Healthy

Slow Saturday Breakfast: Easy Cheesy Shortcut(s) Breakfast Casserole

~ atastytrip ~ Leave a comment

Merry Christmas week! Is that a thing? Like a birthday week? If it isn’t then it should be because Christmas is a lot more fun than your birthday.

Christmas tree
Our tiny Christmas tree, space was tight this year!

 

I am officially on  Christmas break and let me tell you it is just as glorious at 27 as it was at 17, or 7 for that matter. I think I still believed in Santa at 7 so maybe that was slightly more fun. I KNOW I didn’t appreciate the power of sleeping in and naps at 7 though so on second thought, it’s just as good now.

Now that Christmas break has  begun, I’m finally getting into the Christmas spirit. It’s been a little tough this year for several reasons. For one thing, I’ve been sick and it’s been unseasonably warm and rainy…not ideal Christmas wellness or weather. For another (and this is probably the main reason) this is the first Christmas ever that I won’t have spent with my family. My mom tearfully reminded me of this on the phone a few days ago, that she won’t have either of her girls for Christmas this year Sad smile FYI moms, reminders of this sort are not terribly helpful in cheering your children who are far away for the holidays. Since our families do not live in the same place, Robert and I navigated new married people territory this year and had to choose holidays. My family got Thanksgiving, his family gets Christmas and next year we swap. For those who haven’t crossed that bridge yet, as easy as you think it will be, even if you’re a holiday grinch, it isn’t. Every family has their own unique traditions and holiday quirks and no matter how wonderful the traditions you step into (or start anew) are, they still aren’t yours. I adore my in-laws, and I’m really excited to experience their Christmas (especially because my niece and nephew still believe in Santa!) but I know part of me will still be nostalgic for the holidays of my past. I KNOW this is part of life and growing up yada yada, but if your WHOLE family lives in the same place, count yourself lucky! I will get to see my parents on Tuesday as they plan to stop through Hilton Head on their way to see my sweet grandparents, so that is a definite plus!

Ingredients
Cheese not pictured because…early

 

Looking forward to all the festivities of this coming week, and enjoying all the fun we had this weekend has finally put me in the spirit! Not only was Friday my last day of work for two weeks, but my grandparents surprised Robert and I with an overnight visit on Friday evening! They drove over ten hours round trip to literally just have dinner and spend the night with us, did I mention they are the best? We took them to dinner, drove around to see Christmas lights and then came home to give them their Christmas gift and enjoy a piece of my favorite cake that my sweet nana made.  An entire cake is pretty much the last thing I need right now with all the other holiday goodies I’ve been consuming but the fact she that she baked it and brought it just for me pretty much melts my heart.

My grandparent’s left around noon on Saturday and Robert and I quickly tidied the house and ran errands before his family holiday party. His mother’s side of the family gets together each year on the weekend before Christmas to enjoy dinner and a White Elephant gift exchange. It’s always a great time and this year was no exception! Robert’s cousin and her husband spent the night with us and Sunday morning we all reconvened once again for breakfast to see everyone off. I was tasked with providing the breakfast casserole, an oldie but always a goodie.

eggs Egg Pour

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Lighter Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice Soup

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Happy Weekend! Let me preface this post by stating that any obvious typos can be attributed to my fingers having gone completely numb. Robert and I are going on Day 4 of no heat and it has been dipping down into the high 30’s around here. Brrr. After the first missed appointment, the maintenance man finally showed up last night and was unable to find the issue. He wisely advised that we “bundle up and cuddle close” to make it through the night and promised to come back today. Considering Robert and I had a real argument last night about who got to sleep next to Renly the live heater, we better hope he follows through!

