Be prepared

Every Sunday morning, we have our "Family Breakfast". And it is nice to not have to do too much preparation in order to eat and still have time to get ready and be on time to church. So I LOVE breakfasts that can be prepared the night before. (After all, I was a Girl Scout for several years when I was little!) Like this casserole...by far the best recipe for breakfast casserole that I have tried. (It's from the May 2007 issue of Cooking Light.)

I used a delicious asiago cheese bread from the bakery of my wonderful grocery store...and it definitely offered a unique flavor to the dish. I also used regular sausage instead of turkey and normal eggs instead of egg substitute and regular cheese, so I suppose my version is no longer "light" but still really tasty. But I'll give you the light version and you can choose to substitute (or not). And, it tastes great reheated in the microwave...not all breakfast casseroles can claim that.

Breakfast Casserole

8 oz. ciabatta bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lb. turkey breakfast sausage
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 1/4 cup fat-free milk
1 cup (4 oz.) reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
2 large eggs
1 (8 oz.) carton egg substitute
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes or until toasted.
2. Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add sausage to pan; cook 6 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Combine sausage, bread, and onions in a large bowl. Combine milk, cheese, eggs, and egg substitute in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add milk mixture to bread mixture, tossing to coat bread. Spoon mixture into a greased 2-quart baking dish. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Uncover casserole. Bake for 50 minutess or until set and lightly browned. Sprinkle with parsley; serve immediately.

Yields about 6 one-cup servings

Bits of Happiness

• There is Banana Bread (with pecans) baking in the oven right now. Yummy. I love to eat it toasted with a tiny bit of butter. And tea.
• This little girl pictured above shares my "cheesy grin for pictures" that I had when I was her age. That makes me smile. And how cute is she with all her "jewels" on?
• Yesterday in the late afternoon, we had a very quick but heavy thunderstorm.
• I'm trying to figure out a recipe for Banana Nutella Crepes from one of our favorite restaurants in town (I'll share when I figure it out)...so yummy...we ate there Saturday night (date night!) in order to celebrate:
• Brent's new job! We are so excited and thankful and glad to be moving further north. Okay, it's only to Oklahoma, but every little degree of latitude helps, right?
• We've been looking at houseplans...and hoping that the one we really like will fit on the lot we really like! It's fun to get to daydream about a new home!
• Mmmmm...I can smell the banana bread now!
• In our backyard, there is a summer phlox blooming. This is a big deal because we planted them our first spring, thinking that they would do well...not so much. Too dry here. Lo and behold, a couple weeks ago, I noticed a plant had decided to say hello...thanks to our immense amount of rain this early summer! Such a fun surprise!
• The ironing is all done!
• A new Pottery Barn Kids catalog came today...filled with lots of fun ideas!
• I think both kiddos are asleep AT THE SAME TIME. Maybe I'll get some crafty stuff done today! Yesterday, Miss H. fell asleep right as Mr. N was waking up. Nice.

Be Inspired

This was the theme of a "swap" I participated in over at ScrapInStyleTV.com...a fabulous website if you haven't checked it out yet!

This was the second time Lisa and I have been matched together for a swap, and I have to say that opening my box of goodies from Lisa was most definitely inspiring! Lots of goodies tempting me to start working on Nathanael's scrapbook (I know, I know, I really need to get it done before the baby arrives!)

By far, my favorite thing in the package was what Lisa put so much time and heart into...a flip book of inspiration, with tons of color, texture, techniques, and ideas. Here is a little peek of it that Lisa posted on her blog...

Thank you SO much Lisa!!!

Inside

Hadleigh and I had a great time baking in the kitchen on Monday...I found this yummy cupcake recipe that had just enough need of an almost-four-year-old helper.

Hadleigh loves being in the kitchen with me...she's even started to stand on her stool at the sink, rinsing whatever dishes might be around. It's fun to have her helping...although baking seems to take a little bit longer :) Her favorite responsibility is lining muffin tins with the paper cups; this time I had bought some bright pink striped cups just for her, but she informed me I needed to buy more of the heart covered ones that we had for Valentines Day! She also loves to have the oven light on to keep tabs on whatever is cooking!

So this recipe is definitely good if you have a miniature baker in your home...I'll put in bold the steps that Hadleigh helped me with.

(And by the way, we didn't get around to frosting them...which was fine with me on account of the messiness and extra sugar for my children...but by all means, frost yours, even though they're still yummy without!)

Surprise Cookie Cupcakes

1 package plain chocolate cake mix

1 1/3 cups water

3 large eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 package Nestle TollHouse Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Dough (the break-apart kind)

1 container prepared frosting (or homemade)

Miniature Chocolate Morsels for topping

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin-cups with paper liners.

