Breakfast Potatoes and French Toast Souffle

The biggest thing I took away from this recipe is that I wish I would have put the corn flakes on!!! I didn't mean to omit this but I didn't see that part of the recipe until I was actually making it and I didn't have them. So sad. They were good, although, if I make them again I think I will add some chives or bits of ham or something like that. I made the French toast souffle, too and I liked it. I think that I may save this recipe for overnight guests. It was special and easy and I will definitely add apples, too. That would be delicious!

Potato & Lentil Review (Severns)

I am in Oregon and have enjoyed making the latest two recipes with Eva! Yesterday morning we made the potato casserole. It was easy. The only alteration we made was less cheese. When we ate it, I couldn't help thinking it was really bland. I added more salt and pepper but it didn't really help. This morning we scrambled eggs and ate them along with it. I thought this along with the casserole sitting 24 hours was an improvement.

Tonight I made the lentil recipe and it was really good. I really like all the fresh veggies in it. I didn't alter the recipe at all. Eva made polenta to go along with it and it was a great companion. This recipe will be added to my regulars.

Input please....

Alright fellow chic chefs (and loyal followers), I am quite curious to know which of the recipes we have done in the past couple years (can you believe that???) have you added to your repitoire, which ones you refer to friends and MOST importantly, what kind of recipes are you hoping to see someone post!

I am selfishly using you to help narrow down my next recipe choice. I also find myself coming back to the blog to get inspiration for dinner and have truly valued this resource!!!! Thank you all and I can't wait to hear what you have to say!

Breakfast for dinner anyone?

I combined the French Toast Souffle, with the "cheesy potatoes" for dinner this week. I absolutely loved that in about 10 minutes before work I was able to prep the souffle and the ingredients for the potatoes. When I got home I spent 5 minutes mixing potato stuff together and baked both at the same time at 350. Then I was free to play with katrina while it baked.

The results were mixed! My biggest problem with the dinner was that there was WAAAAAAAY to much food for the 1.5 of us to eat. I loved the potatoes (I did sub fresh onion for dried minced onion) as did kat. The souffle was not my fav that night. It was okay but lacked some flavor (I did add a cinnamon/sugar/coconut sprinkle I have to top) and the bread was too soft for my liking. Although, I give the recipe HUGE props because the next day I brough it to work and all 3 kids ate it up for lunch and again the next day ASKED for it for their snack (over ice cream I might add).

I will make both again, when we are feeding more people. I think I will also either make a reduced fruit compote/chutney with it or add meat or fruit to it as it bakes. I think it is a great starter recipe and am excited to see what I can build off of it.

and yes, 5 days later we are still eating the potatoes and they are just as yummy!

Lentil Bolognese

Happy Spring! It's official now, thank goodness! I am always happy when the first day of spring comes and goes. Just closer to summer! With that said, the recipe I have chosen really is kind of a fall winter meal, and it's not necessarily new and exciting but I recently tried it and really loved it. I wanted to share it because it is a healthy and delicious alternative to a regular beef bolognese. Less fat, too and it is a good one to have in your repertoire. In the cookbook that I found this it says to serve it with pasta, as a crepe stuffing or a sauce for vegetables. I served it with polenta and it was SO good!

Lentil Bolognese

Serves 6

1 Onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 carrots, coarsely grated
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 T. olive oil
2/3 C. red lentils
1- 14oz. can chopped tomatoes
2T. tomato paste
2 C. stock
1T. fresh marjoram, chopped or 1t. dried marjoram
salt and ground black pepper

1. In a large saucepan , gently fry the onion, garlic, and celery in the oil for about 5 minutes, until they are soft.

2.Add the lentils, tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, marjoram, and seasoning.

3. Bring the mixture to a boil then partially cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes until thick and soft.

Review of the Breakfast potatoes and the French Toast Souffle.

