of groceries at Target.  That’s it.  I’m heading out for my normal shopping trip later today.

Unfortunately I didn’t think about breakfast during my mostly pointless Target trip.  Instead I bought useful things like green bell peppers and buckwheat noodles.

Thankfully I hoarded evaporated milk during the Thanksgiving season.  The pumpkin shortage around here was enough to make me overcompensate by purchasing the other ingredients to make pumpkin pie just in case there was an evaporated milk shortage one day {seriously, my one shelf looks like I’m preparing for the Apocalypse}.

So when trying to decide what on Earth we were going to eat for breakfast, I settled on these pancakes.  I’m going to warn you: the ingredient list is weird.  There aren’t any eggs either.  I didn’t even take proper photographs, because I expected them to be mediocre at best.  Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised. So you are stuck with one photo taken with my phone.

Post-Vacation Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbs water
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbs butter

Directions:

1.  Mix the flour, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl.

2.  Add the evaporated milk, water, olive oil, vanilla extract, and butter.  Mix well.

3.  Heat a griddle to 350 degrees.

4.  Spoon about 1/2 cup of batter out for each pancake.

5.  Cook thoroughly.

6.  Serve.

Grade: A

Comments:  Shockingly delicious.  I don’t know if I’ll ever use eggs in pancakes again.  These were incredibly fluffy.  In fact, I liked them so much I made a second batch to refrigerate.  If you want something with a kick you could add cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice.  I just topped with butter and syrup, because I’m traditional like that {actually we just don’t have anything else}.  If you don’t have evaporated milk switch out the evaporated milk and 1/2 cup water for 1 cup whole milk.

I live in a world where basil is one of the best things about summer.  In my world it goes on everything: salads, hamburgers, pasta salads.  Now?  In jam.

I don’t know where I got the idea.  It is one of those things that pops into my head, and I think “I must make this.  Now.”

Of course I was deep in the throes of recipe testing so it had to wait, but not for long.

This recipe is mostly from an early edition {I believe 1931} of Joy of Cooking.  A cookbook that has made its way through a few kitchens in my mom’s family.  It is finally at home in mine, and I am taking full advantage of it. All I did was add the basil and cinnamon.

Peach Basil Jam {mostly from Joy of Cooking}

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe peaches
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbs water
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 medium stem of basil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1.  Peel the peaches and cut them into small and medium chunks.

2.  Place the peaches in a medium bowl.

3.  Take the basil and mince it small – as small as you can without it looking like you had no idea what you were doing.

4.  Add the basil and cinnamon to the peaches.

5.  In a small sauepan heat the sugar, water, and syrup on medium heat.  Cook until it turns into a thick syrup.  {about 5 minutes}

6.  Pour the mixture over the peaches.  Let them sit for one hour.

7.  In the same pot you used to make the syrup, cook the mixture on low for about an hour.

8.  Eat right away if you are like me.  If not, store in a glass container with a lid for up to a week.  You could also do the whole canning process, but this recipe doesn’t make enough for that.

 {yes. store-bought bread. We’re leaving on vacation in a few days, and baking bread is the last thing on my mind.  It happens.}

Grade: A-

Comments:  This was way better than I expected.  I added the cinnamon on whim which is why mine is so dark.  If you skip the cinnamon you will have gorgeous orange and green jam.  Although the cinnamon adds a fun little flavor and goes surprisingly well with the basil.  If you are basil obsessed try this before peaches go out of season!

We’re a house divided in two major areas: the Ohio State {Nathan} v. Penn State {me} rivalry and the acceptability of chocolate at breakfast.  I firmly believe that adding chocolate to a food that is commonly accepted as a breakfast food  is totally acceptable {fact: all food is breakfast food thus making chocolate always okay}.  Nathan has some sort of issue with chocolate at breakfast.

So I made these muffins for me.  I’ve tried to get him to overcome his weird aversion to chocolate in the morning, but so far he’s held steady.  I don’t understand, because these muffins were awesome.  He totally missed out on some chocolate chip goodness.

Chocolate Chip Muffins {adapted from Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook: Bridal Edition}

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a muffin tray with wrappers.

{why yes those are Christmas wrappers.  In March.}

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Make a well in the mixture and set aside.

3.  In a small bowl, beat egg, milk, and oil.  Set aside.

4.  Pour the egg mixture into the well created in the flour mixture.

6.  Mix until just moistened.  Batter should be lumpy.

7.  Add the chocolate chips to the batter and fold them in carefully.

8.  Using a tablespoon, add batter to each muffin cup.  They should be about 1/2-2/3 full.

9.  Cook for 20 minutes.

10.  Transfer to a cooling rack and then enjoy!

{I forgot to take a picture of a single muffin…oops}

Grade: A-

Comments: I’m a sucker for chocolate chip muffins, so I loved these.  I may have had 3 in one day when I made them.  These are good, but they taste a little different than your typical chocolate chip muffin.  My guess is because the recipe is a transformed cheese muffin one.  They are lighter and fluffier than what you may expect.  That said, they make a perfect addition to any brunch or breakfast.  The best part is they are easy so you can whip them up in the morning and eat them the same day.

