Whole30

I haven't been taking photos of the food we cook. I do take lots and lots of photos when we go out to eat, but that's a different story.

I am in the middle of a Whole30 round. It has been an...interesting and enlighting... 10 days so far. The biggest challenge has been cooking a dinner we all can/will eat.

Biggest hits have been:

• Nutpods. I resisted buying them, but I found it harder to give up half and half in my coffee than it was giving up sugar; who saw that coming? After trying my coffee black for something like 2 weeks, I'm glad I caved and now I'm on the hunt for the best price on these little cartons of joy.
• Whole30 BBQ Sauce from Jay's Baking Me Crazy. When I made this, I was confident my family would not like it, but they all gave a big thumbs up to the recipe I made that used this (next bullet).
• Hawaiian Chicken Meal Prep Bowls. I didn't expect them to like this, but we all did. Husband was upset I took the remaining chicken as my lunch.
• Sloppy Joe Bowls We tried this before I was even on a Whole30, and my husband requests it for dinner throughout the year.
• Coconut Shrimp Taco Bowls This was a huge hit for the whole family. I took leftovers for lunch, and even the shrimp was good straight from the fridge. Major keeper!

I've enjoyed:

• Sweet Potato Breakfast Bowl has been a great and easy breakfast, so long as I remember to cook the sweet potato the night before.
• Burrito Bowl Stuffed Peppers
• Egg Roll in a Bowl
• 30 Minute No Bean Chili
• Roasted Breakfast Potatoes and Veggies This has been a great make ahead breakfast item. It tastes great, and keeps me satisfied, along with scrambled eggs or a hard boiled egg or two, until lunch time.
• Cottage Pie This was delicious (without peas, of course), and most of my family enjoyed it. It made me several days' worth of leftovers, but it was definitely time consuming to make.

Peaches and cream crockpot oats

Making oatmeal in the crockpot has made mornings around here substantially less crazy.  The boys enjoy it and I know I'm giving my kids (and self) a hearty and healthful breakfast with little work on my part.  It takes a little bit more prep work than the little instant packets I had as a kid, but is surely much better for all of us than those were and less costly too.

The first time I made steel cut oats in the crockpot, I made a gigantic mess.  The cooked oats stuck to the crock and it required much elbow grease to clean the mess.  I've since discovered a much easier method:  place all ingredients in a bowl that will fit inside your crockpot, and fill the crock around that bowl with water.  Cook as directed.  If there's any mess, it's confined to the small bowl, but I've found it doesn't get stuck on the way it did that first time.

The original directions for this Peaches and Cream Oatmeal suggest using canned peaches; I used frozen since that's what I have on hand, but the flavor just wasn't there without the juice.  My boys didn't notice or mind, but I (of the instant preference) wasn't really nuts about this.  That's not to say I won't make them again, the boys enjoyed and I didn't mind enough to not eat them, but I will probably add some honey or sugar to my bowl in the future.  I'll share the original recipe for you to try either way!

Peaches and Cream Crockpot Oats Source:  Eat at Home

Ingredients

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 1 can (15 oz) sliced peaches in light syrup
• enough milk to bring liquid to 4 cups
• dash salt

Instructions

1. Spray inside of crock with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Put steel cut oats in crock.
3. Drain can of peaches, reserving juice.
4. Slice peaches in bite size pieces. Add to crock.
5. Add milk to peach juice to make 4 cups. Pour into crock.
6. Add dash of salt and stir to combine.
7. Cook 3-4 hours on low. You can cook up to 7-8 hours, if needed.
8. Serve with extra milk, if desired.

Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

I have a problem with breakfast.  The problem is that I love breakfast and that I have not a whole lot of time in the mornings.  So, it's not unlikely that my breakfast is Lucky Charms.  Or cinnamon buns, which, of course, are not homemade.  Totally good for me, and totally going to keep me full from 6 till 11.

So, when I stumbled across this recipe for homemade Egg McMuffins, something I've been wanting to try anyway, I decided the time was right and made them right away.

This seemed like a great and yummy solution to part of my breakfast dilemma.  I've made it three mornings and haven't yet had success following the directions.  Rather than do the prewarming in the whole oven (adding another 10-15 minutes to the morning rush), I made it in the toaster oven.  Our toaster oven is generally wonky, so why I thought this would be successful, I'm not sure.

So, on day 1 I followed Macheesmo's directions exactly.  The result was a rock hard muffin.  On day 2, I dropped the temperature to 325 for 20 minutes, and the muffin was still pretty hard.  Tomorrow I'll try an overnight defrost before putting it into the oven for a little while.

I think part of hte problem was my overcooking the eggs and maybe the muffins from the beginning.  I wonder if the egg should be frozen separately, warmed in the oven with cheese on top, and the muffin toasted separately....

Anyway, here's Macheemo's directions.

Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches Source:  Macheesmo

6 English muffins
6 eggs
Butter (optional)
Shredded Cheese
Spray oil

1.  Lightly spray a muffin tin with oil.  Crack an egg into each muffin spot.  Bake 10-15 minutes in a 350 degree oven (these should cook out of the oven, which I didn't do and so, overcooked).
2.  Meanwhile, grate your cheese.  Lay slice English muffins on a baking sheet and pop in the oven along with the eggs, about 10 minutes.
3.  Remove the eggs (I used a silicone "Spoonula" with great success).  Top each muffin with an egg, top with cheese, add muffin top.
4.  If eating now, bake another 5-10 minutes.
5.  If freezing, place unwrapped sandwich on a baking sheet and place in the freezer for about an hour.  Wrap each in foil and put them all inside a freezer bag.  When you're ready to eat, bake frozen sandwich in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes (watch it... mine was really hard and sorta burned!)

