Garbage Omelet Casserole

My family has a lake house on this little lake in a little town in Wisconsin that has a little local diner that is packed with GIANT flavors. 

One particular favorite of my family is their Garbage Omelet. 

Let me break this down for you. It's an omelet filled with what veggies and breakfast meats are in the kitchen, stuffed with cheddar cheese, and then (and this is the beautiful part) topped with chili.

Topped.

With.

Chili. 

Oh. Yeah.

For Thanksgiving parade time/brunch, I decided to try and recreate this legendary omelet in a casserole form for my family. I searched the web for a recipe that was veggie and meat heavy that I could adapt with the flavors I wanted and could amp up by topping with chili. Below you will find my adapted recipe. I've gotta say, this is now a family favorite and I think it'll be showing up in DC for my roommates pretty soon too. It makes two 9X13 pans worth so, you could make one and save one. That lends itself to a lot of flavor joy.

I mean look at that. 

Just. Yeah. Yum doesn't begin to describe the savory flavors packed here.

Make it and enjoy :)

Ingredients:

-1 lb breakfast sausage, browned and drained

-1/2 lb diced ham, cooked

-2 packages pre-cooked bacon, chopped

-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

-12 slices of bread, crustless and torn into cubes

-2 cups chopped veggies (I used spinach, red peppers, onions, and mushrooms)

-12 eggs

-4 cups milk

-3 tsp Mrs. Dash seasoning/spices to taste

-1 to 2 cans microwavable chili (heated to desired warmth at time of serving)

In a large mixing bowl, combine meats, cheese, bread, and veggies. In a separate bowl, beat together eggs, milk, and seasoning. Pour the egg mixture over the veggie/meat/bread mixture to combine. Pour into TWO 9 X 13 inch pans, or one extra large casserole dish, and let set for at least an hour or cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, serve with some chili spooned on top. 

My Nana's Chicken & Rice

This is an old recipe I am revamping with better pics and putting up here for you guys because it is SO amazing and SO underrated.

This dish is flavorful, creamy, and rich. It warms you with every bite and makes you ready for a cozy nap when the meal is finished.

This is another dish that my dad's mom made for him and then my mom made for us. It brings me right back to my childhood. Winter nights and taking homework breaks for dinner with the family. This meal plus some broccoli and a roll is pretty much bliss.

I made it for my roomie and friends with great results. Hope your family enjoys it as well :)


FYI- next week I will be posting pics from a Star Wars themed feast I made for a dear friends birthday. You guys should prepare yourselves now for the amount of crazy geekiness that is coming your way.

Chicken & Rice

-3 large chicken breasts

-1 stick butter

-1 cup regular rice

-1 can cream of chicken soup

-1 can cream of celery soup

-1 cup milk

-1 package dry onion soup mix

Line a 9 by 13 pan with foil. Slice 1 stick butter into cubes on bottom of the pan. Pour 1 cup regular rice over butter. Cut breasts into vertical halves. Place 6 half breasts on top of rice. Cover with soups, smearing over chicken, and sprinkle with dry soup mix. Pour milk over entire pan. Cover with foil, sealing tight. Bake at 350 for 2 hours. Remove from oven, carefully (STEAM BURNS!), open foil top. Remove chicken breasts, set aside. Mix rice WELL until creamy. Serve with the chicken (at side as pictured) OR cut up chicken breasts and mix back into the rice casserole and then serve. 

Fancy Eggplant Surprise

OKAY! STOP! I know this looks kind of... weird. Maybe even gross. But I swear on my life, it is delicious!

And yes. It is involved. But, sometimes making a recipe with a lot of steps and processes is fun.

And okay... it's not really klutz friendly. I did burn my fingers making the egg plant and I may have cut myself chopping...

Forget it. I don't have to defend my recipe choices! This recipe is delicious! I don't care if you can't see it or if it doesn't keep up with the "simple" recipe theme I try and live by. I made it and I survived to tell the tale of yumminess! You probably can too.

It's from Giada's cookbook "Everyday Italian". Or "Giada's Kitchen"... one of her cookbooks. They are all kind of the same, right? She's on the cover, cooking. The book is full of awesome, can't miss recipes that make you drool as you flip through the pages...

Anyway, that's enough of this botched up post. You should just make it. And trust myself, and Giada, that this is a flavor party you will not regret making for yourself and your family.

Enjoy! :)


Giada's Eggplant Timbale:
-3 med eggplants, sliced lengthwise, 1/4 inch thick
-1/3 cup plus 2 tbls olive oil
-salt/pepper to taste
-1/2 lb penne pasta
-1 med onion, diced
-1/2 lb lean ground beef
-1/2 lb ground italian sausage
-1/4 c Marsala wine
-1 c frozen peas, thawed
-2 c marinara sauce (jarred works!)
-1 1/2 cups diced smoked mozzarella chese (approx 6oz)
-1 cup freshly grated pecorino romano cheese
-1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Place a grill pan over med heat or preheat a grill. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the eggplant slices with 1/3 cup of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the eggplant on both sides- until tender and colored with the grill marks. About 4 mins per side. Set aside when done.

While the eggplant cooks, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta, cook til tender but firm to the bite. Drain.

Meanwhile, warm the remaining 2 tbls olive oil in a large skillet over med/high heat. Add the onion and saute' until tender. Add the ground beef and sausage to the pan, browning the meat and breaking into bite size pieces. Pour out the excess fat. Add the Marsala wine, cook until the liquid evaporates, about 3 mins. Turn off the heat. Add peas, marinara, and stir to combine. Add mozzarella, 3/4 c pecorino, the basil, and the cooked pasta. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a spring form pan with the grilled eggplant, making sure the slices overlap and hang over the edge of the pan. Fill the pan with pasta mixture, pressing down to make sure the filling is evenly distrubuted. Fold the eggplant over the top, creating an entirely enclosed timbale. Bake until the filling is warmed through and the cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. Allow it to set/cool for 10 mins.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese and serve.