Saturday afternoon {yes, a week ago} we were listening to the NFL playoffs on the radio, Samuel was throwing blocks all over his blanket, and we were craving something sweet.  I wasn’t in the mood for cookies {shocking I know}, and I didn’t have the patience to wait for a cake to cool for icing.  I pulled out my favorite cookbook in the world and just started flipping through the pages.

Eventually a lemon bread recipe caught my eye.  It seemed like the perfect little snack, and it would make a great breakfast for the next day or two.  Plus, with less than 20 minutes prep time it would be quick.

Lemon Bread {adapted from Better Homes & Garden New Cook Book: Bridal Edition}

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbs lemon juice

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Grease the bottom and sides of a bread pan using olive oil.

3.  In a medium bowl stir together the flour, the sugar, baking powder, and salt using a whisk.  Make a well in the center of the mixture.

4.  In another medium bowl beat the egg.

5.  In the bowl with the beaten egg add oil, lemon juice, and milk.  Whisk together thoroughly.

6.  Add the lemon mixture to the flour mixture.  Stir with a whisk until just combined.

7.  Pour the batter into the prepared bread pan.

8.  Cook in the oven for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

9.  Remove the bread from the pan once it has cooled for about 30 minutes.  Let it cool another 1-2 hours on a plate or wire rack before serving.

Grade: B+

Comments: This isn’t the most lemon-y of breads, but every so often I would get a very lemon-filled bite.  I was okay with that.  Sometimes lemon breads {and muffins} can be so overwhelming they are hard to eat.  This bread was just the right amount of lemon and the right amount of light, fluffy bread to work out.  If you are more of a lemon lover, you’ll probably want to add at least another 1/2 tbs of lemon into the dough.  That just isn’t my style.

Last night Early this morning {think like 3:00 AM} when Nathan came home from watching the Ohio State bowl game {and subsequent news coverage} with a friend, I remember thinking “he is going to need a hearty breakfast if he is going to get through the workday.”  Images of omelets and toast ran through my head, but I knew that wouldn’t be enough.

When I woke up this morning all I could think about was the one “on its way out” banana we had in the kitchen.  Oh, and pancakes.  And how glorious they would be together.

I’ve made banana pancakes before, but these were different.  Those were delicious, but so were these.  There is just something about buttermilk that makes everything taste better.

Even Samuel couldn’t resist eating a banana pancake this morning.

Banana Buttermilk Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbs sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup fat-free buttermilk
• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• 1 banana

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Make a well in the center of the mixture.

2.  In a small bowl, beat the egg.

3.  In the bowl with the egg, add the buttermilk and oil.  Whisk until well mixed.

4.  Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour.  Stir until just moistened.

5.  Tear the banana up into small pieces.  Add to the batter.

6.  Spoon onto a griddle & cook.

7.  Serve with warm maple syrup and butter.

Grade: A+

Comments: In my world, bananas can go in almost any breakfast food.  This was definitely one of the best pancake recipes I’ve tried.  While my other banana pancakes were great {if I remember correctly}, these were better.  The banana flavor was so subtle, but then you get a bite with a piece of banana and be in heaven.  These are a must make.  Definitely.

After last night’s alcohol-laced fudge recipe, I just had to go ahead and post my other alcohol-based recipe from this weekend.

We had some eggnog leftover from our party last weekend, and I just couldn’t let it go to waste.  I’m not a huge eggnog fan, but the idea of alcohol in a breakfast for dinner food made it worth trying.  Unfortunately every recipe I found online for eggnog french toast sounded gross.  So I decided to move forward blindly.  Oh, and top it with a cream sauce of sorts.  Why not, right?

Warning: This is not even a remotely healthy meal.  Not even close.

One year ago: Thin Spaghetti

Eggnog French Toast {my recipe}

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups alcoholic eggnog
• 1 tbs cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 6 slices wheat bread

Directions:

1.  Heat a griddle to 300 degrees.  Coat liberally with butter.

2.  In a medium bowl mix the eggs, eggnog, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice using a whisk.

3.  Soak each piece of bread for just a second or two in the mixture on both sides.

4.  Place on the griddle.  Cook for 5 minutes or so on each side.

6.  Serve with butter, syrup, and cream sauce {recipe follows}.

Grade: B+

Comments: I’d make these again, but I would switch out the wheat for Texas Toast.  Eggnog is a little heavier than milk {obviously} which means that the bread gets weighed down with liquid quickly.  You can taste just a little but of the alcohol flavor but it isn’t too strong.  If you wanted to make these more family friendly you could obviously switch out the alcoholic eggnog with plain {which is totally boring}.  Even though I’m not an eggnog fan I really liked these, and they would make a great Christmas brunch food!

Cream Topping {adapted from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook}

Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tbs confectioners’ sugar

Directions:

1.  In a medium saucepan cook the cream and 1 tbs sugar over medium heat.

2.  When the cream has just started to boil, remove from the heat and cover for 10 minutes.

3.  Stir in the remaining 1 tbs of sugar.

4.  Place in the freezer for 5-7 minutes to thicken.

5.  Use on above french toast.

Grade: A-

Comments: This was very good.  All I did was take a whipped cream recipe and alter it enough to make it less thick by changing the directions.  It was an excellent topper, and I loved that it went so well with the syrup.