Overnight Egg Casserole

When it comes to breakfast, many of us just grab and go.  Fast is the name of the game, but we know that fast generally results in the hungry monster making an appearance at 9 (oh wait, is that just me?).  Something that can be made ahead and baked  while doing other things or fully cooked and heated in the microwave is a perfect solution.  I've recently learned that protein helps keep that monster at bay by making us feel fuller longer, so I've been looking for ways to incorporate "The incredible, Edible Egg" into my morning routine.

This meal, made for our Breakfast for Dinner New Year's Eve party, is a perfect solution.  It combines carbs in the potatoes with protein in the ham and eggs, plus is adaptable enough that one could easily add some veggies--broccoli seems the perfect fit here.

I made it yesterday morning, baked it around dinner time, and it was really good.  This morning, I warmed it in the microwave, and it was still just as good.  So the only time you'd need in your manic Monday morning is to slop it on a plate, nuke it for 30 seconds, and eat it.  It's not the most grab and go of breakfasts, but it still is really fast.

A little secret; it made me so happy to have a use for my leftover Christmas ham!!

Overnight Egg Casserole Source:  Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious March/April 2006.  Online here.

Ingredients

• 4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 1 cup cubed fully cooked ham
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 6 eggs
• 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Salsa, optional

Directions

• In a greased 8-in. square baking dish, layer the hash browns, ham, chilies and cheeses. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, milk and pepper; pour over the casserole. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. Serve with salsa if desired. Yield: 9 servings.

Syrupy Banana French Toast

We had some friends over for a very low key New Year's Eve gathering.  We've done this since 2007 when our first son was born, and invited others interested in a low key, bring along the kids, night.  On the evite, I asked everyone what their preference for dinner was--Mexican or Breakfast?  Breakfast was the winner, and so I turned to the internet to find make ahead breakfast dishes that would be kid friendly and delicious.  I came across Good Housekeeping's recipe site Delish and found many recipes that seemed perfect.

First up is the all around favorite, Syrupy Banana French Toast.  This was so easy and so yummy.  I put it together on Saturday morning and it was ready to go for dinnertime.  The brown sugar and butter "crust" caramelized so that it didn't even need the addition of syrup.  I used a French baguette, which meant that the 1" slices of bread were way too much for this dish; next time I'll either use thinner slices of baguette or a loaf of French bread.

I toyed with the idea of throwing in some chocolate chips, because banana chocolate chip pancakes are so yummy, but instead made the recipe as written.  One note is that this does not reheat well.  We tried to have it this morning for breakfast and found it was pretty disgusting.

Yummmmmmmm

Syrupy Banana French Toast Source:  Delish.com

• 6 tablespoon(s) butter or margarine
• 1 1/2 cup(s) packed brown sugar
• 5 large ripe bananas, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
• 1  (12-ounce) long loaf French or Italian bread, cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices
• 6 large eggs
• 2 cup(s) milk
• 2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup(s) sliced almonds or coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans

---

Directions

1. In microwave-safe small bowl, heat butter in microwave oven on High 1 minute or until melted. Stir sugar into butter until moistened. With fingertips, press sugar mixture onto bottom of 13-inch by 9-inch glass baking dish. (It's okay if mixture does not cover bottom.) Spread fresh or dried fruit over sugar mixture; top with bread slices, cut sides down.
2. In medium bowl, with whisk, beat eggs; whisk in milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Slowly pour milk mixture over bread; press bread down to absorb egg mixture. Sprinkle with nuts. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap from baking dish. Bake, uncovered, 45 to 50 minutes or until bread is golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
   
   Note: If you don't have bananas, substitute 3 to 4 very ripe pears or peaches (about 1 1/2 pounds), sliced; or 1 cup dried cherries, cranberries, or raisins.

Blueberry French Toast Bake

Here's another make ahead recipe I found for our NYE extravaganza. Again, the kids ate it, but I was the only adult who did. This was delicious and so easy. I really loved that I didn't even have to defrost the blueberries!! It was a little crisp, but this was even great on the second day.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1-1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 6 eggs
• 10 slices french bread, cut into 1" cubes
• 3 oz. pkg. cream cheese, diced
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, do not thaw)
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts Omitted
  
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preparation:

Generously grease 13x9" glass baking dish. Beat flour, milk, 2 Tbsp. sugar, vanilla and eggs in large bowl until smooth. Stir in bread cubes until well coated, then pour bread mixture into prepared pan.

Top evenly with cream cheese cubes and blueberries. In small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. sugar, cinnamon, and nuts and toss to mix. Sprinkle over blueberries and cream cheese. Cover casserole tightly and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and bake casserole, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Serves 8

Make Ahead scrambled eggs

For the under 10 guests, I couldn't think of what to serve. I didn't want to go for chicken nuggets, but figured breakfast for dinner would be a big hit. Wanting to get as much done the day before NYE, I sought out a few make ahead breakfast recipes.

First up, I made scrambled eggs, according to this recipe.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 12 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/8 tsp. white pepper
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Preparation:

Beat eggs with cream in a large bowl. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Pour eggs into skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until eggs are scrambled and just set, but still moist.

Remove pan from heat and stir in sour cream. Spread eggs into a greased 12x7" glass baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to eat, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the baking dish and sprinkle eggs with pepper and salt. Stir gently, then bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and eggs are hot, at least 140 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. 8 servings

This made way more than we really needed, since NONE of the adults had any (save ME)!! It was really good though! My son ate a good amount, and we both had some more the next day too--still great. This is a very rich recipe, as you can tell from the use of sour cream AND heavy cream, but it made some delicious scrambled eggs!