Easy Make Ahead Breakfast

I haven't been doing my usual blog posts, and I'm not really sure why. Part of it is that menu planning has been a little less structured than usual (read: making a list 10 minutes before going to the store) and I still am not doing a ton of knitting. I am reading though, and I hope to share what I've read recently with you soon!

Today though I'm sharing a little project I did during this morning's nap time. Mornings are always a little rushed for me, and even more so now that I have a baby. Trying to get her dressed, me dressed, her diaper bag packed, my bag packed, letting the dog out, feeding the dog, feeding the cat, and getting both of us bundled up and out the door feels like a marathon some days. Breakfast doesn't always happen, and then I'm starving or stopping at Tim Hortons, which isn't great for my wallet. 

Enter make ahead breakfasts! The hubs and I used to make up a batch of breakfast burritos, but I'm not the biggest fan of scrambled eggs. I decided to make my own breakfast sandwiches to keep in the freezer for those rushed mornings. How nice to have a quick, easy and warm breakfast in only a few minutes!

For my batch today, I made sausage and egg sandwiches on english muffins, half with swiss cheese and half with sharp cheddar. Here's what I did!

First I did the eggs, since they took the longest. I preheated my oven to 350 degrees, and cracked eggs into muffin tins I'd sprayed with cooking spray. I baked them for 15 minutes and they were perfect for me, but if you like your eggs really well done I would go another minute or two.

This photo makes me realize that I need to clean my oven!!!

Then I started separating english muffin halves and toasting them. I suppose you could skip this step, but I like my muffins crispy :)

While they were toasting, I microwaved the sausage patties in batches of 3 or 4. I thought about cooking up bacon because I prefer it over sausage, but the sausage was easier and quicker. You could substitute bacon or ham or any other meat you want.

Lastly, when the eggs were done and had cooled for about 10 minutes, I assembled. I found it easiest to use the flatter of the two english muffin halves for the base, as the were wider and accommodated the sausage better. I also broke my cheese in half and criss-crossed it because otherwise it hung over the edges and I didn't want a melty mess.

Then I wrapped them in a paper towel and placed them in individual sandwich bags for the freezer.

I actually had one for breakfast this morning after I finished assembling and it was really good! The true test will be reheating them from the freezer, but I think we may have a winner. 

Carter didn't have a breakfast sandwich, but she did have fun playing with her dog!

Pinterest Finds

Here are some of the things I pinned this week. Maybe you will be inspired by them too!

Buckeye Brownie Cookies

Peanut Butter and brownie- a winner if I ever heard one!

Egg-mushroom Kielbasa Bake

I'm thinking this would be great to make on a weekend, and have leftovers for the week!

HEMNES shoe organizer

Rethinking out storage in our entryway, and I love this. If only IKEA were closer!

12 Months of Decluttering

We are really trying to pare our home down to the essentials, and I liked how everything was broken down by months here. 

FLORT Remote Control Organizer

Is it just me, or do remotes seems to disappear?

Skinny Mint Chocolate Milkshake

I'm going to try and make smoothies a bigger part of my diet, and when looking for some recipes I stumbled across this yumminess. A milkshake that's low in calories and fat? Sign me up! I think the hubs will like this too :)

Puebla Shrimp Rellenos Casserole

Casseroles are a staple in our weeknight meals, and this one seems right up our alley!

Detox Smoothie

One of the smoothie recipes I found. I love Sally's recipes because they don't call for crazy healthy mix ins that I don't already have in my pantry. Maybe some day I'll add wheat germ or chia seeds to my smoothies, but for now I like foods I can use other places too.

Lift Up Coffee Table Plan

I love the idea of a coffee table that can be used as a laptop table and eating place as well. I don't love this particular design, but the hubs is crafty, so I'm sure he can modify it!

Entry organization

I love this for an entryway! I actually really like a lot of the styled rooms on this webpage. Someday!

And because no post is complete without a baby photo...

What have you been pinning lately?

Linking up with http://tidymom.net/

My Favorite Cookies

Until a year or two ago, my favorite cookies were chocolate chip. Pretty boring huh? I love cookies and often bake different kinds to take to various parties and events, but if I was just making them for me, chocolate chip was where it was at. Then I ran across a recipe on a favorite blog of mine, and happened to make them. I didn't have all the ingredients on hand, so I omitted a few things and changed up a few amounts. The result became the hands down the favorite in our house (the hubs is also a big fan) and I have a few friends who will request these too! Best part is they're flourless, so I like to think they are healthier than other cookies!

