Canadian Bacon Eggs

 I just looked and this is the egg recipe I'm posting this month (3 out of 4). It makes me want to have an egg dish every week to see if the majority keeps voting for egg dishes! I may cook an egg dish every week just because I love eggs so much. I love these eggs though because they are super easy and the Canadian Bacon gives great flavor to the eggs. I also love how easy this is, it lets you prepare a side or two while it is baking.

Believe it or not I made these while on a diet. Yep, it's true. These are not diet wreckers. The latest research suggests an egg a day is safe (although my diet reduced a whole egg to 3 times per week - I can have egg whites but not the yolk) and nutritious for most adults -- and if you eat that egg for breakfast, you'll boost your odds of losing weight. It's the protein that helps you - protein makes you feel fuller longer. I would not suggest eating all 6 of these! I in fact only ate one (and enjoyed every bite!)

 Canadian Bacon Eggs

 First, you'll need a muffin tin. Then you'll need some Canadian Bacon (you can use deli meat in place of the Canadian bacon). Place one slice of Canadian Bacon in each cup of the muffin tin.

 Next, crack open an egg into a separate dish (to make sure there are no shells) and then transfer to the muffin tin. Repeat with remaining eggs. Some of the egg white may leak into the tin  around the Canadian Bacon, unless you're worried about presentation that is great - that part of the egg will have the most flavor.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 - 15 minutes.

 Remove from pan, serve immediately.

Enjoy!

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Menu: March 14-20

Happy Monday to all! We've had a bunch of favorites this past week. We also had a great reason to celebrate - my son turned 2. It's hard to believe that it's been two years since I was so sleep deprived and figuring out how to be a mommy. It's also hard to believe my 8 lb 13 oz baby is now 32 lbs. We had a great birthday party for him... I made a cake, which I think turned out a LOT better than the cake from last year. This is the second cake I've made with fondant.

My son LOVES Thomas the train. He loved the cake, although I think it was mainly because of the mini engine on it! He started playing with the engine as soon as he got to the table.

Now for the menu:

Monday: Chef Salad

Tuesday: Pancakes & Berry Smoothies

Wednesday: Meatball Sliders (or Mini Meatball Subs)

Thursday: Mac & Cheese

Friday: Sloppy Joes

Saturday: Pizza

Sunday: Omelets

Be sure to vote for the recipe you want to see next week... Canadian Bacon Eggs won last week's poll, so it will be posted here on Thursday!

CSN Stores Winner!

Now for the winner of the CSN stores giveaway. I loved reading about all the varying items you would all buy! It almost made me want to send in 50 pretend votes and have one of them win so I could buy something myself... just kidding. If I wouldn't have wanted to share it with you I could have just used it myself and wrote a review about CSN stores. See how much I love you all!

Now for the winner:

Comment number 31 won this giveaway! That would be this comment:

I hope you enjoy the food dehydrator (or whatever else you choose to buy!) Email me at crystalscozykitchen@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Lasagna

 Lasagna is one of my father's favorite meals. In fact, I learned this year that he usually has it on his birthday. I learned this because I made it for him on his birthday! Growing up I don't think I appreciated lasagna very much, mainly because I hated tomatoes. Since I now like tomatoes, I actually really like lasagna. It does take a bit of work to make, but is a meal that can be reheated the second day and it tastes just as good. So I highly suggest making enough for 2 meals ;).

Do you have a meal that you request for your birthday (or other special occasion?)

 Lasagna

 

Cook 6-9 pasta noodles in boiling water according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, in a skillet, brown 1 pound hamburger (you can use sausage, although I never do - mainly because hubby and I don't really like ground sausage.) with 1 large onion chopped (about 1 cup).

 Meanwhile, heat 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce, 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning, and 1/8 to 1/4 tsp black pepper in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

 Add the tomato mixture into the beef mixture and cook for 5 more minutes.

 Looks delicious!

 Now for the third layer. In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup ricotta cheese, 1 cup cottage cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and 1 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley.

 Now for assembly. Layer 3 noodles in the bottom of a 2 quart baking dish.

 Top with 1/3 of the cheese filling and 1/3 of the meat filling.

 Looking good...

Sprinkle 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese over the filling.

 Repeat layers for a second time.

One more time!

Repeat for a third time...

 Pasta, cheese filling, meat sauce

  and sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 to 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.

 Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy! (For some reason I don't have a picture of the final product...)

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Almond Broccoli

I have not done a Wednesday post in quite a while, it's part of the supporting my husband making a mad dash to the finish line with his thesis. When I start again, I was planning on making a vegetable post every other week. Instead, I have just joined The Healthy Mom's Magazine contributors and will be posting vegetable recipes on their site. Last week I posted a Spinach and Pear Salad recipe - you should check it out, I am in love with that salad!

However, before I decided on contributing to that site, I edited all these photos below and used my blog signature, so I had to post this recipe here. I hope you all enjoy it!

I first made this recipe for a pot luck dinner with some friends around Christmas. I think I double or tripled the recipe and it flew out of the pan. I, personally, love when vegetables fly out of the pan. I recently made it again, and while my son did not eat it, all four adults at the dinner did. There was no broccoli left over. This is an amazing happening at my parent's house. My dad seems to think he is limited to eating 1-1/2 cups of vegetables per day... or perhaps it just seems like that sometimes. Luckily my husband does eat his veggies... although he eats more of them when I dish them out than when he does.

This dish does require a bit more attention than just boiling the vegetables so it can not be an 'afterthought' addition to a meal. However, it does make a delicious addition to any meal. If you are concerned about calories you can cut down the amount of butter you add.

Almond Broccoli

 Make sure you have about 1-1/2 pounds of broccoli, cooked (or about 5 cups). Place it in the dish you are planning on serving it in. *Note: you will be pouring hot juices over it so make sure the dish you've selected can withstand the heat.*

In a medium saucepan, melt 1 cube (1/2 cup) butter.

Bring to a boil.

Then cook until the butter turns brown, about 2 minutes.

You'll want to swirl the butter in the pan during the last minute.

Then add 1/2 cup orange juice to the butter.

Be careful as you are adding liquid to hot oil, it will splatter a bit.

Once the bubbling has died down, remove the pan from the heat.

Next, add 1 tsp orange zest to the pan.

Stir well.

Pour over broccoli.

Be sure to move the stream around to coat as much broccoli as you can.

Toss the broccoli to coat all pieces in the orange burnt butter.

You'll also want some toasted almonds.

Simply place them in a pan over medium heat,

Tossing the nuts as they start to brown to keep them from burning.

Add toasted nuts to the broccoli.

Serve warm.

Enjoy!