Carrie’s Sweet Life

My mom made three wonderful egg bakes for Maddys baptism and I wanted to make a side to go with them, I ended up making this hasbrown casserole, it was simple to throw together and was good. It got a little burnt but that was because the service ran late.

Hash brown Egg Bake (From: Taste of Home)

• 1 package (32 ounces) frozen cubed hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 1 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• Dash paprika

In a large bowl, combine the hash browns, bacon, 1/2 cup cheese and salt. Spoon into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. In another large bowl, whisk eggs and milk until smooth; pour over hash brown mixture. Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 45-50 minutes until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Yield: 8 servings.

Another guest post, this time from Kelsey at Apple A Day. Make sure you go over to Apple A Day and look at all the other wonderful recipes Kelsey has posted! And now from Kelsey….

Are you one of those people who just can’t go to a gathering without bringing a hostess gift of some sort?  Me too.  It’s pretty rare that I’m invited to someone’s house, so when I am, I like to bring something extra thoughtful.  It’s generally homemade and it’s always easy to transport. 

These scones are a perfect example.  They come together quickly and taste great plain, with a little butter and honey, or with some homemade lemon curd.  You can easily adapt the recipe to incorporate your favorite fresh, seasonal fruit.  Bring these as a gift once and I bet you’ll soon find yourself being invited to someone’s house with an invitation that includes, “And would you mind bringing those scones?”

Lemon-Raspberry Scones (Adapted From: Good Things Catered)

• 1 egg
• 1/4 c. low-fat plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. milk or half and half
• 1/2 tsp. lemon extract
• 2 tsp. lemon zest
• 2 1/4 – 2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (depends on juiciness of berries)
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling (Turbinado works well for sprinkling)
• 1 TBSP baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 8 TBSP (1 stick) butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1 c. fresh raspberries, rinsed and dried

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with Silpat or parchment paper.

In small bowl, combine egg, yogurt, milk, extract, and zest.  Whisk to combine thoroughly and set aside.

In a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Whisk or pulse to combine.

Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut butter into flour until all pieces are smaller than pea-sized.  If using a food processor, pulse about twelve times until the butter pieces are the appropriate size, then pour into a large bowl.

Add raspberries to the bowl and gently toss to coat.

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix in lightly with fork or spatula until dough just comes together.

Turn dough out onto well-floured work surface and pat into large ball.

If making wedge-shaped scones, cut dough in half. Shape half of dough into flat disk shape and cut into 8 slices. Place on baking sheet and repeat with other half of dough.  If making round scones, pat out all dough and use a medium-sized biscuit cutter.

Sprinkle tops of scones with Turbinado sugar and place in the oven.

Bake until scones turn golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

As soon as I saw these in my reader I starred them, I LOVE making different big breakfasts, but sadly with Adam’s schedule we had one day Sunday together at home and that doesn’t make breakfast too quick. The good news is he will now be off Saturday and Sunday, after 2 years I am beyond excited!

These we actually didn’t make for breakfast I talked him into brinner on Monday, these pancakes were AWESOME, we only got about 6 pancakes, but with bacon and american potatoes it was perfect. I didn’t have any nuts so I chopped some of the nut clusters up, OMG this made these even more wonderful. We loved these pancakes, and ended up with lots of the cream cheese topping left and plan on making them again Saturday You could get away with just the cream cheese, but I liked the mixture of cream cheese and maple syrup.

Try these ASAP!!!

Banana Nut Pancakes (From: Cassie Craves, Originally From: Taste of Home)

• 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup whipped topping
• 1 cup pancake mix
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium ripe banana, mashed
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Mix in whipped topping (mixture will be stiff); set aside.

In a bowl, combine pancake mix and sugar. Beat egg, milk and oil; add to pancake mix and mix well. Fold in banana and pecans.

Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes. Cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with cream topping.