Breakfast Pie

Lingering love from "pie day" has inspired me to post what is my all time favorite breakfast dish- breakfast pie.


This recipe is intensive. My mom and dad make it for us kids every year for Christmas morning, making the pie the day before, and every year on Christmas eve as they prepare the pie, there is some grumbling about how much effort goes into one pie dish.


However, once the morning comes and everyone takes a bite of said pie, everyone wonders why we don't make it more then once a year.

It is SO GOOD. I cannot begin to tell you how worth it this pie is to make. It's cheesy, potato, meats, eggs, all in a flaky shell with roasted garlic and carmelized onions.


...I mean... really.


Doesn't that just SOUND good? 

My Mom elegantly adding an egg layer. She is NOT clumsy in the kitchen and makes everything look beautiful...

I could keep repeating myself on the glories of this pie but, you should probably stop reading and start making it yourself. As I said, it takes some time. And you're going to want to have a slice as soon as possible :)


Breakfast Pie
- 17 1/4 oz pkg (2 sheets) frozen, pre-rolled sheets puff pastry (thawed)


-POTATOES
-1/4 c butter
-3 c (6 med) sliced red potatoes
-1 c (1 med) sliced onion, separated into rings
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp pepper


-OMELETS (make 2)
-2 tbsp butter
-6 eggs
-1 tbls parsley
-1/8 tsp salt
-1/8 tsp pepper
-2 tbsp water


-FILLING
-1/2 lb thinly sliced, cooked, ham (deli works)
-2 c (8oz) shredded cheddar cheese


*NEXT DAY* Brush with-
-1 egg slightly beaten
-1 tbsp water


Layer in the following order:
1 omelet, 1/4 lb ham, 1/2 of the fried potatoes, 1 cup shredded cheese, remaining potatoes, remaining ham, 2nd omelet. Top with remaining puff pastry. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Next morning, heat over to 375. Take pie out, allow to adjust to room temp for 30 mins prior to baking, brushing with egg/water. Bake for 30-35 mins or until golden and cooked through. Let stand for 5 mins before serving.


*If you are too anxious and make it that morning, you may simply put it in the oven without allowing it to set up over night or adjust back to room temperature. However, allowing the flavors to set up overnight is an even more amazing pie so, if you CAN be patient, it's well worth the wait!*

The Amazing, Beautiful, Super Emily Shares Her Paella Secret

One of my all time favorite people made this Paella recipe for my family, boyfriend, and I when we were all on vacation together and, it completely blew everyone away.

I mean, there were about 10 of us, and she made a double batch, and I think there was maybe a single bowl left. And that's a LOT of Paella.

I was pretty much convinced I could never make this as well as she did. Pretty much convinced I could never make it, period. It is a lot of things cooking at once and, seemed overwhelming and scary.

But, I decided to be a brave little toaster. Even though Ms. Cougarlee has mad skillz that, I still didn't even touch on, this blog has taught me I can make and bake a lot more complex cooking then I thought I was capable of.

I mean... I'm certified disaster.

And yet! This was not a disaster. This was in fact, spectacular. I made it for my roommates and cousin to grand results. Several bowl fulls, lots of silent munching and "mmm"s. My cousin is "allergic" to shellfish so, I left them out of my batch but, if you make this recipe, I urge you to add the shrimp it calls for! I made it instead with double chicken. I'm not going to write it that way. I like the recipe with the shrimp so, I am going to write it as such.

If you don't want to put the shrimp in, then just double the chicken like I did and, I promise, it's delicious.

IT'S ALL DELICIOUS!

SO, in conclusion, Super thanks and appreciation to Ms. Emily for sending me this recipe. Her family makes it and uses this food network recipe by Rachel Ray, I adapted it as I am pretty sure she did, no mussles used, but pretty much it's the same. 

Thank you for introducing me to palate paradise of Paella. (Say that five times fast). 

Paella:

-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

-3 cloves garlic, crushed

-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

-2 cups enriched white rice

-1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

-1 bay leaf

-1 quart chicken broth or stock

-4 sprigs fresh thyme

-1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders, cut into thirds 

-Salt and freshly ground black pepper

-1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

-1 medium onion, chopped

-3/4 pound chorizo, casing removed and sliced on an angle

-1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp, 24 shrimp

-1 cup frozen peas

-2 lemons zested

Pick out a big, wide pan. Apparently there are such things as "Paella Pans" so if you have one, this is when you'd want to use it.  Have it preheated over medium high heat, then add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, crushed garlic, red pepper flakes, add rice and saute 2 or 3 minutes. Add saffron threads, bay leaf, broth, and thyme and bring liquids to a boil over high heat. Cover the pan with lid (or foil for the lidless) and reduce heat to simmer.

In a separate nonstick skillet, over medium high heat brown chicken on both sides in 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add peppers and onions to the pan and cook 3 minutes longer. Add chorizo to the pan (I opened mine from the casing so it was ground up and the flavors really steep into everything but, up to you) and cook 2 minutes more. Remove pan from heat.

After about 13 minutes, add shellfish to the rice pan, nesting them in cooking rice. Pour in peas, scatter lemon zest over the rice and seafood, then cover the pan again. After 5 minutes, remove cover or foil from the paella. Stir rice and seafood mixture and lift out bay and thyme stems, now bare of their leaves. I then mix everything up and then serve it as a big pot of delicious but, if that's not your scene, you can create a nice plate. Arrange cooked chicken and peppers, onions and chorizo around the pan. Serve and Enjoy :)