The Day After The Feast

One of our favorite times of the year is the morning after Thanksgiving day.  All of the dishes have been done and put away.  Family is no longer fighting for the best part of the turkey and best of all the football games are over and done with so everyone can once again become as close to normal as they usually are.
Really though the reason we like the morning after is because breakfast is our favorite meal and to be able to share it with family once in a while is a real treat.  So here we sit, scrambled eggs on the plates, a slice of ham on the the serving tray and a huge side order of hash brown potatoes just waiting to be devoured.
Now that's what we call living and hope that you do too.

Sit down now and put the napkin on your lap or just tuck it into the shirt collar and dig in.  Nobody is looking beyond their own plates right now so just enjoy.

Happy Eating to All... and now I think it might just be nap time again.  What do you think?

SMOOTHIES TO DIE FOR

Smoothies So Good You’ll Forget You Are Healthy

Bananalicious Smoothie

Quit stressing and get your potassium. Potassium reduces stress and we all know what bananas are full of…potassium. This banana smoothie recipe will soothe your nerves and take your taste buds out for night on the town.

Ingredients:

    1 banana

    1 cup limeade

    1 cup key lime yogurt

    1/2 cup of banana yogurt

    2 cups of ice

Blend and serve immediately, then chill out.

Strawberry Banana Supreme Smoothie

Ingredients

    1 cup strawberry nectar or apple juice

    1 cup milk

    1 frozen banana

    1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries

    1 cup strawberry yogurt

Pour all liquid ingredients into the blender. Add all frozen ingredients. Blend at MIX setting for 30 seconds then blend at SMOOTH setting until smooth. While the machine is running, move the stir stick around counter-clockwise to aid mixing. Serve immediately. Each recipe serves 3-5.

Banana Split Smoothie

Too lazy to eat a banana split? How about drinking a banana split? Bananas are great smoothie ingredients so why not bring the split to the smoothie? You can add a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you wish, but it tastes great without it.

Ingredients:

    2 bananas

    8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained

    1 1/4 cup of milk

    1/2 cup of unsweetened strawberries  (frozen or fresh)

    2 tbs. honey

    6 ice cubes

    1 scoop of vanilla ice cream (optional)

Garnish

    Whipped topping

    Chocolate syrup

    Maraschino cherries

Preparation

Combine bananas, pineapple, milk, strawberries and honey in a blender. Blend until smooth, no lumps. Start adding ice slowly and blend until slushy.  Pour into large glasses, preferably chilled then garnish with whipped topping, chocolate syrup, and maraschino cherries. The perfect banana split in a glass.

Banana Blackberry Smoothie

This recipe combines blackberries with bananas, but it would work equally well with any type of berry you have on hand.

Ingredients:

    1 medium banana, peeled

    1/2 cup blackberries

    1/2 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt

    1/2 cup ice cubes

Preparation:

Place all four ingredients into the blender. Blend on high for about 15 seconds, or until it is creamy and smooth! Serve immediately.

Here’s Your Awesome Breakfast Smoothie

Make this smoothie every morning for breakfast. It’s rich in vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, omega-3 fats, monounsaturated fats, soy protein, and so much more!

Ingredients

    1 banana

    1/2 apple

    1 kiwi, peeled

    1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

    1 cup orange juice

    1/2 cup soy milk

    1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt

    1/2 cup tofu

    3 tablespoons unsalted natural peanut butter

    2 tablespoons aloe Vera juice

    2 tablespoons flaxseed oil

    1 teaspoon barley grass powder (optional)

Directions

In a blender, combine banana, apple, kiwi, mixed berries and orange juice. Blend until smooth. Add soy milk, yogurt, tofu, peanut butter, Aloe Vera juice, flaxseed oil, and barley grass powder. Blend again until well blended.

Pour into glasses and serve.

Heavenly Silver Dollar Hot Cakes

Image via Wikipedia

This is one of my favorite recipes for hot cakes.  They are small, easy to prepare and you can easily control the portions served.  Having a large hot cake on your plate is messy, too much to eat and just plain wasteful.  Try these little hot cakes and see what you think.
Serve them with some steaming hot sausage or bacon.  Top them with your favorite fruit.  Sit back and enjoy.
Steve

These are the lightest sour cream silver-dollar-size hotcakes I’ve ever had—they seem to hover over the plate. They are heavenly and certainly should be served hot.

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup cake flour
2 cups sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar

PREPARATION:

 

1. Put the eggs in a mixing bowl and stir until well blended. Add the salt, baking soda, flour, sour cream, and sugar, and mix well. All of this can be done in a blender, if you prefer.

2. Heat a griddle or frying pan until it is good and hot, film with grease, and drop small spoonfuls of batter onto the griddle—just enough to spread to an approximately 2 1/2-inch round. When a few bubbles appear on top of the pancakes, turn them over and cook briefly.

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Breakfast Bologna In A Bowl

When I was young my family would go on small camping trips. I don't remember much about the campsites or where we went but I do remember the fantastic smells of food cooking over the small two-burner Coleman stove. Here is one of my favorites that I still make today. I think you'll enjoy it. Simple, fast and delicious is all I'll say about it. Give it a try tomorrow morning. Your kids will even love this one.

INGREDIENTS:
1 package of sliced bologna. Thin sliced works best.
2 eggs.
1 cup of shredded potatoes.
Shredded cheese of your choice.
Salt, Pepper as seasoning.
1 Naval orange sliced.

