leftovers

breakfast casserole

by Patricia on December 23, 2009 · 4 comments

christmas

I’ve been thinking about Christmas morning lately. Like for the last couple of weeks. I haven’t been thinking about presents. No, I’ve been thinking about breakfast. Remember, it’s the most important meal of the day. And you’re going to need your strength on Christmas day. Even so, Christmas morning is about presents and witnessing the joy of others opening the gifts you so carefully chose (or made) for them, right? It’s not about fussing over a lot of stuff in the kitchen. But this doesn’t mean you have to eat cereal. There are a number of things you can prepare ahead of time so that breakfast is nearly as memorable as that shiny new toy. Things like biscuits and scones can be made ahead of time and frozen before they are baked. But sometimes you want a little more substance. Maybe something that is eggy, cheesy, and all around delicious. Maybe something like this breakfast casserole?

breakfast casserole

Breakfast casserole? Yes. I know, the name could use some work. But I think casseroles get a bad rap. Besides, it sounds better if you say it with a little Southern accent. Okay, maybe not. But if you want to be fancy, you could call it a savory bread pudding.
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Dinner in 5 minutes

by Patricia on January 9, 2009 · 3 comments

dinner in 5 minutes

I forgot to eat lunch today. That sounds silly, I know. But do you ever get into one of those modes? Totally focused on something and its like your stomach stops checking in until you’re STARVING. That was me today. I worked from home and was checking things off of my todo list: check check check, when around 5pm my stomach screamed “Stop! Feed me!”. I needed something quick, but most things I think of first as “quick” are full of bad-for-you things so I stopped buying them. What’s a girl to do? My stomach was tempting me to break a resolution (eat healthy) : “Eat the marshmallows… And wash them down with cookies. And… chocolate.” But I stood firm, I want to eat healthy. I feel better when I eat healthy even if I do LOVE dessert. I also want to eat the food I have on hand (I’ve been bad in the past about eating a little bit of something and letting the rest go wasted. But that is expensive and decidedly not green. And also on my list of resolutions are “save money” and “be greener”. I did very well in 2008 adding green habits, but there is always room to improve… ). I have been good eating leftovers, not eating out as much, and eating good-for-me meals most of the time (not all of the time. I have to leave some room for brownies and other treats some of the time).

Anyway. Back to my empty belly and how I filled it… I’m not sure why or how, but I thought of the leftover capellini noodles I had in the fridge and next thing I knew, I had a psuedo-chow mein noodle stir fry dinner. And it was good. I’m not talking crazy good like the shrimp the other night, but for a 5 minute, healthy meal it was really tasty. I wish I had some shrimp or chicken to throw on top of it, but I settled for an all veg. version.

While prepping and gathering ingredients, I started to heat:
about 1 tbsp canola oil
about 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (for flavor)

Add:
2 cloves garlic, minced (sort of)
a little fresh ginger, also sort of minced

Let it get fragrant and just start to brown a little, then add:
1 tbsp or so of sweet jalapeno sauce (very similar to thai sweet chili sauce)
about 1/5 bag of frozen veggie medley (carrots, peas, green beans)

When that is heated through, add:
some leftover noodles (I had capellini, but I think any noodles would work)
a dash of soy sauce

Mix it up. When mixed and hot, push to one side of the pan and scramble 1 egg on the empty side of the pan. Stir it all together, put it in a bowl with a couple of grinds of fresh pepper… and víola. Enjoy.

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