Saturday Morning Quiche

Yes, making hash browns from scratch is preferred, but if you're in a pinch, but still have the craving, here you go!

Saturday Morning Quiche

Crust Ingredients:

• 3 cups frozen hash browns, defrosted in microwave
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• Butter Pam
• Salt & Pepper

Crust Directions:

• Spray a 10” pie plate with Butter Pam.
• Mix defrosted hash browns with melted butter.
• Salt & Pepper to taste.
• Press mixture into pie pan and bake in 450 oven for 25 minutes.

Ingredients for the filling:

• ¾ cup ham or thick sliced Canadian bacon, chopped
• ¾ cup eggs, beaten well
• 1 cup half/half
• 6 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
• ½ cup green onion, sliced thinly
• Salt & Pepper
  

Directions for filling:

• Mix all together adding salt & pepper to taste and beat well with a whisk.
• Pour into cooked crust and bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes.
  
  Top with a dollop of sour cream and your favorite hot sauce if you like.

Brunch for a Crowd

This is a great 'do the night before' breakfast recipe - perfect for Christmas morning. Clean up the mess the day before, pop it in the oven as kids are opening their stockings and by the time you're ready for your first mimosa...breakfast is ready! Mexican food is my all time favorite and this is a great way to add a little feliz navidad to your morning.
Merry Christmas,
Cam

Brunch for a Crowd
Ingredients:

• 8 slices of bread, trimmed and cubed
• 1 1/2 # ground sausage, cooked and drained (you can use breakfast, Italian or chorizo)
• 2 C milk
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t dry mustard
• 6 eggs
• 1 - 1 1/2 # shredded, sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 1 can sliced olives (optional)
• Optional toppings: Sour cream, cilantro, tomatoes, avocados, salsa, etc.

Directions:

• Grease casserole dish
• Place cubed bread in dish (cover the bottom of the dish)
• Add cooked, drained sausage (2nd layer)
• Add half the shredded cheese
• In bowl, beat the eggs with milk, salt mustard and green chilies.
• Pour egg mixture over the sausage, bread and cheese layers.
• Top with remaining cheese. Use as much or little as you like.
• Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 1 1/2 hours
• Remove foil and bake another 15-30 minutes or until eggs are fully cooked.
• Cool for 10 min and serve~
• Great to top with your favorite salsa, sour cream, cilantro, chopped tomatoes and guacamole.

Luscious, Creamy, Cheesecake

Guess this week is 'all things mom'. While the coffee cake says Christmas morning, cheesecake says everything else! I have a good-sized crew that will echo... my mom's cheesecake seriously ROCKS. If you're into the thick, lighter New York-style cheesecake...this IS NOT your recipe. BUT, if you're into luscious, creamy, rich and OH MY GOSH decadent cheesecake...look no more.

This is the number one requested item at all family functions - especially Auntie Linda's Thanksgiving feast! However, I will note, DO NOT attempt to replace any of the below ingredients with 'light' or 'low fat' products...as my step-sister Krisi learned painfully(sorry, Krisi, had to share to save others). Hey, moderation can totally start in a few weeks.

From my table and my mom's to yours...

Cheesecake

Graham Cracker Crust Ingredients:

• 6 T butter
• 24 graham crackers
• 1/4 C sugar

Layer 1 - Cheesecake Ingredients:

• 2 -8 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese
• 2 Eggs, beaten
• 3/4 C Sugar
• 2 t. Vanilla
• 1 t. Lemon juice

Layer 2 - Topping Ingredients:

• 1 C Sour cream
• 1 t Vanilla
• 3 1/2 t Sugar

Directions: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Graham Cracker Crust:

• In small saucepan, melt butter.
• Place graham crackers in a zip lock bag and press with a rolling pin until finely crushed - you need about 1 1/2 cups of crushed crackers. (I think they sell crushed graham crackers in a box now too) This is best done in small batches.
• In a medium-sized bowl, add the graham crackers and sugar - mix.
• Add the melted butter.
• Mix with your hands until moist (sorry, Sarah, had to use that word).
• Press into 9-inch pie pan

Layer 1 of the cake:

• Combine layer 1 ingredients, beat until fluffy.
• Pour batter into graham cracker crust.
• Bake 15 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes.

Topping:

• Combine topping ingredients, pour into pie, back another 10 minutes.

Cool and refrigerate overnight.

Enjoy!

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

My mom makes a few items that not only represent taste, but Christmas morning tradition to our family. In fact, she's been known to set-up quite the assembly line baking up to a dozen of her mom's legendary Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Coffee Cakes. She now invites the grandkids to help and ships the goods to Colorado, Palm Springs and sometimes even Nevada! My mom lost both her parents in a tragic plane crash when she was in her early 3o's. .. so cooking and baking some of Grandma Sylvia's favorite dishes is not only a treat, but also our way of keeping her memory alive.

Of course each of the kids and grandkids like little twists - some with raisins, some without, some with nuts, some without. But what is unanimous...all of us LOVE and look forward to Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake....in fact, I know this is now an added tradition for many of my friend's families...like the Greenhaw's, Redfern's and Elliott's.

From my kitchen, my mom's kitchen and my grandma Sylvia's kitchen,
Enjoy

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

• 1C Butter
• 1 1/2 C Sugar
• 2 Eggs, beaten well
• 1 t Vanilla
• 1 C Sour Cream
• 2 C. Cake Flour (Swanson's boxed cake flour - NOT normal flour)
• 1 t. Baking Powder
• 1/2 t Baking Soda
• 1/2 t Salt

Topping:

• 4 T Sugar
• 1/2 C Nuts, finely chopped (Almonds, pecans, or nothing)
• 1 t Cinnamon
• 1/2-3/4 C Mini chocolate chips
• 1/2 C Golden Raisins (only in the center layer, NOT on top and can be totally optional. Bryson always prefers NONE)

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large bowl, beat eggs well.
• Add butter, sugar, vanilla and sour cream - beat very well.
• In a second bowl, add sifted cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• In a third, smaller bowl, combine the topping ingredients: sugar, nuts, cinnamon and mini chocolate chips.
• Grease a tube pan (NOT A BUNDT PAN)
• Pour half of the batter into the tube pan.
• Sprinkle half of the topping and all of the raisins (if you're using them)
• Pour the remaining batter and then top with the remaining topping mixture.
• Bake for 50 minutes.
• Completely cool before removing from pan.