Sausage, Egg and Hashbrown Casserole

I made this for Christmas morning this year and fully intend to make every year from now on. It was that simple and that amazingly delicious! The original ingredients don't call for any vegetables so I've changed it up. If you're a certain someone in this family who doesn't like bell peppers than you can definitely make it with just the sausage, eggs and hash browns and it will still be delicious!

Ingredients:
- 1 lb. turkey sausage
- 9 lg. eggs slightly beaten
- 3/4 c. milk
- 1/4 c. margarine-melted (I use B&B which makes me feel a little better)
- 24 oz. pkg. hash browns (you can also make your own by grating potatoes until you have about 3 c. worth)
- 8 oz. cheddar cheese (I have only used the sharp cheddar which is amazing, but you could use any cheese and I think it would come out well)
- 1/4 c. onion diced
- 1/4 c. red bell pepper diced
- 1/4 c. green bell pepper diced
- 1/4 c. mushrooms diced
- Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease 13x9 pan well. Crumble uncooked turkey sausage in pan.

Add milk and butter to eggs. Then add all the vegetables you want to use to the egg mixture. Pour over turkey sausage. Add hash browns and top with shredded cheese.

Bake 1 hour.

Trust me, it's really really good and it makes an entire huge pan of breakfast casserole that is guaranteed to feed a ton of people. It fed the four of us Christmas morning and then my FIL took it to work and it fed everyone at the station with a little piece left over! If you don't want to feed that many people, use a smaller pyrex and cut the recipe in half. ;)

Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting = AMAZING!

Many of you have had what I like to call my signature cupcake. Red Velvet cake mix out of the box and my homemade Cream Cheese Frosting- this MAKES any dessert about 20 x's better if you ask me.

Ingredients:
- 8 oz. cold cream cheese
- 1 stick margarine, firm but cold
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 3 3/4 c. powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions:
*If you have a kitchen aid mixer you should DEFINITELY use it, otherwise a regular hand held mixer works well too, just with more effort involved on your part. :)
- Beat cream cheese, margarine and salt for 2-3 minutes on medium until they are combined and reach a creamy consistency.
- Reduce the mixing speed to low and add powdered sugar gradually until all has been added.
- Add vanilla and mix just enough to integrate it into the frosting.
* Tip: if your frosting is too thick slowly add milk (a couple of spoonfuls at a time- nothing too crazy) until you can spread it easily.

STOPP Stoup

Sausage, Tomato, Onion, Pepper and Potato Stoup-
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp. EVOO
- 1 lb. turkey sausage (or any other sausage you prefer- turkey is good though)
- 4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 2 Anaheim or Cubanelle peppers diced *
- 1 red bell pepper diced*
- 1 green bell pepper diced*
- 4 golden potatoes diced
- 1-2 onions chopped
- 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar (I don't always use this and I can't tell a huge difference between when I do and when I don't)
- 2 (15 oz) cans of crushed or diced fire roasted tomatoes (I've also just used my food processor with tomatoes I have in the fridge that are too soft to use for anything else and it came out great)
- 1 jug of chicken stock (I think using chicken stock makes a difference- I use a yellow box of it that is all natural with no salt added)
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
- French bread, or other bread of your choice for sopping up the stoup
* The peppers are really up to you. The combo I use gives the stoup a slightly sweeter taste since I use a lot of red bell pepper. If there is something in season then I use more of that pepper. The peppers I use are non spicy peppers and still add A LOT of flavor to the stoup.

Directions:
Heat EVOO in deep skillet (I use my glorious cast iron casserole pot and it is amazing).

Add sausage and brown for a few minutes, then add the garlic, onions, and peppers and cook until veggies are soft. Do NOT add the potatoes yet! Add salt and pepper. Add vinegar, chicken stock, tomatoes and potatoes and reduce to a simmer.

If you use a cast iron dish it cooks VERY quickly (like 10 minutes!), if not, it will need to simmer until the potatoes are soft (about 25 minutes or less depending on how small you dice them).

Serve and add cheese on top. Eat with crusty bread of some variety.

This stoup (Stew like soup) is delicious both fresh and as a leftover. It saves VERY well!

Southwestern Cobb Dip

Ingredients:
- 1/4 c. Milk
- 1/3 c. Sour Cream
- 1 Lime squeezed
- 1/2 pkg. of Taco Seasoning
- Salt and Ground Pepper to taste
- 1 Diced red bell pepper
- 1 can of corn
- 1 can of black beans
- 1/4 red onion diced
- 1 avocado diced* (optional- I don't normally put this in)

Combine milk, sour cream, lime, taco seasoning, salt and pepper. Add diced vegetables and chill. Serve with chips or crackers.

Oven Baked "Fried" Chicken

Oven Baked "Fried" Chicken is super healthy b/c it's not fried at all and also is fairly easy to prep. I originally found the recipe on the food network but I have changed it some from its original format.

Oven Baked "Fried" Chicken
Ingredients:
- Cooking Spray (I use Olive Oil)
- 1 1/3 c. Instant Oats
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. paprika
- 2 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. black pepper
- 4 (4 oz) chicken breast
- 3/4 bottle of honey dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 400* F. Coat baking sheet with Olive Oil spray.

Combine Oats, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix well.

Coat each piece of chicken liberally with honey dijon mustard. Coat each side with oat mixture. Bake 30 minutes.