2. Combine cake mix, water, eggs, and oil in large mixer bowl and beat on low speed for 30 seconds; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes or until smooth. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter into each cup, filling about 2/3 full.

3. Cut cookie dough into 24 pieces; roll each piece into a ball. Place one ball of dough in the center of each muffin cup, pressing it to the bottom.

4. Bake for 19 to 22 minutes or until top springs back when gently pressed. Let stand for 15 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Spread with frosting and sprinkle with chocolate morsels.

blog no longer abandoned

We just took Mimi to the airport after a wonderful week together! Dad, Mom wants and needs a new camera for Christmas, hint hint! For some reason all the pictures we took with her camera came out blurry with a kind of "glow" but I still wanted to share this one above! So sweet! We had one nicer cool morning that was perfect for the park! It was lots of fun to watch Mimi slide with BOTH kiddos!

And what a blessing to me...I am definitely feeling ready (i.e. big) for this little girl to arrive and we still have three more months to go...so having Mom here to hold and carry and just help with the little details of life was such a blessing! (If you can tell in that picture, Nathanael is just about as big...if not heavier...than Hadleigh...and he still wants and needs to be carried much of the time because, his sweet little pace is just not fast enough in the hot Texas sun.) So thank you Mom, for coming in the middle of a very busy summer! We all enjoyed the visit so much!

And while at the park, Hadleigh began to show her interest in photography by taking these pictures with Mimi's camera...some of them came out pretty well, considering :) Take a look:

Everything Cold

Our family is all about Ice Cream. Popsicles. Snow cones. Frozen Yogurt. As long as it's sweet and cold, we're all smiles! Brent was given this little treat as a "Father's Day Gift", and we have really been enjoying it...our favorite so far is the Mocha Chip ice cream we've made...oh-so-good. I'm in search of a good ice cream cookbook now...any of you have recommendations?

Braum's is our neighborhood ice cream store of choice...they have the best peppermint ice cream ever, and Hadleigh is a huge fan of their strawberry ice cream, which she has recently started calling by its proper name instead of "pink ice cream". When I was little, I stopped biting my fingernails (thankfully!) due to Mom's promise of a Braum's ice cream cone with "two scoops"...a very big deal then...and still today! Braum's is a big deal in our family too...for Hadleigh never fails to call out "I see ice cream cone!" anytime we drive near a Braum's store...I'm amazed at how quickly she can spot their signs!

Other favorite ice cream places include...TCBY (white chocolate mousse, please), Marble Slab (my favorite is the sweet cream or cinnamon with strawberries and granola mixed in), Cold Stone Creamery (this page of their website is making me especially hungry right now!), I loved Amy's Ice Cream in college...definitely worth a stop if you're in the Austin area, and there's a new place in Waco that my sister introduced me to called Katie's Custard that is just delish! Already looking forward to my next visit there. Sadly, none of these places are in town...so if you live nearby one of these yummy places, go take advantage of that! In the meantime, I feel like tonight is a Braum's kind of night...or maybe Bluebell, my all-time favorite grocery-store brand, especially cookies and cream....hmmmm...what to choose....

So, what's your favorite ice cream store or ice cream flavor? And feel free to share ice cream recipes too!

Miss Potter

I waited and waited for this to come out on dvd. Brent's mom mentioned seeing it (and raved about it!) in theatres in the late spring, and I could not find a theatre near that was showing it then. So I had to be patient...and it was worth it!

A lovely story of Beatrix Potter...Hadleigh and I have been reading some of her stories together at naptime...a beautifully filmed movie...an inspiring story, especially for someone who also wants to write stories (no illustrations for me though!)...whimsical elements...great performances, especially by Renee Zellweger...and the English countryside!

It now sits in our dvd collection...hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Inspiration

Lately, I have found so many things that are inspiring me...to be more creative...more entertaining...more organized...more festive...so I thought I'd share a few places with you. (And sorry that it has taken me all week to get these inspiring ideas to you...we've been plagued with internet issues...grrrr....)

• First of all, if you have been in North Texas between April and now, you probably haven't been able to miss the rain...lots and lots of rainy days. Those inspire me! It's coming down in sheets right now!
• My friend Jillian has been inspiring me with this... just looking at this banner makes me want to have a huge 4th of July celebration. (And she's selling the banner kit in her etsy shop...so you can have one too!)
• I found this website a few weeks ago: MatthewMeadStyle. It is full of entertaining ideas, collectibles, yummy recipes, and just beautiful things for the home! You can see lots more in his archives section...fabulous stuff for all my favorite seasons! (Love the ice cream cone idea!)

