SPRING BRUNCH

I gave a small Spring Brunch last Saturday and thought I'd share some of the fun I had planning it.  I have to say, I love the "marinating" process of planning and execution of an event.  I enjoy having people in my home and feeding them!

Here's the menu...

Here's the recipe for the strata

SAUSAGE/MUSHROOM STRATA

1 pound breakfast sausage of your choice

3-4 cups shredded hashbrowns

8 eggs

1 cup shredded, sharp cheddar

1 can mushrooms

¾ teaspoons dry mustard

3 cups of milk, divided

1 cup of cottage cheese

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Spread hashbrowns in a greased 9X13 pan.  Fry and drain sausage and layer over hashbrowns.  Drain mushrooms and layer over sausage.  Combine eggs, mustard, 2-1/2 cups of milk, and cottage cheese.  Pour over sausage mixture and sprinkle cheese over everything.  Refrigerate overnight.  Mix soup with ½ cup of milk and pour over the top of casserole just before baking.  Bake at 325^o for 1-1/2 hours.

The yogurt parfaits started with granola on the bottom, Noosa Honey Yogurt, topped with strawberries and blueberries, and garnished with a mint leaf and a honey wafer.

I'm not ashamed to say, I purchased the strudel from a very accomplished baker and was not disappointed--it was delicious. 

The lemon loaf began with a cake mix.  Here's that recipe...

Lemon Loaves

1 box of lemon cake mix

4.3 ounce instant lemon pudding mix

½ cup applesauce (in place of oil)

4 large eggs

½ cup milk

8 ounces sour cream

the juice of half of a large lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 2 loaf pans with cooking spray. 

Place all cake ingredients into mixing bowl and beat until well combined.  Divide batter between the two loaf pans and spread evenly.  Bake for 45-55 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.  Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes before removing from pans.

For glaze, zest & squeeze the juice of the other half of a large lemon and add powdered sugar to taste.  Score the top of each loaf or prick it with a fork and pour glaze over each loaf.  Let set till the glaze soaks into the loaves.

The bird's nest were super-simple.  They consist of 2 cups of butterscotch chips combined with 1 cup of peanut butter melted.   Add chow mein noodles and shape into nests.  I then added Jordan almonds to mimic eggs and added a marshmallow bird (Peeps).

Here is one of the place settings...

 The keep Spring in mind, each guest was invited to take a pansy home.

Thanks for reading.  Hope you enjoyed the party.  Let me know if you try a recipe or two.

Linking Up With
thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com
 stonegableblog.com
savvysouthernstyle.net
nominimalisthere.blogspot.com
thecharmofhome.blogspot.com
commonground-do.com
romantichome.blogspot.com
frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com
stonegableblog.com
homemakeronadime.com
boogieboardcottage.blogspot.com 

Cuddling with the Couch

This has been my best friend this past week.  I have been under-the-weather, so to speak, and not a lot of energy.  Just the normal stuff one gets every now and then, but this time it keeps coming back.  I am not seriously ill, just not seriously well either.

This is my view and just out of camera range on purpose is my footstool project that nags at me daily.

Here's the view looking the other way.  The TV is off 'cause I'm all caught up on anything, ANYTHING, DVRed.  I am reading The Virgin's Lover--not a naughty book at all.  It is about Elizabeth I's reign in the mid 1500's in England.  It takes my mind to a different place, as a good book should.

Just didn't want you to think I dropped off my blog--just not doing any projects currently.  I'll be back soon, till then, thanks for reading and I enclose a little summer sweetness for you to enjoy.  I make this in my countertop ice cream maker and it makes too much mix for it, so I just drink ithe leftover as a smoothie--just so I don't waste it!

Very Berry Frozen Yogurt

3/4 cup whole milk

1/2 cup sugar

4 cups vanilla yogurt

18 ounces frozen mixed berries, thawed and pureed

1 teaspoon extract of your choice, vanilla, lemon or almond

Combine the milk and sugar and stir to dissolve.  Add and mix the remaining ingredients and pour into ice cream maker.  Follow manufacturer's instructions for freezing.