{this week’s menu is posted}

Grits.

It’s the one Southern food I’ve struggled to love…or even tolerate.  When I moved here in May 2006, I had never had grits that I can remember.  I’d heard of them, but only when people would come back from Southern vacations talking about this mysterious breakfast food that you ate with cheese!  In theory they sounded awesome.

Then I moved to Atlanta, and I was grossed out.  I can’t put my finger on why, because if you take one look at my menu plans you can clearly see I’m an oatmeal fanatic…and grits aren’t that far off.  Maybe it is a texture thing.  Or maybe it is because without adding a slew of ingredients they are gross.

I’ve tried everything: grits with cheese, grits with shrimp, grits with butter, grits with salsa.  Nada.  I want to like them the same way I love Southern BBQ or fried chicken, because listen: I love Southern cooking.

So about two weeks ago on Twitter, Jess, a fellow Northerner who still lives up there, Miranda, a native Georgian, and Beth Anne, who lives in the Carolinas, were discussing grits after Jess asked what they were.  I jumped in and said they were gross.  After Miranda and Beth Anne telling me I just hadn’t had them RIGHT yet, I agreed to make a grits dish for dinner before the end of December.

After a quick glance at my cookbook collection I knew I had two that were going to be my best source for all things grits: Junior League of Atlanta Cooknotes and Southern Living Homestyle Cookbook.  After looking at all of the recipes I went with Cooknotes, because I found one that had grits but wasn’t grits heavy.

I’ll admit: if you like grits, you are going to love this dish.  In fact, it would make a great breakfast casserole.  I served it with a whole roasted chicken {I’m on a kick, but they are so inexpensive for how much meat you get!} and some corn.  A nice little Southern meal.

Grits Casserole {slightly adapted & halved from JLA Cooknotes}

Ingredients:

• 3 tbs uncooked grits
• 1 cup milk
• 2 1/2 tbs margarine
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1.  Cook the grits using the directions on the box.  3 tbs uncooked grits yields 1 cup cooked.

2.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

3.  Separate the eggs.  The yolks should go in a medium mixing bowl, and the whites in a small bowl.  Beat the egg whites until stiff.

4.  In the medium mixing bowl with the yolks, add the milk, grits, and margarine.  Mix well.  {Add a little salt if you wish}.

5.  Pour the grits mixture into a 1.5 qt casserole dish.

6.  Fold the egg whites into the grits mixture.

7.  Cook for 55 minutes.  Pull the casserole out of the oven and add 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.  Cook an additional 5 minutes.

8.  Serve!

Grade: C+

Comments: Like I said if you like grits you will love this.  I wasn’t a fan.  Neither was Nathan.  Here’s the thing: it isn’t grits heavy.  It was, however, just enough for me not to enjoy it.  I think I realized by making this that grits may be the only food with which I have a texture issue.  Usually texture with food doesn’t bother me, but grits do have a funny texture {like sand I think}.  It was a very light and fluffy dish that would be perfect for brunch or even for breakfast.  It can be easily multiplied {I halved it} and adjusted.  You could add ingredients to make it more filling if you wished.

Happy Friday!  I’m looking forward to this weekend, because there is a certain rivalry game going on:

See, we’re a house divided.  I’m a Penn State fan, and Nathan is an Ohio State guy.  Now we have a kid.  Who obviously will be a Penn State fan tomorrow if only because I strategically purchased Ohio State onesies that would be too big for the game.  Only his Penn State ones fit.  What a shame!

I’m also making blue & white striped football cookies and buckeyes, because that’s fun.

Sidenote: I totally realize I still haven’t posted Nathan’s birthday dinner menu & recipes.  Early next week.  I promise.

Speaking of football, I made this a few weeks ago to eat while we watched various games.  It didn’t even make it to the games.  Nathan ate all of it throughout a Friday.  He’s begging me to make more.

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but alas, I cannot.  The Pajama Chef made it, and I just changed the kind of apples used.  She used gala apples, and I went with Winesap apples.

Crock Pot Applesauce {from The Pajama Chef}

Ingredients:

• 8 apples
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

1.  Peel and core the apples. Cut into medium size chunks.

2.  In the crock pot mix the apples, water, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.  Let cook on low for 8 hours.

3.  When done use a fork or potato masher to smash the apples.  Leave it as chunky as you wish.

Grade: A+

Comments: Like I said, this was a huge hit with Nathan.  I was nervous about it, because he always talks about the great applesauce his grandmother made.  I was sure I couldn’t live up to it, and since she passed away a few years ago I couldn’t get the recipe from her.  Thankfully, he said that my applesauce was just as good!  I was relieved.  It definitely was delicious.  I managed to get a spoonful.  I’d make it again in a heartbeat.  It is the perfect fall comfort food.

{On that note, I’m really on a healthy streak here aren’t I?  Don’t worry I’m about to undo that with an awesome pie I came up with earlier this week.  Look for the recipe Monday or Tuesday.}