We has some friends over for brunch this morning....I had decided to make the potatoes and the souffle both along with some turkey bacon, oj and coffee.
Our guest were set to arrive at 11am...French toast souffle was put together the night before and all went smoothly, the potatoes were in the oven at 9, souffle went in at 10 then at about 10:30 just as i was getting ready to put the bacon in the oven and cook the souffle for another 20-30 min....we heard pop, crack, sizzle.... "what was that?" we ran to the kitchen only to see the heating element in the bottom of the oven sparking and a few small flams. Off when the oven out came all the rest of the food....After we were done scurrying around the kitchen "putting out flames" so to speak and a bit litteral too.
I decided to finish half of the souffle in the microwave and half in the toster oven. Thankfully the potatoes were already all done. First of all, the only alteration I did to the French toast souffle is added in a little cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to the mixture poured over the bread the night before. I would not reccomending finishing it in the microwave...ever. haha, it was not horrible but was not great either. The half that came out of the toaster oven was delightful. Everyone enjoyed both of the reciepes and we all ate till our hearts content. Over all what could have been a distastor turned out to be a delicious brunch! Thank you ladies.
happy cooking
-serena :)

Breaskfast Potatoes!

This is so good! My mom and gram have made this forever! My mom even makes up a ton for there big church x-mas breakfast. We have made it as a main breakfast dish and as a side. So do what you want and enjoy!


32oz frozen hashbrowns-shredded
2cups cheese
1/2 med onion chopped-you can skip this one if for some reason you don't like onions
1 can celary soup
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 pint sour cream
Salt and pepper

Mix everything together and put in a 9/13 greased pan.

Mix 2 cups of corn flakes and 1/4cup melted butter and spread over top. Bake at 350 for about and hour!

Hope you all enjoy this and again sorry i'm so late on getting up! But it is the story of my life!

I'm so sorry!

So I'm lame. I did remember on Sunday that i needed to post but then i don't know what happen! I was going to do it last night but then my parents came over with dinner so that messed up my plan! So I'm at work now (on hold for like the last 15 minutes) but once i get home I'm going to post. It is another breakfast dish. Carrie and i were going to do them at the same time but then me, my husband and Carson all got sick and I'm also training for a 1/2 marathon so all this running is getting in the way too! So again I'm sorry to hold you all up and i will be posting tonight! Thanks ladies!

Greek Chicken & Pita Bread Review (Severns)

Well, even though I was the one who submitted these recipes I had to make them because I hadn't before. I made the pita bread two days before my company came for the weekend. It was so easy. I spent the day at home with the kids and it was nothing to complete step by step the recipe. I divided the product into two batches, one for the freezer (for a couple weeks later) and one for the fridge for two days later.

I followed the recipe exactly and liked how the bread came out. When it came to frying them in the pan I didn't have so much luck. I couldn't seem to get little enough oil. Ultimately I ended up doing the last piece (my piece) in the pan without oil. I liked that the best. So when I get the rest of them out of the freezer next week I think I'll just heat them in the pan without the oil.

The chicken!!! Oh Man, the chicken was delicious! I sliced fat slices of red onion and red pepper and put them on the grill as I was grilling the chicken (I used breast meat). They added so much to the experience. I made a green Greek salad and served tzaziki sauce for the sandwiches. Everyone loved the meal. Andy called in the middle of our dinner and was so jealous he wasn't eating yummy Greek food but sandy Brit food! (HaHaHa) I'll have to make it again in July!

PS: I am making the entire meal again this week when my dad visits!

French Toast Souffle Review (Severns)

Last weekend I intended to make the souffle the night my company arrived and serve it the next morning but that didn't happen. I ended up making it the morning we ate it. I think I may have used more bread than I was suppose to. I didn't weight the slices of bread but to me it was too much. I also added cinnamon over the top before I baked it. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly -- proud of me?!

Everyone loved it. I liked it. It was good. By the end of my piece it was too much cream cheese flavor. My friend Ellen suggested baking sliced apples in it and I agree. My idea was sliced fresh strawberries spooned over top. My kids loved it and ate more than any adult at the table! All-in-all it was a hit but I won't make it all the time, just occasionally.

Scrumptious Souffle

So I was a little skeptical about this recipe as I assembled it on Friday night, but boy did it turn out to be scrumptious! I didn't have 1/2 & 1/2 on hand, so I just skipped it altogether, and it still turned out fabulous. I used my favorite french toast bread - challah - and sprinkled some cinnamon on top before baking. I did only end up needing to cook it for about 40 minutes, but that may have been because I had less liquid in mine. It tasted delicious - just like french toast, and it reheated really nicely in the microwave so we enjoyed it all weekend. I will definitely be making this again. It would be a great recipe for company since you can do it all the night before. Thank you, Carrie, for encouraging us to do something different!