An Easter Wrap-Up

What a wonderful Easter!  The church service was one of the best ever!  What a blessing to be able to attend such an inspiring church service!  And then, it was so pleasing to come home and have family over to our home for dinner.  Because I had a lot going on on Sunday, I prepared almost all of the meal on Saturday and just popped it out of the fridge or the crockpot.  I thought it would be nice to share the recipes we enjoyed with all of you.

The first one is a common one and most of you probably make it from heart by now, but I thought I'd share it anyway. 

Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad

½ crown broccoli

½ crown cauliflower

½ cup raisins

½ red onion

½ package of real bacon bits

Dressing:

1 cup real mayo

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into bit-sized pieces and chop the onion and add to the broccoli and cauliflower in a large mixing bowl.  Add the raisins and bacon bits.

In a smaller bowl mix all of the dressing ingredients well.  Add to the bowl of broccoli and cauliflower ingredients and mix well.  Refrigerate several hours and serve.

The next recipe is a little less common and I couldn't locate my copy, so I turned to the web and came up empty-handed.  I rechecked by recipe file once again and there it was, relief! I had not made this in a while but was rewarded with that first bite. I remembered why I loved it so many years ago.  I am not sure where I found this recipe originally, but hopefully will not wait so many years to make it again.

Mushroom Salad

1 cup salad oil

2 teaspoons of salt

2½ teaspoons each of dried basil and Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon each of pepper and paprika

5 tablespoons of white wine vinegar

4 tablespoons of lemon juice

2 pounds of sliced mushrooms of your choice

1 bunch of green onions sliced

Cherry tomatoes

Mix the salad oil, salt, basil, mustard, pepper, paprika, vinegar and lemon juice.  Pour this dressing over the mushrooms and onions.  Let marinate at least an hour before serving.  Garnish with tomatoes and serve.

The next salad is a new one to me and I make it frquently in the summer because of the refreshing lime and apricot combination with the carrots.  Hope you enjoy it too!

Honey-Lime Carrot Salad

Zest and juice of 2 limes

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons honey

½ teaspoon dry mustard

1¼ pounds carrots, peeled and sliced crosswise

3 small scallions, sliced

In a medium pan over low heat, cook lime juice, olive oil, honey, mustard until warm, about 1 minute.  Removed from heat and cover.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook carrots until just tender crisp, 2-3 minutes.  Drain and transfer to a serving bowl.

Add dried apricots and scallions, then toss salad with warm honey-lime dressing.  Sprinkle with lime zest.

We had all of the salads with shredded turkey breast sandwiches.  I cooked a turkey breast overnight in the crockpot with a whole onion laid in the neck cavity of the bird and some Montreal Steak Seasoning sprinkled on it.  In the morning, the bones just lift out and I shred the meat with the juices and served the meat hot on buns.

The last recipe is the pie we enjoyed with just a little vanilla Haagen-Dazs.  It is a recipe shared from my friend Ruth.

Spring/Fall Pie

1½ cups sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1½ cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, diced, thawed and drained

1½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1½ cups chopped and peeled tart apples (Granny Smith)

Pastry for a double crust pie (9 inch)

In a large bowl, combine sugar and flour; stir in rhubarb, cranberries and apples.

Line a 9-inch pie plate with the bottom pastry and add filling.  Cover with a lattice crust.  Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake 40 minutes longer or until filling is bubbly.

As if all of the above was not enough food, my sweetie bought me a Easter egg like no other.  I share the pictures of this three layered egg unfolding.  Until next time, thanks for reading.

All three layers are my favorite chocolates, Godiva!  During lent I give up chocolate, so welcome back to the world of chocolate to me!  I also love well-designed boxes (strange little things make me happy) and this one will certainly go into my collection.  Hope your Easter 2011 was memorable and as our pastor said in his sermon, each Sunday is a mini Easter!