Soup Veggies Wild Rice

There are really only a few food items that will suffice for dinner when you are residing in an igloo. Hot, plentiful and warm-you-up-from-the-inside-out are my personal criteria and soup fits the bill. I love soup of all kinds. It’s versatile, healthy, can be made out of literally almost anything you have on hand and most of the time fairly inexpensive. This particular soup recipe came from my mother who clipped it from the weekend section of the local paper. I have since adapted it slightly and made it many times over for friends, family and batch lunches. It is delicious, re-heats perfectly and unlike some soups, filling enough to be a meal on it’s own, even for Robert! If you are really hungry or feeding a crowd, a gooey grilled cheese or crusty bread to dip would be the perfect accompaniment.

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Slow Saturday Breakfast: Eggs in Purgatory

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Happy Monday! It’s nice to be back after a week long hiatus. Work is always especially busy for me the week before a holiday. On top of that we had plans almost every night this past week. A night with the girls, dinner with friends, putt putt for my nephew’s 8th birthday… slow down life! Luckily I get the luxury of the whole week off starting today! Renly and I are hopping in the car and heading to Tennessee in a few hours to spend Thanksgiving with my family. Robert has to work until Wednesday so he’ll be flying down then. I haven’t been home since my sister’s graduation in May so we are long overdue for a visit. I’m not sure what I’m more excited about…sleeping in all week, seeing my friends and family, or eating all my favorite foods I can only get at home (confession: probably the latter).

 Tomato Sauce and Spinach

So after a busy week and a chilly evening spent putt putting on Friday per my sweet nephew’s request, Saturday called for a hot breakfast. I also needed to have all of the ingredients on hand since I needed to clean out the fridge before we left town. Eggs in purgatory fit the bill, so much so that I cut my Saturday morning workout short so I could hurry home and scarf them down. I don’t usually go to the gym during the weekend so I only felt marginally guilty leaving. Although for the sake of complete disclosure I have been known to leave the gym early on a week day when hungry also. Who can work out on an empty stomach? Really. But back to the eggs…

 Eggs Poached

Eggs in purgatory is simple to make, slightly spicy and packed with veggies. Eggs are poached in a quick tomato sauce which transforms into the perfect “dip” for crusty bread. Mmm. It fits the bill for breakfast (hello, eggs) but can easily be made for lunch or dinner. Robert doesn’t love tomatoes so I usually reserve this recipe for times he isn’t home. He ran errands Saturday morning while I enjoyed this dish. And by enjoyed I mean I ate the entire thing….all of it….by myself. I did take a picture which I showed him when he returned and unfortunately for him he told me he thought it looked pretty good and that he’d like to try it. Sorry sweetie, next time.

Eggs Cheese Poaching Eggs and Toast

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Cheesy Green Chile Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Casserole

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Ok so that recipe title is kind of a mouthful, right? I have subsequently added “recipe naming” to my list of things to work on. You’re welcome in advance. Another thing I’d like to work on, couponing. Extreme couponing = fascinating and bewildering. How people are able to buy 67 tubes of toothpaste, 35 packages of ramen and 10 jars of peanut butter and pay negative seventeen cents is beyond me. I can’t even remember to use my $5 off a purchase of $50 at Publix. I have literally had the same coupon floating around in my purse for 6 months and I only think about using it after I am in my car headed home from the grocery store. Saving money is apparently not really my thing.

I hope everyone had a happy Veterans Day! I am very thankful to all the men and women who have served and continue to serve our great country. I was also very thankful to have a day off from work because I spent it…..drumroll please……sick in bed. Womp. Not even a little bit as exciting or productive as my previous Tuesday off. Instead of checking a million things off of my to-do list, I spent most of the day in bed with Renly. Tough life right?

 Renly

Despite the stuffy nose and headache part, it was actually nice to spend the day resting. I am always so quick to fill up “free time” that I usually forget the whole point of having a day off, to re-charge. Don’t get me wrong, it’s glorious to get things done (especially mid-week) but sometimes we really just need to put the brakes on. I’ve always thought getting a cold was your body’s way of telling you to slow down. Well that or my body’s way of telling me to stop letting the preschoolers I work with sneeze all over me.