• Aby has some great organizing tips and fun ideas on her blog and website, Simplify 101! Like this great use for Target dollar spot galvanized tin buckets:

• And here's a recipe blog after my own heart, Dessert First! Yum! We just bought an ice cream maker and have been enjoying it immensely! I'll have to try that recipe for Nectarine Sherbert soon!
• And tomorrow, I will share with you an inspiring movie (rental) recommendation for the weekend...a must-see! Now, I'm off to enjoy listening to the rain and some scrapbook supplies!
  
  
  

Clean vs. Neat

This weekend while Brent's mom (lovingly called Kammy) was visiting, the two of us talked about keeping things clean versus neat. We both agreed that keeping things neat, tidy, and organized comes easily to us. But neither of us just love to clean, though it must be done.

I often apologize to friends in advance for my house not being more "clean". And of course, they come over and express disbelief at how I could think things were dirty. But they really mean neat. I am pretty good at reigning in clutter...but I just really don't like cleaning. I wish I loved to vacuum and sweep and scrub baseboards but it just doesn't come naturally.

So I love it when I find cleaning products that work really well and/or make my cleaning responsibilities a little bit easier. So I thought I would share some with you.

Scrubbing Bubbles Fresh Brush Toilet Brush...love that it scurbs easily, flushed the yucky stuff away, and hangs discreetly from the side of the toilet, thanks to the enclosed hook!
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser...seriously, works wonders on just about everything! I keep stocked up...because you never know where crayon will end up! (Nathanael hasn't yet figured out why I willingly give him the white crayon when he's running around the office.)
Scrubbing Bubbles Flushable Wipes...nice and easy...I really just use these for cleaning the toilet surfaces, although you can use them in the bath and sinks.
Sprayway Glass Cleaner...I was raised on Windex, but for mirrors, this really can't be beat! Makes leaving a streak-free mirror pretty easy (...although never ever ever ever again will I have a huge sheet of mirror in a bathroom...)
Easy Off BAM Grime, Lime, and Soapscum Remover...okay, seriously, this is the best stuff. We have hard water and our glass shower door was impossible to clean until I found this. It makes clean up so much easier...just make sure to wear gloves, cause the stuff is pretty strong.
Bounty Paper Towels...I can't remember the name of the particular towel, but I think they are the ones that are supposed to help prevent streaking...I like them because they hold up well and last awhile.
Bar Keepers Friend... is a great cleaner for the kitchen. I use mine especially on my AllClad Stainless Steel cookware and my copper teakettle (a friend gave it to me as part of a wedding gift...and it was a great discovery!) It has many uses, so check it out!
And it's hard to see in the picture, but our "dustbuster" is in the picture too...and it makes such an easy job of cleaning the crumbs from the two spots around our dining room table that consistently are a mess. Can you guess whose seats I'm talking about? Brent brought ours home a few weeks ago, and I am so glad he did. I pull it out all the time!

Now if only I could find an overhead vacuum system that would retrieve dust periodically throughout the day...because our house is dusty 10 minutes after being dusted. I am not exaggerating! Thankfully, dusting is one of the chores I enjoy...a great way to multitask while talking on the phone!

Do you have any great cleaning products you'd like to share? I'd love to hear them!

Sleepy.

I am SO very sleepy. Brent's mom was in town visiting (hence my blog neglect), and so we had a few late evenings together (and a very fun visit! I'll post some pictures soon.) Plus last night we had a crazy thunderstorm with incredible high winds...70 mph with gusts up to 90 mph from what Brent told me. For the first time, I am thankful we have no big trees near our house because there was this huge bang against the house that woke us up at 1:30 am or so. I first thought "A tree just fell on our house." And then I remembered that our trees are really little with no nearby trees that could cause such a sound. The noise was the fence gate next to our window that until then had not been shut completely.

After checking to make sure we had no tornado warnings, we eventually fell asleep...but let's just say that tonight, I will go to sleep EARLY!

So I wish I had more leftovers from last night's dinner because it was SO yummy...so I have to share! (It's an older Southern Living recipe.)

Tex-Mex Ravioli Casserole

1 (16-ounce) jar mild salsa
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can tomato puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (28-ounce) bag frozen cheese ravioli, unthawed
2 (19-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Combine first 3 ingredients. Pour 1/2 cup sauce mixture on the bottom of a lightly greased 2-quart oval or 11- x 7-inch baking dish. Top evenly with frozen cheese ravioli. Layer with black beans, chopped cilantro, green onions, and remaining sauce mixture; top evenly with shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses.

2. Bake, covered with aluminum foil (lightly sprayed with Pam, to prevent cheese from sticking), at 350° for 45 minutes or until bubbly. Remove foil, and bake 5 more minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Makes 6 servings. I served it with chips and guacamole...everyone loved it!

And now, I'm off to make a cup of tea to try and wake up a little! Lot's more to share tomorrow!