PREPARATION:
In a frying pan (preferably iron skillet) drizzle a small amount of butter, Pam or olive oil.
Place a slice of bologna onto the hot pan being sure that it heats evenly. You would normally slice into one side of the meat to keep it from curling but don't do that. You want it to curl up at the edges forming a small cup.
While this is frying take another pan and scramble the eggs. I prefer to mix the cheese into the eggs while they're cooking but if you prefer you can just add it to the top after the eggs have cooked.
Once the meat is fried and curled place the scrambled eggs in the small cup that has been formed.

While all of the cooking was going on you should also have been frying your shredded potatoes to a nice browned consistency. Serve these along with your fried bologna bowl along with a slice of fresh Naval Orange.

And to drink along with this tasty meal... perhaps a tall glass of frosty orange juice or a nice hot cup of coffee.

Good Morning To You!
Steve and Kim

SAUSAGE EGG BAKE

There's nothing better in the morning (spelled any time of day) than a great egg/sausage breakfast. Here's one that will make your mouth water just by thinking about it.

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound of bulk Italian sausage
2 (10 ounce) cans of condensed cream of potato soup (don't dilute it).
9 Eggs.
3/4 cup of milk.
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) of shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese.

PREPARATION:
Using your largest skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until the pink is no longer visible then drain off the grease. Stir in the potato soup. Then, in a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, milk and pepper and stir it into the sausage. Place everything in a lightly greased (Pam is healthy choice) 11 x 7 x 2-inch baking dish. Bake this uncovered in the oven set to 375 degrees for about 40-45 minutes or until you can place a knife in it that comes out clean... it is done.

GOOD MORNING TO YOU.
Steve and Kim

SIMPLY CHICKEN

Simple Chicken breast recipes are one thing that a recipe box or kitchen should not be without. Between soccer games, karate, and doctor appointments life can be very hectic and cooking a 5 course meal is just out of the question. However our families still deserve a well balanced, nutritious and tasty meal; which means we have to improvise and come up with recipes that are simple, quick and meet those requirements.

These simple chicken breast recipes are just the ticket to sitting your family down to a hot, nutritious and flavorful meal. They will take you from the chicken to the table with ease and little time. Enjoy!

This first one is very simple and is a one pan wonder. My family really enjoys it and it only takes me about 10 minutes to throw together and then about 35 minutes to cook. I love cooking this on nights when my husband works because it smells wonderful and when he walks in he always says “ooooo, can‘t wait for dinner.”

Ranch Chicken with Veggies

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 c veggie of choice (carrots work well)
1 c Italian bread crumbs, plus a little extra
2 packages of dry Ranch dressing mix

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray or oil the a 9x13 dish and coat with extra bread crumbs.

In a bowl mix the ranch dressing and 1 cup of bread crumbs together. Coat the chicken in the mixture and place in pan. Then put your veggie in the mixture, stir to evenly coat and then place carrots in the pan around the chicken.

Bake for 35 minutes then serve with slices of bread or biscuits.

This next simple chicken breast recipe is a marvelous well-balanced meal that can be done in one pan. It’s incredibly easy to make and simple to clean up. This recipe can also be converted to a crock pot if necessary and baked during the day.

Chicken and Rice

8 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 can onion soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/3 can milk
1 box of long grain and wild rice mix
1 16 oz bag of frozen veggies

Preheat oven to 350.

Evenly spread the rice in a 13x9 inch pan. Then sprinkle the herb packet that came with the rice over it, and top with the veggies. In a bowl mix the onion soup with one can of water and pour it over the veggies. Then place the chicken on top of the rice. In a bowl mix the mushroom soup with the milk and pour this over the chicken. Bake for 1 ½ hours.

Both of these recipes do involve quiet a few ingredients and minimal amounts of prep time. However if you need something with almost no prep and few ingredients then you can always opt for the classic; throw some chicken in a pan and pour a can of cream of chicken over it, serve it with instant mashed potatoes and a veggie. This simple chicken breast recipe has been around for ages and has become a favorite quick meal for most families.

We'd love to hear from you and are always looking for ideas for our postings here. Why not take a minute to drop us an e-mail? Just click HERE to contact us.
Thanks and good eating.
Steve and Kim

BUBBLE PIZZA

Everybody knows that pizza is a health food, right. Well it is, and we're going to share today one of our favorite, easy-to-prepare pizza delights. It's called Bubble Pizza because when you cook it that is exactly what it does... it bubbles up and invites you to a fun night of eating. **Of course pizza is a great breakfast food too, but then everyone knows that, right?

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 tubes of biscuits (we like the grands type as they are larger)
1 16 ounce jar of pizza sauce
assorted pizza toppings such as pepperoni, ham, chicken, pineapple, mushrooms, chopped onions peppers etc.

PREPARATION:

Mix all of these tasty ingredients in a large bowl until the sauce covers and coats everything. Toss it all into a 9x13 greased cake pan or casserole oblong dish. (Not sure if the pizza knows the shape of the pan... never have figured that one out.) Cover your concoction with mozzarella cheese (shredded) and sprinkle with cheese.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes or until it is hot and the biscuits have browned slightly. Serve with Parmesan cheese. Break out the napkins and enjoy the bubbles!

Have you ever wanted to create the kind of fun-to-eat pizzas you spend way too much money for at the pizza shop right in your own home? You can. Click on the link below and learn how to do it quick and easy.

THE BEST PIZZA COMES FROM YOUR OWN KITCHEN

Happy eating
Steve & Kim