So what I had hoped would be another busy Tuesday turned into a day of rest and puppy cuddles, and it was just what I needed. Thank you for slowing me down Veterans and sneezing preschoolers Smile

Another plus to a day at home (even a sick one) is that I had time to prepare a more prep intensive meal than usual. Although I say prep intensive, it was really pretty easy and only involved one extra appliance so don’t click away just yet! I found this yummy looking recipe on one of my favorite food blogs a few weeks ago. Yum right? I’m sure the recipe is absolutely delicious as is (all of hers are!) but I am weird and sometimes like to see how many non-vegetables I can replace with vegetables. Just normal things you would replace with vegetables like pasta, rice, alfredo sauce. What? Doesn’t everyone make alfredo sauce with cauliflower instead of cheese and cream? No? Ok, well just go with it. It may sound crazy, but it tastes delicious. And trust me, if my cheeseburger loving husband actually eats and likes these hidden veggie dishes then there’s a good chance you will too.

cauliflower cauliflower rice

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Planning (& Protein Pancakes)

~ atastytrip ~ Leave a comment

Hi! It’s been a busy week around here. I had last Tuesday off from work which I initially hated but ended up LOVING. A long weekend is great but a mid-week day off increases my productivity exponentially! Errands are a lot more fun when they aren’t taking up your weekend. On my day off I slept in (marginally), took Renly for a run (exercise!), made myself pancakes (healthy pancakes but that still counts), went to vote (America!), shopped for a few early Christmas gifts (HoHoHo), prepped dinner early (so nice) AND baked and individually bagged 168 cookies (you read that right, 168). Like I said, busy!

 A and A

Why would I bake and bag 168 cookies you may ask? Why for wedding welcome bags of course! Two of my sweet friends tied the knot yesterday! Having just been a bride this past June I KNOW how much it takes to pull off a wedding (unless you have an unlimited budget to hire someone to do it all for you…I DON’T know what that is like but I can imagine it’s pretty great and stress-free). I made the mistake of trying to do way too much myself before the big day. So my advice to future brides is the same as I gave my friends…delegate, delegate, delegate. When people ask if they can help, take them up on it! You shouldn’t be baking 168 cookies the week of your wedding, let your friends do it! I was more than happy to help with this task and I’m so glad they let me so that they could move on to more important things, like soaking in all those fun last moments of engagement before it get’s really real! Eeeek, just thinking about that excitement makes me nostalgic for my own wedding. And before you roll your eyes at me, I’m STILL a newlywed so I’m allowed to be sappy and romantic when I reminisce ( I hope I always am Smile). Their wedding was absolutely perfect, beautiful and FUN, congratulations Addison and Andy! And since it was in Hilton Head Robert and I got to host some of our college friends who were attending, always a blast!

Entrance
The Bride’s Grand Entrance…. so cool!

 

Another thing I did during this busy week falls under the category of Laurin’s Top 5 Favorite Things Ever To Do In Life: Plan. Confession: I am not one of the rare breed known as a “spontaneous person”. I like a schedule, I like to know what the day/week/month holds and I REALLY love lists.  For years I have tried to fight my Type A-ness and work on “flying by the seat of my pants” but I.just.can’t.do.it. I was born a planner and I will always be a planner. Time to admit it and embrace it, as my best friend Anna says, “Type A’s make the world go round!”. I may not be the friend you call at the last-minute for a trip to the beach, but I am that friend that if given notice will happily show up to the beach with a fully stocked beach bag, drinks and homemade snacks Smile

 

So what was I planning? Well my favorite thing to plan…a trip! I have been itching to go somewhere and Robert has some time off between Christmas and New Years so we are going to California! Neither of us have ever been and California has long been on our list of places we would like to travel to in the US. Other front-runners on that list are Chicago and Texas. Chicago seemed way too cold to do in December and my parents love San Antonio so Texas might be a trip we save to do with them, so California it is!

 Planning
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