I originally founds the recipe on Courtney's blog, Sweet Tooth Sweet Life. If you haven't read her blog before, go check it out! I love how down to earth she is and I feel like I'm catching up with a friend when I read her posts. You can find her recipe here, but this is how I change it up.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups peanut butter (my personal fave is Peter Pan Honey Roast!)
3 eggs
2 tbsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
1 bag chocolate chips (if you like a lot of chocolate chips, add more!)
4.25-4.5 cups of quick cooking oats (sometimes 4.5 cups seems like too many!) start with 4 cups and see how it mixes

Start by beating the butter and sugars together, then add ingredients in order. Bake for 9-11 minutes on a cookie sheets in a 350 degree oven. Cool and transfer to a cooling rack or plate. EAT!

These easy to make and always go over well. The hubs actually likes them better the next day, so they definitely keep well too.

Easy Bean and Cous Cous Salad

Sara came over for dinner last night and we had an amazing, healthy meal. Seriously, it was so simple, but we couldn't stop shoveling it in! I want to share the recipe with you, but bear with me because I kinda just threw stuff together last night.

Ingredients:

1 5.8 oz pkg cous cous, cooked to package directions and cooled ( I used Near East Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil. Feel free to buy in bulk and cook accordingly!)
1 can black beans
1 can garbanzo beans
2oz feta cheese
1/2 cucumber, quartered and sliced
fresh parsley
salt
papper

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Mix all salad ingredients together. Whisk vinaigrette ingredients and pour 3/4 over the salad. Just before serving pour the rest of the vinaigrette on the salad (it gets absorbed and I like to have a bit of it coating the salad!).

This was awesome served alongside our grilled chicken, but I can see it going with just about anything! I think it would be great with a lot of other veggies thrown in (especially tomatoes).

 Excuse the blurry iPhone pic!

Since we ate such a healthy meal, we of course needed some dessert. Enter Sally's S'more Cookie Bars.  These were ah-maz-ing. Seriously. It took a lot of control not to eat half the pan last night.

When (notice I said when, not if?) I make these again, I think I will make more of the cookie dough part. Sally says there wont be enough to cover the top completely, but it was my favorite part of the cookies so I think I want a full layer. 

The Quest for Cookie Dough Dip

I've heard of this idea for a while now- cookie dough MADE for eating. Sounds awesome, right? My husband is notorious for eating cookie dough out of my mixing bowl (and even known to buy a container of store bought dough just for eating) so I knew I had to try this out.

Problem was, I wasn't really finding recipes that seemed cookie dough-ish. Most of them used cream cheese as a base, and seemed more like cream cheese frosting than a dip. Afer a few weeks of randomly looking at recipes, I finally decided to try one of these cream cheese based ones. Maybe I would be wrong.

I made the dip a few days ago, and I'm happy to report that it is tasty. We left out the pecans (we aren't big nut fans) but I added in some peanut butter. However, they are pretty much cream cheese frosting with brown sugar and chocolate chips. It didn't really feel like I was eating cookie dough, which was disappointing.

So, I am on a quest. I want to find a recipe that has the texture and taste of real cookie dough. And if I can't find one? Well I might just have to make one myself :)

Crab Dip Recipe

So remember back here when I mentioned that I was going to make a crab dip recipe? Well, I did it! However it took me a week to put it up here, and I totally forgot to take a photo. Fail. Anyway, here is the recipe. If I make it again soon I will show a picture, though to be honest its not one of those dishes where the photo sells the recipe. This is a creamy, yummy thick crab dip perfect for parties and appetzers :)

Crab Dip

1 8oz package of cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup sour cream
2 6oz cans of crab meat plus 1 tbsp reserved liquid
1 pkg onion soup and dip mix
1/2 cup shredded cheese (something creamy like mozarella works great) divided
1/8 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp lemon juice

Mix the cream cheese, mayo, and sour cream together. Add the rest of the ingredients except for 1/4 cup of shredded cheese in and allow to chill in the fridge for at least an hour (I found that this left the crab flavor really develop). When ready to serve, remove from the fridge and top with remaining cheese. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes, until bubbly and warmed through.

If desired you could sub light or fat free ingredients for the cream cheese, mayo, sour cream, and cheeses, however it may alter the final product.

I hope you guys try this great dip out! We just ended up using crackers to eat it with, but I think this would be great with veggies or bread cubes as well.